Cakewalk: Adventures In Sugar With Margaret Braun (Hardcover)

by Margaret Braun (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Margaret Braun is a sugar craft master, for whom a cake is a work of fine art. In this exquisitely photographed and beautifully presented book, she explains how to re-create 15 of her amazing, labor-intensive signature designs, like the three-tier Saint Ursula cake with blue and green icing and a sugar chalice resting on top. This is more than a simple instruction book, though: Braun explains the historic inspiration behind each cake. For example, she invented the Afternoon with Frederick after a visit to Sans Souci Palace in Potsdam, Germany, and a four-tiered cake covered in tiny tiles mimics a mosaic in Ravenna, Italy. Not all of Braun's designs are so highbrow, however. The loopy Decal Recall is decorated with flowers inspired by bathtub no-slip decals. In any case, these cakes are ambitious projects, and Braun goes over ingredients and basic recipes, as well as tools and techniques for creating motifs such as scallop shells and polka dots. Braun (whose work has been displayed on numerous TV shows and movies, including Meet Joe Black) is charming, conveying her love for her work in an introduction in which she compares a finished cake to a musical score. Still, only the most experienced cooks won't be daunted by the recipes. Beautifully photographed by Quentin Bacon.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Margaret Braun's fantastic confections are intricately and beautifully constructed. She creates edible edifices that delight the eye and palate. And Cakewalk, beautifully illustrated, lets us in on the creative and culinary process of making these delicious and gorgeous cakes."--Maya Lin

"Margaret Braun is the cake master, a fact which would be impossible not to acknowledge after seeing the works featured in Cakewalk. By showing us photographs of her creations, paired with explanations of the intellectual process that fuels her inspiration, Margaret has managed to create an absolutely fascinating book."--Daniel Boulud, Chef and owner, Daniel, Café Boulud, and db Bistro Moderne

"Margaret Braun takes the cake! And Cakewalk is inspirational. Her writing is poetic, instructive, and certain to influence present and future generations of chefs, food artists, and scientists. The photography takes food presentation to new frontiers, while her wonderful cakes combine design, literature, and architecture in a way that makes baking and design flow together in a mellifluous and delicious continuum of art, energy, and passion. Margaret is a true visionary."--Mario Batali, chef and owner, Babbo/Lupa, Esca, and Italian Wine Merchants

"This book is an insight into Margaret's creative mind through her stories, drawings, and techniques. Quentin's photography is stunning as usual."--Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
-- Review

. . . as armchair adventures go, it's hard to beat. -- Food & Wine, September 2001

A Margaret Braun cake is not so much something to eat as an art object. -- Russ Parsons, Los Angeles Times, March 13, 2002

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli (September 22, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847823342
• ISBN-13: 978-0847823345
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #99,640 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars YES, You Can!!!, May 12, 2002

By	K. Zung "puppet queen" (Graham Crackers, NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I did it, and so can you. Right down to going to the fabulous New York Cake and Bakery Dist. store in NYC, I followed all her easy instructions. The pearlized, powder for painting the icing made my cake shimmer like nothing I'd created before. People gave me compliments on a party cake I made for 3 days straight! I felt almost guilty for plagarizing, but Margaret Braun shares her secrets with such generosity! Reading more like a diary than a cookbook, "Cakewalk..." is a love letter from her to the cake decorating enthusiast. If you are ready to take your art one step further, then this inspiring book is absolutely for you.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cakewalk's good, but..., December 5, 2002

By	Arlene L. Burke (Jamaica, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Cakewalk is a beautiful book with great decorating advice given in easy steps. I have made the Chocolate Blackout and Butter cakes. There are two problems with the book. There are only a few cake recipies. Also, the lovely photos show cakes from 6" to 14" inch tiers. Mz. Braun's recipies are for only 10" tiers. Her advice for pan preparation (butter and flour them) didn't work with the Blackout Cake. When I tried to remove the cakes, they tore badly at the tops and could not be decorated. Still tasted great, though. I suggest if you get "Cakewalk", you also get "The Wedding Cake Book" by Dede Wilson. Her book has loads of recipies and better still, she gives specific quantities for cake tiers from 6" to 14." No guesswork. Also her pan preparation really helped (grease pan, then line with parchment paper worked. I've found that what one book dosen't cover or has a hard method, the other one is more helpful or has an easier way.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not much for the money, September 24, 2001

By	jumpy1 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Margaret Braun is very talented and her cakes are splendid! Nonetheless, I was initially disappointed in this book, because there are just a few cakes shown, and although they are beautiful indeed, they don't begin to be worth even the discounted sticker price! A good number of the pages have just a few words spaced widely apart, having mostly to do with her thoughts on art or history. But even those very brief comments only offer the type of information you'd get in an 8th grade classroom. Also, this book is mainly for inspiration, not direction. She says at the beginning that if the reader is a beginner, to read the whole book ... but I find it hard to believe with the spare directions that any beginner would be able to actually use the book. They also said in the jacket that detailed diagrams are displayed -- when in fact they are just a sketch of the finished product, that you can see a picture of a few pages later. I got the feeling these were part of the filler. However, I do like how, on the pages where she shows a standard technique or a decoration she uses, there are several pictures of details from different building facades and references to art and history. Looking at the pictures, I felt as though I was standing next to her, getting inspired by everything around me.