Cakes Books

Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make

Alan Richardson, Karen Tack

Amazon Price: $10.85 List Price: $15.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Houghton Mifflin Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $7.69

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Total reviews: 70 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Witty, one-of-a-kind imaginative cupcake designs using candies from the local convenience store.

America's favorite food photography team, responsible for the covers of America's top magazines, shows how to create funny, scary, and sophisticated masterpieces, using a zipper lock bag and common candies and snack items.With these easy-to-follow techniques, even the most kitchen-challenged cooks can

• raise a big-top circus cupcake tier for a kid's birthday
• plant candy vegetables on Oreo earth cupcakes for a garden party
• trot out a line of confectionery "pupcakes" for a dog fancier
• serve sausage and pepperoni pizza cupcakes for April Fool's Day
• bewitch trick-or-treaters with chilly ghost chocolate cupcakes
• create holidays on icing with turkey cupcake place cards, a white cupcake Christmas wreath, and Easter egg cupcakes

No baking skills or fancy pastry equipment is required. Spotting the familiar items in the hundreds of brilliant photos is at least half the fun.

The Cake Mix Doctor

Anne Byrn

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Workman Publishing Company Amazon Marketplace: 137 new & used starting at $2.84

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 232 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Cake mixes are undoubtedly convenient, but do they produce good cakes? They can, says Anne Byrn, author of The Cake Mix Doctor, if you know how to tweak them. Doing this involves the addition of ingredients to enrich the mixes and flavorings to enhance and, in some cases, conceal questionable tastes. To prove her point, Byrn offers more than 175 recipes for mix-based cakes and other desserts, including formulas for frostings that, Byrn maintains, must be made from scratch. The results are convincing; readers interested in satisfying, dependable desserts prepared quickly and with little fuss should welcome the book.

Beginning with a useful discussion of cake mixes, their history and composition, and an outline of the mix-transformation battle plan, the book then presents the recipes in chapters such as "Chocolate Cakes," "Cake-Mix Classics," "Special Occasion Cakes," and "Incredible Bars and Comforting Cookies." Among the most successful offerings are Deeply Chocolate Almond Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting, Banana Cake with Quick Caramel Frosting, and Lemon Buttermilk Poppy Seed Cake. A chapter devoted to crumbles, crisps, cobblers, trifles, and even a dessert pizza shows how to use the mixes in innovative ways, and "Lighter Cakes" presents "healthier" offerings, such as Pear and Toasted Pecan Buttermilk Cake. With sidebars such as The Legendary Pillsbury Bake-Off and tips for success throughout ("Cinnamon is one of the great tools to use when doctoring up cake mixes," begins one), the book explores every aspect of cake-mix fixing while revealing the unexpected richness that the process can yield. --Arthur Boehm

Crazy About Cupcakes

Krystina Castella

Amazon Price: $12.21 List Price: $17.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Sterling Amazon Marketplace: 37 new & used starting at $10.46

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

very satisfied! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

the pics are very inspirational. tried 2 of the cupcake recipes - white & kahlua. they turned out beauitful... light & fluffy. haven't tried the other recipes though. but after trying the 2, am convinced tt the rest will be equally good. the only set-back - most recipes listed are not for the tight-budget minded.

Editorial Review:

Go cupcake crazy! With nearly 300 awesome, mouthwatering ideas to choose from, home bakers will find the right recipe for any occasion and every palate. And whether they’re chocolaty, spicy, crunchy, fruity, or creamy, these exquisitely decorated treats look as astounding as they taste—perfect little temptations designed to make adults nostalgic and children happy. All the basics are lovingly explained so anyone can whip up a beautiful batch, and there are varieties for every day (from healthy cupcakes to ice cream indulgences); parties big and small; holidays ranging from Christmas to the Fourth of July; just for kids; and fund-raisers and bake sales. Plus, to make things easy, an entire chart- and template-filled chapter focuses on flavor combinations and design elements.

