Baking for Pleasure by Ravneet Gill – Cookbook Review

Who is Ravneet Gill?
Ravneet Gill is a bestselling author, pastry chef and judge on Channel 4’s Junior Bake Off. She started her culinary career studying at Le Cordon Bleu before taking over the pastry sections at St John, Llewelyn’s and Wild by Tart. In 2018, she set up the trailblazing industry networking platform Countertalk to support hospitality businesses and promote healthy work environments. Now a freelance chef, she writes regularly for the Telegraph and Guardian Feast and often appears on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen. Baking for Pleasure is her third book.

What is Baking for Pleasure’s USP?
Gill’s first book, The Pastry Chef’s Guide, was designed to break down the fundamentals of pastry and provide reliable base recipes so that budding pastry chefs could eventually create their own desserts in a professional kitchen. Her second, Sugar, I Love You, went a step further with elaborate plated puds, intricate entremets and decadent cheesecakes bursting with colour, flavour and ‘wow’ factor. Baking for Pleasure adopts a different approach; imploring you to embrace the enjoyment found in creating delicious dishes for yourself and loved ones. Yes, there are plenty of impressive dinner-party desserts, but there are also crowd-pleasing classics, quick batch-bakes and wholesome weekend treats designed to show how home-baking can be simple, satisfying and full of joy.

What will I love?
Where to begin? Gill’s passion and pleasure for her craft is infectious, radiating through the recipes, personal introductions and encouraging advice. Prepare for page after page of beautifully photographed bakes including favourites like ‘Carrot Cake’, ‘Tiramisu’ and ‘Chocolate and Cream Profiteroles’, alongside more modern interpretations like ‘Millionaire’s Shortbread with Pistachio and Cardamom’ and ‘Mango Crème Brûlée’. It is great to see a wonderful selection of breads and savoury bakes too, including a show-stopping ‘Caramelised Onion Tatin’, ‘Jalapeño Popper Gougères’ and ‘Japanese Milk Loaf’.

Gill successfully manages to strike the balance between explaining each step in detail, without coming across as waffly or patronising (I guarantee you will finish this book with a greater understanding of baking). What’s more, while you could be forgiven for thinking recipes like these would require a lengthy list of culinary utensils, Gill has been mindful of domestic kitchens and washing up (always a bonus!) so you won’t find yourself hunting down obscure equipment or be left with a sink full of dirty dishes.

Is it good bedtime reading?
The eye-catching colours and striking photography make this a great book to flick through and is sure to bring about sweet dreams. However, aside from the introduction and Gill’s thoughts on ‘Finding Joy in the Kitchen’, there isn’t a lot to read… at least not in the sense of the essays in Sugar, I Love You. The recipes do all have introductions and a fair few include tips.

Will I have trouble finding the ingredients?
No. Gill wanted this to be a book for the home-cook so you won’t have much trouble finding the ingredients.

How easy are the recipes to follow?
Yes. The equipment is listed next to the servings and the ingredients are separated into sections (e.g. for the pastry, for the filling, to finish). There is a good mix of recipes depending on whether you want to whip up a simple ‘Blueberry Muffin Cake’ or spend a little longer making the deliciously summery ‘Strawberry and Clotted Cream Paris-Brest’. 

The only minor criticism is it would be helpful to have the cooking time by the ingredients so you can easily see how long a recipe will take, rather than skimming the recipe and calculating it in your head. 

Stand-out recipes?
This book is so full of mouthwatering recipes that it is tricky to narrow it down to just a few… The ‘Double Cream and Frangipane Bakewell’ is the best I have ever tasted, the ‘Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies’ are dangerously addictive and the ‘Coffee Choux’ are simply divine. The ‘Chocolate and Hazelnut Caramel Tart’ is great fun to make, delicious to eat, and guaranteed to impress anyone you care to share it with.

How often will I cook from this book?
This could easily become your most-used book when in search of a sweet treat (not forgetting the savoury chapter, of course). Every occasion is covered with chapters including: ‘Bakes for Friends’, ‘Crowd Pleasers’, ‘Dinner Parties’, ‘Weekend Bakes’ and ‘Savoury Bakes’. Whether you want a classic ‘Chocolate Mousse’ or something more unusual like the ‘Brown Butter and Honey Baked Tart’, this book has you covered. Some, like the ‘Pantry Raid Flapjacks’, need less than 15 minutes prep and a handful of store-cupboard ingredients, whilst others, like the ‘Light-As-Air Chocolate, Cherry and Pistachio Roulade’, require a bit more effort.

Any negatives?
Nothing major… If you want to be really picky, it would have been nice to see a few more savoury recipes given they are mentioned in the description. However, the sweet options are so tempting you shouldn’t feel hard done by.

Should I buy the book?
A resounding ‘yes’. This is a brilliant book brimming with joy, enthusiasm and delicious recipes that genuinely work. A must-by for any baker.

Cuisine: Baking and Patisserie 
Suitable for: Baking fans of all abilities. 
Great for fans of: Nicola Lamb and Liberty Mendez
Cookbook review rating: Five stars
Buy this book: Baking for Pleasure: The new sweet and savoury cookbook with recipes
£26.00, Pavilion Books

Cook the Book
Fruit Scones
Fig Rolls

This review was written by Freelance Food Writer and Recipe Developer Sophie Knox Richmond. Follow her on Instagram on @sophie_kr_food.