Dede Wilson's beautiful new book "The Wedding Cake Book" (Macmillan, $35) will inspire you to want to bake one.
Thoughtfully organized, the book takes you through all the steps needed to make a personalized wedding cake. For novices and seasoned pros, the Getting Started chapter will do just that. It gives information on how many servings you will get from a specific cake size as well as the volume of batter needed for each pan size. Another chapter details How to Create a Wedding cake with explicit guidelines on the planning stages needed to make a wedding cake.
The stars of the book are the featured cakes themselves. The photos and recipe titles are both mouthwatering. As Wilson notes, "A cake is a cake first and foremost, and it is meant to be eaten. It is initially taken in with the eyes and should therefore be aesthetically pleasing to the viewer, but it is ultimately meant to be savored."
Honey Maple Carrot Cake with Pecans and Raisins is decorated with fresh flowers and chopped nuts pressed into the sides of each tier. For chocolate lovers, Chocolate Raspberry Cake is covered with oodles of chocolate curls. Chocolate Almond Torte with Sugared Nuts is sheathed in a shiny chocolate glaze and then studded with sliced sugared almonds. Poppyseed Cake with Orange Marmalade and Grand Marnier Buttercream is covered in icing piped in a basket-weave pattern. Fresh fruit is brimming out of the top of the cake and atop each cake layer.
Even if you weren't planning on making a wedding cake this year, inspired by the photos and flavor combinations and armed with this book's precise instructions, you'll be looking for an excuse to make one of these cakes. Isn't it about time that you celebrate your anniversary in grand style?