Sep 29, 2009

The Heavenly Cake Bake-Through

As you know, I've been busily baking away since June with my own special, already-well-used copy of Heavenly Cakes.
Now that September 29--Official Publishing Date--has finally arrived, everybody else can have this beautiful book, and I'd like to invite you to bake along with me.

Here's what I have in mind:

1. You must own, or have easy access to, a copy of Rose’s Heavenly Cakes.

2. You must have a blog. (It’s easy to start one, and you don’t have to blog about anything else but heavenly cakes if you don’t want to).

3. At the beginning of each month, I will post the recipes that I’m going to bake that month. I'll bake one a week, but you only have to agree to bake at least two a month. (You can also bake every week if the spirit moves you).

4. Because I do most of my baking on the weekends, I will post within a 24-hour period on MONDAYS. You will post your version during the same 24-hour period.

5. If there is a particular recipe you’re interested in, email me and tell me you’d like to be co-host for that week. I’ll feature the first person I hear from on my blog.

6. The first ten people to sign up for this bake-through will receive a FREE, AUTOGRAPHED copy of Rose’s Heavenly Cakes from John Wiley & Sons, the book’s publisher.

7. You can have a fantastic BADGE indicating that you’re a member of the Heavenly Cake Bakers and post it on your blog.

8. If you run out of steam or feel you can’t keep baking, let me know and I’ll remove you from the list of Heavenly Cake Bakers—that way, readers will know that only active bakers are on the list of bloggers.

9. No need to post the recipes on your blogs. Since we've all got copies of the book, we're not going to need the recipes. Also, I like Rose's cookbooks, and want to encourage her to keep writing them.

10. Have fun!

And, if there's a particular cake you want to bake, please let me know, and I'll include it soon.

65 comments:

anitsirK said...

I'd like to sign up. I couldn't find a link to email you, so I guess this is the way to do so? I don't have a copy of the book yet, but I'll get one as soon as I can.

I'll either be posting about it here (I'll create a blogspot blog), or I'll be putting posts on my husband's newish food blog at www.eatsndrinks.ca

My email address is my username @ gmail.com if you need that.

Barbara said...

Marie,
This is a wonderful idea to have fellow bloggers bake heavenly cakes along with you. I normally would have been first on board to bake the cakes along with you, but I have some serious surgery coming up soon that prevents me from baking for ahile, I will continue to check in and see how you and now others are coming along with these exciting new recipes.

Thanks for the the fun to read blog.

Jenn said...

Marie - I'd like to sign up. I hope I'm one of the 10 to get the autograph copy - though that's not the only reason why I want to sign up. My email is jsjukur@yahoo.com

Hanaâ said...

Marie,

I'd like to sign up. Would love to be one of the 10 people to get a signed copy of the book. How wonderful is that?!
Thanks for organizing this!
My email is HanaasKitchen [at] live [dot] come.

Hanaâ said...

Btw, as a fellow Minnesotan, Fall/Winter is the best and most convenient time for me to start big baking projects since a lot of time is spent indoors!!!

NancyB said...

(Deep breath) I'll try this too. Life is pretty hectic at the moment, but I'm using baking for stress relief--baking from the new book should work for that!

My sporadically updated blog is on LJ: http://nlbarber@livejournal.com . This effort will probably be good for getting more regular blog posts up, too...

NancyB said...

And somehow my blog URL switched over to an email address...so much for my attempt to insert HTML into a comment.

My blog is http://nlbarber.livejournal.com

PAM said...

I would love to participate. www.sugarchef.net

Jenn said...

Correction - email is jsjukur@gmail.com. Marie - I will create a blog later today for this!

Sherrie said...

Yay! I'd love to join the fun! May I sign up? Let me know what information you need. Now I have to get the blog started!

Patricia @ ButterYum said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Hopefully I've been signed up since the start - being a devoted Rose blogger, and being one of the first to follow/comment on this blog. I hope I'm not mistaken, but if I am, sign me up!!.

ButterYum

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Did I need to mention that I have the book, have a blog, will agree to the terms listed, and have already added the Widget on my blog?

