CAKES TO DREAM ON

A Masterclass in Decorating

by COLETTE PETERS

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New hardcover book with gorgeous full-colour photos, templates and detailed instructions. 260 pages, published 2005.

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. With Cakes to Dream On, Colette's inspired creations can now be rendered into show-stopping cakes of your own.

Cakes to Dream On reveals the secrets to fashioning gorgeous and utterly distinctive cakes for all occasions - whether it's an opulent marriage reception (the majestic Ivory Wedding Cake) or a fanciful children's party (the whimsical Homage to Dr. Seuss). Colette presents designs for cake architecture ranging from the imperial splendor of Dolce de Medici, to the elegant grace of Bride's Vintage Cameo, to the topsy-turvy daydream of Mad Tea Party.

Colette begins with the foundations: she illuminates step by step the process of constructing a multitiered cake, from determining serving sizes and choosing appropriate cake pans to making fillings, and ultimately stacking layers so they don't tumble off the table. Cakes to Dream On also discloses insider tricks of the trade: Colette's easy-to-follow instructions in techniques such as sugarwork, gumpaste, brush embroidery, and piping will help readers recreate the spectacular effects of this singular confectioner's toolbox.

Bakers - and their enthusiastic audiences - will discover that these sensual masterpieces tantalize the palate as much as they do the eye. Colette's cake recipes include the Coco-Loco Cake, an alluring marriage of coconut and coffee the Meringue Buttercream and its luscious lemon, raspberry, and mocha variants and the ambrosial caramel-tinged Heavenly White Cake.

As breathtaking as Colette's cake works appear, her clear explanations of technique are meant to stimulate readers' creative instincts and give them ideas for crafting their own distinctive confections. With more than 150 dazzling full-colour photographs, illustrating both processes and finished presentations, and more detailed instruction than ever before, Cakes to Dream On will inspire readers to create their own mouthwatering masterpieces. Colette's master class is truly a launchpad for cake lovers' own confectionary visions.

About the Author

Colette Peters has been the owner of Colette’s Cakes, a specialty cake company in New York City, since 1989. Since she was 8 years old, living in Chicago, she made cakes and experimented in the kitchen. Her first love, though, was painting, and after earning a bachelor’s degree in painting, moved to New York to earn her Master’s degree in painting from Pratt Institute. She then worked as a designer for Tiffany & Company for 8 years. While at Tiffany & Co. she made cakes for her co-workers, and was then asked to design cakes for the books Tiffany Taste and The Tiffany Wedding. This exposure led to a contract to write a book of her own.

Colette has delivered cakes throughout America, Europe, and the Caribbean and has created cakes for many celebrities, including Sting, Natasha Richardson, Bette Midler, Whoopi Goldberg, Al Pacino, Ertha Kitte, Robert Altman, and the Rolling Stones, just to name a few. She created cakes for the weddings of Marie-Chantal Miller and Prince Pavlos of Greece and Alexandra Miller and Alexander Von Furstenburg. In 1996 Colette was chosen to create a cake honoring the Renwick Museum as part of the 150th Anniversary Celebration for the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. She designed the Christmas windows for Tiffany and Company’s New York store in 1997 and 1999. In 2005, she created a five foot replica of the White House for one of the Inaugural parties for president Bush.

Her unique cakes have been featured in a variety of media. Colette has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Food Network, CBS This Morning, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Discovery Channel, CNN, and Lifetime Television. In 1990, Colette began teaching cake decorating and has traveled throughout the United States, Brazil, and Europe sharing her expertise. She has instructed students at the Culinary Institute of America in California, the French Culinary Institute, The French Pastry School, The Wilton School, L’Academie de Cuisine, and the Notter School of Pastry Arts. In 2004 she started her own school in New York City where she teaches cake decorating.

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Cakes to Dream On - Colette Peters