I
bake one mean chocolate cake. And for years, whenever I made it, I
would shrink when people asked for the recipe. You see, I always
made it from a mix...and store bought frosting. Duncan Hines. Betty
Crocker. I am sure that since the advent of the cake mix there are
many people who have done the same thing. Manufacturers have
realized this as well, which is why they have added little gizmos
like trimmings to decorate the top of the cake and other little
things to swirl into the batter.

When I found THE CAKE MIX DOCTOR there was finally a guide to get
me out of the rut of "add eggs, water, and oil," often in
measurements that I have memorized much like my grandmother
remembered the ingredients in her tomato gravy. Here are 150
recipes on how to doctor those mixes to create new creations packed
with even more taste.

Byrn takes basic mixes and turns them into layer cakes, bundt
cakes, bars, cookies, chewies, and more. And every recipe is easy
enough to pull together in just a few minutes more than the basic
mix. Readers quickly will see why they should buy buttermilk, sour
cream, and an assortment of instant pudding flavors when they pluck
a cake mix from the supermarket shelf.

The cakes are grouped in chapters that include Chocolate Cakes,
Cakes with Fruit, Strike It Rich Cakes, Cake-Mix Classics, Special
Occasion Cakes (including an adorable gingerbread house), and
Incredible Bars and Comforting Cookies. And for those who are
visually challenged bakers --- there are wonderful color
photographs on the opening pages that can serve as a true
inspiration.

The magic does not stop with the cakes. There are also some
incredibly tasty frosting recipes. My true favorite: peppermint
buttercream!

Since this book came out I have been triple-layering,
buttercreaming and otherwise punching up my mix cakes, thus waking
up some new taste buds. And my audience of tasters --- my family
and the staff of The Book Report Network, for whom I traditionally
bake cakes for birthdays and other special occasions, have given
these thumbs up. If you bake, or wish you could, it's well worth
checking this one out.