Baking

Italian Christmas chocolate cake with chestnuts, hazelnuts and walnuts
Italian Christmas chocolate cake with chestnuts, hazelnuts and walnuts

Italian Christmas chocolate cake with chestnuts, hazelnuts and walnuts excerpted from Roast Figs, Sugar Snow: Food to warm the soul by Diana Henry. Photography by Jason Lowe.

Roast Figs, Sugar Snow: Food to warm the soul by Diana Henry

Diana Henry’s classic cookbook, Roast Figs, Sugar Snow, is now revisited, revised, and refreshed nearly 20 years after its first publication, with a new foreword by Nigel Slater and seven new recipes.

Full of comforting delights from cold-weather climates, it features recipes gathered from Diana’s travels to Scandinavia, the French and Italian Alps, Scotland, Ireland, and New England. This is irresistible food you’ll cook over and over again.

Choose Alpine dishes of melted cheese; autumnal pies and substantial winter salads; pastries from Viennese coffee houses; festive snow biscuits and – closer to home – Diana’s definitive recipe for warming Irish stew. Of course, there is also a recipe for Sugar-on-Snow as well.

These recipes will bring warmth to your heart as well as your home. And Diana’s evocative writing about both place and food make this a book well worth reading, as well as cooking from. (more…)

Thumbprint Snow People
Thumbprint Snow People

Thumbprint Snow People excerpted from Classic Cookies: 166 Favorite Recipes to Enjoy All Year (Fox Chapel Publishing) Holiday Desserts, No-Bake and Gluten-Free Options, Dessert Bars, Fudge, Candy Bar Cookies, Thumbprint Cookies, and More by Kate Woodson.

Classic Cookies: 166 Favorite Recipes to Enjoy All Year (Fox Chapel Publishing) Holiday Desserts, No-Bake and Gluten-Free Options, Dessert Bars, Fudge, Candy Bar Cookies, Thumbprint Cookies, and More by Kate Woodson

Make the best cookies ever, all year long!

  • Over 150 recipes for all-time favourite cookies and desserts, plus new and exciting twists to classic recipes, to make all year-round
  • No-bake cookies, dessert bars, frostings, fudge, popular candy bar cookies, holiday cookies, and gluten-free options are all included
  • Delicious holiday favourites including snickerdoodles, gingerbread cookies, sugar cookies, chocolate peanut butter blossoms, and thumbprint cookies
  • Bake for cookie swaps, gifting, parties, and the holidays, with dessert recipes perfect for every occasion

Classic Cookies features a whopping 166 recipes for cookies, dessert bars, frostings, popular candy bar cookies, holiday cookies, and even gluten-free recipes!

Perfect for cookie swaps, parties, gift-giving, or any occasion, these year-round cookie recipes range from nostalgic favourites and festive Christmas cookies to new and exciting ideas that will breathe new life into your baking.

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Espresso Coffee Cake
Espresso Coffee Cake

Espresso Coffee Cake excerpted from BReD by Edward Tatton and Natasha Tatton. Copyright © 2023 Edward Tatton and Natasha Tatton. Photography by Janis Nicolay. Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited.

BReD: Sourdough Loaves, Small Breads, and Other Plant-Based Baking Hardcover by Ed Tatton

Sourdough bread is naturally vegan—flour, water, and salt transformed into extraordinary, delicious bread. Ed Tatton, vegan chef, artisan bread-maker, and co-owner of the popular vegan café and bakery BReD with Natasha Tatton, has been baking and refining his recipes and techniques for naturally leavened sourdough for many years—including a wide array of boules, baguettes, loaves, flatbreads, buns, and pizza. As required, he uses plant-based alternatives in some savoury and sweet sourdoughs that would traditionally include dairy (butter, milk, or buttermilk) including panettone buns, hot cross buns, sticky buns, cinnamon buns, English muffins, brioche, and babka.

Inside BReD, you’ll find these perfected recipes to start your journey in bread-making; along with a detailed sourdough starter guide with step-by-step visuals on making and maintaining a sourdough starter, levain, mixing, shaping, and baking methods.

BReD is a complete plant-based book for bakers that goes beyond just making bread. Experienced bakers and novices alike can take their baking to the next level with gorgeous vegan baked goods from cakes, muffins, and scones to biscuits, cookies, and tarts. Passionate about a vegan lifestyle for the benefit of all people and the planet, the book also includes gluten-free recipes (bread and other baked goods), discard starter recipes to further zero-waste efforts, and an offering of dips, spreads, and accompaniments to complement the breads. (more…)

Baked Apples with Oat Crumble
Baked Apples with Oat Crumble

Baked Apples with Oat Crumble excerpted from Fraiche Food Fuller Hearts by Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer. Copyright © 2023 Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer. Photography by Rachelle Beatty.

