Cakes from Around the World - Tapa dura

In 2003, Grub Street published Julie Duff's first book, "Cakes Regional & Traditional". The book was short listed for the prestigious Glenfiddich Award and was highly praised in the press especially by Nigel Slater and Tom Parker Bowles and has established itself as the classic work on British cakes. Julie now follows that comprehensive work with an equally thorough and entertaining bible which has taken four years to research and write, by gathering together all the great cake recipes from around the world. There are recipes from Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East, the USA, the Caribbean, the Far East, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, as well as ones from Iceland, South Africa, Patagonia and the Gulf States. There are large cakes, small cakes, plain cakes, fancy cakes, light cakes, rich cakes, fruit cakes, spicy cakes, apple, orange and lemon cakes, coffee and chocolate cakes, iced cakes, layer cakes, sponge and yeasted cakes. Included are recipes for brownies, cupcakes, muffins, macaroons, cheesecakes, parkins, pound cakes, streusels, gingerbreads and shortbreads.

Julie Duff runs Church Farmhouse Cakes from her home in Croxton Kerriel, Lincolnshire and supplies some of the country's foremost shops with her highly praised confections. Since her first book was published she has been much in demand by the press for her cake making tips and her recipes. Last year she presented a series of regional cake recipes on Woman's Hour for five weeks.