What Kate Baked...and baby!

Raspberry and Almond Loaf Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 18:49:00 +0000

Last weekend was the London Marathon, 26.2 grueling miles through our capital city snd today the inaugural Newport marathon, closer to home here in Wales. I am full of admiration for all those who take part, who spend long, dark winter evenings training, raising millions of cash each year for charity and risk losing at least a couple of toenails in the process (all together now: ewwwwwww). I'm more likely to celebrate a lottery win than celebrate completing a marathon (the only exception would be eating an inedible, long-lost Snickers bar from 1990, which of course was formerly known as a Marathon).

Even the thought of the ‘wine’ marathon where participants enjoy a boozy run with wine and oyster stops dotted throughout the race doesn’t inspire me to run 26.2 miles. But then I read about the ‘Piece of Cake’ Marathon. Held each year in Shropshire I’m imagining a race involving at least a cake stop every half a mile, getting increasingly tastier the more miles you run. After custard creams dunked in builder’s tea at the first half a mile participants surely progress to a giant slab of the gooiest chocolate brownies by mile five, working their way up to intricate, award winning Parisian patisseries by twenty miles and an enormous afternoon tea by the finishing line. If you get to the finish line that is; you may well have collapsed in a diabetic coma well before before the half way mark. But on further investigation it appears the ‘Piece of Cake’ marathon is, well, anything but. Apart from finishing in a National Trust tearoom, there is not a single crumb of cake offered on the entire route. Even the finest National Trust scone, jam and cream offering wouldn't tempt me; trading standards officers, I think you have your next case to investigate.

So it’s no to a marathon for me; I’m sticking to my gone-off snickers thank you very much.

Raspberry and Almond Loaf Cake

75ml olive oil

125g full-fat natural yoghurt

150g golden caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp almond extract

210g plain flour

1½ tsp baking powder

150g raspberries

50g icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin with parchment paper
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, yoghurt, sugar, eggs and almond extract. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Pour the dry ingredients into the oil-yoghurt mixture and fold the lot very gently together, taking care not to over mix. Add in the raspberries, reserving a few for decoration.
Pour the batter into the loaf tin and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a small skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
To make the icing,sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl and add enough water to create a smooth icing. Pour over the cake and add a few raspberries to decorate

Bakers notes

Is this the easiest cake ever? Certainly a great deal easier than running a marathon

The raspberries can be replaced by blueberries and the cake would be delish with a dollop of creme fraiche

Store in a airtight container and enjoy within a couple of days

Spiced Easter Chick Biscuits

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 19:21:00 +0000

You should be staring at a perfect Easter-themed photo of a luscious lemon pavlova, complete with copious folds of thick double cream and decorated with a mountain of decadent mini eggs. Imagine reading glowing prose describing this egg-cellent* Easter centrepiece and bookmarking the page for your celebrations.

However, I forgot to buy lemons and in a very un-Lent-like indulgent evening I devoured every single one of the Mini Eggs (just doing my best, trying to live up to the blog strap-line natch). On a side note, why do the yellow ones taste the best? They are the Spring-time equivalent of orange smarties and the maltesers in boxes of Heros.

So instead, I present to you these Easter Chick Biscuits. Perfect for dunking into a hot cuppa when sheltering from the inevitably terrible bank holiday weather muttering grumpily that the novelty of snow has worn off so much that we aren’t even entertaining the thought of excitedly retrieving the sledges from the shed this time round. And, ahem, these biscuits are also perfect for when you’ve greedily devoured all the ingredients intended for your first bake.

Feel free to add your own slightly-robotic looking decorative Easter bunnies.

*an Easter blog would not be complete without at least one Easter pun. Believe me, I’ve been very restrained this year.

Easter Chick Biscuits

(makes 15-18)

100g softened butter

75g caster sugar

1 large egg yolk

200g plain flour

1 tsp mixed spice

Zest 1 lemon

50g currants

1 tbsp milk, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line two baking trays with baking parchment

2. Beat together the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy. Beat in the egg

3. Sieve the flour, add in the mixed spice and lemon zest and bring together, using your hands, to form a soft dough. Add a tbsp of milk if needed

4. Stir in the currants and knead the dough on a floured surface. Roll out the biscuit dough to a thickness of approx a quarter inch. Using an Easter-themed biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits

5. Place the biscuits on the baking trays and bake for 12-15 min

Baker's notes...

Store the biscuits in an airtight container for up to three days
Happy Easter!

Cocoa and Coconut Energy Balls

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 20:07:00 +0000

As I read yet another article on the benefits of a good nights sleep, I can't help but think how the chances of me achieving a glorious eight hours of peaceful shut-eye are as likely as the train network running to time (or even at all) in the arctic conditions forecast for this week.

The last two and half years have been sponsored by caffeine. I am singlehandedly keeping our local coffee shop afloat. Since being back at work I’ve no need to set an alarm clock; the baby has that job between 0430 and 0500 every morning (and always nearer for 0400 on a Sunday). If another someone says ‘ohh my child has slept through since they were two days old, twelve hours a night GUARANTEED, aren’t I lucky?!’ I cannot be accountable for my actions.

I have read every book about infant sleep, tried every technique, bought every gadget and gizmo to lull the children into blissful slumber. White noise, massage, stories, light shows, hard core drugs*... I know every excuse for why they don’t sleep and every reason why they really do need to. I'd go as far as saying my specialist subject on mastermind would be surviving two sleep thieves. Except I could never actually go on the programme as the chair looks far too comfortable and I’d have fallen fast asleep by the time the general knowledge questions are asked.

One way of surviving chronic sleep deprivation is enjoying one of these energy balls, a tasty start to each (super early) morning and full of healthy ingredients too.

* Not really, but tempting. Oh so very tempting.

PS This was written at 0450am.

Cocoa and Coconut Energy Balls

Makes 18-24

175g cashew nuts

175g pitted Medjool dates

35g cocoa powder

2 tbsps cashew-coconut butter

1 tbsp ground flaxseed

50g desiccated coconut

1. In a large food processor, whizz the cashew nuts until they resemble a super fine powder

2. Add in the dates, cocoa powder, nut butter and flaxseed and blitz again for a good minute or two until thoroughly combined into a paste

3. Either using a couple of teaspoons or your bare hands form the paste into ping-pong sized balls

4. Roll each ball in the coconut

5. Pop in the fridge for at least a couple of hours to chill

Baker's notes...

