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| Cupcakes: From the Cake Mix Doctor | 
 enlarge | Author: Anne Byrn
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $2.46
You Save: $12.49 (84%)
New (30) Used (52) from $1.65
Avg. Customer Rating:  42 reviews
Sales Rank: 6156
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 7.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0761135480
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.8653
EAN: 9780761135487
ASIN: 0761135480
Publication Date: April 18, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: NEW BOOK!! WE SHIP 6 DAYS A WEEK!!
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| Customer Reviews:
But where are the rest of the pictures? August 18, 2006
29 out of 30 found this review helpful
I like the book. The recipes look great, and it's very detailed on what to do (and not to do). Lots of variations on each recipe, and also a lot of the questions that I ask myself when trying a new recipe are already answered (like, if I change this, what will happen?)
But the reason I gave it 4 stars are the pictures and the art included. The art pictures are repeated over and over in the book (the teapot and tea cup, the daisies, the chicken timer). I don't want to sound snobby, but it looks amateurish, and I know Anne Byrn is a pro. If there was going to be too much white space that needed to be filled, maybe rearranging the format or including other photos/images would have been a better solution. Which brings me to my other issue.
Normally for a recipe book, you don't get a photo of each recipe. That is understandable, it makes the books bigger and color is expensive. But in this case, the main purpose of some of the recipes is the presentation, especially in the case of the cupcakes for kids and the seasonal cupcakes. It's hard to picture the arrangement of the billiard ball cupcakes if you don't play pool. Or how the pilgrims' hats cupcakes look in the end. I'd love to have a picture of the volcano cupcakes. There is enough white space in the book to add these images, and even if they were black and white, they would be very helpful.
"The Cake Mix Doctor" has color pages with a picture of each of the cakes. Yes, it's a very small picture of each, but it gives you an idea of the end result. I would much rather have something like that in this book, instead of the flashy spread that shows only some of the cupcakes.
Did those two things stop me from buying the book? No. Is it a good buy? Yes. I can't wait to make the cupcakes for my kids' birthdays. But more illustrations would definitely be an improvement for future editions.
Party Cupcakes August 16, 2006
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
What is more lovely than a platter full of tiny White Russian Cupcakes and Lemon Cupcakes at a baby shower? And following the author's suggestions, I even made up fortunes and inserted them in each cupcake. Guests were able to sample a variety, and (in combination with a lot of cheesecakes) no dessert table ever looked more inviting. Word of warning: I'm a librarian, so I checked this book out of the library. My daughter liked it so much, I had to buy it for her. Always one more recipe to try! And so many useful tips.
This is a great idea book July 19, 2006
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book gives great ideas for making cupcakes. Cupcakes are not just for kids they are for adults too as the books illistrates. Make some and enjoy. The book is workth getting no matter what your age.
Fun and Tasty--Especially for Busy Parents May 1, 2006
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
As a mother of a 5 and 7 year old, the opportunities to provide themed cupcakes for birthday parties, snack leader day, etc. are ample. This book makes quick and easy work of providing really great muffins and cupcakes. It also gives brief menus for theme parties which in many cases would work well for adults and children. I made the "Best birthday cupcakes with chocolate syrup frosting" for my son's 7th birthday party and they were a huge hit (of course that crowd's easy). I then proceeded to make the "Tie-dyed cupcakes with psychedelic buttercream frosting" for my dad's 60th birthday party. I made 48 of these cupcakes--and they were completely gone--by adults eating 2 or 3 of them! It was amazing. The lack of illustrations is really not a problem. She gives you a nice color overview of the decorated ones in the beginning of the book. Great book!
 Cupcakes to Die For! April 23, 2006
22 out of 23 found this review helpful
I don't often give cookbooks a 5 star, just because many of them have only a few new recipes that I would try, or because the format is poor. Oftentimes, I check out cookbooks from my local library, pick out the recipes that I want to try, and jot them down. When I started to do that with this book, however, I noticed that I was marking several pages in a row, and pretty soon had most of the pages bookmarked! I stopped marking, returned the book to the library, and purchased my own copy.
What makes this seemingly simple concept so special? Well, as the author points out, most people love cupcakes. They are versatile, portable, and easy to create. You can make cupcakes as simple or as creative as you would like. And this great book of over 135 recipes can help in any situation. Need 2 dozen cupcakes for the class bake sale and want the cupcakes to look incredible? Want to impress your dinner guests but not spend hours in the kitchen? Want to wow your kids with a special treat after school? You can make up a batch of cupcakes that will accomplish all of these tasks.
I loved the fact that most of the recipes start with a box of cake mix, and ingredients that I keep in my pantry and refrigerator. Some of my family's favorites include: Red Velvet Cupcakes, Coconut Snowballs, Caramel Spiced Apple Cupcakes, Fresh Raspberry Cream Cakes, and the Marshmallow Frosting.
The author has 2 other books that are also worth a try, "The Cake Mix Doctor" and "The Dinner Doctor". Enjoy!
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