Cakes!: Fabulous Recipes to Bake and Enjoy

The book Cakes, is desperately in need of professional editing. The very first recipe I looked at, for Pastry Cream, is missing the quantity for egg whites. I am also wondering how I am going to insert a candy thermometer into 3 1/2 Tablespoons of liquid. As I examined additional recipes, I noticed that ingredients are not listed in order of use and do not use standard American measuring utensils. There are lots of recipes that call for 1/2 tablespoon or 7 1/2 tablespoons or other odd quantities. What is a generous 1/3 cup? Why not just call it 1/2 cup? The cake pans are not of standard size for American use: who has a 9 1/2 inch cake pan? The white printing on black paper makes reading quantities very difficult - i.e. I have to get out a magnifying glass to tell the difference between 1/3 and 1/2 cup as the publisher has chosen to use very pale letters for the measurements. The pictures are beautiful, so I may be encouraged to actually try one of the recipes but I will use the European measurements and weights as they occur in even numbers. I have the feeling no one has tested these recipes using the literal conversion of quantity and volume that someone has done.

THIS BOOK REALLY IS NOT WORTH THE MONEY. THE BOOK ARRIVED WRAPPED IN A CLEAR PLASTIC FILM AND WHEN I OPENED IT THE SMELL WAS AWFUL. THE PICTURES AND RECIPES ARE REALLY NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT ESPECIALLY FOR SOMEONE WHO IS A LOVER OF HOME BAKING. WHILST THE FRONT PICTURE LOOKS NICE THAT IS WHERE IT ENDS!!