Books for Baking

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.

Off The Shelf - 'Now for Something Sweet' by Monday Morning Cooking Club

Bought at: Booktopia - I was so looking forward to the release of this book I preordered it. 

Recipes Made: Spiced Honey Cake p.48, Passover Pear Cake p.57, Custard Chiffon p.112, Crunchies p.135, Coconut and Passionfruit Slab Cake p.142, 23 Minute Meringues p.274 and Anchovy Twists p.290.

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I made the Spiced Honey Cake last during during a lockdown inspired zoom cook-along with the Monday Morning Cooking Club. The recipe is adapted slightly from the honey cake in the Monday Morning Cooking Club’s first book, and is well known as an excellent honey cake. I really enjoyed making this cake, though I did find mine needed a fair bit more time to cook than the recipe says. Next time I make it I may increase the oven temperature a little to compensate. This is definitely one of those cakes that tastes even better a couple of days or so after baking and I certainly enjoyed eating slices of it days after the fun of the live zoom cooking class. 

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Passover Cake with Plum

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Passover Cake with Quince

I first made the Passover Pear Cake with plums rather than pears as it was early April and some plums were still around. It was delicious, even if I did get the order of the cake ‘layers’ a little off! I used superfine matzo meal that time as I had some, and it was definitely the nicest thing I’ve ever eaten that contains matzo meal! The cake was incredibly light and fluffy despite the matzo meal. The next time I made this cake I used poached quince and as one of the MMCC ladies had suggested to me, plain flour instead of superfine matzo meal. It was still such a good cake despite all the adaptations I made (both times I also used different nuts than the recipe suggested as well!), though I really should make it again with pears as the recipe says! 

I have made the Custard Chiffon many times over the years, as the recipe was first published in the MMCC’s first book. I the first time I tried this cake was at a Bake Club and MMCC event in 2014, where a few recipes were demonstrated and we got to try them too. It was the lightest fluffiest most delicious cake I had ever tasted, and I have been making it ever since. 

The recipe for Crunchies was intriguing to me, and I think the first recipe I made from this book. These bars are like a South African version of ANZAC biscuits, but even crunchier as the name suggests. They were delicious and very nice dunked into a cup of tea. 

The Coconut and Passionfruit Slab Cake has been the most popular recipe so far from this book for me. I think I made it two times within a month or so of the book being released, and have continued to make it ever since. It is an incredibly easy cake to make, and I have found I don’t need to use a stand mixer to make it. The cake is gluten free, and I think you could easily make it dairy free too by using a dairy free margarine/spread instead of butter. When passionfruit are in season I buy them and freeze the pulp - and this cake is inevitably what I bring out the frozen pulp for. 

I chose to make the 23 Minute Meringues last Christmas, when COVID related restrictions made our Christmas Day smaller than expected and making a large Pavlova for three people seemed a little much - it was also going to be hard to find fridge space for cream topped leftover Pav when there would inevitably be quite a lot of leftovers! I thought meringues would be a better option as leftovers could be kept in a container, and it just felt nice to try a new recipe too. 

I made the Anchovy Twists as part of another MMCC zoom cook-along last year, and they were a big hit with the family. We love anchovies so these were always going to be a winner, but the pastry was not only easy to make but also delicious to eat and not too heavy. The sour cream pastry used to make these is a great one for many sweet and savoury bakes, and one I will be coming back to again and again. 

Favourite Things About the Book: Recipes and stories are what the MMCC does best, and this book is no exception. I love the stories of each recipe contributor at the beginning of each chapter, and the delightful illustrations of the baked goods that go with it. The photography in this book is beautiful and I love that every recipe has a photo. The ‘How To’ sections at the beginning of some of the chapters would also be great for those new to baking or needing a confidence boost, making this book great for every baking level, not just those who are already quite confident and experienced. 

The recipes that the MMCC choose to add to their books are always well tested, and I really love being able to bake knowing it will work. The MMCC also have videos on their YouTube channel and IGTV on Instagram, so many of the recipes from all their books can be found there and you can see how they are made via those videos if you want more clarification. 

The variety of sweet (and a few savoury) recipes is really diverse from cookies and biscuits, to intricate layer cakes or tortes, simple cake and sweet breads. I was so excited when the MMCC said they were working on a cookbook with mostly sweet recipes, and I think this cookbook is not only a great addition to their other books, but also a great addition to anyone’s cookbook collection who love baking or want to bake more. 

