Marguerite Patten, during a long lifetime in the kitchen until her death
at the age of 99 in 2015, was the doyenne of British cookery. She began
her cookery career as a Home Economist for the Ministry of Food, hence
many, many decades of experience went in to writing this book and it
shows. She shares her wealth of knowledge and her tried and tested
recipes for cakes large and small, biscuits, breads, pizzas and
pastries. Baking was Marguerite's most natural culinary territory and
she starts by explaining the equipment and the basic techniques, as well
as what to do if things go wrong. From different types of flour, to what
utensils you need or can do without, to the meaning of creaming and how
to fold ̶ all the traditional terminology is explained so that you can
read and get started. There are no glossy photographs in this handy
little manual but as her tone is friendly, reassuring, straightforward
but factual you will find all the instructions you need to guide you to
success every time. She covers not only family favourites such as Walnut
cake, teacakes and buns but more modern popular cakes such as muffins.
The book has been planned to introduce the pleasures of baking in such a
way that even a beginner will achieve successful results under the
expert guidance of Britain's still much loved cookery writer.
