Unique Wedding Cakes Cookbook

This Unique wedding cakes cookbook is the first wedding cake cookbook to be published. It contains 30 recipes to make your very own unique and unusual wedding cake. What, make my own? Why not! Not only will you save money that you can spend on your honeymoon, but you will also have a very special, one-of-a-kind wedding cake that was definitely made with love. If you are the bride or groom and do not wish to tackle baking a cake on your own, make it a family affair and have a make-a-wedding-cake party where everyone pitches in - from the gathering of measuring of ingredients to the unique decoration after baking. Or you could have that one great baker or chef in the family do it for you. Regardless, this book will show you all the steps for creating your unique wedding cake that you will always remember.

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Product Description

Although the wedding cake is usually one of the last details engaged couples settle on before the big day, it's just as important for setting the tone and style of the celebration as the flowers or the invitations. An elegant, towering Croquembouche studded with golden almonds and wrapped in clouds of spun sugar sends a different message than a rich-looking Gianduja Truffle Cake decorated with fresh fruit and dusted with gold powder or a White Chocolate Satin Apricot Cake adorned with flowers (click to see photos). Chef Dede Wilson believes that wedding cakes should be aesthetically pleasing, but above all should "reflect the tastes, beliefs, and desires of the bridal couple." With the aim of creating cakes that taste as good as they look, Wilson lends her expertise and creative spirit to the marvelous constructions in The Wedding Cake Book.

As much a cookbook as a source of inspiration, The Wedding Cake Book takes bakers--novices and experts alike--step by step through the process of conceptualizing, baking, assembling, and decorating wedding cakes of all levels of difficulty. Each recipe page includes the components needed to make the pictured cake (layers, fillings, decorating accouterments, equipment); the number of servings; the level of difficulty (easier, moderate, or complex); and the recipe and preparation instructions. Other chapters cover finishing touches, cake accompaniments such as sauces and fillings, equipment, and resources for special ingredients or professional equipment. Bakers looking for detailed instructions and delicious recipes and brides seeking ideas for the perfect cake for their postnuptial celebration will find what they're after in The Wedding Cake Book.

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Customer Reviews

If you only buy one wedding cake book ....

User Reviewer: elanorh

I am not a professional wedding cake baker. I work in the food industry though, and have baked wedding cakes and groom cakes (from this book) from family and friends. The family friend who made our wedding cake, used a recipe straight from this book as well- and went out to buy her own copy of the book afterwards. She has baked cakes professionally for quite a few years.

Dede wrote the book well, with detailed descriptions of how to go about making the cakes and the frostings described. I think an amateur could easily use this cookbook to create a cake that they would love -- and I think that 'experts' can learn something from the book, as well. Too many wedding cakes today could just as easily be made of frosting and styrofoam for all the flavor (or personality) which they have. White, shortening-based frosting towers of mediocrity seem to dominate the cakes used at weddings -- if that's what you're looking for, don't bother to look at this book.

If you want something which *might* be unusual (there are some cakes which could satisfy the more 'basic' wedding cake desires some might have) -- if what you want is a cake with actual flavor, not out of a box, and with potentially even, some personality to reflect the interests/backgrounds of the bride and groom -- this is a good place to look.

The Chocolate Raspberry Truffle recipe is divine, and simple. I've given the recipe out many times! I've used several recipes from this cookbook, for special occasions and also just to see what they tasted like. To be honest, one of the things that attracted me to the book is that it focuses on the multiple uses that the cakes could have -- and the fact that for someone who *is not* into frosting details, it isn't intimidating. If you want to create an elaborate frosted cake, you can easily do so (some are elaborate) -- but you can also create a more simple and elegant version if you want to. The cakes and frostings have enough personality to be able to stand without the fancy frostings, if you don't want an elaborate design.

The information about ingredients and where to get them etc. is also good - the author does talk about pesticide concerns with flowers etc., if people pay attention to what's written in her introduction/ingredient area and in the index as well.

I would recommend, though, that for people who aren't used to making things like divinity etc., it would be a good idea to have someone in the kitchen helping you the first time or two that you attempt the Italian Buttercream frosting. It helps to coordinate so that the various steps are ready at the same time, and makes it easier to make when you're first figuring out how it works.

Also one detail not mentioned -- the syrup-based frostings used, may need to be adjusted for altitude, if you try to make them based on temperature. Your boiling temperature etc. will change with altitude, so unless you're comfortable using the old-fashioned "hard ball" "soft ball" etc. stages, you'll want to contact your local Extension office to find out how you might need to adjust the recipes for your elevation.

These cakes are not just for weddings!

User Reviewer:

Dede Wilson's clear instructions and love of fine ingredients inspired me to take her advice and try my hand at a few "practice" cakes. I took the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle cake to a potluck dinner, and it was the hit of the party! I enjoyed the White Chocolate Apricot cake so much, I'm making another one. Because Wilson includes individual recipes for the sizes of all the tiers, from 6" up to 14" in some cases, the reader can make a smaller cake for any type of function. I believe this book IS for the typical bride, if the typical bride is someone who loves the best ingredients combined in a pleasing manner and presented beautifully. I've tried samples of wedding cake from six local professional bakers, and the cakes I've made from this book top them all! Brides, please keep in mind that some wedding cake bakers use mixes; armed with Wilson's book, a bride is sure to serve the best on her wedding day, or any other day that calls for a cake.

Additional Reviews & Information About Unique Wedding Cakes Cookbook

Another user review by Belle from Marion, SC

"I just made a wedding cake for my cousin's wedding and this book was clearly the best as far as giving practical advice, explaining how to fix problems (for example, what to do if you are making Italian meringue frosting and the egg whites are whipped before the sugar syrup is up to temperature or visa-versa so each recipe comes out perfectly!), and including such a wonderful array of gourmet recipes including how to make marzipan (which is so easy! using just corn syrup and almond paste which can be shaped like clay for edible decorations and then I hand tinted/painted mine using paste icing color) and chocolate plastic (simply white chocolate and corn syrup which can be molded or cut out with cookie cutters).

The book has lovely photographs with the recipes and directions immediately following each photo, or, if you're like me, you can pick and choose what ideas you like and augment to your heart's content! I had fun making a pound cake with raspberry mousse filling, Italian meringue buttercream frosting (so smooth and not as sweet as the usual confectioners sugar frostings and it tastes like whipped cream), and decorations out of marzipan and chocolate plastic in the shapes of grapes, acorns, leaves, and roses for the woodland theme wedding. The advantage of marzipan is that it can make very large decorations with little fear that it will collapse. I adore this book and have Dede Wilson's other book as well and hope she'll put out more!"