Fraiche Food, Fuller Hearts: Wholesome Everyday Recipes Made With Love by Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer

Inspired by cozy memories of those sweet, simple days enjoying wholesome meals together with their large close-knit family, bestselling authors and cousins Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer share an all-new collection of favourite recipes straight from the heart of their bustling kitchens. Featuring over 135 everyday recipes along with some beloved classics that have a modern, healthyish, often plant-forward twist, inspired by the smart hacks their moms and granny used to whip up memorable, easy-to-make meals.

Fraiche Food, Fuller Hearts is filled with simple, feel-good recipes that focus on fresh, whole foods for you and your loved ones to enjoy any day of the week. The book is plant-forward with ways to adapt recipes for vegan versions wherever possible like Baked Crispy Cauliflower Sandwiches, Vegan Mac and Cheeze, and Tropical Tofu Bowls. All the recipes are family-friendly and perfect for weekday or casual weekend meals including Sheet-Pan Breakfast Pizza, Fish Tacos, and Butternut Squash Gyros. And sure to please everyone, you’ll find plenty of heart-warming recipes including cozy soups, one pot/pan meals, easy-to-make breads from Granny’s Cinnamon Buns to No-Knead Bread, and flavourful, rustic desserts from Lazy Daisy Cake to Baked Apples with Oat Crumble.

Fraiche Food, Fuller Hearts: Wholesome Everyday Recipes Made With Love by Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Indigo.ca.     

Baked Apples with Oat Crumble

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Pistachio Cake with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Pistachio Cake with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Pistachio Cake with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream excerpted from Plantcakes by Lyndsay Sung. Copyright © 2023 Lyndsay Sung. Photographs by Lyndsay Sung. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited.

Excerpted from Plantcakes by Lyndsay Sung. Copyright © 2023 Lyndsay Sung. Photographs by Lyndsay Sung. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited.

Plant-based baking like you’ve never seen, or tasted, before—bursting with color, flavour, and fun! Plantcakes is a boldly beautiful baking book for everyone who loves cake!

Whether you’re all in on the plant-based lifestyle or you’re just a bit plant-curious, you’ll find the vegan cakes of your dreams in Plantcakes. Inside are recipes for cakes of all shapes and sizes, to fill any craving or occasion—from a rainy Wednesday slice of emotional eating to a spectacular sheet cake for a crowd. You’ll never be short of options with chapters on:

  • Snacking Cakes: When you need to snack and need to snack now, whip up the Orange Citrus Cake or Blueberry Sour Cream Streusel Cake
  • Two-Layer Cakes: Keep it casual cool with the Dark Chocolate Cake, Supermarket Bakery–Style Cake, or Vanilla Almond Raspberry Cake
  • Three-Layer Cakes: When you feel like getting fancy, there’s the Coffee Milk Cake, Passion Fruit Vanilla Bean Ombré Cake, or the PB+J Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Cup Crunch
  • Party Time (or Everyday) Cupcakes: When cupcakes are called for, try the Garden Party Vanilla Lemon Cupcakes or the “They Don’t Know They’re Healthy” Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
  • Wildcard Cakes: And to really take the cake, turn to the Abstract Buttercream Painted Blackberry Cake or Mocha Dacquoise Cake

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Raspberry tart
Raspberry tart

Raspberry tart excerpted from The Grounds Café: Seasonal Dishes from Murray’s Century Farm by Nick van Mele.

The Grounds Café: Seasonal Dishes from Murray's Century Farm by Nick van Mele

The Murray family has been farming the land in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, Newfoundland and Labrador for 200 years. That original subsistence family farm has evolved into Murray’s Garden Centre, Murray Meadows Farm, and The Grounds Café—a farm-to-table restaurant and favourite brunch and lunch destination serving up bright, creative meals and decadent baked goods.

This eye-catching book features dozens of recipes by chef Nick van Mele, whose dishes have made The Grounds Café a destination for enjoying locally-sourced food made from the freshest locally grown crops.

As you travel through the farm year in this book, you’ll meet many of the farmers, foragers, foodies, and friends that have become the Murray’s community.

The Grounds Café: Seasonal Dishes from Murray’s Century Farm by Nick van Mele is available at Boulder Books.

Raspberry Tart

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Parsnip and Pear Tart with Gorgonzola and Thyme
Parsnip and Pear Tart with Gorgonzola and Thyme

Parsnip and Pear Tart with Gorgonzola and Thyme excerpted from Noon: Simple Recipes for Scrumptious Midday Meals and More by Meike Peters.

