Despite being a frequent baker and recipe lover, I don't actually buy too many recipe books. Sure I have more than your average person, but most of them were gifts. So when I recently got sent 'What To Bake & How To Bake It' by Jane Hornby to review I was excited to see what it was like. My first impressions were that the cover illustration was really eye catching, and once I saw the photos inside that the illustrator was portraying, I also thought it was very impressive art work!
Image SourceThis is the third book from author Jane Hornby. She is a UK based food writer, editor and food stylist who trained at Leith's Cookery School in London. Jane says that her "whole ethos is to inspire and help people to simply cook more, with well-explained and thoroughly tested recipes that look as good as they taste."
One of my main requirements for a recipe book it that there is a photo for every bake in it. I like to see what it should look like at the end! This book has clear aerial photos for every step of the recipe, so you can see the ingredients clearly laid out, and what it's supposed to look like along the way. Every recipe has a photo of the end result - which made me very happy!
I made two recipes from the book, Golden Citrus Drizzle Cake and a Flourless Chocolate Torte. It was hard to pick a recipe to make because I genuinely liked the sound of almost every recipe in the book. There was only one I wouldn't make and that is purely because I don't like coffee. I have a lot more on the list to try out soon! The Golden Citrus Drizzle Cake was so light and delicious, I really enjoyed it and ate a few pieces. Chocolate Torte is something I've been wanting to try making for a while, and it was rich and fudgey just how I hoped.
Although I (mostly) know what I'm doing when it comes to baking, I enjoyed the clear instructions and suggestions. Jane adds tips, ingredient substitutions and recipe adjustments to each recipe so you can make it your own. I had to use some adjustments such as just using orange and lemon in the drizzle cake as I didn't have any limes, and almond flour instead of ground almonds in the torte, and they both still came out great!
I think this book is suitable for experienced and new bakers, and I'd be really pleased to receive it as a gift. It's almost like an instruction manual and it makes you feel at ease when following the recipes. I'm going to continue baking from it and both me, my boyfriend and my colleagues are looking forward to eating the results!
NB. I was sent the book free to review, but was not required to write a positive review.
