Baking for All Occasions: A Treasury of Recipes for Everyday Celebrations

I don't really know what to say about this book other than it is everything I expected and more. I have wanted to get this book for awhile and was so excited when it came in the post, I spent ages going through it and have been pleased with everything I have so far made from it.

If you are looking for baked goods that will "wow" your friends and family, this book is for you. Everyone will pile on the praise after they've tried these treats. The book provides a wide range of recipes, from simple apricot scones and fruit pies to more complicated multi-tiered special occasion desserts. I've prepared quite a few of the recipes in here, and none have been difficult to make, though all are delicious. The author provides a special twist on old time classics -- like lime coconut bars with milk chocolate glaze or shortbread brownies -- making everything you prepare stand out from the usual sweets. I will warn you that many of the desserts are time consuming to prepare, but if you enjoy baking, you will love working your way through this book.

Love the book! Great instructions and descriptions and every recipe has been devoured in my house!

I am a baking book collector and own dozens of books on the subject. This one stands out from the pack in many ways. First of all, the book is very well laid out with good clear large-enough print, excellent directions and photographs of many of the recipes. The recipes themselves are most interesting and include some very original ones that I haven't found in any other books. So far, I have made the Banana Bottom Pineapple-Swirl Cupcakes (Banana cake and pineapple cheese cake baked together). What a heavenly combination! I also tried the Banana-Poppyseed Cake with Lemon Icing drizzled over, another smash hit. If you are looking for a spectacular bar cookie to add to your Christmas goodies, try the Neapolitan Bars (pastry bottom, almond filling with a layer of raspberry jam and topped with a chocolate glaze). Wow! I also made the Heavenly Brownies on Shortbread Bars. Another delicious and original treat. None of the recipes were difficult or even very time-consuming but the results were just wonderful. I also appreciated that there was a choice of measuring cup quantities and weighed measures. I find weighing things like cake flour much more accurate than just sifting and measuring in a cup. I intend to bake my way through most of the book. All of the recipes are worth a try. You won't regret buying this book, I assure you.

Years ago I stumbled upon Braker's first book and immediately contacted her about where to get almond paste. This was the first time I had encountered such a heavy usage of almond paste, and it made an almond paste lover out of me. Since then I keep a food service size tin of the stuff on hand as does she. In Baking for All Occasions, Braker, stays true to her love of almonds and almond paste and contributes a good amont of recipes with them included in the book. But if your are not an almond lover, don't be turned off, there are many delicious recipes in this book that don't include it. I had been waiting for this book for over a year and so when I got it I immediately starting baking from it was and was pleased as usual. First off, I love that she included cups, ounces and grams, which is true to her style. I also loved some of the really different recipes. The Zebra Cookies, which are called "chocolate-Vanilla Swirl are so cute along with the Chocolate-Dipped Cheesecake-sicles. Many of these could be served at an A-list event but they are easy. There is the Red Velvet Cake Roll, that is visually stunning and the Dark Chocolate Baby Cakes with Coffee White chocolate Ganache. There is a really nice variety of recipes and if you are not familiar with her work after baking from this book, you will likely go and try and find her older books. A nice set of 23 photos is included in the book as well as two indexes. One index is by recipe categories. Therefore looking for tarts and crostatas or yeast cakes, you'll find them more easily in this index. She also includes the standard index, just in case you are looking for all the almond paste recipes. These are not your grandmother standby recipes but they are so good you won't care with recipes to choose from like Old World Braided Coffee Cake. My advice to those who do like almond paste, try the Bundernuss Torte. Its a buttery tart pastry with a almond macaroon filling and hazelnut caramel topping. It is labor intensive and requires an overnight rest so be warned.