How to Make A Book Cake

Professional cake designers have the tools and expertise to create an almost unlimited number of designs in a wide range of shapes and sizes, suitable for almost any occasion. However, few home bakers have a similar combination of tools and specialized skills. This creates a market niche for specialized baking pans, which allow even a casual baker to turn out cakes in custom shapes, such as books.

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 2 boxes cake mix, or equivalent quantity of scratch-made cake batter
• Book-shaped cake pan
• Pan spray
• Serrated knife
• Wire cooling rack
• Cake board
• Buttercream icing
• Cake decorator's spatula
• Chocolate fondant or plain white fondant
• Food coloring (optional)
• Cake decorator's comb

1. Preparing the Cake

   • 1
     Take out two tablespoons of cake mix, then prepare the remainder of the two boxes according to the package directions. If you're baking from scratch, reserve an equivalent quantity of the sifted dry ingredients.
   • 2
     Spray a book-shaped cake pan with pan spray, then sprinkle the two tablespoons of reserved cake mix into the corners of the pan. Shake the pan, so the cake mix coats the inside of the pan the same way flour would. This helps the cake release more easily from the pan.
   • 3
     Bake the cake as directed on the package. When it is done, remove the cake from your oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Use a long serrated knife to trim the top of the cake so it's flush with the edges of your cake pan.
   • 4
     Set a wire cooling rack on top of the cake pan. Turn the pan and rack over. Lift off the pan to free up the cake.
   • 5
     Cool the cake for at least one hour, or preferably overnight, before decorating it.

   Decorating the Cake

   • 1
     Transfer your cake from the cooling rack to a cake board. Brush away any loose crumbs, which might otherwise be caught up in the icing and spoil the cake's appearance.
   • 2
     Spread the top and sides of the cake with white buttercream, using a long cake decorator's spatula with smooth strokes. Keep the icing thin enough on top to maintain the gentle curve of the "pages."
   • 3
     Roll a thin snake-shape of fondant, approximately one-quarter inch in diameter and long enough to wrap all the way around the cake. This will be the book's cover. Use chocolate fondant for a leather look, or tint white fondant with food coloring.
   • 4
     Flatten the fondant with your fingertips to complete the resemblance to a book's cover.
   • 5
     Drag the fine side of a triangular cake decorator's comb along the sides of the cake, to simulate the edges of the pages. The basic cake design is finished at this point, and you can ornament the open pages as desired with writing or other decorative elements.