As much a cookbook as a source of inspiration, The Wedding Cake Book takes bakers--novices and experts alike--step by step through the process of conceptualizing, baking, assembling, and decorating wedding cakes of all levels of difficulty. Each recipe page includes the components needed to make the pictured cake (layers, fillings, decorating accouterments, equipment); the number of servings; the level of difficulty (easier, moderate, or complex); and the recipe and preparation instructions. Other chapters cover finishing touches, cake accompaniments such as sauces and fillings, equipment, and resources for special ingredients or professional equipment. Bakers looking for detailed instructions and delicious recipes and brides seeking ideas for the perfect cake for their postnuptial celebration will find what they're after in The Wedding Cake Book.

The Wedding Cake Book offers you the answers to all of these questions, along with complete baking and decorating instructions for thirty gorgeous cakes, all beautifully photographed.

The wedding cake is often the centerpiece of the reception — it is a symbol of new love. It's meant to be savored long after the last bite is eaten. Whether you're planning your own wedding (Congratulations!) or making a wedding cake for a special friend or relative, The Wedding Cake Book will be invaluable to you.

Frst, author Dee Wilson helps you to plan: will the wedding be casual or formal; how many guests are there; what is the budget? The basics of making a wedding cake come next: cake sizing, baking techniques, storing and transporting, how to work with chocolate and pastry bags. Specialty tools are discussed, including icing spatulas, decorating turntables, masonite boards, and combing tools. Then there are specialty techniques like assembling cakes with pillars, crystallizing flowers, working with fresh greenery, sugar molding, and working with marzipan and chocolate plastic.

A chapter on basic cake making contains dozens of recipes for cake layers in every flavor and size, varieties of buttercreams, frostings, curds and fillings, and chocolate ganache.

If you're tired of the old standard—white cake with white buttercream—then The Wedding Cake Book is the book for you. gorgeous designs feature fresh flowers and foliage, crystallized flowers and fruits, marzipan flowers, nuts and leaves, both square and round cakes, and more. If you're looking for something unique, you'll find cheesecakes, coffee cakes, and even a Flaming Baked Alaska wedding cake.

Dede believes a cake should not only be beautiful but also delicious. Here are a few of her exciting recipes: White Chocolate Satin Apricot Cake with White Chocolate Flowers and rapes, Double Expresso Wedding Cake, Hazelnut Dacquoise and Hazelnut Génoise Wedding Cake, and Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cake.

Wedding memories are meant to be cherished for a lifetime. and the cake should be just as special. The Wedding Cake Book presents a world of delicious flavors, wonderful colors, and striking designs to make sure that your wedding day mdash; and your cake — are unforgettable.