The Cake Therapist
Judith Fertig
Book review by
Nritya Ramani
The aroma of simmering hot brown butter infused
with vanilla bean hits the olfactory epithelium as
one discovers the mouth watering delights of The
Cake Therapist. Cookbook author Judith Fertig's
love of bread shines through the pages of her first
novel. The delicious treats intertwined with the
soul of the Midwestern heartland makes for
enchanting storytelling.
Claire is at a crossroads in her life. Exasperated
with her husband's incorrigible unfaithfulness,
she decides to move from New York back to her
hometown of Millcreek Valley in Ohio. Flavors
help Claire make sense of the world. An incredibly
talented pastry chef, she has a discerning eye for
what would suit her customers best. But she also
has an uncanny ability to sense a person's inner
self. Through "tasting" an other's aura, she
customizes her baking creations so that the
flavors work together to provide relief, strength,
love and closure. With opening a new bakery, she
hoped to start over, much like dark chocolate with
a hint of coffee. Perhaps in soothing the pain of
others, she would herself eventually find the light
at the end of the tunnel.
Judith has succeeded in nurturing a greater
appreciation for bakery esters than the obvious
over stimulation of salivary amylase. Flavors can
mean so much more than we credit them with. By
the end of the novel, all readers would be
desperately craving for one of Claire's rainbow
cakes- complete with layers of lavender, coral,
lime green, lemon yellow and raspberry pink,
frosted altogether with robin's egg blue butter
cream. Pure heaven.