Good home-baked products are the most delicious, but finding trusted recipes or stimulating ideas is not always easy. Julie Le Clerc knows many home-cooks and professional bakers who are constantly searching for reliable, inexpensive yet innovative recipes. That's why she's keen to share her favourites with you: easy-to-follow recipes that result in a variety of cakes, all with seriously good flavours.

The cakes in this book are Julie's tried and true favourites – the ones she comes back to time and time again. Many she's been making since childhood, like her mum's sponge recipe. Others she's made hundreds and possibly thousands of times over the years in her café kitchen, to the great satisfaction of her customers. Now she's happy to share these recipes with you and provide pleasure to all who enjoy a little sweetness in life.

Alongside all the recipes for luscious syrup-drenched cakes, creamy cheesecakes, divine chocolate cakes, spicy cakes, slab cakes, rolled cakes and even gluten-free delights, Julie happily shares with you her own hard-won baking advice. These invaluable hints are the set of nifty tricks she has picked up from a lifetime spent creating cakes, both in a commercial café setting and at home.

Cake baking provides pleasure beyond the obvious sweet treat – it truly is about nurturing and nostalgia, caring, giving and sharing. No matter which section takes your fancy, all the recipes here are reliable and use honest, accessible ingredients that give delectable results every time.