It's not surprising that "Martha Stewart's Wedding Cakes" (Clarkson Potter, $60) is nothing short of spectacular. Page upon page of gorgeous wedding cakes compiled from Martha Stewart's Weddings and Living magazines make up the book.

But what is surprising, is that the master baker behind many of these fantastic confections, contributing Weddings editor Wendy Kromer, served individual pecan and sour cherry pies at her 2003 nuptials.

It's true, she confessed with a laugh in an interview from her shop, Wendy Kromer Confections in Sandusky, Ohio. Maybe it's because she had to make a cake for another couple's wedding that was the same day as hers or maybe, as she said, "I'd been around wedding cakes all the time." From the time she was a little girl, baking has been her passion, said Kromer. She was inspired watching her Aunt Evelyn, a cake decorator in Sandusky, "making yummy things that looked so pretty," said Kromer.

Along the way, she had a few detours — modeling and living in Paris — before she settled on a culinary career, she said. In 1995, the editors at Martha Stewart Living magazine asked her to work with them on wedding cakes. For the last 12 years, she has been creating these works of art for Stewart's periodicals. "We started talking about a book a few years ago," said Kromer, but at the time she was busy moving back to her hometown and opening her business.

"I e-mailed Martha a year ago and said now would be a good time to start and she said,

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'absolutely,' " said Kromer, who wrote the book with Stewart.

For the book, Stewart picked out her favorite cakes from the magazines, said Kromer.

"Martha said I want as many recipes as I can put in here and as many different-looking cakes that would inspire people," said Kromer. "It has to be beautiful."

And the master works certainly are. While they are well beyond most of our talents, they are meant to be visual inspirations for brides and grooms to find their style, writes Stewart, whether it's modern, traditional, rustic or whimsical.

The book also offers practical advice for couples when they go to their local baker so they can get the cake of their dreams.

Kromer, who makes about 50 wedding cakes a year at her shop, said when she talks to customers, she tries to get a sense of their personalities.

"It's fun to talk to couples and see how they got engaged," she said. "They will come with some sort of inkling of what they would like to have, but quite often they don't have any idea." A good baker should ask certain questions, she said, such as: Do you have a theme for your wedding? Will it be indoors or outdoors? What time of year is the wedding?

Often they will bring a photo of a cake they like, but they want to tweak it to suit their style, she said.

It's also good to know what materials a baker is most proficient in, she said.

"Some are experts with butter cream, but don't understand how to use fondant [firm sugar icing]," she said. "I love working with fondant. It's sleek and clean looking and is a great medium."

If wedding cakes can be trendy, Kromer said color on cakes has become very popular, but many couples still like traditional all-white wedding cakes, she said.

"I've done quite a bit of blue, but I've seen a lot more white on white cakes," she said.

As for what's under the icing, white cake is the most popular, she said, followed by chocolate and red velvet cake as a strong third. Fillings are de rigeur in all her cakes, she said, which can make cake tastings — another thing your baker should offer — pretty rigorous.

"People's tastes have grown more sophisticated. We usually have at least 10 different cake flavors and probably 16 different fillings and frostings" for perspective clients to try, she said.

The costs of some of these highly detailed cakes come with a high price tag. Kromer said she charges between $6 and $12 per person for a wedding cake, depending on the amount of all those sugar-spun flowers and fancies. Ordering simpler cakes decorated with fresh flowers and asking the baker to use false tiers made out of Styrofoam instead of cake can help keep the price down, she said.

If, like Martha, you prefer to do it yourself, the book offers that option, too, with recipes and illustrated steps on cake baking and decorating. For those who take that road, Kromer has some advice.

"Six months [before the wedding], do a trial run," she said, and you may think twice about it. "If 150 people are coming, that's a lot of cake and a lot of responsibility. "You may want to make a smaller cake for display then have a slicing cake," she suggested.

Out of the more than 100 wedding cakes in the book, Kromer said she created about 50 of them, but don't ask her to name her favorite. She can't pick just one, she said.

Maybe that's why she served pie.

On the Net: Wendy Kromer Confections offers decorated cookies and ready-made gumpaste and marzipan decorations for cakes. Visit www.wendykromer.com.

Kromer will be featured on a television special airing Saturday at 6 p.m. and Feb. 26 at 9 p.m. on the Style Network.

RED VELVET CAKE

Unsalted butter, at room temperature, for the pans cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus more for the pans

5 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted

2 teaspoons salt

3 cups sugar

3 cups canola oil

4 large eggs teaspoon red gel-paste food coloring

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups low-fat buttermilk

1 tablespoon baking soda

4 teaspoons white vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the cakes pans with butter. Line each with parchment paper; butter the parchment, and dust with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt and coca powder in a medium bowl; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and oil on medium speed until combined. Add the eggs one at a time; mix well after each addition. Mix in the food coloring and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with flour, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl. Add the baking-soda mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed for 10 seconds. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the centers comes out clean. Let cool completely in the pans on wire racks.

Makes 10 cups of batter.

Approximate baking times:

3- or 4-inch round pans: 25 minutes

6-inch rounds: 45 minutes

9- inch rounds: 50 minutes

12-inch rounds: 1 hour

15-inch rounds: 1 hour 15 minutes

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

2 pounds (four 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces

2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and vanilla on medium speed until creamy and light, two minutes. With the mixer running, gradually add the butter; mix until combined.

Reduce the speed to low; gradually mix the confectioners' sugar until combined. If not using immediately, refrigerate, covered, for up to three days; bring to room temperature and beat until smooth before using.

Makes eight cups.

— Recipes from "Martha Stewart's Wedding Cakes"