Love Is a Pink Cake: Irresistible Bakes for Morning, Noon, and Night

Claire Ptak

Book cover for Love Is a Pink Cake: Irresistible Bakes for Morning, Noon, and Night
Book cover for Love Is a Pink Cake: Irresistible Bakes for Morning, Noon, and Night

Love Is a Pink Cake: Irresistible Bakes for Morning, Noon, and Night

Love Is a Pink Cake: Irresistible Bakes for Morning, Noon, and Night

Claire Ptak

Member Benefits

  • 30% Off All Books - Savings that support storytellers, not stock prices.
  • Fight Book Bans - Every membership sends a book to LGBTQ+ youth in affected states.
Member Book Price
$35.00 $24.50
Non-Member Book Price $35.00

An annual membership will be billed at $48/year.

Discount applies to first-time members only. Already a member? Log in here.

View full details

Description

Renowned for the wedding cake she created for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Claire Ptak knows there's nothing like a cake when it comes to expressions and celebrations of love. A Chez Panisse alum, Ptak is a Northern California native who now runs the wildly successful Violet Bakery in London. Reflecting on her upbringing and love of in-season produce, she shares 75 sweet and savory creations, including Huckleberry Basil Sugar Scones, Peaches and Cream Angel Food Cake, and a strawberry-coconut meringue cake. Her bakes are homey yet elevated, made with the best possible ingredients, so as to extract the best possible flavors. Included are gluten-free, refined sugar-free and vegan bakes, as well as the sought-after recipe for the Duke and Duchess's lemon elderflower cake.

Featuring gorgeous photographs shot in both England and California, Love is a Pink Cake is a treasure trove of inspiration for anyone eager to emulate Ptak's unique sensibility and dreamy creations in their own kitchen.

Critical Reviews

Claire Ptak'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

This book is as rich in stories as it is in incredible recipes. There is magic in its pages. I know so many of these recipes will become favorites baked again and again--a Violet recipe always works perfectly. A special book that's as beautiful as it is useful. I've rarely been more excited about a book.--Anna Jones

An absolutely enchanting book.--Nigella Lawson

Claire's desserts are more than just a conclusion to a great meal; they're bites of special memories for me . . . Her cakes have been at the center of some of our most cherished family moments.--Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex "New York Times"

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"

Indispensable . . . Not only is Ptak's book compelling--her baking is excellent.--Rachel P. Kreiter "Eater"

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"

It's the transferable wisdom that makes Love Is A Pink Cake invaluable . . . And you will find that even the classics--yellow sheet cake with chocolate frosting, treacle tart with whipped cream--can be improved upon by following Ptak's advice.--Hayley Maitland "Vogue"

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"

Joyful . . . an exquisite collection of recipes.--Hope Coke "Tatler"

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)"

Ptak's love for nature's bounty shines through in this collection for fans of farm-to-table baking.--Jessica S. Levy "Booklist"

Thoroughly appealing in every way. . . . The recipes called to me to turn on the oven and get out my apron. I baked the Chocolate Hazelnut Cake, and it was so moist and full of rich, dark chocolate flavor that I knew it would become a regular part of my dessert repertoire.--Kathy Gunst "WBUR"

Claire Ptak, the California-born owner of Violet Bakery in London, brings her seasonal West Coast sensibility to a classic roster of British desserts in Love Is a Pink Cake, her second cookbook. The results are dazzling, at once innovative and homey. Her rice pudding--a creamy, easy-to-make marvel that calls for toasting the rice in brown butter before baking it in cream--has become my go-to recipe. Buy this for the baker in your life, and hope they'll thank you with bakewell bars or apricot chamomile scones.--Melissa Clark "New York Times"

Publishing Information

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Pub date: 2023-05-02
Length: 288 pages

The Allstora Membership

Membership Perks:

  • Save 30% on all online store purchases
  • Exclusive access to author's content
  • You pay less, but authors still earn double

Membership Terms:

First Month: $0.00
Monthly price: $5.00
  • To access membership discount simply log in and add to cart, discount applied automatically.
  • One month free trial, cancel anytime. Membership renews on the 15th of each month.