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Let's Bake
From parties to picnics, lunchboxes to the last day of school, and with Halloween and summer holidays in between - here you'll find 52 easy, delicious recipes for beginner bakers, and fool-proof family baking for every occasion.Step-by-step instructions, photographs, and all the tricky bits explained in a fun and friendly way - there's no one better than Cathryn Dresser to get mums, dads and kids baking together.With twists on old favourites and new ideas to try, LET'S BAKE is an instant kitchen classic.So what are you waiting for? Let's Bake!
- GenresCooking
221 pages, Hardcover
First published May 20, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 11, 2017
I don't know how to rate this book, on one hand it is very attractive, recipes clearly shown in photos and step by step instructions and there are some appealing and fun looking recipes for children, oat biscuits with marzipan bees, apple tray bake with toffee frosting and sparklers, date cakes with fondant icing spiders on.
We tried some and were suprised how many errors and discrepancies there were between the method, ingredients and photos. One recipe for biscuits that had no mention of egg in the ingredients or step by step photos but in the method told you to 'next add the egg'. One recipe for cakes gave a quantity of frosting that covered the cakes an inch thick (way more than the photo showed) before we had got through less than half the frosting. One method mentioned washing, coring and chopping the cooking apples but not peeling them but I noticed in the photo they were peeled, another recipe I notice the method tells you to gradually add beaten egg to the creamed butter and sugar whereas the photo shows three whole eggs added straight in!
This is confusing for children, the whole point of the book being that children can use this book to cook alone, my daughter loves cooking on her own or with a friend but with this book I was called over constantly because they couldn't understand the recipe, and when I read it, it wasn't that clear to me either!
Not a successful children's cooking book, I can't believe someone didn't just check through this before publication because it's such a shame as the concept is a good idea and the recipes we tried did taste good.
We tried some and were suprised how many errors and discrepancies there were between the method, ingredients and photos. One recipe for biscuits that had no mention of egg in the ingredients or step by step photos but in the method told you to 'next add the egg'. One recipe for cakes gave a quantity of frosting that covered the cakes an inch thick (way more than the photo showed) before we had got through less than half the frosting. One method mentioned washing, coring and chopping the cooking apples but not peeling them but I noticed in the photo they were peeled, another recipe I notice the method tells you to gradually add beaten egg to the creamed butter and sugar whereas the photo shows three whole eggs added straight in!
This is confusing for children, the whole point of the book being that children can use this book to cook alone, my daughter loves cooking on her own or with a friend but with this book I was called over constantly because they couldn't understand the recipe, and when I read it, it wasn't that clear to me either!
Not a successful children's cooking book, I can't believe someone didn't just check through this before publication because it's such a shame as the concept is a good idea and the recipes we tried did taste good.
January 12, 2022
I was extremely excited to get my hands on Cathryn's new book as I was rooting for her to win Bake Off season 3. It's great to see the success she's had since appearing on the show and I couldn't wait to have a go at making all of her lovely recipes.
'Let's Bake' is aimed at encouraging baking with your family. There are recipes to suit all levels of bakers, from those just starting out to those who feel more confident in the kitchen. The book is divided into four sections, each one encompassing a different season and incorporating some gorgeous seasonal recipes. For example in Autumn when the blackberry bushes are straining under the weight of all those ripe, juicy berries, why not have a go at making Cathryn's drop scones with bramble butter and fresh blackberries. I know I'll be trying this one out!
Each recipe is very easy to follow and the layout is extremely clear with handy step-by-step photos to lend a helping hand. Even the more challenging recipes look achievable with some handy tips to ensure that your all your bakes turn out perfect.
Some of my favourite recipes so far include the malty moon custard biscuits, the gorgeous easy feta cheese triangles and the sweetcorn and chorizo cornbread muffins. I would recommend following Cathryn's advice on the latter and eating them warm straight out of the oven. I also can't wait to make the beautiful white rabbit cake, as well as the cheese and chive biscuits in the shape of little mice. I think children would love these.
A round of applause to Cathryn for writing such a wonderful baking book. My copy is already splattered with flour but isn't that always a sign of a well-used and well-loved recipe book. I'm looking forward to whipping up lots more of these delicious looking recipes and I'm sure my family will enjoy eating them!
