What a great baking book. It has easy to follow recipes which feel a bit more everyday than some other baking books. A staple book that you would reach for if you wanted a nice cake for your family.

I loved looking through this book and should be a stable in every kitchen. The recipes are easy to follow and well explained. The notes about each cakes are a nice addition too. I have made two from this already and I'm sure I will be making many more in the future and would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves baking. Thanks to netgalley for this arc.

The recipes in this book were were easy to follow and good to bake.
The information at the beginning about the origin of cakes was interesting.
Every kitchen needs this book!
Thank you netgalley

A nice easy to follow recipe book for cakes. I particularly like the lemon drizzle cake recipe - my favourite and delicious!
Very clear instructions given which means all levels of bakers can follow.

A wonderful recipe book with lots of recipes of different types of cakes. I really enjoyed looking through this book and choosing bakes. I loved making the sea salt sponge cake, double chocolate brownies, fresh orange surprise cake and the clotted cream strawberry sponge cake. My 11 year old is obsessed with cake so was really chuffed that there was so much cake in the house. I can’t wait to try the lemon cream roll and the chocolate pecan fudge cake next!

I love all the National Trust recipe books and this one didn't disappoint. Delicious cake recipes for any occasion . Loved the notes for each cake they provided an interesting insight to how they were developed ! I've already made the quick and easy fruitcake and white chocolate blondies - delicious and easy to follow recipes. Also liked all of the drawings - beautiful book to add to the other National Trust books and my mum will be getting this for her birthday !

I love these books sold by the National trust and already own and use the one about scones. Most of the time when I buy recipe books, I chose ones with photos of the food. These books rely on drawings instead and do you know, I rather like them. With cakes, there is always that disappointment, even before you begin the baking, that your cake is not going to look as good as the professional’s version pictured. Here that doesn’t apply and I really appreciate not having to live up to anything.
These books make wonderful gifts, not just for the recipes, but having the history or background to the bakes included, also make the books enjoyable to just sit and browse. Great as a thank you gift to take home from a holiday for a helpful friend or neighbour. Great recipes too!

This book just made my mouth water. A great selection of cake recipes with beautiful illustrations. I think the addition of a few photographs to show the finished cakes would have been nice but overall a book I will buy a physical copy of.

A delicious collection of indulgant treats!
OK, I love cake, I love eating caking, looking at cake attempting to bake cake (though that isn't always a success) just showing my love for cake!
I liked that there is something for everyone in this book, different categories from timless cakes to delicious loaf cakes and everything in-between, each category is adjoined by a little history of each item, background and traditions which I thought was different to your usual cook book and a lot more insightful as I love learning about about the tradions and where certain good origionates from and its history, so that tat was all a winner fro me.
There is something fro every baker in here, I tried a couple, though I'm not a great baker some worked for me some didn't but what I got from this was a real joy.
It's light and easy yot follow and I think it's a must to have on any bakers shelf!

A really useful little book full of easy to follow recipes with clear instructions.
The recipes are divided into 4 sections:-
1. Loaf cakes which includes lemon drizzle and malty tea loaf
2. Fruit cakes - I'm looking forward to trying the orchard figgy cake.
3. Sponge cakes with favourites such a Victoria sponge, coffee and walnut and the delicious sounding pecan fudge cake.
4. Small cakes - this has many recipes to delight children, including tiffin, butterfly cakes and chocolate brownies.
The small illustrations are delightful.
This will be a well used book.
Highly recommend.
Thanks to netGalley and the publishers for an ARC.

I thank National Trust Books (Collins) and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review.
I enjoyed visiting National Trust sites when I lived in the UK (and I recommend them to anybody visiting it), and there was always a shop selling books, souvenirs, and gifts of all kinds, where one always had to stop, and a tea shop to have a snack, a cup of tea, and a slice of cake. So, when I saw this, I could not resist visiting again, even if it was from within the pages of a cookery book.
This is not like any cookery book I’ve read before, although I am no expert, and it seems that the author is well-known, especially in the world of baking and baking books, and deservedly so if I am to judge by this text. I got an e-copy, but even this version has lovely illustrations (no photographs, but I didn’t miss them), and it manages to pack in not many pages 55 recipes of popular cakes, some with connections to well-known properties of the National Trust. (I know the description says 40 and the cover 55. There are 55, but I wonder if the 40 refer to cakes because the last section is dedicated to ‘small’ cakes (like brownies), so perhaps that is what they mean, although it is a bit confusing). The author writes beautifully and passionately about baking, and in her introduction she gives clear and detailed explanations about how cakes evolved throughout history with the different discoveries (the various sweeteners, the use of yeast at first and baking power later) and imports of foodstuffs, and I have learned many things I had no idea about.
The book also includes a section of ‘good things to know’ which offers general instructions as to what is necessary before starting to prepare one of the recipes and another titled ‘ways to make a cake’ (rubbed-in cake mixtures, melted mixtures, all-in-one mixtures, creamed mixtures, and whisked sponges) which offers a general description of each method, with some of the best-known examples of each kind. I never knew one could keep opened packs of nuts in the freezer, but I’ll keep it in mind from now on.
After those come the recipes, which are divided up into loaf cakes (e.g.: malty tea loaf, elderflower yogurt cake [gluten free],or lemon drizzle cake), fruit cakes (like fresh cherry cake, peach Melba cake, blackberry, and apple crumble cake), sponge cakes (e.g.: spiced carrot cake, coffee, and walnut cake, chocolate pecan fudge cake [gluten free]), and small cakes (tiffin [gluten free], spicy rock cakes, Welsh cakes), a detailed index and a section of acknowledgements.
The recipes include tips and instructions as to how should the butter be, the temperature of the eggs, and how long should the cake be left before eating (as some gain in flavour if they are allowed to repose for a couple of days). It also follows the steps in the preparation one by one and advises on when to turn the oven on as the preparation proceeds, so everything is ready at the right time. This will be especially useful to beginners, as it might be difficult to remember the order of the steps. Collister includes vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free options in some of the recipes, and when the recipe comes from a well-known National Trust House and/or has interesting connections (like Churchill’s Fruit Cake, for example) and it has a long tradition, she also shares the history behind it, and that adds to the interest of the book.
As I said, I’ve only had access to the e-book copy, but the hardback copy of this book would be a great gift to anybody interested in baking, cake recipes, and their history and evolution. And a great self-gift as well. There is an art to baking, and there is an art to writing about it, and Collister excels at both. Highly recommended to fans of the genre, no matter how experienced they are.