I find these are best enjoyed chilled and store them in the fridge, they last for up to ten days in an airtight container
The flaxseed is optional but apparently it has loads of fab health properties

Pregnancy baking: The best bakes to make in early labour

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Sat, 17 Feb 2018 16:18:00 +0000

Don't get me wrong, giving birth to approximately seven and half bags of sugar in one fell push is not exactly a walk in the park. However, in those early stages, when you spend half the time manically googling 'how do I know if I am in labour?' and the other half of the time triple-checking the car is pointing in the correct direction of the hospital, it is rather nice to have something else to occupy an increasingly impatient, restless mind. All the pregnancy books and webpages suggest distraction, such as going for a walk, watching a film but I reckon popping on a pinny could be an alternative.

To reach the dizzy heights of the top of this chart, the bake had to meet three very strict criteria: firstly to be straightforward and simple, secondly to not require any fancy-pants ingredients that may involve schelpping to the supermarket, risking waters breaking in the World Foods aisle and thirdly to be a darn tasty alternative to necking lucazade.

5. Microwave Mug Cake
Should labour turn out to be a movie-style 30 minutes of turning a little red, puffing a few times and then whoosh, out pops your bundle of joy as though the stork does actually exist, then this one is for you. Microwave Mug Cakes had a bit of a thing going on a couple of years ago and there are some rather tasty recipes out there that literally take minutes

4. Welsh Cakes
The process of rubbing the fat into the flour will distract from those twinges/aches/bl**dy agonizing pains plus they last up to a week when stored in a airtight container so a perfect thank you for the midwives or early visitors who want a cuddle with your newborn moppet

3. Flapjacks
Because oats sound healthy and giving of energy to last way into the third stage of labour (there are three stages?! What is this? A particularly lengthy Shakespearean play?). Also fuss-free and pretty foolproof, they are the homely bake you can envisage doing with your baby in a couple of years time (before the reality of sleep deprivation kicks in and you realise the cafe down the road serves perfectly edible versions you can palm off as your own)

2. Chocolate and HoneyComb Peace Cookies
The only reason these have made the list, apart from the fact they are mightily, marvelously delicious biscuits, is the name. In a world of political turmoil and economic uncertainty, I may not guarantee you'll be welcoming your little one into a world of peace and serenity by baking these cookies, but they do make the world taste that bit sweeter.

1. Tiffin (aka Chocolate Refrigerator Cake)
You don't even need to turn the oven on. Plus chocolate is good for the heart, the circulation, is mineral rich and is the ultimate comfort food. But more importantly than all of that, a Finnish study found chocolate in pregnancy keeps the baby happy. And we all want to keep our babies happy, no?

What do you reckon? What have you baked in those early stages of labour?

Happy Baking!

Homemade 'Nakd' Bar Bakewell Tart

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 20:23:00 +0000

Ah January, you sanctimonious, tedious, thirty one days you.

Dragging along slower than the Brexit negotiations with it's cold, dull grey skies and worst of all, having joined the January healthy eating bandwagon, biscuit and cake-less.

A few years back I was merrily baking my way through the month, rather smugly disdainful of all those extra gym memberships, slimming club join-ups and dry January bores that a New Year encourages. And yet, two children and considerable overindulgence at Christmas later*, I too (somewhat reluctantly) can be found at the gym at 8am on a Sunday morning, series-recording Tom Kerridge's weight loss programme and grudgingly giving up cake.

Roll on 1st February when I intend to make the biggest chocolate cake EVER. One that even Bruce Bogtrotter would struggle with.

But in the meantime I'm striving to satisfy my sweet tooth through considerable consumption of Nakd bars, fruit and nut wholefood bars that taste pretty darn good. They come in many various flavours- so much so my husband suggested they ought to make a 'Michelin Star Dinner with Paired Wines' version, which would have definitely cheered up his January.

*By the 31st December I was 85% mince pie and 15% purple Quality Street.

Homemade 'Nakd' Bar: Bakewell Tart

143g cashew nuts
200g Medjool dates (stones removed)
65g raisins
0.5tsp almond extract

1. Line a baking tray with clingfilm
2. In a large food processor whizz the cashews until they resemble a super fine powder.
3. Add the dates, raisins and almond and continue to whizz until the ingredients come together in a thick paste
4. Spoon the mixture into the baking tin and press down evenly with the back the spoon to form a large bar approximately 4-5 inches in length
5. Refrigerate for 60 minutes, remove the clingfilm and cut into bars

Baker's notes...

A big thank you to the Little Loaf blog for the inspiration to make these at home
They keep for up to five days in the fridge (and taste really nice chilled)

The What Kate Baked...and Baby Guide to Returning to Work after Maternity Leave:

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 09:13:00 +0000

The dream: a glorious morning latte and read of the papers on the way to work. The reality: 'Gagh-we're-late-no-where-to-park-outside-nursery-have-I-remembered-everything-be-nice-to-your-brother' on repeat

To coincide with my return to work (and not just work, a new job at that) this week after a glorious, sleep deprived maternity leave with the second-born apple of my eye, I give you The What Kate Baked...and Baby Guide to Returning to Work after Maternity Leave

1. You will inevitably rock up with some type of baby bodily fluid on your neatly ironed work clothes. A snail-like trail of snot on your shoulder at best, the worst I will leave up to the imagination...

2. You may not have the latest office gossip, know the deli round the corner now does fancy-pants Veganuary Coconut Milk lattes but you do know the local leisure centre's softplay schedule backwards and do a mean Amanda Karmel Hidden Vegetable Sauce*

*NB: the kids always know. Of course they know you've tried to shoehorn about a zillion vegetables into a sauce. They just eat the pasta around it.

3. The week you are due to return to work you child will, of course, come down with chicken pox/forget how to sleep*/contract a perfectly harmless but highly contagious rash that means s/he can't possible go to nursery

* if you've been lucky enough to get one that does sleep in the first place that is.

4. You will have sleepless nights over the fact your sleep deprived baby brain will have forgotten absolutely every single aspect of your job... yet within seconds of walking through the door, it's as though you never gave birth to the light of your life and maternity leave never happened.