'Let's Bake' is aimed at encouraging baking with your family. There are recipes to suit all levels of bakers, from those just starting out to those who feel more confident in the kitchen. The book is divided into four sections, each one encompassing a different season and incorporating some gorgeous seasonal recipes. For example in Autumn when the blackberry bushes are straining under the weight of all those ripe, juicy berries, why not have a go at making Cathryn's drop scones with bramble butter and fresh blackberries. I know I'll be trying this one out!
Each recipe is very easy to follow and the layout is extremely clear with handy step-by-step photos to lend a helping hand. Even the more challenging recipes look achievable with some handy tips to ensure that your all your bakes turn out perfect.
Some of my favourite recipes so far include the malty moon custard biscuits, the gorgeous easy feta cheese triangles and the sweetcorn and chorizo cornbread muffins. I would recommend following Cathryn's advice on the latter and eating them warm straight out of the oven. I also can't wait to make the beautiful white rabbit cake, as well as the cheese and chive biscuits in the shape of little mice. I think children would love these.
A round of applause to Cathryn for writing such a wonderful baking book. My copy is already splattered with flour but isn't that always a sign of a well-used and well-loved recipe book. I'm looking forward to whipping up lots more of these delicious looking recipes and I'm sure my family will enjoy eating them!
September 30, 2014
Let's Bake! by Cathryn Dresser is a wonderfully laid out baking book for adults to bake alongside children.
I loved the "tricky bits" tips at the beginning of the book i.e. rubbing butter into flour, separating eggs etc. This is great for kids to show them, all the essential tips they will need for baking. I also loved Kathryn's "recipe for baking success" it was so cute!
The book is spilt into the four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter and gives you yummy recipes to bake each season. There are also some more yummy treats at the back of the book that can be made all year round including Jam and ice cream. I loved the pastel colours used in the book and the little black and white drawings on some of the pages of ingredients that goes with that recipe, it just adds to the appeal of the book and will be attractive to young kids.
The recipes are set out with simple instructions and step to step pictures which was great. I decided to try something from the book and it didn't turn out too well for me!
My attempt at easy to make jam & Queen of heart tarts!
I am not a baker, I don't tend to cook much let alone bake but I thought if I was going to review the book I needed to try something from it. I decided on baking some Queen of heart tarts and also to make my own jam.
The Jam bit was easy enough apart from the fact I couldn't get the blender to work to start of with, then when that was resolved after a call to my mum's partner who is an excellent cook & baker I thought everything was going fine until I burnt the bottom of the saucepan cooking the jam.
The jam did turn out OK in the end which I was happy about apart from a little bitterness.
I then moved onto the Queen of heart tarts needless to say I again had some problems. Rubbing the butter and flour together was OK as I had the tips on how to do it correctly the issue came when the dough was ready to be rolled and cut. I didn't have the right cutter as the one I had was too small so I decided to use the circumstance of a glass which wasn't a good idea. The dough ended up too thick and not the right size. The recipe said 10-12 mins if I had managed to get the dough right. However mine were in for 30 mins and the dough was still raw and my jam was burnt.
So in the end my baking experience wasn't too good, however even though the tarts didn't turn out right I had fun doing it and that is the whole point of baking to have fun either on your own or with others and have disasters as in the end you can always try again.
*Note: My terrible results of baking isn't because of the book it is just the fact I am a terrible baker :) *
I loved the "tricky bits" tips at the beginning of the book i.e. rubbing butter into flour, separating eggs etc. This is great for kids to show them, all the essential tips they will need for baking. I also loved Kathryn's "recipe for baking success" it was so cute!
The book is spilt into the four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter and gives you yummy recipes to bake each season. There are also some more yummy treats at the back of the book that can be made all year round including Jam and ice cream. I loved the pastel colours used in the book and the little black and white drawings on some of the pages of ingredients that goes with that recipe, it just adds to the appeal of the book and will be attractive to young kids.
The recipes are set out with simple instructions and step to step pictures which was great. I decided to try something from the book and it didn't turn out too well for me!
My attempt at easy to make jam & Queen of heart tarts!
