This post has taken a while for me to write, because I don't know where to start. I am in love with this book. Upon first glance I thought it was going to be another one of those fancy baking books that I love to look at, but never used.
At second glance or a proper read through I knew this was going to be a book I refer to time and time again. It is beautiful and comfortable at the same time.
Most baking books the first chapter is 9 times out of 10 'cakes' but Cenk starts with Cookies and I love him for it! I love a good cookie! Followed by a chapter on Brownies and then a chapter covering Cakes, Muffins, Cheesecakes, & Meringues.
A chapter covering Tarts, Galettes, Pie, Quiche, Cobbler, & Crumble is definitely needed in a baking book as well as a chapter covering Breads & Pastries.
Although not technically baked Ice Creams, Frozen Yogurt, & Sorbets fit right in just like Confections & Drinks do. Last chapters are Jams & Jellies and Basic Recipes which are essential for any good baking book!
The author Cenk Sönmezsoy tells us in his introduction his journey to becoming an author of a popular food blog and now a book. I couldn't help but relate to him in two ways. First I didn't have memories of baking with an elder who shared their love of baking with me from a young age. It's something I discovered after I moved to the UK. Which is the second way I relate, I missed some of the treats from home and to cure some of the longing for another place I started baking the treats I missed and then I started blogging.
I think I am not the only one who might find him relatable - because even if you don't share a similar story his love of baking is the highlight of the book.
If you love baking as much as Cenk and I do enter below at a chance of winning 1 of 3 copies! If you can't wait it's available now online or at any respectable book seller!!
Just follow the instructions on the widget below. I will be checking that the winner has followed the instructions correctly; winner will be picked at random using the Rafflecopter widget below. You must be 18 years of age and have a valid address in the UK, Europe, USA, or Canada. Prize is provided by the publishers Abrams.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Artful Baker: Extraordinary Desserts From an Obsessive Home Baker
by Cenk Sönmezsoy
creator of
Cafe Fernando
*I was provided a copy of
The Artful Baker by Cenk Sönmezsoy to review by the publisher, Abrams, Retails at £40 and available now from your local book retailers or online! All opinions are my own, I was not given any other compensation nor was I asked to give a positive review, please see my contact/policy page above for more information.
.JPG)
.JPG)
made a cake for my dad's bday which he said ws the best he'd ever had #success
ReplyDeleteThat's how I started baking was by making birthday cakes for my family, no better way to show someone you love them!! ;)
DeleteI've had a recent baking disaster! I tried to make a cake that was cow dairy & egg free I used egg replacement but the cake came out very pale & heavy. Back to the drawing board x
ReplyDeleteHave a look at Vegan recipes - the best dairy and egg free book I have ever baked from was Ms Cupcake's Cookbook!! Good Luck!!
DeleteI’ve had more sucesses than failures, thankfully! But one of my most memorable failures was when I put a hot cheesecake in the fridge to cool right after I took it out of the oven. It turned sour and the taste was so terrible I had to throw it away! But I learnt my lesson and now I read all recipes till the very very end! My recipe actually said in the end: wait until it cools fully and then refridgerate:((((
ReplyDeleteI have had many disasters from missing something simple like that! I hope you have had many cheesecake successes since then!
DeleteI️ work at a coffee shop and was making some brownies...I forgot to turn off the timer and the whole shop started filling with smoke and smelled awful. The brownies were baked to a char!!!
ReplyDeleteOh dear! My timer was broken and didn't go off once and I burnt homemade pizza's, so then just ordered out for pizza! o_O
Deletewhen i was younger i made lemon curd tarts not sure what i did but they set like glue to the tray and the whole thing had to be chucked away im still dubious now when i make them
ReplyDeleteI have never attempted lemon curd tarts myself, but I think I will be dubious if I ever give them a try! o_O
DeleteAfter a string of successes I made a graduation cake for my brother yesterday. It felt light but after decorating and portioning up it was horrible and dense inside. I was so disappointed!
ReplyDeleteOh no! Was it still edible? I say as long as it still tastes good!!!
DeleteGinger bread or rather death by ginger. I seem to put to much in when making gingerbread and they always et no up in the bin x
ReplyDeleteIt's one of those spices that a little goes a long way.. but hopefully one day you will get it right!!
DeleteI once made a bread pudding and put it in the Rayburn to cook. The Rayburn's chimney goes to the outside and you cant smell the baking smell in the kitchen, I found the bread pudding in the oven three days later!!
ReplyDeleteOops!! It is easy to get distracted!!
DeleteThe first thing I ever made on my own was my one and only baking disaster. I was probably 8. It was a spiced cake and I put in a tablespoon or so of baking soda as opposed to a teaspoon. It was the nastiest thing I ever tasted. Ironically, it sunk instead of rising. :) And I'm still hesitant to this day on adding the full called-for amount of baking soda to anything.
ReplyDeleteI have had recipes that called for a tablespoon of baking powder before and I have always been very weary of them ....
DeleteI guess I could say the first thing I ever made on my own was my one and only baking disaster. I was probably only 8. It was a spiced cake and I put in a tablespoon or so of baking soda as opposed to a teaspoon. It was the nastiest thing I had ever tasted and ironically it sunk instead of rising! To this day, I am still hesitant on adding the full called-for amount of baking soda to anything because the vile taste still sticks in my brain!
