Customer Reviews

Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes (Baker's FG)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I want to preface my review with a little information about myself. I'm a working mom that is also a Girl Scout leader. I initially bought the book to do easy cupcakes with my Girl Scouts because they like to bake, and sometimes I'm just not organized enough to come up with a project on my own and make sure I have all of the ingredients for it. I also stay at home with my kids (and half the neighborhood kids) all summer. And I live in Arizona where kids play indoors all summer.

There are so many good and DO-ABLE ideas in this book. I have a stack of cake and cupcake decorating books a foot high, and most of the techniques are too advanced for grade school and middle school aged children. Heck, most of them are a little too advanced for a busy mom that can't put a whole day into cake/cupcake decorating. This book has VISUALLY APPEALING designs that are easy enough for kids to do (well over half of the cupcakes) AND best of all, the kids think they are cool. I'm sorry that one of the reviewers didn't like the sheet of fondant over the cupcake... but guess what... THAT was by and large the favorite around here. Plus, I had never worked with fondant before (I'm an 1980s wilton cake decorating class-trained cake decorator) and this easy introduction gave me Fondant Confidence and now I won't hesitate to try to use fondant on my next large birthday cake.

All of the Halloween designs are favorites here (even in June), and we have made the ones that look like Hostess cupcakes more than once now. In addition to the fun designed ones, there is another whole batch of favorites that are new "flavors" rather than new designs. The Cookies and Cream cupcakes were a big hit with everybody, and so were the Zesty Orange Pound Cake cupcakes. They reminded me of some orange hostess (i think) cupcakes I had as a child.

I have not tried all the cake and frosting recipies since I do have tried and true recipies that I prefer to use. However, everybody here did enjoy the carrot cake recipe, and I found that it didn't really matter what the design was, my kids would eat the carrot cake as long as there was some kind of frosting. (The beach scene cupcake with the umbrella works so well with the carrot cake.) The Fluffy Meringue frosting is also a nice departure from the usual heavy buttercream that I use. It can make a kid cupcake into a grown-up pastry dessert.

One final thing to say, what I ended up doing since there were so many cute designs and I didn't really have a use for 24 of any particular one, was make a few dozen cupcakes ahead of time and freeze them in ziploc bags of 12. Then as my kids begged for cupcakes, I'd pull a dozen out along with frosting that I had made and pre-frozen, and we had a one hour project rather than a whole day project.

All in all I'm very pleased with this book. There is something in there for every age and every preference, and nothing is so difficult that you need formal pastry training to make it look good!

I don't know what that one-star reviewer is talking about. I had never baked cupcakes before. Bought this book and immediately began baking cupcakes and they turned out wonderful. It's not going to make you an expert decorator overnight, but the basic master recipes are solid, and the methodology is top notch. Very light, fluffy batter. Very tasty. Highly recommended to anyone just starting out and looking for a solid foundation.

Other books have been written about cupcakes - but this streamlines the baking process, using fifteen 'master' cake recipes for cake batters and frostings and teaching how to customize and build upon them. Also unique here are 'theme' ideas for New Year 'Champagne' cupcakes or Mother's Day Breakfast-in-Bed Cupcakes: indeed, it's these themes and decoration ideas that give Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes a unique twist and a flair for the unusual, with color photos throughout. A top pick!

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

You will learn to decorate -- sort of. That is if you want to put a robe of inedible fondant over a cupcake to make a ghost.

The master recipes don't hold up. The "moist, chocolatey" recipe is going to need a lot more than a bunch of sugar and a little cocoa to turn out the way they appear in the book. You'll need a recipe with some coffee and perhaps vinegar in it. But of course that doesn't appear here, although the photos would give you the impression your cupcakes will turn out dark and delicious. They don't. A very mild tan at most.

I feel this book may have been rushed to press to ride the cupcake wave. The finer points in such books are often left out, leaving bewildered home cooks wondering why their work doesn't look like the picture in the book.

If you are going to pay money for something, you deserve better. Take this "field guide" and lose it in the woods.

This small book is packed with a fantastic assortment of cupcake decorating ideas. I found that a couple were way too involved and time consuming for most home bakers, but for the vast majority of the recipes this book is perfect to dress up a holiday or birthday (or just a rainy weekend!). Overall this is a great addition to any baker's bookshelf!

I really enjoyed this book especially the creativity of the cupcakes. I made several (key lime, lemon merigue, orange) and got rave reviews when I brought them to work. You must like to bake if you use this book. A lot of the recipes have multiple parts of preparation. Also, after making the first batch of the author's recipe for the cupcakes themselves I decided to use my own cake recipes as I found that the ones in the book to be on the dry side and more complicated than cupcakes needed to be.

I've always wanted to decorate cakes or cupcakes so when my boyfriend bought me this book for Christmas, I was thrilled. At first I hoped there would be more decorating ideas but I realized how valuable the recipes for cake and frosting were. My friends love the cupcakes I make and I love the brownie cupcakes. This book gives you tips to make the recipes your own.

While I definitely enjoy the fun 'decorating' part of this book, I have to say that I purchased it just as much for the cake recipes themselves, and I haven't been dissapointed. There are so many other great book reviews, I figured I didn't have anything to add. However, last night I made the Caramel Apple Cupcakes and they are so delicious. (Okay, I confess, I'm eating a couple as I type!) I also have to admit they were time consuming...but worth it! The sour cream batter created just the taste and texture cupcake I expected. Just a bit lighter than a muffin, but great for a brunch too. I actually like that there are master cake and frosting recipes provided so that once you're familiar with them, the specific decorated cupcakes are just variations. (As an aside, I purchased another cake book with one mix and many variations, but, unfortunately, the one batter just wasn't as good as this author's batters.)

This is of course a cupcake book, so I'm not going to complain, but it did cross my mind that it would be helpful to have other pan/baking time options mentioned. (because the batter is that good) However, I can figure that out from other cake books. I really appreciated the general information section which included cupcake specifics. I don't think any of my other books discuss liners vs. no liners and peaked vs. flat-topped cupcakes. The tips provided within the individual cupcake pages were helpful as well. For example, for the fruit topped cupcakes, the approximate amount of fruit needed to top each one (x blueberries, etc.) is provided - good to know ahead of time!

The decorations range from simple (candy) to elaborate (handcrafted flowers using decorating tips), so if time is an issue, one could focus on either the batter or the decorating. Either way, I think this book is a good combination of baking and decorating ideas.

Please note that I have the spiral edition. (another nice feature!)

I purchased 2 of this title and gave one as a gift. I enjoyed the basic instructions (recipes and types of cup cake pans and icing techniques) as well as all of the recipes and pictures. I will make several items from this book the next time I want to make cupcakes. I may even use the recipes for cakes; they sound so good.

I love the pictures in this book. Awesome ideas! Very clear instructions on what is needed to create top of cupcake. Spiral bound, which stays open while you're working.
But I'm a woman on the move and didn't go for the cupcake recipes themselves, I just used boxed cake mix. Which worked out fine.