Come join us to hear the story of Rose Levy Beranbaum, a culinary icon whose influence in the baking world has been of biblical proportions to say the least. After all, it was Rose who authored The Cake Bible (first published in 1988 and now in its 60th printing, revised for the 35th anniversary edition in 2024). This award-winning work introduced standardized weights, ingredient science and techniques like reverse creaming, to generations of home bakers. Along the way, Rose also designed innovative precision equipment.

Rose herself will spill the beans about her extraordinary life (she’s authored 14 other best-selling books on baking), as she talks about her latest book, her memoir, Ma Vie en Rose (with recipes). She will share her personal journey from a sensitive food-averse child in postwar New York to authoring The Cake Bible. Plus, she’ll offer a generous serving of culinary history that impacted her. And for the proverbial “frosting on the cake,” Rose will share her recipe for her renowned All-Occasion Downy Yellow Cake, featuring the reverse-creaming method. (See link to recipe below.)

Rose is a three-time James Beard Foundation Award winner; has been named to the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame; recognized with the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Lifetime Achievement Award; and is an IACP Cookbook of the Year winner.

All-Occasion Downy Yellow Cake, using reverse creaming technique

Rose pioneered (but did not name) the reverse creaming technique of cake-mixing. In this process, the fat and flour are mixed first before adding the remaining ingredients. By coating the flour in fat, gluten development is inhibited, helping to prevent toughness. This is in contrast to the usual creaming technique, which first mixes fat and sugar. This method is also called the paste method and originated using shortening in the 1940’s when butter was in short supply. Conventional wisdom was thought that this method would not work with butter but Rose did not accept this and found a way to accomplish it.