Mary Berry's Baking Bible: Revised and Updated: With Over 250 New and Classic Recipes

Well, it's been about a decade since Mary Berry first entered my kitchen. My daughter and granddaughter had moved to the UK and I went for a visit. While I was there I discovered the very first Great British Bake Off, known on this side of the pond as the Great British Baking Show. That's where I first found Mary Berry, though she has been an icon of British home cooking since the early 60's. Among the things that filled the second suitcase were hard to get, very expensive here but not in the UK items like Maldon salt, Billings sugars, stem ginger and golden syrup was a copy of Mary's first edition Mary Berry's Baking Bible. It's been a staple in my house ever since. In many ways British baking is very similar to our own, particularly if you were raised in the Virginia Tidewater or most anywhere in the Carolinas. Cakes tend to be less sweet. Paula Deen's 4 layer coconut confection with lemon curd between the layers and real buttercream frosting a half-inch thick that takes all day and every dish in the kitchen to make would never appear on a British table. (Good thing. You ingest an easy 1000 calories just looking at the thing!) Mixing methods are usually straightforward - one bowl, one beater - and ingredient lists are usually shorter. They're also a bit smaller, most running to a 4 X 6 loaf or an 8" round. Of course Mary Berry bakes many things besides cake and they're all lovely. It just so happens that most often when I reach for Mary I'm making a cake. The original version of Mary Berry's Baking Bible (which is still available) uses metric measurements, so you need a scale, and requires a bit of translation for things like plain flour and caster sugar. The single biggest "new" thing in this revised edition is that Mary has done all that for you. The metric measurements have all been converted to US standard, plain flour is now all-purpose and so on. Perhaps the biggest change, though, is that in the original edition most of the recipes call for self-rising flour. Since that is. not particularly common in US kitchens outside the South, that's been changed to all purpose plus appropriate rising agents. Two of my favorite recipes are not to be missed. Number One on my list is the Victoria Sponge - quickly whipped up, the layers sandwiched together with strawberry (or raspberry) jam and either whipped cream or a buttercream frosting and the top simply dusted with powdered sugar. The result is sublime. My second favorite, one I make often, is in this book called Victorian Christmas Cake. This particular cake appears under several different names in virtually every book that Mary publishes. I can only assume that it is as much a favorite with her as it is with me. A blonde cake loaded with dried fruit, raisins, pineapple and cherries this is not loaded with nuts like a traditional American fruitcake, (None of the British fruitcakes are.). I did notice one translation "error". All of the other versions of this recipe call for "glace cherries" - in other words candied cherries. (Easily had at holiday time or here on Amazon or thru King Arthur.). Somehow I think that whoever did the translation thought that perhaps we don't have those here and so they substituted maraschino cherries - absolutely NOT the same thing - as I've found that same substitution in another recipe or two that should contain candied cherries. Trust me - cross out maraschino, write in candied. The measurement is the same. Cut each cherry in half then rinse in very hot water to remove the extra sugar syrup, then let them dry on paper towels before you add them to your cake. The results are delightful and long lasting, perfect with a cup of tea at any time of the year. I would give you a third "don't miss this" recommendation but honestly I cannot choose. Would it be the Battenberg cake with its pretty pink and white squares? The Rock Cakes that are perfect for a Harry Potter party? The Maple Syrup Cake (I live in maple country)? Grandma's $0.02: The recipes in Mary Berry's Baking Bible go from yum to yummier. You'll easily find a dozen favorites that you can whip up in a snap. If you have the original Baking Bible, then perhaps you'll not need this revised version. While I didn't go thru the entire index, the one recipe I noticed that is different than the original is the Pavlova. The original recipe calls for sugared strawberries as a filling while the newer version calls for passion fruit, something I rarely hear of in US markets. On the other hand, if you've been putting off exploring the world of true British baking because you aren't comfortable using metrics, then this is a great place to start. Just remember to change all those maraschino cherries to candied. Not the same thing at all. Two thumbs up, highly recommended!

Mary Berry is a living baking legend in her UK homeland, and now she's become well-known here in America thanks to the popularity of The Great British Baking Show via Netflix. In this revised and updated edition of her Baking Bible, she offers over 250 mouthwatering recipes from across the UK, parts of Europe, and even some American favorites like apple pie. Combined with the stunning photography, you'll practically want to lick every page of this fabulous cookbook. Berry gears her books toward the home baker, whether they be new baking or a practiced hand. The recipes range from the simple--chocolate chip cookies--to the most complex, French patisserie-style dessert--Gâteau Saint Honoré--to easy, bake-with-the-kids suggestions. But it's not all recipes. Berry includes nearly everything a baker needs to know about the art of baking: equipment list, how-to instructions for lining pans, baking terminology, key ingredients, baking tips, and so much more. All recipes include both metric and imperial measurements and many include helpful hints or variations to up your baking game. Overall, any of Mary Berry's books are worth adding to your collection, but if you're serious about baking and only have room for one more recipe book on your shelf, Mary Berry's Baking Bible: Revised and Updated is the one you need.

Bought for Christmas for a friend who LOVES Mary Berry. The cover is nice and thick, and the pages are glossy and will be easy to wipe off should a spill happen. I flipped through to see some recipes, and it appears as though the majority are written for beginner to intermediate bakers. Quite a few nostalgic/old-school recipes which are sure to bring in many readers, and many more that are region-based that look delicious. Can't wait to see what my friend picks to make first!

Just love Mary Berry

I love this book. It’s got all the American measurements. Perfect for baking.

I mean ... it's Mary Berry, y'all. :) I feel like that sums it up! LOL! What else can I (do I need) to say? Fans of Dorie Greenspan will enjoy this--as will any fan of _Great British Baking Show_ (Great British Bake-Off?), which is to say, everyone. I love its British inspiration and approach, and find the instructions easy to follow (and ingredients easy to find, for the most part). I do think some recipes will take more practice on my part before they _begin_ to look like Mary's--but she's put in the time, unlike me! Not every recipe had a picture, and I think that would be my one disappointment. But, there are truly worse things in life, and if that's all I can whinge about (lol), I'll take it! I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This is fantastic!!! I’ve made the pavlova and the cottage bread, and both turned out amazingly! It’s also very easy to adapt many of the recipes to suit your favorite flavors. It’s also fun to have a book written by Mary Berry!

Now I can prepare these wonderful bakes without having to convert all the measurements.

Fantastico per chi è interessato

Muy interesante. Me lo he leído de un tirón.

A brilliant book ,every recipe a winner

This book specifically tackles baking, rather than general cooking. I haven't had the book very long, and have only tried a few recipes so far. There are lots of very straight forward recipes with simple techniques that are perfect for my limited skills, although Mary also includes tips and variations to jazz up simple recipes, and the book includes more elaborate recipes for those who know what they are doing in the kitchen. I really like Mary's Fork Biscuit recipe. There's only 3 ingredients, and it is impossible to do it wrong. The only problem is that the biscuits are delicious and we scoff them really quickly! I really like Mary's garlic bread recipe. I didn't put as much butter on top as she suggested, cos frankly that was enough to give a horse a heart attack, and I didn't have any parsley so I sprinkled some dried mixed herbs on top instead, but it still came out lovely and was absolutely delicious. I will be making that again, a lot. I got this book after trying to use a very old Delia Smith cookbook. Mary's recipes are more up to date. She provides proper metric measures with accurate imperial conversions (unlike Delia), and she gives temperatures for regular and fan ovens. On balance, I think I like Mary's approach better. I think her aim is to make baking accessible to all, so very few recipes call for fancy kitchen devices or weird techniques or ingredients that are impossible to find. I like her handy tips and her little comments - these cheese biscuits are perfect with a glass of wine, etc. I feel inspired to try more recipes and and experiment a bit, now I've got Mary to guide me. Recommended.

A perfect addition to my Sister's cooking library. She has some other Mary Berry books and this was a great purchase. Full of nice recipes for any baker. This one is also the latest revised edition. Happy customer !