Baker Jane Dunn has managed to translate her online success to a series of best-selling books. The creator of the hugely popular blog “Jane’s Patisserie”, Dunn has released two books – “Jane’s Patisserie” (2021) and “Jane’s Patisserie Celebrate!” (2022) – both of which became No 1. Sunday Times bestsellers. Now a regular presence on TV and at food events throughout the country, Dunn has released her third book “Jane’s Patisserie Everyday” as she continues to inspire people to get in the kitchen and bake.
As with her previous books, Dunn has pulled together a wide array of delicious recipes requested by her online followers. The big change for this book though, is that Dunn really digs into savoury dishes more than she’s done previously. Altogether there are 70 recipes in the book that are perfect for bakers of every level. Opening with an introduction that gives plenty of tips about ingredients and how to freeze your baked goods to make them last longer, Dunn’s wisdom will no doubt be invaluable to those bakers who aren’t very confident in the kitchen.
The main bulk of the book is split into 8 sections – ‘Cakes and Cupcakes’, ‘Cookies and Traybakes’, ‘Tarts, Pies and Pastries’, ‘Puddings and Desserts’, ‘Comfort Food’, ‘Savoury and Breads’, ‘Sweet Treats’ and ‘Free-From Every Day’. Of course, the first two sections are what Dunn’s followers have come to expect from her and as ever, she’s come up with some drool-inducing recipes. I’ve always loved Dunn’s tendency to fuse flavours and combinations that we know and love, and do something different with them. She does that again her with cake recipes such as “Millionaire’s Cake” and ‘Brownie Cake’. Both look deliciously more-ish and are just a little tease of the treasures you can find.
Where the book really starts to come into its own is in the third section ‘Tarts, Pies and Pastries’. As well as a selection of sweet bakes, Dunn offers up some tantalising savoury suggestions too such as ‘Mediterranean Vegetable Tart’, ‘Chicken, Leek and Bacon Pie’ and my personal favourite, ‘Bacon, Brie and Tomato Quiche’. The savoury delights feature heavily in ‘Comfort Food’ too with Dunn sharing her mouth-watering ‘Macaroni Cheese’ and ‘Toad in the Hole’ recipes, as well as her soon to be Christmas favourite recipe ‘Cheesy Garlic Bread Traybake’.
In the ‘Savoury and Breads’ chapter, Dunn really showcases her skills as an all-rounder in the kitchen. A lot of bakers specialise in one area but Dunn has real versatility. The chapter is packed with ideas for sides and accompaniments such as ‘Ultimate Roast Potatoes’ and ‘Yorkshire Puddings’, as well as her twist on ‘Pizza Pockets’ and a vegetarian ‘Cheese and Onion ‘Sausage’ Rolls’ recipe. The inclusion of a ‘Free-From’ chapter is a great addition too as more people switch to gluten-free diets (either due to preference or intolerance). With Dunn’s expertise, she makes gluten-free baking feel straightforward and relatively simple.
Each of the recipes is accompanied by a full-page picture (those Bronuts are still making me hungry!), and as with the previous books, Dunn’s instructions and steps are very clear. The recipes here offer a variety of challenges but there’s nothing that’s ridiculously complex or difficult. If you’re expecting lengthy recipes for French Patisserie-style bakes, then this isn’t the book for you.
Dunn has really found a market for her “Jane’s Patisserie” brand and it’s inspiring to see how much success she’s achieving. Her ethos has always been to make baking as accessible as possible and with “Jane’s Patisserie Everyday” she gifts her followers with plenty of ideas. Given the book is flying off the shelves, I expect we can anticipate further books from Dunn in the future and I personally can’t wait.
Publisher: Ebury Press Release date: 3rd August 2023 Buy “Jane’s Patisserie Everyday” now
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