The Confetti Cakes Cookbook: Spectacular Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City's Famed Bakery

If you want to learn about sculpting cake, this is a great resource. The detailed information and instructions are spot on. My only reason for 4 rather than 5 stars is that I paid for a “new” book, but that’s not what I received.

What a lovely book of cake decorating education!! Well done Elisa!! Ms. Strauss is the owner of New York City's "Confetti Cakes". Though she worked in the fashion industry, a playful idea of mixing her love for baking with her eye for fashion brought her to this career, and it seems to suit her well. From her bakery comes this addicting book!!Having been mesmorized by the feats and skills of such accompished cake decorators, I always look forward with great anticipation, to the latest tomes written on this subject. Ms. Strauss does not disappoint. She has compiled a rather delightful writing of the mastery of cake design and teaches a wide range of baking skills. The cake decorating devotee is given all the information necessary to reproduce what you seen on each wonderful page. This book has the ability for anyone, from novice to professional, to use and create and ooooh and aaaaah!The instructions run from basic cookies in shapes from onesies outfits (that's the baby's first year everyday garment of basically longjohns) to purses, and cupcakes with beribboned polka-dots to beach sandals to the main event of spectacular cakes that would fool anyone due to their unique appearances, like popcorn bags to a sushi table, replete with "rice" and "California rolls".The book is sturdy and thick with beautiful and detailed photography of each creation so that any questions can be answered with just a glance of the eye. Her explanations are clear and concise and they are given to you in steps both for the actions required as well as the timetable needed in order to plan your time wisely.Her book is written in this order:EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUES:This photographic and written section has what you need to work with as far as equipment and decorating tools, and each piece is numbered with a matching explanation of how you use it. There is a glossary, baking terms, practical matters, how to transport your creations, techniques for the actual decorating, filling cakes, sculpting cakes, covering cakes with fondant, constructing the cakes to hold their weight, piping with frosting and royal icing, brush embroidery, "wood staining" for making candied "tables" and "crates", making sugar bows, and more.BASIC RECIPES:Chocolate cakeVanilla cakeRed velvet cakeBanana cakeVanilla sugar cookie doughChocolate cookie doughCupcake frostingSwiss meringue buttercreamChocolate ganacheRoyal icingSimple syrupRolled fondantHow much fondantCOOKIES: (some templates are included)Heart cookiesSnowflake cookiesStacked wedding cake cookiesBaby onesie cookiesBirthday cake cookiesStiletto cookies (so much fun to make!)Handbag cookiesWitch's wardrobe cookiesModern wedding vow cookiesFruit cookies (they look so real)Dragon and butterfly cookiesCUPCAKES:Crystal cupcakesPolka dot cupcakesSports cupcakesPool ball cupcakesFlip-flop cupcakes (yep, little tiny sandals!)Seashell cupcakes (the "seashells" are so easy to make)Snowman cupcakesRubber ducky cupcakesHydrangea cupcakesMINI-CAKES:Tomato mini cakes (a tomato sitting in dirt in a pail)Monogram mini cakesParty hat mini cakesDice mini cakesMini present cakesRetro TV mini cakes (so darn cute!)Popcorn mini cakes (this is easy and fun and everyone loves them!)Tote bag mini cakesMini wedding cakesTeacup mini cakesCAKES:Bow cake (very simple yet elegant, especially for a first time project)Baby blocks cakeBaseball hat cakeChinese takeout box cake (clever; fortune cookie recipe too!)2-tiered stripes cakeBrush embroidery (another very elegant first time cake)Hydrangea cakeAppliqued flower cakeChocolate embroidery wedding cakeThe handbag cake (from the from cover of the book)Wine bottle cakeSushi cakeSugar stiletto cake and shoebox cake (this put Elisa in the spotlight and you will see why!)RESOURCESACKNOWLEDGEMENTSINDEXBeing prejudiced to all that is baking, I am picky about what really inspires and educates and this book is up there with the other great volumes of true baking eduction. I would highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys this type of culinary conquest; no doubt about it, you'll be happy with this acquisition to your baking library!

I bought this on the recommendation of someone who was teaching a cookie making class. She bragged about the cookie recipes inside and how good they were. After receiving it, and looking through the recipes, they are not really anything spectacular at all. They are pretty simple and I don't see myself using this book much at all.If you are into making cakes, then it might interest you. I rarely ever make cakes because they are far too sweet and I don't tolerate them at all.Just a note, I did buy this as a used book. When it arrived, the cover was pretty gross and dirty. But I took some dish soap to it and it cleaned up beautifully and it looks practically new now. If you are a beginning baker, this might be nice to try, but I don't believe it is all that great.

This is the most wonderful book for any new, and experienced, cake decorator. You get basic recipes (which I have tried them all, and can say they are amazing! I do have a better chocolate cake recipe, but it was a very good one) and the details are thorough enough so you feel she is there helping you. As for one reviewer who said they would have liked to see more cakes than cookies, etc.: if you are that experienced that you wanted to see more cakes, then you shouldn't have bought this book. I'm pretty sure this was written for beginners, and it does say on the cover cupcakes, cookies and minicakes, not just cakes. I haven't yet attempted to actually cover a cake with the fondant, but I've just messed around sculpting it. I'll be brave enough one day... Definitely worth your money!

I purchased this book in June of this year after taking a few of the Wilton classes. I have seen Ms. Strauss' work on "Sex & the City", as well as in various magazines. Her book is well done and her directions are so well written that even someone who is a beginner like myself can follow the directions and make cakes that are just beautiful. While I've yet to try all of them, the ones that I've made have turned out quite well and have received many compliments. While I've yet to try the cookies, there is a mistake on the sugar cookie recipe as mentioned on her website.

A great book overall. The tutorials are fantastic and the step-by-step instructions in the basic recipes are easy to follow. I also like that ingredients are listed by weight, and eggs are listed in both quantities of each or cups. I am only giving this four stars though, because my version (perhaps it's been updated since my purchase) has a rather glaring typo. On all the cake recipes listed, it says to bake 9" rounds for an hour! Someone unfamiliar with baking may not know that is way too long for a cake that size. It looks like it has been corrected in the Confetti Cakes for Kids book though. Just be careful on those baking times and check your cakes or cupcakes often if you are uncertain.

Wow...I have TONS of cookbooks as I am a baker as well as a Cookbook collector. I am speechless at the beauty of each page in this book. Elisa does a phenomenal job at giving step by step decorations. If you are gonna try something from the book, I would recommend starting with the cookies first to get your feet wet, the graduate to cup cakes and then mini-cakes etc. You can do this with time and patience...If you don't have time, patience and SOME skill just buy it for the pictures! It is a great conversation piece for a table.

Based on the cover I bought this book because i though designs were going to be mostly on fashion. Unfortunately there are only the bag on the front cover and a stiletto cake of this kind.The photograph quality is very good, it's a shame though they've only photograped the finished work and not the step by step, for that they have used drawings which makes it not worth the money. Sorry but I don't think I will buy the children one of the series....

Excellent book, even the children loved the pictures . Cookie section was brilliant. Cant wait for another specialoccasion to make more. This has also encouraged my teenagers to have a go at making their own cookies for their friends. Loved this book!

present for a friend and they love it.

Great book, thanks a lot!

Quite expensive for what it is but I,m a cake decorator so had to keep it.