This gorgeous, deliciously reassuring book is not about being a goddess, but about feeling like one. It taps straight into every woman's cooking fantasy and demonstrates that it's not pie-in-the-sky but a real mouthwatering cake in the oven. Nigella shows that there can be more feelgood mileage from running up a tray of muffins or baking a sponge cake than in almost any other cooking - and that it's not actually hard! A domestic goddess has to maintain her cool when faced with pastry, it's true- but with Nigella's guidance even shortcrust pastry can be pain-free. How to Be a Domestic Goddess is the book that understands our anxieties, feeds our fantasies and puts cakes, pies, pastries, preserves, puddings, bread and biscuits back into today's kitchen and our lives. Everything from cup cakes to chocolate cakes, from brownies to bagels, from gooseberry-cream crumble to double apple pie, from pizza to pistachio macaroons, scones and muffins to cheesecakes and steamed syrup sponge, from baklava to a Barbie cake, as well as children's cooking, Christmas baking and other wonderful family festive treats.