United Cakes of America: Recipes Celebrating Every State

From Baked Alaska to Florida's classic Key Lime Pie, restaurateur and cookbook author Brown (CakeLove) takes readers on a cross-country cakewalk, stopping for plenty of lore, local ingredients, and other sweet desserts (like cupcakes, scones and pralines). Divided into four regions (including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico), Brown's collection is a pleasant mix of the expected-Boston Cream Pie, Coca-Cola Cake from Georgia, Mississippi Mud Cake-and inspired niche desserts like Vermont's Maple Creme Brulee, Maryland's multilayered Smith Island Cake, Tennessee Mountain Stack Cake, and Avocado Cupcakes from (where else?) California. Brown does a commendable job helping cooks along with clearly written though occasionally complex recipes, all but ensuring a perfect Lady Baltimore, Margarita Mousse, or St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake. Rounded out with ephemera ranging from frosting tips to biographies of the king and queen of box mixes (the real Duncan Hines and the fictional Betty Crocker), this coast-to-coast compilation is a sweet home-baked slice of Americana. (May)