Bestselling author Marian Keyes has given an immediate donation of €25,000 from the Irish royalties of her next book to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
It is a very different book to those previously written by this internationally renowned writer. Called Saved by Cake it gives an extremely honest account of her recent battle with depression, and how baking has helped her.
In making an immediate donation of €25,000 toward the SVP Urgent Appeal, which was launched today Marian Keyes’s said, “Even though Saved by Cake won’t be published until February 2012, I’m donating the money now, prior to Christmas because our country is suffering such hardship and Christmas is the toughest time of year.
“I’m acutely aware of the suffering being endured in every street and every community in Ireland, how people are struggling to get through in these horrible times and I’m so grateful that St Vincent de Paul are there to help. It’s an honour and a privilege to support their work.”
Mairead Bushnell, national president, the Society of St Vincent de Paul said, “This is an outstanding gesture and we wish to thank Marian for her generosity. It is a timely donation coming as it does when the requirement for SVP support is at its highest.”
Saved by Cake will be published by Penguin in February 2012.
A complete novice in the kitchen, Marian Keyes decided to bake a cake for a friend and that was it – she realized that baking was what she needed to do in order to get her through each day. And so she baked, and she wrote her recipes down, and little by little the depression has started to lift, along with her sponges...
With chapters on cupcakes, cheesecakes, meringues and macaroons, chocolate cakes, fruit cakes and favourite classics, Marian's recipes are aimed firmly at beginner bakers, offering hints and tips to help along the way. Never patronizing, always honest and witty, accessible and full of fun, the bakes and cakes that Marian serves up in this cookbook will put a smile on your face and make you happy.
From her Consistently Reliable Cupcakes and Very Chocolately Macaroons, to the ease of her Fridge-set Honeycomb Cheesecake, you will want to have a go at making all of Marian's recipes. The shoe and handbag biscuits particularly. Very covetable. Very Marian.