Product Description

Synopsis Peggy Porschen is the doyenne of fabulously stylish decorated cakes, cupcakes and cookies. Charming designs in striking colors have become her trademark. By turns enchanting and dramatic, her intriguingly shaped cakes and cookies feature flora and fauna, like flowers and butterflies, or geometric and abstract patterns. Her first book, Pretty Party Cakes, drew such comments as "[she is] like Cath Kidston meets Nigella Lawson." In this, her second book, Peggy applies that vision to her own favorite subject area romance. There are the glorious wedding cakes for which she first rose to fame, but she has also devised wondrous flights of fancy to celebrate true love, from its earliest stirrings on Valentine's Day, through proposal and engagement, the wedding shower and to the big day itself and even anniversaries. Designed to suit readers of all skill-levels, the book also contains an easy-to-follow Basics section covering equipment, recipes an techniques. Readers can then confidently tackle projects like Peggy's evocative Venetian Mask Cookies, her irresistible Je t'Aime Fondant Fancies, the sweetest way to pop the question and even attempt something spectacular, like her breathtaking Bed of Roses. There is something for everybody from projects so simple beginners can achieve rewarding results to more complex assemblages, but clear text and step-by-step photography make even these easy. Peggy's edible fantasies will make you want to take up palette knife and icing bag to create these irresistibly pretty cookies and cakes. Romance radiates from every page and no one could fail to be seduced by Peggy's vivid world of love.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #161734 in Books
• Published on: 2007
• Binding: Hardcover

Customer Reviews

Same book, different name...
Peggy Porschen has many beautiful and creative decorating ideas, and it's easy to want all of them! However, be aware that this book is IDENTICAL to her "Romantic Cakes" book. I think the "romantic" version was published for the UK, and the "beautiful" version was published for the US. The only differences I saw were in measurements (centimeter vs inch) and the names of some items (rolled fondant instead of sugar paste; decorating bag instead of piping bag). Beautiful ideas all around!

Fabulous baking projects at any skill level!
Though this wonderful project of baking and design was written in 2007, I've only just found out about it, so regardless of time, I needed to put my two cents worth into a review.

It's just marvelous! The team of both cake designer Peggy Porschen and the luscious photography of Georgia Glynn Smith have created a wonderful presentation of visual treats that will appeal to bakers and food designers of all skill levels.

The text is written clearly and in detailed steps to assist anyone, especially an enthusiastic beginner. This will help anyone create some of the most simple but stunning projects in cake or cookie form.

Peggy Porschen is well-known within the U.K. for many years and has the appreciation of some of the top stars, performers, and elite both within Europe as well as the US. But because Ms. Porschen has the obvious joy and kindness in which to share her skills, those of us "average joe's" (or "average josephine's) can feel equally appreciative at the same table. Her years of experience at some of the top European restaurants and hotels have helped her to perfect her baking artistry, and she has been most open to sharing her wisdom with us.

"Beautiful Cakes" is a large, comfortable book with photography that is very close-up and detailed so one can see the nuances of what takes plain cakes and cookies into extraordinary ones. The colors are vivid and sharp, and it seems that both Peggy and Georgia make a fine team that knows how to bring out the best in each others work.

The book is broken down into 4 sections:

COOKIES
MINI CAKES
LARGE CAKES
BASICS

She also gives you a Glossary, Suppliers, Quantity and Portion Guides, as well as the Acknowledgments and Index to help keep things sorted. The important part of everything within the covers of this book is that anyone can make anything found within its pages because the supplies needed can be obtained at both US and UK business establishments. For myself, I have found these US cake decorating businesses have been great: Global Sugar Art in New York, Kitchen Krafts, Fancy Flours, First Impressions Molds in Florida, International School of Sugar Art in Georgia to name a few.

Each creation begins with an entire page devoted to the completed project in big, bright photography so you have a very clear visual of how your baking endeavor should look. You're then are given a brief introduction followed by the listing of supplies needed. Step-by-step photography of each action needed is photographed for you, as you begin to read and carry out the instructions.

