Anne Byrn brought a fresh twist to boxed cake mixes in her 1999 cookbook, The Cake Mix Doctor. With A New Take on Cake, Byrn offers many of those classic boxed-mix recipes retooled for smaller 21st-century cake mixes, plus a slew of new treats involving trendy ingredients such as tahini, Greek yogurt, matcha and more.
Byrn dives right into the whys and wherefores of her method: why a cake mix, choosing the right mix (and baking tools), then a primer on frosting and decorating. After all the how-tos, she serves up an entire bakery's worth of mouthwatering recipes (with helpful headnotes and delectable photos) to satisfy any sweet-tooth craving. Novice and experienced bakers alike will delight in these tasty, creative recipes for all occasions. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams