The Icing On The Cupcake by Jennifer Ross

Ansley has it all – the looks, the money… and the guy.  Parish is a catch and a wonderful match for Ansley as they prepare for their wedding day.  As the big day draws closer Parish starts to notice that maybe his bride to be isn’t all that he had hoped.  While Ansley is beautiful on the outside, he starts to see she is not on the inside.  Parish starts to notice how Ansley treats caterers and other workers when she thinks he is not around.  And he starts to notice how she back stabs her friends, smiling to their face and cutting them down as soon as they walk away with comments on their weight, or hair, or inability to keep a man.   Taking all this in, Parish calls the wedding off and tells Ansley that she will be right for someone – but he is not that someone.

Ansley, on her own, devastated and embarrassed decides to move to New York and live with the grandmother she has really never known other than through the pages of the cherished family cook book.

I really enjoyed the baking connecting  to family in this book.  The family cook book referred to in the book was started in 1853.  The ancestor, Marille, who created the book filled it with 200 pages for family to add recipes.  To do this there were rules:

1. The book was to be passed from mother to the daughter who cooked the most.  I f there were no daughters than the granddaughters
2. Three people must agree a recipe is fit to be in the book, usually a grandmother, mother, and daughter were the voting parties.  if the daughter was too young, the cook waited until she was old enough to vote.  If there was no daughter, another female relative could be substituted.
3. Never let anyone borrow the book.

This I really liked as well as the cupcake recipes that sprinkle throughout the pages with names that fit with what was happening in the book.

While Ansley  starts out as this mean and rude character, once she moves you just don’t ever see that side of her again.  In fact, she is extremely nice to everyone.  I found this a bit confusing. The ending left me with many questions.  I don’t want to go into great explanation as I have seen many people have really enjoyed this book, and rightfully so – there is much to like about the book.  For me, the recipes made the book one I will turn to again.  I wished I would have had time to whip up a batch of a couple that really caught my eye, but another time.

If you have read or reviewed this book, please let me know.  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Apron that came along with the book

Book Journey’s 2010 map has been updated to include Icing On The Cupcake

When in New York, use this coffee map to find the coffee shops worthy of a stop (they may have cupcakes too!)

Cover Story:  In a word:  delicious.  This is totally a cover that would call me to it.

I received my copy of this book form the author, Jennifer Ross