Big Fred couldn't find anything to read when he went to Border's so he bought The Cake Bible. This is a fabulous cookbook with tips, tips, and more tips. We (my husband thought it would be fun to make the cakes together) started with the Easy Cakes section. First, we made Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte (pg. 84). This receipe calls for 1 pound of bittersweet chocolate, 1 c. unsalted butter, and 6 large eggs. It took all 4 arms, teamwork, and frequent rereads of the receipe, but it was well worth every cussword. The biggest problem was that we started cooking late in the evening and the cake had to cool on the rack for 45 min. and then needed to be refrigerated for about 3 hours. Problem solved, we had it for breakfast the next morning, and then lunch, and then just a sliver for a snack. We tried it at room temperature and then cold. This was a to-die-for way to eat chocolate; a giant chocolate mousse truffle candybar. But, we didn't stop! Next, we made Cordon Rose Cream Cheesecake (pg. 81). With 2 pkgs. cream cheese and 3 cups sour cream, this cheesecake doesn't have a crust and certainly doesn't need it. Wow! Big Fred saw the picture of the three layer wedding cheesecake and declared that he could do that. It was just a sweettooth starter. We went on to the Down-Home Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake. We both remembered this from our childhood. The recipe is intriguing since there are no eggs in the cake, but then mayo is made out of eggs. This cake was easy to make, but we didn't like it. Somehow it had an odd taste. Fudgy Genoise Jeffrey was our next attempt at being bakers. This cake proved to be our last for awhile. It is made with 8 eggs and the whites have to be beaten to form stiff peaks, then this mixture is added to the sugar, chocolate mixture alternating back and forth until the final baked product is light and moist and as Beranbaum says, "pure poetry". Well, that's not our story. While separating the yolk and white, Big Fred got a little yolk in the whites. The whites wouldn't form soft peaks or any kind of a peak for that matter. We later learned that yolk in the whites will not let it whip up. So, we put it all in anyway and baked the cake. Sad to say, it was very dry and not poetry. But, in our house we have a cooking rule: We eat all of our mistakes. I just got out The South Beach Diet , Big Fred won't have anything to do with these cake recipes.