Fast Cakes by Mary Berry: Book Review

Mary Berry is the Queen of British baking. She is to me after I was introduced to her through a little television show called The Great British Bake Off. I had never heard of her before the show because I’ve never been out the North America (something I hope to change!). Her honest yet polite comments on the baking done by the amateurs on the show was a pleasure to see. I was sad to see she had not continued with the show, but that is something for another post!

This book is a hardcover book, with a total of 320 pages, published in 2018 by Quercus. The book contains over 150 recipes. There is a lengthy introduction by Mary Berry, and it is followed by 8 chapters. The chapters are as follows: Everyday Cakes, Traybakes and Family Cakes, Chocolate Bakes, Family Fruit Cakes, Little Cakes, Buns and Pastries, Biscuits and Cookies, Especially for Children, and Tea Breads and Scones. Many of the recipes include lovely pictures to show you what the finished product should look like.

In the introduction, she explains the reason she wrote the book. That reason was the fact that many people were intimidated by the recipes and the whole process of baking. She decided she needed to share her experience and expertise with the rest of us. She insisted that the recipes be easy enough for a child to make (with supervision), as she feels baking is a skill that all people should learn.

I must admit, I am an avid baker though not to her level.

Recipes I tried

I decided to try 3 different recipes in the book. The Basic Traybake, the Orange Marshmallow Cake, and the Irish Soda Bread. I chose those 3 because they looked interesting, and I had never made them before therefore I could give an honest reaction to each.

The first recipe I tried was the Irish Soda Bread. I chose it as it doesn’t call for yeast, which is something I am intimidated to try using. I’m unsure where I went wrong, as I ended up with a tough loaf of bread. I’m not sure if it’s because I used “homemade” self-rising flour, or if I didn’t rub the butter in properly. The bread looked ok coming out of the oven, but the crust was crumbly and the inside tough. I will try again, and I will succeed!

The second recipe I tried was the Basic Traybake, using the vanilla variation mentioned. The traybake was easy to make. Surprisingly, the batter was more the consistency of cookie dough than a cake batter. It turned out lovely. The kids found it a bit dry, which I did as well after a day or so. I remedied that issue with some whipped cream and berries, so yummy!

The last recipe I tried was the Orange Marshmallow Cake. Again, it was easy to make. It was nice making a cake in a springform pan instead of a regular cake pan, as I struggle to get them out of the pan. The cake was a success because between the 4 of us in the house, there was less than half left after dessert and my husband has a slice for breakfast. I mean it does have orange juice, so why wouldn’t it be good for breakfast?

Honest Opinion

My only issues with the book are her use of 2 ingredients repeatedly, and they were a little difficult for me to get. Those ingredients were margarine and self-rising flour. I have always been told not to use margarine for baking as it tends to cause spreading and oiliness in baked goods. I also didn’t use it because of the cost. At the moment, butter is cheaper than margarine in stick form. Add the fact I have lots of butter on hand because I like baking a lot in the colder months. As for the self-rising flour, I did not see any in the store nor did I want to buy another bag of flour. I guess you could say that they are both purely selfish reasons, but they are my reasons for not getting those ingredients.

I enjoyed reading the book, and would highly recommend this as an addition to any home baker’s library. Fast Cakes could be a great gift combined with some of the basic tools Mary Berry mentions in the introduction. She lists baking pans, cooling racks, paper liners, measuring cups and spoons, or storage containers for cakes as needed tools.