I used this book to teach myself to bake. I had been suffering from a period of ill-health and was stuck at home and did not have the energy to do much exercise. I even had to sit down and catch my breath as I walked to the village so I desperate for something to do. My favourite room is the kitchen and beside baking bread, baking cakes was not something I did regularly. So I bought this book to get started and it is great. I have tried several of the recipes, the Light Chocolate Brownies on page 45, Sunday Best Chocolate Fudge Cake on Page 49, Coffee and Walnut Tray-bake on Page 83 and the various Victoria Sandwiches on Page 195/6 are a family favourite. All of these cakes turned out really well, even better with the purchase of my wonderful Kitchen Aid. Furthermore, when I returned to work my need to bake continued to outgrow the ability of my family to eat it so I started taking cakes into work. Wow, even better result. I had no idea that bringing a homemade cake into work every week or so made such a difference to the morale of the workforce. They couldn't do enough for me, why did I not know this earlier. I manage to relax whilst baking and my staff were happy to eat the results and I really noticed a nicer atmosphere in the office. If only all of the ills in the world could be eased by a home-made cake, but if you want to try, this is definitely the book to help you along. A great buy and my family, friends and colleagues thank you Mary Berry.