What Mary Berry book should I own? - Book Recommendations - Eat Your Books

Forum

Search the Forum
Welcome Guest! You can not login or register.

Notification

Icon
Error
What Mary Berry book should I own?   Go to last post Go to last unread
Options
Previous Topic Next Topic
Nichill
avatar
#1 Posted : Friday, October 9, 2015 5:35:05 PM(UTC)
I'm a happy fan of the Great British Bake Off, and am considering transfering my loyalty from Delias Book of Cakes to something by Mary Berry. But there are so many to choose from. Which would you recommend?

I never bought her in the days pre bake-off, as I didn't have an Aga, and didn't know she did anything else. I don't want an 'accompanies the series' one, unless it is mainly about cakes. I'm also worried that recent books will be a team compilation effort, rather than her own writing.

How far back should I go to get the authentic Mary Berry on cakes?
debkellie
avatar
#2 Posted : Friday, October 9, 2015 6:52:09 PM(UTC)

With 141 Mary Berry books in the EYB library, that's certainly a lot to choose from..maybe the popularity ranking of those would be of some assistance in your quest? Which has Mary Berry's baking bible as the favorite amonsgt EYB'ers!

Foodycat
avatar
#3 Posted : Saturday, October 10, 2015 2:44:29 PM(UTC)

I think you are right that the Bake Off books are ensemble efforts - I think they are mainly by Linda Collister.


 


I don't have any of Mary Berry's books myself, but I do like her Florentines recipe!

DeborahG
avatar
#4 Posted : Sunday, October 11, 2015 4:56:52 AM(UTC)

I have her Ultimate Cake Book and it's pretty comprehensive, and in my experience the recipes work really well. Both my daughters got their own copies when they left home. It does reflect its period though - even way back then I'd sub butter for the margarine she suggested.

Foodycat
avatar
#5 Posted : Monday, October 12, 2015 4:03:36 AM(UTC)

DeborahG;6724 wrote:


I have her Ultimate Cake Book and it's pretty comprehensive, and in my experience the recipes work really well. Both my daughters got their own copies when they left home. It does reflect its period though - even way back then I'd sub butter for the margarine she suggested.



 


Even in her new recipes she uses "baking spread" instead of butter. I don't understand it at all! The taste of the butter in a homemade cake is part of the pleasure for me.

Choclette
avatar
#6 Posted : Thursday, October 15, 2015 2:35:37 PM(UTC)

I love Mary Berry on Bake Off, but don't own any of her books either. Given she's a fan of margarine over butter, poor quality chocolate and too much sugar in her bakes, I'm happy keeping it that way.

debkellie
avatar
#7 Posted : Thursday, October 15, 2015 5:00:39 PM(UTC)

Sometimes those choices are a consequence of the author's age, but at other times they are a consequence of audience & budgetary issues .. substitiuting better quality will always pay off, but you do need to pay for that trade off - maybe some of her readers may not be so fortunate!

Nichill
avatar
#8 Posted : Friday, October 23, 2015 5:10:17 PM(UTC)
Thank you all for your suggestions. I'll take a good long look at the Baking Bible. I'm not bothered about the margarine, as I'm so used to substituting butter into Delia's recipes that it won't register as more dubious than usual. It is strange. I believe they must think that the baking results are so superior that the flavour compromise is reasonable.
We have ended up acquiring a Linda Collister bake off Learn to Bake, which looks really cook for my children to learn baking techniques. I like the step by step pictures, and the range of recipes. It should provide them with a solid foundation. The difficulty then is co-ordinating twin 6-year-olds in harmonious baking. Not everything can be solved with a better cookbook!
You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.