There are lots of cookbooks out there, for every type of food, ingredient and cooking style imaginable.
Cookbooks about baking always catch my eye, but I do find some more helpful and inspiring than others. The types of baking books that you are drawn to will mostly depend how often you bake and how confident you feel in the kitchen. I have long moved on from books that focus on the basics, however they were once the books I looked to all the time.
The cookbooks about baking that I am drawn to now, are ones that provide inspiration around flavour and use of ingredients, have a cohesive story behind them and give guidance on more technical aspects of baking.
The books below are ones that I turn to for inspiration, technical advice, comforting recipes and honestly, they are all just nice to sit a have a look through with a cup of tea.
1.The New Way to Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi - The book is small and unassuming, but is packed full of cake recipes you won’t find in every book about baking. Benjamina’s book is divided into chapters around flavour, and flavour is what really drives this book, and sets it apart from many others. In short, there are no boring recipes in this cookbook!
2. Aran by Flora Shedden - From a bakery in far away Scotland, comes a series of recipes that are nod to traditional Scottish baking, but that also have quite the modern flair. Again I really enjoy the use of flavour in these recipes, and the unfussy nature of them too.
3. The Pastry Chef’s Guide by Ravneet Gill - If you are wanting to get more into the technical side of baking and patisserie this is the book for you. Ravneet covers all the basics, both the simple and complex ones, all wrapped up in a small pretty pink book.
4. Now for Something Sweet by Monday Morning Cooking Club - I spoke about this book recently, and I have to include in this list as it is a great addition for bakers of all levels. You are sure to find a comforting bake to make in this book, whether its something fairly quick and easy, or a little more complex and time consuming.
5.The Violet Bakery Cookbook by Claire Ptak - Every time I look at this book I seem to find something new. Claire’s use of ingredients and flavour really surprised me when I bought this book a few years ago, and I feel like I have learnt a lot from her in that time about the use of different types of flours, sugars and the like for their contribution to flavour and texture in a bake. You can read more about my experience with this book here.
Links to books on Booktopia removed 15/07/2024.