The Thrifty Baker by Hermine Dossou: Cookbook Review

The Thrifty Baker: Shop, Cake, & Eat on a Budget is the debut cookbook from Hermine Dossou. Dossou may sound familiar to you. Why? Because she was a contestant on The Great British Baking Show.

I want to thank White Lion Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Thrifty Baker. All opinions presented here are solely mine.

Synopsis from Goodreads

The Thrifty Baker presents 65 delicious, affordable and impressive recipes, complete with gluten-free options, plus advice, tips and hacks covering many areas of shopping, baking and cooking in general.

Filled with clever ideas and useful features, the book is written with a realism and empathy that comes from the heart, from a lived experience. It isn’t just a book of great recipes, but an essential manual for anyone baking today.

My Opinions

The Thrifty Baker contains seven chapters chockful of yummy recipes and tips! There is also one chapter that discusses Dossou’s tips and tricks to make every pence (or penny) stretch even further. Along with her tips, Dossou shares some of her background.

The recipes throughout the book are marked according to their price per serving. The range used in the book is <65¢, <70¢, or <$1.85. The higher price point may be found on a recipe that is more indulgent (Spiced Pineapple Coconut Crumble) or would be more filling (Mince Beef Pastels). The lower price point contains more ingredients that are more likely to be sitting in your kitchen right now (Orange Drizzle Cake).

The seven chapters are ones that you would expect to find in almost every cookbook that focuses on baking.

• Breads: yeast bread recipes
• Cakes for Tea: think Victoria sponge
• Biscuits & Cookies
• Pastries & Tarts: mix of sweet & savory
• Desserts: think carrot cakes and apple crumbles
• Special Occasion: mostly variations on genoise sponge
• Quick & Convenient: mug cakes

While this cookbook focuses on thrift, it doesn’t skimp on creativity. One of the recipes I tested from this cookbook is the Spiced Pineapple and Coconut Crumble. My husband ate 2/3rd of the pan in less than 24 hours. The best way to explain the recipe is to picture an apple crumble but swap out pineapple (fresh!) for the apple. My two taste testers agreed it was refreshing and not pineapple-forward. One of my testers all but licked the bowl clean, and he admitted he’s not a fan of pineapple. My husband has asked for this to be his birthday cake this year!

I look forward to trying more recipes from this book, like the Chai Butternut Cake, Samoa Cookies, and Speculoos Cookies.

Who would benefit from The Thrifty Baker? Everyone! The recipes are easy to follow and don’t contain complicated directions. The ingredients in these pages are ones you can find at any store. Doussu even mentions buying some ingredients at the dollar store to stretch your money further.

Run, don’t walk to your nearest store to pick up a copy of The Thrifty Baker! You won’t be disappointed.

Are you looking for more food-related content? Check out my other Foodie Fridays posts.