The Whimsical Bakehouse

Sometimes, you’ll look at a cake and just say “wow.” And I’m talking about the good kind of “wow,” not the kind that is uttered when perusing Cake Wrecks. I’m talking about the kinds of cakes that might make you stop in a bakery window and stare, and these are the kinds of cakes that The Whimsical Bakehouse: Fun-to-Make Cakes That Taste as Good as They Look! teaches you to put together, from basic single-layer cakes to towering three-layer creations.

The book starts out with the basics, so it is good for all levels of would-be cake decorators, there is no need to have extensive experience working with piped frostings and fondants before you get started. First, it goes through a list of all the tools that you’ll need, both edible and inedible, and describes how they should be used. Then, the book goes on to discuss coloring, so you’ll be able to get brightly-colored finished products, and cake assembly, so your layers will stack up neatly and be stable enough to decorate and transport.

After all this, the book gets into the recipes and the decorating techniques themselves. There are lots of recipes in the book, both for cakes, fillings and frostings. The instructions are very well-explained so, like the decorations on top of the cake, you also have a cake that tastes like it was designed by a professional. The decorations are the main focus of the book, however, and you will not be disappointed with the guidance given by the authors. They explain everything from the specific process used to make and work with the frostings/decorations, to the different types of dyes and food colorings that you might want to work with to achieve your desired result. There are lots of excellent photos in the book to inspire you and to help guide you through the cake-decorating process with confidence, too.