Baking Book Review: Jane’s Patisserie

Jane’s Patisserie is everything a cake-lover like myself needs: a mouth-watering recipe book full of delicious bakes ranging from cupcakes, to cookies and even cheesecakes!

60 new and exclusive fan-requested recipes

This much-anticipated book is the work of Jane Dunn, the phenomenal foodie behind the blog ‘Jane’s Patisserie’. Her Instagram and Facebook pages have also become very popular over lockdown.

As well as being a blogger, Jane is a food writer and photographer. She has been running the blog since November 2014, when she finished her cookery school journey. She posts her recipes online regularly and you can even request a recipe on her website!

The book contains many classic favourites (especially the cheesecakes) as well as 60 new and exclusive fan-requested recipes.

Very basic ingredients

It is easy to read because it is split into different coloured sections for each sweet treat. When you open the book, you will see a baker’s note with a guide to useful equipment and ingredients, including a guide to what types are best to buy. This is perfect if you are thinking of baking regularly or professionally, as you can see what you need to stock up on before you kick-start your baking fiasco.

The different recipe sections include: Cheesecakes, Cakes, Cupcakes and Muffins, Cookies, Breads and Doughnuts, Traybakes, Desserts, Tea Time and Sweets.

Each section contains a beginning page with top tips for making that food, and the main ingredients required. The Cheesecake section has to be my absolute favourite. It is filled with heavenly pictures to appetize you to make them (or preferably just eat them). Some of the cheesecake recipes are no-bake so they don’t require an oven, you only put them in the fridge for the specified hours. There are some unusual cheesecake recipes, which is what I love most about this book – there is such a wide range of flavours to satisfy everyone’s palates, from fruity to chocolatey. This is a book that caters for all sweet lovers.

It will help you master your baking skills

Each recipe is clear and readable; it includes a write-up about the recipe, the method, the serving quantity, the time for prep, cooking, setting, cooling, how long it will keep and the ingredients for each part.

Jane includes a ‘customise’ box if you were interested in putting your own twist on your bake. Not every recipe includes photographs, which is the only disappointment, but there are plenty throughout the book nonetheless.

I’ve already made the NYC chocolate chip cookies, and they went down a treat with my family and friends. I used Galaxy chocolate pieces instead of typical chocolate chips. This demonstrates how this book can be used as a base to make tasty treats while allowing you to substitute in your favourite chocolates or fruits, making your baking more original.

The cookies, and a lot of the other recipes, use very basic ingredients and do not take much time to make. While making the cookies, it was just the case of adding the ingredients to the bowl one by one and mixing. They only take 10-15 minutes to cook – ideal to make last minute.

The only thing I haven’t quite mastered is making the cookies symmetrical!

Overall, every cake-lover and baking enthusiast needs Jane’s Patisserie. It will help you master your baking skills and inspire you to make new treats for yourself and your loved ones.

Some of my favourite recipes to look at in the book (which I hope to bake soon) are: