Boutique Wedding Cakes {Book Review & Giveaway}

A beautiful cake is the quintessential sweet ending to any wedding celebration. Expert baker and sugar-crafter Victoria Glass demonstrates how to create custom wedding cakes at home in her new book Boutique Wedding Cakes. Victoria provides all the guidance needed to create a cake that offers a true reflection of a couple’s unique style and personality. I’m delighted to review this book and to give it away to one reader!

{Giveaway Details}

Simply leave a comment on this post before midnight CST on Sunday, March 31st for your chance to win. Enter as often as you like, and be sure to check back on Monday, April 1st to see if you were chosen! {Open to US shipping addresses only)

From practical advice for choosing a cake style, transporting the finished product, and troubleshooting potential mishaps, to essential recipes and techniques, Boutique Wedding Cakes has everything you need to be successful at making your own wedding cake. Detailed recipes for a variety of cakes, royal icing, marzipan, and modelling chocolate make sure that your confection will taste as delicious as it looks! A handy quantity chart in the back provides all the information needed to create each cake in a variety of sizes. Four sections filled with photos of 19 stunning cake designs make it easy to choose a cake for your theme.

The book is divided into four themes:

Chapter 1, Classic Elegance features romantic, traditional cakes inspired by icons of the past, whether it’s the understated elegance of Grace Kelly, or the graceful charm of Marie Antoinette.

Chapter 2, Chic and Sophisticated, focuses on glamorous cakes with contemporary style and a dash of drama.

The pretty pastels and lighthearted details of the cakes in chapter 3, A Splash of Color, bring to mind a casual garden wedding filled with charming motifs like love birds, gilded birdcages, and vibrant blossoms.

Chapter 4, Changing Seasons, celebrates the beauty of each time of year with cakes tailored for each of the four seasons.

Boutique Wedding Cakes will help you create an unforgettable cake regardless of your budget or ability as a baker. The book is available from Ryland Peters & Small for $24.95. Many thanks to author Victoria Glass, and to Ryland Peters & Small for sponsoring this post. Be sure to leave your comment for your chance to win a copy!

Lots of Americans seem to think that May 5 is Mexican Independence Day, but that holiday actually falls on Sept. 16.

May 5 is the celebration of the Battle of Puebla, in which the Mexicans defeated the French in 1862. Independence Day marks the beginning of their fight for independence from Spain in 1810. That was the day of what’s known as El Grito de Dolores, or the cry of Dolores, for when the Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the church bells at his church in Dolores and declared that Mexico should be free from Spanish rule.

They would fight for their freedom until 1821 when they finally gained independence.

Fabulous Classroom has a little of the history and ideas for celebrating the holiday for all age groups. There’s also a link to a good video in that post about the real story of Mexican Independence Day.

Twinkl also has a good tops about the history and different activities, discussion ideas, crafts and foods that can be incorporated into lessons at school or used at home.

I also found a few pins that no longer link to a website but include good information on Mexican Independence Day, including some questions for students to answer based on the reading. You can find more printables and questions for kids from TX Homeschool Mama on Etsy (also available in Spanish).

You can find a lot more paid resources about Mexican Independence Day at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Mexican flag crafts are a fun option for celebrating Mexican Independence Day (though the current iteration of their flag has only been in use since 1968). Kids Activities Blog has a free Mexican flag printable and a few different ideas for decorating it including dot markers and torn tissue paper.

You can also find some great Mexican crafts at Red Ted Art. The post includes all sorts of Mexican inspired projects including Day of the Dead crafts, Frida Kahlo pinatas and upcycled musical instruments. I love the giant paper flowers they shared from Honestly WTF.

Have you read?