Tuesday 17 March 2009

Bake me a Beauty


I am not ashamed to say I love baking. I always have, when I was 3 I even had my own apron (a multi-coloured mickey mouse wipe-friendly number that doubled up as painters overalls too, I really wish it still fitted me). I honestly can't think of many more ways I'd rather spend an afternoon, or morning, or evening or night. The only thing that tops baking is eating your creations afterwards hot out the oven, well that and licking the bowl. 

I bake a lot, at one point this year it was bordering on an addiction as bad as crack but a lot more expensive. In fact I cook a lot in general partly because I love to eat and partly because I love to watch other people eat, but baking tops it all. I think it's because baking is the only bit of cooking that actually still feels as magical as when you were little, and who doesn't want that? It's why I drink hot chocolate with a big spoon but that's another story. Plus you can't buy pink glittery heart shaped Barbie sprinkle for risotto. On that note I'll leave you with two recipes that are foolproof and failsafe. One is for a chocolate sponge but if you leave out the cocoa and add vanilla you get victoria sponge. Two recipes in one and they could not be easier. 

Preheat an oven at 180C. In a bowl mix 200g butter and 200g of caster sugar till fluffy then add 4 eggs one by one mixing as you go along. Then weigh 200g of  plain flour and before adding it substitue 4 tablespoons of it with 4 tablespoons of cocoa (at this point if you want it to be plain vanilla leave it at 200g of flour and add vanilla essence). Mix the flour into the eggs, sugar and butter with half a teaspoon of baking powder and half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. If you don't have either of those just use self-raising flour and you should be fine. Shove the mixture in a greased cake tin any shape you want and bake till a knife comes out clean and the top is springy. It should take 30/40 minutes. Cut in half and fill with cream and fruit, or top the top with buttercream and sprinkles or just eat plain hot out the oven with a good cuppa. The possibilities are endless.

Layer 'em, stack 'em, smother them in icing but just make sure you get to eat at least a quarter. Chef's treat.


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