Fantastical Cakes

Description

Baking and decorating a cake can be a challenge, and when the end result doesn't taste as good as it looks, a big disappointment! Author and seasoned baker Gesine Bullock-Prado has perfected a method for creating eye-catching spectacular cakes that measure up. Her step-by-step instruction for baking, piping, and making decorations make each bit manageable, whether it's baking layers ahead of time and freezing, or taking the time to crank out a slew of gorgeous frosting flowers that hold beautifully in the freezer until you need them. Her aim is to present a 'system' for cake decorating that carries you through from baking to finishing, no step skipped or left unexplained. Just remember BaDASS: Bake ahead, Dam, Assemble, Smooth coat, and Spruce it up. The layers are as easy as box mixes, and the smoothing and decorating instructions work the first time (not a thousand passes later). From custom shapes to complement a party theme to ultra-gorgeous cakes for special occasions, it's all within reach.

Gesine Bullock-Prado is the owner/instructor of Sugar Glider Kitchen, a baking school in Hartford, Vermont. She lives in a small farm with her husband, two dogs, two cats, chickens, and water fowl. She bakes and cooks from the bounty of her property. She is the author of Bake It Like You Mean It , Let Them Eat Cake, My Life from Scratch, Sugar Baby, and Pie it Forward and has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens, People Magazine, Us Magazine, Yankee Magazine, and In Style Magazine. She appears regularly on the Today Show and The Talk, and she's the host of Food Network's Baked in Vermont. She lives in Hartford, Vermont.