Posts Tagged “afternoon tea book”
Here it is. The Golden Book of Baking. A chunky golden ingot of a book. A gleaming brick of a tome. Another metallic and gift-quality edition in this series from Apple Press. A Christmas pressie that hardly needs wrapping. Gold edges, silken book-mark and gleaming belly jacket all shout “Pick me” …and you probably will….
This book goes right into my end-of-year Top Ten cookbook reads for 2010. No deliberation and no waiting in case another contender floats through the letterbox. The Great British Book of Baking is, in my opinion, everything that a good cookbook should be. This chunky volume is the companion to the BBC series of The…
Apple Press have a reputation for presenting cookbooks which are attractive and informative. I have recently reviewed Smoothie Heaven, and Cupcake Heaven indicates that there might be a series in the offing. Cupcake Heaven has a pastel palette, one large page per recipe, a picture of each of those tempting little confections, and plenty of…
It’s a trend that is enduring. These little cakes are practical to eat, they are versatile, being enjoyed equally by adults and children, and they are perfect for both casual and smart occasions. Yes, it’s true that the possibilities for producing delightful cupcakes are endless, but it’s often difficult to actually come up with the…
The author, Fiona Cairns, began producing cakes on her kitchen table 25 years ago. Her husband, Kishore, now managing director of the company, knew that there was a market for these beautifully decorated and delicious handmade cakes. In 2001 they moved out of the kitchen and into a state-of-the-art bakery in Leicestershire. Fiona is a…
It’s winter and we want to spend more time in our cosy kitchens. It’s the season for celebrations and indoor entertainment and cakes are often a big part of those events. Cupcakes are trendy and smart and Afternoon Tea has had a well-earned renaissance. Cake-making is back on the agenda. Baking is different from cooking….
It’s that time of year again when we start to think about heavy-duty cooking and baking for friends and family. We plan the Thanksgiving menu (if you hail from the US) and the Christmas meal and we even consider a nice bit of baking. Somehow the holiday season brings out the Martha Stewart or Delia…
The author of this marvellously ‘vintage’ volume is actually Lulu Gwynne rather than Betty Blythe as one assumes from the cover. Betty was a sexy actress in Hollywood when it was new and when films were considered brash. She was born Elizabeth Blythe Slaughter but changed her name (probably a good idea) to the shorter…
Well, the name ‘Tea and Crumpets’ is tempting but add a subtitle of Recipes and Rituals from European Tearooms and Cafés, and my attention is captured! Tea is a drink (or beverage if you hail from North American shores), yes, that’s true, but it’s also an institution, an event, a ceremony. A mug of tea,…
If ever there was a cookbook review I wanted to get right it’s this one. Johnny Acton and Nick Sandler are two very witty and talented cookbook authors. Although elevated to something approaching stardom on this site (perhaps that’s a bit much but their Preserved book was very nice), those two chaps bow to the…
Surely everyone would like a slice of cake. Many of us whenever we are allowed, and most of us at every opportunity. It’s naughty comfort food, a treat, a memory of childhood, and difficult to refuse on any grounds. Alisa Huntsman, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and her uncle Peter Wynne, author…
There are few things in life that are predictable. Death, taxes, bad weather at weekends, a ladder in your tights when you’re going out to dinner, and the quality of Grub Street books. They have developed the knack of selecting the most appealing of volumes to republish. Home Baked by George and Cecilia Scurfield is…
Now, I am not a girl with an overly sweet tooth. I can pass up a slice of most cakes without so much as a backward glance… but cookies, or biscuits if you are British, that’s a different story. The appeal of a cookie is its size. They offer a delicious sweet treat in just…
This is a classy large-format volume by Jane Price. It’s one of the Kitchen Classics series from Murdoch Books and if this isn’t a classic yet it soon will be. The photography by Jared Fowler is first-rate and helps to give the book a sumptuous feel. We all want or need to throw a party…
The Golden Book of Chocolate has got to be the gift book of the year. It has impact in both size and quality of presentation. It’s sumptuous with gilt-edged pages reminiscent of a family bible. Those nice people at Apple Press informed me that this volume came with a gold belly jacket. I was pleased……
Tana Ramsay has a book with one of the prettiest covers around, with a moiré silk-effect dust jacket. Home Made – Good Honest Food Made Easy gives a first impression of old-fashioned values and warmth. A marvellously well illustrated volume with lots of charming shots of Tana’s kids. This is, after all, a family cookbook….
This gorgeous large volume deserves to be right alongside your encyclopaedia and atlas. Tea – A Journey in Time, Pioneering and Trials in the Jungle has a classic, almost Victorian, feel and it is a visual pleasure. The author is a gentleman by the name of John Weatherspoon and it’s only by the turn of…
This is a lovely book from Jane Pettigrew and The National Trust. It draws on Jane’s expertise as a tea expert (nice choice of words, huh?) and presents what must be one of the finest collections of traditional recipes for afternoon tea goodies. The British are known to be big tea drinkers but we are…
From the cacao pod to muffins, mousses and molés! This is such a lovely book with large photographs by Francesca Yorke (if they were any bigger they would be posters). Caroline Jeremy has compiled delicious recipes and Claire Fry has designed a most attractive and appealing book. It’s colourful, sumptuous and tasteful. You would all…
This is Philippa Vanstone’s first book and I am sure there will be many more. Tarts and Pies – Classic and Contemporary is lovely with both photographs (Michelle Garrett) and recipes to be proud of. It’s a bold, colourful volume with clear text and easy to follow recipes. They are easy to follow because they…