This is a great book. There are wonderful rhymes. The drawings are detailed and fun; you can find faces on mountains and in water. There is a frog which hides on every page; looking for the frog and the different things makes this book even better.

The book is fun and happy. It is a terrific bedtime story. Our copy is worn from use and love. This book should be as mandatory children's reading as "Good Night Moon" and "Winnie the Pooh".

I am very pleased with this book. I am making gumpaste wildflowers for an upcoming wedding cake competition and this book is exactly what I needed. Very beautiful flowers and nicely written instructions.

From all of wilton's yearbooks, this is the one to have! It has the most beautiful cakes to make. The wedding cakes are just lovely. It also has all the instruction (however you must know cake decorating beforehand). I rate this an A-1!

I teach cake decorating and always recommend this book to my students. You will never be out of ideas with this book; wonderful information regarding every decorating tip made by Wilton. You wont be sorry you bought it ... worth every penny of its cost.

Heather! Great Story! I really enjoyed this book. I sawyouperform in Charleston, SC last year and I found that I needed toread all that you wrote. This well done. I recomend that all Storytellers read this one! Plus you kids!

I recently came across Crankshaft as it's printed in newspapers in California, rather than in my hometown. I absolutely love the comic strip, so I quickly got this. This book is excellent. I was surprised as it was published this year, but the strips in the book were created about ten years ago. The Crankshaft comic strips are similar to Lynn Johnston's For Better or For Worse, as both strips show real-life situations and stories, while the family grows along with us. The Alzheimer story with two people associated with the Crankshaft family is very touching. All in all, it's a great book, and I absolutely loved it.

As a psychologist, I know that one of the most important things you can do for a client is to normalize their feelings by letting them know they are not alone, that others feel the same way they do. Marg does an excellent job of doing this for both brides-to-be and newlywed brides. She points out that most brides are afraid to talk about any negative feelings they might have during this time for fear that this will call their marriage into question (and in fact, non-married friends often do have these reactions). Marg emphasizes that it is completely normal to feel this way, and, perhaps more importantly, that other brides have felt the same way and have gotten through it. Much of what she says is common sense--and may not apply to those who have been living together before marriage like myself--but the information is still helpful as well as interesting and enjoyable to read.

Going through my engagement was supposed to be the epitome of all happy life experiences, but the stress of wedding planning, merging families and giving up my single life proved to be a bit more stressful than seemless! The book "What No One Tells the Bride" arrived in my life just in time to reassure me that everything I was feeling and going through was not only "normal" but was common to most other brides/newlyweds too! I highly recommend this book for ANYONE who is engaged or newly married. As a matter of fact, I'm making it my new favorite gift for all my engaged friends so hopefully they can start the process more prepared than I was! Thank You Marg Stark for writing this book so I didn't have to! You've finally come out and said what we were all quietly thinking but were too afraid to talk about until now!

I purchased this book on the recommendation of my best friend (a newlywed) when my boyfriend and I started preliminary discussions about "the future." A fiercely independent, practical, 25 year-old, I was looking for some insight into the feelings, worries, and expectations associated with early engagement and marriage. I was amazed by this book. Thank goodness for Marg Stark!

Stark's insightful, frank text is intended for female newlyweds, brides-to-be, or women considering "taking the plunge" who want to get some insight into the ups and downs of marriage. Written from the perspective of Stark (a writer/newlywed) and based on interviews with 50+ recently married woman, this book covers everything from mourning the loss of singlehood, to addressing and overcoming the money/power dynamic, to finding fulfillment in sharing your life with another person - while still maintaining your independence.

So many books out there are about "Planning Your Dream Wedding." However, this book gracefully avoids talk of wedding (except in two of the early chapters), instead concentrating on the time after the honeymoon.

Engagement and marriage is a difficult time. Not only must a bride deal with the pressure of a wedding, but also the joy/dramas associated with sharing her life with someone else. Often times, this happens at the same time a bride is trying to earn a living, raise children, go to school, find a new apartment, etc. With each chapter, Stark chips away the stereotypes associated with brides and marriage. Brides don't have to plaster on a smile all the time just because they're told that "this is the happiest time of your life." Marriage can be fun and sexy.

