baking for the tired
Baking is a great hobby and a way to show how much you care (even if you bake only for yourself). But after a long day of work, family, meetings, phone calls, walking the dog, doing the laundry, and getting groceries, it’s hard to summon up the energy to bake. Instagrammer and baker Florence Stanton feels your pain, because she feels the same. That’s why she came up with Part-Time Baker, filled with delicious bakes for those with limited time, limited energy, limited experience, but who still want to create bakes that feel decadent just for the fact that they are homemade.
Stanton is casual with her recipes. She wants bakers to take her ideas and run with them, adding in flavors or ingredients that speak to them. She offers up suggestions for changing recipes from sweet to savory, and she encourages bakers to play with her recipes until they taste just the way the baker dreamed of. She sticks to ingredients you can pick up at any grocery store and only a few pieces of equipment. That is what makes these recipes perfect for those who don’t have a lot of time to bake or who are just starting out.
She starts with breakfast bakes and moves on throughout the day with more delicious ideas. In Start Your Day, she suggests Chocolate & Hazelnut Pull-apart Loaf, Banana & Walnut Streusel Muffins, Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffins, Savory Baked Cheesy French Toast, Speedy Sesame Bagels, or Banana & Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal. In Elevate Lunchtime, there are ideas like Mini Rainbow Tomatoes & Balsamic Galettes, Red Onion & Mustard Sausage Rolls, Olive & Rosemary Focaccia Buns, Butternut Squash & Cheddar Scones, Pepperoni Pizza Twists, and Leek & Potato Turnovers.
Then it’s on to Afternoon Tea, with recipes for Rose Shortbread Cookies, Cherry & Almond Loaf Cake, Spiced Ginger Traybake, Lemon & Blueberry Bakewell Tart, Marble Coffee Cake, Orange Drizzle Scones, or Cinnamon Sugar Popovers with Warm Honey. Next up are After-Dinner Desserts, featuring a Husband Tart (the chocolate and raspberry tart that is her husband’s favorite; later in the book she shares the Boyfriend Cookie recipe that won him over), Strawberry & Cream Puffs, Peach Melba “Eton Mess,” Chocolate & Caramel Self-saucing Pudding, Black Forest Crumble, Sticky Figgy Toffee Pudding, or Apple Pie Cheesecake Bars.
The day ends as it should, with Late-Night Treats, like Molten Caramel Brownie Skillet, Peanut Butter & Jelly Blondies, Key Lime Pie Shortbread Cookies, Funfetti Frosted Cookies, Vegan Cinnamon-spiced Crinkle Cookies, S’Mores Cookie Cups, and Biscoff Traybake Cake.
These recipes were written in England, but Stanton is careful to include American equivalents. She suggests using store-bought puff pastry instead of using her ruff-puff recipe if that’s easier. This is all about making baking easier and more accessible, so there is no judgement. And the photos are beautiful, showing off the bakes at their loveliest. In fact, when I saw the picture of the chocolate fudge cupcakes, I wanted to lick the screen.
I really like Part-Time Baker. I like the idea of low-stress baking for self-care, for those who are busy are just starting out with baking. I think it’s a great idea for a cookbook, and the recipes sound delicious. This cookbook is a great gateway for new bakers, especially ones who are motivated to bake from the Great British Baking Show, as some of these recipes feature the flavors of those bakes without the complicated recipes. But I think it’s also perfect for someone like me, who has some experience baking and who enjoys it but is just so busy with life that I have trouble setting aside time.
Egalleys for Part-Time Baker were provided by Quarto Group through Edelweiss, with many thanks, but I liked the book so much I bought it myself.
