A stunning guide to designing and decorating cakes for all occasions, with a unique portfolio of classic and contemporary designs of the finest detail. The special occasion cake takes centre stage when family, friends and colleagues come together in celebration, whatever the event, so the basic principles for choosing and designing your cake are essentially the same whether the cake is for a wedding, birthday, anniversary or christening. The design should be influenced by personalities and preferences, the venue, time of year, number of guests, colours and flowers. This book is a versatile guide to making all manner of occasion cake designs, that can be adapted for formal or informal events and that will add that all essential wow factor to any celebration. From tiered wedding cakes to the more unusual patisserie dessert cakes, Spectacular Cakes shows how to make them. The reader is guided through the many layers of decision making, from establishing the celebration theme to what shape cake he or she would like and the type of icing that is most suitable to use, and from the choice of flavours to the specific decorative techniques and designs.