The Best of British Baking
Is anyone else watching The Great British Baking Show?* It’s on PBS on Sunday nights and I’ve been obsessed for the past two months. It’s just so very British – from the gorgeous estate where they set up the competition tent, to the Union Jack bunting everywhere, to the way they call cookies “biscuits” and measure everything with scales instead of cups and spoons.
Like any competition show, someone is eliminated every week, but unlike most American competitions, there’s no one here you’re happy to see leave. It’s very low drama, or I should say, the drama all comes from the stress of making ice cream in a hot tent, or whether your layer cake will stay upright. The bakers are all friendly, they help each other out in a pinch, and you never get the sense that anyone was chosen for their personality over their baking skills.
The library doesn't have any of the official British Bake Off cookbooks, but if you, like me, have been watching the show and want to explore the world of British baking, we can help!
Nigella Lawson is one of the queens of British cooking, and in this book she focuses mainly on baking. She gets recipe inspiration from all over the world, but there’s a strong English flavor to everything she makes. Try the Gooey Chocolate Stack (three layers of chocolate meringue sandwiched with chocolate pastry cream and topped with pistachios – it looks glamorous and tastes ridiculously good!).
One of the bestselling English cookbook authors but not very well known in America, Lorraine Pascal shows in this book that baking can be a little healthier without sacrificing any of the taste. I’m looking forward to trying her lightened-up Tarte au Citron this spring!
Not just a baking book, this is an American’s take on English food. Brian Yarvin has traveled extensively in England and wants to get rid of the myth that all British food is terrible! He has one of the clearest-written, best explained recipes for Hot Water Crust Pastry that I’ve come across.
An older, unflashy, navy blue book that easily gets lost among their more colorful neighbors on the shelf, this is a classic and full of good old-fashioned British desserts, the sort of thing you read about in Harry Potter – treacle tart, sticky toffee pudding, and rhubarb crumble.
Recipes from a London bakery, recommended by both Nigella Lawson and Jude Law – what’s not to like?
Both a cookbook and the story of an English tea room in New York. It’s perfect if you’re planning a tea party or want something comforting for dinner – things like cauliflower cheese, fish cakes, and Victoria Sponge (which is not a sponge at all but a light, buttery cake sandwiched with cream and jam).
All of the River Cottage books are great and focus on sustainable, responsible eating and agriculture. Don’t be fooled by the “Bread” in the title; there are lots of non-yeast recipes for people who don’t want to ferment their own sourdough or spend all day waiting for things to rise! And it’s very British – Lardy Cake, anyone? Spelt Digestive?
Subtitled “The Best of Home Baking”, and it really is. It’s heavier than it looks and contains recipes for everything from tea cakes to raspberry tarts to savory pies. I want to make it all!
Who hasn’t heard of Jamie Oliver? All of his books are great, but I chose this one since it focuses on British food and the sort of retro classics that the average English person would be familiar with – crumbles and rice pudding with rhubarb and something called an Arctic Roll that is sponge cake wrapped around ice cream that I’m dying to try this summer!
Saving my favorite for last, this is both a cookbook and the autobiography of a man who’s been a chef at Buckingham Palace and was Princess Diana’s personal chef for several years. The recipes all come with inside information about which member of the royal family particularly likes it – there’s even a recipe for the Queen’s favorite birthday cake.
*In Britain it’s called “The Great British Bake Off, but apparently here Pillsbury owns the term Bake Off, so they had to change the name.