Also, the book carefully avoids the declarative feel of a "how to" book. Stark simply shares her observations and leaves it up to you to make the decisions. You'll put down the book feeling like you just had a conversation with a sage, understanding friend over a steaming latte.

Here are a few notes:

- Both the author and the majority of the brides she interviewed are college-educated, 23-33 year-old professionals. That being the case, the content is skewed to that particular demographic.

- Stark uses many anecdotes from her own life (and that of her husband Duke) to illustrate her points. I found this engaging and enlightening. Some may find it repetitive and biased.

- The book is content-rich with well organized chapters. Readers can easily go back to re-read sections that interest them. (However, I strongly recommend reading it cover to cover.)

- This makes an excellent bridal shower gift.

This is not a book to miss. Highly recommended.

I am writing this review from the very unique perspective of having had a small part in this book's production.   Being a friend of Kerry's, I saw many of the cakes in the book during their production and I know the amount of work and thought that went into each project.   Even having seen some of the edited text before publication as the book progressed, I was still amazed at the quality of the final copy.   The pictures are extremely clear and detailed and the instructions are complete and concise.   It is a very usable book for the decorator to increase their upscale business and for the prospective bride to fine a truly unique cake design.   I have quite an extensive collection of wedding cake books and have seen none with the attention to detail that this book has.   It is a definite "must" for any wedding cake designer's library. I was so proud when Kerry asked me to be her guest and I am thrilled to be a part of this international commission.

It was love at first sight! (The future husband as well as the cake!) Tina saw a photo of "The Cake" (All that Glitters) in a bridal magazine and made up her mind instantly: that was it! No other cake would do! It was white and gold with beautiful scroll work and an elegant crown on top instead of the traditional bride and groom figurines. The wedding was to be held at The Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, an exact replica of Renaissance Venice, complete with gondolas and canals, fountains, statues, works of art, etc., and the cake was the perfect style for such a wedding.

But where and how to procure information on how to create it? The article carried only the picture and the name of it's creator, Kerry Vincent, and a mention that the cake was to be featured in her upcoming book, "Romantic Wedding Cakes," which would be out in June. Tina knew that would be cutting it close, as the wedding was scheduled for the first week in July, and she waited with anticipation to storm the local booksellers as soon as it "turned June." However, her hopes were dashed only to find out that the book was not yet available in the U.S., as it was being published first in England! What to do!?!

A quick review of the bridal magazine revealed a phone number for Kerry Vincent in the back section, and a frenzied series of phone calls ensued. When contact was finally made, Tina and her mom, Eleanor were thrilled to find that Kerry was available to talk to and that she lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and not in her faraway home country, Australia. As it turned out, Tina and Eleanor were to be the first customers in the United States to purchase the book and Kerry was equally enthused about their wanting to do her special cake for the wedding. To speed things up, Kerry made special arrangements with her publisher in England to ship a copy of the book to Tina and it arrived just in time to take it along to Las Vegas, where Tina was assured someone could make "any cake she wanted." The book was NOT a disappointment and the clear directions and beautiful pictures made it easy for the cake designer in Tintoretto's to recreate Kerry's design "All that Glitters" exactly. Brides-to-be will find this book to be a wonderful repository of stunning ideas and techniques to assist in designing their own cakes. It was worth every penny including the overnight international express mail shipping.

Stay tuned for further adventures...

Prepare to be amazed. Prepare to gawk and stare. Prepare to savor cakes beyond your wildest imagination. Who knew cakes could be like this? Who knew cakes could transcend the palate and fill the eyes as well? Kerry Vincent will surprise and astonish you in her book "Romantic Wedding Cakes."

Vincent is an accomplished sugar designer and cake stylist. She is the co-founder of the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show. This book is for cake enthusiasts, and brides looking for a couture cake design. From the baroque tiara cake, to the innovative shoes made entirely out of sugar, Vincent will earn her title as cake stylist. Each of these cakes is entirely unique; the styles have not been copied or borrowed from other sources. The originality and sparkle of the designs will strike you from the very first page.

"Romantic Wedding Cakes" also features designs primarily done in fondant.

