Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make

SUGAR ALERT: I will be fawning and tripping all over in talking about this book! If you are a closet cake-decorator but you don't feel up in the ranks of Duff or Colette or Martha, then grab this book and hold on to your socks, because Karen Tack and Alan Richardson will take you on a fabulous decorating ride!! Wow, wow, and WOW! This veritable encyclopedia of "mini-cake" decorating is so fun and easy that there is absolutely no excuse for anyone to lament "they can't". With the use of food items found anywhere, you will be making the cutest, and most impressive cupcake creations you can possibly think of, and Karen and Alan will make you legendary to boot! This team of talent has come up with extremely amazing and irresistable cupcakes like giraffes, Van Gogh paintings, clowns, aquariums, etc that will all fit on top of a little poof of cake batter. The book size itself is large with big print which lends itself to the purpose of the photographic detail that is so big, sharp, and clear, there is no doubt or question on sequence or step. Karen Tack is the recipe creator and food stylist and Alan Richardson is the text writer and photographer; both are brilliant and incredibly talented individuals, so as a team, they are a match made in cupcake heaven. The Acknowledgement page was itself fun and relaxed, not something plodded through; you can tell it was done with real gratitude and thought, which is part of the overall charm of how this book was put together. There are 8 chapters between the "Introduction" and the "Sources"; got those socks gripped?........ INTRODUCTION: Your text page begins the journey, and right after, you are given an impressive section of pages that visually, and with text, show you how you will make the many creations through the use of candies, cookies, and types of sugars. CUPCAKING TECHNIQUES: This was invaluable for those who are novice cupcake bakers or wannabe's. Hints and instructions on methods for pouring batter, spreading frosting, making frosting, and melting chocolate for designs, are shown in close detail. They show you how to make "fur" for the lion cupcakes and "leaves" for flowers. This is followed by methods used to draw "bugs", people faces, and hairstyles by using melted chocolate and candies. The next section shows how you will literally build up these creations, like the bowling pin cupcakes, so instruction is shown in simple and fascinating detail. Part of the more complex designs require a grouping of cupcakes, like "corn on the cob", "rabbits in a hole", or the "alligator", and you are given an idea of the schematics involved in getting them just right! APRIL FOOL'S THEME: Corn on the Cob Bagels and Lox Buttered Popcorn TV Dinner ("peas & carrots", "drumsticks", & "mashed potato" cupcakes!) Spaghetti and Meatballs Box of Chocolates Van Gogh's "Starry Night" in frosting (he'd love it!) PARTY ANIMALS: March of the Penguins Fat Cats (cats with their paws on fishbones!) Fishbowl (you use those Pepperidge Farm fishies for this one!) Panda-monium Westies Crazy Horses (this uses candy circus peanuts and wafers) Pup Cakes (a whole bunch of poochies to choose from!) Monarchs (what a great Spring party or bridal shower presentation!) Shark Attack (you'll want to go into these waters!) Old Swampy the 'Gator HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CUPCAKE!: When I Grow Up Party Princess (any little girl will just LOVE these!) Slumber Party Big Birthday Party Bowl Me Over (this is soooo darn cute; pins and a bowling ball!!!) The Big Top (definitely a more time-required, but great, project) HOSTEST with the MOSTEST: Sunflowers (a veritable burst of green and yellow and Oreo cookies!) Black and White Party Play Pool (no one will mind the 8 ball!) Baby Shower Petit Fours (very elegant and delicate) Garden Party ( a "garden" of carrots, peas, radishes, and cabbage) Easter Eggs Rabbit Holes (so unbelievably clever; Karen Tack is a genious!) Candy Stars and Stripes Forever Family Tree Wedding Cake and Monograms NIGHTMARE BEFORE THANKSGIVING: Alien Invasion Creepy Crawlers (almost good enough for goin' fishin') What a Hoot Pumpkin Patch ( absolutely adorable; Alan's photography is superb!) Howling Werewolves Autumn Leaves (how did they think of this great project?!) Larry the Turkey HOLIDAY ON ICING: Edible Ornaments (incredible boxed "ornaments"!) String of Delights Snow Globes (this was sheer genius by placing the cakes on their side!) Gingerbread Boys Partridge in a Pear Tree (fantastic!) Nutcracker Sweet (you'll be dancing!) Frosting the Snowman (too darn cute!) White Wreath (Christmas glory in white and red! Awesome!) CUPCAKES AND FROSTINGS: (Cake mix recipes): Pumpkin Spice, Chocolate Chunk Surprise, Chocolate Mint, Orange Spice, Banana Chocolate, Gingerbread (Homemade recipes): Chocolate Cupcakes, Banana Cupcakes, Carrot Cupcakes, Almond Cupcakes, Lemon-Poppy Seed Cupcakes, Vanilla Cupcakes (Frostings): Next-to-Instant Ganache (melted chocolate), Homemade Ganache, Almost-Homemade Vanilla Buttercream, Cream Cheese Frosting, Chocolate Frosting SOURCES OK, OK.................I have gone beyond fawning but if you're a cake decorating fool like myself, you understand the passion. My deep gratitude to Karen and Alan; you guys ROCK!

