Marguerite Patten, doyenne of British cookery, shares her wealth of knowledge and her tried and tested recipes for cakes, large and small, biscuits, breads, pizzas and pastries.

Baking is Marguerite's most natural culinary territory and she starts by explaining the equipment and the basic techniques, as well as what to do if things go wrong. She covers not only family favorites such as walnut cake, teacakes and buns but more modern popular cakes such as muffins.

The book has been planned to introduce the pleasures of baking in such a way that even a beginner should achieve successful results under the expert guidance of Marguerite Patten.