Sue Baker's view...

Pam Corbin’s cakes might not win first prize in a beauty parade but they’ll win heaps of praise when they’re served at the tea table, good, honest down-to-earth cakes and how to make them a success every time. Beginners will be thrilled to find uncomplicated easy to follow recipes and avid cake-bakers will find some new ideas to try, good local specialities and a few of Pam Corbin’s own inventions too.

Like for Like Reading:
Mary Berry’s Ultimate Cake Book, Mary Berry
How to be a Domestic Goddess, Nigella Lawson

Synopsis

Baking is the most comforting and entirely satisfying of the culinary arts - making a cake is not only a sumptuous process in its own right but the end result is entirely delicious. Pam Corbin gives an insightful introduction on the history of cake making and its significance today, followed by a detailed guide to ingredients, equipment, and basic techniques to guarantee successful cake baking in the home. This is traditional baking at its very best, with over 75 adaptable recipes including Macaroons, Meringues, Fairy Cakes (and their counterpart - Gnome Cakes), the classic Victoria Sandwich, Yorkshire Rhubarb Gingerbread, Walnut Cake, Blueberry Yoghurt Cake, Orange Cake with Earl Grey Icing, and the glorious Battenberg Cake with its distinctive pink and yellow checks. As a finishing touch, there is a section devoted to sweet embellishments like feather icing, crystallised violets and chocolate leaves. Say goodbye to sinking sponges and brittle brownies with this comprehensive guide to the heavenly world of cake making.

About the Author

Pam Corbin has been making preserves for as long as she can remember, and for more than twenty years her passion has been her business. Pam and her husband Hugh moved to Devon where they bought an old pig farm and converted it into a small jam factory. Always using good, wholesome, seasonal ingredients, their products, sold under the Thursday Cottage label, soon became firm favourites with jam-lovers the world over. Pam has now hung up her professional wooden spoon but continues to 'jam' at home. She also works closely with the River Cottage team, making seasonal goodies using fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers from her own garden, from Park Farm, and from the fields and hedgerows. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation