Book Review: Cake Pops

Ok, so I’ll admit it: it was an impulse buy. I wish I could say that impulse buying is a rare occurrence but with Amazon I can never get away with buying just one or two books. There’s always that one last book that catches my eye and ‘somehow’ ends up in my basket.

I do try to stay away from baking fad books. What do I mean by a fad book? A book that is completely dedicated to a specific trend. Trends in baking and cooking come and go so quickly, it is very rare that every passing trend is permanently embraced. Also, this being the internet age and all, most recipes inevitably end up online. If you’re patient enough to wait you can save a lot of money on books.

That being said, every once and a while a book pops up that I just really want to have. I think that if you know you will get usage out of the book for an extended period of time: it’s worth the purchase. It was through this thought process that I ended up with: Cake Pops.

Cake Pops are very trendy right now and one of the rare items that you can trace back to its creator (Or atleast the person that help to really popularize them). In this case: it’s Bakerella. Bakerella started a blog that kicked off the cake pop phenomenon and was eventually offered a book deal.

Cake pops are unique because they can basically be customized to look like whatever you wish and taste like whatever you want. Plus, they are a small delicious mouthful of cake and icing: what’s not too like?

So, I bought into the cake pop trend. The book is visually stunning, much like Bakerella’s blog. The designs are adorable and very motivating to want to try it out yourself. Also, nothing is overly difficult. All you really need is cake and chocolate.

This book does have its cons. Firstly, I would hesitate to call it a ‘cook book’. This is much more of a design book. There are no actual cake recipes in this book. In fact Bakerella actually suggests using cake mix and store bought icing. Being a cake snob, this definitely made me turn my nose up. But you have to respect her sense of logic behind it. A store bought cake mix is reliable. 9 times out of 10 your cake will turn out perfect and identical to your previous batch. When making a cake from scratch there is always the potential for a margin of error. You forget to put in an egg, you manipulate the quantity of sugar you’re using, your oven is hotter then the temperature suggested in the recipe: just to name a few issues I've had. Also, a home made icing does not have the same consistency as that that you purchase in a can. Think of how many times you’ve made an icing as stiff as Duncan Hines? For me, it’s only when I’m icing cupcakes. Otherwise, I’m perfectly fine with a softer icing to not tear up the crumb of my cake. Not to mention that some icing is softer then others no matter what you do: anything made with an Italian buttercream base will be softer then a traditional American buttercream.

All of this to say, that this book is not a must have to master the art of cake pops. I loved the detailed step by step instructions (Did I mention many with photos?), also the large section of tips of ‘things to avoid’. But all of this, as I mentioned above, can be located online. If you don’t think you need step by step instructions, then you most likely don’t need the book.