The Wicked Baker: Cakes and Treats to Die For
by: Helena Garcia
“Most of the baking projects in this book have a spooky decorative touch, but not all. There are recipes for all skill levels, from simple cookies to an elaborate four-layer haunted tree cake,” Helena Garcia.
Before the fire one of my friends gifted me The Wicked Baker: Cakes and Treats to Die For and I was really bummed it got destroyed. I knew I had to purchase it again and make some of these fun desserts. The recipes in the book are well written and I love seeing all of the photos of the finished desserts.
Monster Fortune Cookies
When I saw these spooky fortune cookies I immediately wanted to try them. I followed the recipe exactly, however, mine didn’t turn out quite right, as you can see in the photo above. My current kitchen doesn’t have a scale so I used measuring cups and that may have made the difference. I noticed that my dough seemed way to thick for the first few I made so I thinned it a little bit but they still didn’t seem to come out right.
If you want to try making these I suggest you use a scale to make sure your measurements are perfect. I have read articles before that show the differences between different measuring cups, but have never really had it make a difference in my baking. It really could also have been the humidity here in Florida as that can wrench havoc on baked goods. They tasted good but I had a really hard time getting them to shape correctly. Let me know if you make them how they come out for you.
Gingerdead Twins
My sister just moved into a new apartment building and the hallway to her apartment looks so much like the one from The Shining. These are the perfect compliment to the new hallway. The recipe was easy to follow, however, mine was a little dry so I added an extra tablespoon of the corn syrup. Not really sure why it was so dry but it once again may have been the ridiculous humidity we have been having. (I mean when you shower, you immediately feel like you need another shower with the humidity even with the air conditioning on!)
The gingerdead twins tasted delicious, mine was a really snappy gingerbread cookie. I would definitely make these again. My decorating isn’t the greatest but I actually had a lot of fun decorating these and it relaxed me. Let me know if you try them – I’d love to see photos!
Overall I loved The Wicked Baker: Cakes and Treats to Die For. The recipes are very detailed and I really like that the weight was included in the measurements. I believe that my cookies would have come out even better if I had used a scale.
The recipes are a little more advanced than a lot of baking books but not so far advanced that you have to have taken pastry classes. These treats are definitely worth the effort and will impress all of your family and friends with the cool designs and delicious tastes.
