The Great British Bake Off: The Big Book of Amazing Cakes

by The Great British Bake Off

Take a bite out of the Great British Bake Off's latest recipes!

Accompanying the latest series of the show, this book is packed with recipes that would tempt even Paul and Prue. It shows you how a single cake batter can be shaped and sized into so many different show-stoppers.

From celebration cakes to traybakes and cupcakes, it shares the techniques that will make your bakes truly spectacular. It's a must-have for any potential Star Baker.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Reference, British Literature, Foodie

288 pages, Hardcover

Published October 3, 2019

Reviews

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book from the series. Have already made some fantastic bakes from it. The recipes are very well instructed and easy to follow. Another fantastic book in my bake off collection.

[Kate Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! The recipes are amazing, and everyone in my house loves the Swiss Roll!

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book! It’s got a nice foreword from Paul and Prue and some info on the most recent season’s contestants. Easy instructions for each recipe and involves cake recipes from the different seasons. I loved seeing the photos of some of my favorite contestants.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

And now I might rewatch the series rather than try to bake these gorgeous cakes. Resist!!

[Janet Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a long-time fan of the show, I have been looking for something like this book for years. The recipes are well written - and converted for us non-Brits who have issues using their processes. My absolute favorite thing about the book, however, is that several base recipes are set up with different measurements depending upon the size of the bake you want to make. This means if you want to make a different size version, the measurements are provided for you. Genius!

From what I've seen, no matter your skill level there is something in the book you can make.

[Voirrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I genuinely have read this, from cover to cover! It gave me great pleasure to read, ideas for future cakes, and a handy chart for scaling up ingredients to make larger cakes. The pictures are gorgeous, too.

[Ligaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of TGBBS and have read almost every cookbook that's been related to the show. (My favorite, so far, have been the cookbooks by Kim-Joy.) I, at first, wasn't impressed with this one but soon started flagging many recipes that I wanted to try—mostly all chocolate related. The photography is good. And the little bits about the bakers are fun to read. The little bit on the science of baking is very helpful, although why a metal spoon to fold dry into wet ingredients needs to be explained. I look forward to baking a bunch of chocolate cakes and finally making caramel successfully.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely designed cookbook with a variety of cakes and other desserts, including some made by GBBO contestants on the show. Each recipe has a large photo and clear instructions and major supply list (pan type, piping tips). There is a chapter called “free-from” that includes vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free recipes. I also appreciated their tables for scaling recipes depending on the pan size you have available and the tutorials about piping, decorating with chocolate, etc.

[Sydney Olson · Rating 1 out of 5]

These cakes are not amazing. For some reason most of the recipes want you to beat lots of air into your batter with an expensive stand mixer, when you could achieve a better result with a wetter batter, no stand mixer, and some baking powder. Everything I’ve made from this book was overly complicated and ultimately less flavorful than versions you can find for free online.

[Amy Reade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous book, gorgeous photos. The recipes look and sound wonderful. I do wish the editors had included photos of bakers making the more complicated cakes. Sometimes the instructions for such cakes are not as clear as I would like them to be. A great book for anyone who loves the Great British Baking Show (as it's known in the US).

[Shaneka Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started this yesterday, a fantastic gift from the Grandma! Made one recipe and 6/12 are already gone, think I’ll surprise the family with something after Sunday dinner.

Gorgeous pictures, easy to follow recipes, and who doesn’t love the bake-off! I need more cooking books

[Winder Library]

As many folks already know The Great British Baking Show can do no wrong. This cake book is one of their most non-intimidating baking cookbooks. Try Coffee & Walnut Cake, Lime & Coconut Bundt Drizzle, Banana & Pecan or Sticky Gingerbread Loaf, even a Vegan Marble Cake. Go ahead....bake a cake!!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a copy of this from the publisher.
It is full of gorgeous pictures of cakes, cupcakes, etc that make my mouth water. The recipes are by contestants from The Great British Baking Show. It also comes with some baking tips so that you too can make the perfect cakes.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best cookbooks have lots of beautiful pictures of the finished recipes. This one did not disappoint. I am looking forward to channeling my inner British baker and trying some of these.

[Abby Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

So yummy

[Olivia Ambrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that there are some simpler recopies and they go over some basic techniques.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a fan of the show who doesn't actually bake regularly, I think this is probably a great first step into baking. But for someone who bakes, I found the recipes were okay but nothing that I hadn't seen elsewhere.

