Bake: The Essential Companion

by Alison Thompson, Alison Thompson

With more than 200 mouthwatering recipes including all-time favorites, this beautifully illustrated baking book is the only one you'll need.

Baking is a form of alchemy--the art of turning mundane everyday ingredients into something extraordinary. Pastry chef Alison Thompson has studied at the sides of some of the world's most celebrated pastry chefs for years, learning the art and science of baking. In Bake: The Essential Companion , Alison shares the creations that continue to delight her clientele and her family.

There's a recipe here for every occasion and every part of your meal--dinner, side dishes and, of course, dessert! With more than 200 mouthwatering recipes including her all-time favorite bread recipes, cakes and cookies, Alison also presents dozens of unique pastry recipes that you usually only find in a specialty pastry shop. She even includes a section on gluten-free baking with over 20 gluten-free recipes. With this baking cookbook at your side, you'll become adept at conjuring some fantastic baking magic--it's like taking a cooking class in the comfort of your own home!

Recipes include:

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking

272 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2012

About the author

Alison Thompson is a professional chef and pastry chef who has worked with the world's finest pastry chefs in Melbourne and London, and has spent time at London's famed Little Venice Cake Company. Alison is the founder and head pastry chef of Alison Louise Designer Cakes just outside Melbourne, Australia.

Reviews

[Suhailah Iskandar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gladly, positively happy because I got many great good recipes to spark my interest in baking. Wow a good start 2 books; cooking & baking genre.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this baking book, and the author is apparently a world-renowned pastry chef from Australia who used to work in London and is now back in Melbourne (sorry never heard of her). Aside from that, the book was a nice glimpse into how enjoyable and easy baking can be. It is nice to see an international edition, where the measurements are both in metric and US Imperial, so I can actually use the recipes without having to convert everything. I do enjoy British cookbooks but the conversion measurements take forever. Every recipe has a lovely picture, so you have some idea of what it is supposed to look like when you finish them. I am very excited to try her Sourdough Bread as it has an interesting preparation (i.e. different from traditional starters). Her recipe for Hot Cross Buns also looks excellent, as we were pretty disappointed after we tried some at a local church last year and they were dry and flavorless. I liked her recipes because even though the titles sounded complicated, the recipes themselves look pretty easy to handle. Some of the other recipes I'd like to try include the Apricot Streusel Cake, Pumpkin Orange and Poppy Seed Cake, Ginger Cake with Whipped Honey Buttercream, Hazelnut and Chocolate Meringue Layer Cake (topped with Gianduja), Smoked Salmon and Dill Savory Scones, and Spanikopita with Homemade Phyllo. 4 stars.

[Sandra Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love baking! There's just something so satisfying abut making yummy, from-scratch baked goods for my family--like the Savory Scones (Cheese & Mustard version) I just took from the oven. Personally, I think the oven should be hotter. It says 15-20 min at 340F, but I cooked them over 25 min--the last 5 min bumped up to 350F--and they're still a tad doughy in the middle. The flavor is amazing, though!! I made the Cornish Pasties for my daughters for a picnic and they absolutely LOVED them...and so did I!


This cookbook is filled with scrumptious recipes and lovely photos. It's broken into sections from Breads to Cakes, Pastries, Cookies, Croissants and even a gluten-free section! There's lots more recipes I can't wait to try. I hope the flavors stay up the high standard these have set! I did drop the rating a bit due to the uncertainty that all the temperatures/times will be accurate.


I received a copy of this book from Tuttle Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of lovely pictures and recipes, though none in particular spoke to me.