Customer Reviews

Professional Cake Decorating

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This really is a comprehensive, excellent instruction book and it is appropriate for people at all levels of cake decorating experience. Toba Garrett covers everything from start to finish and at the end of each lesson she provides a self-quiz that will help you see how much you have learned, practice each technique and make sure you understand the terminology that goes with this exciting career/hobby.

I teach cake decorating at a local craft store and I own my own cake decorating business and Toba is an inspiration and my absolute favorite cake decorator. If you want to learn anything about the art of cake decorating, this book is worth the price! It could replace all the other cake books in my library all at once. Oh - and the recipes are fabulous too! Try the chocolate fudge cake recipe if you like chocolate cake, it's OUT OF THIS WORLD.

I want to mention that the recipes have the ingredient measurements for both a 5-6 quart mixer and a 20 quart mixer for those who are starting a kitchen with bigger equipment.

Stop the presses!!! Look no further all ye students of culinary arts!! You have reached the highest plateau of education!!

Ms. Garrett has compiled and indexed and joyfully created the encyclopedia of baking skills for anyone to study, and learn, and she has done so by teaching as straight forward and honestly as possible. While some high-priced bakers write books in the guise of having you think they will share their guarded secrets, Ms. Garrett actually delivers on her promise. You will feel that you have wisely chosen a great teaching tool as you realize the knowledge you hold in your hands, courtesy of Toba.

This labor of love, which was borne out of the need and requests of family, friends, and students, will take you from the initial step to the final step of cake baking, assembly, and decorating. I cannot think of anything that she has forgotten in bringing this craft to you in a book form.

I have many cake decorating books, and I truly feel that this effort far surpassed any of the volumes that are sitting on my shelves. It is comprehensive and thorough, and if at some point, you wish to get more detailed, all you would need is your imagination to guide you.

My grandest wish was to undertake the knowledge necessary for the skill of piping and design; it is an old world art from England and Australia and mastery of this will put you in league with those who catered to aristocracy of centuries gone by. This skill involves creating all those thread-thin lines of icing that are shaped into delicate lace-like pieces that you gently place upon a cake; the crisss-cross patterns or bridge-like paper thin lines that connect to one another to form trellis' and such; fleurs-de-lis with drop strings; brush embroidery and...........oh the inpsiration is endless! Therefore in lesson 11 of this tome, she divulges and devotes her knowledge to impart to you this fabulous skill. For me, this chapter alone was worth the price!! Lace designs, trellis works, ring designs.

And of course she teaches the basic skills of flower making or animal shaped ideas; marzipan shaped into fruit; how to decorate cookies that go way beyond frosting and more.

Her chapters are:

Basic piping skills
FLoral piping skills
Intermiediate piping skilss
Advanced border skills
The art of writing
Royal icing piped flowers
Royal icing design skills
The art of icing a cake
Hand modeling skills
Marzipan and chocolate modeling
Advanced royal icing piping and design skills
Rolled icing design skills
Pastillage construction
Gumpaste flowers; basic floral skills
Advanced gumpaste flowers
Miniature cakes and decorated cookies
Cake borders, color charts, painting, and more techniques
Cake and confectionary gallery
Recipes
Patterns
Measurement
Bibiliography
Index

She has covered every aspect of making a cake from the recipes to the actually physical construction of the cake to the decorations you place on it. She provides plenty of detailed instruction along with excellent photographs and idea's; there is a chapter that goes into both the English and metric version of batter and icing amounts; patterns to use for the designs as well as for cutting the cake, wonderful recipes for deliciously flavored cake batters, all the frostings and icings you can think of and so much more.

You will not be disappointed in this grand presentation from one of the finest instructors this country has to offer!! She is an esteemed member of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, and she more than proven herself by the devotion of her students as well as the growing multitude of admirers and "home" students who has been trained as well. A profound thank you Ms. Garrett!!

Some books may have prettier photographs, but nowhere else will you get as thorough an education on technique. Don't get me wrong, the look and feel of the book is still quite nice - just packed with information rather than just glossy pictures. Directions are precise and based on years of experience and training internationally. I love this book because it can take any beginner at cake decorating to a level more advanced than most high-end New York cake decorators - just this one book. Toba Garrett makes other artists' work look like childsplay. I've browsed through tons of other books on cake decorating, bought a few including Colette Peters' Cakes to Dream On, but none of them get you through as many techniques, nor present techniques nearly as complex and professional, as Toba Garrett's Professional Cake Decorating. To be honest, most Americans probably have never even seen most of this stuff in their lives. The savvy might know fondant, but how many people have seen brush embroidery or English and Australian string work (using royal icing to create lacelike effects suspended off the side of a cake)?

In a nutshell, if you're content smothering a yellow cake you made from a box with crisco and sprinkles, don't buy this book. But if you want to learn how to use some of the world's most amazing cake decorating techniques to create one-of-a-kind masterpieces that are too beautiful to eat (and taste good too thanks to delicious recipes for both cakes, fillings, and other items) buy this book and get on the waiting list for one of Toba Garrett's classes in New York at ICE.

Despite the title, this rather amazing educational tool is just as useful for pastry chefs in a bakery, and the home baker producing wonderful baked goods for that party or special occasion or just for fun.

This manual has many strengths. The ingredients are always in weight; cups are not even listed (hallelujah!). The main lessons and sub-sections listed ALL the mise-en-place, including those little, trivial, yet essential items usually not listed by other books. The quality of the instructions are every bit as good as the lessons I got in cooking school. The attitude of the author is similar to those friendly, patient explanations I received while struggling (with much frustration) with a particular decorating skill. The appendix has many patterns that are ready to use for your practice; just photocopy and start practicing. The recipe section has many important recipes: chocolate plastique, pastillage, practice buttercream, rolled fondant, gumpaste.

