Cake Books - Recipes and Ideas For Wedding Cakes

Are you a cake decorator looking for inspiration? Do you want to know how to make your own wedding cake? Are you a bride who would like to check out the latest trends and get new ideas that will wow your guests? How about a baker searching for great cake recipes and techniques?

My advice to you is to start with the old standby Wilton books which are are a great resource. The basics are covered on how to make a wedding cake and what cake decorating supplies you will need to make them with. Plus there are lots of photos of wedding cakes and all occasion cakes to look at for ideas.

An all time favorite cake book for inspiration is a book called Cakewalk by Margaret Braun. Her cake ideas are unconventional and artistic. Her book is so beautiful that you can use it as a coffee table book. A book that should be in every bakers library is The Bakers Manual by the late Joseph Amendola who was a beloved teacher at the Culinary Institute of America since the 1950's. I have an old beat up copy of the manual from the 70's and refer to it often. There is a new updated version on the market now, maybe It's time I get one. The book is written for the student as well as professionals.

Three of the best books for recipes and ideas for wedding cakes in my opinion are The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Berenbaum, A Piece of Cake by Susan Purdy and The Simple Art Of Perfect Baking by Flo Braker. Each book has fantastic recipes and ideas for cakes. From how to bake the cakes, construction and boxing them for delivery and mailing as well.

Now if you are a complete foodie or know someone that is then Larouusse Gastronomique is the perfect gift to give yourself or someone else. It will answer every question you have ever had about anything cooking or baking related, including historical facts. The world's Greatest Cookery Encyclopedia is chock full of information and so heavy you could use it as a form of weight training every time you go to pick it up.

• The best recipes for wedding cakes are cakes that are firm yet moist. If you wanted to use a less firm cake I do have tips for you.


• Always work with a very cold or frozen cake when putting a tiered cake together


• Use a filling that will firm up when cooled such as a buttercream or a mousse that contains butter.


• Avoid creamy and slippery wet fillings or frostings or you may end up with a cake wreck on your hands.

If you would like to learn more about cake books, recipes and get cake decorating ideas then visit my wedding cake website. You will find complete reviews of all of the cake books in my collection and can leave a review of your own there as well and check out what other people are saying about their favorite baking books.

Lorelie Carvey's website http://www.wedding-cakes-for-you.com, shares her expertise with aspiring cake decorators how to make a wedding cake. Bridesmaids and brides get free resources to help plan your unique wedding and shower celebration. Lorelie invites you to submit your baking book reviews and wedding cake book reviews. Go to http://www.wedding-cakes-for-you.com/baking-books.html

Investing in Mutual Funds is Easier Than You Think

After reading investing bestsellers like Phil Town's rule #1 and other books which advocate individual stock investing, a lot of investors are moving away from mutual funds. Through these books they are learning that it is possible to learn about different companies, their competitive advantages and valuation strategies. We think it is definitely possible to do all this but don't forget that this is a lot of work, a lot more than you would imagine especially if you are a newbie investor.

It is a lot simpler to choose great mutual funds and let the professional managers handle all the stock picking for you. This is the recommended route for a lot of people. If you are interested in mutual funds, you should think about industry sectors and asset allocation. In simpler words, you should be aware of your risk tolerance or how much risk you are willing to take for the amount of return you are looking for.

As you have seen in the recent past, companies that have made great profits and who are a favorite amongst investors can lose the confidence of people fairly quickly. We are speaking of BP of course and how the environmental damage due to the oil rig explosion caused the company to lose market share so fast. If you are invested in individual companies, you are exposed to such risks to a higher degree.

When you are starting out, we think you begin with no-load index funds. Avoid funds with high sales fees or load associated with them. Less commissions means more money left over for you to invest. Most investing studies have shown that the commissions on funds doesn't correlate with the return or performance of the fund. In simplest terms, higher commissions didn't always translate into a higher return. So, why pay more?

If you are bored by index fund investing and want to be more active in the research side of things, you should different funds by 10-year returns, management fees, sectors and management experience. You should verify whether the management team has been the same during the various years the fund has had good returns. More often than not star money managers move towards managing other funds or lose their Midas touch along the way. Also, don't chase the hottest performers of the last year. A lot of stellar years are followed by terrible returns the year after. You don't want to catch the funds when they are falling off a cliff.

For those of you who want to learn how to achieve the the next level of returns click here.

