Cupcakes!

Dear readers,

*note- this recipe book is copyrighted therefore I won't be able to share the recipes- apologies! 

For those of you who are interested in a recipe book FULL of amazing cupcake recipes, I highly recommend 'Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery'.

Just like the previous recipe book, there are chapters which cover other helpful, but more professional elements of baking such as 'Basic Icings' and 'Decorations' which I personally find very interesting and informative.

One of the first things I noticed about this book is "from the Primrose Bakery". I thought as these recipes are from a real bakery, the cupcakes must be of high quality and taste incredible! I was a bit intimidated at first - I mean how could I bake 'professional' cupcakes?! But my worries soon disappeared when I flicked through and saw the chapters "Techniques and Equipment" and "Stockists". The last chapter is especially helpful- there are names of shops and companies which sell baking equipment, alongside contact details and what is available. However, I feel it will benefit beginner bakers such as myself more, as I am scared of buying the wrong/ bad quality equipment!

Did anyone see the quotation? "This is an utterly enchanting book." - Nigella Lawson. I take it that this very recipe book is approved by the popular and respected Nigella Lawson- therefore it is obviously reliable and "enchanting"! If any of you are interested in Nigella, take a look at Dionne and Grace's posts which are both incredibly informative!

Let us now talk about the actual recipe book. Unlike 'The Beautiful Baking Book', this recipe book is bigger, slightly heavier with a hardback cover making it more sturdy. In terms of presentation, there are a few similarities between the two recipe books. Firstly, colour- although the pages are coloured, they are of a pastel shade rather than bold. The images of the brightly coloured cakes definitely stand out next to the pastel. Each cake is bursting with colour, whether it's the actual cake or the decorations. The icing and decorations also make each cake look 'professional'. Similarly to the children's recipe book, a curved font is used throughout, making it more feminine and fun.

The recipe book starts off with an 'Introduction' where readers are given some background information about the owners of The Primrose Bakery. We are told that the owners are two mothers, both with young children.To me, this is reassuring as they are ordinary people like us. It definitely boosted my confidence as, if they can do it- So can I! It also acts as a form of encouragement, persuading readers to experiment and bake for themselves. We are then given an idea of their rise to success- "[their] first cakes were built at home, in a domestic oven in Lisa's kitchen.. " - once again, something very doable for us. THEN. We are told that they "have supplied cakes for designers for Fashion Week. [They] have made cupcakes for Elton John's 60th birthday party and for the Brits music awards." Wow. Okay. I can't do that- but it is such a great, and definitely impressive transition from baking at home to baking for the biggest stars and events.

There is a short introduction for each chapter accompanied with eight photographs-

Speaking of photographs, there are LOADS. Even if you're not interested in baking I'm sure you may be interested in looking at cakes. They are extremely professional looking and definitely mouth-watering.

Finally, the actual recipes-

The recipes are presented in a traditonal form where an image of the finished product is placed next to it. The layout of the recipe is very similar to the children's recipe book- the ingedients and directions are clearly split up. However, there is a peritext surrounding each recipe. The peritexts mainly consist of the tastes of each cake or some helpful tips which will improve the outcome. One slight difference is that there isn't a section informing readers on how long the cooking time is. This may be a bit of a problem for someone who wants to find the quickest recipe, but then again, I'm guessing for the two authors, baking isn't something to be rushed- perfection takes time.

After looking at this recipe book in detail, I feel that it is suitable for nearly everyone. The younger audience may not be too interested due to the lack of decorations on the pages. However, I find the design of this recipe book very sensible with a hint of sophistication. The explanatory language used throughout, alongside the other chapters will definitely guide all bakers whether you're a beginner or a professional.

If any of you are interested in purchasing this recipe book, you can find it on Primrose Bakery, Amazon or The Works   **it's in price order** ;)

You can also visit their website here which is just as welcoming as their recipe book. There are even classes you can attend to improve baking skills.