Cakes to Dream On: A Master Class in Decorating

I normally write reviews for fiction, so this one is a little different and new to me. It needs to be said that I am in no way near being a master at cake decorating. In all honesty, I bought Cakes to Dream on: A Master Class because it was beautiful. The cover, the cakes inside, all of it, it's just amazing! My mom was a cake decorator for years, so for this review I asked her opinion on the book. The instructions: Very easy to follow. The diagrams and drawings are thorough, as they not only tell you what you need to do, they also show you. I learn from seeing much faster than I do from words alone, so the sketches, patterns, and diagrams are a HUGE plus. Practicality for the average person: For just the average, everyday person?? Not the most practical. These aren't cakes that you would be making for a kids birthday party. Part of what makes this book so amazing IS the fact that you won't see these cakes anywhere else. They are equal parts unique and amazing!! Being hardbound, if you bought the book at a regular store, it would be a bit pricey at $40. Luckily, I got through Amazon for around $25, and I consider that a steal! The recipes: These are the same recipes used in bakeries with some bonus variations. The best feature: While the photography is stunning, the cakes brilliantly unique, what sells me the most are the diagrams, sketches, and patterns. They are definitely the biggest selling point. Even if I had never planned to do any of the cakes out of here, I would still keep the book on my shelf just to show it off!!

These cakes are amazing. Stunning. Out-of-this-world gorgeous. The cake represented on this website, believe it or not, is one of the plain Janes of the bunch. This book is not for beginners! But it will be worth working up to being able to create cakes like these. They're not just cakes -- they're ephemeral sculptures. You'll find a cake appropriate for any theme or event. Some of the cakes are quirky and funny; others are elegant. Some reviewers said that they felt the instructions weren't comprehensive enough. Well, it's just that the step-by-step technique instructions are only given once -- in the first portion of the book, and they are plenty comprehensive. They just aren't reiterated with each cake. You have to read about the techniques first, and then you get the more detailed information for each cake. I am in awe of Ms. Peters' prowess -- these cakes really are amazing.

I really loved this book. I actually made three cakes from the book. I like the step by step. Clear explanations. I may never reach the caliber of Collette Peters, but I did enjoy giving it a try. I still refer to the book when I am attempting a new technique. Her cakes are fun. I am glad I spent the money. You won't be disappointed. Thanks!

`Cakes to Dream On', subtitled `A Master Class in Decorating' by major American pastry artist and teacher, Colette Peters has the ambition to be an advanced class in multi-tiered cake decorating. This ambition is not to be taken lightly, as there is very little in this book for the amateur home / bake sale cook. This is not to say that the book is not chocked full of great ideas, if you already know a lot about how to work with royal icing, fondant, marzipan, and multi-layered cakes. I have made a two and three layered birthday cake in my day, but these creations are entirely out of my league. The book consists of four general parts. The first part is the first chapter on `How to Make a Decorated Cake', which covers materials to use as the base of a multi-layered cake, who to reinforce the layers, and how to make crooked cakes on purpose. For those few of you out there who actually make tiered cakes, this is one of the more useful topics, although I confess much of it is pretty common sensical. The second part of the book is the next eight (8) chapters, which are almost all alike in being simply collections of decorated cakes done by the author and her company with instructions on how to make these cakes and their decorations. The instructions assume the person making the cake has access to a lot of specialized tools, materials, and specialized training. One decorated cake chosen at random requires: Fondant Tracing Wheel Gumpaste Ribbon Roses and Leaves Royal Icing dots on wires (oh my) Luster dust Royal Icing Gumpaste Pearls Three foamboard circles Foamboard base Gumpaste curly hearts Lemon Extract Piping bag and #2 tip Oval shaped dragees Paintbrush Descriptions of how to construct several of the cakes include printed templates for preparing some of the designs on the cake. I find these particularly unhelpful, as they require one to have an enlarging photocopier handy to enlarge the diagrams on heavy paper from which they can be cut and used as a template. Now I am certain that a commercial pastry shop would have such a copier, so this reinforces my impression that this book is really meant primarily as an idea source for other pastry professionals. The third section is recipes for cakes and icings. One is likely to find as good or better recipes for these things in books by Maida Heatter, Nick Malgieri, or Rose Levy Beranbaum. If your primary interest is in baking birthday cakes or bakesale cakes, I strongly suggest you get Beranbaum's `The Cake Bible' (which happened to win best cookbook of the year from the IACP a few years back) instead of investing in this book which works much better as coffee table decoration than as a manual for cake baking. Beranbaum includes such things as candy and nut embellishments, food processor fondant, rolled fondant, chocolate fondant, pastillage, rose modeling paste, crystal flowers, as well as her extensive recipes for cake, fillings, and icings. The fourth section has a title suggesting that now the `master class' in techniques really begins. This chapter includes short sections on which one could easily write a whole book, such as: Mixing paste colors into Fondant Painting with Powdered Colors Airbrushing a cake Fondant Decorations Gumpaste Decorations Piping Techniques Run-in Sugar Brush Embroidery Making Edible Crystal Beads Sugar Beads Basic Techniques - Dividing a Round Cake evenly for Decorating - Sculpting a Cake - Getting Cakes from Here to There Quick Reference Guide to Tools and Ingredients Without a doubt, Ms. Peters' cakes are knockouts and her photographs and techniques are chocked full of ideas for professionals. Jacques Torres and Ewald Notter are not going to endorse just anyone's book. It is just that her book is simply not very well organized to teach people with modest skills and objectives. So, if your objective is to daydream or to open a professional decorated cake store, this book is for you. If you simply want to improve your cake baking and decorating skills a bit, get Beranbaum's book and an inexpensive pamphlet on cake decorating from Wilton at your nearest hobby mart.