I loved this Book of Cakes, there are some delicious sounding cakes.

The recipe book is clear and concise. I thought the first few chapters 'recipe notes', 'Good things to Know' and 'ways to make a cake' were a nice touch and explained things well. Some cook books expect you know how to cook. This sets clear guidelines so there is absolutely no confusion.

The recipes themselves are also very clear and easy to follow. There is brief description about the cake, a clear easy to read ingredients list and a simple easy to follow method.

My only downside to this book hence the 4 stars is the lack of photos. Whilst the illustrations are cute and match the aesthetic of the book, I would have also preferred an actual photo of the finished cake to get a real idea of what it should look like.

I think this cake book will also be good for my 8 and 10 year old to use to try and bake something a bit different to just fairy cakes. Ideal for novices and established bakers!

Thank you tto NetGalley, National Trust and the publisher for this lovely Book of Cakes.

I have had a look through and can’t wait to try some of these recipes!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This National Trust cake recipe book contains a lovely selection of unusual, but very tempting, recipes. It includes sections on loaf cakes, fruit cakes, sponge cakes and small cakes. The brief introduction explains some of the interesting history of the development of cakes. There is a good mix of traditional cakes and newer recipes, all look delicious. Thank you to Net Galley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a wonderful book. I expected just cake recipes and I could not have been more wrong. The starter was the descriptions of the many methods that are involved with the different types of cake making. This was a fascinating starter and the descriptions and details were so clear. For each of the cakes there was a brief description about the history which was so interesting. I found that the recipes were so detailed giving amazing step by step instructions in order to produce the top cakes with no errors. It was interesting to know that these recipes have been used in National Trust properties and so when a visitor liked a certain cake they could then reproduce it at home.
This is a unique cookery book that will be very useful to anyone who purchases it.
Thank you Netgalley for getting me a copy of this magnificent book about cake making so that I could give my totally unbiased review on. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes cakes.

A lovely book from the National Trust. I am looking forward to baking some of these. It is lovely to have a book of traditional cake making with clear explanations and hints. I will buy this in hard back .

As the name may suggest, this book is poor joy!

As has been typical of this series, don't expect photographs of the extensive list of delicacies featured, but some cute drawings illustrate many of the wondrous creations, and I can confirm that these are enough to tantalise the tastebuds!

There is no shortage of cakes in this delicious book, and these are arranged by sections, comprised of loaf cakes, fruit cakes, sponge cakes and small cakes. It further includes 4 introductory sections. For those of us with specific dietary requirements consideration (and substitutions) are featured for those recipes on which it is possible to do so, where substitutions are not recommended the author has the integrity to make this very clear.

Overall this is book I will refer to again and again as I seek to increase my cake baking repertoire!

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

My thanks to NetGalley and The National Trust for a copy of “Book Of Cakes “ for an honest review.

This little book with a varied selection of cake recipes , plus beautiful illustrations , would make a perfect addition to any kitchen shelf.
There are old favourites plus new variations to try out , and everything is very well explained.
I’m sure this book would appeal to any cake lover !

I really enjoyed looking through this book and testing out a cake or two. The illustrations are extremely cute and didn't get you to try "the perfect look" like in the book for your own cake.
I only had some struggles with the format of the book as ebook but you could handle that.

I received a free copy of, Book of Cakes, by Linda Collister, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Who does not love cake, for a special occasion, or just because, cakes are an enjoyable treat. This book has fruit cake, and sponge cakes, and so much more. The cakes look so good and is making me hungry. A good book on cakes to make for any occasion.