Some interesting notes. You will need to purchase, if you do not already have, a rather extensive inventory of tools and ingredients you probably do not have, even in a professional kitchen. So, resign yourself to a first step where you gather the needed stuff. The author seems to have extensive experience outside of the US. This is good, inasmuch as he presents much more material on rolled fondant and stringwork than you will get in a standard textbook or professional caliber class.

Using the lessons (of which there are 19) needs a little explanation, which is not forthcoming from the author. They are not 1-hour chunks of education. Some will require many repeats before you become proficient. Some lessons must be spread amongst several sessions, even if you are efficient and get it quickly. So, take each lesson with patience, and expect to repeat many times before becoming proficient. Also, it is not necessary to plow through all the lessons numerically. You can easily just skip to whichever chapter/skill you are interested in.

It has these chapters: basic piping, floral piping, intermediate piping, advanced borders, writing, royal icing flowers, royal icing skills, cake icing, modeling skills, marzipan, advance royal piping, rolled icing, pastillage, gumpaste flowers, petit fours, misc, cake gallery, recipes.

Although I am not a professional decorator, I do have a large collection of various cake decorating books to support my hobby. This book was an entire waste of money unless you prefer to read directions instead of having pictures to demonstrate the techniques. There is not enough new information to make the cost worth it. The pictures and diagrams are so small and poorly labeled that you have to read lots of text to decipher her instructions. Enjoyed her cookie book. But would definitely not recommend this one.

I received this book a half-hour ago, and I cannot get over the CHEAP feeling of this (hardback) edition. I'm surprised by Wiley (the publisher), and disappointed.

The paper is the quality and weight of office photocopy paper, and a cheap grade at that. I turned each page sure that I would end up inadvertently ripping one, they feel so insubstantial. For a book intended as a hands-on guide and/or a textbook, this seems like a very thoughtless choice.

As well, the paper is not appropriate for printing all those photographs and distinctly reduces their quality, making them dull and dark. When there are so many photos and they are so important to the content of the book, this seems, again, a very unwise choice by Wiley.

Further, I have to admit that the overall design of the book is old-fashioned and a bit tacky. Does that really matter? Maybe not, but it's a pity -- it could be so much more. Very honestly, I don't find Ms. Garrett's designs to be cutting-edge in any event -- I buy her for her very obvious skill at craftsmanship -- so how silly is it to compound that slight deficit by making the overall design of the book look dated?

Toba Garrett is a highly-skilled decorator and I was looking so forward to this book. I already own her "The Well-Decorated Cake" and expected something similar but more in-depth. The quality of this new book doesn't even begin to compare, and even a cursory glance at "Professional Cake Decorating" makes it clear that there's a great deal of repeat. I will hope that as I thoroughly read it I'll find there's enough to justify this investment.

Wiley, I hope you read these reviews. The second edition of this book should be a complete re-working, this time with a bit more thought!

If you can't make it to Toba's class, then this book is for you. Step by step techniques are explained in detail. And by explained I mean described using lots of words. This book can be very helpful for auditory learners like me but visual and kinesthetic learners, those who have to see and do in order to understand may not be satisfied with the written instructions and prefer something more visual.

The chapters build on skills. There are quizzes to test knowledge and understanding. The learner is also asked to demonstrate skills learned. If you have the discipline to do the exercises regularly, you will soon be a capable cake decorator.

Nothing beats actual apprenticeship but this book is a close second.

After reading this book ...I had all my questions answered that I needed to do some techniques....I do have her other books and enjoy those as well..Anyone whose wants a book that has techniques and recipes that are dependable and taste as good as they look this is the book for you....

90% of this book I learned in a much less expensive Wilton
classes. The rest I've picked up along the way through my
own efforts or reading other books.

I relied on reviews I read to sway me to make this purchase
and really could have done without adding this one to my
library. My suggestion is to go to a bookstore or a library
and check it out first to see if it will suit your needs
before purchasing.

I have several books in my collection- most of them pastry/baking books. I will say that this isn't a book for everyday use exactly. I consider this to be more of a professional learning resource. I have taken culinary courses, and I hold a certificate in Baking & Pastry, and I recently finished with my degree in Baking & Pastry. The courses that were offered at my school weren't focused on cake decorating, although I certainly wish that they were. I actually am going to pay a visit to my school and my past Pastry Chef instructor- and I'm bringing this book. It is definitely textbook quality, and it reads exactly like that. I think my Chef instructor will actually consider teaching a course, based on this textbook. Whether or not the school will fund it, is another matter! But that's a whole different topic....

Not all of the skills in this text are foreign to me of course. But I am so excited to get started with these lessons, as I intend to go through the text as if I were actually taking a class, with Toba Garrett. =) I have already used a few of the recipes for buttercream, with excellent results. I have also tried the recipe for modeling chocolate, and completed my first lesson- the chocolate rose. I'm not exactly starting from the beginning of the book with my lessons. ;P I was very pleased with the instructions, recipe and results. The photos that accompany the lessons are incredibly useful. The lessons themselves, are very detailed, step by step instructions. I am very eager to try out many of the recipes, and so glad that I finally have all of my favorites in one book! Not many "cookbooks" have curd recipes, much less pineapple. And as I mentioned the buttercream recipes- awesome. Another thing that I LOVE- The yield is given for every recipe. Well, I could go on and on about what I love about this book- there really isn't anything that I DON'T love!

If you are looking for something to reference everyday, or something that reads easy and has lots of photos, this probably isn't worth the investment. However if you are like me, an aspiring pastry chef, cake artist, and are in this field or are wanting further instruction- this is one awesome reference. As for the price- I justified it by telling myself that ONE culinary course + supplies FAR exceed the $60 price tag.