Classic and Contemporary Christmas Cakes

Rating:
Summary: Christmas Cake Inspiration
Review: This beautifully photographed 112-page book features new and inspiring Christmas cake designs. Using vibrant Christmas reds, deep royal blues, and creamy ivory, these cakes beautifully capture the joys of the Christmas season.

The book includes a brief Introduction, and then is arranged by the individual cake. There are twenty-two unique designs featured in the book. Each cake contains an equipment list (metric and US conversions included), a listing of any special equipment required, a full-color photograph of the cake, and steo-by-step instructions on how to assemble and decorate the cake.

The cakes include: Christmas Cracker Surprise, the beautiful cover cake called Crown of Holly, and even decorated slices of fruit cake called Yuletide Slices.

Techniques used in this book include: Rolled fondant (used in the majority of the cakes), piped royal icing, Gum Paste, Pastillage, and Modelling. Recipes for Light Fruit Cake, Rich Fruit Cake, Rolled Fondant, Gum Paste, Pastillage, Modelling Paste, and Marzipan are included.

At the end of the book you will find templates for all of the cakes, and an equipment list with definitions.

While intermediate to experienced decorators will benefit most from these designs, beginning cake decorators will be able to adapt them for their skill level using the intructions provided.

Rating:
Summary: a fresh look
Review: this book is targeted at the experienced cake decorator. It demonstrates the use of European style cake decorating with sugarpaste/fondant icing. It is full of exciting and sometimes elaborate decorations. The book is fully illustrated with enough detailed instruction to ensure good results. Inexperienced or new cake decorators can also get lots of ideas from this book, and could easily adapt many of the designs to a more simple example. the method for each cake design is explained in detail step by step and has many helpful hints to stop errors for the inexperienced.

Rating:
Summary: a fresh look
Review: this book is targeted at the experienced cake decorator. It demonstrates the use of European style cake decorating with sugarpaste/fondant icing. It is full of exciting and sometimes elaborate decorations. The book is fully illustrated with enough detailed instruction to ensure good results. Inexperienced or new cake decorators can also get lots of ideas from this book, and could easily adapt many of the designs to a more simple example. the method for each cake design is explained in detail step by step and has many helpful hints to stop errors for the inexperienced.