Martha Stewart's Wedding Cakes

Martha Stewart, Wendy Kromer

Amazon Price: $37.80 List Price: $60.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Clarkson Potter Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $36.49

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Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Of all the decisions that go into planning a wedding, choosing the cake may be the sweetest. Much more than dessert, this beloved wedding symbol should be as special as the bride and groom themselves. Whether you imagine a majestic cake blooming with fresh flowers, a pristine fondant-covered masterpiece, or a homespun take on strawberry shortcake- or even if you don’t know where to begin- Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes will provide you with more than 100 delicious and inspiring ideas for timeless and beautiful confections that are perfect for every style of wedding.

Not just visually inspiring, these pages are filled with information you won’t find anywhere else. Martha Stewart and Wendy Kromer, the master baker and decorator who has been creating cakes for Martha Stewart Weddings for more than a decade, guide you through everything you need to consider when selecting a cake- and even how to bake and decorate one yourself. Novice and experienced bakers alike will find recipes and insiders’ techniques to create truly memorable wedding cakes.

You will learn:
Where to begin- how to decide what style and flavors are right for you, taking into account the season, location, and theme of the event

Buttercream or fondant? Ganache or meringue? Useful charts explain the delicious materials bakers use, so you can choose the ones that suit your taste and style

Creative ways to display your cake so it takes center stage at the reception

How to find and hire a baker, including questions to ask and contract considerations

Ideas for cutting costs without sacrificing quality or beauty

How to incorporate traditions from around the world

Everything you need to know about baking a cake yourself, with complete recipes as well as how-to decorating techniques with color photographs and reference charts

A treasury of inspiration, Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes will ensure that your cake, whether homemade or professionally baked, triple-tiered or a tower of cupcakes, embellished with fresh fruit or elaborate sugar roses, is every bit as magical as your big day.

The Cake Bible

Rose Levy Beranbaum

List Price: $35.00 By: William Morrow Cookbooks Amazon Marketplace: 37 new & used starting at $11.96

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 157 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

the worst recipes 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book (quite expensive) and was so excited about trying the recipes. I read from beginning to end, and decided these cakes must be awsome. Boy OH BOY! I have been baking for awhile with great results, but these recipes were a disaster. Horribly dry, buttercreams tasted like whipped butter. No matter what liquers you added they still tasted horribly bland. The PERFECT ALL AMERICAN CHOCOLATE CAKE was any but perfect. All I did was waste my time, money, and great ingredients. The cakes were dry dry dry and did I mention BLAND. Even when you added the syrup it was still awfull. I am really suprised to see how many people thought this book was any worth anyone time.

Editorial Review:

Rose Levy Beranbaum is a kitchen chemist extraordinaire--this, after all, is the woman who wrote her master's thesis on the effects of sifting on the quality of yellow cake. In The Cake Bible, she explains the science behind types of leavening, the merits (or not) of sifting, melting chocolate, preheating ovens, and more. There are precise and detailed instructions for intricate wedding cakes as well as cakes that can be mixed and in the oven in five minutes. In addition, nutrition information is included with every recipe. Cake scientist Beranbaum doesn't forget the art, either; pencil drawings teach novice bakers how to create a garden full of flowers from royal icing and mushrooms from piped meringue. It's no wonder that the International Association of Culinary Professionals picked The Cake Bible as their cookbook of the year for 1988--this book has something to teach bakers at every level.

The Confetti Cakes Cookbook: Spectacular Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City's Famed Bakery

Elisa Strauss, Christie Matheson

Amazon Price: $19.79 List Price: $29.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Little, Brown and Company Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $15.92

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 52 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

When a world-famous shoe designer walked into his surprise birthday party and saw the cake that was waiting for him--a Manolo stiletto perched alluringly next to a tissue-filled shoebox--it was his turn to ogle someone else's talent. The cake, created by Elisa Strauss of Confetti Cakes in New York City, was a sensation. Not only did everyone at the party want to know how it was made, they wanted to know how to create something as dazzling themselves.


This unique book contains projects for every skill level: from gorgeous, sugar-dusted heart cookies to delightful billiard-ball cupcakes, to sculpted cakes in the shape of wine bottles and Chinese takeout boxes, to the extravagantly beautiful, threetiered
embroidery cake showcased on Sex and the City. With delicious recipes, stunning creations for every occasion, suggestions for time-saving shortcuts, and hot tips for fabulous results, all illustrated with gorgeous photographs and easy-to follow diagrams, THE CONFETTI CAKES COOKBOOK is a must-have for the outrageously chic baker in all of us.

