Duchess Cookbook Review

It has been a few weeks since I last blogged. It has been a busy few weeks and I had a neat experience where I was offered the chance to audition for the Great Canadian Baking Show. I had a lot of fun and I am really proud of how I was and what I did. I am not sure if I will make it on the show, fingers crossed, but it was still really cool to make it that far. If I don't make it on this year I will for sure try out again next year. 

Have you ever found a cookbook that just becomes your go to for recipes? Well the cookbook that has been compiled of recipes from the Duchess bakery has become that to me. What is really funny is I don't own it yet! Every time I have gone to order it, it has been sold out. I had a friend tell me that Indigo/Chapters sells it now, so I will be picking up a copy this week. I have been borrowing it from the Cochrane public library, I was so excited when I saw it there and have been working my way through the book with some recipes I have always wanted to try. 

I wanted to share with you my experience, not because I have been asked to, or because I am getting paid (which I am not for either). This was just such a wonderful compilation of user friendly recipes that not only made for wonderful food but also elevated your abilities as a at home baker. 

Duchess Bake Shop is focused on beautiful French pastries and baking. Through out the book there are detailed instructions along with small pictures that show you exactly how to make each recipe. I am a visual person so I appreciated a visual story on how each recipe was supposed to unfold as we go along. The written instructions are very well worded and are easy to follow along, with asterisks that coincide with the little pictures. 

I have now made 4 recipes out of the book and have plans to make all of them! Their macaron recipe is one of my favorites and produced amazing little cookies that were evenly baked. I just recently made their croissant recipe and for a first try I was really happy with how they turned out, but I want to try again another time to get them to look better. 

One recipe I will rave about is their Brioche dough, it is a lengthily process but it produces a dough that is silky, buttery, and irresistible. Why their brioche dough is one of the bests is because of the amount of butter in it, it is a very rich dough that you can make into something savoury or sweet. I filled mine with a Star Anise and vanilla pastry cream, you can top with berries or just drizzle with chocolate. One thing you can actually order from the Duchess provisions shop is their pearl sugar, which is what is white and topped on my brioche in the picture. 
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I have many more plans to work on a few more of those recipes in the future, and I am excited to share them with you. This is a cookbook that I strongly suggest having in your home, especially if you want to learn how to make bakery quality French pastries and cakes. 

If you visit their website they also have a provisions shop where they sell high quality baking supplies and ingredients, everything you need in the cookbook they sell there. If you ever get the chance to visit Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, then I highly recommend visiting their bake shop and indulging in their goodies. I will warn you it is hard to pick just one thing. 

Happy Eating!!
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