Cover Image: The Beginner's Guide to Cake Decorating

The Beginner's Guide to Cake Decorating

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Member Reviews

Very informative book. Full of a lot of useful information. This book will also be very useful for future reference

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The perfect book for beginners. The pictures are beautiful and the step by step instructions are extremely useful for bakers just starting out. As a home baker, I found this book to very instructive and helpful in learning the basics.

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Easy to follow with simple instructions which I really need! Having great photos is also really useful for beginners and more experienced cake decorators looking to improve their skills. I liked the helpful chart on how much cake batter for the different size cakes as I never make enough and then have to make more.
There are really useful sections on how to bake the cake; recipes for different types of icings; methods for icing, stacking, and transporting cakes; modelling people and animals, techniques such as stencilling and painting on cakes and using edible paper. Everything you could possibly need and more. It’s a fantastic book.

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I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. There are a lot of excellent ideas and directions for cake decorating in this book. Perfect for every beginner.

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*received for free from netgalley for honest review* i have always loved reading cake decorating books, of course i never make any cakes but since i was a kid i have always loved reading them so this was a fun book for me even if i never use anything i learned lol

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Several years ago I took cake decorating lessons and I had so much fun! If you have the slightest interest, I would suggest doing it. I took mine at the defunct AC Moore, but I think they have them at Michael's. Oh yeah, the book! THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO CAKE DECORATING, in some ways is better than taking classes and in other ways, not as much. That being said, without having a live instructor to lead you through it, you'll still get some great help using this book. The instructions are clear and the photos as lovely as helpful.

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This book is great especially if you love to bake and want to get creative with decorating. The perfect beginners guide to cake decorating. I can't decide which decorated design is my favourite as they are all super cute. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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I am awful at decorating my cakes. Hopefully after reading this book I may be less awful. There are so many tips and ideas. From the basics to the more challenging. The author gives easy to follow instructions with step by step pictures to go along.

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Some of these seem way too hard for beginners, but there are great techniques in here that I will definitely be using.

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Thank you NetGalley and Autumn Carpenter for this ARC of The Beginner’s Guide to Cake Decorating. I have recently become interested in taking my cake decorating skills to a new level and this book is perfect for me. It is well organized with tools needed, recipes ( in both US and metric measurements), step by step instructions, and great pictures. I have already made one cake using skills learned in the book and look forward to making many more.

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Want to have attractive cakes?
Co-owner of a confectionary supply store, sugar artist, and teacher Autumn Carpenter presents her book "The Beginner's Guide to Cake Decorating. A Step-by-Step Guide to Decorate with Frosting, Piping, Fondant, and Chocolate and More", published by Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry (New Shoe Press). The book is divided into four sections: 1) Basic Cake Preparation, 2) Piping Techniques, 3) Fondant and Gum Paste Accents, and 4) Miscellaneous Techniques. Carpenter wants to share her passion with her readers and states: "It is likely that cake decorating will soon become your passion. With practice and patience, you can become a great cake decorator. Have fun learning and remember: There is no right or wrong way to decorate a cake. Over time, you will develop a unique style. Cake decorating is an art and the iced cake is your canvas" (p. 7). The book contains a very detailed section about tools for baking and decorating cakes and Carpenter shows throughout the book how they are used. There are tips like "Perfecting Butter cream", "Reviving Paste", "Crumb Control", or "Perfecting Fondant" included in the book as well as resources and an index. I highly appreciate that the measurements are in cups and milliliters / ounces and kilograms and the temperatures are in °F and °C. I highly recommend this book since the step-by-step approach is a help for beginners and experienced decorators can find new inspiration and new techniques.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#TheBeginnersGuideToCakeDecorating #Netgalley

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I received a complementary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Every woman needs to own this book in her kitchen. The techniques and suggestions in the book are very helpful, as well, as the photos for every step! I highly recommend this to beginners such as me. Get it!

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This is a lovely book to start anyone off on their journey to cake decorating. Unfortunately, I couldn't find my piping tools, but hope to try some of those techniques laid out in the book soon. I did make two of the recipes (there aren't many) that are included: caramel filling, and buttercream icing. The caramel filling was very simple and absolutely divine in my dark chocolate cake. I opted to add cocoa to the buttercream for chocolate icing and my family who usually spurns buttercream licked their plates clean!

Highly recommend.

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This book really helps to build skills starting with the simplistic use of decorating tips to pipe borders to expanding your creativity with flowers and decorative art.

Even if you are not new to decorating, the layout and instructions can help you brush on your techniques and help you expand your skills with tips and tricks for using different materials for decorating.

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Have you wanted to get started on decorating cakes? Not sure where to start and what items you will need, then this is a great book to have. The author provides you with detailed lists of items you will need and describes each one so you are not left with any questions.

I found this book to be a wonderful starting point. There are even a few icing recipes for you to try. The pictures in the book are exquisite and really help the reader understand clearly what the section is about.

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This is a great guide to cake decoration for beginners. The step by step photos help a lot! This book teaches you what tools to use, piping techniques, fondant, and other techniques. There's also recipes for fillings and icing and lots of tips and tricks. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

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The beginner’s guide to cake decorating is a very useful as well as helpful book for aspiring baker to learning to decorate a cake. It’s a go to book for every beginner. I liked that the author have used a very attractive layout in the presentation of the book, which makes it very attractive to the reader. The author have also provided pictures for every technique she has shown, which makes it easy for the reader the understand. The author also touches on lot of useful technique, which are the basics that every cake decorators should know.

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I'm not a novice when it comes to cake decorating, however, I found this book to be very helpful even though the title says "for the beginners". This book is very thorough and comprehensive, and contains many step-by-step instructions with beautiful photos. If you're a visual learner, this book is a party for your eyes! This book covers pretty much everything from baking, leveling, making buttercream and such and includes pictures of tools, techniques and suggestions which are very helpful whether you're a beginner or an advanced cake decorator. However, as another review mentioned, it does not show final product of completed cakes, so just be mindful that you have to use your imagination how your cakes or baked good will look.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and learned a lot from it. If you're into cake decorating, I'd definitely recommend this book as it covers plenty of information from basics to advanced level!

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This is a fantastic, comprehensive guide to cake decorating. Beginner and advanced cake decorators can learn from the tips and tricks in this book. It teaches you how to properly cut and level, fill, frost, and decorate cakes with fondant and other beautiful edible shapes.

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This ‘how to’ cake decorating book covers everything you ever wanted to know when it comes to making your bakes look beautiful. The instructions are clear, simple and in easy to follow wording, and the step by step close up photographs guide you through each individual component of the decoration you’re doing.. It talks you through all the essential equipment, so you’re prepped and ready to go from the off. It covers everything from hand piping techniques, to fondant rolling. It’s definitely given me the confidence to have a go at decorating - something I’ve always shied away from. If you’re wanting to give cake decorating a go, I’d definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry and Netgalley for an eARC of this book to read and review.

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