Cookbooks to Learn From

I believe you can always learn something from a cookbook, but there are some out there that are designed to really teach you something or be an authority on a particular topic, cooking style, region etc. 

I love cookbooks that add to my knowledge on a particular area of cooking, or those I can use to refer back to when I need help with a particular technique or flavour pairing. Below is a list of some I find most useful.

What would you add to the list?

1. The Flavour Thesaurus and Lateral Cooking by Niki Segnit - Niki's books are the product of immense amounts of research and are so useful to have. The Flavour Thesaurus uses a flavour wheel to categorise different ingredients and then shows what combinations work and why. Lateral Cooking shows the links between cooking techniques and uses research from other cookbooks to explain how modifications can be made. There is a great interview with Niki on the Honey and Co Podcast where she explains the premise and work behind each book really well. These two books are probably the most used of my cooking reference books, they are filled with the answers to my questions and Lateral Cooking in particular is super useful for basic recipes and adapting recipes.

2. Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat - This list wouldn't be complete without Samin's super popular book! Samin shows us how salt, fat, acid and heat are the four main elements of cooking. This is a really worthwhile book to have, and there are some great interviews with Samin where she discusses her book on Radio Cherry Bombe and the Honey and Co Podcast. 

3. I also really love books like Citrus by Catherine Phipps, where one category of ingredient is the theme of the whole book. In Citrus, Catherine gives information about well and lesser known citrus and a whole variety of recipes in which they can be used. These types of books are great if you want to know more about a particular ingredient or often have an abundance of that ingredient. 

4. Books such as Pasta by Antonio Carluccio and Patisserie by Dupius and Cazor are great for getting an in depth look at a particular cooking technique or style. I love Antonio Carluccio's book Pasta, as it has some great tips for making pasta, different recipes and accompaniments for the pasta you've made. Books like Patisserie are great when you want to perfect skills that you may not use regularly in the kitchen. Both books have great step by step photos, and Patisserie has excellent illustrations of each dessert showing the layers and elements of each.

5. Finally, I love books such as Gastronomy of Italy by Anne Del Conte, Maggie's Harvest by Maggie Beer and How to Eat by Nigella Lawson as they are the kind of book you can use as a thesaurus to explain how to use particular ingredient or cook a particular type of dish. None of these books have many photos as they are heavy on useful information and I often use them when I have come across a particular ingredient and need some ideas as to how to cook it. I have found Maggie’s Harvest particularly useful when I am searching for ideas on how to cook a slightly less common ingredient such as duck eggs or zucchini flowers and Nigella’s book is really useful for those simple yet endlessly useful recipes like homemade stocks.

The Unexpected Perks of Lockdown

I was talking to a friend the other day, and we both agreed that small businesses pivoting to home delivery during lockdown has actually made some of these businesses more accessible to us than they have ever been before.

As much as I dream about travelling across Sydney to try some amazing looking food I’ve seen probably on Instagram, in reality, that dream remains just that, a dream. Mostly because it is completely impractical to spend the majority of a day travelling ages to buy a slice of cake. Plus even without lockdowns and the like, my desire to travel far and wide in my own city since the pandemic has reduced even lower than the relatively low levels I felt pre-pandemic. 

So being able to order almost anything online, not only allowed me to continue to support businesses, but try some products from businesses I probably never would have visited normally. 

Below are a few of my favourites I have tried during this now 11 week lockdown here in Sydney. What have you received via home delivery that you’ve really enjoyed lately?

Pepe Saya Butter - In pre-pandemic times I always found it hard to find a shop that stocked the majority if not all of the Pepe Saya range of butter and related products. Now I’ve found I can buy it all online, not only can I choose from the whole range, but the expiry dates on everything have a lot more leeway than what I could ever find in store. 

Butter Boy Bake - A fun cookie business I followed on Instagram with the vague thought that if I was ever in Manly where their store is, I might visit. Needless to say I haven’t been to Manly in many years and therefore never tried these cookies. Until Butter Boy Bake started delivering! Check their Instagram as they have select days where they will deliver to select suburbs on a rotating list. My favourite cookie was the birthday cake one!

Chiswick via Providoor - I’ve heard a bit about Providoor, and now there are quite a few restaurants on the Sydney version of the site. We ordered from Chiswick via Providoor recently and it was a really great meal, and dare I say, I enjoyed it more than going into an actual restaurant. 

Fabbrica Pasta - Another social media follow with vague hopes of one day visiting! Fabbrica regularly delivers within 7km of their store, however like Butter Boy select additional suburbs outside this radius each week to deliver also. Keep an eye out on their Instagram for the latest release of postcodes. I can highly recommend the Pork and Fennel Ragu. 

Brooklyn Boy Bagels (pictured above) - I got a delivery from Brooklyn Boy Bagels last Friday and it really made my day (possibly my whole week). Delivery was easy, and the range includes more than just bagels so I got a couple of loaves of challah and a sourdough as well. My freezer is now full of bread and I think that’s a good place to be.

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.