September is here, the promise of autumn hangs in the air, and our Tuesday evenings are about to become a lot more entertaining. That’s right – it’s nearly time for the next series of The Great British Bake Off.
There are plenty of brilliant cookbooks to inspire every kind of Bake Off fan to get in the kitchen and start creating showstoppers of their own – whether you’re a complete beginner, patisserie pro, or just have an insatiable sweet tooth. So while you’re excitedly waiting to see who might overwork their dough during Bread Week or steer clear of a soggy bottom in Pastry Week, we’ve got the perfect selection of cookbooks to help you explore your love of baking.
Best cookbooks for patisserie recipes
Patisserie Maison
Following on from Pastry, baker Richard Bertinet shares the secrets of the patisserie trade with easy-to-follow instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips on mastering key techniques.
In the Mood for Entertaining
Featuring decadent tarts, sweet and savoury pastries and dinner party-ready dishes, this cookbook by chef and food stylist Jo Pratt has everything you need to impress people with your hosting skills.
The Last Bite
Pastry chef Anna Higham’s debut cookbook is a go-to resource for demystifying the fundamentals of pastry, complete with seasonal recipes and how-to guides on prepping a whole host of fillings and accompaniments.
Best cookbooks for dessert recipes
Beautiful recipes from Claire Ptak, baker of Megan and Harry’s wedding cake
Delicious sweet and savoury bakes
Inspiration for everyday baking and special occasions
The Violet Bakery Cookbook
From Butterscotch Blondies to decadent Prune and Whisky Cake, Violet Bakery founder Claire Ptak’s cookbook has inventive dessert recipes for every occasion.
The Violet Bakery Cookbook
Beautiful recipes from Claire Ptak, baker of Megan and Harry’s wedding cake
Delicious sweet and savoury bakes
Inspiration for everyday baking and special occasions
A whirlwind tour of the wonders of fresh ice cream
Recipes for ice creams, sorbets, granitas and more
Fresh fruity flavours and decadent creamy delights
La Grotta Ices
Pastry chef Kitty Travers proves that homemade ice cream doesn’t have to be vanilla with 75 bold, flavoursome recipes including Barbados Custard Ice Cream, Montmorency Cherry Sorbet and Apricot Noyau.
La Grotta Ices
A whirlwind tour of the wonders of fresh ice cream
Recipes for ice creams, sorbets, granitas and more
Fresh fruity flavours and decadent creamy delights
Ottolenghi’s cakes, bakes and desserts
Inspiring ideas for edible gifts
Dinner party and occasion showstoppers
Sweet
Ottolenghi may be best known for his vegetable-forward mains and side dishes, but this cookbook sees him return to his pastry chef roots. Expect inventive, sophisticated recipes to round off your dinner parties, including Rosemary Olive Oil Orange Cake, Cinnamon Pavlova with Praline Cream and Fresh Figs, and Flourless Chocolate Layer Cake with Coffee, Walnut, and Rosewater.
Sweet
Ottolenghi’s cakes, bakes and desserts
Inspiring ideas for edible gifts
Dinner party and occasion showstoppers
Meringue Girls: Everything Sweet
With recipes including Edible Flower Lollipops, Fairy Floss Cake, and Coyo, Mango and Raspberry Rockets, the chefs behind the Meringue Girls bakery have quirky treats for every occasion.
The best cookbooks for Bread Week
Learn to make perfect bread
No-nonsense tips and tricks
Simple recipes with impressive results
Brilliant Bread
With Brilliant Bread, James Morton has explored the technical ins and outs of breadmaking so you don’t have to. Recipes in this book cover everything from sourdough, pretzels, and focaccia to sweet treats like the extremely moreish Iced Yum Yums, while step-by-step photos and failsafe tips will help you up your bread skills in no time.
Brilliant Bread
Learn to make perfect bread
No-nonsense tips and tricks
Simple recipes with impressive results
A masterclass in baking from Bread Ahead
Inspiring recipes for sweet and savoury bakes
Bread-making made simple
Baking School
The founders behind Bread Ahead, the bakery beloved by Londoners (and Instagrammers) share everything you need to know about making their most famous bakes. Step-by-step recipes include No Knead Sourdough, New York Pretzels, and, of course, the iconic Caramel Custard and Salted Honeycomb Doughnuts.
