Now let’s get this straight right now: this is not a healthy cookery book. It is however an entirely gluten-free (and occasionally dairy-free) dessert recipe book. It became a major lifeline to me when I was diagnosed wheat intolerant and could no longer systematically work (read: eat) my way through The Hummingbird Bakery cookbook.
Who?
Honeybuns started as a bicycle-based cake delivery round in Oxford. Emma Goss-Custard (perhaps the most appropriate baker’s name ever) started out with a host of recipes gifted to her by her gran and focuses exclusively on indulgent treats that just happen to be gluten-free rather than the other way round.
What?
Gluten-free yes, but sugar (honey, honey…) features strongly. Be warned.
The Good
Where do I start? I have never made the same recipe twice (though I’ve been tempted) and I have never been disappointed. Even writing this is making me start to drool. Most recipes have a picture of the finished product (I just can’t get on with cookbooks that don’t have pictures of the food!).
The Bad
Some of the recipes are pretty long and complicated which can be intimidating. There are also some hard to find items that you won’t find in your average supermarket (chestnut flour, orange oil, glutinous rice flour), making a bit of spontaneous cake making difficult.
The Ugly
Some of the recipes are very expensive to make, although they do make large quantities so you could easily halve them to save money (and your health!). Others create quite a lot of waste – uh, what am I going to do with the 8 leftover egg yolks from the Coconut and Lime Cake???
Best Recipe
Umm, uh, the Black Forest Gateau. No, the Skipper’s Brownies. Actually, no the Peach and Raspberry Roulade. Yeah, I’m not going to decide on this one.
Worst Recipe
I’ll let you know if I find one!
4.5/5
