The weekend is a perfect time to do a little baking. After watching the Great British Bake Off on Wednesday, I’m also inspired to do some weekend baking. Sometimes, I even want to try the difficult and obscure technical challenges.

Today we’re also pretty much half way between last Wednesday’s Bake Off semin-finals and next Wednesday’s finale. Last week I was sad to see Flora go, but I think the final three are the best choices. Tamal has been pretty good and I think a little under appreciated. Ian has been interesting and consistent and won a lot. And then Nadiya is just my absolute favorite. She’s creative, endearing, hilarious, and passionate about her work. I’m team Nadiya all the way. Who are you rooting for?

Next Wednesday is the finals. I’m crazy excited but also sad that it will be over. I will miss Nadiya’s facial expressions. Paul’s piercing blue stare and his serious hand shakes. I’ll miss Mary trying to be positive when Paul is too harsh. I will miss all the drama over cakes. What will I do on Wednesday nights?! But really, I love Bake Off because afterward I always want to bake something afterwards. I’m always inspired to push myself and try some different and challenging bakes.

So, in the spirit of taking on new baking challenges I’ve created a list of 5 must-haves for star bakers. Or, aspiring star bakers. There are tons and tons of things you might need or want for baking but I’ve chosen 5 things to help you take on your baking challenges. A few items I picked will help you kick your baking up a notch and a few items are just super cute and will get you into the spirit of being in the tent.

1. Digital Scale

I grew up using volume measurements but weight is really the way to go. If you want a cup of flour you can significantly different amounts if you scoop and sweep versus if you spoon and sweep. Weight is going to be the same every time so you will have consistent cakes to impress Mary and Paul. This OXO Good Grips Food Scale (£45) with pull out display is sweet. You can measure in ounces and grams, you can reset to zero as you go, and the display pulls out so you can still see if your bowl is big.

2. Digital Instant Read Thermometer

I have been lusting after the Thermapen (£36) for awhile. It’s a quick reading digital thermometer with a big display for easy reading. I currently have an analog thermometer and it’s such a pain. The Thermapen is ideal. It is easy to read and measures quickly so you won’t worry things are burning as you’re taking the temperature. This is going to help you have perfectly tempered chocolate and create beautiful sugar work.

3. Mixing Bowl

A large mixing bowl is a must for baking! You can choose from all kinds of materials like plastic, glass, ceramic, or stainless steel. I’m a big fan of this Mason Cash Cream Mixing Bowl with Fox Pattern (£20). I first saw it when Ryan and I were in Brighton and I thought it was so cute. Good for baking or even for a fruit bowl. Also, foxes feel very English to me – I think because there are wild foxes here in London.

4. Silicone Spatula

Like the mixing bowl, this is a basic baking item. It’s useful for mixing, folding, and scraping the bowl – all without scratching your tools. Any kind will do, but the Farberware Keep Calm and Carry On Spatula (£5) is cute and references a well known British quote.

5. A Cake Stand

When I first watched Bake Off I was shocked that the winner’s prize is a bouquet of flowers and an engraved cake stand. No money?! No endorsements?! No gadgets?! But I actually really like it because it’s clear the contestants are there mainly because of their great passion for baking and not for the exposure or glory. A cake stand is important not only so you can feel like a star baker, but it helps make your bakes look more special and beautiful. I love this Milk Glass Cake Stand from Roche Studio Vintage on Etsy (£81). It’s beautiful and special but not too flashy that it would take away from what you’ve made.

Hope you’re feeling inspired to do some baking this weekend! And enjoy the Great British Bake Off finale on 7 October at 20:00 GMT.

The post 5 Must-Haves for Star Bakers appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

Since returning back to London from the holidays in Colorado and Connecticut, I’ve been on a bit of a healthy eating kick. I would say I’ve been doing a good job – in part because when my groceries were delivered, the guy said, “you ordered a lot of vegetables.” So if he’s impressed with the amount of veg I’ve been eating, I must be eating a lot. But even so, I just can’t resist desserts because they are my favorite thing to eat and make.

While I was in the US my DVR recorded all of season 4 of the Great British Bake Off. That means when I got home, I indulged in watching so many beautiful cakes, pies, cookies, being made. The show always inspires me to get in the kitchen and bake. One of the things I like best about Bake Off is the segment they do on historical and traditional British baked goods. I was particularly won over by the bit they did on Tottenham Cake. 

