Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook: The Best Recipes from Southampton's Favorite Bakery for Homestyle Cookies, Cakes, Pies, Muffins, and Breads

I have the impression some publisher wanted a Tate's book to capitalize on their famous cookie, but weren't trying to achieve something to be proud of.My initial complaint is that the book doesn't provide weights for ingredients, which most serious baking books do these days. For me to make anything, I'll have to do the conversions myself, which is a bit tedious. So it's likely I'll only try the famous Chocolate Chip cookies. Other books that don't provide weights will at least tell you how the author measured their flour, but this book doesn't even do that.And the choice of using salted butter is weird. The author does defend the choice, saying that the typical kitchen doesn't have unsalted butter, but most serious bakers stock it. Novice bakers are going to have to visit the store anyway, since they probably don't stock other necessary ingredients.I was intrigued by the recipe for chocolate cup cakes. It was very simple, basically throwing everything into a bowl and mixing it together. What also stood out was there was almost no flour, just 1/2 cup and no leavening. Given that there was twice as much butter and sugar than flour, I thought it likely there wouldn't be enough structure to support a cupcake, but, giving them the benefit of the doubt, I decided to make them. Sure enough, the cupcakes collapsed while cooling. Digging a fork into the center revealed pools of melted chocolate; basically, a molten lava cake. This isn't a bad thing, but it's not what the recipe is designed to produce and would be useless as a cupcake. If I were to make this again, I'd increase the flour to a total of 1 cup of flour, which for me is 130 grams. I'd also throw in a 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda. Without the leavener, the batter barely rose in the cupse and formed only slight domes (which collapsed on cooling).

This is a great cookbook chalk full of recipes for yummy home-style baked goods. The Cookbook's foreward is written by Ina Garten, who carried Tate's Bake Shop baked goods at her Barefoot Contessa Shop for years.This warm and friendly book begins with some basic information regarding tips and techniques for baking success. Some of Kathleen's favorite baking tools are Silpat baking mats, an oven thermometer, and microplane zesters. Probably her best advice is given in the last sentence where she says, "Most of all, have fun! Don't take it seriously. If you screw up, don't worry about it--they're only cookies!The recipes are easy to follow and relatively simple. There's nothing fancy or pretentious here.The book includes chapters for:Muffins and SconesPound Cakes and BreadsCookies and BarsPies, Crisps, and CobblersCakesHealth AlternativesEverything that I've made from this book so far has been delicious. And there are so many more recipes that I can't wait to try. Just reading about them makes me want to run into the kitchen and get baking, which is not something I can say about most baking books.Favorites to date include mocha pecan muffins, banana chocolate chip muffins, oatmeal scones, apricot ginger scones, sweet potato pie, chocolate peanut butter pie, apple cranberry crisp, chocolate mousse cake, chocolate chip cake and chocolate fudge cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, chocolate chip coconut macadamia nut cookies, chocolate chip pie, and the crispy chocolate chip cookies for which her bakery is so famous.One word of caution, the book includes a few editorial missteps. For example, the recipe for toffee pecan cookies doesn't list pecans in the ingredient list (1 cup, chopped). However, I haven't run into anything that can't be overcome with a little research and/or common sense, especially if you have some baking experience.Highly Recommended

All the favorites and more. Who doesn’t love Tates chocolate chip cookies? Pie recipes are easy and tasty. Have been cooking up a storm!

OMG! The chocolate mousse cake on page 109 is to die for. I used Ghiradelli's double chocolate chips and it came out so chocolatey and SMOOTH. I also got lazy the second time (and every time after) I made it and used the pre-made Oreo pie shells. Doing that cuts the time in half. That "cake" melts in your mouth. It's like a heavy chocolate silk pie. Of all the recipes I've tried so far, that one is our favorite and I always get compliments and people ask for the recipe. This is a great compilation of several types/categories of desserts. I hope to try them all eventually. Very glad I bought this book! I usually get all my recipes online. This is the first book I've purchased since my Betty Crocker one 20+ years ago when I first got married. Tate's is worth every penny.

I have ttried only a few of the recipes yet (hence the 4 stars instead of 5), but I was very pleased with the chocolate chip cookie recipe. They came out exactly like the ones from their bakery (Tate's) I have been buying in gourmet shops. I did use premium chocolate chips, rather than the ones at the supermarket and I used King Arthur Flour instead of Gold Medal, but I'm not sure it made a difference. I wish the recipe for Tate's macadamia cookies had been included, they are heavenly. I suspect it's the same as the chocolate chip ones only with chopped macadamia nuts. I'll try that and update my review.

I was VERY excited to get this book, I love I.Garten and because her baking recipes have been sooo good I figured that if she was singing the praises of this book, then it would definately be something special...unfortunately, it's really not. Which was a serious disappointment.I have tried several of the recipes and not even once did we have one of those "OMG these are to die for!" moment?!This is a good book for new bakers but for people who know anything about baking it will probably be wasted space on the shelf. Sorry Kathy...I really did want to love this cookbook, but I bought it anyhow and that'll be a few extra bucks in your pocket. :)

This is a must for anyone who likes good old fashioned cake flavours with a modern twist.As useful to me for farmhouse style baking as the baking section of my old copy of Mrs Beatons which! was my Grans' so almost a century old and falling to bits with use!!!In the short time I have had this book I have made several recipes as they have been so tempting and all successfully baked. I was stuck with one ingredient which I thought might be oil but after a quick phone call to the Tate Bakery Shop discovered it was actually lard. They were very helpful and said to ring anytime I was not sure of an ingredient.The lemon cake is so full of flavour and 'zesty' I will use it as an alternative for celebration cakes to a fruit cake and stays moist well due to being made with sour cream. It is wonderful topped with Lemoncello flavoured cream cheese topping.

I am one of those cookbook collectors that have a collection approaching 100 or more.that means I buy them , try them a few times and am usually disappointed by poorexplanations or recipes that do not work.This Cookbook is amazing, it has become the standby for cakes, cookies and muffins.I have tried more than a dozen recipes and they have all worked perfectly.Clear instructions, the correct quantites and excellent results . I have even given afew as gifts to friends . do not hesitate to buy this one.

I have other books on baking that I use way more

Lovely cookbook to add to my library!