Baking with the Cake Boss: 100 of Buddy's Best Recipes and Decorating Secrets by Buddy Valastro

This is a guest post from my wife:

Book Description
CALL IT THE BUDDY SYSTEM, because Baking with the Cake Boss is an education in the art of baking and decorating, from kneading to rolling, fondant to flowers, taught by Buddy Valastro himself, the star of TLC’s smash hit Cake Boss. With more than 100 of his most sought-after recipes, including birthday and holiday cakes and other special theme designs, this book is a master course that culminates in the showstopping cakes for which Carlo’s Bake Shop is famous. Following the arc of Buddy’s career from apprentice to master baker, Baking with the Cake Boss offers readers the same on-the-job education earned by everyone who comes to work at Carlo’s Bake Shop, with some of Buddy’s and the family’s memories shared along the way. It builds organically from simple cookies and pastries to pies, flower-adorned cupcakes, and basic fondant cakes, to breathtaking cakes for every holiday and special occasion. And, as you progress from basics to bedazzlements—like the safari cake complete with chocolate animals and a waterfall—Buddy shares his inspiring enthusiasm and stories from the shop in his inimitable voice. He also provides the tools for creating your own personal trademark cakes, with a chart that lets you mix and match cake, frosting, and liqueur syrup for cakes the way you like them. And there are plenty of photos that illustrate artistic flourishes and decorations you can use to adorn your individual creations. With 650 gorgeous, step-by-step instructional photos that let you follow Buddy as if you were next to him in the bakery, Baking with the Cake Boss is an incomparable dessert education that will become an essential reference for aspiring and skilled bakers alike.Bursting with delicious, tried-and-true recipes, how-to boxes and sidebars, and numerous tricks of the trade, Baking with the Cake Boss is a rare treat—a fun, accessible guide to baking, all in a gloriously designed, fully illustrated package worthy of the Cake Boss’s artistic vision.

My wife’s thoughts
I absolutely LOVE this book! As a kid I had an easy bake oven, so baking has always been a part of me. I had requested Buddy's other book "Cake Boss: Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia", however hubby thought I would enjoy "Baking with the Cake Boss: 100 of Buddy's Best Recipes and Decorating Secrets". He was correct!! (next to the Kitchen Aid mixer hubby bought me years ago, this is the second best gift I've received from hubby!)

Buddy takes you under his wing and goes through step by step each of the recipes that he has perfected over the years. From getting started (a tour of the kitchen) to discussing the correct equipment to tools to notes on the (correct) ingredients to how to get into the zone to basic baking techniques. Buddy suggests going through the book and following the recipes in the order they appear so you can see how much you've grown/learned.

I started with the Butter Cookie recipe and the cookies came out amazing! My mother in-law makes her famous butter cookies for Christmas. The only thing Buddy's recipe was missing, was the egg yolk wash! The next time I make these cookies (using buddy's recipe of course) I will add in the egg yolk wash. And who knows, perhaps my Butter Cookies will be requested by members of Mia Famiglia!!

Disclosure: I purchased this book for my wife for Christmas. She received no compensation for her thoughts, but I gained a few pounds eating her cookies!