Buttercream Botanicals for Beginners: Simple Techniques for Creating Stunning Flowers, Foliage, and More

by Leslie Vigil

Discover how to turn any cake or cupcake into a showstopping work of art with realistic, modern flowers and plants made from a rainbow of colors of buttercream frosting.

Flowers are the most popular cake embellishments, but making them look natural and professional can be tricky. Professional cake artist Leslie Vigil has been teaching beginning bakers and decorators for years how to create authentic roses, daisies, peonies, dahlias, chrysanthemums, marigolds, tulips, ranunculus, plus succulents, cactus, and greenery out of buttercream, giving them the skills and confidence to embellish cakes and cupcakes like a pro.

In Buttercream Botanicals, she’ll do the same for you, starting with her tried-and-true signature cake and buttercream recipes and demonstrating expert methods for adding color, blending shades, and working with the most effective tools. Leslie will also show how four core piping techniques form the base for creating a huge variety of botanicals. Decorated cakes and cupcakes are the perfect centerpiece for any seasonal holiday or celebration, including birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, showers, and graduations.

Working with buttercream is easy and accessible. Troubleshooting tips and tricks throughout the book will make piping shapes and designs a breeze.

In addition to thorough step-by-step tutorials for creating beautiful blossoms and more, the book also includes:

• Instructions for making edible flower pots for a complete eye-popping display
• Pro tips for designing appealing compositions on cakes and cupcakes such as wreaths and bouquets
• Faux tapestry techniques using simple piping techniques
• Ways to create various icing textures and effects, such as stucco

Grab a piping bag and make your cake dreams a reality with Buttercream Botanicals.

• ISBN13: 9780760376126
• Publish Date: 8 November 2022 (first published 4 October 2022)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Quarry Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 128
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Buttercream Botanicals for Beginners is a well written, accessible, and beginner friendly tutorial guide by Leslie Vigil. Released 8th Nov 2022 by Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 128 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. 

This book reads like a really well run and enjoyable workshop with a competent and fun facilitator. She begins with an overview over tools and supplies (including the best tutorial on choosing and using piping bags and tips I've ever read), and builds up slowly to introduce recipes, techniques, icing surfaces for decoration, and finishing and arrangements and presentations. 

There are tutorial exercises throughout which build up techniques through repetition and clear step by step photos. The recipes for buttercream and vanilla cake are basic and no-frills, so learners can concentrate on acquiring technique instead of varying the "tools" of cake base and frosting. The book is beautifully photographed throughout and readers could definitely build the skills necessary to produce the cupcakes on the cover using only information contained in the book. 

Five stars. This is an impressive and accessible book. Highly recommended for public or school library acquisition, as well as home use and gift giving. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes