Books | Anne Byrn Test

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The Cake Mix Doctor

The first book of the Cake Mix Doctor series, it is packed with 150 recipes for doctoring up packaged cake mix with fresh ingredients from your kitchen. It also includes easy homemade frostings. I give the history of the American cake mix and why I wrote this book. In between recipes are bits of trivia about cake baking and loads of tips for baking better cakes. And inside the front cover is a photo display of every cake in the book, listing the page number, so you can choose the photo you like best then turn to the recipe to start baking. USA Today called this the best-selling cookbook of 2000. Also on the New York Times Best Seller list.

Most popular recipes: Fresh Banana Cake with Quick Caramel Frosting, Darn Good Chocolate Cake, Tripe Decker Strawberry Cake, Snickerdoodle Cake, Stacy’s Chocolate Chip Cake, and Almond Cream Cheese Pound Cake. You can’t go wrong. It all began here.

Why I wrote this book: I was a busy mom with three young children. Even though I was a from-scratch cook, I was short on time and had loads of children’s parties, events, and commitments, and not much time to cook. So I picked up a box of chocolate cake mix from the supermarket, added sour cream and a little more vanilla, and after the cake baked poured over my mom’s chocolate pan frosting. You never knew the cake came from a box! I shared that recipe and others in a newspaper food column and then developed many more great recipes for this book.

Favorite cooking tip in the book: Make homemade frosting. My mother always said you can get away with a cake mix cake, but you must make frosting from scratch.

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Chocolate From The Cake Mix Doctor

A chocolate-covered sequel to the first book, this book is all about dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate layers, sheets, Bundts, and cupcakes. If you like chocolate, then you’re going to love this book. It is the same format as the first book with the postage-stamp photos of every recipe at the front, but it contains more Bundts, pounds, brownies and bars than the first book did.

Most popular recipes: Cookies and Cream Cake (my children’s favorite), Lemon Lovers’ White Chocolate Cake, Libbie’s Chocolate Amaretto Cake, Amazing German Chocolate Cake, and the Perfect Chocolate Cake, which I still bake every Christmas. Look at the brownie recipes, too, especially the Marbled Cream Cheese and Kahlua Brownies.

Why I wrote this book: I went on book tour with the first Cake Mix Doctor, and people were extremely happy to be baking with my easy recipes, but they clearly craved more chocolate. I thought I had been generous with a chapter of chocolatey recipes in the first book, but they wanted an entire book of chocolate cake!

Favorite cooking tip in the book: I show you how to candy citrus peel (lemon, orange, and lime), and turn it into an elegant, edible garnish for cakes.

The Dinner Doctor

Written with the same mission as the Cake Mix Doctor, I show you how to jumpstart dinner with some readily available packaged foods. It might be a supermarket rotisserie chicken or a bag of washed salad greens or a can of Italian-seasoned tomatoes. They speed the process of making the meal, you don’t sacrifice flavor, and the healthful quality of the meal is there as long as you choose your ingredients wisely. People tell me often this is their go-to book for cooking dinner, as it covers the meal from appetizer through dessert. And it is the book I recommend for newlyweds and for new parents. It truly makes getting dinner on the table less of a chore. A New York Times best seller, I am proud to say.

Most popular recipes: Hmm, this isn’t easy. There are so many! Definitely the Family Style Vegetable Soup, which you will make all year long and keep in the freezer. And Mom’s Pot Roast, which is my method for easily and deliciously making pot roast. You will never make it any other way again. I love the Mock Chicken Marbella, sped along by using the chicken tenderloin pieces. And I adore the entire Hands Off chapter, which has not only slow-cooker recipes but Dutch oven recipes you can let simmer away on weekend afternoons. Don’t miss the Best Pound Cake recipe; you will never guess it is not from scratch.

Why I wrote this book: Readers wanted to know what I cooked for dinner. I traveled across the country on tour for the two Cake Mix Doctor books, and honestly, this was the most asked question at book signings. “What do you cook your family for dinner?” I recall walking from the TV station to my car in Denver, and an employee of the TV station followed me to my car, running up to me in desperation before I left. “What are your dinner recipes?” she pleaded. “Please share them with us in a book!” That is honestly why I wrote this book!

Favorite cooking tip in the book: Use a half-pound of ground beef in vegetable soup. It is easy to brown and a fast way to flavor vegetable soup.

Cupcakes! from the Cake Mix Doctor

Long before the cupcake craze was in full swing, I was baking cupcakes. A high school intern in Nashville helped me bake, decorate, and then deliver those cupcakes at the end of each testing day to St. Luke’s Community House in Nashville where they were placed on food trays for the senior mobile meals program. Many of those recipes made it into this book and run the gamut from kid-friendly, to dinner party ready, to holiday focused, to muffins, to even sculptures and table decorations you can create with cupcakes. Cupcakes are a celebration, a portion-controlled dessert all your own, so no matter your age, you will love the 135 recipes and beautiful photography in this book.

