Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More

by Carole Walter Clarkson Potter Publishers October 2007

The know-how of James Beard Award Winner Carole Walter blends with a warm and cozy attitude in Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More.

While the title would seem to say it all, there really is “more” inside. Recipes for sweet biscuits, Bundt cakes, scones, and babkas can also be found among sticky-sweet photographs and easy-to-read pages.

The “at a glance” boxes paired with each recipe let the baker quickly reference baking pan sizes, oven temperatures, baking times and difficulty level. Extensive general information on baking, common ingredients and techniques also add heft to the book.

Those no-nonsense touches provide a nice counterpoint to the very personal stories that come with the recipes. If you read the stories with the recipes, you'll find out, for example, that Walter fell in love with a Greek semolina cake at Periyali, a fine Greek restaurant in New York City.

Baking is a cozy experience, but also an exact science. The two combine in a delightful way in this exploration of sweet treats.