Baking School: The Bread Ahead Cookbook
A masterclass in baking from Bread Ahead
Inspiring recipes for sweet and savoury bakes
Bread-making made simple
Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding
Fans of the Bread Ahead bakery can also get their dough fix from this collection of over 150 recipes penned by co-founder Justin Gellatly, which run the gamut from the classic (Soda Bread, Sourdough Starter, and Iced London Buns) to the brilliantly inventive (such as Fennel Blossom Ice Cream, Banana Sticky Toffee Pudding, and Deep Fried Jam Sandwiches).
The Breadmaker Bible
So you’ve bought a fancy new breadmaker, and maybe even made a couple of loaves – now what? Featuring recipes for French Stick, Sourdough, Pizza Dough, Saffron Brioche Bread & Butter Pudding and more, this cookbook shows just how versatile the humble breadmaker really is.
A loving homage to soup in all its forms
From quick fixes to weekend feasts
Plus breads, garnishes, and accompaniments
Soup Broth Bread
There are few combinations more comforting than a hearty, warming bowl of soup and hunk of bread. In this cookbook, chef and Ballymaloe Cookery School teacher Rachel Allen shares the ultimate soup-and-bread pairings, including French Onion Soup with Gruyère Toasts and the highly versatile Pumpkin, Cheese and Rosemary Scones.
Soup Broth Bread
A loving homage to soup in all its forms
From quick fixes to weekend feasts
Plus breads, garnishes, and accompaniments
Recipes for 30 kinds of bread, including classic sandwich loaves, rolls, rye, and ciabatta,
Plus 50 meal ideas to help you use up every last crumb of delicious homemade bread
Easy instructions for everyone from total beginners to veteran bread makers.
Bake With Jack
Suitable for novice bakers and bread aficionados alike, this easy-to-follow cookbook is packed with bread recipes and meal inspiration from chef, bread expert, and Channel 4 Sunday Brunch regular Jack Sturgess.
Bake with Jack: Bread Every Day
Recipes for 30 kinds of bread, including classic sandwich loaves, rolls, rye, and ciabatta,
Plus 50 meal ideas to help you use up every last crumb of delicious homemade bread
Easy instructions for everyone from total beginners to veteran bread makers.
BBC Good Food: Best Breads
Straight from the trusted BBC Good Food test kitchen, these sweet and savoury bread recipes are a failsafe option for anyone looking to improve their everyday breadmaking.
The best cookbooks for Biscuit Week
The ultimate biscuit bible from the GBBO finalist
Delicious sweet and savoury bakes
Fun and easy recipes for baking with kids
Biscuit
Dubbed ‘the iced biscuit queen’ by Mary Berry herself, series one Bake Off finalist Miranda Gore Browne is perfectly placed to teach you everything you need to know about creating beautiful biscuits. Recipes range from the classics (think Lady’s Kisses, Chocolate Bourbons, and Gingerbread Men) to wonderfully inventive biscuit versions of much-loved treats like cherry bakewell, chocolate brownies, and hot cross buns.
Biscuit
The ultimate biscuit bible from the GBBO finalist
Delicious sweet and savoury bakes
Fun and easy recipes for baking with kids
BBC Good Food: Best Biscuits
Saffron, Pistachio and White Chocolate Cookies, Caramelised Florentines, and Rosemary Crackers are just some of the 90-plus brilliant recipes in this biscuit-making bible.
Decorative biscuits for every occasion
Inventive ideas for biscuits and cakes
Fun family projects and gifts to bake at home
Biscuiteers Book of Iced Gifts
Sweet treats always make for a heartfelt, fun, and budget-friendly gift idea. To that end, the bakers behind Notting Hill-based Biscuiteers have created recipes and guides for creating your own gorgeous biscuits, cakes, decorations, and celebration centrepieces for every occasion.
Biscuiteers Book of Iced Gifts
Decorative biscuits for every occasion
Inventive ideas for biscuits and cakes
Fun family projects and gifts to bake at home
The best cookbooks for Cake Week
85 beautifully photographed recipes from the founder of Violet Bakery
From cookies and cakes, to desserts and savoury favourites
Packed with twists on classic English bakes alongside Californian staples
Love is a Pink Cake
From Black Tea Poppy Seed Muffins at breakfast to a decadent Triple Cream Amaretto Cheesecake post-dinner, this cookbook by California native Claire Ptak has the perfect array of baking recipes for every time of day and special occasion – including the Lemon and Elderflower Cake she made for Harry and Meghan’s wedding.
