Party Cakes by Lindy Smith

Party Cakes takes up where Jane Asher, of luminary cake fame, left off. Lindy Smith, the award winning cake designer, takes the subject several steps further. These cakes are sculpted and teased into exciting creations for boys and girls. They are home made in every way and do not rely on a supply of mini rolls or even Smarties. The cakes described are highly inventive and although some require a bit of dexterity, they do not all need a degree in rocket science to achieve the same effects as photographed.

The instructions are not nearly as frightening as you might expect. Lindy leads you step by step through the whole process. Starting at the beginning, learn the differences between the drying out levels of sugar paste, pastillage and modelling paste. All cakes are based on the simple recipe of Madeira cake, which you can flavour with other ingredients. Lindy recommends freezing the cake until firm, which makes shaping much easier.

Fortunately, each step is well explained and along with clear photographs, there is little margin for error. The recipes, however, do not tell you how many they feed, nor does it say how long it takes to complete a cake. That could put everyone off. Instead, Lindy suggests making a cake over a few days. This allows time for the paste to dry out between stages. If time is at a premium, short cuts help cut down on the preparation time, without losing too much from the overall effect.

The cakes range from easy, Suzie Strawberry to Harvest Tractor, which is set deep in a field of golden corn. Bee Happy tells you how to make transparent wings for your bee out of a mixture of gelatine and icing sugar. It is incredible.

Lindy can be credited with bringing the art of the novelty cake maker into the domestic kitchen. She has done the job admirably and Party Cakes will certainly keep lots of children very happy. Let's hope the little darlings appreciate it.

Publishing details:
pp 96. Photography by Martin Brigdale. £14.99
ISBN 185391830X
Published by Merehurst
2002

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