All-in-One Guide to Cake Decorating: Over 100 Step-by-Step Cake Decorating Techniques and Recipes

All-in-One Guide to Cake Decorating: Over 100 Step-by-Step Cake Decorating Techniques and Recipes
Author: Janice Murfitt
Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing (2017)

From Amazon:

This comprehensive and accessible guide to cake decorating teaches all of the techniques and tricks that aspiring sugarcrafters need to create stunning and impressive cakes. Everyone will think these amazing cakes came from the best bakery in town! First Steps in Cake Decorating reveals dozens of expert cake decorating ideas that are simple to achieve yet look stunning. All the most popular methods of icing and decoration are covered, including buttercream, sugarpaste, chocolate, marzipan and flower paste. Detailed, easy-to-follow instructions explain the basics of preparing and using different types of icing, illustrated with step-by-step color photographs. There is a delicious array of fantastic cakes here to suit adults and children alike. Beginners will pick up the basics fast, and even experienced cake decorators will find inspirational new ideas.

Browsing through this book was like being back in introductory pastry school, but scaled way up. While the instructions are thorough and the photo-by-photo illustrations certainly helpful, this book is overwhelming in it's complexity, especially for someone who perhaps decorates two or three cakes a year for family and friends. The book covers cake shaping and filling as well as fondant techniques, which are interesting and something I would want to be able to do - but the techniques are so involved that I personally felt that hands-on instruction would be needed before I dared to try them at home. However, for those people either in, or contemplating, a pastry or cake decorating course, I highly suggest this book as a supplementary text, as it reinforces the lessons most programs teach.

The book's greatest strength is it's use of photography. Each page is full of full-coloured shots that generally illustrate key points or techniques, although there are some pages where the images are superfluous and somewhat dated. The passion for photography is no wonder, as the author's website is essentially a photography portfolio and states that her projects include working with photographers, advertising agencies and media companies.

While the basics of cake decorating don't really change, I would have been interested to see some of the newer trends covered as well (i.e. Russian tips, ombre). I did thoroughly appreciate the "Basic Recipes and Helpful Hints" chapter, particularly the charts to help you calculate how much fondant / marzipan and royal icing you would require for a certain size cake, as well as the portion guide. The templates are adorable, and would undoubtedly be useful for those unsure about their skills or who are attempting more intricate designs.

Overall, if you are serious about getting into the world of cake decorating, Janice Murfitt's book All-in-One Guide to Cake Decorating: Over 100 Step-by-Step Cake Decorating Techniques and Recipes is a good place to start, and pairs well with "in person" instruction. However, for the everyday baker, it is more of a coffee-table novelty than an instruction manual.

Piece of Cake!: One-Bowl, No-Fuss, From-Scratch Cakes

Piece of Cake!: One-Bowl, No-Fuss, From-Scratch Cakes

Author: Camilla V. Saulsbury

Publisher: (2011)

I pride myself on making cakes from scratch. A few times a year, I’m able to get really fancy and go all-out with an elegant layer cake with homemade frosting, or a super-rich cheesecake that fills a craving with only a sliver. The rest of the year, though, I like to bake low-fuss, low-mess cakes with minimal adornment – and no box mixes. Camilla Saulsbury seeks to fill this niche with her book Piece of Cake!: One-Bowl, No-Fuss, From-Scratch Cakes.

This book claims to alleviate many of the sticking points that prevent home bakers from making cakes from scratch – recipes here don’t need multiple bowls, creaming, separating eggs, alternating dry and wet addition or sifting. In fact, the roughly 240 pages of recipes in Piece of Cake kick off with the classic, almost never-fail Wacky Cake (p. 12). The cakes are, for the most part, designed to be incredibly simple in their presentation, although Saulsbury does include over 50 recipes for various topping (i.e. icings, glazes, and sauces). For the truly new cake-bakers, this book contains a lengthy introduction covering ingredients, equipment and techniques. Reading this section is 100% optional for those who have baked at least a few times in their lives, but if not, I strongly suggest a perusal.

