Zoë Bakes Cakes

Introduction


My obsession with cake started in an unexpected way with the humble Twinkie. It was tucked inside a Charlie Brown lunch box, unfortunately not mine, and that little cake opened up a whole new world. A lifelong love affair with all things cake was ignited on my very first day of kindergarten. Perhaps the average kid wouldn t even have blinked at that iconic tube of sponge cake, with its freakishly white and delicious filling squished inside, as if by magic. But, I wasn t average.

I grew up with my parents on a series of communes, which absolutely had its benefits. In 1969, I could toddle sans clothes around the Woodstock Festival with a backdrop of screaming guitars, as if it were any other day; in fact, I did just that.

I have visceral memories of sitting in my dad s vast garden with the smell of tomato plants vining around me, mixed with dirt, pine trees, and wood smoke. The counterculture to which my parents adhered included a back-to-the-land philosophy on food. We lived in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, on a dirt road that was impassable by anything other than foot for long stretches of the year, due to mud or snow. Geography compelled our self-reliance. So, growing our own food was a necessity, not merely a fashionable trend, and we raised chickens for eggs and meat, a rather nasty-tempered collection of rams and sheep, and a cow for milk and the resulting cream that also became our butter.

My first kitchen memory as a wobbly toddler was standing inside the Big House. This was the only permanent structure on the land and where everyone on the commune gathered for cooking and a respite from the winter. The room was filled with singing and music while sharing the chore of churning cream into butter. That is probably why, to this day, I find music (and butter) essential parts of baking. If you know my Instagram baking tutorials, you re familiar with the soundtracks that often start with Joni Mitchell and bring it all home

Zoë François studied art at the University of Vermont while also founding a cookie company as a way to earn extra money. She then traveled throughout Europe, tasting pastries along the way, and later studied at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Since then she has been a pastry chef at several Twin Cities restaurants and has worked repeatedly with Andrew Zimmern. Together with Jeff Hertzberg she wrote the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, which turned into a bestselling series. She created the Zoë Bakes website in order to share her passion for pastry. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Graham, and two sons, her best creations yet!

One of the most prolific and awarded bakers in America has hit it out of the park with Zoë Bakes Cakes. Zoë François walked into my life almost twenty-five years ago and I told someone at the time, that lady is a star. Now I think I might have undersold her. This is the only cake book you will ever need. Superb recipes, clear and concise teaching, and a treasure trove of inspiration for beginners and experts. Andrew Zimmern, chef, teacher, and author

Zoë François s love language is cakes. Studded, soaked, or stacked, she elevates the cake-baking game. From breakfast to birthday and every occasion in between Zoë s artful, yet accessible cakes are a revelation. If you re a master baker, an experimental baker looking to learn a few new tricks, orjust someone who loves eating cake, this glorious gem is for you. Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes and judge on Netflix s Sugar Rush

Zoë Bakes Cakes is a spectacular collection of cakes that are within anyone s reach, from beginning bakers to those who are looking to take their cakes to the next level. With the hows and whys, and lots of step-by-step photos from Zoë s kitchen, it s like having her right there with you, whipping, creaming, and swirling. This is the perfect baking book! David Lebovitz, author of My Paris Kitchen and Drinking French

Not only is this book expertly presented with amazing cake recipes for any mood or occasion (I see Hummingbird Cake!) and technique tutorials to ensure the home baker s success, but it s a true love letter to cake. Zoë s personality and passion for baking and life will have you cranking up the music and smiling while you dance and bake, as if she were in the kitchen with you! Brian Hart Hoffman, editor in chief of Bake from Scratch

There are few I trust as much as Zoë François to deliver recipes for astonishingly beautiful cakes. She has the knack of demystifying complicated methods as well as imparting her amazing