It’s coming up to Christmas and I’m starting a new series – The 12 Days of Christmas. There’s going to be book reviews, movie reviews, thoughts on the best Christmas movies and some Christmas present suggestions. Up until about two weeks ago I hadn’t really started …
The Boy Who Bakes
8 September 2011 by 2 Comments
One of the surprise TV hits of last year was the BBC2 programme The Great British Bake-Off. A baking competition with knowledgeable, constructive judges and hosts who were genuinely enthusiastic about the contestants and their entries….
Meet Me At The Cupcake Cafe
7 September 2011 by Leave a Comment
I like to think in another life I could have been Jenny Colgan. We’re roughly the same age and both come from the West of Scotland, but Colgan has written a number of best-selling ‘chick-lit’ novels. I haven’t!
WeightWatchers Book of Recipes
5 September 2011 by Leave a Comment
Yet again I’m on a diet. It seems like I’ve been on and off diets for much of the past ten years or so. Some have worked, others haven’t. This one is going quite well and that success is partly down to the WeightWatchers Book of Recipes…
The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook
31 July 2011 by 3 Comments
A delicious bakery book with amazing photography
I thought I’d do something a little different with my book review today. Instead of a novel or autobiography or the usual kind of books I review I’m going to share one of my hobbies with you – baking. I’m not a great baker, for that you have to visit my friend at Annie Bakes Cakes, but I find it relaxing after a stressful day and I love the end result. When I was a student my specialities were macaroons and biscuits, now I’m much more of a cupcake girl and my favourite recipe comes from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.
For those not in the know, The Hummingbird Bakery is a trendy London cake shop with branches in Notting Hill, Soho, Kensington and Spitalfields. Celebrities flock there including some you would swear had never seen a cupcake in their microbiotic lives like Gwyneth Paltrow. To capitalise on the success of the bakery and its PR positioning as a luxury lifestyle brand, The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook was launched in 2009, sharing recipes and hints from company founder Tarek Malouf and the Hummingbird Bakers.
The first thing you notice is the fantastic appearance of this book. The photography by Peter Cassidy is more than simply an illustration of the recipes, it is the hook that makes you want to make your own versions of these delicious creations….