Cakes by Melissa: Life Is What You Bake It

I have had Baked by Melissa Cupcakes before, so I was interested to hear more of the story behind them. I haven't tested any of the recipes so I can't confirm or deny success there, but in terms of looks, this cookbook is a stunner. It has a colorful and engaging design and beautiful photography. There are so many interesting ideas for different flavor combinations and a wide variety of glazes, frostings, and crumbles. Update: I tried to make the chocolate crumble. It seemed a little too wet to me, and when baked on top of a cake, it melted and sank into the cake batter. I also tried her second peanut butter glaze recipe, and it was delicious on a chocolate cake.

We bought the book for our 14 year old budding baking granddaughter. She and I are having a ball working our way through this cookbook. Photos are beautiful. Information is great. Well written and recipes are terrific!!! Saw her on The Chew and loved what I saw. The book is a treasure.

lOVE THE RECIPES , HAVE MADE A COUPLE OF CAKES SO FAR. REALLY USEFUL FOR ME BECAUSE MY GRANDDAUGHTER HAS A SEVERE PEANUT ALLERY AND I AM SO TIRED OF READING BOX LABELS FOR " MADE IN A PLANT THAT HAS PEANUTS". THIS BOOK HAS GREAT CAKE RECIPES THAT ARE FUN FOR ME AND MY GRANDDUAGHTER TO MAKE TOGETHER NOT TO MENTION SAFE TO EAT.

Delightful cookbook with all kinds of really interesting and different ideas for cakes. Love the recipes and the appearance of these cooks. The directions are clear and easy to follow. Looking forward to some unique cake baking and presentations.

I have read thru this fantastic book but have not had a chance to make anything. Will probably start with cupcakes. Recipes are complete and not complicated

I love all the inspiring ways to present these cakes. They are show stoppers. I wish all the ingredients were available in our local stores. I must search the internet for several items....the cake is worth it.

You feel like the author is sitting in the room with you telling you her personal story. She leads you step by step through making the most ingenuitive cupcakes you have ever seen. Her pics are delicious! I was told about this book by a bunch of giggling teenagers at the school i teach at. They were holding up an amazing tie-died cake and i had to know the recipe so they pointed me to this book.

My kids absolutely love to browse through the pages of this book. It's a really fun book, the cake batter recipes are super solid as "go-to" recipes and generally the icings are tasty. I had one snafu with the "real mint" icing - it wasn't quite minty enough - but that's a pretty minor complaint (and was pretty easily fixed).

Absolutely love Melissa’s recipes!! Fantastic book

I love Melissa’s books. What I don’t love is having my parcels perfectly cut open and left on the doorstep