Love is a Pink Cake: Irresistible bakes for morning, noon and night
85 beautifully photographed recipes from the founder of Violet Bakery
From cookies and cakes, to desserts and savoury favourites
Packed with twists on classic English bakes alongside Californian staples
Bakes That Break The Internet
Like many of us, Kat Buckley was inspired to get into baking after watching Bake Off, and she’s been sharing her journey with her tens of thousands of followers on The Baking Explorer ever since. Her debut cookbook takes on (and demystifies) all the viral baking trends that have graced our social media feeds in recent years, including the Anti-Gravity Cake, Jammie Dodger Ice Cream, Easter Egg Cheesecake, and Nutella Freakshake.
How To Avoid A Soggy Bottom
Are there two words that strike more fear into a baker’s heart than “soggy bottom”? Fortunately, this beautiful hardback book is the ultimate guide to keeping pastry crusts crispy, cakes light and fluffy, and bread doughs perfectly proofed.
Mary Berry’s Ultimate Cake Book (Second Edition)
Featuring over 200 classic cake recipes, this tried-and-tested cookbook is a must-have for any kitchen, whether you’re a rookie baker or a cake-making whizz.
The Cake Decorating Bible
Every Bake Off fan knows that once you’ve mastered the perfect fluffy sponge recipe, the next thing you’re judged on is presentation. Fortunately, professional baker, TV personality and cake design aficionado Juliet Sear has all the best tips for icing cupcakes, mastering the piping bag, and how to fix the most common ‘cake-tastrophes’.
Celebrating the UK’s best-loved margarine with a collection of mouthwatering bakes.
With savoury treats, nostalgic cakes, and impressive show-stoppers.
Including classic recipes as well as modern twists on old favourites.
Stork: The Art of Home Baking
Margarine brand Stork has been helping customers create light and fluffy cakes for over a century, so it’s no surprise that this cookbook is packed with failsafe recipes for all baking abilities. Expect classics like Victoria Sponge and Christmas cake, as well as more modern favourites like Vegan Chocolate Cake and Lemon and Elderflower Drizzle Cake.
Stork: The Art of Home Baking
Celebrating the UK’s best-loved margarine with a collection of mouthwatering bakes.
With savoury treats, nostalgic cakes, and impressive show-stoppers.
Including classic recipes as well as modern twists on old favourites.
The perfect pocket-sized baking book
Ideas for every occasion
Bakes the whole family can enjoy
My Kitchen Table: 100 Cakes and Bakes
With this cookbook, Queen of Baking Mary Berry has created a one-stop shop for classic British bakes, from Welsh Cakes to Special Fruit Scones, to Carrot Cake with Mascarpone Topping.
My Kitchen Table: 100 Cakes and Bakes
The perfect pocket-sized baking book
Ideas for every occasion
Bakes the whole family can enjoy
The best cookbooks from former Bake-Off contestants and judges
A collection of all new baking recipes accompanied by gorgeous photography
Packed with cakes, pies, and puddings to warm the heart and lift the spirits
Including mouthwatering savoury bakes as well as irresistible sweets
Nadiya Bakes
Since winning Bake Off in 2015, Nadiya Hussain has become a household name, with an impressive array of cookbooks and TV shows under her belt. This particular title sees her return to her baking roots with inventive and accessible cakes, biscuits, desserts and more, for every occasion.
Nadiya Bakes
A collection of all new baking recipes accompanied by gorgeous photography
Packed with cakes, pies, and puddings to warm the heart and lift the spirits
Including mouthwatering savoury bakes as well as irresistible sweets
250 classic recipes including 20 brand-new bakes
Every recipe newly tested and photographed
From cakes and brownies, to biscuits and breads
Mary Berry’s Baking Bible (2023 Edition)
This book is the go-to resource by the Queen of Baking herself. Featuring over 250 classic recipes, from Victoria Sponge to the perfect shortbread, this new edition also has 20 brand-new bakes to try.
Mary Berry’s Baking Bible (2023 Edition)
250 classic recipes including 20 brand-new bakes
Every recipe newly tested and photographed
From cakes and brownies, to biscuits and breads
A celebration of classic family baking from around the world
Showstopping sweet treats
Delicious savoury breads
The Weekend Baker
Learn how to create bread, cakes, pastries and desserts worthy of a coveted Paul Hollywood handshake, as the Bake Off judge takes you on a tour of classic bakes from his favourite cities around the world.
