Go to cake/baking book you all use?

[Floellabenjamin]

I have just messed up some simple vanilla cupcakes from the hummingbird recipe online- cakes sticking to paper and not enough mixture.
I am fed up of googling and checking reviews on recipes. I am after a book or 2 that will guide me though simple home baking. What is best?

I've never experienced a disaster when using Mary Berry's How to Bake book. Easy to follow and receives for most types of cakes and bakes.

I think some of the timings and quantities are wrong in certain editions of the Hummingbird books so I usually check with my friend (who is a Hummingbird cupcake master) before attempting anything from their books.

Recipes not received!

The little BBC good food books are good - there's only a couple of duffers out of all the recipes I've tried in those.

Mary Berry and Delia are always reliable, too, though Delia is partial to using 20 words when 4 will do. Most of the times one of her recipes goes wrong for me, it's because I've missed an important detail that was well and truly buried in the instructions.

Mary Berry's Baking Bible. Although her oven temperature for fairy cakes is wrong.

Mrs Beaton's cakes and baking.
Simple recipes without stupid "twists" or weird hard-to-find ingredients.

Thanks Maita- I thought I was going mad as I've made them loads before and they've been fine.

I have a Good Housekeeping one here
Since I got it from my Secret Santa I rarely use anything else

There are so many Mary berry books. Any one in particular?

Oh you said how to bake
Thanks

These are my most used

Bake - Rachel Allen
Baking bible - Mary berry
Simply baking - Sybil kapoor (national trust recipes)
Italian home baking - gino d'acampo

I do always increase flavourings in Mary berry's recipes as I find them a little bland sometimes

Jo Wheatley's books are fantastic: easy to follow, simple and down to earth, with great results. Would recommend both v highly.

Nigella's How to be a Domestic Goddess. Straightforward recipes which are easy to follow, and consistent in result.

Mary Berrys Fast Cakes