Another month= another book in my monthly Cooking The Books Challenge.  Now it’s July I needed to think of another book that would have recipes I would enjoy baking yet my family would eat them!

This month it’s going to be Lisa Thomas and Martha Swift’s third book from the Primrose Bakery, this time their Celebrations book.  Although I’ve never had chance to go to one of the Primrose Bakeries I have loved using the previous two books  particularly at the height of the cupcake craze.

Here are some previous Primrose Bakery Cupcake recipes I have baked and loved over the past four or five years.  My children loved the Peanut butter ones the most!

This time, the Celebrations book features around eight different types of celebration and I am hoping to try out recipes I’ve never attempted before.  So what am I going to bake?

In the Young Girl’s Party chapter there is a recipe for White Chocolate Cupcakes.  This doesn’t sound that unusual but my school is holding a Summer Fair in the middle of July and I know these will be great to go on the cake stall as one of my contributions.

Following on from this, into the Young Boy’s Party chapter there is another cupcake recipe, this time for Cola Cupcakes.  To get the intense flavour needed I will need to buy some cola Soda Stream concentrate.  I remember having a Soda Stream when I was a child!  These can also go along to the Summer Fair!

The third chapter is the Teenage Party and all the recipes here are based on a Mexican theme.  We all love Mexican food in our house so this time we’re going for two savoury recipes the Cheese Quesadillas and the Guacamole.  Sounds delicious to me!

Picnics is the title of the fourth chapter and although I love picnics I don’t fancy eating it in the car as the rain lashes down in true British style.  But I do love the sound of the Eton Mess Cupcakes which are also going along to my school’s Summer Fair!

Another popular celebration is a Baby Shower and that is featured in the fifth chapter of the Celebrations book.  I’ve never been into things like Baby Showers, well we didn’t really have them when my children were born.  It’s one of those American customs that have slipped over the pond! All the recipes in this chapter are Moroccan inspired so I am baking the Date Bars. Date Bars remind me of my Nana Margaret.  She used to buy them from her local bakery in Scarborough when she was on holiday there.  I remember being forced to eat them as a child and hating the filling.  Recently I ate one from our local bakery when my hubby bought one and it tasted delicious.  I would love to try some out myself!

Chapter six is called Afternoon Tea Party and all the recipes are Japanese inspired.  I must admit I struggled with this chapter as it calls for specialist ingredients which I won’t necessarily be able to find locally.  However I did find the Jasmine Cake looked pretty and although I might not be able to get hold of some jasmine essence, I might adapt the recipe to suit.

My favourite chapter in the book is the Cocktails and Cupcakes one.  As I’m a huge gin and tonic lover I would like to bake the Gin and Tonic Cupcakes to take along as a gift for a dinner party I’m going to at the end of July.  I’m going to use my favourite local artisan gin in it, Mason’s which is made in Yorkshire and it is wonderful.

Finally and although it is totally the wrong time of year for this being July but there is a Christmas and New Year chapter!  A lot of the recipes don’t suit this time of year obviously but I was tempted by two recipes here the Salted Caramel Cupcakes and because I’ve never baked for my dog before, the Cheese Dog Treats!  Being a Labrador, I’m sure my dog will like them whether they taste good or not!

Watch this space to see how I get on with these recipes!

Happy Baking!

Love Sam xx