Sweet Thea » cake decoration

The Wilton Way of Cake Decorating Volume 1, 2 ,3

laurie — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

These three books are fantastic instructionals – I was so lucky to get my hands on them! One of the restaurants I was working for decided they were useless, and threw them in the garbage – boo-yah!

A lot of what is in these books I will never use, it is completely outdated or redundant. Many of the designs are a bit tack – but not all of them – some of the designs are cyclical, and keep coming back, while others are definitive mainstays (basket weave, for example).

These books are a staggering legacy from an earlier generation, with the compiled wisdom of decades of cake-making. It amazes me that these turn up on sites like Amazon or eBay frequently for a few dollars – there is such an enormous range of information in these masterpieces of cake knowledge.

For a cake newbie or professional, these 3 volumes (two of which are subtitled The Complete Encyclopedia, with the remaining volume subtitled ‘The Uses of Tubes’) almost single-handedly encompass the techniques, skills, and knowledge base of all inspired cake innovators of previous eras. Collectively they contain an overwhelming amount of information, which I cannot wait to completely assimilate. These books are gold – recommended- all aspiring cake designers should check them out. Used copies are turn up regularly Amazon – if you are intrigued, buy them up as quick as you can.

Zeichnen und Garnieren fur Konditoren

laurie — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

This is another sweet gift from my mentor, George Wagner; a German instructional book filled with design and illustrative ideas for cakes.

I haven’t tried any of this stuff yet, it is a relatively new gift; and everything I take from it will be visual only, as the book is written in German.

Still it does have a lot of useful features, particularly fonts, calligraphy, zodiac signs, trim, latticework, stencils, forms, images, and ornaments of all kinds, in simple black and white line drawings that can be easily used by a cake designer. It’s many different themes – children, birthday, love, nature – make it a useful reference work for a professional pastry chef.

Something New (Broderie Anglaise)

laurie — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:39:45 +0000

This slim booklet (32 pages) is very specific – it introduces and explains how to make a celebration cake with a ‘broderie anglaise’ effect. Broderie Anglaise (a french term, which literally means ‘English Embroidery’) is characterized by patterns composed of small holes (eyelets) bound with either buttonhole or overcast stitches.

an example of Broderie Anglaise (source: Wikipedia)

This was a gift from my mentor, George Wagner; I haven’t used it yet, so I don’t have any results to tell you about. It is very clearly illustrated and explained, so I am relatively certain it is useful, but I haven’t tried it yet, so I don’t have any results to tell you about. One of these days I will get around to making a fake cake with lace embroidery, and i will tell you how it goes then…

Cakewalk: Adventures In Sugar With Margaret Braun

laurie — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0000

The minute I opened this book, I felt a great affinity for Margaret Braun. It is like we have the same kind of brain, our relationship with the cakes we create is artistic, personal; it is amazing that we sometimes get paid for what we love to do!

I haven’t tried the recipes, and possibly never will; they are doubtlessly quite good. It just that this book isn’t about a to-do list, rather it is about imagination, passion, energy, art; a study of one person’s focus, concentration, and inspiration. We follow along as she envisions her creations, and then manifests them, merging art and pastry to create wonderful presentations, divine cakes, beautiful statements…

Ok, I admit it is total food porn; the photographs are achingly beautiful, and the book is a symphony of design and character. Still, when I study it clear-eyed, her techniques are really cool, and practical, and inspirational, with great insight. For any aspiring cake designer, this is a marvelous book by a superb talent, fueled by a great love for her work. Recommended completely.

Modelling with Marzipan

laurie — Thu, 14 May 2009 09:00:00 +0000

This is a nice little how-to book for making marzipan figures, with illustrated step-by-step instructions.

Amazon dates it as a 1950 printing; I think it is a bit later but the frontispiece doesn’t say.

All of the work illustrated has a vintage cartoon feel, making these light-hearted, happy little works.

Each component is listed, and assembly is simple – check out this cute green monkey, for example:

Definitely a useful book, with lots of cool ideas and examples. Recommended.

Marzipan: Figures, Gateaux, Decorations

laurie — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:00:00 +0000

‘Use Results of this Book to Enliven Your Shop Windows and Increase Your Sales’ ends the preface to this very dated book, printed in English, French and German.

There is still lots of valuable information in this, a gift from my mentor George Wagner, which I haven’t really used yet.

One day I am sure I will use this book; and if anyone asks me for a kiddy cake with lots of owls on it, I will most definitely come here first!

'gymnasts' and smokers made of marzipan