I purchased this book over the weekend and was slightly dissapointed. Firstly as it's an american cookbook the measurments are in cup measures so if like me you don't have a cup measure don't use your mug you have your tea as this definately will not work.
My real dissapointment was that there is only ONE photo in the entire book. The only tasty think about this book is it's cover. The receipes themselves don't sound too inviting.
Personally if like me you like to see a picture of what your end result should look like (Not that mine ever look as perfected as in the picture's) then this book is not for you and definately not for me!
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Debbie Browns books are quite inspirational (I own quite a few!) She is very good at sculptural effects. Many of her actual cakes are quite complicated affairs. Very beautiful, but often more detailed than necessary for most celebratory functions,except those very, very, special ones. I tend to take an idea from one of her many wonderful creations and make a cake topper or smaller side decorations. To spend so much time recreating her masterpieces as she has intended only to have them consumed in an hour or two I would find difficult to take. For me Debbie Brown inspires me to adopt, adapt and create, but her cakes are literally too good to eat.
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This is such a beautiful selection of cakes for children. The pirate dreams cake of a sleepy boy setting sail on his bed in the sea is so lovely and I have made it a few times, it's such a lovely change to a standard pirate ship or treasure chest. My daughter has been asking for the sleeping beauty cakes for months and her birthday has finally come around and she will be getting that one next week. I would say that not all of Debbie's cakes are that easy for beginners, I make cakes for a living fo am happy to tackle any of these but I remember the days that Debbie's books were just ones I flicked through but did not attempt and this could be one of those for people with less experience. If you are unsure I would recommend the 50 easy party ... Read More:
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Having read several books about the art of building wood fired ovens, I bought this one having read several reviews that gave it a real positive view. However, I was quickly disappointed by a book that is full of history and detail about ovens used in large houses of bygone ages and the detail behind the history through the ages. There is very little real detail that anyone looking to build an oven could really utilise.
It makes for interesting background reading but the detail for building is extracted from the view of how some of the old commercial/large houses built their ovens and hence is of limited scope. The detail about the build is not there if you want to construct something yourself.
I love these books and am yet to come across a bad one!!!
This little book is jammed with recipes that will have your mouth watering. All are easy to follow and range from easy peasy recipes to some that are more fiddly (but worth the effort).
It contains everything from brownies & muffins to greek baklava and coconut biscotti. My absolute favourite is the Cirtus almond syrup cake which cant be beaten served warmed with clotted cream.
The book contains a 'Tricks of the trade' section at the front and in the back is a comprehensive glossary and conversion chart.
Really can't recommend it highly enough!
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I thought this was a new book, but its not. It is just a combined book of Naughty Cakes and Xtra Naughty Cakes. If you dont have these two then this is a great book with lots of ideas, and would get 5 stars! However, if you do have them, then there is nothing new in this book, and I wish I hadnt wasted my money. It should be clear, and I wish Debbie Brown, or her publishers, wouldnt keep rereleaseing the same stuff but in new covers or with a different title.
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The 500 cookies from the title arises from offering half a dozen variations on some basic recipes. More importantly some of the recipes produce distinctly variable results and make you question oven times and cooking temperatures. Is this the result of the switching some of the ingredients from a US base to a UK base?
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The 500 cookies from the title arises from offering half a dozen variations on some basic recipes. More importantly some of the recipes produce distinctly variable results and make you question oven times and cooking temperatures. Is this the result of the switching some of the ingredients from a US base to a UK base?
>>More Details