If you've ever wondered what happens when classic Indian flavours meet sweets and bakes, then Hetal Vasavda’s Desi Bakes is your gateway to the world of desi-inspired baking. ‘Desi’ is a term used to describe the people and cultures of the subcontinent, which includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. It comes from the Sanskrit word "desh," meaning "country" or "homeland." In food, "desi" refers to flavours…

Like so many did during COVID, the authors of this lovely tome spent their Covid lockdown baking. However, they had a bit of a head start on most of us as Gareth Whitton was the head pastry chef at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in Melbourne. When that restaurant closed, he found himself working at a supermarket when the pandemic hit…

Victoria Granof's Sicily My Sweet is the cookbook you didn’t know you needed – a love letter to Sicily’s sweet side, where sugar and spice mingle in the most deliciously unexpected ways. If you’re the kind of person who loves to dive deep into the culinary heart of a place, this book is an absolute must-have…

Author Michael James, who owned Melbourne's Tivoli Road Bakery with his wife Pippa, is a Michelin-starred chef who found himself drawn to the precision of baking. This book isn’t their first cookbook rodeo, but for it they adopted a seasonal approach to baking – a bit unconventional, but it works. The recipes are definitely refined, but the vibe feels more homemade and rustic, thanks to the use of wholemeal flours and grains…

With Christmas just around the corner, maybe you’re already starting to plan get-togethers and parties. Or at least you’re ruminating on them and this year, dammit, you want fresh ideas, you want to keep things easy, and you want flavour to the max. Well, we suspect Bec Vrana Dickinson, chef and author of Happy Hour Snacks, heard your call and whipped this book together to make your festive (and other) snacking simpler...

If you get a new cookbook and routinely skip the introductory parts where the author talks about their life and philosophy, and instead head straight to the pretty pics and recipes, we have a book to challenge that approach. To really understand Chae: Korean Slow Food For A Better Life, you need to read the wordy bits. And what makes this a worthwhile exercise is that they’re actually really interesting, and even somewhat moving…

Shu Han Lee might not be a household name down here, but she’s known in the UK for her spice company Remapapa, stocked in leading supermarkets like Selfridges. A Singapore native, she’s also authored another book called Chicken and Rice, a collection of more broadly SouthEast Asian recipes. Her latest concentrates on what she describes as “everyday recipes from Singapore”…