Happy Cooking: Easy uplifting meals and comforting treats

Who’s the author? Winner of the 2016 Great British Bake Off and author of the Comfort cookbook, Candice Brown is a talented baker and cook and successful pub owner. Follow her cooking escapades @candicebrown on Twitter and Instagram.

What’s it about? Food to soothe the soul and pick you up when you’re feeling low, Happy Cooking is a cookbook to nourish, restore and revive. Candice speaks candidly about her battles with depression, anxiety and PTSD, using cooking as a therapy to get her through the darkest of days.

From quick pick-me-ups (hello, The Ultimate Toastie) to simple comforts and childhood favourites, like homemade chicken nuggets and Everything-In Bolognese, to nourishing suppers and keep-your-hands-busy baking, this is the type of cooking that calms the mind and soothes the spirit.

“If you are like me – and I have recently found out so many of you are – you take to your kitchen to sooth anxieties, calm yourself and make yourself smile. Cooking has brought a whole load of us together through that mutual love. That and long hot baths, cake and chicken nuggets!”, says Candice. Find plenty of flavour-packed recipes, clever tips and colourful photography to inspire you.

Recipes we love: Pesto Gnocchi Gratin, Proper Pub Beer-Battered Fish & Chips; Sausage Patty Breakfast Bagels; Leftover Turmeric Chicken, Pearl Barley & Mushroom Soup; Tiramisu Bread & Butter Pudding with Baileys Cream and Swedish Cinnamon Buns

Perfect for: cooks and eaters who find solace in the act cooking, lovers of nostalgic baking and homemade versions of favourite takeaways.