Saturday, March 16, 2013

Review of 'Dessert Designer' by Dana Meachen Rau

Description

Turn your boring desserts into fantastic works of food art. Learn to make cupcakes into bunnies or candies into shining stars. The best part of this book is learning it’s OK to play with your food!

For ages 9-13.

* Step-by-step instructions to create each project
* Cool projects! No baking required!
* Photos enhance the projects and appeal to readers of all ages
* In line with the popular food styling trend
* Great family activity


Advance Praise

"Dessert Designer is filled with sweet, creative ideas that are doable, even for the novice designer—and kids, too.”
-Rebecca French, author Sweet Home cookbook and sweet-home.com

**My Thoughts**

Creative cooking and baking is all the rage right now. Just turn on any food-related network and even some other mainstream channels. You can even find cooking shows playing alongside sports events in restaurants.

I love the gorgeous photography used to illustrate the book. I don't know that my own creations would ever look quite as good, but the pictures make you want to try your very best!

The Decorator's Toolbox is a great page. The photograph looks much like a real kitchen drawer or box would and helps you to identify what all of the tools are. I would recommend getting your child her own set of decorating tools to keep in a special drawer, or even a plastic box of her very own in which to keep supplies. This would give her greater ownership over the projects.

Making these projects together can add to great family bonding time and memories to cherish for years to come. Your child will want to have some independent time, too. Go through the book together to determine which ones she can do alone and which ones would require your help. Designate some to make ahead of time for parties and others she can make with her friends at parties. 

You could easily apply the skills that you learn from this book to making some of your own favorite creations. 

I received an eARC in exchange for my honest review. 

  

About the Author:

Dana Meachen Rau writes about many topics, including food! When she's not writing, she's being creative in other ways - especially in the kitchen. Sometimes she follows recipes, but other times she experiments with new flavors. And she doesn't need a special occasion to whip up a special dessert for her friends and family in Burlington, Connecticut.