Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations by Nancie McDermott (Becky Luigart-Stayner (Photographs) is a 2012 Chronicle Books publication. (originally published in 2007)

I noticed this cookbook at my library a long while back struck by the simple cover which reminded me of the coconut cakes my grandmother and mother used to make.

This sounds like a book that was a fun endeavor for the author as she went through recipes for the book which led to fond memories and making connections.

Baking is altogether different from cooking in general- so there is a helpful ‘how to section’ and a list of helpful kitchen tools.

The book is a little heavy on various flavors of pound cakes and coconut cakes. There are familiar recipes and some I’d never heard of – like Tomato soup cake and chocolate mayonnaise cake.

The recipe for the icing or frostings are included with each cake recipe- but it is also helpful to have a section just for the cake toppings.

Most of the ingredients are common, some may be seasonal or unique to southern areas- but I don’t think there was anything listed that was so exotic one couldn’t locate it online, if nothing else. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. Some are very basic and easy, some more complicated and time consuming. However, as the title suggests, these recipes are just right for everyday celebrations.

I have a digital copy of this book, which is a little plain. There are pictures, but not one for every recipe and they are not much bigger than a thumbnail in some cases. The presentation may be different in the print version.

There are some internet links in the back of the book- but it should be noted that this is an older book and some of those links are no longer viable.

Although I felt like was having a virtual sugar rush and might have gained ten pounds just browsing through the book- it did bring back a few memories for me too, and I am happy to see these nice southern cake recipes compiled in one book!

3.5 stars ( )

Pros: This is a very nice little book with some great recipes. I also enjoyed the short stories before each recipe.

Cons: the print is very small and some of it is light, making it difficult to read, especially when you're trying to cook; the pictures of the finished cakes are beautiful but less than half the cakes have pictures, closer to one-third; skimming through it I have found some confusing /conflicting instructions.

That said, I am not sorry I purchased this cookbook and plan to enjoy several of the recipes included. If the cons were corrected, and assuming the cakes come out well, it would be five stars. ( )