Mary Berry's Ultimate Cake Book: Over 200 Classic Recipes

Having read and used Nigella Lawson's 'How to be a Domestic Goddess' book, I would have to say that I prefer this book, mainly because it is more accessible for everyday baking.


One of my favourites   May 14, 2007
PK (London, UK)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

This book is just amazing! It's one of the first baking books I bought and it is just so versatile. The range if recipes it contains is impressive, without a doubt. It has chocolate cakes, cheesecakes, biscuits, savoury items, children's cakes and biscuits, even home made chocolates! Whatever you're planning to make, you can just pick up this baking bible and flick through it, and you are sure to find the perfect recipe. Mary Berry uses detailed cooking instructions so it's fairly easy to recreate her mouth watering recipes, and then the ingredients she uses are all things you would have lying around. This is very convenient as most cookery books you get these days are full of unusual or 'rare' ingredients which are so hard to get hold of it puts you off the recipe. I have tried the chocolate fudge cake, which was delicious, and the millionaire's shortbread is a favourite of mine. It even contains healthy recipes which appeal to everyone, diet or no diet. Then again, when you own a book as tempting as this one, why diet? I recommend it to everyone.


Fantastic book for the beginner to bake all types of cakes   February 4, 2002
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

My intial attempts at cake baking were complete disasters. They would dip in the middle, taste dry and feel heavy. The techniques, simple to follow recipes and help offered in the book have led to a complete turn around in my cake baking abilities, so much so my family actually asks me to bake rather than leave the cake tins in the cupboard!


Must-Have For Beginners   April 1, 2007
N. Arif
26 out of 27 found this review helpful

I used to find baking very tedious, complicated and intimidating. In many ways, baking is still those things but this book is so helpful with giving an absolute beginner like me the confidence to try. The all-in-one method is such a revelation to me. Why haven't I heard about this before? I have made the Victoria Sandwich Cake over and over again and it is absoutely THE best! It's wonderfully buttery and so so so soft and moist! It's even better the day after. Best with a tart raspberry jam!! I've compared her recipe with both Delia and Nigella. Mary's wins hands down. Maybe this is because I love that her recipe produces a very generous and tall cake. I know the other two prefer "thinner" cakes, as they say: to balance with the jam. But if I were to serve it to guests, I'd bake Mary's recipe because not only is it simpler to make and more delicious, it also looks spectacular! I have also tried the chocolate version but if you're someone used to intense chocolately cakes, this is not the recipe for you. It looked like a chocolate cake but with only 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder, the taste just didn't do it for a chocoholic like me.

The other recipe I am absolutely in love with is her Lemon Traybake (also using the all-in-one method)!! In this book, the recipe calls for lemon icing as a topping but since I don't like the overwhelming sweetness of icing sugar, I use granulated sugar and lemon juice (which is used for her Crunchy Lemon Cake recipe - in "Simple Cakes" it is called Lemon Drizzle Traybake). Nigella has a similar recipe which she calls Lemon Syrup Loaf Cake using icing sugar. Not anywhere as good! The granulated sugar adds a wonderful and interesting crunchy texture to the supermoist and soft cake. And unlike icing sugar, granulated sugar doesn't overpower the taste of the lemon juice. As the granulated sugar mostly sits on top, the juice soaks into the cake - which makes this yummy buttery cake taste surprisingly refreshing!! For someone who never really cared for lemons, this recipe has changed my life! Because of this cake, I absolutely love love love lemons now!!

Food is all about taste - different people have different taste. This is so with cakes. I'm sure I won't like all the recipes in here (I hate having bits of nuts in my cake, and I'm still trying to muster enough courage to try a semolina cake). As it is, when a recipe calls for margarine I just use butter - not only do I prefer the more natural taste, but it's a healthier and safer choice (see: transfat). However, what I can vouch for is Mary Berry's calming and assuring attitude in this book. She has no airs about her. She explains things simply and in the end makes you feel so comfortable about baking. Since her recipes are reliable, I have found success each and everytime! Very important when you're a beginner! She makes a great teacher! At the end of the day, I don't want to be a domestic goddess - I just want to make yummy cakes!!

This is a must-have! I also highly recommend her book "Simple Cakes" or "Fool-proof Cakes", as the hardback edition is called.