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About this whole "baking" thing…….

07 Apr in Brush Cottage | Comments (3)

So, here’s the thing….. I feel a little inadequate…… a little below the par….. a little less than perfect…. the thing is…. I do not feel like a domestic goddess!!

I can cook a decent meal, I can manage something “idiot proof”, I can bake bread and I can make ice cream…….I cannot, however, bake something where there is no room to manoever……..like fairy cakes.

Those of you that follow me on Twitter will know that Easter for me, among other things, means fairy cakes – and this year I was quite determined to outdo my last attempt (which was pretty feeble).

books Now, let me tell you, I do have enough cookery books. I follow some awesome foodie blogs, in the hope that some of their wonderfulness might just rub off on me – I even subject myself to some cookery television (although I have to admit that this might be for the visual feast rather than for the baking tips…..)

I do know all the “must’s” – make sure everything is at room temperature…., cream the butter and sugar, only use vanilla extract and the freshest self raising flour……. all to no avail!

The very lovely Helen Hutton (who is clearly a Domestic Goddess) took time out from tending her chicken pox ridden (5!?) children – to send me a secret “foolproof” recipe for fairy cakes and a whole plethora of tips. I was feeling confident, able, and ready to take on those elusive sponge wonders.

I creamed those ingredients to within an inch of their lives……

creamed

preparation I’m not sure, but |I think this was the part where I let myself down… Helen told me that once I have filled my paper cases I was to get them into the oven as soon as possible…. It was at this stage that I was flumoxing around the kitchen looking for my other tray – I had prepared 12 paper cases and the mixture did fill more than that, so I was caught napping here.

Anyhow, eventually, there we were – and ready for the oven.

ready-to-go

After the allotted baking time, we were looking good!

looking-good

I had always used icing sugar and water for the icing – this time I thought I might try something more exotic ( for me that is…) – Butter cream!

The results were not so pretty……

so-not-pretty

I gave up on the piping idea and simply lashed it all on – the end result was disappointing, it looked messy and amateurish. It was not the sophisticated look I was after….

end result

Sophie Dahl says that to bake well, one must stick to the recipe completely and it’s all about practice. I don’t know if I have the patience for this….. I must tell you, it’s quite a tricky thing - this fairy cake baking

3 Comments »

You did great!!

Look at the pic of them just out of the oven – they’re nicely browned, same size … the girl done good!

Another tip: that fairy cake recipe is fab and doesn’t need icing. Just dust with plenty of icing sugar and you’re good to go!

(BTW EVERY domestic goddess has had their fair share of disasters. I just make sure not to photograph mine!!)

Comment by Helen Hutton — April 7, 2010 @ 10:16 pm
All I can say is – welcome to my world! I love cooking – but baking is just a complete and utter no-no in my world too! My sisters however are amazing, Tara has a page on Facebook business page called T – check it out next time you are on.

Comment by Colleen Skinner — April 8, 2010 @ 8:00 am
[...] I never win anything Cupcakes are becoming my nemesis [...]

Pingback by It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. « Twinkleberry Handmade Jewellery — July 14, 2010 @ 4:39 pm

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About this whole "baking" thing…….

3 Comments »

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