The New Good Cake Book: Over 125 Delicious Recipes That Can Be Prepared in 30 Minutes or Less

Dalsass claims that she has yet to receive a reader complaint about any of the recipes in The Good Cake Book, published 10 years ago. Simple recipes, highly flavored ingredients (e.g., real butter, buttermilk and Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate), notes on pan size and hints for the proper combining of ingredients for each kind of cake help to account for the author's successful record. Organized by cake type (e.g., butter, fruit, reduced fat, biscotti), the recipes include variations on classics (e.g., Bourbon Pound Cake, Spiced Carrot Cake, Butter Pecan Coffee Cake). Some old favorites are also reinvented: Greek Honey Cake, Linzer Cake, Brownie Macaroon ""Pie."" Crowd- and child-pleasers include a Pizza Cake, topped with Tootsie Rolls and melted white chocolate, and a Flowerpot cake, fashioned from a pot-shaped cake, crumbled Oreo cookies and store-bought chocolate roses. Sauces, frostings and glazes finish the cookbook, though many cakes stand alone without adornment. Home cooks should find these cakes as gratifying to make as they are to munch; if not, Dalsass promises to answer any reader who writes her about a problem with a recipe. (Nov.)