Like many of you, I'm sure, I've been getting my teeth into the latest series of Great British Bake Off (excuse the pun!). As ever, it makes me want to bake more and try new techniques and recipes. Not that I'm intending to construct biscuit and choux pastry towers or anything. I just enjoy baking and would like to do more and get better at it.
Two years ago my DM had a severe stroke. Over recent years, we'd shared the Christmas jobs between us to a certain extent - a good friend has given us a couple of Christmas puddings as part of her extremely generous Christmas parcel, DM would make the cakes (one for all of us, some for friends and relatives), DS and DNs would decorate the family cake, I'd do mince pies ... You get the idea. Well, since Mam's stroke, baking was more than my already over-stretched sister could face, and I didn't want Christmas to change too much as a result of DM not being at home any more. So, guess who now has the job of making the cake?!? You've got it! Since DM has been out of rehab, I've included her in the job - she supervises me :-D And she's done such a good job that the only time I've managed NOT to curdle the mixture with the creaming method is when she's keeping an eye on me. And the Christmas cake baking weekend isn't far off now ...
The downside of baking is the eating (depending on how you look at it, obviously). Generally, the eating is The Upside, but DH and I don't want to put weight on (anymore than I've already done), so having cakes and biscuits at home is a bit awkward. Since GBBO, though, I've found a way around the problem - work! If I bake something at the weekend and take it into work on Monday, I get to indulge my baking dream and have an office load of people to eat the cake. I'm lucky that I work with people who love cake too :-D
So, my two offerings so far have been ...
Bavarian Zwetschgendatschi (or plum cake)
And double ginger cake (but my colleagues got to it before I did with my camera - sorry!), but which is a lovely moist cake flavoured with both ground ginger and crystalised ginger (from Nigel Slaters' Kitchen Diaries). I must admit - it went down a treat at the office, so I shall be making another (but maybe just for us next time!).
I'm not sure what will be next as last weekend and next I wasn't/won't be able to bake, but it is 'that time of year' again and I feel a pumpkin pie coming on ...
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