Baking with Mary Berry

The Great British Bake Off (in the U.S., it's called The Great British Baking Show) is the number-one TV program in the UK, making octogenarian baking doyenne Mary Berry a star. Berry, the author of many British cookbooks, here sticks to the show's subject, baking, offering a compendium of cakes, pies, puddings, and some distinctly British offerings (fairy cakes, anyone?). Berry, whose rather steely personality is on full display in the show, doesn't reveal much of herself here. There is a rather generic introduction, and, occasionally, she adds a couple of lines of personal thoughts about a recipe. But while there might not be much Mary here, the book satisfies on a number of levels. The introductory pages feature fine photographs that visually aid in the descriptions of each baking process. The recipes themselves are clear and concise and the offerings wide ranging, everything from the usual, brownies and lemon meringue pie, to the unusual, almond and apricot tartlets to the exotic, figgy-seeded bites. A solid guide, not just for fans of the show but it's those fans (and their numbers are growing in the U.S.) who will be clamoring for copies.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2015 Booklist