A Review
The Primrose Bakery Christmas book by Martha Swift comes to us from the owner of the famed bakery in London. The book is features over 100 seasonal recipes, both traditional, and innovative twists on old favourites. If you enjoy the sweeter side of life and want to mix up your standard holiday bakes, then you’ll want to check out this book.
Primrose Bakery was founded by Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas in 2004 and began during the time of the cupcake craze. Remember when everything was cupcakes all the time?! Swift is now the sole owner of the bakery that now offers, cakes, pies and tarts, and loaves in addition to the legendary cupcake.
Throughout the book, Swift shares step-by-step instructions and tips on how to make the delicious treats. The recipes are generally easy to follow and work well in a home kitchen. If you’re new to baking, or have been baking all of your life, you’ll find something to delight you here.
The ingredients called for in most of the recipes are generally easy to find at a local supermarket. I even found that some of the recipes use the same ingredients, so I was able to make a couple of different recipes out of some of the items I had to buy, so nothing went to waste.
The photography is by Stuart Ovenden and there are some lovely photos of the bakes. The photos have a bit of a cozy, retro seasonal vibe, which helped to get me into the holiday spirit.
This book is one you can reach for again and again during the Christmas season. Of course, you needn’t restrict yourself to only baking from the book during the holidays. These recipes are easily adaptable to everyday baking, or for any other special occasion.
The Recipes
The recipes in the book are divided into seven sections: Cupcakes, Large Cakes, Cookies, Loaves and Slices, Pies and Tarts, Free From, and Edible Gifts. I have been slowly baking my way through this book and I’ve shared some of my favourite bakes below.
The recipes are all fairly easy to make with readily available ingredients. You won’t really need anything in the way of special equipment either. I would suggest a hand mixer or stand mixer for some of the recipes, but you could get away with just a bowl and spoon/whisk in a pinch. I also like that the ingredients are given in weight. I find using a scale to measure out ingredients less messy and hassle-free compared to using cups. I have a $20 scale I found on Amazon that works amazingly well. If you prefer to use cups when measuring out your ingredients, then you will have to do the conversions yourself, as this book does not offer these measurements.
Malteser Cupcakes (pp. 20 – 22)
If you’re going to bake from a Primrose Bakery book, you have to try a cupcake recipe! I had some Ovaltine in the cupboard leftover from the Ovaltine Cookies I made recently, so I thought I’d give the Malteser Cupcakes a whirl.
This cupcake tastes like, you guessed it, a Malteser. Maltesers are malted milk balls, that might come in a different name where you’re from, but they all generally taste same.
As far as the recipe goes, it was easy to throw together and ready in under an hour. One thing I did not from this recipe, which I haven’t seen before, is that once the batter is made, you leave it to rest for 10 minutes before filling the cupcake papers and baking. Also, the original recipe makes 16 cupcakes, and I only wanted a few, so I halved the recipe, which turned out perfectly.
The cupcakes were moist, held up well when frosted and tasted exactly as expected….like a Malteser in cake form!
Raspberry and Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies (pp. 140 – 141)
I’ve had many a thumbprint cookie before and have honestly been non-plussed about them in the past, that is until I tried these jewels. Out of the oven, these cookies are crispy and they melt in your mouth similar to a light and buttery shortbread.
You start by making the dough and then shaping it into small balls. The balls are rolled in egg white and then in the chopped pistachios and then here comes the thumb! You use your thumb to press the dough down to make an indent. This indent is where you’ll spoon the raspberry jam.
Definitely best eaten on the day they are made, this wasn’t a problem for us, as we simply couldn’t leave any cookies behind because THEY WERE SO GOOD!
Pistachio and Raspberry Loaf (pp. 174 – 175)
Here we see pistachios again, but since I still had half a bag left from the previous recipe, it made sense to try this loaf recipe.
The original recipe calls for a ribbon of raspberry jam throughout the middle of the loaf and a raspberry glaze on top. I chose to leave the jam out and instead add some chopped white chocolate to the batter. The white chocolate caramelized a bit during the bake and added a sweet surprise throughout the loaf.
This was a very good recipe and I have since made the loaf twice since the first time. The loaf is very moist and dense and will keep for a few days wrapped tightly in plastic wrap in the fridge.
Mint and White Chocolate Pie (pp. 188 – 189)
I really liked this pie recipe. It starts with a chocolate cookie crust, simply made with ground Oreos and is topped with a light and fluffy white chocolate cream filling.
I used some fresh mint from my garden, as the recipe calls for, but really the main minty flavor came from the addition of peppermint extract. I also left out the food colouring because it’s usually not my thing, so my pie had only a hint of green colouring thanks to the mint.
This pie definitely had a holiday feeling to it and I topped it off with some crushed candy canes to boost the festive spirit even further.
Summary
The Primrose Bakery Christmas book is a sweet addition to your collection if you’re interested in holiday baking. Many of the recipes can be made year round, so you definitely don’t have to limit yourself to one month out of the year. Easy to follow and quick to make, the recipes come together well in a home kitchen.
| Book Title | Primrose Bakery Christmas |
| Author | Martha Swift |
| Publisher | Square Peg |
| Publishing Date | November 24, 2015 |
| Format(s) | Hardcover, Kindle |
| Page Numbers | 248 |
| Photos of Every Recipe? | Yes |
| Who is this book for? | Beginners or experienced bakers who are looking to try twists on seasonal favourites. |
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