Baking Baking Baking....

Hi all,

What to blog about today... I think I want to share my baking passion with you all and maybe inspire people to get creative, bake from scratch and get to know how rewarding it can be make something yummy that makes your loved ones happy!!

I try and bake at least once a week, usually on Sunday while my better half is at work, but lately I have gone slightly overboard...

I wanted to share a few yummy goodies that I have made lately.

CHRISTMAS! I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!! One of my favourite things about Christmas is gingerbread!! So much so that this year I tackled a traditional gingerbread house... from scratch!!! (I used the recipe out of the 2010 Coles Christmas flyer which was free at Coles!!)

               

Some Christmas cookies (both were made from www.taste.com.au recipes and used the fewest and easiest ingredients I could find)

I went on a little birthday cake baking spree... I have the number thing down pat but really want to get into more complicated cakes now! For the cakes below I used the recipe for my favourite ever cake.. the AWW Family Chocolate Cake and used all of creative juices for the decorating!

          

Suzie G handy hints for baking:

1. Find the simplest recipe that you can - some of the yummiest things I have ever made have come from "kids" recipes. They usually use the least complicated ingredients.. I mean who really uses almond essence?? Simple recipes are less daunting and the easier something is to do usually means you will do it again.. especially once you realise that 20 minutes of baking can lead to days and days and DAYS of yummy treats.. (except if you live in my house.. the way to Damo's heart is definitely through his stomach!!) a great place to find easy recipes are at www.taste.com.au 
2. Build your pantry up slowly - it is definitely cheaper to bake from scratch but it can be a bit costly to buy everything at once. I would start by getting flours, cocoa, vanilla extract/essence, bicarb and caster sugar. most recipes will use those staples, then as you go along and find new recipes, buy the extra one or two ingredients as needed. The ingredients will usually last more than 5 recipes so you won't have to keep rushing out to the shops everytime you want to make that new brownie recipe that you love!
3. Get to know your oven - I have lived in a lot of rentals in my life and so I always do a few test cases in an oven before I go crazy on a new recipe!!! Find out what the best setting is for baking by either reading the manual or by trial and error! Technology means that items get bigger and better everytime so be very wary of new ovens and the expensive ones! They tend to be more powerful than the old school ones so start by setting temps to 5 degs lower than the recipe and remember that you can also cook for longer if you need to but it is bloody hard to turn back time once your cake is already burnt!!
4. Read the recipe at least three times before you start - my mum taught me this rule a very long time ago and trust me it works.. I even re-read recipes that I have been making for years. It is so easy to miss a simple step or to put in a wrong quantity but trust me it is worth spending an extra 5 minutes reading a recipe because using salt instead of sugar could scar you for life!

Now that you have read this... I challenge you to stop baking from packet mixes. You will get such a higher sense of satisfaction by baking from scratch and that satisfaction will make the whole baking experience so much more enjoyable.

Remember to always cook because you want to, not because you have to!!

My final word is to remember to SHARE!!! As much as I love some of my recipes, I always make extras or sacrifice some of my own to share with family, friends and work colleagues because you get so much more enjoyment by making others happy (not to mention that sharing helps the waist line)!!

Checkyas later!! G xx