Customer Reviews

Cupcake Cafe Cookbook

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've tasted products from the Cupcake Cafe and loved them which is why I was very excited about ordering this book. When I got the book last week I decided to try the Pumpkin Pie Recipe and the Pie Crust Recipe for Christmas. Luckily I am a seasoned cook and was able to adjust the recipes, however, I caution other nonseasoned cooks about the two errors I happened upon. In the Pumpkin Pie recipe they tell you to bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Anyone who has experience baking pumpkin pies knows full well that at this temp it takes AT LEAST 45 minutes to be even close to done. At 35 minutes the custard was still liquidy. Also the pie crust recipe called for 1/2 cup of water at the top of the recipe, then told you in the instructions to BEGIN with 3/4 cup water. I used between 1/4 and 1/3 cup to finish the recipe.

Bottom line, I'm concerned about trying any other recipes, such as the butter cream---which is why I bought the book.

I'd like to know if anyone else has tried the butter cream recipe with success.

I have made several muffin recipes from this cookbook. I have been very disappointed in the fact that the authors never really employed a recipe editor to find typos and most of all inconsistencies! There are numerous inconsistencies!!!... For example: when it comes to the amount of butter - they switch back and forth from ounces to tablespoons, etc. Also, they never explain what they mean by way of the size of muffin tins. I was confused many a time in deciding what muffin tin size they really meant. One of the recipes (that I know of) omitted a sentence from the directions, and one had the order switched! Good Grief...those people who have not attempted to make anything from this book have no right saying it is a good cookbook! I am an accomplished cook - and I had problems with it...don't bother with this book. PS...the muffin recipes are nothing special. I have other cookbooks that are much better for muffin recipes!

There is absolutely nothing here that you will not find in countless other baking books. There are surprisingly few recipes- and nothing out of the ordinary. You will find basic recipes for chocolate chip cookies, waffles, apple pie. You can find those in any Betty Crocker anthology.

There are few illustration in the disapointing little book. The few that htere are show elaborately decorated cakes- which a re beutiful, but it lacks clear instructions of hpw to craft such creations. I think there are such books on the market which will be a better bet than this one.

If you had seen the author back on the old Martha Stewart Living show, you were no doubt impressed by how she easily and quickly decorated her cakes with all sorts of different flowers.

This book disappoints, especially when you consider that almost 2/3 of the book is about baked goods other than the flower cakes she's known for. There are a few color pictures of the beautifully flower-decorated cakes (some out of focus), and a few of some non-flower decorated cakes that look awful compared to the flower cakes (looks like someone who didn't know what they were doing did them).

She has her recipe for buttercream using whole eggs in here, and tips for handling it/fixing it, along with several color formulas for flowers, and some descriptions for making the flowers. But, NO step-by-step instructional pictures, which renders the descriptions just about useless, unless you had seen her on Martha. You'd do better to go to your local craft store and pick up some Wilton books, or take some of their classes.

Borrow this book from the library if you are only interested in the cake decorating portion, or, if you just need the recipe, it was halved in the Feb '96 issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine (I already had this, I was hoping for much better from the book).

Another reviewer mentioned a cake decorating video from Martha that featured the author, and that would be the best way to learn the technique--I wish Amazon would sell it, as I can't find it on the Martha site. If it were sold together with a rewritten version of this book, it would be a winner.

I was very excited when I heard the Cupcake Cafe was publishing a book. I have been to the cafe many times, and they make delicious, beautifully decorated cakes and cupcakes. Many of my friends rely on them for all their birthday cakes, etc. As an amateur baker, I've been eager to get their recipes -- especially for the excellent buttercream -- and their secrets for making such beautiful flower decorations. As of yet, I have not tried the recipes, but I am definitely disappointed in the lack of photographs and diagrams. Half of the book is devoted to creating buttercream flowers, but uses only text to describe the process. There are a few pages of color inserts of completed cakes. These are definitely inspiring, but also frustrating, because I still have no idea how to make them!!

I have actually used the recipe for buttercream and it was perfect as well as delicious! All the recipes' instructions are very easy to understand and any problems you may encounter are covered so they are practically foolproof. The recipes are unique and I appreciate that Ann Warren has used actual recipes from her shop and not fudged up something just for a book. My only disappointment is the small amount of colored photographs of decorated cakes. I really wanted more, even some illustrations would have been useful in the "how to" section on making buttercream florals. All in all, a very good book to add to your dessert book collection.

As a bakery owner, and someone who goes to NYC just to go hop from bakery to bakery, I was thrilled to find this book. My enthusiasm dwindled upon reading, though, I would borrow it from the library before buying because the recipes are not worth the cash! The buttercream is good, but not great, and the cakes are just simple 1-2-3-4 Southern Style cake recipes, overall, I think it is a bit outdated.

I agree the book is great, but the lack of "how-to" visuals is somewhat disappointing. As an accompaniment, try Martha Stewart's "Cake-Decorating Video". Ann is a featured guest, and demonstrates how to make the buttercream and do several different styles of decoration. There's a lot of other good info on the video, as well. I highly recommend it for the serious at-home cake baker!!

Luckily I checked this out at the library instead of buying it. After doing much research on the internet, I found Ann Warren's cakes to be the most beautiful by far. I was happy to find she had a book out and checked it out yesterday. Today I attempted to make the butter cream recipe and was really quite shocked at the results. I am positive something is wrong with the recipe: perhaps a typo? She calls for 2 1/2 pounds of butter. That cannot be right. I read it about five times before making it. Sure enough, after hours of preparation (by the book, no shortcuts or improvising), I ended up with a HUGE amount of sweetened butter. It was absolutely disgusting. And yellow. I cannot imagine this is what she is serving to her customers. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK! I am only giving it two stars because it does have some guidance as far as color mixing and flower techniques, but even that could have been better. You get better photographs for free by going on their website. Save your money!

I was able to borrow this book through the library as I was not willing to purchase due to some of the reviews here.
The recipes for donuts are intriguing-really the only thing truly notable about the book. All the rest of the recipes are standard and uninspired.
Although a couple of cake photos are really pretty, I wasn't as impressed with them as some of the other reviewers. I thought there were too many flowers in most of the designs. The whole cake section in general was totally flawed.