The Art of Royal Icing: A Unique Guide to Cake Decoration by a World-class Tutor by Spence, Eddie (2010) Hardcover

If it were possible to give this 10 stars, I would do so in a heartbeat. This is definitely one of the best royal icing instruction books in which I have had the pleasure to learn; I joyfully add this to what I thought was a pretty complete library of royal icing instruction until this came along.Having several volumes of royal icing volumes in my baking library, I wasn't quite sure if I needed this particular book to add to it. But never one to turn away from any baking source without giving it a good glance, I was extremely happy to have gotten this. It is not one that seems to be easily accessible, and to that point, I needed to purchase this through a seller rather directly through our friends here at Amazon. I would hope they would rethink that option and add this to their selections.This is a large, heavy, luxurious, and voluminous book of royal icing education; to say that it has everything, is an understatement. You are given what seems to be, for intermediate cake decorating folks like myself, a thorough and precise methodology of how to use and create detailed, exquisite, and delicate works of art using a most friendly medium. To which point, I would say that this also incorporates much of the Australian/Lambeth style of cake decorating to which so many wish to aspire.The author/instructor is one Eddie Spence, who hails from Edinburgh, and through most humble of beginnings, made his way to Master Baker with all the accomplishments, glories, and accolades befitting of such a man. His list of clients range from the commoner to royalty, even making the wedding cake for Prince Charles and Princess Diana. His love and passion for this art has garnered him much deserved praise as well as a following by students who stand in line to be in his classes.As stated previously, the book is large and heavy with chapter divided into Basics, Tutorials, Cake Tops, and Cake Projects. The photography is wonderful, and while always welcoming more, most of the photo's are large, very close-up, and detailed. The weights and measurements are both in metric and English; every once in a while you might find a difference in terminology, but not so much so that you wouldn't understand. That is why I feel that this would be an excellent book for intermediate to advanced students, though a novice would find this a real treasure after doing some thorough reading and perhaps have another reference book on the side.The Contents are:The Biography of Eddie Spence; Before you begin anything, this part is a "must" read. In order to both understand and appreciate the man and his immense talent, you need to understand where he began, how his life and experiences shaped him, how he became the Master that he is now, as well as who, what, and how events influenced him. I found this part fascinating, as only a "baking foodie" would!PREPARATION AND BASICSEquipment and Edibles: It is deeply appreciate when a numbered listing of equipment or ingredients is displayed along with a corresponding photograph of same said equipment. The "Edibles" are edible products used in making royal icing projects, such as glazes, marzipan, egg whites, food colorings, etc.Recipes: He uses a good, rich fruitcake as the foundation for his projects. There are many other batters that one can use so this is obviously something left for the baker to decide. There is also information on prepping and baking of the batter, portion guide, how to cut a cake depending on it's shape, and a wonderful size chart that gives you the quantities of batter needed, dependent on the shape and size of the cake; an invaluable guide. Now, as for the Royal Icing itself, there are 2 types you can use (dried egg whites or fresh egg whites). I was duly educated on the 5 types of Royal Icing possible, all dependent on what project you have in mind and the type of fluidity or stiffness needed for the project. There is also space dedicated to the difference of using either machine or hand-beating in making Royal Icing.Techniques: The basics of torting and covering cakes with marzipan, royal icing, or sugarpaste. How to make "plaques", how to make and fill a piping bag, coloring with food colors, doweling a cake, and gilding round out this section.TUTORIALS:This is the heart and soul of the finesse of Royal Icing artwork and is the section that I spend the most time reading, learning, and enjoying. It would take pages of space to adequately describe everything so I will be brief.Pressure Piping: Delicate flowers like lily-of-the-valley and roses, grapevines, doves, doves in flight, doves holding delicate ribbons in their beaks, swans, mother swan and duckling scenes, stork with baby; this was just exquisite work!Combining Drop Line Work with Pressure Piping: Linework like scrolls, scallops, C-scrolls, S-scrolls, 3-D flowers, 3-D piped baskets (wow!), etcScrolls: Further sudy on greater scroll and rope work; building on scroll workPressure Piped Figures and Motifs: Ducks, horses, eagles, lambs, baby booties, Christmas treesPiped Flowers using an Icing Nail: Beautiful and delicate flowers built on flower nailsLettering and Numerals: The beautiful and delicate ability of numbers and letter that remind one of Victorian cakes and pastries.Run-outs and Collars: people, architecture of building a gazebo's using netting, those lovely stand-out collars on cakes that look too perfect to be real.Embroidery Techniques: How to make projects look "embroidered".Oriental String Work: Making absolute beautiful "fences" of royal icing to surround a cake! Exquisite fantasy!Extension Work: This chapter made it all complete; learning the Australian Method/Lambeth Method! Lovely and fine bridgework and extension lines!CAKE TOPS: How to make those lovely cake tops with scenes for special occasions such as birthdays, holidays, etc. The one that captured my heart is a 3-D scene of a yellow baby chick in a pink flowered-covered bonnet, walking along a sun-filled grassy path, with a little budding/flowering tree behind her and a small little brown fence ahead of her with "Happy Easter" wishes written so delicately on the top. Or perhaps a musical stave with notes and wishes for a "Merry Christmas" with 3-D flowers, or a smiling Santa perched on atop "Christmas Greetings".CAKE PROJECTS: Lovely wedding and party cakes to desire and inspire.TEMPLATESTROUBLESHOOTINGGLOSSARYINDEXSUPPLIERSYes, I am a cake-decorating fool and I give no apologies. This was yet another wonderful book that needs to be a part of your cake library. You will make this one of your most treasured acquirements. Thank you so much Mr. Spence!!