Vincent succeeds in awing the reader of "Romantic Wedding Cakes" with her haute couture wedding cake designs. This is the ideal book for brides who are seeking an original and show-stopping wedding cake. It is also a source of inspiration for cake decorators and cake stylists looking for something new. It is a book that will spark the imagination, and engage the visual senses. Kerry Vincent has succeeded in creating a stunning book of wedding cakes.

Anne Byrn's The Cake Mix Doctor has been a contoversial book from it's first mention.I have baked for years, usually, but not always, from scratch. However, as I expanded my bread baking, my cake baking decreased. I found that many scratch cakes which call for all-purpose flour were disappointing in texture, but I did not feel like buying cake flour for just one or two cakes.No cookbook I have used has a perfect track record. Some well written, well edited books have a few less- than-successful recipes.I have made four cakes from this book, and they have all been very good. The most popular one with my friends was the Orange Almond Angel Food cake from the "lighter" section.Yes, I agree that the cheesecakes are more attractive when baked in a springform pan, but Byrn is realistic enough to recognize that not everyone has a springform pan, and that not everyone wants to buy a springform pan.This book is for: Time pressed bakers, inexperienced bakers who want to progress beyond un-doctored mixes, but feel uncertain about scratch baking, and for those random cake bakers, like me. (I bake more bread, now)I wish there was a chart that listed finished cakes by cake mix-which cakes start with white mix, which cakes start with spice mix, and so on.The sidebars are interesting, and the whole book is very pleasing to read.

Did you ever see "Steel Magnolias"? Do you remember the scene at the wedding when they're cutting into the armadillo groom's cake, and it was red velvet cake? Ever wonder how to make that? Well, on page 152 of The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn, you can find out! This easy-to-use cookbook has recipes for cakes, biscotti, bars, cookie pops, and even tiramisu.

My favorite recipe in this book is the turtle cake. It's so easy to make, and such a popular treat! I've brought it to cookouts and church council meetings, and it disappeared. It disappears even faster when it's warm!

While there are "lighter" recipes in this cookbook, this book is not for the cholesterol conscious. Many of the recipes begin with adding a stick of butter to the cake mix. While it tastes delicious, the nutrition information is not provided.

I use this cookbook often, especially when I need something tasty and quick. It's a great resource for those times when you just don't have the time or inclination to cook from scratch.

I read great reviews about this book and asked for it for Christmas last year.
It was fun to read, as Anne gives great tips you can use with ANY cake.

This year I have made at least 10 cakes from her book ( a couple I have made 3 times). And except for a disappointing lemon cake (tasted more like mix than anything else), the cakes have been fabulous. My favorite cake so far is
the Pumpkin Spice cake with Buttercream frosting. I have taken this to many Holiday parties and it is a hit. It is a fun alternative to pumpkin pie. And everyone likes it because it is not too sweet, or chocolate, etc.

Another great cake is the Milk Chocolate Pound cake. I can make
is using my food processor in minutes and it is great to take to parties.

I have always loved making cakes from mixes and scratch, but now I keep going back to her book. I get fast, easy delicious results that can impress anybody (even my mother-in-law).

If you are a busy working mom like me, this will make you feel like
Martha Stewart in your free time.

Enjoy!

I love this book. I discovered it in my local library, checked it out, and made several of the recipes before deciding I'd like to have a copy. That was in 1992, and my copy is now falling apart from hard use. I have occasionally had recipes fail when I became distracted from following the directions meticulously, however. This is not a cookbook for those who like everything too sweet -- but my husband, whom I kid about having the tastebuds of an 8-year-old, loves these cakes. So do my children, my dinner guests -- you name it. Just last night, I served the Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte with Raspberry Sauce to rave reviews and demands for the recipes. I haven't made all the recipes yet, but I hope to someday.
A word of caution: if you don't have uninterrupted time to read the directions thoroughly and follow them carefully, don't bother -- buy a boxed mix. These are recipes sensitive to ingredient quality, technique, temperature, and even weather. (Boxed mixes, I've learned, contain stabilizing ingredients that make them taste okay even when you screw up.) Another word of caution: Many of the ingredients (the "finest" chocolate, walnut oil, unsalted pistachios, for example) are difficult to find and/or quite expensive if you do not live in a large urban area. Word of caution #3: I have also occasionally had trouble with a recipe from this book when specialized equipment (I don't have a food processor) is involved. However, even my failures have tasted good. I've read some of the other reviews commenting on the dryness and heaviness of some of the cakes, and am surprised since I haven't had problems in this regard. I may never learn how to make an icing rose, but there are plenty of other decorating options for those of us not so creatively gifted.
I am yet again giving a copy of this book to a dear friend interested in baking delicious cakes, and also considering replacing my own copy, which is stained and losing pages.