If you are a beginner in cake decorating, this is not the book for you. It's a bit advanced (as the title suggests) but it's a great goal to work up to! Ms Peters is sooo talented and creative! I've got half the cakes marked for making for special occassions. My only complant is that they are very small cakes, for the most part. If you want larger cakes, I'd suggest Colette's Weddings Cakes, and if you're a beginner, I'd suggest Colette's Cakes. Most of the tools she uses to make these cakes can be bought through [...] if you don't have a cake-making shop or a hobby shop that carries cake supplies in your town. The receipes for the cakes are absolutely delicious, too, a definite plus!

I have to agree with the very first, well written review. This book is beautiful and if you already know what you're doing, it can offer some helpful ideas for the cakes that she does. However if you are a novice or new to the cake decorating field, you'd be lost. I wish I would've waited until I had a little more experience with stacking cakes because even though this book claims to direct you through that process, it really does not do a good job with the childish illistrations it provides. The pictures of the cakes are beautiful, but the templates really do nothing because there is no instruction on how to use them to decorate your cake. I would advise that if you are looking for something that is more instructional and helpful, keep looking and pass this one up (for now). Splurge on this book once you've become familiar with all of the tools that she expects you to have and know how to use.

I tried just her basic cake recipe in the back of the book, and it was to die for ,plus the chocolate mousse filling/ frosting my friends went crazy, and the fondant worked for me and I had never ever made a rolled fondant , I need more practice, but I was estatic that I got decent results . Most of the cakes are fantasy cakes ,but it is a great coffee table book that has real recipes that work . I think it is worth the price and I hate spending money

I gave this book 5 stars for many reasons such as great packaging, quickly shipped, the book was in great condition and the book it self had beautiful pictures and step by step instructions to creating beautiful art work. Amazing recipes with great directions and the results are always beautiful. I loved the book!

Love this book, so happy I purchased it! Cant say enough about Collette Peters. Shes amazing, her designs are amazing and this book was inspiring.

EN LA PORTADA PARECE QUE ES UN LIBRO DONDE TE ENSEÑAN HACER TARTAS TOPSY, PUES NO NO TIENE NADA K VER CON LO QUE PARECE SER. MUY DESEPCIONADA CON EL CONTENIDO DEL LIBRO.

Libro utile e pieno di tante idee carine e con pazienza anche realizzabili. Una chicca per gli amanti del Cake Design da prendere e gustare!

A fabulous book, full of inspirational cakes and exciting elements that could be put together in so many ways. , I have so many ideas from looking at these gorgeous cakes. That's what cake designing is all about, not replicating these genious cakes, but being inspired to create your own masterpiece.

I love this book. Not all the designs are my cup of tea but there are sooooooo many that surely everyone will like some. My favourite ones are the one on the cover and all those using pastel shades. Stacking techniques and techniques to make crocked cakes are very well explained but also other useful techniques to make cakes look stunning. Very inspiring.