Things I love Thursday: Baking Books

I probably don't have the biggest cook book collection in the world (although the way my Mum goes on you'd think I did.) But I have to admit I probably have more than I need... They are piled up on my shelves full of recipes and projects that I would love to try but just can't find the time to do.

The Vintage Tea Party is my absolute favourite - I just want to live in its beautiful pages

But when I bought my friend the Clandestine Cake Book as a birthday present, I found it very difficult to part with. It was quite hard to wrap it up and write someone else's address on the envelope. So when I heard the book calling to me from the shelves in Tesco at a fraction of its retail price (damn you, Waterstones, and your full prices!) it might have just fallen into my trolley and made it all the way to the checkout and then home.

I won't go on about the Clandestine Cake Club here as I think most people who are interested in baking are now aware of the concept. It was set up by Lynn Hill in 2010 and is basically groups of people meeting up all over the world and bringing along delicious homemade cakes to a pre-decided theme. The one rule being it has to be a cake. Currently there isn't one local to me and it's definitely something I would love to get involved in setting up. I think it would be a huge step for me and would do wonders for my confidence. My excuse is my odd working days but I realise that's a lame cop out.

You can find all the info you need about the CCC here

The book is fantastic: there is so much lovely looking stuff in there. The thing that caught my eye straight away was the lemon, parsnip and hazelnut cake. Yum! I love the sweetness of roasted parsnips and can't wait to try them in a cake. The blue velvet cake is amazingly striking and I can't wait to fake an occasion so I can give that a go. The book has also made me see how much I need a bundt tin in my life! Maybe even a heart shaped one. A heart shaped cake covered in glacé icing and glitter?! What! Amazing.

I have already had a go at the toffee cake (I bought dates to make a date & walnut loaf for the nice gentleman who brings me eggs at work and thought I would never use them again!) but more on that soon.

The only problem with the book is that it's not helping me work on other sides of baking like bread or pastry and is just helping me continue my cake obsession but if those are the rules...

Vicky xx

I love: wearing gloves to colour fondant *squish* pilates  Super Mario Bros Wii  House (I always love House)  red lipstick headscarves  early morning pre-work jogs  cringing over so-bad-they're-good films, I'm lookign at you Pitch Perfect (loved it!)  train trips to Newcastle eating biscuits with my favourite people parmentier potatoes a cold glass of wine on a sunny evening  summer dresses  watermelon  making plans for visitors  The Temptations