Crazy About Cupcakes [Paperback]

Krystina Castella (Author)

Book Description

Series: Crazy About | Publication Date: August 1, 2006

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402719949
• ISBN-13: 978-1402719943
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #61 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Cakes
  • #76 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Desserts

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

91 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoy your status as "Cupcake Goddess"..., April 14, 2007

By 

A. Lupia "amlbee" (Branford, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crazy About Cupcakes (Paperback)

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!

93 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crazy for this book!, October 25, 2006

By 

Sharon Meltzer (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crazy About Cupcakes (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."

100 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!!!, September 14, 2006

By 

Andrew'sMom "creativebaker" (New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crazy About Cupcakes (Paperback)

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!!!