Wacky Cakes and Kooky Cookies [Hardcover]

Gerhard Jenne (Author), Jonathan Lovekin (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 8, 2000

You don't need much in the way of experience or talent to transform a simple cake or cookie into a creative masterpiece. According to virtuoso pastry chef Gerhard Jenne, you just need a sense of humor and a steady hand. In this inspiring book (with vibrant photographs by Jonathan Lovekin) Gerhard transforms cake decorating from a tedious chore into a pursuit that is both fun and a real outlet for creative expression. He provides master recipes for five basic frostings, six cookie doughs, and six cake batters. Armed with these materials and Jenne's clearly illustrated instructions even novice bakers can stride into the kitchen and confidently take up the whisk. And what creations! Delectable cookies whose bright, bold designs make them even more tempting, cakes that brim with flavor ... and humor.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gerhard Jenne is a London-based patissier whose work is internationally recognized as the most innovative and stylish in its field. Trained in his native Germany, he is now highly sought after by the rich and famous and by stars of stage and screen for his unique culinary creations. Accustomed to training young chefs, he has a natural talent for explaining in simple terms how to achieve his seemingly complicated and spectacular decorations.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Ryland Peters & Small; 1st edition (May 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841720674
• ISBN-13: 978-1841720678
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,107,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I have only one complaint with this book, November 9, 2000

By 

"lrhnancy" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wacky Cakes and Kooky Cookies (Hardcover)

This is a very nice book with some original ideas and very good recipes.It has pictures of all the finished products,beautiful sunflower cookies,bright clowns,cute gingerbread people,happy sun cookies and pretty ginger cats.What i like the best are the petit fours decorated with very cute & colorful animals,flowers & carrot's.It also has some nice cakes like golden celebration cake,chocolate celebration ,chocolate velvet , fruitcake , sponge and lemon.There is a recipe & directions on how to make checkerboard cookies which is a unique look.It has some recipes for frostings & fillings as well.None of the ingredients are overly expensive or hard to find.The only complaint i have with this book is that it is the exact same book as "Decorating Cakes & cookies" by the same author! These books both have different covers & different names but every single page is identical! I already owned ' decorating cakes & cookies' by this author & liked it, so when i saw this one i ordered it.I was very disappointed to open it find out that i already had this book with a different cover & name! I think that is very deceiving. So please do not make the same mistake i did in thinking that they are 2 different books like you're led to believe they are.This is a good book & i think you'll only need one.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not the usual "Wilton" look in cakes, March 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Wacky Cakes and Kooky Cookies (Hardcover)

Jenne has some fun, creative and original ideas for cake decorating. Yes, they do look a bit sloppy, but then these are not the usual "Wilton" frosting daisies and roses. The reason for just 2 stars is some of the recipes aren't very good with questionable instructions. For example, the one for Chocolate Granache calls for UNSWEETENED chocolate and cream. That's it. And it's absolutely vile tasting. I ended up using Jacques Pepin's recipe from his "La Technique" cookbook. And the Konditor cake needs a special Croquembouche mold which will set you back about $90-$110. I think this book is for more experienced bakers who can spot a questionable recipe, but then they probably have better cookbooks in their libraries.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and doable, April 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Wacky Cakes and Kooky Cookies (Hardcover)

I agree with the previous reviewer, and I think the reviewer performed a valuable service in pointing out that "Wacky Cakes and Kooky Cookies" is the same book as "Cake and Cookie Decorating." I would merely like to add my own experiences in using the book. Bear in mind that, although I love to bake at home, I'm by no means an expert baker. First, the cakes. I've made two: the chocolate sponge, and the lemon victorian sponge. The chocolate sponge was indeed chocolatey, but much too heavy for my taste. The lemon sponge was much more successful. It was nice and light, and well-flavored with lemon. It's also one of the easiest cakes you can make from scatch. It does use self-rising flour, and therefore doesn't have the perfect crumb that you'll get from the sponge cakes in "The Cake Bible." But it's still very good, and quick! Another plus: This recipe only calls for four eggs. Most sponge/angel cake recipes call for 6-8 eggs. If you want a good, quick cake for dinner, without having to run out and buy more eggs, or borrow from the neighbors, this is the recipe to make. Frostings: Very strong. I tried everything but the fondant frosting, and they were all good. The granache was delicious, and surprisingly easy to make. My favorite was the lemon water frosting: VERY quick, easy and tasty, and the lemon juice cuts the excessive sweetness of the sugar. This frosting is perfect for the Happy Sun cookies. It dries nice and solid, and you can decorate on top of it. Cookie doughs: I tried the gingerbread dough and the lemon almond shortbread. The gingerbread dough as excellent, like most gingerbread doughs. What sets this recipe apart from most others is that it doesn't require eggs, so it keeps well, and you can use corn syrup instead of molasses, which people are more likely to have in their kitchens. Don't skimp on the flavorings. We (my daughter and I) made the lemon almond shortbread cookies twice; we consider this recipe a failure. Even after chilling, the dough was VERY crumbly and hard to roll out. And even after we (finally) rolled it out thin, it still produced a very heavy cookie. Also, we found the taste bland: a disappointment, considering that it's so expensive - 1 1/3 cups ground almonds. We made the Happy Sun and Sunflower cookies, and both turned out great: truly unusual and spectacular-looking. The sunflower cookies are very rich, with the royal frosting and chocolate centers. They're more like a pastry than a cookie. I suggest using any cutout cookie dough you're comfortable with, rather than the almond shortbread one. If you have oodles of time, and don't mind enlarging the templates in the back of the book, then transferring them to plastic and cutting around each cookie with a knife, that's fine. Otherwise, just buy a sunflower cookie cutter. In a way, the Happy Sun cookies were my favorite: Impressive but easy, and you don't have to fool around with templates or special cutters. Also, if you're pressed for time, you can use the lemon-water frosting, and then draw faces with store-bought cake-decorating tubes. The large illustration is very helpful here. The best part of this book, for me, was in presenting really unusual yet doable cookies. I highly recommend "Wacky Cakes and Kooky Cookies."