You know how you wonder if a book is as good on the inside as it looks on the outside? The old cliche of "don't judge a book......"? Well, go ahead and judge this book because the cover is definitely a peek into what is on the inside!!

Absolutely charming! Absolutely wonderful! Absolutely educational! Those words will pretty much sum up the volume of this cake decorating tome. Ms. Porshen has outdone herself in this well-planned, well-executed cookie and cake decorating manual that has covered the wide range of frilly, silly, and elegant presentations.

At first glance, it has a thin spine so one might wonder what can be held within that could possibly divulge so many avenues of learning. But therein lies the fun of how much she has given us; if you are given the basic facts and techniques, the rest of your abilities will come from your imagination. The book itself is large enough to be able to see the details of all the confections that she wishes to teach you. The photography by Georgia Glynn Smith is pristine in detail; you will have no need to wonder about any aspect of what Peggy is trying to show you. And the book cover and jacket are in a bright, happy, I-can't-wait-to-get-started pink so how can you not get excited? And there are are no penciled drawings; everything is shown with bright, clear photographs.

Your education begins right away with:

(Chapter One) The Basics:

equipment

cookies (basic recipe for sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies)

cakes (basic sheet cake recipe and its variations plus frostings and filling; sugar syrup for "wetting" the cake with flavor; Belgian chocolate ganache; how to fill and cover cakes with frosting, marzipan, and fondant; assembling the cakes; assembling tiered cakes)

fondant icing (how to make this plus using it for petit de fours)

royal icing

piping techniques (how to make those lovely thin, piped lines and dots as well as the royal icing flowers like 5-petal flowers, daisies, pansies, and daffodils)

marzipan roses (how absolutely lovely and sweet!)


(Chapter Two) Cookies:

alphabet cookies

heart cookie lollipops

flower basket cookies (and individual mini-flower cookies)

underwater sea creatures (lobsters, tropical fish, starfish, sea horses, seashells, octopus: for these you need templates or the actual cookie cutters)

Easter egg cookies

birthday razzle dazzle cookies (use templates or cookies cutters)

baby shower (diapers, rattles, toys)

butterfly cookies

catwalk cookies (handbags, shoes, dresses; make templates or use cutters)

snowflake cookies


Chapter Three) Cupcakes:

garden cupcakes

daisy cupcakes

kaleidoscope cupcakes

bollywood kitsch cakes (this is the middle of the book so the center pages have a huge photograph of this cupcake and the details make you swoon!)

heart cupcakes

Christmas cupcakes (they are photographed as tucked into a silver cupcake liner with a pale green icing, then decorated with a single royal icing "tree" that is covered in edible sparkles; wow!!)

ruffle rose cupcakes

butterfly cupcakes (this was very interesting in that you make the multi-toned butterflies with royal icing that are air-dried on folded sheets so that it gives a 3-D effect, not one-dimensional; placed on top of a pretty pastel-colored cupcake or cake or cookies, this just POPS at you and is just lovely to look at; it will be the talk of any party!)


Chapter Four) Miniature Cakes:

pansy pots (you actually make "clay pots" to hold the cake/cupcake, then create the lovely flowers that sit on top!)

tea rose cake (this is the cover project; how delicate and charming; a must for a very special occasion!)

treasure boxes (did you ever think of making a "box" or "cup" from fondant? Well, here it is in all its beauty and fun!)

swirly whirly (very 60's and very groovy)

wedding (mini-wedding cakes sitting on a tower of cake pedestals!)

canapes (all striped and make of chocolate!)

stripy rose (all striped from the top of the cake by the center flower down the sides of the cake)

fantasy slices (individual slices with all their own decorations)


Chapter Five) Large Cakes:

Valentine heart cake

3-column wedding cake (3 same-shaped but various sized cakes connected by a cascade fall of piped and molded flowers; definitely a fun challenge but very doable!)

gift box (how fun for your present to be this "present" cake; very easy!)

pink wedding cake

English rose wedding cake (this used the art of "brushed embroidery" which is a technique where you paint a flower and use a small brush to "fan out" the details; very dramatic effect yet simple to master)

daisies cake (how exquisite!!)

romantic rose tower cake (exactly what she says it is, a "tower" of roses in a conical form with lovely butterflies springing out of the sides)

Templates

Glossary

Suppliers

Acknowledgements

Index

OK..................by now you can tell that I am entranced with this book and what it offers. This is absolutely one of my top ten cake decorating books, hands down. But if you need more objective reasons to add this to your cake library, figure that if celebrities like Elton John, Gwyneth Paltrow, and others in the U.K. have requested her services, she must be quite good. A most gracious thank you to Ms. Porshen, from across the pond!!

I have a vast array of cake decorating books in my collection and I've never come across one that I liked anywhere near as much as this book. With such a beautiful cover, I assumed that this would be the highlight of the book and then there would be a few other nice ones that I might try as well. I was not prepared to want to try about 90% of the ideas in this book. In fact, there are about 10 in here that could have easily been the cover recipe. The Romantic Rose Tower (although VERY intimidating) has got to be the most beautiful and original cake I've ever seen. I highly recommend this book - if just for the artwork! I can't wait to get started.

This book is more than I expected... it's just great for ideas and quick tips.

It's good to keep this book.