Thoughts on Baking

I've been doing a lot of baking just recently, pretty much on a daily basis. Aside from the obvious joy of having a constant supply of scrummy sweet-things to nibble on with morning coffee/afternoon tea, it's been the actual activity of baking which I've felt the need for of late.

Could be down to the weather (ie the need to feel warm and cosy in the kitchen when the weather outside is so rotten), could be hormonal (ie a form of Nesting Instinct), could possibly be Procrastination (ie baking when I should be doing other forms of more dirty, mundane housework), or it could be the Desire to Provide (ie complaints from family members when the cake tins are Empty, shock horror).

Whatever the reason, baking for family and friends (ok, and myself too) gives me a great deal of pleasure. And as a stay-at-home Mum, I guess it kind of comes with the job description :: baking is so very utterly Domestic and Homely that it would seem odd to me not to do it as a part of my daily/weekly at-home routine.

I love to include a little home-baked something in with the Little People's lunch boxes, just as my own Mum always did for me. As a child, my lunch box was often full of crumbling, homemade fruit cake or sticky little jam tarts, and shamefully I often longed for the pre-packed shop-bought chocolate biscuits that my friends always had. Its only now that I'm providing for my own children in the exact same way that my Mum did for me, that I recognise how wonderful and thoughtful those home-baked offerings of my childhood were.

I wouldn't say I'm a particularly skilled baker. I don't seem to have the bakers equivalent of gardeners green-fingers (hmmmm what colour would a bakers fingers be I wonder??). I quite often have disasters. But over the years that I've been making cakes and biscuits, cookies and buns, I've built up a small but satisfying little pile of fail-safe recipes, many of which I've shared with you here in the Attic. If you look at the Categories over in my sidebar there, you should see one called "Baking" :: click onto it and you'll have access to all my archive posts which contain bakey goodness, many with recipes included.

Occasionally I do like to try new things, get inspired by recipes I come across. The above picture is from the pages of Prima magazine (Novemer issue, the one that contained the free calendar). I was WOWed by the picture of those cookies in the vintage tin, by the title that said "Easy Bakes" and by the ingredients which included white chocolate, pecan nuts and cranberries.

But the recipe to my mind was overly complicated (included ingredients I didn't have, and involved chilling the cookie dough).

So what I did was to use my fail-safe recipe for cookies that always works out for me (my Chocolate Chip cookie recipe, which you can find here), substituting the 100g choc chips for 100g chopped white chocolate. And as the magazine recipe instructed, I mixed half of the white choc in with the cookie dough, and sprinkled the other half on top of the cookies, then studded the top of each one with some dried cranberries and half a pecan nut.

They turned out beautifully, and I'll be making these again for sure.

I find that I choose to bake cookies, buns and tray-bakes far more often than big, full-on cakey-cakes. Something about embarking on a grown-up Big Cake that scares me slightly :: I've had many, many disasters in this area, many hissy fits over undercooked cake middles and flat things that have refused to rise and look properly cake-like.

A few weeks ago, I tried out a new recipe called "Moist Orange Cake" from the Be-ro book, and it was not good. The resulting cake was tasty, and moist yes, but it failed to rise. It was flat, flat, flat and looked soooo sad! But not to be put off, I decided to give it another go last week, this time using my old recipe for Lemon Drizzle cake (which you can find here). This is an amazing recipe and has never failed me :: it always rises beautifully and the sponge is moist and light. So I kept the basic recipe the same, changing the lemon zest for orange zest, the milk for orange juice, then topped the finished cake with an orange glace icing instead of a sticky lemon-sugar drizzle......

....and oh it was good! I was so proud to have made a proper grown-up cake which could be put proudly on my cake stand!

 

Yes it really was good.

Scrumptious and scoffable.

And so we come to today's baking, today's morning activity of choice.
Clean the floors? Tidy the piles? Nah....let me bake chocolate cake!!!!