Bookmarked Recipes (to make later!): Persian Shortbread p.20, White Chocolate and Honey Madeleines p.62, Upside Down Peach Cake p.87, Russian Honey Cake p.92, Russian Sour Cream Smetna Torte p.94, Glazed Honey Chiffon p.115, Pumpkin Chiffon p.118, Passionfruit Tart p.154, Apple Honey and Cinnamon Challah p.180, Apple and Cinnamon Babke p.186-7, Cinnamon Streusel Babke p.190, Charoset Ice Cream p.242, Nut and Date Coins p.268, Spiced Cheese Biscuits p.293 and Frojalda (Turkish Cheese Bread) p.298 - so yeah, basically just the rest of the book!

Funfetti Cookie Slice

I’m not usually one for adding food colouring or large amounts of sprinkles to my baked goods, but I think I’m at that point in lockdown where any pop of colour adds a tiny bit of joy to my day. 

As does using up an already opened packet of Jimmies (large sprinkles) and some chocolate no one seemed to be eating. With delivery windows in Sydney few and far between from our major supermarkets at the moment, using up things I already have seemed like a good way to go. So there were a couple of motivations for making this recipe, beyond my usual ‘I’d like something nice to eat but don’t want it to take ages to make’. 

You can leave out the sprinkles if you wish, and use any type of chocolate you want. The sprinkles don’t add any flavour, it’s just for the fun colours. However if you do use some sprinkles, those called Jimmies which are bigger sprinkles than the ones us Aussies are used to buying at supermarket, will work best as their colours won’t bleed through your bake. 

Funfetti Cookie Slice

Ingredients:

120g butter, melted

200g caster sugar 

2 tbsp golden syrup

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 egg

290g self raising flour

3.5 tbsp large sprinkles (aka. Jimmies) 

120g choc chips (white, Caramilk, milk or dark) or roughly chopped chocolate

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a 30 x 20cm brownie or Lamington tin with baking paper. 

In a large bowl whisk together the butter, sugar, golden syrup, vanilla and egg.

Then add the flour and the sprinkles and mix to combine with a wooden spoon.

Tip the dough into the prepared tray, and spread it out, pushing it into the sides. Scatter the chopped chocolate/choc chips over the dough, pushing them in a little.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. 

Allow to cool completely in the tin. The remove and cut into slices or chunks of your choice.

Serves 15. 

Fluffy Bergamot Cake with Buttermilk

This cake came about in the same way many others do in my kitchen. I had certain ingredients to use, and I really just wanted to bake something quick and easy that was also going to be very tasty. 

I have a few homegrown bergamots and some bought ones too at the moment, so I am constantly thinking about how I could use them. I love bergamot season, it is honestly my favourite citrus. I love the floral notes of it, and how it has the ability to lift a dish or a cake to another level flavour wise. 

I also had some Pepe Saya Buttermilk. I made an online order with Pepe Saya, as many other Sydney-siders when Pepe Saya offered 20% off for those of us in lockdown. I really like baking with this buttermilk, but I also like using it as I like having a dedicated milk to use for baking. This way the milk bought for tea and cereal etc won’t get used up as quickly as I’m not using it for baking. Which is helpful particularly as we are still in lockdown, and unnecessary trips to the shops and just well, unnecessary. 

I had planned to use some of the buttermilk for baking, and freeze any leftover for future use. However after making this particular bergamot cake once, I now have so many ideas for using it I’m not sure any will end up frozen. 

The bergamot cake is a little different to the other citrus cakes I usually make as I often make citrus cakes with an oil based recipe that uses yoghurt. I love cakes made this way as they are simple, reliable and tasty. This new Bergamot cake is still those things, however the texture mostly thanks to the buttermilk, its so fluffy it seems like a cake you’ve put a lot more effort into. 

I also think the lightness comes from the fact that I mostly bake with margarine rather than butter. Pretty much all my recipes say to use butter, as I know that’s what most people will use when baking. But I much prefer the lightness that a good margarine can give a cake. Whatever you use, it will still be a good cake and a nice fluffy one if you use buttermilk. 

I used a rectangular cake/slice tin for this cake as baking it in this shape will mean a quicker cook time. But you can of course use a 20cm round tin, however the cook time will be at least double what is stipulated in the recipe. 

Fluffy Bergamot Cake with Buttermilk

Ingredients: 

125g unsalted butter, softened or flavourless margarine*

165g caster sugar

finely grated zest of one bergamot/lemon

2 eggs 

250g self raising flour

125ml buttermilk (e.g. Pepe Saya)

Ingredients for the Icing: 

170g icing mixture

1-2 tbsp fresh bergamot/lemon juice

Method: 

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees Celsius, and grease and line a 30x20cm rectangular slice or lamington tin with baking paper. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and zest with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the flour and the buttermilk and slowly mix until combined. If the mixture is a little lump, mix using a whisk.