I am not a baker, I don't tend to cook much let alone bake but I thought if I was going to review the book I needed to try something from it. I decided on baking some Queen of heart tarts and also to make my own jam.
The Jam bit was easy enough apart from the fact I couldn't get the blender to work to start of with, then when that was resolved after a call to my mum's partner who is an excellent cook & baker I thought everything was going fine until I burnt the bottom of the saucepan cooking the jam.
The jam did turn out OK in the end which I was happy about apart from a little bitterness.
I then moved onto the Queen of heart tarts needless to say I again had some problems. Rubbing the butter and flour together was OK as I had the tips on how to do it correctly the issue came when the dough was ready to be rolled and cut. I didn't have the right cutter as the one I had was too small so I decided to use the circumstance of a glass which wasn't a good idea. The dough ended up too thick and not the right size. The recipe said 10-12 mins if I had managed to get the dough right. However mine were in for 30 mins and the dough was still raw and my jam was burnt.
So in the end my baking experience wasn't too good, however even though the tarts didn't turn out right I had fun doing it and that is the whole point of baking to have fun either on your own or with others and have disasters as in the end you can always try again.
*Note: My terrible results of baking isn't because of the book it is just the fact I am a terrible baker :) *
May 11, 2014
I don't review many non-fiction books on my blog but anyone that knows me, knows that I am a huge baking fan and am absolutely hooked on the Great British Bake Off. I was extremely excited to get my hands on Cathryn's new book as I was rooting for her to win Bake Off season 3. It's great to see the success she's had since appearing on the show and I couldn't wait to have a go at making all of her lovely recipes.
'Let's Bake' is aimed at encouraging baking with your family. There are recipes to suit all levels of bakers, from those just starting out to those who feel more confident in the kitchen. The book is divided into four sections, each one encompassing a different season and incorporating some gorgeous seasonal recipes. For example in Autumn when the blackberry bushes are straining under the weight of all those ripe, juicy berries, why not have a go at making Cathryn's drop scones with bramble butter and fresh blackberries. I know I'll be trying this one out!
Each recipe is very easy to follow and the layout is extremely clear with handy step-by-step photos to lend a helping hand. Even the more challenging recipes look achievable with some handy tips to ensure that your all your bakes turn out perfect.
Some of my favourite recipes so far include the malty moon custard biscuits, the gorgeous easy feta cheese triangles and the sweetcorn and chorizo cornbread muffins. I would recommend following Cathryn's advice on the latter and eating them warm straight out of the oven. I also can't wait to make the beautiful white rabbit cake, as well as the cheese and chive biscuits in the shape of little mice. I think children would love these.
A round of applause to Cathryn for writing such a wonderful baking book. My copy is already splattered with flour but isn't that always a sign of a well-used and well-loved recipe book. I'm looking forward to whipping up lots more of these delicious looking recipes and I'm sure my family will enjoy eating them!
'Let's Bake' is aimed at encouraging baking with your family. There are recipes to suit all levels of bakers, from those just starting out to those who feel more confident in the kitchen. The book is divided into four sections, each one encompassing a different season and incorporating some gorgeous seasonal recipes. For example in Autumn when the blackberry bushes are straining under the weight of all those ripe, juicy berries, why not have a go at making Cathryn's drop scones with bramble butter and fresh blackberries. I know I'll be trying this one out!
Each recipe is very easy to follow and the layout is extremely clear with handy step-by-step photos to lend a helping hand. Even the more challenging recipes look achievable with some handy tips to ensure that your all your bakes turn out perfect.
Some of my favourite recipes so far include the malty moon custard biscuits, the gorgeous easy feta cheese triangles and the sweetcorn and chorizo cornbread muffins. I would recommend following Cathryn's advice on the latter and eating them warm straight out of the oven. I also can't wait to make the beautiful white rabbit cake, as well as the cheese and chive biscuits in the shape of little mice. I think children would love these.
A round of applause to Cathryn for writing such a wonderful baking book. My copy is already splattered with flour but isn't that always a sign of a well-used and well-loved recipe book. I'm looking forward to whipping up lots more of these delicious looking recipes and I'm sure my family will enjoy eating them!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews