Simply Spectacular Cakes: Beautiful Designs for Irresistible Cakes and Cookies

by Peggy Porschen

Nothing brightens up a party or makes a celebration out of an everyday gathering like beautifully decorated cookies and cakes. Yet buying from boutique bakeries doesn’t have to be your only option—there’s a simple, fun way to have fabulous desserts at a fraction of the price. Simply Spectacular Cakes is the perfect guide for creating your own elegant, designer-quality confections that will impress friends and family .
 
Peggy Porschen—professional baker and designer extraordinaire, and author of Pretty Party Cakes— is known for her designs for cookies, mini cakes, and large cakes that are easy enough for anyone. Whether a seasoned baker or eager amateur, you can manage sophisticated designs such as the Tiffany Pearl Tiered Cake, inspired by various pieces of pearl jewelry, or Cherry Blossom Bites, little cakes that when grouped together look like a cherry tree in full bloom. Projects range from easy, such as icing cookies to look like retro candies, to those that call for more advanced handiwork, such as making flowers for the Anemone Cake. Beautiful photographs display the detail in Porschen’s decorations so that you can follow them exactly, or use them as inspiration to customize your own designs that match your skill level.
 
With vivid color photographs, helpful advice from an expert baker, and an extensive how-to section, this book has all the information you need to make professional-quality cakes and cookies in your own home. More beauty, more fashion, more style— Simply Spectacular Cakes has all the best design ideas for creating gorgeous and stylish desserts.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Art

144 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2009

Reviews

[Sarai · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am no cook. Therefore, I will never be trying the techniques in this book. My review is simply from a pictorial perspective - the pictures are luscious! It's not all cakes - there are cookies and cupcakes and petit fours as well. They all look amazing and make me wish I had the patience to try some of the design tips out. If you like looking at gorgeous pictures of yummy treats, this book will hit the spot.

[Just - The romance reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

gorgeous photos, very inspiring designs. I would love to try my hand at some of these designs

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all it is truly beautiful book, the pictures and designs are amazing to look at.

Second- it is not a recipe book. It does contain basic recipes for cookies, three cakes, sugar syrups, buttercreams and ganache which is enough to make already some different cakes but thats it. No complicated recipes.

It really is a decorating book. Many amazing ideas to decorate cakes, cupcakes, cookies and fancies. Step by step explanations how to create damask pattern, how to do royal-icing dome/cage (love this one!), how to make these cute purse shaped cakes.. Really inspiring. Really wide range of designs, some more elaborate than others or requiring a lot of time or skill.

At the end of books are explanations where ot put dowels, lining cake board, how many marzpian/sugar paste you need, how to layer cake- important basics.

Overall I recommend this book, beautiful, inspiring and full of knowledge.

I definitely will be using some of the ideas and her tips. Im gonna add results to review afterwards.

[Lenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this book 5 stars for the beautiful cakes and cookies decorated in it, but I would have to be a pastry chef to pull these off. I don't even know where you could purchase some of the decorations used.

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was beautiful to look at. It has treats that you'd find in a bakery shop. Easy directions on how to make some stuff. Little too putzy for me but doable.

[Jennie Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful cake book. The recipes are actually quite amazingly good!