Watching Bake Off and drooling over angel slices and fig rolls may have become a regular fixture for our Tuesday evenings, but making the transition to baking at home can feel like a big jump.
You have your baking tool essentials at the ready – but what next?
We’ve handpicked five cookbooks for beginners, all jam-packed with recipes to guide you through creating bread, pastries, cookies and cakes galore. Good luck!
Bake: 125 Show-Stopping Recipes, Made Simple Hardcover, Amazon, £5
Give your very own showstoppers a go (without a frosty Paul Hollywood to face at the end). Whether you’re a sweet or savoury fan, there’s something for everyone within these 125 recipes that are made simple. We’ve got our eye on the naked pecan and popcorn layer cake. Yum.
Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding: Sweet and Savoury Recipes from Britain’s Best Baker, Amazon, £19.10
With clear instructions and interesting flavour combinations, this book is filled to the brim with scrumptious bakes to try. Justin Gellatly, dubbed ‘The King Of Pudding’, has a wealth of experience under his belt, too – from kitchen porter to head chef – so if there’s anyone that understands the skills of a beginner baker, it’s him. Check out the butter fingers, they sound delicious.
Three Ingredient Baking, Waterstones, £12.99
You can’t get more simple than this. There are more than 100 recipes for cakes, desserts and biscuits to cook your way through. Think fluffy scones, dark chocolate and coconut bars, and palmier pastries. Best of all, they’re designed to fit around a busy lifestyle and limited budget. Hurrah.
Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan Baking, Foyles, £14.99
Satisfy everyone’s tastebuds with this cookbook. With easily available substitutions at the heart of each recipe – such as almond milk, soy butter, coconut oil and nut-based cream – you won’t need to compromise on quality or flavour. Whip up decadent doughnuts, rich cinnamon coffee cake, or a hearty focaccia bread to feast on.
Mary Berry’s Baking Bible, Waterstones, £26
Who better to teach us some serious baking skills than the queen of cakes herself? 250 recipes fill the pages of this ‘bible’, all accompanied with easy-to-follow instructions to help even the most inexperienced of bakers. It’s a foolproof guide to classic bakes, including Victoria sponge, chocolate cake and breakfast muffins.
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