This has to be one of my favourite book series for sure, because it’s local! Rosie Daykin is the owner of Butter Baked Gods and now author of two baking books: Butter Baked Goods & Butter Celebrates!

For so many reasons, I love these books. I’ll begin with how much I love the name of her shop: BUTTER! It’s simple, and a key ingredient for all things delicious in the land of baking. Next to sugar, I’d say it’s the top ingredient on the majority of bakers’ grocery lists.

As you may suspect, with a shop name like Butter, all of the goods I’ve tasted fall nothing short of lip-smacking deliciousness. Most of you are likely familiar with her fluffy marshmallows which are also sold at places like WholeFoods, etc. She also sells them in her shop in south Dunbar, Vancouver, BC — the sweetest and prettiest shop! Her background in interior decorating is apparent after you see her decor choices, making this delicious bakery a dainty one too.

And I could probably go on, but I am actually wanting to tell you about her books! Yes, plural. Rosie published her first book in 2013. I remember when I first learned about it – I knew instantly it would be a great book and needed to get my hands on a copy. It’s been a great book, and I will get into what I like about it below. After I introduce her second book, which was recently released this fall.  Like the first book, I knew right away that I’d want her second book too.

Recently, I had the fortune and pleasure of attending a private booking signing event with Rosie, at Appetite RandomHouse here in Vancouver. I was able to mingle with some of my fellow members of Food Bloggers of Canada, meet Rosie and receive a signed-copy of her new book Butter Celebrates!  Given the timing of my book review series, her first book was on my list to review, and then I won the chance to attend this event. So, for this review I wanted to talk double-Butter and review them both because many of my pros apply to both books.

Let’s get to it…

Book 1:  Butter Baked Goods
Author: Rosie Daykin 
Publication date: 2013
Baking skill level: Beginner

Book 2:  Butter Celebrates!
Author: Rosie Daykin 
Publication date: 2015
Baking skill level: Beginner

First, both of these books are simply beautiful from cover to cover. I love the layout, the design details, the photography is gorgeous too. I have read her first book most, and tested a few of her recipes too.

Pros

• The recipes are organized well, and at a first glance, easy to follow.
• I love the little notes included on the recipes, adding recipe variation details or cautions to note.
• The recipes clearly outline what you will need for equipment to make the recipes, and their yields are fairly* accurate.
• She shares her most prized recipes, including her famous marshmallows, cut out cookies, the you know what sandwich cookie – I personally loved the snickerdoodle sandwich cookie.
• Where needed for trickier method recipes you have picture instructions for you to easily follow along at home. I’m a visual person, so I love photo instructions.
• Another example of this, in particular, which I love: she explains how to temper chocolate with picture instructions. It is truly a look & feel process, so the photos really help you learn to temper chocolate (I learned how to do this tempering method, among others, during chocolate week in pastry school).
• The ribbon book mark is my favourite flourish in both books – so you can bookmark your favourite recipes or mark the one you’re baking next!
• Her first book is great with outlining tools of the trade that you will need to bake with Butter-style execution.
• What I love more is that she goes into methodology, which is really where the success of your efforts will rise or fall. From learning to work with egg whites to folding, or the basics of creaming butter and sugar. After pastry school, I’m an advocate for serious bakers to learn the fundamentals of key ingredients, it will make all the difference to your recipe execution.

Cons

• *I note the recipe yields above are fairly accurate because they are bakery size portions, for example, the muffins are likely double the size you might make at home. (12 = 12 butter size muffins). I made the Morning Glory muffins and ended up making 24 standard muffin tin size muffins, where the yield was 24. Having said this, I have to say this is the opposite of most recipes where the yield is under estimated. So having too many muffins isn’t really a con, unless you didn’t plan to bake that many or have enough tins available to bake them all at once.
• The books are too pretty to actually have in your kitchen! You don’t want get the pages dirty! Or maybe you do. I have mostly written out the recipe that I want to use on a scrap paper, and save the book on my bookshelf.

Are these really cons? I know. I’m stretching….There isn’t much to say about this book that I do not like.

Favourite recipes

• Morning glory muffins were DELICIOUS. I love a good morning glory muffin so this was a winner for me.
• Her vanilla cupcake recipe is fluffy and vanilla-y, perfect for your next birthday party occasion.

Notable Upgrades in book two, Butter Celebrates!

• The second book is nicely divided into seasonal themes, so you can pull this book out as a guide for your next holiday baking adventures. From halloween to valentine’s day to Christmas and all others in between. I am excited to try out some of these recipes and explore now that the Christmas holidays are upon us (I’m eyeing the pannetone recipe, and her Nanaimo bar cupcakes… O M G).
• In the first book she poised us for the basics of baking success, and now the second book Rosie steers us into celebration planning success. She opens the book with her heart-warming philosophy behind celebrations and why they matter. I am on board with her thinking too, where she says essentially every celebration is like a little escape from every-day-life. We can pause and enjoy some fun and family, laughter, and even maybe some chaos. It’s totally true. Baking is what ties it all together at the end of meal. I think anyone who is passionate about baking will share in her sentiment, and as you read through her second book, you’ll get to learn a bit more about how Rosie plans a party.

Well if that isn’t enough, I have to add, that when I met Rosie at the recent book signing event, she was just a DE-LIGHT! I enjoyed talking with her about her bakery in Dunbar, and the books. Here are a couple photos I took at the event.

Rosie Daykin has created a sweet-escape for all of her customers in her shop, through her recipes and books, and I am a fan. If you’ve never been to Butter Baked Goods, I cannot recommend it enough. And if you aren’t close by, then you should check out either of her books and try some of her recipes at for yourself.