Tip the mixture into the prepared tray and smooth the top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cake spring backs when touched lightly and a skewer comes out clean. The cake will be lightly golden when done. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack.

To make the icing, mix 1 tbsp of the bergamot/lemon juice with the icing mixture in a medium bowl. Continue to add more juice, a little at a time until you have a smooth icing that you can spread over the cake - a slightly thinner consistency is good for this cake as there is more surface area to spread over, if the icing is too thick it might not cover the entire cake!

*if using margarine, use straight from the fridge no need to soften like butter. 

Off The Shelf - 'Nothing Fancy' by Alison Roman

Bought at: it was gifted to me for Christmas in 2019.

Recipes Made: Perfect Herby Salad p.86, Roasted Pumpkin with Yoghurt and Spiced Buttered Pistachio p.148, Spicy Pork Meatballs in Brothy Tomatoes and Toasted Fennel p.187-8, Slow-Roasted Oregano Chicken with Buttered Tomatoes p.189, One Pot Chicken with Dates and Caramelised Lemon p.194-5 and Buttered Salmon with Red Onion and Dill p.247

The Perfect Herby Salad, sounds simple - it’s a leafy salad with herbs and an olive oil and lemon juice dressing. But somehow this combination of simple ingredients becomes one of the best salads I’ve ever tasted. It goes well with so many things, but I particularly like it with something hearty like lasagna as the freshness of the salad compliments it so well. 

The Roasted Pumpkin with Yoghurt and Spiced Buttered Pistachios is the only recipe in this book we haven’t made more than once. It was nice, and I wouldn’t not make it ever again, but it wasn’t something that was a serious stand out like the rest of the recipes from ‘Nothing Fancy’ that I have tried.

The Spicy Pork Meatballs in Brothy Tomatoes have become a bit of a family favourite. We love pork and anything that uses lots of tomatoes, so this dish is a winner. Its a really warming dish, perfect for a cooler Winter evening. The Brothy tomatoes end up being like full flavoured brothy tomato soup, perfect for dipping bread into. The whole dish also tastes even better the next day as the flavours develop so leftovers are always delicious. 

Speaking of family favourites and lots of tomatoes, the Slow-Roasted Oregano Chicken with Buttered Tomatoes, probably is the family favourite dish since I got this book. Slow roasting a chicken, again seems like such a simple thing, but it is a complete revelation. While you of course have to get the dinner prep started a little earlier than you might otherwise, you end up with the most perfectly cooked, tender, falling off the bone chicken you’ve probably ever made or eaten. And with gorgeous super tasty slow roasted tomatoes to go with it. You can add anchovies to the tomatoes - which is like a running joke in the book as Alison uses them so often and suggests you could use them as an addition so often - but for once (and yes I’m a little shocked too - as I love anchovies and Alison Roman’s cooking advice is always spot on), I don’t think you actually need them. Red wine vinegar is added to the cooked tomatoes before serving, and honestly flavour wise I find that more than enough as it’s so tasty in its own right. Despite the numerous times we’ve made this dish, I couldn’t find a half decent photo of it (except the one on the cover of the book!), only this one of it having just gone in the oven. Apologies for the general lack of images of the food in this Off the Shelf post, but you’ll just have to take my word for it this time. 

I love dates and lemon, so the One Pot Chicken with Dates and Caramelised Onion was always going to be a winner. The ingredient list is simple, and not very long, and I did have my reservations about how tasty the final dish could really be with so few ingredients. I was wrong to have reservations, as Alison is queen of flavour and despite the numerous times she’d already proved that to me in this book, I doubted her. Well, never again will that happen. However, I will make this One Pot Chicken again as for me, it was one of those dishes that really hit the spot so to speak, and made me look forward to the next day when I could eat some leftovers. Alison has featured this recipe on her YouTube series ‘Home Movies’, so you can check it out even if you don’t have ‘Nothing Fancy’ (yet). 

The Buttered Salmon with Red Onion and Dill, was a recipe I saw Alison make on her YouTube series ‘Home Movies’ and it looked so good, I was surprised it hadn’t stood out to me already from the book. Sometimes you’ve got to see someone make a recipe to realise you need it in your life, and this was one of those times. Alison uses capers in this dish, which I love, and really related to her adding even more to the dish than her original recipe states when she made it on ‘Home Movies’. From memory we had the Prefect Herby Salad as a side to this Salmon and it was really was perfect. 

Favourite Things About the Book: Alison. Honestly, Alison is my favourite part of this book (and everything she does). She is relatable, funny, honest and her food is always flavourful yet fairly simple. She is someone who has that kind of personality you just can’t help but think you’d get on well if you ever met, because there is a relatability to Alison and the way she cooks. Her recipes aren’t chef-y, they are practical, intuitive and fun. Plus, I love someone who unapologetically uses anchovies, herbs, capers, vinegars and lemon to make a dish sing. I couldn’t live without those things in my life, I get the feeling Alison couldn’t either. 

I highly recommend this book, but also definitely recommend Alison’s newsletter called ‘A Newsletter’ and checking out her YouTube series ‘Home Movies’. You can really get a sense of Alison’s way of cooking and use of ingredients from these, plus she shares fantastic recipes, some of which have also become family favourites for me. 

Bookmarked Recipes (to make later!): Crispy Halloumi with Honey and Pistachio p.49, Seeded Breadsticks with Parmesan p.66-7, Overnight Focaccia, Tonight p.70-1, A Better Garlic Bread/Caramelised Garlic on Toast with Anchovies, Tomatoes Dressed in Toasted Fennel and Anchovy p.112 and Tiny Creamy Pasta with Black Pepper and Pecorino p.176.

S'Mores and Other Good Things for Some Time At Home

With so many of us stuck at home, or living with restrictions here in Australia at the moment, I thought a good round of up recipes was in order.

Here are a selection of recipes you could try this weekend/school holidays/lockdown/any day really, both things that will take up some time and some that will be more instantly gratifying. All will be delicious. I hope some time in the kitchen can bring you a few moments of calm or welcome distraction, and that having something home made to eat will be like a delicious comfort blanket in these uncertain times we continue to live in. 

1. For something a little bit different, homemade S’mores with honey graham crackers are the perfect Winter/school holiday treat. This recipe was created last Winter for Grounded Pleasures, and I still have fond memories of all the recipe and taste testing. And if you like me can’t/don’t eat chocolate, I can confirm they are just as tasty and more-ish without. Good luck stopping at one! You can find the recipe on Grounded Pleasures website.

2. Lumberjack Cake - a delicious combination of apples and dates with a crunchy maple coconut topping. If you have any poached quince left you can use them instead of apples - no need to soak in the hot water with the dates, just chop and add to the mix. 

3. The original and the best, Caramilk Cookies. Easy. Simple. Delicious. Just make them.

4. I can say with absolutely certainty these White Choc Blondies with Marshmallows are the best blondies I’ve ever made. You could easily adapt and add milk or dark chocolate chips in the mix too. 

5. For a bread adventure try this Biscoff Babka (pictured below) made with soft pillowy challah dough. A lovely weekend baking project that is well worth the effort. Leftovers freeze well and it’s dairy free!

S’mores - recipe developed for Grounded Pleasures

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Lumberjack Cake

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Caramilk Cookies

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Blondies with Marshmallows

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Biscoff Babka

If you are after some light (mostly food related) entertainment I can highly recommend the following: 

1. Alison Roman’s You Tube series ‘Home Movies’ - I have made quite a few of these recipes, some more than once - namely the eggplant parm, carbonara, sheet pan chicken and shallot pasta - and I love her down to earth humour and practical way of cooking. I also appreciate her unwavering love of anchovies and dill, and all things packed with flavour. 

2. ABC Everyday Videos with Thanh Troung ‘The Fruit Nerd’ all about fruit buying and storing tips. Thanh is a wealth of knowledge in the most enthusiastic way, and has already educated us on choosing mandarins, oranges, storing our fruit (don’t keep it all in the same bowl!) and my favourite one, on what to look for when buying avocados. 

3. Nadiya Bakes and Time to Eat on Netflix - I love watching Nadiya Hussain’s TV series. The colourful sets, beautiful kitchens, interesting recipes and clam and friendly vibe Nadiya brings is just joyful. 

4. And finally, I’m sure most of us in Australia discovered Jimmy Rees’ ‘Meanwhile in Australia’ videos at some point in 2020, but on the off chance you haven’t and need a good laugh, please check them out. Each instalment is a parody on what’s going in in relation to COVID in Australia, with each state hilariously represented - sometimes featuring New Zealand too - all played by Jimmy. If you aren’t on social media you can find the videos on Jimmy’s YouTube channel. 

If you have anything you’d add to this list, please let me know in the comments below. And don’t forgot to tell me what you are baking at the moment too :)

S’mores - recipe developed for Grounded Pleasures.