It is apparent that everyone who loves this book loves the cute creations. I agree, but you could also go on-line and see videos from this book and instructions on how to create items like the owl cupcakes or cute penguins. What I feel makes the book worth purchasing are the additional sections. The book teaches the techniques, offers particular examples and then acts as a springboard for you to create your own cupcake designs. The projects are easy - requiring only a few items like a can of frosting, a ziplock bag, some cupcake batter and candy decorations. Karen and Alan claim that you don't need any baking skills to make these projects. I agree. It is a very simple, straight forward book. In the beginning of the book the authors take items such as mini marshmallows and Froot Loops to create various facial expressions like silly, goofy, angry moody and happy. The beginning pages of the book list essential tools for decorating. There are also four pages showcasing design materials - everything from sprinkles to Laffy Taffy. It has changed the way I view the candy aisles at the store. I now look at the candy on the shelves and think about the ways I could incorporate it into new cupcake designs. The book offers cupcaking techniques, like how to easily fill the cupcake liners with cupcake batter without spilling or dribbling (Use a 1-quart ziplock freezer bag). They demonstrate how to frost a cupcake, how to create a decorative edge around the cupcake and how to create various frosting designs. Cake decorating bags and tips are not needed for these projects. The frosting is placed in zip lock bags and the tips are cut in special patterns to create straight lines or stars. There is a section on melting candy wafers to draw patterns (like hair). There is a section on building with cupcakes, dipping cupcakes and creating multiple cupcake designs. Once you master the simple techniques you can move on to the various designs. They are divided into sections like April Fool's, Party Animals, Happy Birthday, Cupcake!, Hostess with the Mostest, Nightmare Before Thanksgiving and Holiday on Icing. The book ends with recipes for cupcakes and frostings (although a boxed mix and tub of already made frosting are good as well) This is a perfect gift to give someone who enjoys making creative desserts. It is also fun to do some of these projects with children. Enjoy time in the kitchen together as a family creating cute designs. Children can be quite creative and the results are fun to share with family and friends.

I'm a budding professional cake decorator and have been making cakes for family gatherings for YEARS (since age 11 or so and I'm 27 now) but I think these designs would be very easy for a total beginner as well. There's a wide range of styles and milieus here, from goofy to gross to pretty and elegant to festive, so it's bound to suit anyone's tastes and every holiday or occasion. Best of all, none of the designs, to my knowledge, require expensive or obscure ingredients. The directions are laid out in step by step format with plenty of pictures. You can substitute your own ingredients or colors. It's surprising how many unique and high quality ideas are found in this guide. You'd think it would be hard to find enough good cupcake ideas to fill up a whole book but not only is there this book, there is a sequel (What's New, Cupcake?) that has just as many unique and great designs. Some of my favorites from this book are the billiard balls, which I made, the nutcracker ones, and the aliens. There are a lot more but I can't remember them all.

I've never been much of a chef, but I do enjoy baking occasionally, so I was exited when I saw this book. The author does a good job of making it easy to bake cupcakes, however she does slip into the proffesional side of things every so often. my expectation was that I'd get a book that would teach me how to make fantastic looking cupcakes easily without any super-duper baking utensils. In that sense the book does almost perfectly almost... most of the candies and tecniques are something you can find in your local grocery store, however some items are only availible thru a specialty shoppe, and though some would think you could just go without, the items in question are used frequently in recipes making them either a necessary evil or a chance to try out your alternative thinking caps. I am very satisfied tho with the way they made me think about decorating cupcakes, the book forced me to think in 3D and opened up alot of creativity, now I just have to match my skills with my creative drive. all in all a very good cupcake!

This book is great in itself as merely a coffee table book - the photos are gorgeous! And some of the ideas for the cupcakes are so creative - you can't help but to smile while thumbing through the pages. The step by step instructions are so simple, and its easy to substitute things to your liking. There are TONS of tips and tricks, and great ideas to make your baking and decoration better. You don't have to be a great baker, this is about the presentation and making them look so adorable! It's very easy to follow and I think you'll be surprised at how things turn out - without having to e sure artistic or creative! No Pinterest fails here! There is a sequel now too! So many cute decoration ideas now that Its so easy to find any creative idea to match a dessert to your party theme. Highly Recommend.

