Martha Stewart's Wedding Cakes [Hardcover]

Martha Stewart (Author), Wendy Kromer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 26, 2007

Of all the decisions that go into planning a wedding, choosing the cake may be the sweetest. Much more than dessert, this beloved wedding symbol should be as special as the bride and groom themselves. Whether you imagine a majestic cake blooming with fresh flowers, a pristine fondant-covered masterpiece, or a homespun take on strawberry shortcake- or even if you don’t know where to begin- Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes will provide you with more than 100 delicious and inspiring ideas for timeless and beautiful confections that are perfect for every style of wedding.

Not just visually inspiring, these pages are filled with information you won’t find anywhere else. Martha Stewart and Wendy Kromer, the master baker and decorator who has been creating cakes for Martha Stewart Weddings for more than a decade, guide you through everything you need to consider when selecting a cake- and even how to bake and decorate one yourself. Novice and experienced bakers alike will find recipes and insiders’ techniques to create truly memorable wedding cakes.

You will learn:
Where to begin- how to decide what style and flavors are right for you, taking into account the season, location, and theme of the event

Buttercream or fondant? Ganache or meringue? Useful charts explain the delicious materials bakers use, so you can choose the ones that suit your taste and style

Creative ways to display your cake so it takes center stage at the reception

How to find and hire a baker, including questions to ask and contract considerations

Ideas for cutting costs without sacrificing quality or beauty

How to incorporate traditions from around the world

Everything you need to know about baking a cake yourself, with complete recipes as well as how-to decorating techniques with color photographs and reference charts

A treasury of inspiration, Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes will ensure that your cake, whether homemade or professionally baked, triple-tiered or a tower of cupcakes, embellished with fresh fruit or elaborate sugar roses, is every bit as magical as your big day.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

MARTHA STEWART is the author of many best-selling books on weddings, cooking, decorating, gardening, and other domestic arts, and is the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. She lives in Bedford, New York.

WENDY KROMER’S cakes regularly grace the pages of Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, where she is a contributing editor, and have also been featured in many other publications and on television. In 2004, Wendy returned to her hometown of Sandusky, Ohio, and opened Wendy Kromer Confections, where she produces wedding and special-event cakes, decorated cookies, and custom-made sugar decorations.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 260 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter (December 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307394530
• ISBN-13: 978-0307394538
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 1 x 10.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Expert Advice > Martha Stewart

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 100 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular!, January 3, 2008

By 

Toni "the bookworm" (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Martha Stewart's Wedding Cakes (Hardcover)

I just couldn't wait to get this book! If you love to create cakes, and not just bake them, this will feed your appetite for cake baking and decorating, and you will place this alongside your other prized tomes of cake education. It's a wonderful journey of the wedding cake, aka "a good thing". If you purchased Martha's "WEDDINGS" book, this is the expanded and transformed chapter on cakes into this book.

Martha has outdone herself once more in her passion to give us every possible idea, and instruction, to create the wedding cake of our dreams for the day of our dreams. And to join her in this quest is Wendy Kromer, master baker, who worked for Martha for many years, on both Martha's former TV show and for Martha Stewarts "Weddings" magazine; she now owns and operates her own bakery.

While this book was made to help engaged couples decide on what type of cake they would like for their wedding, it also gives instructions should you wish to bake your own wedding cake. For those established bakers and caterers that are looking for ideas and concepts, this will be certainly be a well-referenced tool. The "Album of Cakes" section offers 111 official photographs of cakes, but if you add all photo's of cakes from other parts of this book, you will have well over 135 delectable wedding delights in which to choose.

Martha and Wendy do not hold back on any instruction and it begins with the incredible photography of each cake, frosting, filling, and detail of these stunning cakes. These cakes come from both Martha's former TV show, Martha's "Weddings" magazines, as well as some new ones from collaboration with other cake artists.

A hallmark of the Martha brand is that she is quite detailed in everything that she wishes to teach, and that is never more seen than here. There are some techniques that will require a professional to do such as the "bubbles" or "pulled sugar ribbon" for some of these cakes, and rightfully, she has not included those instructions in this book because they are labor and equipment intensive, as well as for safety reasons (you are working with intense heat with one, and need specific equipment for the other, let alone the need for specific training).

