Book Review: Nick Malgieri's Bake!

I like to think I am a good baker, but really I just stick with the basics like cookies and muffins and try not to enter the realm of anything difficult (namely things, other than my breadmaker, that require yeast).  

So when I was given** a copy of Nick Malgieri's Bake! - aimed at making baking easy, I knew it was for me!  Read on and see if it's for you as well - perhaps you can whip something up for Father's Day!

Here are some thoughts on two recipes I've made so far:

Basic Cream Cheese Scone

Unfortunately these didn't turn out as well as I wanted them to.  Admittedly it was user error because the dough was WAY too much for my food processor, which meant that some sections of the scones didn't cook all the way through: 

Nevertheless, the flavor of the scones were amazing.  I could definitely be happy eating this plain, or perhaps with a couple of add-ins like currants or dried cranberries. 

 

I still ate the cooked parts (of course) and I loaded them up with some jam and had some tea.  Total breakfast heaven!  Despite my errors, I would totally make this again.

Apple Strudel

Next up was the big one - Apple Strudel!  For someone who does not make their own dough (should I admit that?), this was a LOT OF WORK. But man oh man was it worth it.

Baking mats with measurements are KEY!  It seriously made my life so much easier.

There was a LOT of filling, and I was nervous that it would bust out at the seams, but it fit perfectly!

Look at that!  I was seriously so impressed with myself.  I posted pictures of this immediately on Facebook hahaha 

I cut them into pieces and served them this way at a party.  People couldn't believe I made them from scratch, and to be honest, I couldn't believe it either!

Oh yea, they were straight up delicious too.

Thoughts on Bake!

I loved this cookbook.  It definitely got me out of my comfort zone to make something a bit harder than I usually would - but that's what cookbooks are for!  I like that a lot of the recipes have step-by-step pictures and I owe that a lot to my Strudel Success.  I would definitely recommend you to check it out!  

** I was given a free copy of the book to review.  That doesn't influence my review though!