Nicola Lamb

If you find baking a mysterious art in which success and failure are bestowed seemingly at random by a capricious kitchen god, Nicola Lamb is on hand to add a little scientific rigour to your pastry, biscuit and cake making.

The Times and Sunday Times Food Book of the Year

Ever wondered why your bakes won't behave? Look no further than Lamb's upcoming bible, which you'll have covered in sticky fingerprints in no time. Insightful and approachable, the pastry chef decodes everything you need to know about the intricate science of baking while sharing 100 creative recipes for everything from speedy miso, walnut and chocolate-chip cookies to a stage-stealing mocha passionfruit opera cake.

Evening Standard’s Best Cookbooks of 2024

Great recipes and a clever layout mean you can dip into the techy science behind making as much or as little as you like. I'm not a natural baker and don't have a particularly sweet tooth, but I genuinely get excited to make things from SIFT.

The Elements of Great Baking

'Every page is a masterclass in better baking' – Nigel Slater 
 
'When your bake rebels, trust in SIFT. Nicola Lamb solves the many mysteries of baking: why ganache misbehaves, why dough acts up, and what ‘until golden brown’ truly means. Informative, enriching, and so delicious' – Yotam Ottolenghi 
 
'Nicola understands and explains baking like nobody else' – Jamie Oliver 
 
'Simply extraordinary recipes' – Helen Goh 
 
'Everything you ever wanted to know about baking but were too afraid to ask' – Felicity Cloake 
 
Nicola Lamb is the go-to person for all your baking questions and cravings. In her essential new baking bible, SIFT, she takes the fear out of failure and offers up an inspiring collection of over 100 delicious bakes. 
 
In the first half of the book, Nicola breaks down the key elements and techniques with boundless enthusiasm and beautiful illustrations. Explore every how and why of baking and move forward with complete confidence – you'll never again wonder why your custard has curdled, why your sponge didn't rise or why your panna cotta didn't set. 
 
Nicola's recipes are divided into the time it takes to make a bake, ranging from gooey cookies and airy cakes that you can whip up in an afternoon to fabulous showstoppers you can devote a weekend to. These include: 
 
Bake in an afternoon: Roasted Strawberry Victoria Sponge, Miso Walnut Double-Thick Chocolate-Chip Cookies and Bread-and-Butter Pudding with Caramel Mandarins 
Bake in a day: Salted Vanilla and Pistachio Layer Cake, Fancy Rhubarb Tart and Olive Oil Brie-oche with Roasted Grapes 
Bake in a weekend: Mocha Passionfruit Opera Cake, Pain au Chocolat and Tiramichoux 
 
Sunday Times Bestseller May 2024 
Times & Sunday Times Food Book of the Year, November 2024

Nicola Lamb

Praise for SIFT

If you find baking a mysterious art in which success and failure are bestowed seemingly at random by a capricious kitchen god, Nicola Lamb is on hand to add a little scientific rigour to your pastry, biscuit and cak ...

Ever wondered why your bakes won't behave? Look no further than Lamb's upcoming bible, which you'll have covered in sticky fingerprints in no time. Insightful and approachable, the pastry chef decodes everything you ...

Great recipes and a clever layout mean you can dip into the techy science behind making as much or as little as you like. I'm not a natural baker and don't have a particularly sweet tooth, but I genuinely get excite ...

If you find baking a mysterious art in which success and failure are bestowed seemingly at random by a capricious kitchen god, Nicola Lamb is on hand to add a little scientific rigour to your pastry, biscuit and cak ...

Ever wondered why your bakes won't behave? Look no further than Lamb's upcoming bible, which you'll have covered in sticky fingerprints in no time. Insightful and approachable, the pastry chef decodes everything you ...

Great recipes and a clever layout mean you can dip into the techy science behind making as much or as little as you like. I'm not a natural baker and don't have a particularly sweet tooth, but I genuinely get excite ...

If you find baking a mysterious art in which success and failure are bestowed seemingly at random by a capricious kitchen god, Nicola Lamb is on hand to add a little scientific rigour to your pastry, biscuit and cak ...

Ever wondered why your bakes won't behave? Look no further than Lamb's upcoming bible, which you'll have covered in sticky fingerprints in no time. Insightful and approachable, the pastry chef decodes everything you ...

Great recipes and a clever layout mean you can dip into the techy science behind making as much or as little as you like. I'm not a natural baker and don't have a particularly sweet tooth, but I genuinely get excite ...

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter