book reviews for cake decortating ideas
  | Squires Kitchen’s Guide to Making Iced Flowers Piped and stencilled sugar flowers for cakes, cookies and desserts By Ceri DD Griffiths Reviewed by Maria E. Malkun, owner of Mayu’s Cakes, Pembroke Pines, FL
I think the book itself is
lovely, with lots of light colors which resemble the delicate nature of
sugar flowers. The content is well organized, with a clear listing of
the tool and equipment needed for every project. The ‘Tutor Tips’ were
fantastic and I like that they were easy to find when I needed to review
some specific detail.
However, I did encounter a
few setbacks. First was that I had a little difficulty getting some of
the PME piping nozzles referenced in the book—I had to do some research
to find out the equivalent reference number from other brands such as
Wilton and Ateco. I think for beginners this part would be a little
off-putting since the author didn't give other options and if you didn’t
know what other brands to look for, you might feel stuck. The other
comment is that sometimes there were ‘Britishisms’ in the text. A more
standard vocabulary, mainly when explaining step-by-step processes,
might be helpful.
That said, I was eager to
try a couple of projects from the book and I was pleased with the
results. First, however, I want to mention that experience is all in
fondant, gumpaste and modeling chocolate. I love piping work on my
cakes, but I’ve never done iced flower decorations. For breakdown of my
projects, please head over to the "how-to" page!
Maria Malkun runs Mayu’s Cakes
in Pembroke Pines, FL, with her husband Luis. She grew up learning
baking in her mother’s kitchen in Columbia. Her passion for baking led
her to attend classes from some of the world’s top baking and cake
design experts including Colette Peters, Marina Sousa, James Rosselle
and Kaysie Lackey. However, she didn’t immediately consider a culinary
career, instead taking her degree in International Business and worked
her way up the corporate ladder. But eventually her desire for creating
cakes became too much to ignore and decided to follow her dream of
opening her own business.
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The Brown Betty Cookbook
Modern Vintage Desserts and Stories From Philadelphia’s Best Bakery By Linda Hinton Brown and Norrinda Brown Hayat Reviewed by Grace McNamara / ACD Publisher and avid cook book collector This cookbook from one of Philadelphia’s beloved bakeries is a family and life journey of personalities, whose recipes strike a perfect balance of old-fashioned and modern. The Brown Betty Cookbook includes classic and traditional recipes with surprise twists – for example, blackberry buttercream or dark cherry filling made with fresh ingredients and real butter, just like Elizabeth “Betty” Hinton (Grandmom Betty) used to make for her family. The Brown Betty Cookbook authors are none other than Betty’s daughter, Linda Hinton Brown and granddaughter, Norrinda Brown Hayat, who grew up with Betty’s amazing baking and subsequently opened the beloved Brown Betty Dessert Boutique in Philadelphia. The cookbook reads like a family story, preceding each chapter with a delightful description of a person that inspired some part of their creations from of course, Betty, to Great Grandmothers Ruth and Eliza to Great Aunt, Jean. Notable mouth watering recipes include a sweet potato cake with spiced vanilla buttercream, a moist layer cake that rivals their Red Velvet cake as number one seller; “Company’s Comin” coconut cake with cream cheese frosting – a moist 3-layer cake and “With Cherries on Top" heesecake, a creamy cheesecake with cherries that are soaked in cordial overnight! The recipes are delicious takes on classics with a twist and the entire charming book is a welcome addition to any cake loving baker. |
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Cake Boy
By Eric Lanlard Reviewed by Marsha Winbeckler
Cake Boy is a 224
page, hard-bound dessert recipe book. It contains chapters on Sponge
Cakes, Tarts, Meringues, Muffins & Cupcakes, Tray Bakes, Festive
Recipes, Cheesecakes, Desserts, and Pastries & Cookies. There are
also a few flour-free recipes included in the book.
The author, Eric Lanlard, is
a French-trained pastry chef who has won many prestigious awards, and
his expertise is reflected in the book. Most average "Foodies" will be
able to recreate the recipes easily, although there may be a few
ingredients that are unfamiliar to some American bakers.
Each recipe lists the preparation and cooking times plus ingredients and detailed instructions, with a majority of the recipes including large full-color photos. The "Tray Bakes" section includes many familiar bar/square treats with an inventive twist, like Blondies with Peanut Butter and Double Chocolate Pecan Brownies.
A particularly fun section
that will get the creative juices flowing is the "Desserts" chapter; it
includes several non-traditional recipes like Sticky Toffee Pudding and
Eggnog Trifle. If you're looking for a dessert book that will be an
inspiration for your culinary creations, this may be the book for you.
Marsha Winbeckler has been a
cake decorator and instructor for over 30 years. She has won many awards
for her work. She is the author of three books, Cocoa and Chocolate
Painting, Wafer Paper Uses, and Decorating With Rolled Buttercream
Icing, plus a candy DVD, Easy Chocolate Tempering and Candy Coating
Uses.
Marsha was the editor of the ICES Newsletter for over 13 years and served on the Editorial Board for American Cake Decorating
Magazine for the past two years. Appearances on TV, including the Food
Network and TLC's Ultimate Cake Off, and demonstrating at international
cake decorator's conventions (ICES) are among highlights in Marsha's
career. Cake decorating has also taken her and husband Roland (also a
renowned cake decorator) to Canada, Jamaica, and Australia. Marsha and
Roland on A-J Winbeckler Ent.-- CakeSuppliesPlus.com, through which they sell cake decorating and candy making supplies, teach decorating classes and produce their books and DVDs.
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Cake Pops
Helen Attridge and Abby Foy Photographs by Lis Parsons April 2012 / Spruce / $12.99
Reviewed by Nichole Day Diggins / ACD Managing Editor and Creative Director
There are few things cuter
than a cake pop. Playful and demure, these carefree little cakes on a
stick are the treat of the moment, perhaps even upstaging the ubiquitous
and celebrated cupcake. But are they just a passing trend? The authors
of Cake Pops, Helen Attridge and Abby Foy of the Popcake Kitchen in England, make the case that these bite-sized snacks with high-impact flavor are indeed here to stay.
Cake Pops
is a fun little volume with easy-to-follow recipes for creating
whimsical cake pops for any occasion. Adding to the book’s appeal is its
clean and inviting layout and all the colorful, enticing photographs,
which beautifully capture the wide array of lively pops. The book begins
with simple recipes for basic vanilla cake and frosting, which can be
easily adapted to other flavors, like chocolate, strawberry or lemon.
Easy-to-follow step-by-step photos teach you how to make the balls, dip
them, and decorate and shape them. Useful tips cover things like hiding
cracks, adjusting colors, personalizing the pops and overall
presentation.
The 28 cake pop designs
include everything from simple pops with sprinkles to parrot pops,
rubber ducky pops, baby carriage pops and champagne bottle pops (indeed
something for every occasion – even ‘Mr. and Mrs. Pops.’ )
There is a fairly wide range of decorating skills, from simple to more
complex, so if you’re new to this, you can work your way up (kids can
even pull off the simplest recipes). Overall, this is a fun, cute little
book, which is sure to inspire some creative cake popping.
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