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

PS - you can contact me on my blog, and am eager to try the lacquer glaze on Zach's La Bomba.

www.butteryum.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Marie, please sign me up. I am in the process of starting my blog and yes, I do have the book and willing to bake :) My e-mail address is rozanne.chocolat.rp@gmail.com
Rozanne

Nicola said...

Hi,

I would love to sign up for this. I will set up a blog tomorrow and let you know the details.

I don't yet have this book, though it is now on order from Amazon.uk.

Really looking forward to the bake/blog along.

Cheers
Nicola

Vicki said...

Yippee!!! What a fun idea. I can't bake worth a lick but count me in! I did make Rose's Banana Cake once and everything that could go wrong did but it turned out de-licious. When she said fail proof she wasn't kidding.

Anonymous said...

Do we need to make what you are making that week, or can it just be something from the book?

evil cake lady said...

Good lord! Look at you go. I would like to bake along (through?) but can't join in until I get back to Portland (where I left my copy of the book) in Nov. Happy bake-alongs until then!

Sherrie said...

I just made a blog at:
http://forheavenlycakessake.blogspot.com/
and am ready to start baking! Is there a requirement buy all necessary pans, etc. or can we be creative and improvise. For instance, I'm in Canada and it costs a small fortune to ship, say Passion Fruit puree here from the US. Anyway, as long as freedom to improvise is encouraged, then I'm pumped. P.S. The cover cake (Bernachon Palet D'Or Gateau) is a must bake...perhaps finale?

Gartblue said...

OMG!!

This is like a dream come true ..

Count me in, pretty please ..

But I'm finding it hard to find Heavenly Cakes here in Malaysia.

my email address is gartblue at gmail dot com.

Jenn said...

Ok here's my blog address: http://www.knittybaker.blogspot.com/.I followed Butteryum's suggestion of posting the Baking Group's announcement on my blog. My font is too small :( - I didn't realize it would be that small but it's posted and not sure I can change it.

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Hi Jenn - you can adjust the font size by "editing" your post. Just highlight the text and increase it's size.

Nicola said...

Hi,

I have now set up my blog...

shebakesthecake.blogspot.com

Now I just need to work out how to use it in the next few days.

Thanks
Nicola

C said...

Love this idea ! And I'd like to sign up :
http://myheadintheoven.blogspot.com/

anitsirK said...

I've creating a "baking" category for this on my family's food (restaurant reviews, recipes, etc) blog at EatsnDrinks.ca. If there's anything else I need to do to be "officially" signed up, please let me know (anitsirK at gmail.com).

I'm sure this doesn't need to be said, but since I was the first commenter, I do hope I'm one of the 10 to receive an autographed copy!

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

May I ask how we will be notified if we are one of the first 10?

www.butteryum.blogspot.com

Jenn said...

Butteryum - I was thinking about the same thing too! I think we're both within the 10. Also additional question is when/how we would get the book? Will we be contacted by the publisher so we can provide our addresses?

http://www.knittybaker.blogspot.com/

Melinda said...

You know I would love to do this baking the cakes together with you but I have to be honest...I would not enjoy doing that many cakes at a time. I might just bake along side you when it suits my fancy.
Will you for give me for not joining in?

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Melinda - you might be interested in joining the forum at Real Baking with Rose. We do a "theme" each month (September was any of Rose's chocolate recipes). You don't have to make a commitment, and you don't have to have your own blog to join in the fun. Here's link to that particular thread, but the entire forum is fabulous!

http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/index_ee.php/forums/viewthread/1339/

Sherrie said...

OK...another question, does it matter when we bake any of the cakes and post to our blogs during the month. I notice Marie metions Mondays, but I just wanted to get more details. Definitely doing the brownies, and perhaps the Shamah Chiffon.

Anonymous said...

I love this idea Marie, and would have been the first to join in but I haven't a blog and don't really want to start one so count me out! However, I am already baking from the new book, made the English Gingerbread, (really good) and the cover cake, Palet D'or (a huge success!) Of course I followed Rose's instructions to the letter to achieve that success!!!
THe book is really lovely, isn't it? I shall be following the programme with interest and probably baking along with you some of the time at least! Jeannette

Melinda said...

