Go cupcake crazy! With nearly 300 awesome, mouthwatering ideas to choose from, home bakers will find the right recipe for any occasion and every palate. And whether they’re chocolaty, spicy, crunchy, fruity, or creamy, these exquisitely decorated treats look as astounding as they taste—perfect little temptations designed to make adults nostalgic and children happy. All the basics are lovingly explained so anyone can whip up a beautiful batch, and there are varieties for every day (from healthy cupcakes to ice cream indulgences); parties big and small; holidays ranging from Christmas to the Fourth of July; just for kids; and fund-raisers and bake sales. Plus, to make things easy, an entire chart- and template-filled chapter focuses on flavor combinations and design elements.
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More About the Author
Krystina Castella is obsessed with playing in the kitchen and sharing recipes with others that are tasty and beautiful. Krystina is the author of Crazy about Cupcakes (Sterling 2006), Crazy about Cookies (Sterling 2010, Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone (Quirk Books, 2008) and co-author of Booze Cakes (Quirk Books 2010). She is also co-author/ photographer of the children's book Discovering Nature's Alphabet (Heyday 2006). She lives and works near Los Angeles as a writer, industrial designer, and professor at Art Center College of Design.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
98 of 100 people found the following review helpful
By A. Lupia
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I admit to owning six cupcake books (to date...)I know, I know...but cupcakes are just so perfect: Fun to make and decorate, easy to serve and oh, so cool to enjoy eating. This is the most "complete" book I've seen so far.
There is a cupcake for everyone, for every occasion, for all baking and decorating skills. The recipes include the basics found in all the other books, but the variations presented are staggering. Many, many different flavorings, add-ins and batter combinations as well as interesting icings and toppings guarantee lots of opportunities for moving well outside the standards. The presentations range from sophisticated dinner-party-finish to a child's delight.
The book is well organized and the introduction explains the basics of baking, frosting, toppings, substitutions, choices of pans, transporting and storing, plus a bit of cupcake history. (A previous reviewer commented that there is no indication of how many cupcakes the recipes make, or how much frosting you will have...the author states in the introduction that each recipe makes 18-24 medium cupcakes, with some recipes calling for two or more batches; the frosting recipes are geared to the number of cupcakes.)
The decorations are also quite comprehensive with most requiring little cake decorating skills, i.e. pastry bags and Wilton tips. Instead, the author makes great use of small candies, shaved chocolate, fruit and fondant, all of which are described in detail in the introduction so that when you see the pictures, you already have a pretty good idea how she accomplished the finished product.
If there is one slight criticism, it would be that the photos are not usually next to the recipes; sometimes several different cakes are grouped together in one photo. I have become spoiled by the other books which have large, glossy photos of the decorated cupcakes on the page with the recipe or on the facing page: A small price to pay for such a wealth of information and excellent recipes.
And the raves from my girlfriends on chick-nite for the Screwdriver Cupcakes with Spiked Orange Frosting was as enthusiastic as my 17 year-old son's for the Mint Chocolate Chip cupcakes with the Dark Chocolate Icing.
I do so enjoy being considered a cupcake goddess....Thank you, Krystina!
There is a cupcake for everyone, for every occasion, for all baking and decorating skills. The recipes include the basics found in all the other books, but the variations presented are staggering. Many, many different flavorings, add-ins and batter combinations as well as interesting icings and toppings guarantee lots of opportunities for moving well outside the standards. The presentations range from sophisticated dinner-party-finish to a child's delight.
The book is well organized and the introduction explains the basics of baking, frosting, toppings, substitutions, choices of pans, transporting and storing, plus a bit of cupcake history. (A previous reviewer commented that there is no indication of how many cupcakes the recipes make, or how much frosting you will have...the author states in the introduction that each recipe makes 18-24 medium cupcakes, with some recipes calling for two or more batches; the frosting recipes are geared to the number of cupcakes.)
The decorations are also quite comprehensive with most requiring little cake decorating skills, i.e. pastry bags and Wilton tips. Instead, the author makes great use of small candies, shaved chocolate, fruit and fondant, all of which are described in detail in the introduction so that when you see the pictures, you already have a pretty good idea how she accomplished the finished product.
If there is one slight criticism, it would be that the photos are not usually next to the recipes; sometimes several different cakes are grouped together in one photo. I have become spoiled by the other books which have large, glossy photos of the decorated cupcakes on the page with the recipe or on the facing page: A small price to pay for such a wealth of information and excellent recipes.
