The Ultimate Baking for One Cookbook is a practical and handy collection of small-batch recipes by Kelly Jaggers. Released 30th Nov 2021 by Simon & Schuster on their Adams Media imprint, it's 240 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats.
Some years ago "mug cakes" were wildly popular and a mostly satisfying sweet alternative to fixing a full sized cake (which would go to waste) or dozens of cookies. This collection takes that basic idea to a whole new level. The ideas behind small batch cooking are more complex than just dividing ingredients, and the author has done all the legwork to figure out cooking times and temperature adjustments beforehand.
The recipes are appealing and well written. They're arranged roughly thematically: cookies & brownies, cakes & cheesecakes, breads rolls & biscuits, pies tarts & cobblers, puddings & custards, and muffins & quick breads. A US/metric conversion chart and a cross referenced index are included at the back of the book. Each recipe includes serving yields, special notes, and prep times. Recipe ingredients are listed bullet point style along with optional ingredients. All measurements are given in American standard measures only. The directions are given step by step, numbered sequentially. The nutritional information is not included.
The only thing the collection lacks is photographs. The food photos which are included are very well styled, attractive, and appropriate, but only 15-20% of the recipes are accompanied by photos (at a rough guess).
The recipes are well developed and the ones we tried were tasty and appealing. This would be a good choice for library acquisition as well as a go-to staple for singles and students. It would also be a good selection for folks newly living on their own as the recipes are especially beginner friendly and require little in the way of exotic ingredients or tools/supplies.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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