Hi, everyone. I am a home baker who has been going at this for a few years now and am trying to dig myself out of this comfort-zone rut I've found myself in as of late.

I only bake for family and friends, and, while I enjoy baking, I much prefer the decorating side of things as that's where I feel the most creative. For the sake of saving time and money (since I can't charge for what I do), I typically bake from the Durable Cake for 3-D recipe (which I enjoy as it's very moist and dense) or WASC variants.

However, I am interested in learning some new things and would like to give more effort to baking from scratch. I am a pretty good recipe-follower--I don't typically have to try something out more than once or twice before getting it right--but I'd really like to know the whys behind what I'm doing. I was thinking a really good, basic instructional cookbook (not just recipes, but method. You know?) would help me with that.

Anyone have any cookbook recommendations that could help me to learn the science of baking?

Definitely The Cake Bible! I have baked a few cakes from it and they are far better than any I have encountered on the internet. Seems that the best recipes are proprietary, so I bit the bullet and bought this book.

Yes. My favorite is the white chocolate cake. I have not made any of her icings, but I use the SMBC from Martha Stewart.

Bake Wise from Shirley Corriher and Cake Love-How to Bake Cakes from Scratch by Warren Brown (his first book). I think a few others are helpful but I need to check my shelf to confirm the authors' names.