[tasty review + recipe] Nadiya’s Bake Me a Story by Nadiya Hussain (2024)

All of us here in the Alphabet Soup kitchen were thrilled when Nadiya Hussain won Season 3 of The Great British Baking Show (‘Great British Bake Off’ in the UK).

We loved her unusual flavor combinations and beautiful presentations, and it was awesome seeing how her confidence grew each week as she tackled all those signature bakes, technical challenges and show stoppers.

Most agree that she also captivated audiences with her telling facial expressions. Her flexible eyebrows sometimes told the whole story: determination, panic, joy, disappointment, fear, frustration. It was such an emotional moment when she was declared winner and said, “”I’m never gonna put boundaries on myself ever again. I’m never gonna say I can’t do it. I’m never gonna say ‘maybe’. I’m never gonna say, ‘I don’t think I can.’ I can and I will.”

This 31-year-old Leeds wife and mother of three has been very busy since her big win last year. In September 2016, she published Nadiya’s Bake Me a Story, a charming collection of 15 updated fairy tales + recipes for children, and her adult cookbook featuring family recipes, Nadiya’s Kitchen, will come out in 2017.

Nadiya’s Bake Me a Story is sheer delight and rollicking good fun from cover to cover. Kudos to the art director and book designer for creating such an appealing, kid friendly resource that’s not only a pleasure to read but easy to use for budding chefs of all ages.

The mixed media illustrations are a fetching blend of Clair Rossiter’s emotive, humorous drawings and actual photographs of Nadiya and her three children cavorting with story characters, food items and each other. All the recipes are presented in double page spreads with color photos of the finished product and adorable spot illos, and there are cleverly designed title pages for each story.

Best of all is Nadiya’s writing — she’s added lots of humor and verve to the fairy tales to give them a fresh contemporary twist that kids are sure to love. She felt that most fairy tales are too grim and wanted to create happy endings for the characters. No doubt she’s had lots of practice reading to Musa, Dawud and Maryam, whom she credits with helping her fine tune the tales, most notably telling her when something is or isn’t funny. Also love how all the finished recipes (tarts, biscuits, cakes, muffins) are seamlessly incorporated into the stories. 🙂

So, the beloved gingerbread “guy” doesn’t get eaten by the sly fox because he was baked with star anise instead of ginger; Cinderella is a college student with two part time jobs and a houseful of lazy relatives, and instead of seven dwarfs, Snow White lives with a passel of quirky flatmates, one who has allergies, another who’s a daydreamer, and another who’s always tired from working night shifts.

Remember Sleeping Beauty? She’s now “Sleepless Beauty,” with a case of insomnia so bad her parents, the King and Queen, announce that “anyone who could help their daughter sleep would be rewarded with a lifetime’s supply of safety pins.” Hilarious!

Besides Star Anise Gingerbread Men, Pumpkin and Spice Flapjacks, and French Apple Tart, munchkins can whip up a cup of Cardamom and Malt Hot Chocolate to ensure a good night’s sleep. And how much do I love the idea of a Zebra Cake, Cookie Mallows, and Cinnamon Palmiers? Besides sweet treats, Nadiya has included Cheese and Onion Tart, Jack’s Bean Patties, and Pea and Mint Risotto. 🙂

When I first saw Nadiya on the show, she looked a bit stern and serious (maybe it was nerves), but this book proves she has a fabulous sense of humor and showcases her awesome writing chops. Speaking of which, she’s also signed on to write three contemporary women’s fiction novels with Harlequin, and she writes regular columns for The Times Sunday Magazine and Essential magazine.

As if she doesn’t already have enough on her plate, she’s also a popular television presenter, last year she did a 2-part BBC travelogue documentary (Chronicles of Nadiya), and this past Spring she baked a birthday cake for the Queen’s 90th Birthday (orange drizzle cake with orange curd and orange buttercream)!

Nadiya’s truly a national treasure, a positive role model for multicultural Britain and a huge inspiration for British Muslims in particular. She was recently included on a list of 101 Most Influential Asian People (coming in at #5, topping Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, film directors, MPs and prominent businessmen).

At the outset she was concerned that no one would think a Bangladeshi woman in a hijab knew anything about baking British sweets. Boy, did she defy any and all expectations! She’s only been baking for about 11 years, having caught the bug in a high school home economics class. Eating dessert after dinner wasn’t part of her cultural upbringing and she used to wonder why ice cream instead of baked treats was served at her father’s restaurant. She’s essentially self-taught, and honed her baking skills by reading cookbooks and watching youTube videos.

What’s really lovely is how she’s just as creative in the kitchen as she is on the page, and she’s been blessed with a natural charisma that makes it easy to connect with audiences. She’s now slated to judge an upcoming series of Junior Bake Off (a spin-off of GBBO), and she recently signed with the BBC to develop new projects, ending speculation that she might have a role in the Great British Bake Off when it moves to Channel 4 (commercial TV).

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🍌VERY-BERRY BREAKFAST MUFFINS 🍓

Naturally we had to try one of Nadiya’s recipes, and predictably, Mr Cornelius chose her Very-Berry Breakfast Muffins, which goes with the second story in the book, “Ruby-Red, The Three Bears and the Very-Berry Breakfast.”

No Goldilocks in Nadiya’s adaptation, just a plucky redhead who decides to take a nap at the bears’ house while out shopping and looking for berries. Before snoozing she eats all the porridge in Little Bear’s bowl. When he returns home and finds his bowl empty, Little Bear cries . . . and wakes up Ruby-Red, who feels badly and offers to help the family bake up a batch of yummy breakfast muffins. Happy ending for all. 🙂

Now, I must mention that since this is a British publication, all the measurements in the recipes are in metrics, rather than U.S. Standard. I simply took out my trusty kitchen scale and converted ingredients by weight when necessary (there are also numerous conversion tables available on the internet).

These muffins are lowfat and call for only 1/3 cup of brown sugar, relying upon the mashed bananas and berries for their sweetness (I used blueberries + raspberries). I had enough batter to fill 12 muffin cups to the top, and these were fully baked after 20 minutes in a 425 degree oven. I liked the addition of rolled (old-fashioned) oats to give these a slightly chewy texture.

Perfect breakfast for hungry munchkins and a good way to make some beary nice new friends!

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Enjoy this video of Nadiya making these muffins with some kids:

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Bonus Recipe: Cookie Mallows!

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NADIYA’S BAKE ME A STORY
written by Nadiya Hussain
illustrated by Clair Rossiter
photography by Dan Annett
food photography by Joe Woodhouse
published by Hodder Children’s Books
Cookbook/Storybook for ages 8+, 160 pp.
*Includes Helpful Hints and Tasty Tips

Official Book Trailer:

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This post is being linked to Beth Fish Read’s Weekend Cooking, where all are invited to share their food-related posts. Put on your best aprons and bibs and come join the fun!

Copyright © 2016 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.