Love is a Pink Cake: Irresistible bakes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything in between

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Ptak asserts that "baking is, in its own way, a love story," and her own love shines through. This is a treasure trove.-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)" Fiona Leahy, Claire Ptak, Felicity Blunt and Stanley Tucci at the Love is a Pink Cake launch party at Rochelle Canteen Marco Bahler

A lot of the photos depict the setting of the sections, Northern California and England. While there might be more scones in the England section, I really couldn't classify the recipes as being strictly NoCa or UK. They all sound worthy of making.Of course, Berry’s cookbook is good; just to be sure about that tart shell, I remade it for a quiche, and it remained an unassailable tart shell, one I’ll make again. To say that the book suffers in comparison to Ptak’s would be incorrect; they are different, with divergent goals, and as a hobbyist I need a completist tome as much as I enjoy reveling in Ptak’s meadowy sensibilities and artistic sympathy. But as both books are being issued around a great national inflection point, it makes sense to note that, just as they illustrate two very different kinds of baking books, they each also represent how baking can explain two confections of Britain’s national character, the cool multicultural East London and the white upper-middle-class English countryside. It is auspicious (if not intentional) timing that both Claire Ptak’s Love Is a Pink Cake and a revised and updated reissue of Mary Berry’s Baking Bible are now out in the U.S., right on the heels of the coronation of the earnest if stilted King Charles III. The two books, published within a week of each other, are authored by ambassadors of British baking, representative perhaps more so of the idea of it than individual recipes — although they both have some great ones, and Pink Cake in particular is indispensable. Stir in the chopped almonds, flour and baking powder just to combine. Dollop this over the jam – don’t worry about spreading it evenly as it will melt into place in the oven and spreading it can cause the jam to get mixed in rather than remaining its own layer. Return to the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until golden and set. Allow to cool for 20 minutes. Ptak's love for nature's bounty shines through in this collection for fans of farm-to-table baking.--Jessica S. Levy "Booklist" Amazing recipes and heartfelt stories Christopher Kane, Creative Director and Founder of Christopher Kane

Ptak provides an ingredient glossary to match UK ingredient names with US ones. Caster sugar is super-fine granulated white sugar. Semi-skimmed milk is low-fat milk. Strong flour is bread flour. (Most of us may know these things after seasons of The Great British Baking Show.) She uses English measurements with the the US equivalent in parentheses. Claire is my favourite baker. I know so many of these recipes will become favourites baked again and again. A Violet recipe always works perfectly. Anna Jones, author of 'One: Pot, Pan, Planet'It might sound like I’m down on this, but on the contrary: There’s an intellectual honesty in this book. As a sort-of celebrity baker Ptak is webbed across continents and industries; what seems like name-dropping can also be true to the author’s experience. As she writes in the introduction, “Take the experience of your life and let it shape your baking. Bake more often. Bake for those you love. Love is a pink cake.” Because not only is Ptak’s book compelling — her baking is excellent. Violet sells the best birthday cake in London, at least to a Chicagoan born in July with a raspberry buttercream preference; the rye brownies in her last book have become my go-to, along with its flourless chocolate cake. What’s in Pink Cake is more specific, less twist-on-a-staple and more out-there (for a given value of “there”): Find not one but two riffs on traditional British summer pudding, or a standard coffee-walnut with Fernet in both the cake and the frosting. Preheat the oven to 150°C fan/170°C/340°F/ gas mark 3½. Grease and line either 1 deep or 3 shallow 20cm (8in) cake tins.

Ptak grew up in California and was Chez Panisse trained. She's a seasonal baker and an artist. An endearing reference to Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Cookbook with illustrations by Warhol. I love that Vanderbilt book just for the illustrations alone. Claire Ptak is the coolest girl I know. She makes baking sexy ... in a wolrd of saccharine this is the antidote Fiona Leahy London's East End meets Northern California in 75 indulgent bakes from the author of The Violet Bakery Cookbook.I know that all I’ve pretty much done is shout recipe titles at you, but it’s hard to temper my excitement, and I’m not sure I’d ever want to. I regard the happiness I get from Love is a Pink Cake as a real gift, and I’m so grateful to Claire Ptak for it. It remains for me to do no more than tell you that the recipe I’m sharing with you today is her mother’s Lemon Meringue Pie Bars. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/400°F/ gas mark 6. Butter and line an 18×30cm (7×12in) baking tin with baking paper.

Delightful . . . Claire has also given us a very delicious recipe for a dessert of muscat wine and raspberries, which I have already bookmarked for my own Easter lunch.--Nigel Slater "Guardian" This ravishing trove of recipes and baker's lore is a testament to years of practice and endeavour ... a marvellous achievement Jeremy Lee, author of 'Cooking' For royal watchers, Claire Ptak will forever be known as the London-based California ex-pat who made the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding cake : an Amalfi lemon and Sandringham elderflower confection adorned with clusters of peonies. And yet the Violet Cakes founder had established a reputation in food circles for revolutionizing the world of baking with her seasonal approach to ingredients long before 2018. As she prepares to release her latest cookbook , Love Is A Pink Cake , Vogue caught up with Ptak about cutting her teeth at Chez Panisse, falling for British baked goods, and why she takes a West Coast mentality with her wherever she goes. Claire Ptak, the Chez Panisse alum who runs London's Violet Cakes, divides this sumptuous book into two. 'California' is produce-forward, while Harry and Meghan's wedding cake is the talk of 'England.'--Laura Regensdorf "Vanity Fair" Love Is a Pink Cake offers glimpses of Ms. Ptak's personality, as well as of her personal life . . . Rich in color (a pistachio-green plum cake with candied violets) and texture.--Emilia Petrarca "New York Times"As a sort-of celebrity baker Ptak is webbed across continents and industries; what seems like name-dropping can also be true to the author’s experience. Claire's recipes are generous, intuitive, and beautiful. This is a celebration of life, and the bounty of the earth. You will feel as though an old friend is taking you by the hand and teaching you how to make the perfect fluffy blueberry muffin. Pull up a chair. Claire is the friend everybody needs in their life. Laila Gohar