The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, by Tarek Malouf

I have just thrown my third (and final) attempt at making cupcakes from this book in the bin.

I followed the recipes to the letter and the result was the same. The cakes were too sweet and failed to rise.

I was given this book as a gift by a friend and it has become a firm favourite! It has the most amazing cakes, muffins, brownies and pies and so far, everything I have made from this book has turned out perfectly. Please don't be put off if you don't have any of the electric whisks, mixers etc that they suggest you use. I have made everything by hand (and a bit of elbow grease!) and still had lovely light results. All of the ingredients are inexpensive and easy to get hold of from any supermarket too. Thanks to this book, friends and family think I'm a far better baker than I actually am!