Wedding Cakes You Can Make: Designing, Baking, and Decorating the Perfect Wedding Cake [Hardcover]

Dede Wilson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Make the cake?

Yes, you can.

If you love to bake and are willing to plan ahead, you can make a spectacular wedding cake--and you don't have to be a pastry chef to do it! Let prominent wedding cake expert Dede Wilson guide you through every layer of the process--from choosing among flavors and styles to baking, assembling, and decorating your way to a beautiful and delicious cake. This accessible cookbook not only gets you ready for the big event, it helps you lend a truly personal touch to the celebration.

"If you want to make your own wedding cake, Dede Wilson is the perfect guide. She helps you bake with confidence every step of the way to a delicious personalized result."
--Donna Ferrari, BRIDE'S magazine

From the Inside Flap

"I do not believe in cakes that are made for beauty and ceremony only. I believe they should be eaten—and enjoyed! In fact, the majority of the time my cakes are used as the dessert, as opposed to a symbolic addition."
—Dede Wilson

Let them eat cake—in fact, let them eat your cake. Whether you're the bride, the groom, or a loving friend or family member who wants to make that special day unforgettable, public television cooking show host Dede Wilson knows that you—yes, you—can bake, frost, assemble, and decorate a spectacular, delicious, and totally unique wedding cake that won't put your budget over the edge—even if you've never mastered anything more complicated than a birthday cake or two. In Wedding Cakes You Can Make, this top-tier expert reveals that all it takes to make that big-day cake is a love of baking and a willingness to plan properly and work patiently.

Whether you're feeding 20 or 150 people, preparation begins long before you preheat the oven. In this easy-to-follow, hands-on guide, Wilson takes you through the entire process, from the drawing board to the presentation table, sharing time-tested techniques that help you turn that cake of your dreams into a delectable reality.

She helps you get started by having you write a wish list that can be honed into a framework for the ideal cake. Then it's time to make the cake happen by working through all the practical elements that come into play, such as setting your budget (and sticking to it); choosing the essential flavors (if chocolate is the bride's passion, don't leave it out!); considering the wedding date (if it's October, think about fall colors); accommodating the number of guests (small guest list equals modest-sized cake); keeping in tune with the wedding's style or mood (beach-casual vs. black tie-formal); and getting organized (time to borrow that decorating turntable).

When it comes to execution, Wilson encourages you to use the highest-quality ingredients and equipment specific to the task, and to gain a foundation by making a six-inch sample cake—an integral step that, much like dating, allows you to try the cake on for size before making the final commitment. She shares her own favorite flavor combinations as well as those most frequently requested by bridal couples. For each of the 16 cakes, Wilson provides essential details—a timeline, thorough recipe directions, and tips. Recipes range from the lighthearted Raspberries and Cream Cake to the contemporary Nutella Cake and the sophisticated Gilded Mocha Cake. Color photographs of all the finished cakes and dozens of how-to photos give you the inspiration and know-how to bake your own special wedding cake.

As Wilson says, wedding cake flavor and design choices are infinite. In Wedding Cakes You Can Make, she helps you create your own special slice of what is possible.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (March 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076455719X
• ISBN-13: 978-0764557194
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #57,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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  Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Baking > Cakes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

129 of 129 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book REALLY IS helpful!!!, June 16, 2005

By	B. Cline (New Orleans) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Wedding Cakes You Can Make: Designing, Baking, and Decorating the Perfect Wedding Cake (Hardcover)

I have an enormous collection of cake decorating books and I was pleasantly suprised when I received this wonderful book by Dede Wilson. Most of my books are either centered around the DESIGN of the cake, with very little emphasis on the specific how-to's (like how to transport the cake, which icing to use, etc.)to the taste of the cake (focusing little on how to decorate.) Both categories are important but can be daunting if you don't know where to start.

However, Wilson provides designs that almost anyone can do, as well as fabulous recipes that I have not seen in condensed form in any other book. Usually, the reader is provided with a white and chocolate cake recipe, a ganache, and a buttercream. This is perfectly fine, but I was looking for something that took my recipes to the next level. Wilson provides recipes like Lemon Blackberry Cake, Raspberries and Cream Cake, Marzipan and Orange Essensia Cake, Chocolate-Covered Caramel Cake, and my FAVORITE, the Chocolate-covered Cherry Cake. The design of the last cake has an inside of white cake layers with bittersweet chocolate shavings folded in, kirsch moistening syrup, and a filling of vanilla buttercream with actual chocolate-covered cherries. The outside is a stunning white-on-white with a bead border and chocolate plastique roses that are easier to make than you think!

Wilson provides recipes, ideas, and pictures for a simple and casual summer wedding cake like the Italian Rum Cream with fresh fruit on top, to a sophisticated Gilded Mocha Cake with a chocolate glaze topping and real gold leaf.

In addition, she goes further than any wedding cake book I've seen in explaining exactly how to transport the cake and set it up in the venue, and EXACTLY how far in advance EVERYTHING can be done. I just can't say enough about this book---IT IS A MUST!!!

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The title says it all, August 28, 2005

By	Home Baker (Ottawa, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wedding Cakes You Can Make: Designing, Baking, and Decorating the Perfect Wedding Cake (Hardcover)

I recently agreed to make a wedding cake for my friend's wedding and although I bake regularly, I had never undertaken such a large project as a wedding cake. After coming across Dede Wilson's book and poring over it I was able to make a beautiful wedding cake with confidence. The pictures are beautiful, the recipes are wonderful, the instructions are clear and Ms. Wilson provides helpful tips throughout. A great book for anyone considering making a wedding cake.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Read it Cover to Cover the Day I Received it!, January 30, 2006

By	Jen@dazzleM: "Foodie, Traveler, Pastry Chef, ... (La Jolla, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wedding Cakes You Can Make: Designing, Baking, and Decorating the Perfect Wedding Cake (Hardcover)

This is a very practical guide to baking and presenting a quality product. You will not learn how to use pastry tips -- plenty of places to do that...but if your goal is to bake a really good tasting cake and good looking cake, this book gives you great advice. Resources in the back of the book are terrific.