The Weekend Baker
A celebration of classic family baking from around the world
Showstopping sweet treats
Delicious savoury breads
Showstopping bakes and sweet treats
No-fuss baking from GBBO champion, Candice Brown
Sweet and savoury comfort food classics
Comfort
As the title suggests, Comfort is a go-to collection of hearty, indulgent recipes that are firm favourites of 2016 Bake Off winner Candice Brown. Featuring chapters on kid-friendly baking activities, brunch dishes, afternoon tea essentials, and edible gifts, this book is a personal, heartfelt love letter to comfort food with something for everyone.
Comfort
Showstopping bakes and sweet treats
No-fuss baking from GBBO champion, Candice Brown
Sweet and savoury comfort food classics
Great British Bakes
Penned by 2011 finalist Mary-Anne Boermans, and with a foreword from former presenter Sue Perkins, this book exploring British baking recipes largely lost to history is a must-have for any Bake Off fan.
Ruby Tandoh’s Crumb
This debut cookbook by 2013 Bake Off finalist and food writer Ruby Tandoh is packed with flavourful sweet and savoury baking recipes, including Blackberry and ricotta cheesecake, Chorizo and Kale Flatbread, and Dark Chocolate Orange Bourbons.
Learn to use the science of baking for great results
Simple, step-by-step recipes
Stunning, inventive cakes and bakes
How Baking Works
2012 series runner-up James Morton lifts the lid on the theory behind baking with this beautifully photographed cookbook. It includes easy-to-follow recipes, transferable tips, and sage advice on how to avoid technical mistakes that can stump even the most seasoned amateur baker.
How Baking Works
Learn to use the science of baking for great results
Simple, step-by-step recipes
Stunning, inventive cakes and bakes
Quick and easy bakes
Perfect for beginners
Easy enough to bake every day!
Bake Me a Cake as Fast as You Can
You may not be under the same kind of time pressure as Bake Off contestants in the tent, but these quick and easy recipes by series one finalist Miranda Gore Browne are perfect for anyone who wants to create mouthwatering cakes without spending hours slogging away in the kitchen.
Bake Me a Cake as Fast as You Can
Quick and easy bakes
Perfect for beginners
Easy enough to bake every day!
Best baking books for beginners
The Great British Bake Off: Learn to Bake
If you want to get into baking, where better place to start than this handy Bake Off manual? Featuring beginner-friendly recipes and explainers on everything you need to know about baking ingredients and techniques, you’ll be whipping up your own signature bakes in no time.
70 sweet and savoury bakes for everyday eating.
Plenty of fan favourite recipes and brand-new bakes.
From cupcakes and cookies to tarts and pastries.
Jane’s Patisserie Everyday
Jane Dunn has amassed a huge following thanks to her gorgeous, Instagrammable bakes that are a sweet-tooth’s paradise. Now, with her third cookbook, Jane has developed a range of accessible everyday recipes for baked treats, from five-ingredient mug cakes, to savoury pastries and mid-week meal ideas.
Jane’s Patisserie Everyday: easy bakes and comfort cakes
70 sweet and savoury bakes for everyday eating.
Plenty of fan favourite recipes and brand-new bakes.
From cupcakes and cookies to tarts and pastries.
100 easy recipes using just 3 ingredients
Popular recipes from Eloise’s online platforms as well as brand new content
From cookies and brownies, to puddings and cakes
Fitwaffle’s Baking It Easy
Think baking delicious cakes and biscuits requires a pantry full of ingredients? Prepared to be proven wrong by Eloise Head (aka Fitwaffle). Of the 100 recipes in this book, which include Apple Crumble Mug Cake, Soft Speculoos Cookies, and Hot Chocolate Pudding, 50 require three ingredients to make, and the rest call for just four or five.
Fitwaffle’s Baking It Easy: All my best 3-ingredient recipes and most-loved cakes and desserts
100 easy recipes using just 3 ingredients
Popular recipes from Eloise’s online platforms as well as brand new content
From cookies and brownies, to puddings and cakes
75 laid-back bakes from the author of The Roasting Tin series
From traybakes to tarts, cupcakes to cookies
With recipes for every season, occasion and skill level
The Sweet Roasting Tin
Rukmini Iyer may be best known for her one-pot wonder dinners, but this cookbook proves that the simple philosophy underpinning her savoury Roasting Tin recipes is perfect for sweet dishes too.
