Happy Birthday (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Growing up as one of ten children gave me a lot of practice at birthday cakes..." (more)
Key Phrases: sifted pure icing sugar, quantity chocolate butter, quantities chocolate butter, More Ideas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Anna von Marburg's cakes make for a delightful picture and recipe book." -- The Bloomsbury Review

"Beautiful and unusual." -- Northwest Herald, July 2, 2003

"Birthday cakes will never be the same...This is one cookbook that will any cook's collection or coffee table." -- L.A. Parent Magazine

"Edible modern sculpture." -- Sacramento Bee, June 25, 2003

"Just reading through the book and feasting the eyes on these whimisical cakes is a treat." -- The Record

"Just reading through the book and feasting the eyes on these whimsical cakes is a treat." -- The Times, July 2, 2003

"Simply explained and easy to follow." -- Tri-City Herald, July 2, 2003

"The cakes in this book are glorious, unique creations, and the decorating instructions are easy to follow." -- Working Mother

Product Description

Children's birthday cakes usually come in one of two varieties: the basic, straight-from-the-box version, or the labor-intensive, time-consuming specialty cake. Happy Birthday offers an alternative: birthday cakes that are fabulously creative and fun as well as incredibly easy to make. Cake designs from potted sunflowers and football fields to aquariums and teapots include recipes that make use of kid-friendly ingredients such as lollipops, candy, and ice cream; step-by-step instructions; and tips for making perfect creations the first time around. Designed for times when style is important but convenience is paramount, each cake can be baked and decorated within a few hours.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin Pty., Limited (Australia) (November 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1865081442
• ISBN-13: 978-1865081441
• Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 9.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,004,371 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Happy Birthday Cakes the easy way!, September 4, 2000

By A Customer

What a great book! Finally something that lets even the most novice of bakers look like Martha Stewart! If you need a reference cookbook that will give you the abilities of a master chef but in reality, has a real life that fills your waking hours, then seriously consider Anna's efforts as presented in this wonderfully fun book. The photos are large enough and tempting enough to show you how fabulous it will look and the recipes are simple enough to make you feel confident in your skills. There is enough array of themes to give you quite a selection to choose from; in fact, the "cupcake cake" is SOOO easy, its impossible to plead novice! My only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is because I also have her first book, "Cakes in Bloom"; THAT book is the ultimate in cake creations! You definitely need more time, patience, and skill but what fabulous works of edible art! Nothing yet has surpassed that book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Good for Kids' Birthdays, August 4, 2001

By	Ed Levy (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews

I bought this book hoping to find some good ideas for my daughter's first birthday cake. I also figured it would come in handy as she gets older. Unfortunately, while the cakes all look very pretty, they are not the sorts of cakes that a child, or possibly even a teen-ager, would find exciting. For the most part, they are very adult in their themes (with the notable exception of a cake designed to look like a diaper). The Penny Whistle Birthday Party Book has much better ideas for children's birthday cakes, albeit without color photographs. If you intend to use this book for adult parties, it might work for you. I think the title is misleading, however, in that many of the cakes tend more toward garden themes.

5.0 out of 5 stars the best!, January 20, 2008

By	Bonnie Anne Mcdonald - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

even I could follow her easy instructions...i didn't even know what fondant was before this! ace of cakes- here i come!