Now that The Big Day's come and gone, lots of us have some giftcards, or some actual filthy lucre, to spend. There being no better way to spend that haul than on books, here are some reasonably priced options you might not've thought of to get your spooky-cake-eating needs met.
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THE LITTLE GOTHIC BAKESHOP: Over 50 Recipes with Sweetness and Shadows in Every Bite
HELENA GARCÍA
Castle Books (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$19.99 all editions, available now
Rating: 4.5* of five
The Publisher Says: The Little Gothic Bakeshop features over 50 deliciously spooky and inventive recipes that bring a gothic twist to everyday baking. Give your baking a wicked, whimsigoth twist with The Little Gothic Bakeshop, featuring sweet and savory treats with a gothic flair.
The Little Gothic Bakeshop showcases over 50 spooky and inventive recipes from The Great British Baking Show star, Helena Garcia, who impressed the judges and audiences alike with her creepy creations. Brewing with mystique, this cookbook is your go-to guide to easily transform ordinary recipes into macabre masterpieces, including devilishly delicious cakes, cookies, pastries, breads, desserts, and drinks.
Covering Bewitching Beverages, Spooky Cookies and Candies, Ghoulish Breads and Pastries, To-Die-For Desserts, and Macabre Cakes and Bakes, unleash your inner goth with recipes like:
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: The draw here is less unique recipes, these are fairly usual baking-cookbook fare, but GBBO season 10 Helena's design aesthetic.
I thought both Helena and Michelle were robbed that season. I loved Helena's complete willingness to stick to a theme...the vampire's kiss cocktail cake!...went underappreciated by the judges. Her latest baking cookbook is more about how to take ordinary bakes to the next level in theme and decoration. That was Helena's gift, and she's sticking with it.
Small bakes for small crowds, like those above, or big ones for parties like below:
There's all the stuff between, too, like main courses and dinner-do desserts and weird, witch drinks:
Much against my personal taste I'll include some of her chocolate stuff here at the end so I don't have to look at it often:
There. Happy now, chocoholics?
A lovely little lifestyle-enhancer for all y'all Halloweeners who wouldn't buy this unless it was a self-gift.
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BEYOND DELICIOUS COOKBOOK: Recipes & Stories from the Original Ghost Whisperer (2nd Edition, Revised)
MARY ANN WINKOWSKI & David Powers
Clerisy Press (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$22.00 all editions, available now
Rating: 4.5* of five
The Publisher Says: Savor this collection of more than 100 recipes, shared with the Ghost Whisperer by the spirits of several great cooks.
We cook because our connection to food is ever-present. We cook for sustenance and joy. For a culinary experience that’s completely unique, the Beyond Delicious Cookbook tickles your tastebuds while making your paranormal senses tingle. It is half cookbook and half ghost story—two ingredients needed to create meals that are tasty and chillingly unforgettable.
Mary Ann Winkowski (aka “The Ghost Whisperer”) has been communicating with earthbound spirits for most of her life, and she learned that our connection with food is not broken after death. In fact, she has received countless recipes from spirits of great cooks who have passed on. Co-written by David Powers, the Beyond Delicious Cookbook features more than 100 of these recipes, each paired with the ghostly tale of how Mary Ann learned about the dish. The book is divided into sections about soups, sides, main dishes, desserts, and more.
As Mary Ann notes, these recipes are the best home-cooked meals you can find because they came from the kitchens of families who prepared and perfected them over a lifetime. The meals are so beloved that the living asked Mary Ann to get them or so meaningful that a spirit asked her to record them for those left behind. The stories that go along with the recipes are often sweet, sometimes spooky, and always transfixing.
Book Features:
My Review: Believe in ghosts? This cookbook of their remembered favorite recipes is likely to be a hit with you.
Don't believe in ghosts? Bet you like good, basic cooking books to glean new ideas from. And it looks right pretty doing it.
That's as fancy as we get; the Introduction is much more typical of the way information's presented. It's good, basic cooking, and the recipes are not hard to follow.
It's a fun concept for a decent cookbook, presented well. A nice, whimsical self-gift.
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