I want to start building my cake book "library" --besides the Wilton yearbooks. What books do you CC members consider a "must have" book? I just read a post praising the book "The Sheet Cake Way"--so I will be getting that one for sure. What about the others listed on that site (Country Kitchen)? What fondant books do you recommend?
Thanks.Marcia
First you need to figure out what you like to work in. Many of the really neat books, the cakes are mostly fondant. So if you are into more buttercream then you need to look to those books first. For buttercream i like the roland winbeckler books. For childrens cakes i perfer debbie brown. for weddings it really depends on what catches my eye.
I've been wondering about the same...what about the Cake Bible? Is that a must?
For baking, "The Cake Bible" is outstanding for scratch recipes. I like to do chocolate transfers and I learned a lot about that from "The Whimsical Bakehouse". Toba Garrett has a comprehensive decorating book (very step-by-step and detailed) called "Professional Cake Decorating". Toba's book is rather pricey but I got mine from www.ecookbooks.com and got a great deal on it. It's currently going for about $42 on ecookbooks (and free shipping on orders over $25 so no shipping to pay). Normally, this book has been going for $60-$70.
You might try going to your local library and look at what they have to offer. Then you can go on-line to buy them. I know I have ordered books on-line, received them, and then decided they were not what I was hoping for, and not returnable!!
I love these two:
Pretty Party Cakes: Sweet and Stylish Cakes and Cookies for All Occasions by Peggy Porschen. It has beautiful photos, techniques, recipes and patterns. She does cakes, cookies, and cupcake designs. Also:
Spectacular cakes my Mich Turner. Lots of phots and step by steps. This one has advanced techniques with fondant, piping, cake stands, and chocolate work.
IMO they are both quite inspiring and the designs are not out of reach like some of the other decorators designs seem to be.
toba garrett has a book that cost about $11 on amazon.com. it is fantastic!!! has lots of info and picutres! i also use books like debbie brown and lindy smith. colette peters books are also pretty good. lots of whimiscal crazy ideas in her books!
the cake bible is a must if you bake from scratch. her recipes are great. also, she wrote a whole section dedicated to baking larger cakes. she gives a base recipe for 4 different cakes and then describes in detail how to make any size cake from the base recipes. plus she has a website (realbakingwithrose.com) where she will answer any questions that you have...
I hadn't thought about my "style". I have been doing family cakes for years with buttercream icing, but lately I have tried fondant for the first time with the Onesie cake and one with a bow. That was fun. I like to create things with my hands. I also intend to try painting on cakes since I also do oil paintings. I am not much in to scratch cakes but boxed with a little doctoring of my own. I want to do a whimsical cake, a cowboy hat, the cute Mator truck I saw recently from someone here on CC, along with classie & elegant wedding cakes. I don't want to get into all the character pans, I would rather design and build my own "characters". So, do all the books above fit my "style"? I will try to scan and upload some of my "old" cakes from years past. thanks for the replies. I will look up all these and pick a few to start with.
Who wrote "The Whimsical Bakehouse"?
Kaye and Liv Hansen - a mother / daughter team that owns a bakery in New York. If you're looking to get into chocolate transfers this is such an awesome book. Their recipes are yummy, too - I love their Freckled Mocha cake with Bailey's Irish Cream mousse. Yum!
I LOVE all the Colette Peters books. The one I am holding here is on her front cover of "Cakes to Dream On". I also have a Nicholas Lodge book - gumpaste flowers that I like to, haven't used it yet, but I sure like looking at it!!! 
ckkerber, thanks for the info on the shrinkpictures.com, here's my avatar!!!!!
Toba Garrett's A Well Decorated Cake or Professional Cake Decorating are a must for the avid baker; the last one is a complete reference.
I believe there is also a cake decorating reference textbook for about $40; I can't remember the name; does anyone remember?
I bet you could have them order any book that you don't see on their shelves. You could even go to Amazon.com or something similar to do a search on cake books and make a list of what you want. Bring that list to Barnes and Noble and have them special order them for you. You could order online through Barnes and Noble but then you'd have to pay shipping.
I LOVE all the books. The one I am holding here is on her front cover of "". I also have a book - gumpaste flowers that I like to, haven't used it yet, but I sure like looking at it!!!
ckkerber, thanks for the info on the shrinkpictures.com, here's my avatar!!!!!
What a cool picture, Ginger! I love that cake!
I was in the mood to look at some fabulous cake books, get all inspired and BUY something! I haven't checked out the 2 resale bookstores yet (I'm a cheap date!)--if they don't have anything then once I zero in on a few from all these suggestions, I may go back and have them order or search prices online.
THEY CAME !! The Whimsical Bakehouse and Toba's "Well-Decorated Cake"!! I wanted to call in sick this morning and start playing!! The Whimsical book is great--can't wait to try some of the recipes---but Toba's book is AWESOME. I want to do that kind of work NOW! all the lacework, embroidery look--I didn't know there was a #0 tip !! It must have a hole the size on a single hair. I went on her website and was blown away again. I knew her cakes would be expensive but OMG!! One cake is like paying a semester of Jr. College for son #2 !!! 
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