annieb123's Review of Everyday Bakes to Showstopper Cakes

by Mich Turner

In Everyday Bakes to Showstopper Cakes, celebrity baker Mich Turner brings together a collection of recipes to take you all the way from the delicious everyday through to the spectacular.

This cook book is perfect for those looking to sharpen up their baking skills and creat cakes and bakes that truly wow, filled with mouthwatering flavours

Starting out with simple cakes, biscuits and cupcakes, once you have mastered this first level, Mich provides you with a few extra steps to turn these into fabulous creations.

If you’re looking for more of a challenge or to elevate a favourite, these bakes are easily adapted to create a true showstopper cake.

The book is divided into sections with recipes on:

Cupcakes - Start small with delicate but delicious bakes from carrot cupcakes with citrus drizzle to gin and tonic party cakes or marble ring cakes with double chocolate drip.
Loaf cakes, traybakes and meringues - from raspberry and pistachio meringue roulade to a warming ginger loaf cake, these bakes are great for bakers of any ability.
Layer cakes - Concoct a true show stopper with delicious and enticing layers, with recipes including red velvet cake with a white chocolate mirror glaze, strawberry shortcake floral stacks and chocolate fondant cake with fresh roses.
Celebration cakes - Create pièce de résistance for holidays, events and special occasions, from Halloween mini-rolls to Venetian easter eggs or a pirate piñata birthday cake.

Covering a full range of bakery goods as well as perfect flavours, whether you are a novice baker or already know your rum baba from your roulade, you can be easily guided through these delicious bakes and simple but spectacular decoration techniques that make the most of wonderful flavours and perfect crumb.

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Everyday Bakes to Showstopper Cakes is a progressive guide and recipe book for bakers for creating simple to elaborate cakes and baked desserts. Due out 10th March 2020 from Quarto on their Frances Lincoln imprint it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

The book has a nice and logical layout. The introductory recipes are easy enough for beginner bakers and the following chapters build on the earlier concepts and finishes. The book is arranged roughly thematically with cupcakes followed by loaves, tray-bakes, and meringues, on to cakes and then celebratory and really fancy cakes.

Recipe ingredients are listed in a bullet sidebar with both metric and American standard *weights* given. These recipes use weights for most of the flours to give a more consistent result. Info and tips about the ingredients or the recipes themselves are given in sidebars below the preparation information. Yields are stated in the header info. Nutritional information and special diet concerns/allergens (nuts, celery, wheat, etc) are not given.

These are yummy and (mostly) made from easily sourced ingredients.

Each of the recipes includes an introductory description, ingredients listed in a bullet point sidebar, step by step instructions. All of the recipes are accompanied by photographs. The photos provided are high quality, clear, and easy to follow. There are a number of really beautifully presented desserts here including some appealing and impressive holiday bakes.

The recipe ingredients themselves are easily sourced and will be available at most well stocked grocery stores. There are a very few ingredients which might be a little more difficult to source, but definitely nothing that is 'way out there'.

Four and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

Everyday Bakes to Showstopper Cakes

by Mich Turner

Reviewed by annieb123 on Mar 1, 2020

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