5. After dropping off the kids at childcare, you have a mild panic everytime you look in the rearview mirror and your child isn't there ... before you remember where they are. In a similar vein, you listen to your child's nursery rhymes CD the entire route to work before remembering you can now enjoy Radio 2/Clean Bandit's latest offering/a self-improvement mindfulness podcast

6. It slowly comes back to you that tea is supposed to be served hot, toilet trips are generally taken by oneself and biscuits don't need to be shared

But on a slightly less tongue-in-cheek note, for anyone returning to work soon, all the very best of luck, it will be hard, emotional leaving your little one and a bit of a juggle but it'll all be ok. At least that'd what I'm telling myself while I enjoy my last cold tea and singalong of Wheels on the Bus at rhymetime.

Happy New Year: Baking Trends 2018!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Sun, 31 Dec 2017 21:05:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

With a brand new, shiny and sparkling 365 days ahead, it's high time to publish my traditional-trawl-through-the-interweb-for-vaguely-new baking trends!

The fourth meal

According to Waitrose (my happy place), 'the fourth meal' is whereby people (who are these people?) try and squeeze a fourth meal into their day. Nought wrong with that. Especially if its a giant slab of chocolate cake.

Flowers

Your local florist will be doing a little joyful skip at midnight tonight as flowers in food are (according to Mystic Meg*) a big trend for 2018. Roses, elderflower, violet and lavender will decorate and infuse everything from ice cream to puddings to cakes

*what on earth happened to Mystic Meg? *distracts self on wikipedia for ten whole minutes*

Pink toast

Ha- I love this one. In an attempt to reverse declining bread sales, M&S have developed some rather healthy funky bread, including beetroot (pink bread), courgette and red pepper. Conversations over lunchtime sarnies won't be the same again ('what on earth is wrong with your bread Keith?' etc etc)

Vegan desserts

With pinterest recording a 329% increase in searches for vegan desserts and veganism the 'fastest growing lifestyle movement' ditch the double cream and butter for 2018. You could even start today by joining the estimated 150,000 people for Veganuary

Herbs

Tied in with the increased interest in vegan and plant based foods, herbs are apparently back (but where they went to in the first place?).

Cake for breakfast

Well, helllllooooo here's a trend I will happily welcome into my life in 2018. Apparently cake tastes better in the morning and 'provides more time to work off the indulgence'. Suddenly, 2018 isn't looking that bad after all...

Happy New Year y'all xx

Rudolph Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Sun, 31 Dec 2017 11:12:00 +0000

This is the first year that the toddler has really 'got' Christmas. At 2.5 years, mainly through the medium of Peppa Pig's 'Christmas' book, Christmas is more than just eating lots of brightly coloured festive wrapping paper as it was last year (the year before she mostly slept through the big day whilst dressed in various 'My First Christmas' paraphenalia).

We've met Santa (twice; surprisingly he turns out to not be that busy this time of year), been required to redecorate the tree on several occasions, reiterated every morning that we only open ONE window on the advent calendar each day and firmly established that all she wants for Christmas is a pair of yellow trousers.

We've also been busy in the kitchen. In the toddler's Peppa Pig magazine there was a recipe for Rudolph cupcakes and I was instantly instructed 'MAMA MAKE!'. The toddler took on the role of executive chef, which mainly involved carefully studying my efforts to ensure they exactly replicated those in the magazine. To be honest, at best these look 'rustic', at worse, they look as though I consumed an entire vat of mulled wine before switching the oven on.

But hey, to completely misquote the best festive movie of all time (ahem, Love Actually) if you can't bake shoddy Rudolph cupcakes for your daughter at Christmas, when can you?

Merry Christmas all you lovely people.

Rudolph Cupcakes

Makes 12

For the cakes:
110g softened butter
110g caster sugar
2 free range eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
110g self raising flour
1 tbsp milk

For the decoration:
100g milk chocolate
200ml double cream
24 giant white chocolate buttons
A dozen pretzels
12 mini digestive or jaffa cake biscuits
6 glace cherries, halved

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Line a 12 hold muffin tin with paper cases
2. Beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the egg and stir in the vanilla
3. Fold in the flour with a large metal spoon. Add a little of the milk untila dropping consistency is acheived
4. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases, ensure each case is approximately half full
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until risen and golden brown. Set aside to cool for ten minutes then remove from the tin and allow to completely cool on a wire rack
6. To make the chocolate icing: Melt the chocolate and double cream in a small pyrex bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until completely melted
7. After reserving 1 tbsp of icing, gently spoon the chocolate icing over each cupcake and allow to set.
8. Place two white chocolate buttons as eyes on each cupcake and stick the pretzels on as antlers. Place a mini digestive biscuits on each cupcake and using leftover chocolate icing, 'stick' a cherry red nose to each biscuit
9. Pipe a little of the chocolate icing on each white chocolate button as eyes

Baker's notes

Happy Christmas!

Christmas Spiced Chocolate Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 20:22:00 +0000

My enormous apologies for the terrible photo; rather a lot of prosecco was consumed before any photos were taken!

There are just a million opportunities for satisfying a sweet tooth this time of year.

Advent calendar chocolates for breakfast? Tick. Free sample of stollen in the local supermarket? Sure. Mince pie for elevenses? Of course. Leftover coffee creams that no one wants in the office Roses tin? Gimmee. Mini chocolate logs for afternoon tea? Yes please.

So a fruit salad for dessert at this time of year simply won't do. Nope. Nada. No chance. When I offered to make a pudding for a big Christmas weekend away with friends Nigella came to the rescue. Well, not literally. Although it was the big snow weekend when all of society stopped so if Nigella had popped by with a 4x4 and a tow bar, she would have been most welcome.

This glorious Chocolate Spiced Christmas cake was a huge hit and a lovely straightforward recipe. The only change I made to the original recipe was to add plenty of sparkly gold stars (as I'm pretty sure the song went 'may your cakes be merry and bright').

Merry Christmas! x

Christmas Dinner with Hello Fresh

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 13:53:00 +0000

I am quite convinced that there are two types of people who cook Christmas dinner:

Type 1:

- You'll have been one of the first to book your supermarket Christmas home delivery slot back in September
- You have every Christmas cookery book ever published (although the well-thumbed, gravy-splattered 'Delia's Christmas' remains, in your opinion, the one and only festive cookbook worth opening on the Big Day) and you'll have written a menu by October
- You will have made and frozen the cranberry sauce by November and begun clearing the fridge of much-needed, valuable space by the 1st December
- Your mastermind specialist subject is the art and science of the perfect roast potato
- Come Christmas, you occasionally experiment with goose but by popular demand, your turkey recipe is still voted your family's favourite. And that of all your neighbours who come to you each year, as your prowess in the kitchen on the 25th is known far and wide

In other words, you are THE master of cooking the Christmas dinner.

Type 2

- EH?! Who put you in charge of Christmas dinner?
- The dog has a better idea of how to cook brussel sprouts than you so
- There's a reason you always offer to do the washing up
- The closest you've come to making Christmas dinner is wearing this novelty hat to your Christmas work do

In other words, you haven't a jingle-belling clue.

But, fear not, ~~Santa~~ Hello Fresh has come to your aid with this marvellous recipe and timings guide for the biggest and best meal of the year (no pressure, none at all). Yep, this year, they've got your back, from cooking the perfect turkey to how not to overcook the sprouts, plus all the timings to ensure you're sat down in time for the Queen's Speech.

Merry Christmas!

Disclaimer: Hello Fresh sent me the Christmas timings guide and a classic box of meals as a thank you for publishing this post. Any opinions expressed are my own.

A Baker's Christmas Wish-List

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Sun, 03 Dec 2017 13:21:00 +0000

The perfect presents, from £1 to £100, for the baker in your life...

The Christmas Chronicles

No wish-list is complete without a festive recipe book and Nigel's Slater's brand spanking new Christmas Chronicles is top of mine. Currently half price at £13.99, Waterstones

Nordic Ware Pretty Presents Baking Tins

Every cake wants to be the best of the bundt and with these cute little bundt tin presents you'll be giving a present within a present. Nice. £35.99, Harts of Stur

Nut Pastes

The almond paste can be added to fragipane, the hazelnut into bread dough to enrich the flavour and the pistachio paste can provide a taste-tastic base for ice cream. £18.95, Sous Chef

Biscuit Tree Decorations

So a bourbon biscuit hanging from your Christmas tree may not be as festive as say, a traditional snowman or robin, but for the biscuit lover, these quirky decorations are sure to be a hit. Just make sure you don't dip them into your tea after too many glasses of mulled wine, obvs. £15, Trouva

Star Rolling Pin

For star bakers, this embossed star rolling pin will add a certain star quality to your biscuits, pies and pastries. £15, John Lewis

Gingerbread House Kit

For the budding baker in your life, this sweet little Gingerbread House Kit requires not a single battery and is therefore a great stocking filler. £6.25, Waitrose

Brownie Subscription

Fancy giving the gift of the best brownies ever without switching the oven on? How about a six month subscription box of Gower Cottage Brownies, declared by BBC Good Food Magazine to be the 'best brownies we have ever tasted'. It's the gift that keeps giving... well, until June that is. £97.99, Gower Cottage Brownies

Superhero cake toppers

.... and KABOOM, to finish off this Dear Santa list are these POW-fect superhero cake toppers. WHAM-derful as they sang Last Christmas. £1.29, Lakeland

Happy Christmas xx

Marbled Coffee Loaf Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 13:13:00 +0000

Coffee.

BFF of exhausted, sleep deprived parents, giver of (some) motivation every Monday morning and a rather delicious flavour for a loaf cake. Coffee cake is the homely staple of the village hall bake sale, an easy-pips cake that combines a light fluffy sponge with a bittersweet hit of caffeine. Although let's be honest, you'd probably have to eat the ENTIRE thing to have the equivalent caffeine hit of a triple espresso (don't put it past me though- I've a teething baby and a toddler who loves 5.30am).

It's even Nigel Slater's choice for his last meal on earth. And if it's good enough for Nige, well, it's certainly good enough for me.

Marbled Coffee Loaf Cake

For the cake:
225g softened butter
225g golden caster sugar
3 large eggs
225g self-raising flour
2 tsps instant espresso powder mixed with 1 tbsp boiled water
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the icing:
100g softened butter
200g icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp instant espresso coffee powder mixed with 1 tbsp boiled water

To decorate: chocolate coffee beans

1. Heat the oven to 180C/170C fan/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin
2. Beat together the butter, sugar, eggs and flour for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
3. Divide the mixture between two large bowls, lightly stirring in the espresso into one of the mixtures and the vanilla into the other
4. Alternatively dollop a large spoonful of each mixture into the tin to create the marbled effect. Once complete, tap the tin on the work surface to remove any air bubbles and swirl a skewer into the mixture to further add to the marbled effect
5. Bake for 45 min or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool
6. To make the icing: beat the butter, icing sugar and coffee powder until combined. Spread over the cooled cake and decorate with the coffee beans

Baker's notes...

Is it just me or does eating a slice of coffee cake with a cup of tea as I am doing right now feel rather wrong... but slightly audacious?
The traditional decoration on a coffee cake would be a handful of walnuts and Felicity Cloake advocates toasting them to bring out their flavour

Autumn Blackberry and Lemon Victoria Sponge Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 14:30:00 +0000

It's beginning to look a lot like... oh no, wait, its only the 11th November.

But the supermarkets are already piled with mince pies and those in the know booked their festive online delivery slots while relaxing on their sunloungers, sangria and sunscreen in hand, back in August. I'm being increasingly asked whether I've completed my Christmas shopping yet (eh?!). And the harbinger of Christmas, the John Lewis ad, was out this week. I'm not convinced they've hit the emotional high of the little boy desperate for Christmas to give his presents and aren't they feeding into every child's insecurity about a monster under the bed? Or perhaps they over ordered on the nighlights this year and just needed to shift them...

Anyway, I'm as crackers about Christmas as, well, Santa himself, but it does feel a little early no? So, in a stubborn attempt to persuade myself we are still in the midsts of Autumn, I baked this very Autumnal sounding Blackberry and Lemon Victoria Sponge. Its a very simple recipe but the tart blackberries and lemon contrast beautifully with the sweet butter icing.

Happy baking!

Autumnal Blackberry and Lemon Victoria Sponge

For the cake:
200g golden caster sugar
200g softened unsalted butter
4 eggs
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1-2 tbsp milk

For the icing:
100g unsoftened unsalted butter
200g icing sugar, sifted
1 lemon
1-2 tbsps of milk
1 punnet of blackberries

1. Heat the oven to 190C/170Cfan/Gas Mark 5. Butter and line two 20cm sandwich tins
2. Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg until completely combined.
3. Fold in the flour and the baking powder. If the mixture needs a little loosening, add the milk and lightly mix in
4. Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake for approx 20 minutes until golden and the cake springs back on touch
5. Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely
6. For the icing, beat together all the ingredients until smooth and creamy. Spread the icing over the each of the cakes and top with the blackberries. Sandwich the cakes together ad dust with a little icing sugar before serving

Baker's notes...

Ahhhh, there's nothing quite like a Victoria Sponge and this makes a perfect accompaniment to a hot cuppa after a chilly autumnal walk
The cake keeps for two days stored in an airtight container
Edit: Just after typing this post out, I've ordered my first two Christmas presents for the kids. Maybe I am ready to embrace the start the festive season afterall. Certainly the 25% off at John Lewis at any rate.

Halloween Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 18:23:00 +0000

With the darker evenings and cooler days, Autumn has well and truly got it's feet tucked firmly under the dining room table. Heartier bakes are on the menu and with Halloween just round the corner there's nothing more seasonal than a vibrant, sweet pumpkin.

Talking of All Hallow's Eve, I'm writing this sat infront of the Halloween Strictly Come Dancing special (its another rock-n-roll Saturday night in the What Kate Baked household!). This is the extent of my Halloween celebrations. I've eaten all the chocolates intended for any trick or treaters. If I carve a pumpkin I'm very likely to end up with a pumpkin soupy-mush. And I'm too much of a wuss to watch a horror film. But I am all about the treat of course!

This recipe is from BBC Good Food. I adapted it slightly including reducing the sugar content, popping in some walnuts for a little crunch and adding some carrot as I'd read that pumpkins can have a quite considerable water content. The cake is gently spiced, beautifully moist and the cream cheese icing adds an extra sweetness.

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

For the cake:

300g self-raising flour
250g light muscovado sugar
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
0.5 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp bicarbnate soda
75g sultanas
100g chopped walnuts
0.5 tsp salt
4 eggs, beaten
200g butter
250g grated pumpkin (peeled weight)
250g grated carrot (peeled weight)

For the icing:
300g icing sugar
50g unsalted butter at room temp
125g cream cheese
Zest of two clementines

1. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a 30 x 20cm baking tin with parchment paper.
2. Put the flour, sugar, spices, bicarbonate, sultanas, walnuts and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
3. Beat the eggs into the butter and mix into the dry ingredients. Stir in the pumpkin and carrot
4. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden and the cake springs bake on touch
5. For the icing: beat together the icing sugar, butter and cheese. Once the cake has completely cooled, spread over the icing and decorate with the zest of the clementines

Baker's notes...

The original recipe stated 30 minutes as the cooking time but many of the reviews found that the cake took over an hour, I suspect due to the water content of the pumpkins. If you find yours is taking a little longer, pop a little foil 'hat' over the cake to avoid the top burning
Instead of the sweet cream cheese topping, this cake would be just as delicious with a simple water icing ...or even stark naked
This is a great way of using up the innards of the pumpkin after carving a ghost/cat/your self-portrait

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line a 30 x 20cm baking or small roasting tin with baking parchment. Put the flour, sugar, spice, bicarbonate of soda, sultanas and salt into a large bowl and stir to combine. Beat the eggs into the melted butter, stir in the orange zest and juice, then mix with the dry ingredients till combined. Stir in the pumpkin. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30 mins, or until golden and springy to the touch.
To make the frosting, beat together the cheese, butter, icing sugar, orange zest and 1 tsp of the juice till smooth and creamy, then set aside in the fridge. When the cake is done, cool for 5 mins then turn it onto a cooling rack. Prick it all over with a skewer and drizzle with the rest of the orange juice while still warm. Leave to cool completely.
If you like, trim the edges of the cake. Give the frosting a quick beat to loosen, then, using a palette knife, spread over the top of the cake in peaks and swirls. If you’re making the cake ahead, keep it in the fridge then take out as many pieces as you want 30 mins or so before serving. Will keep, covered, for up to 3 days in the fridge.

The ten steps involved in baking with children

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 14:54:00 +0000

After seven months knee deep in nappies with two children under two it was high time for me to dip my toes back into the world of baking and blogging. And what better a rainy Sunday afternoon activity with my two precious poppets than teaching them the glorious art and science of baking? I give you the ten steps involved in baking with children...

1. Enthusiastically decide what to bake. Gaily flick through Nigella and Nigel's seminal works, admiring the beautiful photography and the mouthwatering descriptions. Consider baking a Flourless Chocolate Lime Cake with Margarita Cream until you take one look at your sous chef, aka the baby. Who is currently licking caked-on, dried-up porridge stuck to his socks from breakfast....two days ago. Decide your sous chef isn't quite up to the Flourless Chocolate Lime Cake with Margarita Cream.

2. Significantly reduce expectations of a culinary masterpiece and decide even Mary Berry had to start somewhere. Head to the shops for some rice krispies. Yep, you'll start with that classic, the time-honoured, rice krispie cake.

3. Spend five minutes imagining the gorgeous, insta-worthy photos you'll be taking over the next twenty minutes, complete with the-not-particularly-original and very smug hastag #futurebakeoffcontestants

4. Round up the children. Delay the start of the bakeoff to deal with two urgent nappy situations, admiring, as always, your children's timing

5. Start proceedings with an educational slant by showing the toddler what weighing scales, mixing bowls, wooden spoons, baking trays etc etc are. The toddler will inevitably show next to no interest, preferring instead to devour at least half of the chocolate buttons intended for the rice krispie cakes

6. Watch in slow motion as the baby, who until now has been sitting in his high chair, observing events in the manner of a mini Paul Hollywood, reaches over and knocks the entire box of rice krispies to the floor. Spend the next three days hearing crunching (with a snap, crackle, pop naturally) underfoot every time you walk into the kitchen

7. Realise the toddler has lost interest completely and wondered off

8. With the baby still rooted in the high chair and therefore with little choice in the matter, teach him how to make rice krispie cakes, persevering despite the baby showing far more interest in mutilating Sophie the Giraffe with his two new teeth

9. Now that both sous chefs have shown as much interest in baking as most people show in doing their tax returns, think wistfully of the Flourless Chocolate Lime Cake with Margarita Cream. Attempt a bit of creativity with a nod to Halloween by forming the rice krispie cakes into pumpkins

10. Decide next time you'll save the baking until the precious poppets have gone to bed and stick on cbeebies instead

A little announcement...

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 10:04:00 +0000

Hello!

This is just a little note to the tumbleweed clogging up this blog. How are you? Dusty and neglected?

Well, quite. You see, over the last couple of years I've only sporadically been baking and keeping this blog up to date. Life, namely two brand new children, two house moves and a new job have got in the way. Don't get me wrong, 67% of my diet still consists of cake (the other 33% custard creams) but my cake tins haven't seen an airing for rather a long time. I'm hoping one day to return to regular blogging about cakes but in the meantime I'll post every now and again on here, but will keep tweeting and have an exciting BRAND NEW page on facebook

Meanwhile a BIG thank you to all those who have once followed this blog and those who continue to do so xx

Chocolate and Orange Welsh Cakes

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 15:42:00 +0000

A mixture of the more traditional Welsh Cake and the indulgent Chocolate Orange version

Happy St David's Day!

The Welsh patron saint was known for extreme austerity (yes, he was the forefather of the modern Tory party!) with monks living in monasteries founded by him living on a diet of bread, vegetables, water and milk. After a while, the monks tired of abstaining from worldly pleasures (and chocolate) and attempted to poison St David's bread, but with no avail and St David lived to slay another dragon*

It therefore may do little to impress stern St David and Welsh Cake purists, but how about celebrating Wales' national day with these Chocolate and Orange Welsh Cakes?

* Except he didn't ever slay a single dragon. Mainly because dragons are mythical creatures and don't exist. Obvs.

Chocolate and Orange Welsh Cakes

125g butter (unsalted, softened at room temperature and cut into small pieces)250g self-raising flour75g caster sugar50g orange or mixed peel50g chopped dark chocolate1 beaten eggPinch of salt1 tbsp milk (if needed)

1. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs2. Add the sugar, peel and chocolate and mix together3. Mix in the beaten egg and bring together to form a soft dough with a fork, using the milk to bind further if required 4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and using a rolling pin roll out the mixture to about 1cm thickness5. Using a cutter or upturned glass cut out the circles6. Heat an ungreased griddle or heavy frying pan on a medium heat7. Place the cakes onto the surface one or two at a time and cook one side before gently turning over to cook the other side8. Cool on a wire rack. 9. Tuck in with gusto

Baker’s notes....

Each Welsh Cake takes approximately 2-3 minutes to cook on each side; you should be aiming for a caramel, light brown colour

If the cakes turn a darker colour, quickly, your pan may be too hot. Turn down the heat...is that better?

My original, traditional Welsh Cake recipe can be found right here

Bendigedig!!

Baking Trends 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Mon, 02 Jan 2017 13:05:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

It's a brand spanking New Year and that only means one thing! Well, two things. Firstly the hurried, panicked consumption of left over Mince Pies and chocolates from Christmas (8 pies and 4 boxes to go!!) and secondly the annual tradition that is the What Kate Baked 2017 baking trends forecast. As unreliable as the weather, as ill informed as the President-elect of the USA and as inaccurate as ever!

Marbling

By the end of 2017 all baked goods will resemble this metamorphic rock. Your standard tin loaf will resemble the marbled Taj Mahal, your Welsh Cakes will resemble the the Washington Memorial and your key lime pie will resemble your ... kitchen worktop. Well, sort of. But doesn't it look pretty?

Image: meringue girls

Portugal

Viva! Step aside Peru, this year's hottest travel destination will be influencing the food we'll be eating over the next 365 days. The legendary Portuguese Tart will be on every baker's must-bake list (or must-buy list if you've a brilliant Portuguese Bakery just down the road like we have).

Fancy flours

Start relegating your plain white flour to the back the cupboard this instant. Coconut flour is the flour you need to be using this year. Sure, it is at least ten times the price of your standard stuff, but you'll be bang on trend my friend.

Sweet and Savoury

In the confusing taste turmoil that is combining sweet and savoury on the same fork, look out for savoury doughnuts such as the crab doughnuts served at Chiltern Firehouse and the seafood sundaes currently being enjoyed in the finest Parisian patisseries

Ice Cream Roll-Ups

Not the illegitimate child of Mr Whippy and a circus ringmaster's favourite saying, but a Thai street-food where liquid ice cream is flash frozen, stuffed with fruit then wrapped up burrito-style before being garnished with cookies. Otherwise known as your entire daily calorie allowance

Image: Buzzfeed

And saving the very best trend for last...

Chocolate Cake for breakfast

Yes, you read that correctly. Throw aside your toast, wave cheerio to your Cornflakes, lets celebrate the dawn of 2017 with chocolate cake for breakfast. According to the Evening Standard the health benefits of dark chocolate means we'll be eating chocolate earlier in the day, not just in December when advent calendars provide a fulfilling, nutritious breakfast.

Grab a plate, channel Bruce Bogtrotter and have a very Happy New Year!

Happy Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 13:01:00 +0000

A rather belated but very merry Christmas! I'm not entirely sure when etiquette experts recommend switching from wishing a Happy Christmas to a Happy New Year but as Father Christmas didn't deliver a copy of Debrettes this year, I'm sticking to Christmas. Even if the tree is looking decidedly wonky, tired and sad, the leftover turkey made into at least 352 supplementary dishes and the Internet is awash with "50 ways to lose those Christmas pounds" rather than "50 ways to make your Christmas Pudding even more indulgent".

Hope y'all had a good time. The toddler, although yet to be aware of quite what Christmas is about, certainly nailed the unwrapping of presents this year. As relatively new parents, we'd made the fatal mistake of wrapping said presents around 10pm on Christmas Eve, not realising that the toy kitchen we had bought was flat-ruddy-pack. With instructions that I'm sure were practically written by the toddler. In other words, little more than doodles of the kitchen at different stages of construction that after a few festive G & Ts were just a little bit tricky to decipher.

I do love this indulgent hiatus week between Christmas and New Year. Where it's still acceptable to eat Quality Street and Wensleydale with Cranberries for breakfast. To not get dressed until midday and still wear Christmas jumpers on frosty winter walks. To contemplate doing worthy things like the crossword or a game of scrabble but instead watch a feast of films on the telly (that you inevitably watched last Christmas. And the one before that). When you have friends round on the pretext of being social but have a hidden agenda of making sure they help you eat every last mince pie which you panic bought on Christmas Eve, forgetting that the shops only close for 24 hours and your freezer is full of homemade ones. And spend the best part of the week trying to decide what to do on New Years Eve... and settle on a quiet night in.

