Decorating home-made cakes for occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, childrens parties, christenings or weddings adds a personal touch. This book contains the know-how and recipes needed to make and decorate cakes that are simple and quick-to-make yet look stunning. There are cakes for all occasions - Christmas, Easter, Halloween, birthdays and anniversaries. It covers all the most popular methods of icing and decoration, from buttercream, sugarpaste (fondant) and chocolate, to royal icing and marzipan. Detailed, easy-to-follow instructions explain the basics of preparing and using the different types of icing, followed bu recipes for imaginative cakes for each method, all illustrated with step-by-step photographs. There are cakes to suit adults and children alike, all of which can be achieved for a fraction of the normal retail cost, and the book aims both to help beginners pick up the basics and to offer experienced cake decorators some inspirational ideas.