If at all possible, try to obtain of copy of Martha's VHS tape called "Cake Decorating". It is the visual form of instruction on making some fabulous cakes, from simple 2-layer party cakes to actually assembling a 4-tier wedding cake. They were segments taken from her former TV show in which she, and guests, demonstrated this art of cake decorating. I am hoping that she will consider bringing that out again in DVD form. It is an excellent teaching tool and my copy has been well-worn out!

This is a very big book, coffee table size, so along with excellent photography, the photos are large and show detail such as brush strokes of hand-painted fondant or delicate designs of rubber stamps used to imprint fondant. The use of gumpaste flowers and marzipan helps to complete certain dimensional and visual appearances desired.

The journey begins:

MARTHA AND WENDY'S INTRODUCTION

CHOOSING YOUR CAKE:

Finding Inspiration: What style are you looking for? (modern, rustic, etc). What season? Location? Motif? (fabric, fruit, flowers, etc).

A Cake's Components: Superb index with 14 cake flavors and 18 fillings and frostings along with recipes for each one.

Icings and More: There are all types of ways to cover your cake and here are all of them, along with "special considerations" due to season, temperature, etc.

Presenting the Cake: How do you want th cake to be displayed? Formal, relaxed? What type of bride and groom cake topper? Which cake board in which to rest the cake?

Partnering with a Professional: This section is THE key for any bride and groom to read regarding choosing a qualified baker, along with sidebars of other cake details to keep in mind.


ALBUM OF CAKES: prepare your eyes! :)

Lemon Grove Cake
Daisy Garden Cake
7-Tier Classic Cake
Pink Lusterware Cake Creamware Cake
Bahama Orchid Cake
Sweeping Monograms Cake
Matelasse Cake
Buttoned-Up Cake
7-Tier Coconut Cake
Cherry Cheesecake
Rose basket Cake
Ladyfinger Charlotte Cake
Drifting Petals cake
Pink Macaroon Cake
Petty Piped Bows Cake
Towers of Truffles Cake
Beehive Cake
Applesauce Cake
Ironstone Cake
Citrus Celebration Cake
Flower Hat Cake
Pretty Pleats Cake
Pearl and Shell Cake
Primrose Cake (simply stunning)
French Confectionary Box Cake
Applique Cake
Homespun Cupcake Tower
Corinthian Cake
Robin's Egg Cake
Meringue Monogram Cake
Dotted Petals Cake
Crewelwork Cake
Petite Piped Cakes
White Chocolate Tower Cake
Tuscan Grapes Cake
Chocolate Mint Cake (colorfully stunning)
Woodland Nut Cake
Transferware Cake
Handcrafted Hellebore Cake
Meringue Mushrooms Cake
Colorful Hydrangea Cake
Perfect Pear Cake
Garlands and Wreaths Cake
Picket Fence Cake
Bubble Cake (the "bubbles" need to be made by sugar professionals)
Pulled-Sugar Ribbon Cake (sugar ribbons are labor intensive)
Eyelet Cake
Sugar Hydrangea Cake
Beribboned Bouquet Cake
Pink Cherry Blossom Cake
Beaded Bouquet Cake
Trio of Shells Cake
Chocolate Chestnut Cake
Royal Icing Reliefs Cake
Megeve Chocolate Cake
Treasures of the Woods Cake
Blushing Dogwood Cake
Faux Bois Cake (chocolate bands made to look like wood grain)
Wedgewood Cake
Shimmering Candy Cake
Silk-Cord Accents Cake
Paper Ornament Cake
Meringue Chrysantheum Cake
Patterned Nonpareil Cake (remember those candies as a kid? Wow!)
Darcy and Andy's Cake (the editoral director of "Weddings" magazine)
Button-Topped Boxes Cake
Trio of Freesia Cakes (so, so pretty)
Chocolate Petal Cake
Candy Sampler Cake
Playful Paper Flower Cake
Mini Cupcake Tower
Stately Springerle Cake
Chocolate and Geranium Cake
Charming Calico Cake (the joy of gumpaste)
Devil's Food Finale Cake
Rose Garden Cake
Garden of Sweet Delights Cake
Lemon and Latticework Cake
Delightful Daisies Cake
Candy Straw Cake
Pink Madeleine Cake
Wedding Band Cake
Rustic Roses Cake
Sweets and Sentiments Cake (small cakes w/ tuille cookie messages)
Strawberry Shortcake
Farmstand Fruit and Buttercream Cake
Ivory Dots Cake
Parrot-Tulip Quartet of Cakes
Blooming Branches Cake (so very delicate)
Cascading Orchid's Cake
Chocolate Charlotte Cake
Lily-of-the-Valley Cake
Ruffly Rose-Petal Garland Cake
Lovely Licorice Cake
Chocolate Kumquat Cake
Citrus Basket Cake (beautiful basic basket weave example)
Cherry Almond Cake
Ribbons and Bows Cake
Red Velvet Ccake
Damask Cake (the scrollwork is not as hard as it seems)
Vintage Monogram Cake
Pin Tucks and Ruffles Cake
Snow-Flecked Pinecones Cake
Showered in White Cake
Bamboo Wave Cake
Tower of Roses Cake
Rustic Basketweave Cake
Scalloped Bands and Bows Cake
Rich Brownie Cakes (individual brownie wedding cakes)
Marbelized Cake