The Sweet Roasting Tin
75 laid-back bakes from the author of The Roasting Tin series
From traybakes to tarts, cupcakes to cookies
With recipes for every season, occasion and skill level
100 recipes all designed for one 20cm tin
With brand-new recipes alongside fan favourites
From brownies and blondies to cakes and cookies
Baked In One
Forget fancy baking utensils and gadgets – the main thing you need to make the stunning traybakes, cheesecakes and cakes in this cookbook is a square tin. Recipes range from five-ingredient bakes, to celebration dishes that will wow your guests – and are suitable for all baking abilities.
Fitwaffle’s Baked In One: 100 desserts using just one tin
100 recipes all designed for one 20cm tin
With brand-new recipes alongside fan favourites
From brownies and blondies to cakes and cookies
Best cookbooks for pastry recipes
The Little Book of Pies
Featuring hearty pies such as Lamb, Lemon and Oregano, French Onion Soup, and Turkish Breakfast Pie, plus inventive sweet treats like Little Blueberry and Lemon Tartlets, this little cookbook is full of recipes with big flavours.
A masterclass in all things pastry
Inspired ideas for homemade gifts
Stunning savoury and sweet recipes
Pastry
Chef and baking expert Richard Bertinet teaches you everything you need to know about pastry techniques, plus a dazzling array of over 50 recipes to put your newly acquired skills to good work.
Pastry
A masterclass in all things pastry
Inspired ideas for homemade gifts
Stunning savoury and sweet recipes
Pieminister: A Pie for All Seasons
Tristan Hogg and Jon Simon, the founders behind hugely popular pie-making company Pieminister, celebrate the best of seasonal British ingredients with this cookbook that will see you through the whole year.
Deja Food
Former Bake Off contestant Mary-Anne Boermans further explores nostalgic British bakes and meals including Beef Cakes, Bacon and Herb Pasties, Bubble and Squeak, and Gammon Pie.
Best free-from and vegan baking books
Discover 80 plant-based recipes for the beginner to the experienced baker
From cakes to cookies, there is no compromising on taste or texture
Learn to expand your skill-set with step-by-step guides to creating crunchy honeycomb, or luscious chocolate ganache
The Little Book of Vegan Bakes
Holly Jade has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers with her award-winning blog The Little Blog of Vegan. Now, with The Little Book of Vegan Bakes, you can make your own plant-based (and Instagram-worthy) showstoppers at home.
The Little Book of Vegan Bakes
Discover 80 plant-based recipes for the beginner to the experienced baker
From cakes to cookies, there is no compromising on taste or texture
Learn to expand your skill-set with step-by-step guides to creating crunchy honeycomb, or luscious chocolate ganache
FREEE Baking
Clare Marriage, founder and CEO of the nation’s favourite gluten-free flour brand, has developed 100 brilliant, easy-to-follow recipes to make your favourite bakes gluten-free. Find classics like Victoria Sponge, as well as Apple and Blackberry Cake, Lemon Drizzle Traybake, Sun-dried Tomato Bread, and Treacle Tart.
Over 100 inspiring recipes for raw and baked treats
Dairy-free and gluten-free ingredients
Indulgent sweets and desserts with a nutritional twist
Livia’s Kitchen
Olivia Wollenberg, founder of Livia’s Kitchen, shares over 100 bakes and desserts made without gluten, dairy, and refined sugar, proving that free-from baking needn’t be boring.
Livia’s Kitchen
Over 100 inspiring recipes for raw and baked treats
Dairy-free and gluten-free ingredients
Indulgent sweets and desserts with a nutritional twist
Sweet vegan treats that are impossible to resist
Simple baking for every occasion
Vegan twists on baking classics
Ms Cupcake: The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town
Dairy-free ‘buttercream’ cupcakes, deep-fried apple fritters, rocky road bars, and more: the recipes from London-based vegan bakery Ms. Cupcake are nothing short of pure indulgence.
Ms Cupcake: The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town
Sweet vegan treats that are impossible to resist
Simple baking for every occasion
Vegan twists on baking classics
