Why Must Read The Official Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea Cookbook: Teatime Drinks, Scones, Savories & Sweets (Downton Abbey Cookery)?

The first thing I noticed (and hated) about this book is the cloth cover. Touch it with fingers even the slightest bit wet or greasy (as in a kitchen) and it will soon look like the dog's dinner. If I'd seen this in person and known it was cloth, I would have opted for the Kindle version (if there was one). The other issue is there are still images of Downton scenes and set images throughout. We've seen the series so one of these would have been okay, and the remaining images left to the food. (An image of pots in the Downton kitchen is atmosphere, but most cooks would have preferred another recipe with an image of what it was they were making -- some have images, many don't.) The tea sandwiches section is exactly four tea sandwiches and pretty much the most common. You can get these on the Net for free. They consist of Cucumber, Deviled Egg and Cress, Smoked Salmon and Dill, and Roast Beef and Chive. That's it. These are pretty much standard and in most any other tea book you have already (or article about tea sandwiches found for free on the Net). The Deviled Egg and Cress may be called Egg Mayonnaise in the UK cookbooks or Egg Salad sandwiches in the United States, but they're all pretty much the same exact thing. The English Cream Scones recipe on page 21 shows clotted cream but doesn't mention it. It's easy to make. Look for a recipe on the Net or YouTube such as that of Chef John. Use heavy cream that doesn't say Ultra Pasteurized (I use Clover brand here in California) and bake in a Pyrex dish at 180 F in the oven for 12 hours, allow to cool on the counter for an hour, then refrigerate overnight or until chilled completely, then separate the clotted cream (on top) from the liquid below, and that's clotted cream. (You can use the liquid in your scones recipe or another baking recipe in place of milk, if you like.) If you have a British import grocery you can also find it ready-made in a jar, but I've never tried any of those. In the Preserves section there's a recipe for "Mock Clotted Cream" and some preserves such as "Quick Strawberry Jam," but I didn't notice this mentioned in the English Cream Scones section well ahead of it. I expect Mrs. Patmore made her own preserves (strawberry being the most common for scones at cream tea), but there's no traditional recipe for that either, just this quick version. (Personally I'm happy with store-bought Smucker's strawberry even though I make my own clotted cream.) Surprisingly there's a recipe for Caneles, and it says you can make them in "muffin cups," but no mention of the classic Canele mould or the process for using them. A true canele mould such as the copper canele moulds from Mauviel are over $25 each and then there's a waxing process for using them. Caneles can also be made in a silicone mould but won't develop the classic/cherished crispy exterior and pudding-like interior that makes them worth the trouble. Little highlights of tea etiquette appear here and there highlighted throughout the book. Overall there's a lot of value in this book and the completely impractical (for a cookbook) cloth cover is a real shame.