The Sweetapolita Bakebook – Transform baking staples into (edible!) fine art

See sample pages from this book at Wink.

The Sweetapolita Bakebook: 75 Fanciful Cakes, Cookies and More
by Rosie Alyea
Clarkson Potter
2015, 208 pages, 8.6 x 10.5 x 0.5 inches (softcover)
$15 Buy a copy on Amazon

Since she was a teenager, Rosie Alyea has been obsessed with "whipping up a sweet life." She began as a professional baker and then veered into the world of entrepreneurship, launching a decadent beauty product line. In 2010, Alyea began dreaming up creative confections for her blog, Sweetapolita. Her ribbons of Swiss Meringue Buttercream piled up rave reviews, and with each colorful cake creation she cultivated an adoring crowd. Today, Sweetapolita has nearly half a million followers on Facebook, and now Alyea is also an author with her first cookbook, the The Sweetapolita Bakebook.

This bakebook is a showstopper, full of bright, vibrant pastels. Rosie obviously has a passion for color, evident in the line of every dazzling dessert she fashions. Her cookies transcend bakery staples into the realm of fine art. The buttery rounds are swimming with swirls of watercolor frosting and then dipped in edible gold so that they look like gilt-edged framed paintings, worthy of gracing any museum wall. Her infamous cakelets stand like fairytale towers, adorned with charming children's fondant doodles in carnival colors.

If the Sweetapolita recipes look daunting, don't despair. Rosie has included lots of basic baking and decorating techniques, as well as an extensive section stocked with easy favorite frostings and simple cakes. Even beginning bakers will find bite-sized inspiration in the shape of Jumbo Frosted Animal Crackers. If you appreciate the art of baking, this beautiful, drool-worthy book will become a source of inspiration.- Kaz Weida