Your Guardian Angel

Your guardian angel is your link to the divine. The word "angel" comes from the Greek and means "a messenger." The concept of guardian angels goes back thousands of years to the Assyrian and Babylonian civilisations where they were believed to protect palaces and temples. However, this gradually changed. Many people in the Christian tradition believe that every baby gets assigned a guardian angel at birth. Jesus referred to this when he said that the angels who look after children always face God (Matthew 18:10).

About 150 AD, a man named Hermas wrote one of the earliest Christian bestsellers, Shepherd of Hermas. In it, Hermas wrote of his personal angel-shepherd who acted as his guardian angel and helped him on a daily basis. Moving forward almost 1,900 years, Pope Pius XI said that he prayed to his guardian angel every morning and evening. When he had to speak to someone who was opposed to him, he asked his guardian angel to communicate with the other person's guardian angel first, to eliminate any potential problems.

We all have a guardian angel that watches over us, and tries to help us in subtle ways. Not long ago, I spoke to a woman who had narrowly escaped being run over while crossing a road. She felt a force push her to the side of the road moments before a car raced past. She attributed her lucky escape to her guardian angel.

Small children often believe in guardian angels, but often lose faith as they grow into adulthood. Regardless of your beliefs, your guardian angel continues to communicate with you in thoughts and dreams intended to inspire, help and counsel you. However, your guardian angel will never interfere with your free will. Occasionally, when the situation is urgent, guardian angels act in a more direct way. When Sir Ernest Shackleton, the British explorer, was returning from the South Pole, he knew that "one more" accompanied his party. When Sir Francis Smythe was attempting the final stage of his ascent of Mount Everest on his own, he was aware of an invisible companion. "I could not feel lonely, neither could I come to any harm," he wrote afterwards.

How do you recognize your guardian angel? Ask your guardian angel to communicate with you in quiet moments. Become aware of your dreams. Heed the quiet voice that warns you when you are tempted to do something wrong. You will gradually realise that your guardian angel is with you all the time, and is willing to help you in everything you do.

Your guardian angel is your own personal guide and teacher. As you accept your guardian angel's presence your life will gradually improve. Small upsets will no longer bother you, and you'll find yourself more loving, accepting and compassionate. You'll also become aware of the spiritual in every area of your life.

Richard Webster is author of 80 books, including Spirit Guides and Angel Guardians, Miracles, Michael, and Gabriel (all published by Llewellyn Publications). His website is http://www.psychic.co.nz

The Best Sellers on eBay Know These 5 Secrets to Making Money

There are lots of people selling lots of things on eBay. Whether they are successful or not, is anyone's guess. However, there are five secrets that if you learn and follow will guarantee you make a profit selling on eBay.

Secret #1 - Knowing what sells. Sounds easy doesn't it? However, you would be surprised at how many people are unaware about what really sells on eBay. People waste their time and effort listing items that don't sell or maybe do sell but they break even if they are lucky. You can check out eBay's Pulse page for hot items that sell. My secret; toys sell all year round on eBay. Selling toys during the holidays isn't the only time to sell them. There are many parents attending many children's birthday parties all year round that need to buy toys as well as grandparents who will spend a lot of money to get the perfect gift for their grandchild.

Secret #2 - Knowing the best days to have your auctions end. A lot of people do not realize that, yes, it really does matter when your auction ends. It doesn't matter what day you list it, it is the end day that matters the most. What are the best days for your listing to close? The secret is Thursdays and Fridays. In my experience I have received the highest bids on my auction items when they have closed on either of these two days.

Secret #3 - Knowing the best time to have your auction end. The day when your auction ends is important but the time your auction ends is even more important. The best time to have your auction end; approximately 10:00 p.m. eastern time on Thursdays or Fridays. This gives people on the West Coast who have already gotten home from work, had dinner, and family time, time to surf the Internet. You will capture your largest crowd across the U.S. this way.

Secret #4 - Knowing what price point to list your auction. So you don't want to list your precious necklace that you've had for years and never worn at 99 cents? Then you shouldn't be on eBay. Because the competition to sell on eBay is fierce, unless you list your auction at 99 cents you probably won't have many lookers let alone buyers. You will be surprised how quickly an auction that begins at 99 cents ramps up to the hundreds of dollars for items that are popular.

Secret #5 - Having both fixed price items as well as regular auctions running simultaneously. Why? Because once someone looks at or places a bid on your auction item, they will see your fixed price item as well. If they don't want to wait the auction out they will buy your fixed priced item immediately. If you can afford the cost of an eBay store, you have an even much better chance for selling success.

Using these five secrets will guarantee your success on eBay.

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