- ISBN13: 9780547241814
- Shape up: NEW
- Notes: Brаnd Nеw frοm Publisher. Nο Remainder Mаrk.
Amazon.com Review
Product Description Thе endlessly imaginative duo whο turned cupcaking іntο a inhabitant pastime іѕ back, wіth utterly nеw, eye-popping creations anyone саn mаkе. Mаkе a rасе-car cupcake, a robot cupcake, οr ravishing jewelry cupcakes fοr a birthday party. Surprise thе family wіth Chinese takeout dinner cupcakes οn April Fool’s οr serve up a goofy chocolate moose. Captivate Mom wіth a bouquet οf long-stemmed rose cupcakes аnd build sand castle cupcakes wіth th… More >>
Whаt’s Nеw, Cupcake?: Cunningly Simple Designs fοr Eνеrу Occasion
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
What I found the most striking about What’s New Cupcake is the photography by Alan Richardson. The pictures are so vibrant and colorful that they almost seem to jump off the pages. This is a good-sized book, at about 9″ x 10″, so they are also nice sized and detailed photos. The cover photo with the “Rubber Duckies” cupcakes is too cute for words.
What’s New Cupcake starts out like a craft book with a list of needed materials and tools. Nothing unusual is needed and most are items that would be already on hand, except for the variety of colorful candies. The instructions for decorating the cupcakes are clear and the Karen Tack’s designs are fun and very decorative.
The first chapter, April Fools Play, has cupcakes that look like something entirely different. How about cupcakes that look like a sub sandwich or a banana split? There are sections with ideas for all of the major holidays and party ideas for children and grown-ups.
Just a couple of examples of the design titles are:
Busy Bees (a honeycomb of cupcakes)
Mum’s the Word (beautiful flower cupcakes)
Fur Balls and String Monsters (You have to see it!)
Shower Heads (baby faces)
Knit One, Frost Two (knitting needles and yarn – my personal favorite)
Along with the decorating instructions there are quick dressed up cake mix recipes for cupcakes, frosting, and sugar cookies.
Rating: 5 / 5
If you liked Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make then you’ll love this book.
Everything you need to decorate will be candies that you are familiar with (it never asks you to use fondant).
My favorite idea is “Chinese Takeout,” where the cupcakes are decorated to look like Vegetable Fried Rice, Pork Lo Mein, and of course, a Fortune Cookie. (This is in the “April Fools” section of the book.)
The first one I will probably make could be “Gingerbread Village,” where the cupcakes are decorated to look like Gingerbread houses – for my brother-in-law’s housewarming party.
One feature that this book has that “Hello Cupcake” didn’t have, is the “EZ” stamp on the more simpler recipes.
As with “Hello Cupcake,” this is mainly a how-to-decorate cupcake idea book, and not a recipe book for different flavors of cupcake batters, etc. Although it does have some recipes for different flavors of cupcakes that you can make, it is mainly a decorating book. The pictures are beautiful.
Along with “Hello Cupcake,” these are two of my favorite recipe books.
Rating: 5 / 5
I am a huge fan of the Hello Cupcake book so I couldn’t wait to get What’s New Cupcake? I love some of the ideas but a few of the designs were similar to what was in the first book. I like the use of jolly ranchers to make some really cool decorations for the cupcakes! More than anything I think both of the books are great for ideas to make your own cupcake decorations…seeing the different candies used is great because sometimes it’s hard to think of things in a particular color. All in all I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 4 / 5
The authors of Hello, Cupcake have done it again. This sequel is packed with even more fun, whimsical ideas to take advantage of the cupcake trend. And, again, they do it without fancy equipment or complicated ingredients.
What’s New, Cupcake builds upon the basics found in the first book by showing you how you can use sugar cookies to expand your cupcake building skills. They also add a technique for making hard candy decorations.
The sense of whimsy is what sets this series apart from other cupcake books. The point is not just to make a cute cupcake, but to get a reaction from the people eating them. So while they have a duckie cupcake pattern (as shown on the cover) they also show you how to make a diving duckie. Which the kids find hilarious.
There are more April Fool’s cupcakes, also. Cupcakes meant to look like other food items. The broken dozen of eggs is probably my favorite, but the french fry cupcakes are pretty clever, too.
And not to worry if you’re not a bake from scratch aficionado. It’s perfectly fine, and sometimes preferred, to use mixes and already prepared frosting. Which means you can put that extra time and effort into making these cupcakes look even cuter.
There are a few more cupcake “cakes” where multiple cupcakes are used to create one overall design. And although many of the designs are cute, some aren’t as good as the original book or rely too much on specific candies. Overall, though, this was a great follow up and well worth adding to your cupcake decorating library.
FTC disclaimer: Digital galley read through Netgalley
Rating: 4 / 5
“Cupcaking,” it seems, has joined the ranks of verbs like “scrapbooking.” Where once a cupcake was a delicious treat, now it’s an arts and crafts project. I must admit that I came to this book with a misconception. I thought the point was to create something good to eat. It is not. What’s New, Cupcake is a triumph of style over substance. To eat the creations in the book is not only beside the point, it’s bordering on sacrilege.
Clearly, I am an old-fashioned baker, or at least one cut from a different cloth. “Recipes” from cake mixes and the use of twinkies and mini-donuts as additional construction elements are anathema to me. Now that my biases have been disclosed, I will admit this: The photographs of the projects in this book are AMAZING. The finished projects are gorgeous–more akin to sculptures than tasty snacks. For the, er, baker who aspires to such feats, this book should be equal parts instructive and inspirational.
For Ludites like myself, who are as interested in the edibility of their cupcakes as the attractiveness, there is definitely useful information. Use real recipes as a starting place. But there is much that can be learned about types and manners of icing and frosting, how to achieve textures, creative ways to use candies and other decorative elements, and more. It may encourage you to a far more ambitious level of creativity.
This is a book for an extreme cupcaker. Perhaps there are far more of you out there than I realize. For you, this book may well be the bible of cupcaking. For the more moderate cupcakers like myself, take what you can from the book and then ooh and aah over the photos.
Rating: 3 / 5