MAKING A WEDDING CAKE:

Planning Tips
Baking the Cake Layers
Decorating and Assembling the Cake
Transporting the Cake
Equipment Glossary
Cake 101
Working with Fondant

Piping 101: monograms, glossary, piping tips w/ photo's and examples, piping a rose, piping basketweave patterns, piping scrollwork w/ examples

Working with Fresh Flowers
Crystalized Flowers
Edible Flowers
Working with Gumpaste: flowers, blossoms
Working with Marzipan

Working with Chocolate: transfer sheets, chocolate bands, dark & white chocolate leaves, wood grain (faux bois)

Additional Techniques: mushrooms, icing damask, monograms

Recipes: every flavor and taste for batters, icings, fillings, croquembouche, tuilles, spun sugar

Bakers Guidleines: An EXCELLENT guide to determine the amount of batter needed to fill specific size pans as well as the time needed to bake each one PLUS the amount of frostings and fillings needed for each size pan

Sources
Acknowledgements
Index

I realize that I am a Martha-groupie but even so, just perusing through this book, a novice can see that every aspect of wedding cake (or any party cake creation) has been thoughtfully considered and explained. You will be placing this along side a very few select cake books that are as complete, well-presented, and detailed as this one. Thank you Martha and Wendy!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Decorating Resource, January 20, 2008

By 

Cookbook Gal "Cookbook Gal" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Martha Stewart's Wedding Cakes (Hardcover)

I cannot add much to Toni "the bookworm's review." The book is gorgeous -coffee table quality. It is loaded with full color photographs, including numerous examples of different piping patterns. The decorating style is very Martha Stewart: classically elegant. The book does not provide pictures of whimsical cakes - there are other books on the market for that.

While I did not buy the book for cake recipes (so I can't judge the quality and flavor of the ones provided), I did buy the book to complement a wedding cake decorating class that I am taking. If you are a baker who is very interested in cake decorating, or need instruction on how to prepare large, multi-layered cakes, "Wedding Cakes" is very helpful. If you are willing to put the considerable amount of time needed to perfect these techniques, (and believe me, it takes a lot of practice), this book is a wonderful resource. You will, however, have to be patient; your cakes will not look like Martha's the first dozen times you try!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great creative guide, February 18, 2008

By 

Happy & Retired "islandtime" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Martha Stewart's Wedding Cakes (Hardcover)

As a caterer, I found this book to be a good guide for those who create cakes for special occasions. Many of the cakes in this book are ones that have previously been in "Martha Stewart's Weddings" magazine, and I have made several of them over the years, but it is nice to have the collection all in one source. For the inexperienced, some of the instructions may seem a bit vague, but that is the martha Stewart way, as mostly she assumes that everyone knows how to do the basics. If you've never done this type of baking/creating before, this book is not for you. I do recommend it for those who do this professionally or as an advanced hobby.