Most popular recipes: Key Lime Pie Cupcakes with meringue on top, Warm Chocolate Cupcakes with Molten Centers, Coconut Snowballs, Butterfly Cupcakes, the Best Birthday Cupcakes, and Cookie Dough Cupcakes.

Why I wrote this book: Peter Workman wanted me to write a children’s cookbook. I resisted at first, thinking children outgrow the often babylike tone of a kids’ book. And the Cake Mix Doctor was already enjoying a healthy audience of kid bakers who didn’t need a book aimed just for kids. What if the recipes were written in clearly adult language, but the book was beautiful and fun and would immediately appeal to children? Cupcakes! And truly, they appeal to the child in all of us.

Favorite cooking tip in the book: Use an ice cream scoop to scoop batter into cupcake pans. This is less messy than using a spoon, and it keeps the cupcakes uniform in size.

What Can I Bring?

If everyone brings a dish, it makes for a win-win party. This is the book that will help you decide what to take to a gathering, potluck, or dinner party with friends. The title is the phrase you say almost instinctively when asked to a get-together. “What Can I Bring?” But what if after you ask that question, you have no idea what to bring. This multi-purpose, workhorse of a book, offers 200 recipes that travel well, and I offer tote notes for every recipe. From appetizers to desserts, main dishes to take or main dishes to make when you host the party, plenty of sides, dazzlings salads, and eye-catching appetizers as well as homemade gift ideas from the kitchen, you will take food to parties now with confidence.

Most popular recipes: There are so many. Deborah’s Hot Spinach Dip, Slow Cooker Chicken and Dressing, Judy’s Mom’s Meatloaf, the Ham and Cheese Overnight Souffle we serve every Christmas morning, Susan’s Chicken Potpie, Barbara’s Oatmeal Cookies, Nashville Fudge Pie, these are just a few of the recipes we love.

Why I wrote this book: I knew in the South that bringing a dish is a part of the local culture. After traveling the country on book tour, I realized other regions of the country also have this tradition. And, I found younger people regularly potluck because it is a less expensive way to entertain. I wanted to provide some fresh new recipes for everyone who enjoys taking food to others.

Favorite cooking tip in the book: As a makeshift cover for a freshly frosted cake, create a plastic wrap tent so the frosting won’t pull off the icing. Stick four toothpicks into the top of a cake, and drape a piece of plastic wrap over the top to create a tarp. The cake remains covered during transit, and the frosting remains intact.

The Cake Mix Doctor Returns

Ten years after the first Cake Mix Doctor book was published, the Cake Mix Doctor Returns! Readers offer their tweaks of my first Cake Mix Doctor recipes, and I offer some exciting new recipes – a wedding cake and more layer cakes! Because my Cake Mix Doctor recipes are versatile and can be baked in every size pan imaginable, I retooled my frostings with some variations, so you make only as much frosting as needed for a Bundt, sheet cake, cupcakes, or a tall layer cake, for example. This is a very popular sequel, a New York Times best seller and is perfect for everyone who has the first Cake Mix Doctor book but wants more ideas.

Most popular recipes: The Best Red Velvet Cake, A Basic and Beautiful Wedding Cake, Nancy’s Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake, Chocolate Bayou City Cake, Pina Colada Cake, Hot Lemon Poke Cake, Houdini Bars.

Why I wrote this book: I had been stashing even more great Cake Mix Doctor recipes into file folders after I wrote the first book. Then I met so many readers who had recipes they wanted to share and suggested that I write a sequel. At the same time, I had begun lightening up favorite recipes, using less oil or using applesauce instead of oil. It seemed like good timing to release a fresh new book of classic recipes plus some new recipes to try, too.

Favorite cooking tip in the book: Even busy people can bake layer cakes. A week in advance, bake the layers and let them cool. Wrap in foil and freeze. Two days before, make the frosting, and cover and chill in fridge. A day before, remove the layers from the freezer and let the cake thaw. Then assemble and frost the cake, and store in the fridge or at room temperature. The day of the party, relax! The cake is gorgeous!

The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free

It didn’t take long after the Cake Mix Doctor book was published for emails and letters to roll in – could I write a Cake Mix Doctor for gluten-free cooks? At first I set those requests aside, but as they mounted and as my eyes were widened as to gluten-free ingredients in the supermarket, I gave the idea some thought. And I got in the kitchen with new gluten-free cake mixes and experimented with them using my favorite recipes. Some of the results were surprisingly good. Others were awful. I persisted. And several years later, this book was released. It is a Cake Mix Doctor for anyone and everyone who needs to bake gluten-free. Your favorite cakes are here, except in gluten-free form. And they’re just as easy to bake, all of them beginning with a gluten-free cake mix.

Most popular recipes: Yellow Birthday Cake, Fresh Strawberry Cake, German Chocolate Cake, Susan’s Lemon Cake, Pumpkin Spice Cake, Gingerbread Boys and Girls.