Cookies:
LUSCIOUS LIPS (bright pinks and reds for an obvious ode to amour as you use any size cookie cutter to blow a "kiss" to a loved one)
BUTTERFLIES AWAY (using butterfuly cookie cutters, royal icing is piped onto cookies to make delicate coverings of white or pastels; tiny holes are made in the cookies in order to thread delicate white ribbons and suspend these gorgeous creatures in delicate fashion)
BRIDE AND GROOM COOKIES (How adorable are these bride cookies dresses and grooms cookie tuxedos? And don't forget the Bridesmaids and Groomsmen too!)
HEART SHAPED PLACECARDS COOKIES (hearts of love inscribed with beloved names and suspended by genteel ribbons)
ROSEBUD COOKIES
WEDDING CAKE COOKIES (plain or textured cake-shaped cookies beribboned with sugar wedding bows)
RISQUE LINGERIE (cute bathing suits/bikinis or lingerie? Its up to you!)
CELESTIAL LOVERS (the moons and stars)
CARNIVAL IN VENICE (Venetian masks with flowers, ribbons, & handles)
MINI HEART FAVORS
TEA FOR TWO (teapots and saucers w/delicate piping of hearts and flowers)
HEART SHAPED SUGAR CUBES (no cookies but heart shaped, pastel sugar cubes)


Mini cakes:
JE T'AIME MON AMOUR (petit fours of love)
CHOCOLATE BOW CANDY CAKES (tiered cake with chocolate bows)
FORGET-ME-NOT FANCIES (lavender petit fours with delicately piped flowers)
BUTTERFLY MINI WEDDING CAKES (white fondant-covered mini cakes, w/white ribbons at the base, and royal icing butterflies perched atop; gorgeous!)
RIBBON ROSE CUPCAKES (beautiful red roses instructions)
CHOCOLATE HEARTS (chocolate heart cakes piped ever so delicately)
ROCOCO CUPCAKES (how to create flowers & frills ala Marie-Antoinette)
WHITE SPRING NOSEGAYS (I loved this! Light green fondant rolls on the sides with white freesia-like flowers on top!)
TIFFANY STYLE SUGAR BOXES (instructions on "boxes" made from sugar!)
SPRING BLOSSOM CUPCAKES (silver liners w/chocolate ganache topping & gentle lavender/pink, white flowers)

Large Cakes:
AMERICAN SWEETHEART (3 tiers of varied pink fondant adorned w/tiny flowers alone, in groups, and in a heart-shaped rose wreath)
BUTTERFLY CHOCOLATE CAKE (3-tiered chocolate cake w/blue Swiss dots and chocolate and blue royal icing butterfly cookies; wow!!!)
BRUSH EMBROIDERED DAISY CAKE (just beautiful!! learn the "brush embroidery" technique on this lovely 3-D, 3-tier cake of daisies)
BED of ROSES (a laborious but stunning cake of glittered red roses!)
MY FAIR LADY CAKE (3-tiered black & white striped cake with B/W roses)
NEOPOLITAN MONOGRAMMED CAKE (cover cake of contemporary design elements)
WHITE BLOSSOMED ABUNDANCE (4-tiered cake covered w/various sizes of a spring blossom; very spring, very pretty)
HOMAGE to CATH KIDSTON (a tribute to designer Cath Kidston; a melange of dotted swiss, delicate piping, and roses!)
SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLUE (a gorgeous cream, tiered cake bedazzled with satin ribbons and bows and beautiful pin jewelry; wow!)
ROMANTIC ROSE CAKE (a simple, yet stunning cake with handmade sugar roses set upon beribboned tiers)

Basics:
SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE
GINGERBREAD COOKIE RECIPE
BAKING BASIC CAKES (vanilla and chocolate)
CAKE FILLINGS (sugar syrups, buttercream frosting, Belgian chocolate ganache)
LAYERING AND ICING CAKES (mini cakes, large cakes)
COVERING A CAKE BOARD W/ ROLLED FONDANT ICING
ASSEMBLING AND STACKAIANG TIERED CAKES
DIPPED CUPCAKES AND FONDANT FANCIES
CUPCAKES
ROYAL ICING
MAKING A PAPER DECORATING BAG
BASIC PIPING TECHNIQUES
MAKING SUGAR ROSES

Suffice it to say that I found this book enchanting and I would highly recommend it to a beginner because of all the basics that she has covered within it (sugar boxes, piping reminiscent of the Lambeth-style of cake decorating, sugar roses, basic flower-making, etc). This is great for a more skilled decorator if only for the ideas because I would assume that they would have the basics already learned.

Peace!

Beautiful Book!
My friend sent me this book for helping her explore cake decorating. It is really a beautiful book, the format much like her first, cookies, minicakes, and large cakes. Very up to date on current cake trends and techniques. Very easy to follow. Cakes are mainly deorated with rolled fondant and royal icing. I haven't tried the recipes, so I can't tell you anything there. There are some very beautiful ideas in these book if you can get your hands on a copy.