My favourite part about this book is that Saulsbury includes homemade cake mixes for both “conventional” and “vegan” cakes. While almost any cake can be converted into a dry mix (just by mixing the dry ingredients in a bag separately), Saulsbury’s recipes also include the solid fat component, so much like a conventional baking mix all you’d have to do is add eggs, milk and a touch of oil to have cake any time. I tried the Yellow Cake Mix (p.42) and have to say a food processor is definitely the best way to go here. I did find the cake a little denser than storebought mix, and it took a little more time in the oven than I’m used to – I think this is the result of the book’s mix only calling for 2 eggs instead of three.

My problems with the cake outcomes continued when I went to make a classical favourite here: lemon cake. Titled grandly as Luscious Lemon Loaf (p.73), I had high hopes for this as a perfect accompaniment to tea with guests. Unfortunately, all the liquid in the cake (3 eggs, 1 cup of sour cream and ½ cup of oil) simply caused the “luscious lemon cake” to turn into mush, which burned on the outside while never baking through. After that failure, and my previous experience with the cake mix, I was very wary about trying anything else from this book as I don’t want to waste ingredients. However, I will continue to use the recipes as bases for my own modifications and ideas, as they are plentiful here.

While I may not have found cooking from this book to be easy, Piece of Cake!: One-Bowl, No-Fuss, From-Scratch Cakes does contain solid knowledge of basic baking techniques and plenty of fodder for would be bakers to build on. I highly suggest learning what batters and ratios should look like before attempting anything in this book so as to avoid disappointment.

Available on Amazon

Cake Balls: More Than 60 Delectable and Whimsical Sweet Spheres of Goodness

Cake Balls: More Than 60 Delectable and Whimsical Sweet Spheres of Goodness

Author: Dédé Wilson

Publisher: Harvard Common Press (2012)

Imagine – all the things you love about a piece of cake, without the fuss and bother of storing a whole one in the fridge. Simple, I know. Ever since I first saw these confections on Angie Dudley’s (AKA Bakerella’s) blog, I’ve marvelled at how I didn’t think of the concept sooner! While a great way to utilize stale, overbaked and even freshly baked cake leftovers, cake balls provide a wonderfully blank canvas for experimentation. This creative potential is made deliciously clear in the cookbook Cake Balls: More Than 60 Delectable and Whimsical Sweet Spheres of Goodness by Dédé Wilson, contributor to Bon Appetit magazine.

Carrot Cake ‘n’ Cream Cheese Frosting Cake Balls (p. 63)

Far from your standard “chocolate and vanilla” flavours, Cake Balls offers 52 different twists – from a Toffee-Brown Butter Pecan (p. 132) to Creme Brulee (p. 82) and even Apple Pie (p. 50). Wilson also includes recipes for the cakes, brownies and frostings used in the balls, along with including a section called Cake Ball Creations (p. 140), which is filled with fun and interesting ways to play with the basics (like making a Fairy Princess Ballerina (p.148)).

This book is great not only for the finished products’ combinations but also for the basic cakes and brownies that Wilson calls for in the book themselves. The Banana Cake (p. 36) was moist and buttery, and was made even better the second time with an extra banana and one less egg. My personal favourite, though, was the Fudgy Brownie (p. 37). I found it far too sweet as written (especially since it’s intended to be mixed with frosting and dipped in chocolate!), but the texture was definitely as Wilson described – sticky and moist, perfect for shaping (she gives the caveat that these were not meant to be served au naturale). If I was going to serve them as cut brownies, I’d add three minutes to the bake time, cut the sugar to three-quarters of what the recipe calls for and use partial brown sugar for added flavour and a more familiar texture. It’s a simple formula that opens itself up to a world of possibilities in both ball and bar form.

Banana-Caramel-Nut Cake Balls (p. 55)

More problematic for me were the frostings and glaze I tried. The Caramel Frosting (p. 44) was far too greasy in texture, acting more like a hand cream than a “glue” when I tried to use it in the Banana-Caramel-Nut Cake Balls (p. 55). I loved the flavour of the filling for the Apple Pie Cake Balls (again, after cutting the sugar in half), but it was again too greasy combined with the moist cake. I’d use it for tarts and hand pies for sure, and when juxtaposed with a savoury crust I’m sure it would really stand out. The Cream Cheese Frosting (p. 63), however, had no flaws on the palate or with the consistency, being tangy enough to cut the sugar and sweet enough to not simply taste like cheese. I will definitely go back to this recipe, and in fact made several batches since I used it on a large slab cake. It also fared well as a cake ball “glue” when I used it with scraps of trimmed carrot cake for a partial batch of Carrot Cake ‘n’ Cream Cheese Frosting Cake Balls (p. 63). Not having white chocolate on hand at the time, I used dark and upon serving it was told I should sell them to Starbucks! Trying to make the Confectioners’ Sugar Glaze (p. 47), though, was more of a trial. Wilson indicates in the recipe introduction that “[i]f you whisk the sugar and water together without heating, the glaze will remain sticky” – a quality that isn’t overly desirable in a portable snack. However, she never tells the reader how to heat the mixture for a hard set, nor mentions it anywhere else in the book. Had I been thinking, I would have gone back to Alton Brown’s Doughnut Glaze recipe which has served me well.

The great thing about a treat such as Cake Balls is that they are a product of versatility and even frugality. While Wilson’s Bon Appetit history shows itself in her guides to tempering chocolate (p. 70), caramelizing sugar (in Creme Brulee Cake Balls (p.82)) and working with “coating chocolate” (p.24), she also includes incredibly useful “how-tos” for basic ball creation (p. 16) and basic ingredients and techniques to be aware of (p. 20). Wilson also realizes that time and/or cost is an issue for many home cooks, including “it’s okay” notes about customizing the treats based on your personal preferences or availabilities and using a box mix and canned frosting to whip up treats in a pinch. Many readers will already be doing this to make their own “doughnut holes” for bake sales, and while she doesn’t mention it using leftover, frosted slices of cake (especially chocolate-on-chocolate types) can be easily broken down to “ball paste”, rolled and dipped too.

Apple Pie Cake Balls (p. 50)

The recipes in Cake Balls: More Than 60 Delectable and Whimsical Sweet Spheres of Goodness are not perfect, but the idea of making portable two-bite treats with the flavour of a full slice is a practical one that will not be going away. The combinations of flavours and textures Dédé Wilson shares in the book’s pages are great spins on plain concepts that can be made with your favourite recipes without issue. This reason alone this book is worth perusing, and if you forsee yourself contributing to bake sales, birthday parties or sweet tables, you won’t be steered wrong.

 
Available on Amazon

Petite Treats: Adorably Delicious Versions of All Your Favorites from Scones, Donuts, and Cupcakes to Brownies, Cakes, and Pies

Petite Treats: Adorably Delicious Versions of All Your Favorites from Scones, Donuts, and Cupcakes to Brownies, Cakes, and Pies 
Authors: Morgan Greenseth and Christy Beaver

Publisher: Ulysses Press (2012)

Sweets have always been a staple in the Western culture. It’s hard to imagine a BBQ without pie or ice cream, birthdays and weddings without cake, or a year without Girl Guide cookies. Children still go to school with cookies in their lunchboxes, or have an after-school snack while doing homework. But people aren’t having dinner or cocktail parties as much as they used to, and the once standard family Sunday supper is now only a few times a year at holiday time. Sometimes, though, you want that sweet end to a meal just because, and with the growing awareness and concern over the “mystery ingredients” in packaged goods, home baked is a logical option. The thing about classic desserts like pie and cake, though, is that they aren’t overly portable, or (in the case of storebought items) are too big for a child or adult watching their intake to reasonably eat. Morgan Greenseth and Christy Beaver address this sizeable issue in Petite Treats: Adorably Delicious Versions of All Your Favorites from Scones, Donuts, and Cupcakes to Brownies, Cakes, and Pies.

Petite Treats is the perfect book for both everyday and special occasion desserts, featuring miniaturized recipes for muffins and coffee cakes, brownies, cupcakes, doughnuts and whoopie pies, even cream pie, cheesecake and tiramisu! Although the desserts and snacks are full fat and use real butter, eggs, sugar and chocolate, they’re designed to be enjoyed in small amounts and are often with built in portion control, leaving guilt at the door.

While simply scaling down a recipe to make less can wreak havoc on a baking formula (at the very least sacrificing the intended flavour profile), the work is done for the reader in Petite Treats. Everything is in proper proportion, cut back enough to be relevant but not so much that measurements are impossible or require a scale and special pans. All the recipes in this book use standard Imperial units, and a good portion of them are made in “everyday” baking pans (mostly muffin, mini-muffin and 9” rounds). However, Greenseth and Beaver do call for some unusual pans – some of which I had never heard of nor ever seen in stores. These include miniature scone pans, mini whoopie pie pans (on one occasion a bunny rabbit–shaped variety), mini Bundt pans, and mini cheesecake pans. For the home baker looking for easy to do treats with a minimum of fuss, this is a frustrating (and if opting to purchase the missing pans, expensive) complication and, for me, a deal breaker on many of the recipes I was hoping to try out.

In terms of ingredients, on a few occasions, the authors also call for “1 ½ eggs”, which is almost impossible to measure and a definite oversight. I also questioned the reasoning behind calling for PET milk in one recipe and the sporadic placement of clearly “veganized” ingredients like vegan sour cream and soy milk in what is clearly not a vegan cookbook – including one case where a butter icing – topped cupcake is made with bacon, but also soy milk! This inconsistency is easily remedied by the home baker, but is still somewhat of an irritation – particularly since the “vegan” versions of the ingredients are not used for health reasons, but are simply “there. One explanation for these inclusions is that Greenseth works at a vegan bakery, but one would expect the editing process to streamline the flow of the book for practicality and ease. If a recipe in such a dairy and egg heavy book as  Petite Treats was going to be vegan, why not make it one that is “conveniently” so, without the mock ingredients?

Thankfully, the majority of the recipes (at least the ones I was able to make) turn out as well as one would expect from a pair of bakers. I used an almond-milk version of the Fall Spice Glaze (p. 136) on some pumpkin doughnuts to great acclaim, and while we agreed that the Banana-Blueberry Muffins (p. 12) were too sweet and lacking in true flavour (there isn’t even any cinnamon!), they were very moist and stayed fresh-tasting for a few days. I loved the innovative approach to pie the Apple Pie Cookies (p. 96) offered, though the pie crust they suggested was again too sweet for us – especially since our standard recipe is rather Spartan in both crust and filling. I made two of the three brownie recipes in Petite Treats – the Espresso Brownies (p. 45) and Mrs. Randall’s Brownies (p. 48). The Espresso Brownies were everything you could hope for in an “adult” styled bar – dark, intense and fudgy with definite coffee flavour in both cake and icing. There was a note in that recipe to line the pan with waxed paper – an instruction I took as an error due to wax paper’s tendency to melt and burn at oven temperatures (parchment paper is a far better medium). I took the pan to a family friend and fellow foodie’s house one afternoon and was rewarded with compliments from both she and her husband – high praise indeed. Mrs. Randall’s Brownies were decent in their own right, though I suppose by baking them in a pan rather than in the mini muffin tins called for the resulting cake would have been less dry and spongy. This particular recipe was gluten free and sugar free, a combination that can be less than delectable if done poorly... and unfortunately this version missed the mark.

Espresso Brownies (p. 45)

Petite Treats: Adorably Delicious Versions of All Your Favorites from Scones, Donuts, and Cupcakes to Brownies, Cakes, and Pies is definitely a book for the baker who has all the tools at their disposal and a taste for the whimsical. For the average cook, there are some gems in the pages which are sadly overshadowed by the inconsistent ingredients between recipes and impractical pans required for many items. Perhaps a future printing will correct these oversights, but until then Morgan Greenseth’s and Christy Beaver’s book will remain unopened.

Available December 11, 2012 on Amazon