Sweet Giveaway: A World of Cake by Krystina Castella

Image from A World of Cake by Krystina CastellaConfession: I have sort of a crush on Krystina Castella.

If you're unfamiliar with her work, then you're in for a sweet treat: she's the brains behind such books as Pops!: Icy Treats for Everyone , Booze Cakes: Confections Spiked With Spirits, Wine, and Beer, Crazy About Cupcakes, and most recently (released within a month of one another!) Crazy About Cookies and A World of Cake.

And while there's a lot to love about any book that features recipes for sweet treats, what in my mind really separates Castella from the crowd is her backround as an industrial designer: this is strongly reflected in each of her books, which are beautifully and thoughtfully constructed, both visually and in terms of the actual content. Of course, it doesn't hurt that she's smart as a whip, very clever, and a mean baker to boot.

You know what? The awesomeness that is Krystina Castella is really too much to put into a single post, and so all week I am going to be dedicating posts to her amazing works, including recipes and an interview!

But we'll kick it off with a giveaway, OK? One lucky winner will receive a copy of A World of Cake, which includes over 150 recipes and stories about cakes from all over the world. Not only will you get a ton of delicious recipes, but you might just learn something, too.

How do you enter yourself in the running? Simply leave a comment below stating a cake recipe (it can be international or domestic!) you've been dying to try. Optional: feel free to link to or include a recipe!

The winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday, November 30th, at 12pm PST; US entrants only this time, please! The book will be sent directly from the publisher, Storey Publishing.

Update on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 by Cakespy

UPDATE: THE WINNER! We have a winner, chosen at random! It's Caitlin, whose next cake adventure is as follows: "I really want to make Pioneer Woman's Strawberry Shortcake Cake! It looks delicious!"

Comments

[Caroline]

Maryland's 12-layer Smith Island Cake!

[Joanna]

I have had this one bookmarked for a while: http://www.cheekykitchen.com/2010/10/vanilla-pudding-party-cake-with.html Classic and delicious! I never make simple cakes like this, but I enjoy them so much!

[Hannah P.]

I have been meaning to try making a tres leches cake!

[Lisa]

i've been wanting to try chocolate hazelnut pound cake! my favorite combination!!

http://www.food.com/recipe/chocolate-hazelnut-pound-cake-253311

[Mir]

I want to try my favorite German Chocolate Cake!!

[Stephanie]

I've been eying a coconut cake for about a year now- but haven't buckled down and made it.

[JennyK]

I would love to make a carrot cake swirled cheesecake....like they have at the Cheesecake Factory!

[Erin]

I want to make a great big fancy (as in bakery-fancy, not odd ingredients fancy) coffee cake. HUGE cake, I'm telling you. Maybe Thanksgiving should be the time for it...

[RH]

I have seen photos of a beautiful layered crepe cake that I'd love to try out when I have the time.

[Lisa]

I want to make a thousand and one chocolate chip cake!

[Melissa Calvin]

Italian Cream Cake! I could really, I would really use this book............

[Becca Salmon]

I haven't made anything with my checkerboard cake pan in a while but would like to try something new with it...

[Mechelle Johnson]

I really wanna try a treditional "Princess cake" green merzipan and all!

[Amy]

I've been dying to try the thanksgiving leftovers cake actually :)

[Stephanie R.]

my partner's mother just gave me a two tiered lemon cake with lemon icing that i am just DYING to try! ditto olivia's molten chocolate cake comment too- i've always wondered how to make one of those.

[Jenny]

I just made a dark chocolate and cappuccino layer cake this weekend - it came out amazing and the way it was layered impressed everyone :)

[Ryan]

I've been dying to make a Smith Island Cake (http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Smith-Island-Cake). Something about all those layers is so appealing. The chocolate and peanut butter help too!

[Megan]

I would love to try the thanksgiving day cake that you linked on the website earlier this month! I don't know that I have the patience to make it, but I would love love love to eat it!

[Elisabeth]

I've seen apple stack cake in a few different places recently and I really want to try it!

[Blair]

This was a big week for me since I just took my first adventures into the world of pies (pumpkin and pecan). But then December's issue of Bon Appetit arrived in the mail yesterday with a beautiful chocolate cake decorated with sculpted chocolate ribbons on the cover. So now I'm completely obsessed with recreating this for our Christmas party and back to the world of cakes!

[Manda]

Oh, there's a whole backlog of recipes I want to try. Red Velvet is right up there, but I'm not sure I've found the ultimate recipe yet. I'm also quite intrigued by the Chocolate Dump-it Cake, not least for its clunky name, which I'm certain indicates sheer deliciousness:

http://events.nytimes.com/recipes/9404/2002/05/12/Chocolate-Dump-It-Cake/recipe.html

There's also a Lime In The Coconut cake that won a Food Network challenge of some sort:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ultimate-recipe-showdown/put-the-lime-in-the-coconut-cake-recipe/index.html

So you can see by this impressive listing that I totally deserve to be randomly selected. ;)

[Sarah AJ]

I'm just waiting for a reason to make this Mocha Latte cake! http://indietutes.blogspot.com/2010/09/mocha-latte-cake.html

[emilyadi]

My mom recently sent me a recipe for a seven layer cake that looks amazing.

[Julie J]

I enjoyed the most fabulous coconut cream cake at a wonderful restaurant in Santa Barbara this summer. The restaurant is called Cava ... and actually it's in Montecito .. but anyway .. it was so delicious that I'm on a mission to replicate it. I asked .. but the chef was not willing to share the recipe. Cava is a kind of upscale Mexican restaurant so I'm not sure if this coconut cream cake has a Mexican heritage or not ... but I've been scouring cookbooks and food blogs looking for something that comes close. Unfortunately, no luck yet!

[Ana]

I want to try the cranberry upside down cake from Smitten Kitchen http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/11/upside-down-cranberry-cake/ I know it looks really ugly, but I think it would taste delicious!