RECIPES inspired by a Brampton woman with a passion for baking have been published in her memory.

Kate’s Cakes is a compilation of 70 simple recipes put together by the friends of Kate Furneaux, a talented chemist who died in 2009.

The book features some of her own recipes and others she enjoyed with friends who shared her love of baking.

Recipes include cakes, biscuits, muffins, tarts, scones and Christmas treats and it’s something her parents hope people will share with their own families and friends.

“We’re really proud of it and want it to encourage people to bake and share with friends, that was part of what she did,” said her mum Beth Furneaux, of Tree Road, Brampton.

“She made cakes at the drop of a hat. She loved to make them as gifts but also it was her relaxation from work.

“She’d go home at 11 o’clock at night and make a cake, which I find baffling. But she knew the next day, usually a Friday, it would be good fun in the office because she’d be taking a cake in and they would sit down and have coffee.”

It took more than a year for friends Rebecca White and Catherine O’Leary-Steele to prepare the book for print, and there was a long wait once they found a publisher but it has paid off.

Mrs Furneaux, Cumbria County Council’s cabinet member for health and care services, said: “I’m delighted. It’s a lovely book and it’s a real tribute to her and a credit to her friends who complied it.

“It’s actually quite a lot of hard work to put something like that together because they had to cook all the cakes.”

Her husband Phil, a teacher at William Howard School, added: “It is a wonderful tribute to Kate that her friends were willing to put so much effort into making this book a reality. We are very grateful.”

The scones featured in the book were made by Phil who often cooks them for visitors as Kate would have done.

Her cousin Helen Skelton-Myler took part in the Great Sport Relief Bake Off last year and this week’s Bake Off final was something Kate wouldn’t have missed.

“I don’t actually watch the Bake Off but Kate certainly would have because she was a wonderful baker,” said Beth, who admitted she can’t say the same for herself, but thinks being a good cook is a trait of many chemists.

“One of the reasons she was such a good baker was because I wasn’t. My mum was a passionate baker.

“It skipped a generation with me but I’ve just started, inspired by the book and I’ve made two cakes so far.”

Kate’s parents’ favourite recipe is the lemon drizzle, a cake Kate made every time she came home – and baked it to perfection.

Kate, who was just 27 when she died after she was involved in a collision with a lorry while cycling, was poised to start a promising career at a top science research institute in Germany. Two weeks before her death she had received her PhD in Atmospheric Chemistry from Leeds University.

She met Rebecca and Catherine when she was studying in Leeds and graduated on the same day as the latter.

Another of her passions was to be sustainable, and she preferred to cook with what was available at the time, as well as shopping in co-operatives and whole food shops.

She was supportive of People & Planet, a national student-led campaigning network which campaigns for global economic, social and environmental justice.

Proceeds from Kate’s Cakes will be donated to the charity.

The book, costing £10, is available at www.jeremymills publishing.co.uk.