The earliest version of this book (Geraldene Holt's first work, Cake Stall) was the result of years of baking for the Tiverton Pannier Market in Devon. People soon recognised that her's was a talent for writing books that helped in the kitchen and that here was a great collection of recipes that scored bullseye after bullseye. Most people's copies of the first edition had started to fall apart after thirty years of baking and a new edition that took into account some changes in taste and some improvements in technique seemed to be called for. We are honoured to have this classic compendium on our list and the ongoing success of this most reliable and intelligent of manuals means that it will remain in print for years to come. The book covers the full range of cakes (flour-based, baked confectionary) so includes recipes for waffles, scones, loafs, tea breads, muffins, biscuits, cookies and has a separate chapter on icings. This is not a picture-book with recipes, although there are some illustrations. Cakes don't really need pictures, they need reliable instructions and that is what it provides; from tray bakes to fruit cakes, to sponges and biscuits, teacakes to scones, little morsels for a mouthful to great big Christmas specials. It is not too large, it is not too small. The recipes are laid out clearly and fall conveniently to the page (a more important matter than most people think) and both metric and imperial measurements are provided.