Book Review: Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson

Interested in making your own cupcakes for your children's birthday parties? Do yourself a favor and buy this book. In fact, even if you'd rather hire a professional to do it, buy this book and give it to the bakery--it's chock full of clever ideas you won't see anywhere else.

Page after page, authors Karen Tack and Alan Richardson provide clear instructions for jaw-dropping cupcakes. There isn't a single idea in there I wouldn't love to make at some point, but my favorites are the Crazy Horses, Fat Cats, Shark Attack, Garden Party, Monarch Butterflies, Family Tree and Partridge in a Pear Tree.

Tack is a cooking teacher and food stylist for several magazines, including Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple and Parents, and Richardson has photographed several best-selling cookbooks. Between the text and the visual aids, they make each project seem easy to accomplish, not intimidating.

Some of their ideas are downright funny, like the shark jumping out of the water and taking a bite out of an inflatable life ring, which is actually a mini doughnut. I sat down with my 4-year-old daughter at the bookstore, flipping through the pages before I decided to buy Hello, Cupcake!, and we literally laughed out loud as we looked at some of the ideas.

Yes, making these cupcakes will take you more time than frosting a batch and covering them with sprinkles (which is cute and fun in its own way). But the giggles and awe these cupcakes will produce will be worth your effort.