Customer Reviews

Cakes by Design: The Magical World of Sugar Art

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book has literally changed my life! I bought it when I decided to try my hand at wedding cake decorating and through their detailed descriptions of how to create beautiful gum paste flowers and their delicious cake recipes, I've launched a new career. The (many) photographs are beautiful and the cakes range from the most basic designs to elaborate masterpieces. Anyone who has ever wanted to try their hand at sculpting flowers from sugar needs to buy this book.

This is the best Gum Paste Art book that I have found! The technics are easy to understand and it gives all the basics from the neccesary tools, to recipes and instruction. I have used countless other books trying to learn this art and none are as descriptive and concise as Cakes by Design. The book goes into great detail to describe the proper texture of your fondant or gum paste, how much is needed for each flower and even some unique ways to get the color and gain the effects that make your flowers look like the real thing! This book has made all of the difference in the quality of my work. As a side note, the cutters and products that Scott Clark Woolley produces are superior in quality and more reasonable in price than any others I have found. I am a fan!

There are many books available on baking and decorating cakes, however, this one goes several steps beyond the beginner level and offers challenging and beautiful designs, techniques for the true sugar artist or chef. If I could only purchase one book about cake design, photograpy of cakes and floral gumpaste, this would be my choice. I would also recommend this book for any chef, cake designer or cooking school teacher, as it belongs on their reference shelf ! It is simply excellent,by anyone's standards.

The overall effect was amazement, as my wife and I read this book. The illustrations are profuse and beautiful, and the vast quantity and diversity of flowers they present are almost overwhelming. They are truly masters in the field. This is a true 'decorating for idiots' book, as it takes you from the beginning through making very impressive, delightful cakes that really bring down the house. I'm not exaggerating, people LOVE the cakes you will learn to make here. Many photos of finished cakes the authors have made. Great book!

I like this book very much because it gives you step by step details and explanations. I have been able to practice making and using royal and fondant icing to decorate my cakes. I feel Mr. Woolley wrote this book as if he were teaching students in his studio. The pictures are excellent in their quality. This is a wonderful assest when using the book as your teacher. I look forward to taking a class with him.

Beginners can become experts is the truth with this book. This book should be the first cake decorating book for anyone looking to decorate cakes at home or as a professional. Scott explains simply and with ease how to use these techniques. I use the book daily. Everything I have used in this book has worked the first time. No steps are left out. The DVD that I purchased along with the book was a wonderful tool as well. Contact me at www.nolacakes.com. Steve Himelfarb

This book is the most inspiring cake decorating book I have ever had the pleasure to read. Their work is truly fascinating and the recipes and instructions were extremely helpful. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the art of cake decorating.

...the instructions are not very complete. The author obviously has a great talent, and produces some of the most realistic gumpaste flowers I've seen, beautiful photos. BUT, the instructions are not detailed enough, and there are no step-by-step photos, only a few rough sketches. Also no instructions for how to put the flowers together into the arrangements and how to put them on the cake. Probably not the best book for beginners, but beautiful to look at, and would be great for someone who has some experience with gumpaste.

Scott has done a beautiful job putting this book togeather. Beautiful cakes on the intricate side. Very nice graphic illustrations to accent the written Gumpaste flower instruction. One of the best Gumpaste instruction books I have see

This book is fascinating and makes a great coffee table book, but since the techniques are very difficult in reality and take much more time than indicated, I would consider all this flower making with sugar a curiosity rather than something a person can just plunge into. The book is good, easy to read with great pictures.