Talking of which, a happy, happy New Year to you all.

Bonfire Baking: Apple, Toffee and Hazelnut Loaf Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 14:03:00 +0000

Hurrah it's Bonfire Night!

Or, if you live in a community similar to ours, Bonfire Week, as we've been hearing fireworks pretty much every night for the last seven days. Good to get some practice in I guess and perhaps my neighbours didn't get the memo; prior to 1959 it was illegal not to celebrate Bonfire Night.

It was of course thanks to an incompetent Guy Fawkes who failed miserably to blow up the Houses of Parliament, that each November 5th we set off rockets, light the bonfire and start the Catherine Wheels whizzing. Interestingly each year, prior to the State Opening of Parliament, the Yeoman of the Guard still search the cellars to ensure there are no conspirators hiding down there, a tradition since 1605.

It looks a super weekend for a firework display with dry, cold weather forecast. The only decisions left are which sweet treats to enjoy while craning your neck to get the best view of the fireworks. Will it be a traditional gingery parkin? A teeth-numbing, dentist-visiting Toffee Apple? Or will you stick to savoury and enjoy a couple of bangers (of the sausage kind)?

This warming apple, hazelnut and toffee cake is just the thing to take along to your bonfire night celebration. Tuck in to a slice or two in between trying desperately to write your name in the dark sky with a sparkler (alright if you are a Sue, not so if you a Sebastian).

Apple, Hazelnut and Toffee Cake

150g unsalted butter
150g light brown sugar
150g golden syrup
200ml milk
250g plain flour
2 tsps mixed spice
1.5 tsp baking powder
3 medium eggs
75g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
3 eating apples, cored, peeled and chopped roughly into chunks
Handful of toffees
Icing sugar for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a 2l loaf tine
2. Melt the butter, sugar and syrup over a gentle heat until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the milk before setting aside to cool
3. In a large bowl, sift the flour with the spice and baking powder. Make a well in the centre and pour in the cooled butter mixture. Gently stir togther with a wooden spoon. Fold in the eggs, nuts and apple
4. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool for five minutes in the tin then transfer to a wire rack
5. For the toffee sauce, put the toffees into a saucepan with a splash of milk and melt, stirring regularly. Drizzle over the cake and dust with icing sugar

This is based on a delicious magazine recipe

Orange, Pistachio and Rose Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 12:48:00 +0000

Isn't this just the sunniest cake you've seen? A little antidote to the January blues, the dark evenings and the freezing cold mornings. A cake to comfort now that Len has left Strictly and the Bake Off is 100%, definitely no more after those cheery Christmas specials. A simple, straightforward bake that looks far more lavish than it really ought to.

Infact, if hygge (aka lifestyle choice of the moment) was a cake, this would be it. Hygge, hailing from the happiest nation in the world, Denmark, is the concept of cosy contentment. Think a focus on simplicity, wrapped up warm on a frosty winter's walk, spending time with those we love, a good book infront of a roaring fire, a hot bath surrounded in bubbles... Yes, this is one lifestyle craze I am more than happy to jump on the bandwagon with and join in wholeheartedly. Heck, it certainly sounds a lot more enjoyable and edible than previous Scandanivian exports: scary crime thrillers and saunas in the nude.

This recipe is from Nadiya Hussain, last year's Great British Bake Off winner, and possibly the most successful winner ever. It's her first recipe I've tried making and it certainly gets a big thumbs up (and second portions, please). The orange adds a much needed dose of sunshine at this time of year and crunch of the pistachios offsetting the sweetness and fragrance of the edible roses.

The full recipe can be found on The Times website where Nadiya has a weekly column. Happy baking!

Happy Halloween! Zombie Coconut Truffles

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Sun, 30 Oct 2016 10:35:00 +0000

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is now the second biggest party night after New Years Eve, with Tesco expecting to sell over three million pumpkins for us to creatively carve into amazing designs we've seen on Pinterest and zombie costumes the biggest seller on eBay.

But for those of us who much prefer Bonfire Night (me, me, me!) a recent YouGov survey suggests people actually prefer Bonfire Night to Halloween and despite Halloween's growth in recent years more money is still spent on Bonfire Night. Roll on November 5th, toffee apples and catherine wheels.

Nope, you won't find me dressed up as a zombie or blunting every kitchen knife attempting and miserably failing to carve a pumpkin this weekend. But in a nod to Halloween, it's all about the treats on this baking blog. These simple but scrumptious coconut chocolate truffles can be whipped up quicker than you can tear up an old bed sheet for the world worst ghost costume.

As you can see decorating is NOT my strong point. Not in a billion zombie-fied years. But I was reassured to read Nadiya, last year's Bake off winner wrote in her weekly baking column in The Times that it's all about the taste, the aesthetics are a bonus. And, having eaten more of these truffles than a dentist would strictly recommend, they are ruddy delicious.

Coconut Zombie Truffles

150g dark chocolate (I used bourneville because it's Mary Berry's fave)

150g double cream

25g unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

50g dessicated coconut

Black fondant icing

1. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place into a large bowl

2. On a gentle heat, warm the cream and butter until simmering and pour over the chocolate

3. Stir until smooth and place into the fridge for a at least four hours to set

4. Using either a spoon or melon baller, create the truffle balls and roll in the coconut

5. Use the fondant icing to create ghoulish faces

And here a few treats from Halloweens of the past:

Spooky Skeleten Biscuits

Spooky Spider Cakes

Great British Bake Off: The Final and a Celebratory Bingo

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 08:41:00 +0000

Sniff Sniff

With sixty more minutes of Paul and Mary judging together, one last technical challenge and a concluding hour of Mel-n-Sue puns, we've reached the final of Series 7 of The Great British Bake Off.

Truth is, I've found the series to be a bit of a soggy bottom. I'm not sure if it's because the Bake Off had reached its zenith with the joy of Nadiya winning last year, whether they were scraping the (biscuit) barrel with some of the challenges or whether it's the knowledge the Bake Off as we know it has only 58 minutes left on the BBC, but I haven't been that excited by this series. Even more so now The King of Cool, Selasi has left the tent. Sure, I know the Charmer from Ghana's savarin sucked and he fluffed his fondant fancies, but the guy was the most charismatic contestant by far this year. Last week he took over Sue's presenting duties because he was bored and looking for something to do. Pure genius and telly gold.

