Team Bookends Perfect Picks For Some Easter Baking!

Whatever your plans are this Easter, make it memorable with a baking recipe to impress your friends or family! 

Whether you want to rustle up classic cakes or a fast and easy bake, these books will guide you along the way or just give you the ultimate foodie inspiration!

Fast Cakes: Easy bakes in minutes by Mary Berry 

Fast Cakes is the unmissable and definitive baking book from Mary Berry. Mary has incorporated her ‘all-in-one’ method of preparation into as many recipes as possible, so her recipes are faster to make than ever. Nearly 100 of the bakes take only 10 minutes to make and Mary has included small bake variations for fruit cakes, which traditionally take a long time in the oven, so you can make one even when you are pushed for time.

There are scones, buns and biscuits that you can whip up for tea, traybakes and fruit loaves perfect for a school or village fete and of course foolproof cakes for every occasion from everyday recipes such as a Honey and Almond Cake to Mary’s First-Rate Chocolate Cake. Not forgetting recipes you can make with your kids from Happy Face Biscuits to Traffic Lights and Jammy Buns.

If you miss Mary’s wisdom and inspiration in The Great British Bake Off, or want a brand-new companion to Mary Berry’s Baking Bible, this is the cookbook for you, with over 150 easy recipes to make with confidence.

Straightforward recipes you can trust, Fast Cakes is a must-have for all busy bakers.

Bake it Better: Classic Cakes by The Great British Bake Off

Whether you are new to baking and looking for simple, easy recipes or a more confident baker looking to develop your skills and repertoire, with The Great British Bake Off you can be sure you’re getting scrumptious, tried-and-tested recipes.

The recipes themselves include traditional classics and modern bakes, and progress from simple through to more challenging showstoppers. Bake it Better will take you a journey from first timer to star baker. With expert advice about ingredients, equipment and techniques, and easy-to-follow step-by-step photographs.

Bake It Better are the ‘go to’ cookery books which gives you all the recipes and baking know-how in one easy-to-navigate series.

Honey & Co: The Baking Book

Husband-and-wife team, Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer run Honey & Co restaurant in London’s Fitzrovia. Their restaurant of ten tables brings the magic of homely Middle Eastern soul food to a hungry crowd. Honey & Co: The Baking Book is their guide to their ideal bakes!

Our day is marked by what comes out of the pastry section, and there’s always something good on the way: sticky buns full of cherries and pistachios in the morning; a loaf of rich dough rolled with chocolate, hazelnuts and cinnamon that has been proving since dawn and comes out of the oven fresh for elevenses. Lunch is a crisp, crumbly shell of pastry filled with spiced lamb or burnt aubergine, and at teatime there are cheesecakes and fruit cakes, small cakes and massive cookies – so many cakes that it’s hard to choose one. (There’s no need to worry, whatever you choose will be great!) After dinner there might be poached peaches with roses or something more traditional, sweet and salty Knafe drenched in orange blossom syrup, or maybe just a small piece of fresh marzipan. There’s something sweet, something in the oven for everyone, all day long – welcome to Honey & Co.

Chapters include:
How to be good at baking: general notes; Store cupboard; Sweet & savoury breakfasts; Elevenses; Lunch; Teatime; Traditional desserts

The Borough Market Cookbook by Ed Smith

Borough Market is the beating heart of London’s food scene. Every year millions of locals and tourists flock to Borough Market to soak up the unique atmosphere, interact with the expert traders and sample the world-class produce.

This gorgeous book takes you on a tour of a year at the Market, from the beginning of spring, through Easter and Midsummer, to Apple Day in October and the switching on of the lights at Christmas – with the most delicious recipes highlighting the very best of those celebrations.

Divided by season, each recipe celebrates at least one hero ingredient from that time of year: why not try Chilled asparagus soup in spring; Rolled pork belly and sticky nectarines in summer; Beetroot dal in autumn; or Clementine sponges with cranberry sauce in winter? Along the way, you’ll be introduced to key seasonal ingredients with shopping and preparation tips, straight from the artisan producers, that will change how you cook for ever.

Packed full of beautiful photography, much of it shot on location at Borough throughout the year, this is a cookbook that will inspire food lovers and home cooks everywhere, even if they only follow Borough Market from afar.

The Joy of Baking by Steph Blackwell 

‘The Joy of Baking is a wonderful book: warm, engaging, non judgemental and completely accessible’ Ruby Tandoh

Discover the therapeutic power of baking in this warm and uplifting book, and embrace a world of floury calm with 20 mouth-watering recipes

This book encourages you to become absorbed in the everyday magic of transforming a few simple ingredients into something utterly delicious. From the focus of baking sourdough to the quick-win of a cheesy biscuit, gut-friendly muffins to crowd-pleasing carrot cake, there is a recipe for every mood and every occasion.

Steph Blackwell took her own baking journey to the final of The Great British Bake Off, and having experienced the wellbeing benefits of baking first-hand, she is on a mission to share her passion with others and sprinkle a little baking joy in the world.