JEANETTE:
  Hello again. Don’t tell me their are older folks than I in our forum???.  In 4 1/2 months I will be 77 years young.

~FRESHKID.

Mr. Freshkid, You can give me a few years but we probably share quite a few memories of earlier times!  I hope you are enjoying good health.

I’m not familiar with the first book FreshKid mentioned, but I can definitely recommend Corriher and Gisslen (btw, Gisslen he has 2 other great books also…. Professional Cooking and The Professional Chef).

Do you all recommend Toba Garrett’s “The Well-Decorated Cake”?  I was reading some good reviews on it yesterday and thought seriously about getting it…actually had to slap my hand away from the keys at Amazon to keep myself from spending more money for now (!)  I am happily obsessed….

What kind of information does she offer?  (compared to TCB for instance)

Hi Cathy,

Toba Garrett’s book The Well-Decorated Cake is great if your are interested in learning more elegant cake decorating skills.  The book includes many recipes, and is full of color photos.  Toba’s directions are clear and well written.  The chapters include some construction techniques, but focus mainly on design using just about every decorating technique you can think of (and just about any kind of frosting you can think of). 

I’ve been so pleased with Rose’s recipes that I haven’t tried any of Toba’s, so I can’t recommend it for the recipes, but if you are interested in more elegant cake design techniques and ideas, this book might be for you.  I checked a copy of it out of the library before I decided to purchase my own.

Thanks, Patricia.  It sounds very good.  Unfortunately my library doesn’t have it—I already tried.  Have you tried any of her designs?  I looked at her site, and wow.

I’ve only used a few ideas here and there, but plan to do some gumpaste flowers - still gathering all the equipment I’ll need.

Ok.  I got it.    Along with Colette Peter’s Cakes to Dream On…for Super Saver shipping reasons of course. 

CATHY/SO.CALIF:
  Good morning to you. I read your postings with interest. You may or may not be aware of this…..Martha Stewart just now published her new book “WEDDING CAKES”.  Cathy, when I hear about a new baking book that has just come out, I call Border’s book store & ask do you have in inventory or in any of your bookshop’s this BOOK???  If so… Cost???. If they have it then I go to inspect that volume & make my decision. If Borders doesn’t carry that book then call Barnes & Noble. They have a much, much, much larger culinary inventory then any other book store. I thought you would like to know this info. If interested in Martha’s new book after viewing it at the book store post back. Good luck & enjoy the rest of the day young lady.

  ~FRESHKID.

Yea!  Another book to look at.  I did see that on Amazon as well, but didn’t look into it.  Thanks, Freshkid for the tip.  I usually, like Patricia, like to check it out at my library first before buying.  But Barnes & Nobel is always a good idea—I didn’t know their culinary section was larger.

Thanks!

Patricia,  Have you seen Lori Ann Blethen’s work?  The wildflowers she creates are unbelievable.  Her site is:

http://www.wildflowersbylori.com/index.htm

It would be a dream to attend her class.

Hope you don’t mind me butting in, I’ve just looked at the Wildflower cake site, WOW!  I’ve never seen anything like these before, even my husband was flabbergasted!  If only I lived near enough to attend a course, unfortunately there’s a great big pond between us!!!

Not at all!  They have to be some of the most beautiful cakes I’ve ever seen.

Just noticed your avatar, Cathy, is that one of your cakes, by any chance?  If it is I think you are also gifted!

How kind of you, Jeannette.  Thank you.