Another recipe from the Prima magazine, a Nestle Carnation promotion I think. you can find the actual recipe for this Chocolate Fudge Cake on the Carnation website here.

This was a very adventurous cake for me, involving two round tins and some fierce praying for Good Rising. And hey-ho, it did indeed rise, like a proper, grown-up full-cake should! I was sooo happy!!

I found the cooking time given (20-25mins) was wildly inaccurate though, it ended up needing more like 35mins, and even then I don't think one of the halves was completely properly cooked. But no matter, the amaaaaaaaaaazing chocolate-fudge icing covered up that little sticky sunken undercooked middle bit, and helped to produce a cake to be proud of.

 

Wow....does that look good or what????

I've yet to taste it as I'm waiting to present it to my family with a flourish at the dinner table tonight, and it won't quite look the same with a great big slice cut out the side of it. I have high hopes though, and think I might even be brave enough to make this cake for a school fundraiser event in a few weeks time.

Gosh, has this seemed like a long post to you?? I feel like I've been sat here chatting to you for ages!! Thanks for being here with me and allowing me to blather on, i do appreicate your company.....right, time for me to go and have my afternoon cup of tea with a little bit of something sweet from the cake tin.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ps meant to say that the very top picture is of my new cake tin, given to me for my Birthday by a lovely friend...isn't that old Ladybird illustration fab???!!

Edited to add :: Oh. My. Golly-goodness. That cake! That c-a-k-e!!! It's quite honestly stupendous. The sponge :: light and moist, the chocolate fudge icing :: incredible. The Little People were beside themselves with excitement and joy over being allowed this cake for pudding and it was given a score of 100/10. J was very complimentary too. And as for me...well, yes, can you see my Domestic Goddess Halo shining brightly?

xxxxxxxxxxx

Comments

[Dwan]

Lucy, as always, I've been treated to a lovely blog entry -- thanks! ^_^

I grew up with Ladybird and still have a lot of vintage books of theirs, full of illustrations like that - I absolutely *love* to pull 'em out and look at them.

Have a fantastic day today!

[The Garden Bell - Kate]

One right after another. Are they all gone already? I'm really loven' that Lemon one. I'm going to have to check the recipe out... So, yummie. Glad to see an orange snuck in there... That way you can say you have your fruit for the day.. or does that lemon cake count. It's so much fun to put something in the over and they hook away.

Just started another Lucy Bag... With all my leftover, leftover little blanket balls. You know the ones... This time I tried rippling up the side for a change. It worked with adding a small stitch or two at the beginning to get the number right.

Now, about those birds, sure hope you are going to have a little tutorial for us all. I still have some of that leftover stuff left...

Sweet Dreams tonight to Lucy xoxoxox

Kate - The Garden Bell

[Julie]

The cakes look yummmy. May I come to tea?

[Penny]

Oh that Chocolate cake!! You cruel woman, I'm off to Weight Watchers in a couple of hours! We've been on the same wave length though, I've just posted my recipe for Damp Orange Cake, which is also heavenly!

[Marie]

Can I please come for dinner? :)
If I could bake like you my family would be so happy.

[Jennifer]

All of your cakes and baked goodies look amazing. I love your new cake tin, I have been trying to find some tins over here for storing cake, cookies etc. but it's not the usual way of storing things, so I am having a difficult time finding any. That chocolate cake is making me drool a touch. Do let us know how it turns out.

[amanda]

OH goodness...Those all look so darn yummy...I have to say I have felt the urge to bake lately too. Maybe it is the nesting thing or the fact that I really have a huge sweet tooth all of a sudden lol..Your Chocolate cake looks so good I don't know if I could wait to share it with anyone :P

[RachelM]

I'm the eldest of 8 and I could always tell when my Mum was pregnant again because she would start baking like crazy! :)

I tried out your banana and chocolate bun recipe at the weekend, they were lovely. Thanks for sharing.