Hey Jeannette, When I do a bake from her book, if we are baking the same thing, I am very happy to post your bake on my blog, like when we do a Lazy Baker bake. It would be nice to have a log of your RLB bakes. (I love having you as my blog baking buddy!) x

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Sherrie - you could always bake your selections in advance and post to your blog on the appropriate Mondays. Blogger lets you schedule the publishing date of your post, so you can do all the work ahead of time.

Bungalow Barbara said...

Please count me in! My blog is at bungalowbarbara.blogspot.com and you can e-mail me using by clicking on my profile on that blog. I already have the book so no need to put me in the drawing for a copy. This should be fun, although between this bake-through and Tuesdays with Dorie, I'm going to have to make only small quantities of each recipe!

Marie said...

Readers,
This is terrific! I just got back from a short vacation, and saw all these responses. I'm excited to have all of you in the group. I'll respond in more detail, later, but I just wanted to answer a few questions.

First, this is a work in progress, so if something that I envisioned doesn't work well for people, we'll change it. Above all, I want this to be fun for everyone.

I think it will be more fun if we're all baking the same thing at (more or less) the same time, and that's why I suggest posting them on Mondays. You can set your blog to post it automatically.

I chose the cakes to bake for October, but feel free to let me know what strikes your fancy, and I'll add that to the list for November, December, etc.... If something doesn't strike your fancy, or if you're on vacation, or just can't get it done, feel free to skip a week or two--just try to do two a month.

You don't have to buy a lot of equipment or ingredients for most cakes. I did buy some special equipment because 1) I like to and 2) I wanted to make the cakes as much like the original recipes as possible, keeping in mind that I'm a very amateur baker. Rose gives suggestions for substitutions in almost all cases for equipment/ingredients, so you're likely to be able to already have most things you need or to be able to find them easily. Even frozen passion fruit puree is easier than I thought!

Hope I've answered most questions--let me know if you have others.

I personally don't advise substituting, but then I'm kind of a rule-bound person. If you're the kind of person who'd rather not follow a recipe exactly, it's OK with me, but you can't blame me (or Rose) if it doesn't turn out well.

If you don't want to sign up for the two-cakes-a-month obligation, but would like to bake along occasionally, welcome! The more the merrier. Just let us know when you bake.

Everybody who wrote in and said they want to join--you don't have to do anything else, you are now a Heavenly Cake Baker.

I carefully counted the first 10 people who signed up, and I will give your email addresses to the publisher, who will contact you for your addresses.

I understand that you won't get your copies of the book in time to start baking this weekend, so just start when you can. (It's not too hard to figure out who you are, but I will make official announcement when I have time).

Thanks to all for responding.

faithy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
faithy said...

i'm i too late to join the group? I adore Rose's new book! I've baked her Lemon Poppy Seed-Sour Cream cake and it's absolutely delicious!
My blog: theamateurbaker.blogspot.com

faithy said...

sorry, i forgot to add, that if i'm not too late, i would love to be in! Please add me too! :)

Jenn said...

Hi Marie,
Can we do Woody's Lemon Luxury cake soon? Like in Nov preferably. If not, Dec? Thanks a bunch in advance.

Shirley said...

I can't make the time commitment, but I'll definitely be watching your bake-along! The pictures in the book are so beautiful, and I'll be attempting recipes at my own slow pace.

Allie said...

I don't think I can commit to 2 a month, but I'd definitely like to bake along occasionally!

doughadear said...

I won't be baking two cakes per month, however, as soon as I get my copy of the book and try some of the cakes I'll let you know how they turn out. In the meantime I am looking forward to everybody's adventures in this bake along.

Joy said...

Hi Marie!

My name is Joy, and I have a baking blog called "Hot Oven, Warm Heart"- I found out about this group from my friend Hanaa many weeks back, and I tried to get in touch with you and the other two bloggers that were listed on the site at that time. I was a bit disheartened when I didn't get a response from anyone, since I was really interested in getting involved. I was wondering if you remember the message I sent you... I did leave my email address, which is joy.d.saunders@gmail.com. I don't know if a shown interest in signing up over a month ago counts, but I truly hope so! If you have a chance, I'd really appreciate it if you could get in touch with me and let me know if you ever got the blog comment I left. Thanks so much for your time, consideration, and understanding.

