Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations

Shop Notes:

I am a cake baker at heart and I cannot recommend this book highly enough.  Southern Cakes is a celebration of classic, dependable southern cake recipes.  The recipe headnotes and history of the recipes are fun and enlightening.  Most importantly, perfectly polite people have murmured shocking things after tasting the Banana Cake on page 99.  It's that good. 

Note: If you're really into Southern baking and desserts, consider picking up a copy of her Southern Pies book as well.  Both are invaluable for a baker's library.

From the Publisher:

Taste the chocolatey goodness of Mississippi Mud or marvel at the extravagant elegance of the Lady Baltimore and there will be no doubt that Southerners know how to bake a cake. Here are 65 recipes for some of the most delicious ever. Jam cakes and jelly rolls; humble pear bread and peanut cake; whole chapters on both chocolate and coconut cakes each moist and delicious forkful represents the spirit of the South. A Baking 101 section offers the cake basics, some finishing touches (that means frosting and lots of it!), and the how-to's of storing each lovely concoction so that the last slice tastes as fresh and delightful as the first.