Nadiya Bakes by Nadiya Hussain

 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Title: Nadiya Bakes
Author: Nadiya Hussain 
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Release Date: 7.27.21


Publisher’s Summary
Our beloved Bake-Off winner has created your ultimate baking cookbook to help you conquer cakes, biscuits, traybakes, tarts and pies, showstopping desserts, breads, savoury bakes, and even 'no-bake' bakes - all with her signature mouth-watering twists.

Some of Nadiya's deliciously easy recipes you can achieve at home include:
· Blueberry and Lavender Scone Pizza
· Mango and Coconut Cake
· Sharing Chocolate Fondant
· 'Money Can't Buy You Happiness' Brownies
· Potato Rosti Quiche
· Pepperoni Pull Apart Bread

 . . and much, much more

From classic baking staples to dazzling show-stoppers, you'll discover new favourite recipes for every day and every celebration - it's time to shake up your bakes!

My Review
It's still the temperature of the sun every day here in Georgia but I have already started a bit of fall baking.  I can't help myself. I've made a couple staples (banana nut bread, brownies) and a few new to me recipes (chocolate cream pie, Jell-o pudding pie, and cheddar zucchini bread) but I want to branch out a bit this year to try more non-American fare. Nadiya Hussain's cookbook fits my needs perfectly. The first recipe I tried was Tumeric and Ginger Diamonds and these treats will definitely be making an appearance again soon. They were slightly savory and sweet with a bit of bite--the perfect light dessert or afternoon treat. The layout of the cookbook is simple and clean, with plenty of beautiful photos of the recipes and celebrity chef. The recipes are mostly sweet cakes, cookie, breads, tarts, and puddings but there are a few savory recipes included as well. I'm especially excited to try the baked chile churros, salt-and-pepper baked chicken and fries, and teriyaki chicken noodles. 

As the season six winner of The Great British Baking Show and host of two BBC and Neflix series, Hussain's recipes reflect her British Bangladeshi heritage but she shares in an interview with The Guardian that she often faces criticism around if she is "English enough to be writing these things" and is regularly told there is not a diversity problem in baking/cooking and publishing. She responds that "[b]ecause I’m a daughter of an immigrant, because I am bilingual, because I’m a Muslim, because I’m a brown woman, because I don’t fit into that industry or fit into these worlds, I’m constantly up for scrutiny. I’m constantly up for questioning." As for being told there is no need for a conscious effort to diversify both the celebrity cooking/baking culture and the publishing industry she simply offers her firsthand experience, stating that "[w]hen I see in a meeting that I’m the only person of colour, of faith, of my gender, in that room, there is a problem. There is a problem when I’m filming a show and I’m the only ethnic minority in a group of 30 people. I think highlighting that problem makes people very uncomfortable. We’ve got to get to a point in our industries where we’re not uncomfortable talking about these things. I hope that because I talk about it, it encourages other people to acknowledge that there is a problem.” This cookbook represents so much more than a recipe collection. I am so happy to have a copy for myself and for being given the opportunity to share it and a bit about Nadiya Hussain with my followers.