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

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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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