Proper Pasties: How To Make An Award Winning Cornish Pasty

It's like having a pal come over for a recipe swap! Great recipes. Several of the pastry, including whole "meal" (I'm assuming after reading the recipe the author means whole wheat) and gluten free, and lots of fillings.Yes, for those of us who live in the States, there a bit of translation to be done, but there is a chart in every regular cookbook (Betty Crocker, Joy of Cooking, Better Homes and Gardens to name a few) that makes it simple. Knob is an ambiguous term, I never know exactly how much butter I use in these situations either (sometimes none!,) just to taste, some...in tiny pastries around 1/8-1/4 teaspoon up to a pie maybe 1 tablespoon. It's personal preference.Very much worth adding to your specialty cookbook library.

Cornish Pasties are the world's standard for a "right proper pasty" and the author is an excellent humorist, a 2-times World Cornish Pasty Champion and a gives the reader the full wonderful history of the Cornish Pasty. If you can't make and love a beautiful looking and wonderfully tasting pasty following Billy's world class recipes and advise, you do not deserve to be the creator of such a fine bit of tasty history! RWC - USA

The history was fun to read. I'm especially excited to try a two filling pasty! Makes me want to visit Cornwall

For some reason I always thought Shepherds Pie was a pasty. You can imagine my disappointment when I learned the truth! Now I can make real pasties, as soon as I buy my first rutabaga. 😏

Having been raised in the UK I really appreciated this book and it’s recipes! Well done on a book that really rings true!

While this was an enjoyable read with lots of history, and the author has a friendly and humorous style, I was a bit disappointed when it came to the actual recipe instructions. First, I would have liked to have been told more clearly up front that the book was written somewhere in the British Isles and so the references to some of the ingredients he used were to brands from over there. For instance, he is very particular about what kind of flour he uses and what kind to definitely avoid, but since there is no brand reference for the U.S. it would take a bit of research and maybe some trial and error to find the right stuff here. The author makes a point that the flour used is extremely important and that even when one uses the right kind of flour, it can behave or taste different between various brands. Alas, no help on which ones he found to be satisfactory. Same for the brand of shortening recommended. I don't recognize the brand. Also, it would have been nice to have both American and British measurements listed for the ingredients instead of just British--after all, it is being promoted in the U.S. too. One needs to convert grams to cups or ounces, and I have no idea how to translate "a knob of butter." I wanted the exact recipe he used to win the championship, not to have to guess ingredient amounts and wonder if my knob of butter is the same as the one he measures out.After sharing the recipe for the pasty that won him the Amateur Cornish Pasty World Championship two times, he gives quite a few recipes for pasty variations including some that pay tribute to cuisines from around the world, dessert pasties, and also vegetarian and gluten free versions. Many of them look quite delicious.The actual award winning recipe only takes up a few pages and then there's the other variations. But a good deal of the book tells about the history, "scandals" and some of the politics of the pasty. If you are interested in having all that pasty lore to reference in the future you will find it of value. If you just want to get right to the secrets of creating his award winning pasty for yourself, all of the rest of that stuff may seem extraneous. Still, as stated above, the author has a very friendly and encouraging style and his humor is apparent but not overdone. I found his writing style quite charming. With some of the changes made as described above, I would have been more satisfied with the book.

Great book for all levels of Pasty makers

Good historical background. The recipes look good, I will have to try his. I'm a Yooper, and completely agree with his assessment to never, NEVER EVER, put carrots in a pasty. And we call it a Rutabaga.

Easy to read, full of fascinating facts . Recipes are easy to follow and well illustrated when it comes to crimping. An excellent read!

The media could not be loaded. Excellent book. Highly recommend. This book, the recipe and the contents therein took our 2023 St Piran's Day, celebrated in Brisbane Australia, from good to outstanding!I've been living in Australia for over 16 years and I miss being able to just pop out and get a really good pasty. We've seen Pasties for sale every so often at the markets but no one could ever make one quite like the local Bakery or Mum.I admit, my homemade efforts have been a real mixed bag over the years. Trying to make 'em the way my mother taught me.And... I should have paid more attention in school (Cape Cornwall). In year 10 or 11 a classmate from a Cornish family brought a set-up and showed us how to make a pasty. I should have paid attention, but I never thought I'd be 10478 miles from Cornwall and miss a Proper Pasty quite this much!We've used this book to create amazing pasties over and over again. Our friends and family have asked that we put on a pasty-powered spread every St Piran's Day. Maybe, it was lots of fun.Thanks for your excellent book Billy.PS. I've got to work on my crimping :)

Compact and well written, Billy Deakin's enthusiasm for the Cornish pasty is infectious. A nice mix of history, humour and a pinch of politics precede a diverse selection of tried and tested recipes including his competition winning classic. His prose will inspire you, whilst the recipes will ensure this book remains ever prominent on the kitchen bookshelf. Like the Cornish pasty itself, this is a timeless classic.

Small book, done the show winning ones and very nice

Pastie’s how to make them and the history of there origin, with some recipes, just perfect