Cake Confidence

by Mandy Merriman

There's always something to celebrate in life, and there's no better way to celebrate than with some decadent, mouthwatering cake! No matter your confidence in baking, Mandy Merriman--the Blondie of the popular blog Baking with Blondie--is here to help you think outside the cakebox and create easy, delicious, beautiful cakes that you'll definitely want to show off. Dust off your apron and get ready to create some buttercream joy. This book contains frosting/stacking/decorating step by step tutorials, sure-fire buttercream step by step tips, and recipes that are guaranteed to bake up beautifully every single time.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Cooking, Food

176 pages, Paperback

Published March 12, 2019

Reviews

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have only made one cake from this, but it was delicious. I know a lot of people dislike the fact that the recipes have a cake mix as a base, but for me, in my stage of life, I need a cake to come out perfect every time. If I need a cake mix as my base and add extra stuff to it in order to get consistently good cakes, then so be it.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the bomb for flavour, creativity and just all round cake Heaven. Mandy also provides step by step photos and instructions for the perfectly decorated cake, straight edges and all. The buttercream recipes are soooooo good and perfectly measured for the cake sizes which are recommended. My family are pretty harsh judges and I got the thumbs up for my first attempt at one of the cake recipes - chocolate with chocolate buttercream! For me, the test of a great book is if the chocolate cake is a winner, AND IT WAS SO MUCH MORE.
This book packs a punch and the author has clearly poured her heart and soul into her first cook book. Mandy, you have catapulted me from an average cake maker to ‘Whoa, where’d you buy that from’!!!!
Thank you ❤️.

[Bonny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looks like a great cook book

Looks like a great cookbook! After seeing her on the Home and Family on The Hallmark channel I decided to look at her cookbook to see if this is something my young baking niece would like. And it most certainly is. After reading threw on kindle unlimited I know she will. I cannot wait to give it to her! I will be getting her a paperback copy! I hope I get a few cakes and get to help! I love to bake as well but with no one to bake for and no room to have the items need to make such great creations it’s all up to her now.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not made any of these cakes, yet, but I liked how she broke down must have kitchen items for cake decorating, as well as tips for successful baking. I learned a lot and the cakes look delicious. I took pictures of basically the entire book to make throughout the years. They do have a cake mix base, but I am not opposed to that. One of our other well used cookbooks is The Cake Mix Doctor. Life is just busy sometimes and you roll with it.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this cookbook and Mandy’s cake recipes and flavor ideas. Only reason why I’m giving 4 stars instead of 5 is because all the frostings are american buttercream, which I consider much too sweet. Wish there were some other types of icing recipes in here. Like how to make a great Swiss meringue buttercream.

[Shelly Ann Kaltenbaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the book, so many ideas about flavors and decorating. I was not bothered that box cake mixes were used. I wish that every cake had two photographs, the finished cake and a slice. Also, the font of the book should be in one color. The paler font for the ingredients was difficult to read, making it easier for an ingredient mix up.

[Sq · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these cakes and ideas. We mix and match a few of the cakes/frostings/ganaches too. I wish it wasn't ALL box cake mixes though. I prefer scratch and don't usually have box cake around. Maybe next time she can put the "cake mix" recipes at the end that would work instead. I've tried a few of my own dry bases but they don't turn out as well.

[ThePinkCarrot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the enthusiastic energy of this author. Beautiful photography. She offers lots of ways to take a boxed cake and turn it into something really special. There are tips for how to accomplish small details in the cake process to help you create a professional looking product. Very nice!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO GOOD! SO EASY! I love this cookbook! Thank You!

[Miss Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing cakes, fabulous icings and excellent pictures and instructions.

If you are looking to expand your cake recipes or step up your decorating skills, look no further!

[Jasmine Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read !!!

I love this book and the pictures of each cake and cup cakes . I can’t wait to try some of the ingredients , all look so tasty !!!

[Lyla Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

Lots of words and I need too go pee now so bye bye
Love me


Ps I am amazing! 🐱

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I WANT THIS BOOK FOR MY COLLECTION. Beautiful cake designs, excellent photography of said cake designs, and recipes that I want to try. Like now.

[Terresa Wellborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible looking cakes! Includes some recipes that will be new favorites for sure.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of yummy cakes.

[Aasinathena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I'm a make from scratch person,every now and then the I search for the sparks of pre-made cake mix. These cakes are so bespoke,and I love these recipes.

[Kayla Huebner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best cake cookbook on the market!!! This has been a life saver for me to save money on family birthday cakes!! They look amazing EVERY TIME! I want more recipes!!

[Debesbooknookwit · Rating 5 out of 5]

ive baked so many cakes and cupcakes from her, and mimicked the beautiful photos...I feel like a pro baker!

[Patti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to read. Nice pictures. However, some typos in the text, that should have easily been caught, makes me wonder about the possibility of typos in the recipes. You need people writing and publishing a cookbook to really give a crap about accuracy. So, I rounded my rating down to a 3 based on the book having typos.

Because of the typos, for my first bake from this book, I chose to make the cake with the least amo

nt of expense and effort, and that was the Fruity Pebbles cake. It was a decent cake, with a somewhat heavy crumb. It was on the super sweet side - even a 9-year-old couldn't finish his piece, and he loves Fruity Pebbles! LOL While not bowled over by this particular cake, everyone does want me to try some of the other cakes.