Rose Levy Beranbaum's "The Cake Bible" has justifiably become a classic in the many years since its original publication in 1988. Aside from bearing the seal of approval of the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals, which awarded the book its "Cookbook of the Year" prize in 1988), take a look at the fact that this book is still not only in print--it's in print in hardcover! That says a great deal about the value and information the book provides.

I can attest personally to the fact that the recipes WORK. This is the number one test for any cookbook, yet it's astonishing to me how many recipes DON'T work--either because of unclear or poorly worded directions, or because of lack of thorough testing on the part of the author. I have never yet made anything from this book with which I was disappointed, and have made a number of recipes which have entered the hallowed pantheon of family favorites. Beranbaum's White Velvet Butter Cake has become a de rigeur choice for birthday, confirmation, and other special occasion cakes--it's a fine-crumbed, velvety, melt-in-your-mouth cake that's like the best wedding cake or petit four you've ever put in your mouth. And the Neoclassic Buttercream gives you a meltingly delicious frosting that's the color of cheesecake--richly ivory and silken smooth.

Beranbaum is a companionable writer--her essay on "My Brother's Wedding Cake, or the Snowstorm of 1983" has become something of a Murphy's Law baking classic--and she's a learned and intelligent teacher. This book was the first to introduce me to the novel idea of weighing ingredients, rather than measuring them by volume. The result is much greater accuracy, which in turn gives you a much higher chance of turning out stellar baking results. I bought a scale shortly after receiving this book as a gift for my birthday in 1989, and have never looked back. In fact, when I wrote my own culinary newsletter from 1993 to 2000, I usually did all the recipes giving both weights AND measures, trying to encourage my readers to try the weighing method. Once you try it, you'll never go back.

The photography is gorgeous (although I have always wished there were more of it!). The cakes fairly gleam with rich color--you can practically taste them just looking at the photographs (check out especially the handsome Strawberry Maria, named for editor Maria Guarnaschelli, and the dramatically decorated Art Deco cake).

In addition to the cake and icing recipes, there is worthy advice on everything from tempering chocolate to creating three-dimensional cake decorations to unusual sources for cake and cake-decorating supplies. The bottom line is that any home cook can create gorgeous, sumptuous, outstandingly delicious cakes from Beranbaum's book--and isn't that what a cake bible should be all about?

Let's face it. I like cookbooks. I don't buy many cookbooks anymore unless I run into one that is fantastic. This book explains the WHYs of cake and frosting chemistry while allowing the reader to turn out fantastic product. There aren't many cookbooks that I will curl up with on the sofa to read, however the Cake Bible has found itself being read on the sofa.

The photography is good and the recipes are clearly written. I like the fact that she includes "normal" sized cakes that most home bakers would make and then goes on to the showy wedding cakes.

Frankly the book was well thought out and executed. My only gripe is that in the recipe sections, the editors did not reference the page that the picture is on (all of the pictures are in the front of the book).

I made a wedding cake for my brother and sister-in-laws wedding based on recipes from the book. The white cake in the wedding cake section is fantastic. Even better is the Cream Cheese White Chocolate Buttercream--so marvelous that I wax poetically thinking about it. I made all of the rolled fondant from scatch using her recipe (better tasting than the packaged product and much more cost effective). And the crowning achievement were the marzipan roses--I even amazed myself with those (although it did take me two or three roses to get the hang of it).

I highly recommend this book (like you couldn't tell already). It ranks right up there with David Page Coffin's book SHIRTMAKING and Elizabeth Zimmerman's KNITTER'S ALMANAC (both are curl up with them on the sofa books).