Cookbook Chronicles in Guideposts

a friend of mine has your babycakes cookbook. i really like it ,because of my dad. when he come and visits i can make him some goodies.thanks again. your friend, denisez

OMG Erin you look so good. I like POP too. Hearts, The Chicken Lady

Dear Erin,

I want to thank you for following your passion as it has brought me so much yumminess and sooooo much fun getting to taste the yumminess. I purchased your book about a month ago. Since then, I have made the Apple Pie, hot cocoa, bayberry shakes and today the chocolate chip cookies. All of them to die for!!! My husband even loves them.

If you ever want to open a Babycakes NYC up in New Hampshire, let me know. I would love to be the store manager as baking, health, teaching and people are part of me. I am going to school for my Bachelor's degree in Holistic Nutrition.

Thank you again for the healthy treats!

Yours in Health, Peace and yumminess,

Cher

Hi Erin - I've been semi-stalking your website ever since I saw you on an episode of Martha Stewart! I, too, am following my passion - having stepped away from my career in arts administration to open an organic/health food store. Ironically (fortuitously? oddly? incidentally?) my daughter has just discovered that she is intolerant to gluten. Since I had planned to devote part of this store to gluten-, soy-, dairy-, nut-free products (as well as stuff for those lovable vegans!), I was wondering if you could guide me as to the most popular/desirable items for a gluten-challenged person to find on a store shelf. A "top 10 list" of sorts. I much less into packaged/prepared foods and a total champion for the "from scratch" crowd, fyi!

Congratulations on your L.A. location and continued success in 2010!

Patty

At first, I was very excited to try the recipes in your cookbook. I bought all the ingredients from Wholefoods for the banana bread recipe. I followed the very limited (which I realized later) directions for that recipe. As I predicted, the bread did not turn out good...it was soggy! I wondered why...I looked up other vegan banana bread recipes and what stood out as the difference is the amount of bananas. Your cookbook recipe asks for 6 medium bananas and other recipes asks for 2 cups the most! This video in your website confirmed this. As I watched that video, I was SHOCKED to see th TRUE??? ingredients. They are not exactly the same ingredients that you have in the cookbook!!! The video 1.5 cups bananas! How can 6 bananas (from cookbook) equals 1.5 cups???? Another thing, the cookbook says 1/2 cup coconut oil and the video shows 1 cup. And for the vanilla, cookbook says 1 teaspoon but the video says 1 tablespoon.

SO what are you really trying to achieve with your cookbook? To deceive the people who like to get a taste of your famous products by trying to do them on their own, huh?! I can't believe a person like you who have built a successful business can go out of your way to earn more money by putting together a deceptive cookbook! Are you not satisfied with the success of your stores that you were compelled to make more money by writing this deceptive cookbook? I'm glad I never became a fan of your products!!!

I can't stand people who LIE!!!!

I just wanted to share an email I received today which was a reply my previous post...

Hello Shiela,

Thank you so much for writing and sending along your feedback about the cookbook. I am very sorry to hear that the banana bread did not turn out well. I am also sorry to hear of your frustration, but if you are interested in trying it again, I think I can help.

The recipe listed in the book is correct. The only helpful adjustment you might consider making is using the 1.5 cups of bananas instead of 6 medium bananas. Since not all bananas are created equally, this is an idea of the amount of mashed bananas you should use for this recipe. Since the recipe will yield more batter than is necessary for one loaf, just be sure to fill your pan half-way high and the remaining batter can be baked into banana cupcakes, if you like.

As for the video, it was just meant to be a fun way to explain some common mishaps with the book, and not a means of offering specific recipe directions. I apologize for any confusion.

If you have any questions, or if there is anything I can help with, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Best Wishes,
Emily Woesthoff
General Manager
BabyCakes NYC
248 Broome Street
New York, NY 10002
tel 212.677.5047
info@babycakesnyc.com

Wow! I can't believe you had the audacity to send me this reply. My mishap happened because the ingredients listed in your cookbook was WRONG! Exactly to your point that no bananas are created equal therefore your cookbook SHOULD have specified the exact measurement that you would use when making your so-called FAMOUS Babycakes banana bread! Everything else is in exact measurement and the book even emphasizes the importance of following the EXACT measurements. SO why would you list 6 medium bananas when you could have specified 1.5 cups in your cookbook instead???

Do you really think that you can FOOL people??? I do hope that more people spread their mishaps so people dont even think of buying this DECEPTIVE cookbook. In hindsight, you WOULD NEVER share the RIGHT recipes in the cookbook for that will put your bakery out of business! That would be foolish of you indeed!

By the way, I found a FREE vegan recipe in the internet that specified 1 cup mashed bananas and much more details and tips on mixing the ingredients which I would like to share here for all people who had mishaps with YOUR recipe. This banana bread turned out SO GOOD! just on the first try!

Banana Bread Gluten Free Bread Recipe: Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients
2/3 cup rice flour
2/3 cup arrowroot starch
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/3 cup soft vegan butter (=3/4 cup coconut oil)
2/3 cup brown sugar (=2/3 cup agave nectar)
2/3 cup egg substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mashed banana (ripe)
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray or grease a 9 x 5 bread pan. In a bowl combine the rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca flour, xanthum gum, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix together with a wire whisk. In another bowl combine the soft butter and the brown sugar, slowly add the egg substitute and beat till fluffy. Add in the vanilla and mashed banana. Mix well. Add in the flour mixture till smooth. Pour into the prepared bread pan and bake for 50 - 55 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and cool on a wire rack.