Cake Simple: Recipes for Bundt-Style Cakes from Classic Dark Chocolate to Luscious Lemon Basil

In the most recent of Chronicle’s gift-worthy single-subject cookbook (which includes Whoopie Pies and Lemon Desserts) comes a focus on Bundt cakes, by Matheson (Flour and Salty Sweets, among others). With 50-plus recipes divided into four chapters for regular and mini-size cakes, this collection includes modern-day versions of classics such as an update of the traditional sour cream, a Cranberry-Crème Fraîche, a chocolate-raspberry bundt gone vegan, and an update on Lady Bird Johnson’s lemon cake, sans margarine and food coloring. The “Bundt Cake For Food Snobs” chapter features savory-sweet combos with emphasis on herbs such as Lemon Basil, Kumquat-Coconut with Tarragon, and Olive Oil-Rosemary. Trendy flavors including Salted Caramel and S’More are included in the title, as is a fun, “who would have thought” DIY Nutella. The author includes in this beautifully illustrated book brief but interesting facts on the history of the Bundt, and shares her passion for the use of organic ingredients. (Oct.)