I am two weeks
post-baking challenge and I really miss it!! So much so that I actually made a
new bake last week and have another one planned for this week... I guess I can’t
stop. This got me thinking about why I love baking so much and I thought it was
about time I shared my lessons learned and top tips from my 52 weeks in the
kitchen so here we go:-
- Wash up as you
go – this is SOOOO dull and I sound like
mum (and probably your mum) but you usually need to use something more
than once during your bake so just wash it up when you are finished with
it and it will be ready to use again.
- You
don't need expensive equipment –
as much as I would LOVE a beautiful, colourful Kitchen Aid stand mixer (as
seen on The Great British Bake Off) on my worktop they are nearly £400 and
who has that kind money! I have managed 52 weeks of baking with cheap and
cheerful bits of kit bought from supermarkets, Argos and the Pound Shop!!
You can buy the basics for easy recipes like Vicky Sponge for about £15
and that will set you up for lots of other bakes too.
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| Bargain bits! |
- Make
easy recipes – as you know I am not
one for fiddly recipes, I just can’t see the point in slaving over a hot
oven for hours on end, why not just make something simple so you can get
round to eating it quicker!
- Try to
be careful with tsp and tbsp – I have
no idea why the baking gods made these really important abbreviations so
similar!! They could have written the tablespoons one in bold or capitals
or something couldn’t they?? It is always written so small in recipes it
is really easy to mix it up and I have mixed it up more than once. I need
to work on this one a bit more myself.
- Baking
can be expensive but it doesn’t have to be (chocolate is expensive though!) – baking every week did sometimes add up,
but the basic ingredients like flour and eggs are relatively inexpensive
so if like me you are trying to watch the pennies just pick things that
are cheap and that go a long way. If for example you want to make a large
quantity of tasty treats for a bake sale of kid’s birthday then don’t go
for options like tray bakes because they use loads of chocolate which is often
disproportionately expensive for the end result. I would suggest crowd
pleasers like Vicky sponge, it goes a long way and no one is offended by a
Vicky sponge!!
- Always
check for soggy bottoms – no
one likes any kind of soggy bottom so always check the bottom of
pies/tarts etc. before turning off the oven. If in doubt just stick it
back in the oven for a wee while
longer, you can always cover the top of the bake with tin foil or baking
paper to stop it burning while it is in for extra time.
- Baking
doesn't make you fat – while I will not be
telling you how much I weigh, I can tell you that I do weigh less than
this time last year despite all the bakes. I found that making so many
cakes and treats all the time, myself and husband Dave could never get
through them all so I had the chance to share them with others. My
friends, family and colleagues were able to get involved with the
challenge and it was really lovely to chat to them about my experiences.
- Take
egg sizes seriously – I never believed
this made a difference but it really does as my Yule Log (first attempt)
showed. So, just use medium if it says medium, large if it says large,
simple!
- Ask
people to recommend recipes –I
think tried and tested is always best and it is often fun to find out the
stories connected to people’s fave recipes and to make them new faves of
your own! Lots of online recipe websites also have review sections which
can be really helpful for tips and modifications so they are also worth a
read if you are looking online.
- Don't
buy reusable piping bags –
I haven’t used piping bags much but the few times I have I used a reusable
bag and it was sooooooo hard to clean!! You can get lots of disposable
bags and nozzles relatively cheaply so save yourself cleaning time and buy
those. Then you can just have a brew and put your feet up instead of
cleaning!
- Ingredients
don't have to be at room temperature for the recipe to work - but do always soften your butter, don't
worry if you actually melt it in the microwave like I usually do, it
normally still works!
Now for my best and worst awards of
the challenge
- Best
baking purchase of the year -
cake wire – hands down the best value for money item bought this
year, very useful when making big cakes http://www.lakeland.co.uk/17747/Adjustable-Cake-Wire
- Most
unnecessary baking purchase of the year - cake smoother – you can just use your hands
to do exactly the same, in fact you could use the same pair of hands you
used to carry this item out of the shop and bake the cake! http://www.lakeland.co.uk/11906/Smoother-Polisher
- Top
three bakes –
- Earl Grey Cupcakes – AMAZING icing
- All American Chocolate Chunk Cookies – sweet,
salty goodness
- Victoria sponge – staple, reliable bake
- Bakes
that didn’t quite go to plan –
- Boozy Raspberry Victoria Sponge – adding alcohol
ad hoc to a recipe wasn’t the best idea, I should have consulted an
expert
- Profiteroles – disaster start to finish... there
is nothing else to say
- Movember biscuits – these were super fun but the chocolate ones were really crumbly and didn’t all hold up to our decorations.
So there we have
it, my words of wisdom (sort of) from my year of baking. I really did love my
challenge, far more than I expected. I started 2013 just wanting to bake more
but I ended the year not only having learnt a skill but more importantly
finding an activity that I really, truly find relaxing. This might not seem
like a big deal but for those of you who know me, you will know that I am a
worrier, I’m so good at it that I could be a professional. You know when you
are at school there are sporty types, arty types, cool people well I was an anxious
type and I have practised ever since, on every topic... work, home, anything
really. I would much rather be sporty or cool but there we are. Well, it seems
that this baking thing suits me, I don’t worry about it, I don’t get stressed
when I’m baking, I love sharing my treats with friends and I feel so lucky that
baking has allowed me to get involved with a wonderful charity (Free Cakes for
Kids). I don’t want to say the baking challenge has changed my life, that’s a
tad dramatic, but it certainly has a enhanced it and given me worry-free time
for which I am very grateful.
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Thank you for
reading, tasting and baking along with me for the last year. I hope you will
stay with me now that I have embarked on my new Delicious Dozen Challenge. The first month is Slow Cooker by the
way, I will be back on the blog soon to tell you all about it.
Happy baking, Linds
xx
P.S. Here is a list
of all the bakes in case you want to look back and try some.
All 52 glorious bakes
together at last!
- Banana bread
- Mary Berry's chocolate and vanilla marble loaf
- Lemon drizzle cake
- Victoria sandwich
- Berry buttermilk muffins
- Triple chocolate chunk muffins
- Buttermilk scones
- Red velvet cake
- Naughty chocolate fudge cake
- Cheese scones
- Nutella swirl banana muffins
- All American chocolate chunk cookies
- Carrot cupcakes
- Apples loaf
- Apricot flapjack
- Double chocolate flapjack
- Amazing chocolate cupcakes
- Banana, brown sugar and pecan muffins
- Raspberry muffins
- Guinness Cake
- Profiteroles
- Nigella Nutella cheesecake
- Ice cream cupcakes
- Apple and cinnamon struesel cake
- Crunchy apple and raspberry crumble
- Banana peanut butter muffins
- Best-ever brownies
- Millionaires shortbread
- Lemon curd and blueberry loaf cake
- Banoffee Pie
- Beer Bread
- Baked lemon cheesecake with baked plums and blackberries
- Rocky Road
- Orange and white chocolate cake
- Boozy raspberry Victoria sponge
- Princess Castle Cake
- Mississippi Mud Pie
- Chocolate bread and butter pudding
- Teisen Cariad (Love Cake)
- Malteser and Mint Aero Traybakes
- Cake Pops!
- The humble white loaf
- Rosemary and Sea Salt Focaccia
- Earl Grey Cupcakes
- Movember Moustache Biscuits
- Cornbread Muffins
- Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie
- Clootie Dumpling
- Yule Log
- Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
- Apple Tart and Tunis Cake
- Christmas Chocolate Cake House, Cranberry and Orange Muffins and Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
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