Cookbook review: Bake by Rachel Allen

I love a new cookbook, the photography is now a joy to look at in itself and I love the window shopping experience that flicking through a new cookbook provides, you can almost taste it with no calories and no washing up!  Very few cookbooks would not receive a good review from me at this level. This is the reason that cookbook reviews always arouse my suspicion if the cook book is recently released.

There is a whole other level of experience with a cookbook. Has it become spattered with use, are there notes in the margin adjusting temperatures to your oven, quantities to your appetites and ingredients to local availability? Are there half a dozen or more recipes which have become part of your regular repertoire? This knowledge can only come with time which is why you will never find a comprehensive cookbook review on cleansheets for a recently released cookbook, it wouldn't live up to the clean sheets promise.

I had started watching the series before I got the book and The Princess was completely mesmerised by each programme, she was allowed to stay up "late" to watch it and the format held her concentration for the whole episode to my amazement (she was not yet 3 at the time.) The series is currently available on RTE Player and, as a treat her and I indulge in an episode now and again.

The recipes include a variety of each baking staple: cakes, buns, crumbles, biscuits and breads and to my surprise and delight some baked meals too. I am not a prolific baker, but there is plenty of realistic inspiration and practical instruction in this book. There is plenty of choice for birthday parties, desserts for entertaining, picnic and lunch box treats, and even a wedding cake suggestion, in fact a familys' baking recipe needs are comprehensively provided for in this book.  

Everything I have tried has worked, even the Vanilla Butter cream Icing which has challenged some I believe. Following the instructions to the letter, I have managed it twice, (it is delicious and worth the effort by the way.)

While I love kitchen shops my cupboard space is not limitless so I particularly like that owning 20cm tins (either sandwich or spring-form), and a loaf tin will enable you to cook all but 4 of the cake recipes. As you may never need to buy another book for cake recipes, it's even better not to have to buy another tin either!

Here are the recipes I have tried, I will be happy to use all again, for the ones I am looking forward to trying, see the index in its entirety! This brings me to my only criticism of the book the contents page lists only the "chapters" and not the recipes but the index is comprehensive but a little slower to search than a more complete contents page would have been.

Basic Cookie Recipe (and some of the variations)

Oat and Vanilla Shortbread Cookies (quick and really quite special little biscuits despite plain ingredients)

Lemon Cupcakes

Fairy Cakes

Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cake

Lentil Dhal (a favourite for our weekly vegetarian night)

Baked Chicken with Lemon and Garlic ( a comforting dish with tasty brothy juices- in my oven the cooking time was a bit short so I have written in a note to leave it a liitle longer.)

Oh, and my mum tried the poppy seed cake - thankfully, while I was visiting (for the benefit of this review, I mean ;-)) it was yum too.

A definite thumbs up for this book which does exactly what it say on the cover simply, tastily and practically.

Comments

[Orla Kerbey]

I love this book too. It is currently the book I am using the most, partly because it is the only one that I can put my hand to amid the boxes and the moving!!!

I have to say though, that the most amazing images in a food book can be found in the French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller. The images, the words, the notes, just everything is amazing. This place is on my "places to visit before I die" list!!!

[Sara]

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Sara

http://pianonotes.info

[Cleansheets]

A little postscript:
Some of these recipes are on
http://uktv.co.uk/food/chef/aid/530905
with video.
Some of the recipes are also on Rachel's own site - so you can try before you buy!
http://www.rachelallen.co.uk/

[Cleansheets]

Hi Sara, Welcome to cleansheets. Thank you for your kind words. I checked out your blog and thought you might be interested in something I just heard on RTE Radio 1 on Today with Pat Kenny in the last few minutes about children and learning music. They podcast too.
Thanks again.