And the raves from my girlfriends on chick-nite for the Screwdriver Cupcakes with Spiked Orange Frosting was as enthusiastic as my 17 year-old son's for the Mint Chocolate Chip cupcakes with the Dark Chocolate Icing.
I do so enjoy being considered a cupcake goddess....Thank you, Krystina!
99 of 103 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the only review I'll ever write on Amazon. I felt it was my duty to let everyone know about this fabulous book. If you have any interest in cakes, cupcakes, decorations or baking... you MUST buy this book. I own *many* books on cakes; from recipes to decorations. All with exactly the same information. This book has MORE information about baking and DIFFERENT information about decorating. I've already made marzipan fruit, candied citrus peels, cupcakes, petit fours, cream filled cupcakes and many different types of icing, frostings and sugar pastes. And this is only from reading the first 1/2 of the book. I can't wait to find out what the 2nd 1/2 of the book contains."
103 of 108 people found the following review helpful
By Andrew'sMom
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If your a crazed cake decorator like myself, you are always looking for different recipes, decorating and presentation ideas...finally a "different" cookbook has arrived.
There are many different recipes inside this large book for the cake and frostings themselves...but the ideas for decorating and presentation are DIFFERENT and some cool displays are presented as well. There are even fancy designs for elegant cupcakes (a tiramusi cupcake!) - petit four type ideas...this alone is worth the price of the book and I'd pay twice the price of this book for that.
Some of the reviews on amazon can go on and on and on - and you fall asleep before you can finish reading them...I don't have time for that -- I don't have time to be doing this review - BUT one thing for sure - if I take the time to give a review on a book it is special and a must have.
BUY THIS BOOK!!!
There are many different recipes inside this large book for the cake and frostings themselves...but the ideas for decorating and presentation are DIFFERENT and some cool displays are presented as well. There are even fancy designs for elegant cupcakes (a tiramusi cupcake!) - petit four type ideas...this alone is worth the price of the book and I'd pay twice the price of this book for that.
Some of the reviews on amazon can go on and on and on - and you fall asleep before you can finish reading them...I don't have time for that -- I don't have time to be doing this review - BUT one thing for sure - if I take the time to give a review on a book it is special and a must have.
BUY THIS BOOK!!!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
love
You can explore the different kind with different decorations. We passed it around to other family members to come up with the best one.
Published 3 days ago by Joann Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome Book
This book is amazing, so many different cupcake and frosting opitions to choose from and it also gets my creative juices going to create some new flavors of my own.
Published 2 months ago by Michelle
4.0 out of 5 stars
easy recipes
great price for the amount of recipes in this book. love the pictures that are included as well. easy to make recipes
Published 2 months ago by A. Muto
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great!
This book was wonderful. It has a lot of great recipes for for all kinds of occasions. I love baking cupcakes. I wish they had more step by step pictures. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Charity
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yum
Great recipes, pictures, & easy explanations. I've used this book several times & love the fresh ideas. I recommend this book!
Published 3 months ago by W. Jackson
5.0 out of 5 stars
MUITO BOM
PUBLICAÇAO MUITO BEM CUIDADA, FOTOS LINDAS E RECEITAS FACEIS. DÁ VONTADE DE MONTAR UM NEGOCIO APENAS LENDO ESSE LIVRO. O CUIDADO E O AMOR DA AUTORA SALTAM AOS OLHOS. Read more
Published 5 months ago by leila lima
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love
I bought a second copy of this one (I spilled batter on the first one!). I love this cookbook. I have made many of the recipes in here and they're always met with rave reviews. Read more
Published 5 months ago by mariabelle01
5.0 out of 5 stars
OMG YES!
I love all the recipes vie tried so far. My favorite is the chocolate cupcake with peanut butter Icing! Yumm
Published 6 months ago by Jacqui mustoe
2.0 out of 5 stars
First recipe from this book was a complete bust
I just finished making the low-fat carrot cupcakes from page 67, and I have got to say that these were the vilest cupcakes I've ever attempted to eat. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Kimberly Morgan
5.0 out of 5 stars
More than just decorating
This book is great for a person who wants to emphasize the quality and taste of the cupcake, not just over-decorate them. Read more
Published 17 months ago by pumpkinpicker
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