CakeLove: How to Bake Cakes from Scratch

Warren Brown

Amazon Price: $18.15 List Price: $27.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Stewart, Tabori & Chang Amazon Marketplace: 37 new & used starting at $14.50

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Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Warren Brown wants you to bake your cake and eat it too. And he wants you to conquer your fear of flour and learn to love every step of cake baking—including, of course, the step in which you present your made-from-scratch masterpiece to bedazzled, hungry-eyed family and friends. (Not to mention the moment when you yourself get to sample a slice of that lovingly crafted creation.)

For Brown, love and baking are inseparable. After all, he abandoned an unrewarding career in law to do the work—baking cakes!—that he finds truly emotionally satisfying. Every page of CakeLove communicates that satisfaction, as well as Brown’s can-do approach to the art of baking. As he asserts, baking cakes isn’t a cakewalk, but it’s not rocket science, either—and getting it right isn’t nearly as hard as you think.

Pound cakes, butter cakes, sponge cakes, cupcakes. Glazes, frostings, fillings, meringues. Brown provides all the basics on ingredients, equipment, and techniques, as well as recipes for more than 50 cakes that range from the classic (Chocolate Butter Cake) to the adventurous (“Sassy,” a pound cake made with mango puree and cayenne pepper). The informative step-by-step shots make you want to run to the kitchen and start baking, and the scrumptious color photos of completed cakes look good enough to sink your teeth into.

Cakes to Dream On: A Master Class in Decorating

Colette Peters

Amazon Price: $26.40 List Price: $40.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $22.26

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Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Colette peters, the celebrated queen of the confectionary arts, unveils an inspiring resource for serious home bakers, professional chefs, and aficionados of Colette's incredible edible architecture. The ingenious cake decorator - whose miraculous and luscious concoctions have appeared everywhere from White House Christmases to royal weddings - presents a master class in cake design and decoration, alongside an all-new selection of her own cake designs. With Cakes to Dream On, Colette's inspired creations can now be rendered into show-stopping cakes of your own.

Cakes to Dream On reveals the secrets to fashioning gorgeous and utterly distinctive cakes for all occasions - whether it's an opulent marriage reception (the majestic Ivory Wedding Cake) or a fanciful children's party (the whimsical Homage to Dr. Seuss). Colette presents designs for cake architecture ranging from the imperial splendor of Dolce de Medici, to the elegant grace of Bride's Vintage Cameo, to the topsy-turvy daydream of Mad Tea Party.

Colette begins with the foundations: she illuminates step by step the process of constructing a multitiered cake, from determining serving sizes and choosing appropriate cake pans to making fillings, and ultimately stacking layers so they don't tumble off the table. Cakes to Dream On also discloses insider tricks of the trade: Colette's easy-to-follow instructions in techniques such as sugarwork, gumpaste, brush embroidery, and piping will help readers recreate the spectacular effects of this singular confectioner's toolbox.

Bakers - and their enthusiastic audiences - will discover that these sensual masterpieces tantalize the palate as much as they do the eye. Colette's cake recipes include the Coco-Loco Cake, an alluring marriage of coconut and coffee; the Meringue Buttercream and its luscious lemon, raspberry, and mocha variants; and the ambrosial caramel-tinged Heavenly White Cake.

As breathtaking as Colette's cake works appear, her clear explanations of technique are meant to stimulate readers' creative instincts and give them ideas for crafting their own distinctive confections. With more than 150 dazzling full-color photographs illustrating both processes and finished presentations, and more detailed instruction than ever before, Cakes to Dream On will inspire readers to create their own mouthwatering masterpieces. Colette's master class is truly a launchpad for cake lovers' own confectionary visions.

The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook

King Arthur Flour

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Countryman Press Amazon Marketplace: 36 new & used starting at $18.09

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Total reviews: 53 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The King Arthur company has produced flour and other baking ingredients of high reputation for over two centuries. Similarly trustworthy, and reflecting their years of kitchen experience, The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion offers over 400 recipes for all kinds of basic and up-to-the-minute specialties--from pancakes and waffles to muffins and quickbreads; from coffee cakes, pizzas and crackers, to hearthbreads, cakes and cookies, including two complete chocolate chip recipes, for soft and crispy kinds. This is one of those books that no baking kitchen should lack--not only for its comprehensive repertoire and recipe dependability, but for the intimate ease with which it fulfills its promise. What this means, partly, is that technical information is perfectly pitched to ensure relaxed understanding, offering neither too much nor too little detail. It's the range and quality of these baking "backstories," including, for example, how to control cookie-dough spreading while baking, plus numerous hints and shortcuts, that help make the book so valuable.

Beginning, sensibly, with a concise section on measuring--the authors "first plea" is that readers buy and use a scale--the book then treats breakfast specialties, such as Gingerbread Pancakes and Pumpkin Praline Waffles; pursues quickbreads like Maple Cornbread; cobblers including those made under both cake and pie crusts; Sesame Crisps among other crackers; and yeast breads, such as bagels, a basic White Bread 101, and an exemplary Italian Bread, among others. An entire chapter is devoted to sourdough with instructions for creating your own starter. Readers will also want to try Strawberry-Lemon Chess Pies, Chocolate Lava Cake, and Pumpkin Cheesecake. A concluding everything-you've-always-wanted-to know ingredients glossary includes explorations on flour milling; of "faux fats" and sweeteners; the use of eggs in a dough or batter, in yeast breads and custards; information on the latest in European-style cultured butters, among much else. Color photos and numerous step-by-step technical drawings provide further guidance. With an illustrated section on tools, too, both high-tech and homey, such as the flour wand, the book has it all, for new and seasoned bakers alike. --Arthur Boehm

Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations

Nancie McDermott

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Chronicle Books Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $7.98

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great Recipes and well-written 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

My son bought me this book for Mother's Day. I love it. I love the background stories behind the recipes. I made the Cream Cheese Pound Cake this past weekend. Everyone loved it!

Have only tried two recipes so far, but... 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I took this book to my mom's house and we chose two cakes to bake - the Red Velvet and the Thibodeaux Chocolate Doberge. My mom is a serious baker who rarely allows store-bought desserts or bread into the house, so I knew she would be a good one to test out this book with. The Red Velvet cake was not terribly impressive. Our cake had a soggy, fallen middle, yet managed to be over-baked around the edges. I could also taste the chemical flavor of the red food coloring, but that could just be the brand I used. The frosting was delicious.

The chocolate cake itself was delicious, but the recipe indicates a 300 degree oven. On our first try, baking the layers at 300 for 40 minutes in 8-inch rounds (instead of 9), resulted in raw cake. We purchased 9-inch rounds as the recipe called for and baked the next cake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. All of the other recipes in the book call for a 350 oven, so I'm not sure why this one was 300. 350 worked much better. The filling turned out to be delicious - essentially a chocolate pudding. The frosting did not turn out at all, and seems like a strange recipe for frosting. After following the instructions, chilling the frosting overnight then attempting to beat it into something that could be considered frosting, we ended up with a very runny (but tasty) concoction. We made my mom's recipe for a chocolate buttercream frosting that's not too sweet and it went perfectly with the cake.

I am looking forward to trying more recipes from this book. I think the caramel cake and the oatmeal cake will be next...

Editorial Review:

Taste the chocolatey goodness of Mississippi Mud or marvel at the extravagant elegance of the Lady Baltimore and there will be no doubt that Southerners know how to bake a cake. Here are 65 recipes for some of the most delicious ever. Jam cakes and jelly rolls; humble pear bread and peanut cake; whole chapters on both chocolate and coconut cakes each moist and delicious forkful represents the spirit of the South. A Baking 101 section offers the cake basics, some finishing touches (that means frosting and lots of it!), and the how-to's of storing each lovely concoction so that the last slice tastes as fresh and delightful as the first.