This review was prepared by Marika of Madcap Cupcake.

When I heard that a copy of the newly minted BabyCakes by Erin McKenna (named after the famed New York bakery) was being sent to me to review, I was thrilled. I'd been listening to mounting hype surrounding the release of the book and I must admit, I was excited. The vibe was hip. When the book arrived at my door, my excitment peaked. It's a beauty. The graphic design is gorgeous - everything from the typeset to the colors is visually perfect. The photography is stunning and the palette, equal parts soothing and invigorating, ensures that the entire book feels full of personality.

I really wanted to love this book.

As I looked through the pages and drank in the delicious photos it was a nearly impossible task to narrow down my choices of what to bake first. The entire book bursted with bookmarks - torn testaments of my enthusiasm. I wanted to make as many things as practically possible.

First up, Spelt Biscuits - bringing me to a sizeable sore point with many gluten-free folks: The tagline on the front of my copy of the book reads, "Vegan, Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes...” The problem is that spelt (which is used in approximately one third of the recipes) is not gluten-free. While this is ackowledged within the book, the cover is misleading. One can understand how someone suffering from Celiac Disease might be disappointed upon purchasing the book. There has been quite a backlash in this regard, as evidenced by the recent changing of the book's tagline with the insertion of the word 'Mostly' in front of 'Gluten-Free' on the cover.

So the Spelt Biscuits were made first. The dough turned out much wetter than one would expect based on the lovely photos in the book, which depict a much drier, loftier dough. My dough was also half the height that the book leads one to expect (even though I used the exact size cutter specified). Also, the biscuits refused to brown - remaining a pasty white despite baking for an extra 5 minutes. Despite their odd appearance, I liked the texture and thought they tasted alright. If I were to make them again, I'd increase the flour and maybe the leavening.

I made the Gingerbread next. It had to bake for an extra 30 minutes just to pass the toothpick test. Too bad toothpicks are only two inches long because, as it turns out, the cake was completely liquid inside and it fell - right through the cooling rack and onto the counter below. This was very disappointing. I don't like waste.

Next up was the Vanilla Frosting. I've since heard that many bakers have had problems with this recipe in particular. It came together smoothly. While fresh, I thought the texture was alright and I liked the subtle taste as it wasn't too sweet. After the required refrigeration however the frosting developed an odd aftertaste. It also starts to melt immediately at room temperature and then becomes unpleasantly greasy. I would decrease the coconut oil next time.

I made the Chocolate Chip Cookies next. I followed the directions exactly, including the recommended spacing apart of 1-inch, which I thought was too close but I made a point of following the directions to the letter. Big mistake. My jaw dropped when I checked on the cookies part way through baking to find that they had become a single mass and had overflowed over the sides of my rimless pans and onto the floor of my oven. Needless to say, the (sheet of) cookie was paper thin. Somewhat greasy – but it tasted alright and the texture was pleasantly chewy. I would increase the flour and/or decrease the oil next time.

Since I had been planning to use the cookies to make the recommended Cookie Sandwiches, I used a biscuit cutter to cut circles out of my 'sheet' of cookie. The Vanilla Frosting becomes far too greasy and squishy to work with at room temperature, making this a messy job. The book suggests freezing the sandwiches to make frozen treats. This option is more practical. Freezing also seems to improve the flavor of the frosting.

After scraping cookie dough off the bottom of my oven I proceeded to the next item: Ginger-Peach Corn Muffins. The batter overflowed again - this time setting my oven element on fire and filling my house with smoke. With windows open, I continued to bake the muffins for one hour - almost 40 minutes more than the specifed 22 minutes of baking time, and they still could not pass the toothpick test. The muffins were completely raw and sunken. The topic of exceedingly long baking times has been ackowledged on the BabyCakes bakery blog but not really addressed: "Also, seems like everyone's oven is producing different baking times so make sure to check your goods before taking them out of the oven to make sure that it's baked the whole way through, k?" Different baking times are normal, to a degree - baking an item with a specified time of 22 minutes for 60 minutes, and still failing to bake it, is not.

After the muffins, I decided it was time to call it quits with BabyCakes. I have to say, I felt somewhat deflated - but I was not alone. I began to see similar stories of inoordinately long baking times (and even an anecdote detailing an oven fire) via feedback left by readers on the BabyCakes blog. In response to a large number of frustrated people experiencing less than perfect results using the book, the bakery put up an FAQ. To add insult to injury, the FAQ is rather condescending. Comments like, "Ok new bakers, feel free to comment on your blunders" and "Remember, baker buddies, this isn't easy stuff," aren't going to endear the makers of this book to a frustrated public.

The verdict? Disappointment.

I'm not perfect. I am, however, an experienced baker who is familiar with alternative ingredients. I'm also good at reading instructions. I have the proper tools. I have two oven thermometers. I read the book cover to cover, with particular attention paid to the section on measuring. In fact I followed the instructions to the letter. I made no substitutions – even the brands of my coconut oil and flour were exactly what was recommended.

With so many fantastic cookbooks available, I cannot in good conscience recommend this book. The special ingredients like organic coconut oil and gluten-free flour mixes are pricey: I don't mind buying quality ingredients off the beaten path but I do mind wasting them – neither do I like wasting my time. The bottom line is that if you follow the directions of a recipe to the letter, have proper tools and measures, and use an oven thermometer, the recipe should work. You shouldn't need to wildly adjust ingredient amounts and double or triple baking times. Save your money and your sanity.