The only thing that I found mixed things up was that some of the basic recipes had been scaled to different sized/shaped pans. Other than that, no real revelations and not a lot of recipes that I feel the need to test out for my crew.

Disappointed overall. And any of the personality that I was hoping to see for the recipes by the bakers was pretty much MIA. There's a middle section where we get a bit of info about them that is similar to what you get from watching the show. And then a small sentence or two for their signature recipes.

So much potential ....

[Liz Trebbien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contains the best recipe for banana bread I have ever found.

[Donna Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, not a terrible TGBBS book but some recipes were just not for me. Hopefully others gett to enjoy it more than me!

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who has has the great and absolute pleasure of spending time in the the tent watching The Great British Baking Show understands the importance of a perfect Victorian sponge, the beauty of a sublime mirror glaze, the rustic ingenuity of a semi-naked cake. You’ve seen bakers struggle under the eagle eyes and scorching judgment of Paul Hollywood (I could add “and Prue Leith,” but she’s not nearly as scary a judge).

As a longtime fan of the show, I know I hold my breath when the knife slices through the frosting, when that first slice is pulled out, when the judges’ forks glide through that tasty treat that is an amazing cake. Now we Americans can have those moments in our own kitchens, because for the first time there is an Americanized cookbook celebrating the cakes of The Great British Baking Show.

The Big Book of Amazing Cakes pulls recipes from the most current season as well as some classics that couldn’t be left out and offers them to home bakers on this side of the pond along with all the tips and tricks you need to create your own impressive desserts. Need help understanding the chemistry of baking? It’s in there. Want ideas for frosting cupcakes (aka fairy cakes)? Yup, it’s included. Want to learn more about decorating with chocolate? You know they put it in here. And each recipe comes with exact times for how long it will need to bake, how much time you need to put in hands-on, and there are gorgeous, mouth-watering photos of all the cakes.

Now you can have your own recipe for the ultimate Victorian Sponge, Lemon Drizzle, Battenberg, Madeira Cake, Carrot Cake, and Swiss Roll. There are recipes for Baked Cheesecake, Fruitcake, Almond Poppy Seed Cake, and Sticky Gingerbread Loaf. And there is an entire chapter on chocolate cakes, including recipes for Devil’s Food Cake, Black Forest Gateau, Hazelnut & Chocolate Financiers, and Chocolate & Salted Caramel Brownies.

And for those with food allergies or special diets, there are recipes that are gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free and low or natural sugar. Vegan Lemon Drizzle, Dairy-Free Hazelnut Mocha Cake, Gluten-Free Berry Cheesecake, Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes, and Naturally Sweet Carrot & Walnut Cake, to name just a few, Anyone who wants cake should have a way to make an amazing cake, one that could even end in a rare Paul Hollywood handshake.

The Big Book of Amazing Cakes is the perfect gift for fans of The Great British Baking Show, for beginning and intermediate bakers, for anyone who loves cake, and for yourself. Buy it for the recipes. Buy it for the nostalgia. Buy it to be a better baker, or better yet, buy it because it makes you happy.

I mean, who doesn’t love cake?!?

A copy of The Great British Baking Show Big Book of Amazing Cakes was provided to me from Clarkson Potter for their Potter Previews program, with so many thanks!

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

For fans of The Great British Baking Show and for those that love baking cakes, this book The Big Book of Amazing Cakes will be a sweet treat. There are beautiful showstoppers as well as classic cakes. There are advice and tips for successful baking as well as beautiful photos. I’m not a serious baker, but I appreciate beautiful cakes. I happen to love carrot cake, and there’s a recipe for Naturally Sweet Carrot & Walnut Cake that looks really good and uses coconut sugar instead of the refined white sugar. Thanks for the free book, @clarksonpotter !

[R.J. Gilmour · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the producers of The Great British Bake Off, this cookbook is a collection of cake recipes from the show. The collection of recipes includes the basics for cake baking with lots of suggestions and photographs for every recipe.

[Linda Kaban · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely photos of the cakes and goodies. Cool biographies of the entrants. Some of these recipes are doable for us home cooks.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the recipes and the 10th anniversary season of The Great British Baking Show. Now all I need is someone to bake all these delectable recipes for me

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few factual errors about the bakers. I've liked other GBBO books more.

[Rosey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Watch the show....