Picture Yourself Decorating Cakes

From birthday parties, to baby showers, to holiday dinners, cakes play a special and delicious part in each celebration. Whether you have dabbled in cake baking and decorating before or you have never attempted to create a cake from scratch, "Picture Yourself Decorating Cakes" will introduce you to the pleasures of creating an edible work of art in your kitchen to share with family and friends. This primer on cake decorating includes recipes, methods, and tips that show you step-by-step how to bake and frost cakes that not only taste good but look beautiful. Full-color photographs illustrate each step of the cake creation process, including the ingredients to buy, the basic tools you will need, baking secrets, and decorating techniques from the simply striking to professional quality. Learn how to create cakes for a variety of occasions using buttercream, cream cheese, royal, and fondant icings. And if you want to take your cake decorating to a more advanced level, follow along with the accompanying DVD as co-author Linda Shonk shows you how to apply and mold her Choco-Pan? fondant frosting into beautiful flowers and other designs to crown your cake with. Discover how fun and easy it is to create tasty and stunning cakes, cupcakes, petits fours, and more with "Picture Yourself Decorating Cakes!"

Sandy Doell is the author of "Picture Yourself Planning Your Perfect Wedding" (Course Technology PTR, November 2007) and a freelance book editor and writer. She has served in many roles in publishing and has edited hundreds of books, most recently "301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques: An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers" by Andrew Darlow (Course Technology PTR, November 2007). She is also the author of "Mom's Field Guide: What You Need to Know to Make It Through Your Loved One's Military Deployment" (Warrior Angel Press, October 2006). That book is based on her experiences when her son, David, was deployed to Iraq with the U.S. Army in 2004. She has been interviewed by dozens of radio hosts around the country, discussing the needs of the troops and their families, and, along with Warrior Angel Press, she maintains two web sites (momsfieldguide.com and whileourchildrenserve.com) in support of the families of deployed military personnel.

Linda Shonk is the developer of Choco-Pan rolled icing and an A.C.F.-certified Executive Pastry Chef. Linda has owned and operated both retail and wholesale bakeries since 1974 and is a highly sought after culinary instructor. She teaches students at Sweet Art, Inc. (her place of business in Indianapolis), Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis, and travels around the United States giving classes and seminars on a wide variety of topics and techniques. She has also been a guest instructor at Indiana University, Purdue University, International Sugar Art in Atlanta and Cal-Java International in Los Angeles. Linda has received many awards and much praise for her work as a culinary artist, including A.C.F. gold, silver, and bronze medals and the prestigious Concepts In Food award. In addition to her work as an instructor, Linda has appeared on Food Network Challenge, and her product Choco-Pan has made an impact on the rolled icing market and has shattered the stereotypes of "rolled fondant" in general.