Around Britain By Cake: A Tour of Our Traditional Teatime Treats

by Caroline Taggart

If there’s one thing Brits never say no to, it’s stopping at four o’clock for a cup of tea and a slice of something tasty. After all, they invented afternoon tea. So what better way to capture a slice of Britain than to devour its many tea-time treats, slice by sumptuous slice? That’s what Caroline Taggart set out to do one day—nothing more energetic than taking a table by the window, and investigating one mouthful at a time what (other than geography) separates a Coventry God Cake from an Eccles Cake, or Grantham Gingerbread from Whitby Gingerbread. In her encounters with those people making traditional cakes, she unravels the stories behind why they originated, where and when they did, and meditates on their resurgence today. Includes 60 recipes, with metric measures.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, British Literature

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2017

About the author

I was an editor for 30 years before Michael O’Mara Books asked me to write what became I Used to Know That. I think its success took everyone by surprise – it certainly did me – but it led to my writing a lot of other books and finally, after about three years, feeling able to tell people I was an author. It's a nice feeling.

Until recently the book I was most proud of was The Book of London Place Names (Ebury), partly because I am passionate about London and partly because, having written ten or so books before that, I finally felt I was getting the hang of it.

Now I have to confess I’m really excited by my first venture into continuous narrative. For A Slice of Britain: around the country by cake (AA) I travelled the country investigating, writing about and eating cake. From Cornish Saffron Cake to Aberdeen Butteries, I interviewed about 25 people who are baking cakes, biscuits and buns that are unique to their region, part of their heritage – and pretty darned delicious. The Sunday Times reviewed it and described me as ‘engaging, greedy and droll’, which pleased me enormously.

Reviews

[Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

we started off quite well but by the end we were finding more and more flaws in her researches and blanket statements that were clearly unfounded. which was a pity given that the idea of the book is a good one and there are truly some local gems worth finding out about

[J Grimsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyable light read unlike you after you've eaten all the cakes

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book. Author visits various places and tries different cakes. Some history, some trivia. With recipes

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cheeky and delicious

[Barbara Fynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this as a gift being a huge fan of Bake Off. It wasn't a quick read but was very enjoyable and I'd love to visit some of the places visited - and taste the cakes of course!

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a Lovely idea for a book. Nice to dip into and then find yourself losing a couple of hours in cake and places.