this book is worth it for the truffle tort. try it this is one of thoose things you make for a feeling down day with the girls. i made it for a party on new years everyone loved it. made it for work on my birthday 2 people have bought the book just based on that. the only thing that would beat this is if james made it for me at my home i can wish. the carrot cake isnt a traditional carrot cake but my partner doesnt like carrot cake i dont like fruit but this suited us both. buy it

I have never been able to cook desserts until this book landed in my kitchen. i have now tried several recipes - delicious. the millionaires shortbread and the trick with condensed milk is fab!

We purchased this book not because we cannot cook but because we were looking for dessert ideas for dinner parties. We found that the ingredient quantities in the recipes would typically be vastly over specified meaning that we would have large amounts left over from the mix. In addition most of the web links in the back of the book are incorrect or don't work. I feel folks will buy this on the strength of the smooth talking chef rather than the merits of the recipies.

James really takes things back to basics. When you read the book, it takes you back to when your gran used to teach you to bake, if you were lucky enough to have one that did that! The recipes have a real comfort food feel to them. When I first got this book the most difficult part was choosing what recipe to make first.
If you only buy one recipe book this year, then I would make it this one.

I bought this book recently, tempted by the fabulous pictures and the mouth watering recepies. James explains things in a very straightforward way, but my only gripe is that he does assume that everyone owns microwaves, ice cream makers and food processors. It would have been nice to have alternatives ways given. If you want to make ice creams or food without gadgets, I have to suggest Delia or Nigella!