Country Cakes: A Homestyle Treasury

Yockelson's ( Country Pies ) idea of heaven seems to be a homemade cake in summer, haunted by ``frosty goblets of tea.'' ``The smooth, almost rhythmic mixing of a cake batter is one cooking process that never fails to comfort me,'' she gushes. ``Sensual and forthright,'' ``meltingly tender,'' ``easy to devour'' and magically ``effortless'' to bake, her ``picture-perfect'' specimens are made of equal parts egg yolks and euphoria, whether topped with ``billowy white'' frosting or ``a hazy wash of chopped walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and butter.'' The author's hens range free; her back porch beckons to friends and strangers alike; and many of Yockelson's nominees for gustatory rapture--peach upside-down cake, chocolate pound cake, blueberry-walnut-brown sugar buckle--are persuasive. But her organization of recipe ingredients into split columns on double-page spreads may cause eyestrain among mere mortals. Illustrations not seen by PW. (July)