Noon: Simple Recipes for Scrumptious Midday Meals and More by Meike Peters

This bold new cookbook by James Beard Award–winning author and photographer Meike Peters invites us to indulge in simple, satisfying, and scrumptious meals to feed our midday cravings. With a few tricks and clever flavor combinations to keep your mind, body, and soul happy, Noon makes it easy to treat yourself throughout the day.

These 115 quick and creative recipes span vibrant salads and sandwiches, cozy pastas, and savory tarts, as well as warming soups, speedy schnitzels, and Mediterranean seafood treats. Whether you’re in the mood for the mouthwatering Autumn Salad with Jerusalem Artichokes, Walnuts, and Apples, a texturally intoxicating Carrot and Pear Salad with Tahini and Sesame Seeds, or the surprising zip of Sauerkraut and Hummus on Sourdough Bread, this book has your taste buds covered.

Attainable yet crave-worthy, the recipes in Noon can equally suit the start, middle, or end of your day. Our lives have changed, and these recipes flexibly fit any reality, from working from home or lunch at the office to leisurely weekend lunches with friends. Noon is about a pause, no matter when you need it. With year-round recipes and stunning photography, this book will keep you well fed and happy at any time of day. (more…)

Prosciutto Gruyère Croissants
Prosciutto Gruyère Croissants

Prosciutto Gruyère Croissants excerpted from 100 Morning Treats: With Muffins, Rolls, Biscuits, Sweet and Savory Breakfast Breads, and More. Text and photographs © 2023 by Sarah Kieffer.

100 Morning Treats: With Muffins, Rolls, Biscuits, Sweet and Savory Breakfast Breads, and More by Sarah Kieffer

One hundred morning treats to start your day with smiles: These baking projects will bring delight to your family breakfast, a Sunday brunch or bake sale, a morning at the office, or kids’ soccer practice. Whatever your preference alongside your morning cup of coffee or tea—sweet or savory, buttery or flaky, hot off the griddle or taken to go—you’ll find a recipe for it here, from coffee cakes to danishes, doughnuts, scones, quick breads, quiches, and muffins galore!

Filled with more than 120 inspiring photographs, including how-tos for doughs and shaping, and instructions for prepping the night before and baking in the morning, 100 Morning Treats is truly a cookbook for all bakers and a must-have for lovers of 100 Cookies and Sarah’s inventive recipes. (more…)

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Torte
Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Torte

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Torte excerpted from The Vegan Bridge: Expanding Plant-Based Cuisine by Romain Avril and Richelle Tablang. Photography by Igor M. Aldomar.

The Vegan Bridge: Expanding Plant-Based Cuisine by Romain Avril and Richelle Tablang.

For the meat-eater looking to incorporate vegetarian options into their repertoire; for the novice chef trying to develop new techniques; for the home cook who wants to dazzle with recipes that are bold, flavourful, and totally unique – French-trained chefs Romain Avril and Richelle Tablang want to introduce you to the Vegan Bridge.

From simple snacks and sides that add a vegan twist to a flexible meal, to show-stopping vegan mains that will captivate vegetarians and omnivores alike, Romain and Richelle demonstrate how incorporating vegan meals into everyday life can be done easily, without sacrificing taste or presentation.

Everyday staples like Vegetable Chips, Garlic Roasted Chickpeas, and an array of dips, smoothies, and salads provide the perfect entry-point for cooks of all skill levels, while impressive entrées like Chive Gnocchi with Wild Mushrooms Florentine, Deep-Fried Tomatillo Tacos, and Cauliflower Tikka Masala bridge the gap between a garden-variety meal and plant-based perfection. (more…)

Baked Honey Cheesecake
Baked Honey Cheesecake

Baked Honey Cheesecake excerpted from Salt of the Earth: Secrets and Stories From a Greek Kitchen by Carolina Doriti. Photography by Manos Chatzikonstantis.

Salt of the Earth: Secrets and Stories From a Greek Kitchen by Carolina Doriti

Evoking a strong sense of place, this vibrant book shines a spotlight on local produce and traditional techniques.

Carolina Doriti reveals the defining characteristics of Greek food, set against the irresistible backdrop of the mainland and islands. Through these pages explore Mediterranean dishes and flavour combinations in depth, and immerse yourself in Greek cuisine.

Salt of the Earth is the ultimate celebration of the food and flavours of Greece from one of its most forward-thinking and historically knowledgeable cooks.

Salt of the Earth: Secrets and Stories From a Greek Kitchen by Carolina Doriti is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Indigo.ca.   

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