[florence]

That's NOT fair! I can't eat cakes right now because I'm sick and my medicine don't go on well with sugar! Lucy, you're KiLLiNg me!!!!!it looks soooooooo good! argh! can't wait to try these!
xxx

[Fruitful Fusion]

What a love, cheery post! I love baking too and would love to try out that choc fudge cake!

[nora]

wow...that's a lot of baking in 1 day... way to go lucy... love visiting your blog....

[melissa]

I also ment to add, if you buy the pre-packaged cake mix, don't get the expensive one. Get the cheapest one because you're going to add your own goodness to it.

[melissa]

You wanna know how I make THE best orange cake, that always gets applause?? Very simple, I get a pre-packaged store bought yellow cake mix. Substitute the water called for, with orange juice, add in about a teaspoon or 2 of orange extract, and a teaspoon of orange zest (zest is optional), bake it as the package directs, and voila! for the icing, mix a box of powdered sugar with enough orange juice to make it icing consistancy, a few drops of orange extract and stir. Pour over a very warm (not hot out of the oven, but about 10 minutes later) and it make the most scrumptious orange glaze. and the cake is super duper moist. and I NEVER tell anyone it's a box mix. You can get some of those manderine oranges from the grocer and put a few slices on the top of the cake for decoration too.

[Shannon]

I think a "baker's thumb" would be brown - a bad thing in the garden, but perfect in the kitchen, because it means you have been working with chocolate! :)
Both of your cake photos have me drooling. What I really want is a skinny slice of the orange right along side a skinny slice of the chocolate, so that I can enjoy the flavors together. Yummmmm.

[Nina - Tabiboo]

Mmmmmmmmm chocolate fudge cake I'm in heaven...

...and all those other goodies. I think I've put on a couple of pounds just drooling over your bakey goodness 'yum, yum' - I'll supply the soup and bread if you make the cookies and cakes!

Have a lovely day,

Nina xxxxx

[jeane]

oh my, i have to swallow my saliva, ops.. such temptation, love it.

[Nathalie]

I admire you Lucy. Not just for the stuff you make but mostly for being able to wait to cut that gorgeous chocolate fudge cake. It looks delicious. I wished I'd be sitting at your table for dinner tonight ; )

Enjoy!

[French Knots]

Perhaps the baking equivalent of green fingered should be floury fingered!
Your cakes look delish, I'm trying not to bake at the moment in an effort to loose some baby weight ( yeah right!) but often make banana bread for the children as I don't like bananas so don't scoff it while they are at school!

[Wendy]

Oh Lucy! You have such a lucky, lucky family. I'm going to keep following your blog because you inspire me so much...I'm not a baker a-tall. But last week I did make a spice nut cake which went over real big. Now to get more color (or colour as you say) everywhere in my home, wardrobe and magazine selections! Thank you for blogging!
Wendy

[Kimbles]

Please can you send me a piece - lol

Looks delicious!

[heleen]

Hmm it all looks delicious!
There has been a lot of baking here to, it must be the time of year!

[Gemma]

Oh - that looks delicious! I will point you also to this delicious, easy recipe for brownies (it is the 2nd recipe)
http://theblackapple.typepad.com/inside_a_black_apple/food_and_drink/

also, Dorie Greenspan's Swedish visiting cake is one of our favorites as well! I am having a baking day myself, bread and cinnamon buns ;)

[karen smith]

mmmmmmm I'm hungry now I bet you didn't save me any did you lol

(((hugs)))
karen

[Vivienne]

Have just sat down this minute with a cup of tea after having baked some chocolate chip cookies using your great recipe and I also baked a chocolate cake as well ( we like our chocolate here)!Apparently its UK National Baking Week, so bring on the buns!! :)

[Yiota]

I've been into baking lately, too. In fact, I was about to make a banana bread (it's sweet, I don't know why it's called 'bread')and then thought of blogging a bit first. I've made your lemon drizzle cake a couple of times; we all loved it. Your chocolate fudge cake looks delish!