I look forward to hearing from you, and I hope you're having a great day!

Very truly yours,
Joy
http://hotovenwarmheart.wordpress.com/

Anonymous said...

Great idea Marie!

I will be watching, encouragingly, from the sidelines!

Chris in RI

Rose Levy Beranbaum said...

thank you all for your beautiful enthusiasm! i can't wait to see the results and feedback.

lanier said...

I would like to play!

www.familyrecipelog.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I will join in. I'll let you know the blog address later today.

Anonymous said...

Hi

I would like to join too... All the way from Hong Kong.

I guess I miss the first 10 slot ! = (

I do not have the book yet... will have to wait for Amazon to send me.

My email : cteo23@gmail.com

Blessings

CUPCAKEL0VE said...

i would love to join if its not too late! im new to baking but hope to someday make a career out of it & im always looking for an excuse to bake a delicious cake!=]

Marie said...

Anon. and Babycakes,
Would love to have you baking along with us! Just send me your blog addresses and I'll add you. Babycakes, I assumed that your blog would be at babycakes.blogspot.com, but I didn't get you with that.

Lisa said...

I would LOVE to participate! I love baking and photography. May I join the group? Thanks!
http://treehouse-photography.blogspot.com/

Marie said...

Lisa,
You're all signed up. Welcome!

Shoshana said...

I am interested in joining this group, but I have a question. My blog is all about non-dairy desserts. Would it be permissible to adapt the recipes to fit those qualifications? Also, I would then want to post the adapted recipes so that others with similar restrictions could use them as well. If that doesn't fit within the spirit of what you are trying to do with this group I understand completely, but if it does I am always game to take on a new challenge.

Shoshana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Marie said...

Shoshana,
I think it would be fine to adapt the recipes. We already have one baker who is either adapting to non-dairy or who is using a small toaster oven to bake when he does use dairy.
I know that the publishers have asked people to limit the full recipes they publish to 3, but there would certainly be no objection to explaining how you made the adaptations. If that works for you, I'd be glad to have you.

Shoshana said...

Great! Count me in. Do I need to do anything else or just start baking?

Marie said...

Shoshana,
If you read the "rules," such as they are, just start baking. It would be very hard for me to give up butter and cream, so I'm really interested in seeing what you do.

positivelycupcakes said...

I would love to sign up for this~hope I'm not too late!

piecesofthesky[at]gmail[dot]com

Marie said...

Positively Cupcakes,
I've added you to the list, and I hope you can start baking this week!

Anonymous said...

It is certainly interesting for me to read that article. Thank you for it. I like such topics and anything connected to this matter. I would like to read a bit more on that blog soon.

Kim said...

HI Marie, As I'm preparing my Thanksgiving menu, I came upon your blog. I have followed RLB for some time now. I am an American, living in Slovakia and sometimes find it difficult to "convert" recipes. However, I must say that baking/cooking here has educated me and brought me closer to what I believe and understand is a more true/raw baking.

I would like to participate in your bake through, So I've ordered a copy of her new cookbook and hope to get is soon (within 1 mth). I will start with the most recent recipe on your blog (German Choc Cake) since it's one I will make anyway for Thanksgiving. I look forward to seeing if I can do this!!! Regards! Kim

Anonymous said...

It was very interesting for me to read the blog. Thank author for it. I like such topics and everything connected to this matter. I definitely want to read more on that blog soon.

Marie said...

Kim,
It would be great to have you join us. Just let me know when you get the book, and I'll add you to the list. I'm assuming that you've read the "rules," and are ok with them. If you don't have a blog already, you can start one up sometime between now and when you get the book. (A month? Really? That must get frustrating sometimes--especially if you want something NOW).

The saim Family said...

Hi Marie,

I want to start baking with Heavenly Bakers...my email add is sairamsaim@gmail.com. I will start next week with the Classic Carrot Cake.

Thanks:)