Book excerpt: WINNER OF THE ANDRE SIMON AWARD 2021 SHORTLISTED FOR THE FORTNUM & MASON FOOD AND DRINK AWARDS 2022 ___________________ 'I love Dee Rettali's baking – she is obsessed with flavour. A bold and beautiful book' DIANA HENRY The 90 recipes in this book are all about beautiful, natural flavours from quality ingredients like fruits and spices. Dee Rettali is an artisan baker who, over a lifetime of baking, has honed her recipes to bring out intense flavour using forgotten craftsmanship. Dee's cakes, created for her bakery – Fortitude Bakehouse in London – are a world away from generic cakes loaded with sugar or artificial flavours. Many of her recipes are incredibly simple one-bowl mixes, brought together by hand and with no need for fancy kitchen equipment. The batter can be baked then or, to heighten the natural flavours and reduce sweetness further, left to slightly ferment in the fridge. This technique allows you to prep ahead and simply bake the cake when you want it. Some other recipes use a sourdough-like starter as a base to which any combination of seasonal flavours can be added. Dee has roots in both Ireland and Morocco that have inspired the unique flavour combinations in her bakes, such as: · White grape and rosemary cake · Marrakeshi mint and orange peel sourdough loaf cake · Blueberry and lime little buns · Turmeric custard and roast pear brioche buns · Chilli-soaked date and oat loaf cake This is a cutting-edge way of baking and at the same time it has antecedents in Dee's past. Growing up in rural Ireland, seasonal and no-waste baking was simply a way of life. This book brings this back to life in a thoroughly modern way. ___________________ 'This isn't just another book about baking; it's a whole new way of approaching it' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH