Jamie's Food Tube: The Cake Book

by Cupcake Jemma

Jamie Oliver's Food Tube presents The Cake Book, a collection of 50 deliciously inventive and exciting cake and cupcake recipes from Food Tube's own Cupcake Jemma.

'Split up seasonally, you'll have a wonderfully naughty treat to choose from, whatever the time of year - this book might be small in size, but it's crammed full of brilliant recipes' - Jamie Oliver

As owner of Crumbs & Doilies, one of London's most creative cake and cupcake bakeries, Jemma shows you the easiest everyday classics alongside four chapters of super-cool seasonal cake recipes. With step-by-step instructions alongside handy hints and tips The Cake Book is a beautifully presented collection of recipes you'll want to bake time and again, including epic layer cakes such as Raspberry Ripple, Super Lemon Meringue and Ridiculous Chocolate as well as amazing cupcakes like Blueberry Cheesecake, Buttered Popcorn, Cookies & Cream, Eton Mess and more.

Jemma Wilson began baking professionally at the esteemed Rose Bakery before starting her own business in 2006. Crumbs & Doilies has since become one of the most respected and exciting makers of cakes and cupcakes in London, with an emphasis on top quality ingredients, imaginative flavours, beautiful presentation and attention to detail that Jemma carries through to all her recipes.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Cooking, Food, Reference

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 2014

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best avoid if trying to lose weight.

This book looks mouth-wateringly delicious, I'm supposed to be trying to lose weight so part of me wishes I'd never ordered this but if I'm being honest I can't wait to get started.
This, like the BBQ book has the recipe on one page with a full colour photo of the finished item on the opposite page, there's also a page of hints & tips.
I spotted this book while looking around for a BBQ book for my husband, I can't remember the last time I bought myself a cookery book I generally get them as presents so I have a really good selection but I really liked the look of this. As with the BBQ book I noticed a complete content list wasn't given so I've added one at the end for you.
I don't generally review cookery books since by the time I've tried enough of the recipes to give a fair review I forget, yes, every single time, I always have good intentions but somehow I never get round to it but I'm making an exception since I thought it would be helpful to give a list of the recipes included and I'll add to the review as I try them out.
One tip I picked up from a friend years ago and I've followed ever since is to make little notes at the side of the recipes, I was horrified the first time I looked through one of her baking books to notice notes scribbled at the side of the recipes I couldn't believe anyone would write in a book, but she explained that you have a cookery book for life and you can forget so she wrote a little review at the side of each one. Turned out to be an excellent idea and one I've followed ever since, it really helps me because I've got a memory like a sieve so thank you Karen.
Here's the list of recipes, hope this helps:

THE BASICS:

Vanilla Cupcakes, Vanilla Buttercream Icing
Really Easy Chocolate Cupcakes, Chocolate Buttercream Icing
Red Velvet Cupcakes, Cream Cheese Icing
Chocolate Ganache
Meringues
Marshmallowy Meringue Icing
Salted Caramel
Brittle
Infused Milk
Fruit Goo

SPRING:

Earl Grey Breakfast Cupcakes
Pistachio & Rose Cupcakes
Raspberry Ripple Layer Cake
Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes
Green Tea Cupcakes with Sesame Brittle
Lemon & Poppy Seed Cupcakes
Cookie Dough Cupcakes
Pistachio, Lime & Cardamom Cake
Hot Cross Bun Cupcakes
Vegan Vanilla Fudge Cupcakes

SUMMER:

Lemon Mess Cupcakes
Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
Rosemary, Honey & Yoghurt Loaf
Eton Mess Cupcakes
Super-Lemony Meringue Cake
Lavender Caramel Cupcakes
Cherry Bakewell Cupcakes
Cardamom & White Chocolate Cupcakes
Raspberry & Coconut Cupcakes

AUTUMN:

Banoffee Pie Cupcakes
Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes
PB & J Cupcakes
Malteser Cupcakes
Jamaican Ginger Cake
Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
Buttered Popcorn Cupcakes
Bonfire Cupcakes
Toffee Apple Cupcakes
Caramel Mudslide Cupcakes

WINTER:

Hot Toddy Cupcakes
Jaffa Cake
Chai-Spiced Cupcakes
Cookies & Cream Cupcakes
Ridiculous Chocolate Cake
Cinnamon Toast Cupcakes
Banana, Maple & Pecan Cupcakes
Velvet Volcano Cupcakes
Christmas Cupcakes
Mini Christmas Puds

As a lover of Lemon, Coconut, Raspberries, Eton mess (my all time favourite) Maltesers oh the list goes on and on and I think this review is long enough already but I really don't know where to start, Super-Lemony Meringue Cake I think....or the Raspberry Ripple Layer Cake...decisions, decisions I can almost feel the weight settling on my hips just from thinking about them.
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Yes, I know as if this review isn't long enough already but I did promise updates I'll try to keep it short.
We've made a selection of these cupcakes we use large muffin cases so the mixture when cooked only half fill them which turned out to be ideal once topped.
One thing we found is that the topping recipes, all the ones we tried anyway made too much in fact we made the cheesecake topping and topped all the blueberry cupcakes and had so much left we added lemon juice and meringues and used it to cover the Lemon Mess ones as well.
The Blueberry Cheesecake were my favourite and everyone else's as well, the biscuit base, sponge and then cheesecake with blueberry fruit goo topping was heaven.
The Lemon Mess were very good even if we did change the topping.
Raspberry and Coconut Cupcakes again were good but very sweet, maybe a little too much topping for me.
We made our own Cookie Monster and Oreo cupcakes using the chocolate cupcake recipe from page 18, I loved it but my daughter felt it was too dry, luckily once they were decorated everyone loved them.
If anyone's interested or even reading this far, for the Oreo ones we place a full Oreo cookie in the muffin case then we place mixture on top, bake and when cool we add broken Oreo cookies to the buttercream and mix well, we pipe this, using either a very large nozzle or just a plain piping bag made from grease proof, it has to be large obviously due to the chunks of biscuit, then place a mini Oreo at one side.
For the Cookie Monster we top with buttercream then dip it in desiccated coconut mixed with some blue food colouring then we slice half way across horizontally and slide a chocolate chip cookie in, this makes the mouth then for the eyes we stand two white chocolate buttons on the top and paint the pupils on with black food colouring.