But this year has had no custard sabotage, no bin-gate, no Nadiya- esque journey... infact, not even a well endowed squirrel. Instead it's felt a bit sterile and too competitive. Where's the jolly, friendly, warm, village fete tent of previous years gone?

Of course that's not going to stop me and 12 million others tuning in this week for a theme of 'Royal Bakes' fit for the Queen. Candice is hot favourite to win, having been star baker the most but my money is on Andrew who, just like a champion racehorse, is coming into form just in time, having won star baker last week. To celebrate the finale of #GBBO as we know it, I'll be joining in a game of Bake Off Bingo this Wednesday evening. Take a gulp of your favourite tipple or a large bite of your favourite cake for any occurrence of the following:

Jane stares intently into the oven trying to send subliminal messages to her bake to perfectly rise
There's a soft focus clip of the contestant's families speaking fondly of how they've loved baking since they were knee high to a grasshopper
Andrew uses one of the following: protractor, adjustable set square, scale ruler or a compass
Paul Hollywood takes enormous pleasure in viciously stabbing a contestant's intricate, lovingly created bake as the judging commences
The camera focuses on a bank of kitchen timers that resemble the New York Stock Exchange
Mary Berry dons yet another fashionable floral jacket
Candice chews her bottom lip nervously as the judging takes place and yet her MAGIC LIPSTICK NEVER COMES OFF ON HER TEETH
When asked who they feel might win, all previous contestant's carefully name a different finalist as the BBC is all about fairness
Mel and Sue are just as awesome as usual (you might get rather drunk/full with this one)

Enjoy!

The Art of Bread Baking: Sourdough Secrets at E5 Bakehouse

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 08:25:00 +0000

The other month, I went along to the E5 Bakehouse, an East London artisan bakery and cafe, to learn pretty much everything there is possibly to know about sourdough bread.

On an exceptionally wet and soggy day, manhandling my oversized umbrella and mounting excitement onto a packed commuter tube, I traveled across the city to London Fields, where, tucked away under the railway arches, is the bake house. On arrival, the scent of roasting coffee and warm, freshly baked bread tickled our senses; I immediately understood why there are often long queues on a Saturday of patient locals waiting to pick up a loaf of the specialty Hackney Wick.

Together with my nine classmates we learnt the secrets to successful sourdough. Here are just a few tips I gleaned along the way:

Although it may seem a very complicated, intimidating way of producing a nice loaf, Sourdough is pretty straightforward. But it is not to be rushed; it can take up to three days from putting together the leaven* to making your lunchtime sandwich
When baking bread at home, create as much steam as possible in the oven. This creates a lovely crusty loaf and allows the loaf to reach full size. There are several ways to do this: put a baking tray of boiling water or ice cubes at the bottom of the oven; use of a water sprayer to douse the opened oven or bake the loaf in a cast iron pot (pre-heating the oven with the cast iron pot inside before placing the loaf inside)
Use semolina flour to dust your baking tray or baking/pizza stone rather than flour as this prevents the dough sticking
Use a serrated knife when scoring the loaf before baking
Going away for a few weeks? Your sourdough starter can be placed in the freezer. The yeast and bacteria will become dormant and, on your return, can be reactivated by defrosting and refreshing the dough
If you've baked a homemade loaf but haven't got round to eating it after a day or two, first ask yourself why on earth not, then you can pop it in hot oven for around five minutes to 'refresh' the loaf
Bread baking books that were recommended included: The River Cottage Handbook No.3: Bread by Daniel Stevens; The Handmade Loaf by Dan Lepard and Bread: A Beginner's Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman

*A small amount of the starter fed with flour and water that forms the basis of any sourdough loaf

Between weighing, stretching and folding our own dough we were able to have sneaky peaks at the work of the bakery team, who we were assured were simply doing exactly what we were learning but on a much, much bigger scale; the bakery make over 1000 loaves a week to sell in the cafe and to local businesses.

And at the end of the day we each heaved bags full of the bread we'd been baking: ciabiatta rolls, bagels, a rye loaf and the famous Hackney Wick.

A combination of informative, relaxed and knowledgeable teaching, combined with plentiful supply of delicious coffee and sweet treats from the attached cafe plus more tips and advice on bread baking than the number of holes in a world-class sourdough loaf meant it was a really, really enjoyable day.

My husband bought me the Sourdough Baking Class at E5 Bakehouse as a Christmas present. And as you can probably tell: I'd highly recommend it!

An Ode To The Baby Changing Bag

noreply@blogger.com (Kate@whatkatebaked) — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 08:20:00 +0000

How my Pacapod change bag should look

Approximately fifteen months ago, I spent a frankly ridiculous, extraordinarily long trying to decide on a baby changing bag. I genuinely think I spent longer debating and deliberating this decision than we spent debating and deliberating baby names.

It just seemed such a momentous decision at the time. Looking at me, full of indecision, in the baby department of John Lewis, you'd have thought I'd be about to spend my life savings on a designer Chanel handbag, not a wipe-clean, plastic £65 changing bag. What if I got it wrong? Made a bad colour choice? Would the baby hate me?!*

I think I was looking for the changing bag equivalent of an enchanted Mary Poppins bag but instead of a hat stand being magically extracted, a high chair would be plucked out when a little cheerful music hall style ditty is sung.

I've since discovered that due to the volume of baby paraphernalia required each day the changing bag is bursting at the seams as though a small monster created from bibs, nappies and raisins is trying to work its way out. I haven't seen the bottom of the bag since the baby came home from hospital, but I suspect if I did dare delve into its murky depths I'd find a congealed mass of used baby wipes, rotting teething toys and thousands of ruddy raisins. Honestly, a 10p bag for life would do the job.

However, should someone wish to invent a Mary Poppins magical bottomless changing bag, my goodness would they be living off handsome profits, spending the rest of their days lounging on their own private island in the Caribbean eating caviar and quaffing the finest champagne.

Infact, that is how I'm going to make my fortune! Anyone got an application form for Dragon's Den handy?

*Pregnancy hormones were at an all time peak