ReplyDeleteStrange that we would have the same baking disaster, Tracy...Perhaps you should think of your own instead of copying and pasting my comment...
DeleteIt's not okay to copy someone else's comment!
DeletePlease leave another one if you want to be qualified to win!
thanku
ReplyDeletethe first xmas dinner i made i burnt lets say we had to eat sandwiches all day lol x
ReplyDeleteI did that once with Thanksgiving dinner .... just had pizzas I think from the freezer. The saddest part was the cost of it all!
DeleteThe first time I baked a Christmas cake was the first year I was with my (now hubby then boyfriend. I got all the ingredients and mixed away. But as I was a bit silly (and still am!) I then poured the whole mixture into a Victoria sponge size cake tin with very thin edges. Of course it just cooked into one mess, with a cake tin buried somewhere in the middle!
ReplyDeleteI have never made a proper Christmas Cake - will keep this in mind if I ever do!!! Well, I hope you have had more success since then!!
DeleteThe third time I baked cinnamon rolls, they were perfect!! The first two tries were yummy, just not as pretty. :)
ReplyDelete:0)
DeleteOne time I made cake when I was younger and didn't realize the oil was rancid, it tasted horrid!
ReplyDeleteEek! It's always sad when something out of your control goes wrong!
Deletethe only major baking disaster i remember was when i was at school, i was making cupcakes in food technology, i think i added salt instead of sugar to my mix and the outcome was cupcakes that looked like rocks and tasted horrendous. never made that mistake again. Best success i have had is making my own wedding cake, and my friends.
ReplyDeleteI once made cupcakes that didn't rise and it was because I forgot the raising agent .... I'd love to see your wedding cake - that is something that not everyone could pull off!!
Deletebaked an apple pie
ReplyDeleteApple pies are the best! Especially fresh out of the oven with ice cream!
Deleterecently baked buns with my niece - they were horrible! Dont know what went wrong but they didnt taste nice.
ReplyDeleteThat's a shame! I am terrible with yeasted bakes, but I keep trying! Hope you have success next time!
DeleteI have had more failures than success.... my worst was when I decided to make my daughter's birthday cake, Ii wanted to make a butterfly shape.. I spent over £100 and had 8 attempts to try and get my sponge to rise, i tried every recipe I could but nothing worked... it was just a disaster and I had to give in and buy one.
ReplyDeleteWhen I've had disasters my friends don't understand why I get so upset first it's because I had expectations of it being amazing and second the amount of money I spent on ingredients!
DeleteThe dog eating a cake before anyone even had the chance to admire it.
ReplyDeleteLucky puppy!! But sad for you!
DeleteI once made a tiramisu that ended up costing a fortune. It was actually really nice, but my mom fretted the whole night about someone getting salmonella. Not sure if that's a win or a fail.
ReplyDeleteBaking from scratch is great, but some of the ingredients can be an added expense as they aren't things you buy for every day use.... I am glad it tasted great! Sad that you had to endure someone fretting about it though!
Deletemy oven is horrific! one minute its not cooking the cake and instead batter is spitting into the oven trying to set on fire, next time the cake will be thin as anything and burnt. it rerally is a roulette
ReplyDeleteEek!! I suppose you have already tried an in oven thermometer? Maybe it just needs to be kicked?
DeleteI would love to be able to make macarons and eclairs.
ReplyDeleteI have never successfully made macarons, but then I have only attempted them maybe a few times, should probably try again! Eclairs I have never attempted..... might have to change that!
DeleteI made a cake for my daughters birthday, the cake was fine, I just could not put the icing on it right, she ended up decorated her own birthday cake
ReplyDeleteI say as long as it tastes good! And what kid wouldn't want to decorate their own cake??
Deletemost of my cake making turns out fine but occasionally i forget to keep an eye on them in the oven and they get overcooked like door stops!
ReplyDeleteGlad that you have a higher percentage rant of success then you do of failures! :)
DeleteThe first thing I ever baked was an apple pie and it turned out so well!
ReplyDeleteOooooh apple pie..... I would love a slice right about now!
DeleteI made my daughters birthday cake earlier this month. She loves cats so i made 2 cats out of fondant and had one on top of the cake and the other hanging off the edge with claw marks coming down the cake.... Luckily i managed to pull it off and it turned out how i imagined it..phew!! x
ReplyDeleteI forgot to put the sugar in once!!! Big error...
ReplyDeleteMy best baking success was when I made my first apple crumble as a kid. It wasn't perfect, but memorable because I did it by myself.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I baked was a normal Sponge cake with my mom I was one to eat the cake mix aswell oops xx
ReplyDeleteA Victoria sandwich cake that I won first prize with in the local horticultural show, beating all th ladies of the village
ReplyDeleteI'm not very good at baking so I let my other half do it - although I did cook a lovely lemon meringue pie once x
ReplyDeleteI'm still working on the perfect babka. My first was incinerated (but tasted lovely once I cut off the carbonised top section). Later efforts have either been under or over done. But I have faith the perfect babka will happen one Day!
ReplyDeleteWhen my sister (hope this counts) put minced beef into sweet mince pies. We ate them but it's been a favourite Christmas baking story for a few years now. Oh and she also put caraway seeds on the trifle instead of hundreds and thousands.
ReplyDeleteBaked a great chocolate cake :D xxx
ReplyDelete