[Eilidh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve bought, used, shelved, used, binned and used so many cookbooks in my life, but Cupcake Jemma’s The Cake Book is one of my favourite ever cupcake books ever.

There’s such a great variety in this book that I truly believe there’s a cupcake that could be made for any occasion. With the recipes divided into a seasonal guide, it helps narrow down what cakes to make and when. I also really love that there’s a good amount of recipes for icings to go along with the cakes like Marshmallowy Meringue.

Some of the cupcake recipes include: Eton Mess cupcakes, Toffee Apple cupcakes, Buttered Popcorn cupcakes, Hot Toddy cupcakes and Banoffee Pie cupcakes.

[Kelsey van Dillen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ontzettend leuk en klein boekje met een aantal heerlijke recepten, kan niet wachten om er een paar uit te proberen. Als groot fan van Jamie Oliver mag dit boekje natuurlijk niet ontbreken in mijn kast.

[Amelia Morrison]

This book is amazing💲💲

[Nair Felis rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encantan las recetas de Jemma, sobre todo sus cupcakes! El libro es un poco corto, ya que me hubiese gustado que tuviese más recetas, pero me gustó mucho. Es muy visual y práctico.

[Iva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely mouthwatering. The recipes are simple enough to make at home, no fancy equipment or ingredients required. The instructions are detailed, the pictures are gorgeous. I love all stuff Cupcake Jemma (seriously, check her YouTube channel out) and I have dog eared a bunch of the recipes to try.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve made almost every single recipe in this book over the past 4 years! Some recipes more than once! I’ve learnt so much to do about baking from making marshmallow to lemon mess meringues in this book! Highly recommend this book to every single person with a sweet tooth. Yummy! I’m obsessed with the YouTube tutorials from Crumbs & Doilies and Cupcake Jemma’s channel.

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't made many cupcakes from the book but I have made the vegan recipe many times and it's always a huge hit! I thought it was lovely that there was a vegan recipe included in the book. And not full of unusual ingredients.

[Zulekha Saqib · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you are into baking, treat yourself with this little book full of scrumptious recipes! <3

[Amy Constantine · Rating 5 out of 5]

My go to recipe book! Never had any of the recipes go wrong on me and you can easily make a three layer cake with one batch of the cupcake recipes. All hail Cupcake Jemma and Crumbs & Doilies! 🙌🏼

[Francisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

NATHALIE BOOK

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

great recipes and i think all home bakers should have this book. check out the youtube channel too

[Nicolette]

ALTHOUGH small, this volume of cake and mostly cupcake recipes packs quite the punch.
Britain’s Cupcake Jemma starts off by going over some of the basics, which include your standard chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with their respective buttercream icings, red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing, chocolate ganache, meringues, brittle, infused milk and fruit goo.
Jemma then dives straight into these yummy cupcakes – Earl Grey breakfast, pistachio and rose, chocolate Guiness, green tea with sesame brittle, and cookie dough.
Recipes are arranged under four different categories – spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Autumn gets you warmed up with spiced pumpkin, and Mexican hot chocolte cupcakes as well as Jamaican ginger cake.
But really, anytime is a good time for cake, so don’t let the seasons tie you down.
I absolutely loved the lemon mess cupcakes. Imagine biting through a soft buttercream icing filled with crunchy bits of broken meringue only to discover a secret lemon curd filling in the centre of the cake. Yes, cries rang out – more please.
The tattooed beauty entices those who are sceptical about adding rosemary to cakes to try her rosemary, honey and yoghurt loaf. She says the rosemary with the Mediterranean flavours of honey and yoghurt will win you over. More intrigued than sceptical I found this to be a lovely tea time treat with friends and look forward to many more summer days so I can whip up this gem.

[Tilly Grimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sugary goodness

I have made several different cakes from this book and must say, they have all been superb. I have had many complements from people who have tried them. Some of them are a little time consuming to make but they are worth the effort. Also sometimes their is a lot of frosting for the cupcakes and i find i have left overs.
If I ever make it to London i would definitely try to get to Jemmas shop. I am just glad that when Jamie Oliver can make money from sugar for himself he is still willing to promote a very sugary cake book. You go Jamie sugar doesn't matter when the profits are going into your pockets.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich bin über youtube auf Jemma gestoßen und sie und ihre Rezepte waren mir sofort sympathisch!
Das Buch ist toll gemacht, übersichtlich und sehr ästhetisch!
Was das ganze nur noch besser macht ist die Tatsache, dass die Rezepte auch wirklich funktionieren und einfach göttlich schmecken - ich hab's getestet :-)
Man darf sich allerdings nichts vormachen 55% dieses Buches sind reiner Zucker! Wer also auf Zucker achten muss sollte die Versuchung meiden, allen anderen kann ich dieses Buch nur wärmstens empfehlen... solange man ein gutes Wörterbuch parapt hat, als nicht Englisch-Muttersprachler ;-)

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like it!
Some recipes are more interesting, some are classic and if you watch Jemma on youtube, you know that she is pretty straightforward. So is this book, no hassle. Easy to follow, the pictures are nice as well. I made mojito cupcakes which turned out great! Boozy, sweet with a little sour kick.