Illustrated Step-by-step Baking [Hardcover]

I now have the whole set of Illustrated Step-by-Step books, and I tell you, they're my favorite and most used books. To review this book I actually did two recipes instead of the usual one. Here is the first; Flapjacks.
Most people hear the words "Flapjacks" and automatically think of pancakes. The Flapjacks in this book are more of a granola bar. I chose them because the looked good, I loved the name and the healthy ingredients like oats and honey. Best part is, if you look at the photo above, which is my baking at work, then look at the one in the book, they are so close in looks they could be twins! Not everyday the recipe turns out exactly like the photo. So that impressed me greatly, as well as how good they tasted. They didn't make it long in the house. One batch lasted two days.
Next I made what the book calls, "Banoffee Pie". Basically it's a banana cream pie.
Mine was good, but isn't exactly like the photo. I definitely put more chocolate on top, I am a girl who needs her chocolate fix, and besides it tastes amazing with chocolate. It tasted exactly how I expected it too though, and I was happy with the cookie base instead of a graham cracker base, which is what I was accustomed to . A nice change. It was a very rich dessert though, so calorie counters or diabetics like me, beware.
I definitely will be backing some more from it. I have 9 or 10 more pages marked for immediate action if that tells you anything....

I love this book!! Everything is cut down to easy to make directions! Great for new bakers, kids and has some great recipes for the great baker to try! I have used the made from scratch waffles from this book and everyone in my house LOVES them! It also has recipes for things like english muffins, crumpets, no bake cheesecake and lots of things I have yet to find in one baking book :) I would recommend this book to everyone!

If I tell you that my kids got really excited when they saw that book would you believe me? Well the two oldest anyway. All my kids have attended cooking classes at a local grocery store and are involved in many aspects of the cooking in our house. My two oldest sons didn't wait long to dig into this book and select the recipes they wanted to do...

Even my husband sat down that day and looked into it, pleased to see so many pictures and step-by-step instructions for many recipes. Almost all recipes are accompanied with a picture of the end product. Some of them have the step-by-step pictures helping you to go through the whole recipe without missing anything.

So for our first recipe, we selected the Rosemary Focaccia. The oldest in our family wanted to do it all by himself without any help...

The bread looked good and it smelled all through the house when my husband came back home that evening. He was impressed that our son did all by himself (with a Broccoli Salad as well).

The rosemary focaccia was a success for almost everyone in the family - my third son didn't like it as much as the others. But see how yummy it is... And yes the cook put a bit too much of salt on the top. We have all decided that the salt is not necessary and from now on won't be adding it on top of the focaccias we will do in the future.

Our next recipe planned is the Quiche Lorraine which is a French classic of eggs and bacon. My husband is looking forward to have this after he comes back from a day at a contract...

This book is an absolute gem to try out new recipes or to have your child explore cooking for the whole family. As an homeschooler, I am proud of him to take the initiative and decide to do a meal for us. After all, isn't this part of Home Ec? My son will definitively be a good prospect for a young lady in the future. She will be blessed to have him cook and help around the house!