I've been doing searches here, and it seems like Rose Levy's Cake Bible and Rose's Heavenly cakes seem to be at the top of the list, but after wading through reviews on Amazon, now I'm still confused. In order to get great recipes, should I expect to have to weigh everything and follow complex directions? That was the impression I was getting of her books....

For those of you that have them (or others), what do you suggest? I love baking from scratch, and I don't like to bother with less than wonderful recipes - but don't have hours to spend just making the cake. Are her books out of my league then? What would you suggest?

I have her book.. I felt like a retard when I was done and felt overwhelmed... Maybe it's because i'm new but it was a lot to take it.. I'd like to know the same thing..

When I first read her book the cake bible, I too found it heavy reading but going back to each section i.e. butter cakes, sponge,etc. and re-reading a recipe its not so hard. I like that she lists ingredients in weight or ounces or grams for you to choose and her mixing method is a lot easier than creaming first. I chose her easiest butter cake first and it was easy and turned out great. The book I found has great information about cakes and buttercreams. I found they are basically made the same, it's the flavors that are added and the decorations that change the look of the cakes.