Why I wrote this book: I just couldn’t imagine the heartache of a gluten-free child who cannot have his or her favorite birthday cake anymore. And I totally related to the frustration of the parent who is trying to bake such a cake and please someone on a gluten-free diet. Cakes and baked goods are the most difficult to make gluten-free, so I am especially proud of this recipe collection.

Favorite cooking tip in the book: Add a tablespoon of thawed orange juice concentrate to vanilla cake batters to produce a more tender cake and also a cake with fresh yellow color.

Unbelievable Gluten-Free!

The cover says it all – “128 Delicious Recipes…Dinner Dishes You Never Thought You’d Be Able to Eat Again.” Following on the heels of the Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free I set out to write a quick dinner cookbook for all my gluten-free friends. Inside are the recipes you need to make pizza, pasta, enchiladas, fried chicken, fritters, brownies, and more. No joking! And the photographs by Lucy Schaeffer are dazzling. Whether you need to eliminate or reduce the gluten (protein found in wheat, barley and rye) in your diet, this book offers delicious recipes and solid solutions. You can eat well again.

Most popular recipes: So many to count…Allison’s Gluten-Free Granola, Crispy Cheese Wafers, Crab Fritters with Spicy Mayonnaise, Cranberry and Orange Scones, Real Deal Gluten-Free Fried Chicken, Mexican Lasagna, Gluten-Free Baked Apricots, Easy Apple Tart, and Gluten-Free Saucepan Brownies.

Why I wrote this book: I traveled on book tour with the first gluten-free book, and no matter where I went people asked for dinner recipes. Thank you for writing a gluten-free cake book, they said, and now can you write one for dinner? I got a notepad and pen out of my bag and began writing down the recipes they wanted me to include in the book.

Favorite cooking tip in the book: Great brownies don’t need flour. The cocoa in my recipe, along with a little cornstarch, is sufficient enough to give the brownies structure and chewiness. Also, there are loads of delicious gluten-free pastas on the supermarket shelves. My favorites are made of corn and of artichoke flour.

Anne Byrn Saves The Day

Whether you need rescuing from the dinnertime rut or the big holiday feast, this is the book for you. I wrote this book with those scenarios in mind, and a few more – Company’s Coming, Snow Days, Last-Minute Birthday Party, Something from Nothing, Serve to Your Book Club, Very Vegetarian, etc. Here are 125 tried and true recipes that solve those situations quickly, easily, and deliciously. They are from my files and from good cooks across the country. You’ll love the gorgeous Lucy Schaeffer photographs as well as the real-life stories that accompany each recipe. This is the book I turn to for everyday cooking as well as for entertaining friends.

Most popular recipes: Pat’s Artichoke Dip, Laurie’s Goat Cheese, Pesto and Fig Cheesecake, Jan’s Lentil Soup, Kitchen Sink Tabbouleh, Easy Korean Chicken, Shrimp and Cheese Grits, Spicy Creamed Spinach Gratin, Mini Cinnamon Rolls, Zucchini Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting, Mary’s Pumpkin Praline Pie.

Why I wrote this book: As a busy writer and mother, I felt short of new ideas of what to cook for dinner and what to bring to book club or the next potluck. Yes, it’s true! So I reached out to family and friends and began recording their go-to recipes. These recipes filled little journals in my purse for several years, until I decided that I needed to turn them into a book.

Favorite cooking tip in the book: Steam lobsters for New Year’s Eve! It was the strategy we used to make New Year’s festive and safe for growing children. We would stay at home and have a party. Live lobsters are steamed, sparkling grape juice is poured, games are played, and memories are made.

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Cooking In The New South

From toasted Curried Pecans, to Angel Biscuits, to a blueberry tea bread from south Georgia, to spoonbread, Brunswick Stew, lots of oyster recipes, Daisy Young’s Red Beans and Rice, pound cakes, chess pie, to rum balls to make during Christmas, you get the full meal and more in these 200 recipes. It is a fast and furious taste of my native South and a good picture of where Atlanta and the South were in the early 1980s when I wrote this book.

Most popular recipes: There are so many favorites we have used over and over through the years. Angel Biscuits from the chef at the Georgia Governor’s Mansion, McTyre’s Cornbread from a great photographer at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sweet Rolls from the old Herren’s Restaurant in downtown Atlanta. Proof of the Pudding’s cold Pimiento Soup, my mother’s recipe for baking a country ham, how to make Cuban Picadillo as well as Scalloped Oysters and Country Captain Chicken like they do in Savannah. And the sweets are fabulous! Chess pie, chess cake, Shaker lemon pie, sweet potato pie, and more.

Why I wrote this book: This was my first cookbook. I was the food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and I wanted to write a book that captured a little of the old South and a little of the new. So chapters are introduced with a recipe from the “past,” such as how to make biscuits, pit barbecue a whole hog, boil peanuts, fry chicken, etc. And inside the chapter are old favorites as well as fun new renditions.

Favorite cooking tip in the book: To bake the best biscuits, use a soft low-gluten flour and chill your shortening or butter before cutting it into the flour. Add only enough liquid to make the dough workable.