Cupcakes: From the Cake Mix Doctor

I love this book! It has beautiful pictures, easy to follow directions, and the results are delicious. Better than cake!!!

I don't often give cookbooks a 5 star, just because many of them have only a few new recipes that I would try, or because the format is poor. Oftentimes, I check out cookbooks from my local library, pick out the recipes that I want to try, and jot them down. When I started to do that with this book, however, I noticed that I was marking several pages in a row, and pretty soon had most of the pages bookmarked! I stopped marking, returned the book to the library, and purchased my own copy. What makes this seemingly simple concept so special? Well, as the author points out, most people love cupcakes. They are versatile, portable, and easy to create. You can make cupcakes as simple or as creative as you would like. And this great book of over 135 recipes can help in any situation. Need 2 dozen cupcakes for the class bake sale and want the cupcakes to look incredible? Want to impress your dinner guests but not spend hours in the kitchen? Want to wow your kids with a special treat after school? You can make up a batch of cupcakes that will accomplish all of these tasks. I loved the fact that most of the recipes start with a box of cake mix, and ingredients that I keep in my pantry and refrigerator. Some of my family's favorites include: Red Velvet Cupcakes, Coconut Snowballs, Caramel Spiced Apple Cupcakes, Fresh Raspberry Cream Cakes, and the Marshmallow Frosting. The author has 2 other books that are also worth a try, "The Cake Mix Doctor" and "The Dinner Doctor". Enjoy!

Ann Byrn, the author of the wonderful "The Cake Mix Doctor," does it again! The book is easy to use and fun to read, and there will be recipe after recipe you want to try! These recipes are for busy moms and other real people too--you won't spend a fortune or all day on these recipes. The ideas are fast and easy but have tons of "wow" potential, such as presenting the cupcakes in gold foil wrappers (instead of ordinary paper ones) on cake plates, in tiers. Great holiday ideas! Great kid ideas! Great party ideas! Who doesn't love cupcakes? This is a winner. A+

I love this book. I have all Anne Byrn's Doctor books and use them all the time. Now my family and friends think I know how to cook. No longer do coarse, stale birthday cakes haunt my kitchen counter. Cupcakes are so cool and trendy. I love that they are no longer confined to kids and the classroom. I made those molten chocolate ones with genache and thought we'd gone to Jean Georges in New York City for dinner!

I am probably biased as I am a big Anne Byrn fan. (Her "Dinner Doctor" is one of my all-time favorite cookbooks.) I wasn't planning to buy the cupcake book as I was sure it would be mostly recycled stuff from the cake books -- but she has a lot of great ideas for doctoring up muffin mixes, and I am an avid muffin baker. Also I just like the design, layout and tone of her books, the very clear instructions, her chatty intro to each recipe, and all the helpful tips that appear in the sidebars. I've tried three recipes so far -- the Apple-Ginger Bran Muffins, Sweet potato casserole muffins and cherry-corn muffins. They were all good -- and gave me ideas for future "doctoring"!