Cakes to Dream on: A Master Class in Decorating

by Colette Peters

Colette peters, the celebrated queen of the confectionary arts, unveils an inspiring resource for serious home bakers, professional chefs, and aficionados of Colette's incredible edible architecture. The ingenious cake decorator - whose miraculous and luscious concoctions have appeared everywhere from White House Christmases to royal weddings - presents a master class in cake design and decoration, alongside an all-new selection of her own cake designs...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471214620
• ISBN13: 9780471214625
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 260 Pages
• Weight: 2.27 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.2" x 10.3"

Customer Reviews

Gorgeous cake- but *not* for the beginner

If you are a beginner in cake decorating, this is not the book for you. It's a bit advanced (as the title suggests) but it's a great goal to work up to! Ms Peters is sooo talented and creative! I've got half the cakes marked for making for special occassions. My only complant is that they are very small cakes, for the most part. If you want larger cakes, I'd suggest Colette's Weddings Cakes, and if you're a beginner, I'd suggest Colette's Cakes. Most of the tools she uses to make these cakes can be bought through [...] if you don't have a cake-making shop or a hobby shop that carries cake supplies in your town. The receipes for the cakes are absolutely delicious, too, a definite plus!

Excellent book! I can't stop looking at it.

Colette keeps on surpassing herself. Every cake in this book is beautiful. It's not a book for beginners, but if you're an intermediate decorator (like I am) or beyond, you'll find lots of ideas and inspiration here. The book is also very well designed. A pleasure to look at, and a great teaching tool.

For professionals only

I took this class with Colette Peters this summer, and this book now makes sense to me. It is really for those of us who already know how to decorate cakes using fondant and gumpaste. This is much more about the engineering of these crooked cakes, and techniques. Definately not for the beginner.

Another winner!

I am a (very) amateur cake decorator. I have been using Ms. Peters' books to make cakes for about 5 years, now. I have always been impressed at how she is able to show you in her books exactly how to create one of her cakes. I feel very successful creating cakes that I never could without the help of these books. This latest is no exception. I will never rise to the level of Ms. Peters' artistry, but she gives me something to strive for. And whenever I attempt to recreate one of her cakes, I get raves (I just don't show them the photo of how the cake is SUPPOSED to look). These books are so much fun, and I have learned a lot from them without ever having taken a class.

If You Can't Stand the Heat.....

This book is absolutely mind-blowing. I was not familiar with Ms Peters' work previously and after seeing this book was inspired to take a look at her earlier books. It was interesting to see how she has developed since "Colette's Cakes" -- her imaginative designs, her sense of color, her sense of whimsy -- even her writing, has grown with her talent. This is, however, 'A Master Class in Decorating' as the title indicates. Although I think an attentive beginner could readily follow her instructions, as with anything, innate talent and experience will play a large part in the end result. I imagine there will be those who will look at this book and think it is far too elaborate for the average person capabilties. Well, if one never aspires to greater heights, one will always be.......average. This is a book for inspiration. Bravo!