Lindsay Conchar - Simply Beautiful Homemade Cakes: Extraordinary Recipes and Easy Decorating Techniques

Simply Beautiful

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To my amazing husband, thank you for your unwavering support while writing this book.
Your love, encouragement and understanding made the whole process better.
I couldnt have done it without you. I love you more and more every day.

To my parents, thank you for being the best parents I could ever have.
You have always loved, encouraged and supported me and for that Im forever grateful.
I wouldnt be where I am today without you. I love you guys so much.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Psalm 110:105 (New King James Version)

I have always loved cake. All kinds of cake. When I was a kid, no birthday was ever complete without it and no cake was ever the samemy family members all had different favorites. For the longest time, my go-to was cheesecake. No crumb was ever left behind (literally). It fascinated my parents how intentional I was in eating every slice all the way down to the crumbs. Then theres my dadhe will always be the cookie cake guy. My grandmother cant stand a cake that isnt covered in buttercream flowers (shes my kind of lady). My younger brother was always into ice cream cakes. And it was my mom who introduced my brother and I to eating cakes whole, with nothing but a fork. Forget cutting slices, the best way to eat a cake is to just dig in. Shes a smart lady. And I must say, Ive cycled through a love of each of these kinds of cakes. At the end of the day, I just love cake and will gladly take a slice of cake over any cookie or bar.

But despite loving to eat cake, my family wasnt full of bakers. In fact, I grew up cooking, not baking, with my mom. The only kind of dessert we ever made ourselves came straight from a box or other kind of packaging. A cake from scratch? Never. Cooking was what she loved and she rarely used a recipe. I learned so much from her and even now, not holding myself too closely to recipes and being willing to try new things and fail largely influences the way I bake. Yes, baking is much more of a science than cooking, but Im never afraid to try something out and see what happens. Its the best way to learn.

Growing up, I always enjoyed creating. I drew (though not so well), I wrote my own books that I also illustrated (though nobody but my mom and I saw them), I crafted and in high school I began to sew. I made many clothes and wore every single one. I made my prom dress my senior year of high school and meticulously added every single bead by hand. All of that creating as a kid led me to pursue a degree in graphic design in college.

Fast forward to about five years ago when I was trying to find a new hobby that would use my creativity and maybe turn into an opportunity to make a little money. I decided to combine two things I love and try out cake decorating classes. I found I really loved it.

For the next couple of years, I experimented and played with decorating cake after cake. And since a beautiful cake is nothing if it doesnt taste great, I also started testing recipes until I found the perfect ones. I made cakes for friends birthdays, weddings and any other occasions that came along.

I started reading quite a few blogs as I was learning more and more about decorating and baking. I was absorbing all I could. One day I realized that as much as I enjoyed making cakes for people, something was missing for me when I couldnt just create what I wanted and have free reign. So I decided to stop making cakes for others and make them for myselfand for my blog, Life, Love and Sugar (www.lifeloveandsugar.com).

My blog has been a whole new way of creating that I never wouldve expected. Its taken my background in design and a web environment and combined it with my new love for baking and decorating cakes. Ive learned so much about photography and food styling. Its taken my experience cooking in the kitchen and turned it into a never-ending quest for the best vanilla cake (it seriously never ends). I have fallen in love with playing with recipes and making them new and better, even though they frustrate me sometimes. I love learning new things and challenging myself, and baking (as well as blogging) has been a whole new quest for understanding the science of how it all works. As my blog has grown, Ive fallen in love with the joy that people get from making my recipes. And best of all, I get to make the things I love and share them with people. When a reader loves a recipe and tells me how it has become a family favorite and has been made for holidays and special events, it is truly the best feeling.

I cant really say I ever saw myself becoming an author. But as God will do, He leads you to all kinds of things you never expected if you are open to them. When I was approached to write a cookbook, I knew without a doubt that it would be about cake. And since Id started getting so much feedback about the look of my cakes and questions on how I decorate them, I decided to combine my love for all kinds of cakes with tips and tutorials for how to decorate them.

Youll find, though, that this isnt your typical cake decorating book. Up until recently, I was working full-time while keeping up with my blog and writing this book. I can tell you firsthand that its not always possible to have a ton of time to sink into decorating cakes. So the decorating focus of this book is on making beautiful cakes, but simply. You dont have to use fondant or royal icing to make a beautiful cake thats perfect for any occasion. Buttercream, chocolate, sprinkles, food thats being used right in the recipe: all of those and more can be used to make what would have been a simple cake into something more. It can give it that finishing touch that you just feel so proud of.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is that it can be used in so many ways. There are sixty-five delicious recipes for all kinds of cakefrom simple to more complicatedthat you can bake any time. And even though there are great tutorials for decorating everything, you certainly dont have to decorate your cakes every time you make one. If you just need a great recipe, this book is a terrific resource. (The cakes are to die for!) But if you are interested in learning some simple ways to make your cakes beautiful, this book is that much more perfect for you. You wont find anything too terribly advanced in here, so its the perfect place to pick up a piping bag for the first time or learn some new tips and tricks that youve never tried beforeeven if youve been making cakes for your family for years. There are plenty of cakes that are decorated more simply, and these are a great starting point as you work your way up to the ones that are a little more advanced.