I just received my very own copy of this treasure, and all I can say is ......... If you are looking at this book on amazon you are most probably a person who will appreciate it for the treasure it is! Yes, the price is more than many cake decorating books, but this book is worth every penny and then some! It is a massive book, very high quality in it's presentation and visual appeal........ This is not a cheaply assembled and thrown together book. The content is so priceless, not to be found anywhere else in the books that are generally out there. And the wonderful thing is the thoroughness, and the endless tips and advise to help as you work your way through this book! And yes, you will want to try every design and technique here, they are all that gorgeous and that special! The gorgeous full page photos show all the detail and specifics! I really wish they let us "look inside" this one here on amazon......it would show this to be the absolute treasure that it truly is!

It took me awhile to decide to purchase this book. It’s a very comprehensive read on Royal Icing, which I really wanted to learn more about. It wasn’t inexpensive, so I wanted to be sure. The seller sent me a picture of the contents, and assured me it was in great condition. I was sold, and it shipped very well protected. It was as if new. Thank you so much!

I was hesitant to purchase this book because, well let's face it, it is not cheap. Most of the cake books I have purchased I have borrowed from the library first or from other cake people, but this one is difficult to find to purchase, let alone borrow. I had been disappointed by books before. However, have no fear! This book is well worth the money. I love all the ideas I have found in this book. This book is not for beginners, but it does go over a lot of the basics of royal icing, which is a big plus. If you have not spent a lot of time working with royal icing, even the basics in this book will provide you with excellent information.The tutorials are excellent and the accompanying photos provide an excellent reference to the step-by-step instructions.This book is a must have for any serious cake artist.

David Spence's authoritative royal icing book is beautiful! It is a big, hardbound book filled with beautiful photographs of royal icing work, and detailed instructions. Note that recipe amounts are metric, not what we're used to in America, and that there are a few British words for items that are not common to U.S. audiences. (But, they're not hard to figure out.) And there are plenty of places on-line to get the metric conversions. Also, the book seemed a little pricey to me; until I received it. Then I realized it was worth every penny. I would recommend this book to anyone who is seriously interested in taking their RI decorating to the next level.

WOW, this one big book, that being said. If your into cake decorating and you love to do real piping decorating, this book is for you.This man is a master, and he takes you thru it all, from making it to doing it. If only I could aspire to this man's work. It's agreat book for the royal icing student.

I could not wait until I received this book and when it did arrive I was not disapointed. As a pastry art student I wanted a complete reference book, this is it. I took the book to school to show Chef and he liked it so much that chef is now ordering one. ( told him to go to "Amazon"!)

Excellent for beginners who want to do royal icing course. Old school classic, probably yes, but the techniques shown are fantastic. If you know how to apply the techniques a more modern design approach, the result is promising! Love it!

Opravdu úžasná a krásná kniha !!!

For years I have wanted to learn how to do Royale icing for cakes and never had time but now after purchasing this book and all the things needed I am now learning how to do it. The book is beautifully illustrated and full of ideas and information. Fantastic purchase well worth it.

Estupendo libro si te gusta la repostería creativa. Todo bien explicado paso a paso.

While the content is quite 'old school'. It teaches great foundations! It gives you lessons that you can work through to improve your piping skills and consistency. My piping has improved greatly by practicing the techniques taught in this book.After you master these skills, you will have the foundation to build on your own techniques. Try tweaking the techniques in the book to make them more moderns and contemporary ad unique!

Eddie Spence è davvero il re della royal icing. In questo libro si parte dalle basi fino ad arrivare alle decorazioni più complesse. Anche se è scritto interamente in inglese è comprensibilissimo, anche nelle ricette che sono riportate in grammi ed in millilitri e non i soliti cup. Che dire... non vedo l'ora di mettermi all'opera con i consigli del grande della royal icing!