Fast Cakes: Easy Bakes in Minutes

Confession time - it is around 15 years since I last baked. Terrible admission I know but life kinda skittered away with that free time and despite a Great British Bake Off obsession I never really felt much like taking it up again. Cue a week ago and the urge suddenly strikes and after buying in the basics I suddenly realise I no longer have a single cookbook. Being the impatient type I decided to risk buying some for my Fire tablet, I am really pleased with how this book displays on the tablet and how easy it is to skim through looking for what I want to bake. So far I've made 3 items from this book - the marble cake, the marble traybake and the madeira cake. The marble cake was a bit of a disaster but as a first attempt at making anything using the all in one method - ever! - I can't say I'm surprised really. Then I tried the other two recipes and I am really pleased with how they came out. Not too sure about the lemon in the madeira cake though, to me madeira should be vanilla so I will look for an alternate recipe but that is personal taste. The traybake in particular came out very well and was tasty, plus it keeps very well in an airtight tupperware. Most recipes are made using the all-in-one method so only take minutes to whip up using an electric mixer (yes, I had to buy one of those too). The whole book is designed for people with busy lives who still want the treat of home baking to snack on and many of the recipes are literally, preheat the oven, chuck everything in to a bowl and mix, cook for x minutes. Really takes some of the mystique out of baking and makes it accessible to everyone. I am now regretting buying 2 other books first as this is definitely going to be my go to book. Already decided what I am going to try next (when we finally finish last weeks bakes) and lets see if I can actually make a decent biscuit following these pared back recipes as that is something that always eluded me.

Excellent, easy to follow recipes.

Book arrived in mint condition excellent and Mary berry is back to using spread for her recipes. Yes Aldi are saving the day with their "best for Baking spread" This not in book but I get good results and it's better than the stork brand my mother used etc To be fair Mary does mention in her book "Baking Bible" that margarine is not very common as it used to be so she's using butter in that book but before had used margarine in most recipes . But let's get to this book it's clearly up to date and excellent instructions on baking and Techniques.Ok Iam a novice baking male mature one but had many years of licking my mum's cake mixture bowl when a child and I am a expert beater of eggs etc from this period early 70s etc . If your hesitating about baking cakes here's your solution. Ok what the book doesn't explain is washing and drying the dishes .yes this book gets 6 Stars its that good. It's important to read the first few pages on basics equipment types and ingredients available . Be brave watching Mary and her colleagues doing the cooking is the lazy way .Buy this book and roll up the sleeves you are now working and not a couch potato .. Remember to make a shopping list for what this book has in it . Amazon will be a good place to start for a food mixer with a K blade etc and baking trays,electronic scales ,pyrex bowls the list is a long one .( All in book) You are now a expert and can watch Mary make sponge cakes etc and chuckle to yourself that when you watch her television program with a slice of Victoria sponge with butter cream that you earned that cake by doing it yourself etc . Another postive at back of book at least 20 pages of recipes for children. Finally my Mary Berry Scones have turned out greatly superiorly to another cookery book I used its recipe and it was ok but MBs was much nicer and I will now have to start a gym membership to fight the inches .This book like most MBs would make a great present for a loved one . Yes my neighbours and family have sampled my baking cusine sorry MBs recipes so she must take the credit here . My brother did like her scones with butter and strawberry jam .NB important Mary Berry states you need a pot of Tea for these cakes to gel etc .

Given to my teenage granddaughter, she loves it!

Really lovely book, it’s a gift & I know my friend will love it.

Perfect

A staple of any bakers recipe collection, this book is absolutely fantastic for anyone with even a passing interest in baking as the recipes are simple and very easy to follow. Perfect for someone with a busy life or not much time as almost all the recipes use the one bowl method. Everything I've tried has turned out great and I absolutely swear by the basic traybake recipe - it's amazing!. Their is a variety of recipes including simple layered cakes, biscuits, cheesecakes and even some more challenging recipes for more adventurous bakers like a battenburg. The recipes aren't boring either, with a collection of classics as well as more interesting recipes such as a red velvet traybake or spiced toffee traybake (strongly recommend this one, it's divine!). Their is even a very helpful troubleshooting page at the beginning of the book that helps explain the causes of common baking problems if something goes wrong. I would definitely, definitely recommend to this book to anyone from beginners to more skilled bakers. Also works as a great foundation for basic cake recipes that you can experiment with to make your own.

This book was recommended to me and I am so please I purchased it from Amazon. After receiving it with next day delivery I couldn't wait to browse through it. I was spoil for choice with so many easy delicious cake recipes. This books makes easy work when making a cake. Each one I have made is so delicious that I usually make a few at a time and they freeze well too.

Probably the best simple cake recipe book on the market. Cleverly written to appear “simple” don’t be fooled; the recipes produce fairly sophisticated results. The book was appealing, it was kept even though though It was damaged during posting. Definitely worth the investment.

È certamente un buon libro con tante buone ricette spiegate molto bene. Io amo i dolci di Mary Berry

Parfait pour moi

The recipes truly are quick and easy. Not too many ingredients. A scale is needed for all the recipes. There are several British ingredient terms that I had to ask about or look up. Overall a great cookbook.

If you want to bake on a daily base, this book is a must have. The instructions are very accurate and easy to follow.