There
are nine cakes to make and decorate in this book, each having
that “wow factor” in spades. Choose from a messy
monster, fishing basket, guitar, kitchen scene and more, and
follow the steps for some fairly foolproof sugarcraft.
This useful book kicks off with a section on what you need,
plus a good recipe for Madeira cake and two types of frostings.
I particularly like the handy tables showing how much of everything
you need for a variety of different sized cakes. Following
on are photographic steps on preparing the cake for being
stacked and sculpted, covering the cake with icing, using
various tools, and doing things like making shapes out of
fondant and more. The rest of the book is devoted to making
the nine cakes, and each project features plenty of large
clear photographs with captions to cover every stage of the
process. Cutting, stacking, covering, texturizing, coloring,
adding features made from fondant etc are all dealt with gradually,
but succinctly, so there is not too much information to swamp
a beginner. I was impressed with the wide range of modern
designs here, from a cute dog for any pet lover to tricky
teenage choices like the guitar or sneakers with makeup, children’s
monster or train, through to fishing, tennis, baking and my
own favorite, the wonderful sewing box. There is not a flower
in sight, and even though the ideas are not perhaps the most
original or unusual, this is not a bad thing. I think these
designs cover most people’s families and friends in
a way that anything more “out there” won’t.
At the back are full-sized templates to trace and use, and
anybody from a fairly inexperienced improver upwards ought
to achieve good results with instructions like these. Total
beginners might find themselves a bit out of their depth and
won’t have all the kit, but there are other books out
there covering the basics. A good book for anybody who wants
to make a celebration cake that is going to be remembered
– for all the right reasons!
If you cannot find a good range of assorted sugarcraft materials
locally try www.searchpress.com
for a list of suppliers.
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