Review: Accidentally amusing?
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 25, 2014
I’m not sure who Cookie Baker really is, but I’m pretty sure that American English is not their native language and they really needed an editor.  The book starts off with a description of what cupcakes are: “They are named cupcakes because they are made in small thin paper cups.” Now that we have that clear, Cookie Baker tells us that cupcakes can be served anytime, “as desert and any occasion”.  I’m glad we can eat them on the desert, but I don’t live in the desert anymore.  This introduction, while non-essential to the recipes, is full of accidentally amusing statements as the misuse of language continues.  It varies from awkward and stilted to genuinely a bit confusing, as with “Because of their size, one diet conscious person feels less guilty after having them.”While the “Yammy Diet” is completely unfamiliar to me, these recipes didn’t seem to be lower in fat or sugar, so don’t expect these cupcakes to be healthier in any way compared to your favorite recipes. The photos look like something you’d buy in a bakery or fancy coffee shop, but there is also no hints as to how to get that great look in the directions, which typically tell you to ‘spread cupcake with frosting and garnish with sprinkles’.  Even better yet, the recipe for “Paris Cupcakes” tells us that we’ll need “fondant harts” (they look like candy hearts like is sold at Valentine’s Day with words on them.)  Each recipe also has pictures, although it would be nice if the pictures were a bit larger, as they are very small.I may use some of the recipes eventually, but this book didn’t jump up and say yum particularly.  On the plus side, the table of contents is fully functional.  It was not difficult to navigate through the cookbook on a Kindle Fire HD.