When I saw this book featured on the Martha Stewart show, I thought, "Do I really need another baking book? I have so many..." I decided to get it anyway, thinking I could always pass it along to someone else if I was not fond of it. Well, I am SO GLAD I made this purchase! The book is beautiful- and I really mean that- the book itself is beautiful, large in size, softcover, with huge color photos and great instructional pages. The recipes are really not that complex (they vary from very detailed to very simple, even though they look challenging at first glance). The author teaches you how to make a variety of adorable cupcakes, and they don't all have to be used for kid parties - there are some showstoppers in there for weddings, party favors, barbeques, holidays, and more. My favorites are the garden patch, the "April Fool's" cupcakes, the alligator, and the pandas. The book is not full of cupcake recipes - it is more of a cupcake design book, as it shows you how to create these fabulous cakes. At the end of the book there is an actual baking recipe section, and I LOVE how the author has two kinds of recipes- simple, quick cupcakes you can make with boxed mixes, and then another section of "from scratch" cupcake recipes. Even if you never make a single cupcake from this book, it is STILL worth purchasing for its sheer beauty. It is fun to flip through the pages and look at the adorable creations and see how they were put together. I LOVE this book. If you are STILL saying you don't need another baking book, do what I did and throw out one old cookbook so that there is room on the shelf for this baby.

We purchased this book for my 11 yr. old daughter to experiment with cake decorating before we invested in a class for her. We had found the author's website and their blog and just couldn't resist. There are no special skills required, no special equipment, and ANYONE can make these gorgeous little cakes. And the designs--unlike anything I've ever seen in a cupcake book. So completely different and charming that we just looked at the pictures for three days before we even tried to bake anything. There is nice tutorial at the beginning on how to us Ziplock bags as a decorating bag, how to frost a cupcake, anchor design elements and how to use melting wafers, among other things. The book is full of pictures to help you along and the directions are very clear. Yes, you do have to make a trip to the store for some of the candy items necessary, but all but one of the items is readily available at the local grocery or convenience store. The only thing I have never seen is white circus peanuts used for the horse's heads. My daughter has made the sunflower cupcakes, the slumber party cupcakes, and the black and whites. We're having a cupcake for every occasion and looking for excuses to make more. There are very few recipes in the book, some are just ways to doctor up a cake mix and some are simple home made varieties, but the authors don't claim to have written a recipe book. This book is completely about decorating, even though the cake mix recipes have been really good so far. The inspiration and encouragement to come up with your own designs is huge. The author's website features a cupcake club with a monthly cupcake challenge in which readers send in the pictures of their own themed creations or their reproductions of the designs in the book. We didn't join the club, but my daughter has done the flower challenge and is working on turning Rover into a cupcake. FUN! My recommendation is to BUY THIS BOOK! If an 11 yr. old can produce fun and delicious cupcakes, let me tell you, anyone can do the same. It's a gem that we'll use over and over and over.

This is the most fun, creative, and charming cupcake decorating book that I have come across. The designs are phenomenal, and the authors show you how to create each design, step-by-step. They have a supply list for each type of cupcake (so you don't go into the grocery store trying to figure out what you need, without much guidance), and there are a few basic techniques that they repeat, but to create different effects. So, for example, you might use a cookie for a panda head, but you will use it to make beagle ears. This is primarily a design book, NOT a cookbook, although the authors provide a few recipes in the back for a basic cupcake and frostings. Even with the fantastic pictures (the book is loaded with them) and the wonderful instruction, making cupcakes like this takes a lot of time and love. There's no way around that, so please don't fault the book if you find that the learning curve is steep, or that it's taking you hours to decorate the 40 cupcakes that you promised to bake for your child's first grade class!

Dieses Buch ist auch für nicht englisch Leser geeignet. Für mich gibt dieses Buch unzählige Anregungen frei und genau das habe ich gesucht. Ich kann das Buch, Karen Tack und auch den Verkäufer nur empfehlen. Immer wieder gerne.

あまりの表紙の可愛さに買った一冊です。中も、とにかくカラフル！想像力豊かで自由なデコレーション。 子供に作ってあげたら、大喜びするような写真ばかりです。美味しいかどうかは分かりませんが… 見ているだけでも楽しい一冊なので☆５つ！

12 year old granddaughter likes this. Fun ideas. On time delivery.

I love the ideas even I have difficulties finding the necessary ingredients to follow the instructions in the book, I am still happy with it. Book involves just a few reciepes, rest is like combining packs of sugar candies and other American products to creat the art of cupcakes. But some of them like "wafers" not really available in Europe or at least in Turkey. However I dont think that they are not doable. I do spend more time,I baked or shaped the ingredients from scrach, fondan or sugar paste and some candies available at supermarkets but my customers loved ito I could creat a big smile before they got a bite ( which is my goal) so as long as they are happy I am happy. So if you are patient and like doing crafts I guess this book is really useful for you:) thanks for great authors and have a nice day:)

Good book!