The Well-Decorated Cake

by Toba Garrett, Steven Mark Needham (Photographs), Christine Mathews (Illustrations)

As a Master Cake Designer and featured instructor at the prestigious Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, Toba Garrett has taught top industry professionals her decorating secrets. Now, using the same easy-to-follow style that worked so well in her acclaimed book, Creative Cookies , she brings her artistic vision and professional tips to you in this fully illustrated home cake-decorating course. From selecting the proper equipment to the basics of buttercream, easy techniques for creating piping flowers and ornamentation to advanced drapery and border designs, everything you need to become a better cake designer is included. You’ll find time-saving templates, a picture gallery of spectacular cakes, and a generous selection of Toba’s own recipes. The author lives in New York, NY.

Genres: Cookbooks

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2003

Reviews

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Toba Garret's style of cake decorating is so recognizable and so beautiful, and the pictures in this book are fantastic. But the real crowning jewels of this book are most definitely the recipes! This is the ONLY cake decorating book I have found that contains absolutely delicious cake and frosting recipes - really the only cake decorating book in which the flavor and quality of the cake is treated as equally as important as the decorations! And Toba's methods of crumb-coating and making "spackling paste" have saved me from many cake disasters! A great book!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book helped me get started in cake decorating. I found the descriptions of different techniques to be clear and easy to follow. Other parts I found especially helpful included: pictures for inspiration, recipes for various cakes and icing, demos of different tips and how they "should" look, and a guide to mixing colors. I continue to be amazed at how difficult mixing the perfect deep hue is.

[Resa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, she's good, very good. Little fancy for me, but great info on gumpaste flowers and the art of cakes.

[Sandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must have for any cake decorator. Not only does it touch all the bases but the recipes are really fantastic, ones that I use over and over again

[Tess · Rating 4 out of 5]

great overview, but I found myself wanting more detail to move from "I think I get it" to "I can definitely do that".

[Jamie Hays · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! The pictures are very clear. It feels a bit old school, but that didn't bother me. The information is just as good now as it was then.

[Ghira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains the best cake recipe I've ever tasted!

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the ideas for the cakes. It also has a great Lambeth method style cake.

[Patty Stinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best decorator buttercream ever!!