Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery

I was looking for a new cupcake recipe book and stumbled on to this one. It looked good so I bought it. The pictures are very pretty and the instructions are fairly straight forward. I decided to try and make the Strawberries and Cream for my first cupcake. I found the batter to be a little dense, which I initially didn't pay to much attention to. However, when the cookies finished baking, they were still very dense and not light and fluffy like I anticipated. The cooler they got, the firmer they were. Now, the average home oven is different than that of a bakery, so I'm thinking maybe I should have decreased the time a bit. I also made the vanilla buttercream icing to go with it. The icing is so sweet, that you can hardly eat it and it really doesn't have much of a flavor. I think that it should have more flavoring to it, either more vanilla, or even something a bit stronger.I'm not going to give up just yet, I would like to try something else before rendering my final judgement on Primrose recipes. I really hope the next ones work better.

I first saw this book at Anthropologie and was very tempted to buy it at full price. But then I decided to check through my phone if Amazon had it too, and loo and behold, of course they did! And for almost half the price! I immediately ordered it when I got home that night.It arrived pretty quickly. This book offers some basic staple recipes for cupcakes (such as the chocolate cupcake, strawberry cupcake, lemon cupcake) as well as a lot of ideas for decorating and combining flavors of cupcakes and frosting. I also like that this book gives some basic tips and guidelines on how to make a good batter and how to frost a cupcake. This is a great gift idea for a novice baker.

This is seriously one of the very best cookbooks for baking cupcakes that I have ever purchased. One of my daughters loves to bake and decorate cupcakes, and found this book at our local library. Once I looked through it, I knew it was a book I had to buy. It was written by two moms from the U.K., and the recipes are simple, and wholesome, yet the finished products have a stylish look to them. I love the photographs in this book, they are very "vintage", and really accentuate the beautiful simplicity of the baked goods. The book came in pristine condition, as have all of the books I have ordered directly from Amazon. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys baking simple but beautiful cupcakes.

I bought this cookbook after trying only recipe, and I have fallen in love with it. Each recipe is easy to make, the ingredients are easy to obtain, and the end-product is simply delicious. This recipe has been the best cookbook I have ever bought (for cupcakes, at least) and I would recommend it to anyone, beginner or not. Also, in case anyone is curious, I baked the Lemon Cupcakes, the Vanilla Cupcakes, the Raspberry Cupcakes, the Orange Cupcakes, and the Coconut Cupcakes. All were delicious and easy to make.

As an avid baker I must say that this is the most amazing cupcake book I have ever bought. All of the recipes turned out great and the frostings are superb. The recipes are fool proof and you necessarily do not need to be an experienced baker. I own three of their four books and all of them are amazing and worth buying.

This is a beautifully written book on making and decorating cupcakes with great instructions and lots of pictures to go by. I am so pleased with this book and the receipes are for so many occasions. I wasn't hesitant at all purchasing this book from Amazon. Their selection of cupcake books make it easy for just about anyone who wants to decorate their cupcakes for everyday and holiday treats.

I loved this book because it's great for a novice baker as well as experienced cook, lots of tips and explanations on how to. The recipes are usually for on dozen cupcakes, especially good for small families or families who want to limit the amount of high sugar treats on hand.

This book is a must if you love cupcakes. The book is packed with great information that is very easy to understand and quick to read. There are tons of photographs which make this cupcake book all the more inspiring. I have seriously use this book several time a week since I received it. My family loves it!

Disappointing book. Bought it for inspiration in making cupcakes. However, there is only one mention of putting jam in a hollow cut out of the sponge before icing. To me “cupcakes” are exactly that - they have a cup cut out of the sponge that can be filled with something tasty before covering the whole of the top of the cake with decorative icing. Perhaps this book was published before proper “cupcakes” became more “fashionable” but I returned it since it was no use to me. I wanted inspiration matching the contents to the icing & this book didn’t do that.

I've owned this book now for almost 2 years and I can safely say it's the cupcake book I use most out of my extensive collection - so much so that the pages are stuck together with cake batter and buttercream! I have tried lots of recipes from this book including carrot cake, vanilla, chocolate, raspberry & white chocolate, coconut & lime, strawberry & cream, orange, lemon and amaretto to name just a few that come to mind. I have been told many times that the carrot cake cupcakes are the best people have ever tasted.I read previous reviews about dense or heavy sponge and to a certain extent I agree. There seems to be a bit of a battle between  The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook  and this one. I own both books and as far as I can see the main difference between them is that the Primrose Bakery book uses the creaming method (and no baking powder) to make the mixture rise whereas the Hummingbird bakery favour the all in one method (using baking powder). I think the omission of baking powder is the reason the primrose Bakery's cakes are slightly heavy, so all I do is add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to the mix and the cakes are perfect. I bake, on average, 2 batches of cupcakes from this book every fortnight to take into work and have always had favourable reports and they certainly disappear very quickly.Another tip I would give is that the icing amounts are very generous so if you are just spreading the icing with a knife you will probably have enough if you halve the mixture. I ice the buttercream with an icing bag and nozzle for a more professional finish. This uses more buttercream but even so I still have some buttercream left over. I have found that the more you use this book, the more comfortable you become with the recipes and you can tweak them to your own tastes. All in all, this is one book I reach for time and again in the kitchen. The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

The Primrose Bakery is one of the many Gourmet Bakeries that are springing up in London. They have two shops in Primrose Hill and Covent Gardens.And like many of the of these Bakeries they have published their own cookbook written by co-owners Martha Swift and Lisa ThomasAlthough it has been billed as a book for Beginners, it is not, the recipes are "clear" and "concise". This is a great addition to any cupcake bakers library.Split to sections, the main ones cover the Basics... Festive and Seasonal and then those for special occasions. The chapters cover both the cakes and the icings... Each cake has recommended toppings but with other suggestions as well.And I love it, over the course of one weekend and the icing on a batch of Lemon Cupcakes I now have a new favourite staple cupcake cookbookStrengths Clear Recipes - Builds on the Basics A very wide range of suggestions for Icings and Frostings - Can't wait to try the Brandy Butter Cream Icing Well written instructions An excellent book for both beginners and experienced cupcakers

I thoroughly enjoy baking and have tested A LOT of cupcake recipes using various other baking books. I bought this last year and have already tried out quite a few of the recipes and have fallen in love with them! All I will say is - try the carrot cupcakes! They are incredible!

I had this bought at Christmas and am thrilled with it. The photographs are stunning and there are some unusual flavours of cupcakes. I have to admit I have only made Earl Grey Cupcakes so far and in truth could not taste the Earl Grey despite following the recipe. The recipe stated it made 12 cupcakes but I found it made 24, I also found the frosting made more than I needed again despite following the recipe to the letter. That aside, I love the book so much I have bought it for my daughter who is also a keen baker.