Visit any branch of London's acclaimed bakery Baker & Spice and you will be seduced by the sight and smells of any number of tempting treats - fresh apple and plum tarts, or little tarts filled with rich lemon curd or heavenly chocolate and caramel cakes. There are also countless cookies, marvellous muffins, cheesecake brownies, dreamy doughnuts and huge meringues that melt in the mouth. "Exceptional Cakes" allows the home cook to recreate some of the favourite recipes in the comfort of their own kitchen. Using good quality ingredients and techniques that have been developed to perfection, these recipes are guaranteed to impress. There are also special features on techniques for perfect pastry and special cake making methods all explained in detail and illustrated with step-by-step photographs.

Dan Lepard has baked at some of London's hottest restaurants including Locanda Locatelli, Alastair Little, Zafferano, The Sugar Club and Mezzo, where he opened the bakery. Richard Whittington's previous books include the award-winning Keep it Simple with Alatair Little, Cutting Edge: a Cook's Californian Inspiration, Food of the Sun also with Alastair Little and Quaglino's: The Cookbook. He has written The Cookery Doctor column in the Daily Mail Weekend magazine for the past five years, and has a regular 5-page spot in Waitrose Food Illustrated magazine.