Anyone Can Cake: Your Complete Guide to Making & Decorating Perfect Layer Cakes

Gr 9 Up–“Sugar & Sparrow” blogger DePaoli continues her goal to share dependable recipes and make cake decorating accessible to all skill levels. This crossover title will appeal to teens and adults. In six chapters, readers learn basics, ranging from greasing pans to which layer should always be placed upside down to how to create Insta-worthy cakes. Beginners will learn how to succeed as they purchase supplies and work in the kitchen; more experienced bakers will have their techniques confirmed and expanded. DePaoli writes as someone who has been in a tornado-stricken kitchen, had cakes heartbreakingly fail, and watched bakes bring joy. Readers will feel like she is cheering them on as they venture into the kitchen, and with the drool-worthy photography, they will be eager to create their own striped, floral, textured, ganache-dripped, and sprinkled cakes. One potential downside is DePaoli’s decision to give a pictorial list of essential baking and decorating tools and then encourage readers to visit her website for a list of her favorite brands.