This cake was invented by Quakers who lived in Tottenham, in north London. One of the dorkiest things I might ever say, is that I’m in to Quakers. Growing up I went to a Friends School (a Quaker school) for 11 years. I’m not a Quaker, I’m not even religious, but the experience has stuck with me. As a kid, sitting in silence during Meeting (the Quaker religious ceremony) was really challenging, but as a teenager stressed about friends, boys, and college it was nice to have a place for quiet reflection. Quakers also value simplicity and equality. I find that simplicity has stuck with me somewhat when it comes to my wardrobe. In school the dress code meant to reflect simplicity, and didn’t allow us to wear a number of things, but what I remember most is that we couldn’t wear shirts with pictures on the front or crazy patterns. To this day, the majority of my shirts are solid colored. I have a Star Wars shirts and a few Washington Nationals shirts, but beyond that I always shop for solids.

Anyway, I have a soft spot for Quakerism. In some ways, Tottenham cake reflects Quaker values of simplicity and equality. The cake requires just five ingredients to make and the icing needs only two. It’s a really straightforward recipe with ingredients that everyone has. Also, it is meant to show equality. As a tray bake it is easy to cut up lots of pieces so everyone can have one. Originally, the bakers sold this cake for 1 penny and off-cuts for half that. The cake would have been available to pretty much anyone.

The pink icing is what makes Tottenham cake. Originally the pink was made from mulberries that were picked just outside the bakery. I’m not sure I’ve ever even seen a mulberry, or mulberry juice, so today people use pink food coloring or black currant juice. I found black currant juice easily here in the UK, but in the US I’m not sure that would be so easy. I bet you could use any similar dark red colored juice if you want that hint of berry flavor.

If you’re like me and thinking of breaking your health kick, then this cake might be right for you. It’s easy to make and will give your sugar fix. Then, it’s perfect to take around to friends or coworkers so you don’t eat it all yourself.

Adapted, just slightly, from Bake With Me Blog.

Messy level: Two spoons. I think most cakes are three spoon recipes at least because you ordinarily need two bowls and there’s so much flour that gets everywhere! For this, you’ll need two bowls, one for the cake and one of the icing, and your baking tray. Easy! Also the icing isn’t too messy because you’re only doing the top of the cake.

Tottenham Cake

 

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Author: Bake With Me Blog

Serves: 12

Ingredients

Cake

• 6 oz/150g/12 tablespoons of softened unsalted butter
• 6 oz/150g/ ¾ cup caster sugar (in the US just use granulated)
• 6 oz/150g/ 1½ cups self-rising flour
• 3 eggs
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing

• 5oz/125g/1 heaping cup confectioners sugar
• 30 ml/ 5 teaspoons, water/black currant juice
• pink food coloring (only needed if you use water instead of juice)

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350º/180ºC.
2. Line an 8"x8" square tin with parchment paper, then grease that with a bit of butter.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on high, cream together the butter and sugar until it becomes a light and fluffy. This takes about 2 minutes, but you may need to clear your beaters intermittently to make sure everything gets mixed.
4. Add the vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Mix until combined.
5. Turn your mixer to low or medium-low and beat in the eggs, one at a time.
6. Once the eggs are mixed, turn the mixer to low and add in the flour all at once. Mix until just combined. It's ok if you have a few lumps!
7. Pour the batter into your prepared tin. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes. The cake is done with you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.
8. Let the cake cool.
9. While the cake is cooling prepare the icing. In a medium bowl, add the confectioners sugar. One teaspoon at a time add the blackcurrant juice or water and just a bit of food coloring. Mix in between each teaspoon. Keep adding liquid until your icing looks like proper frosting and is thick enough to spread but not so thick it would rip up the cake when you spread it on. (Note: you may not need all the liquid or you may need more, just mix until it feels right to you. If it gets to drippy, then add more sugar)
10. Let the icing sit for a minute it will harden and get shiny.
11. Cut the cake into squares and serve.

3.2.2925

The post Tottenham Cake appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

But my most impressive braid is this bread!! I am so absolutely proud of it and I’m excited to share it with you. I got this recipe from The Great British Bake Off: How to Bake. I might have mentioned it before, but I’ve become a big fan of the TV show The Great British Bake Off. After every episode I always want to get in the kitchen and make something. So recently I went to the library and checked out the book and went on a baking spree trying out all kinds of things – and the more
complicated the better. 

This bread is just beautiful to look at and so hearty and tasty. The nuts give it a good crunch, the apricots add sweetness, and the whole wheat makes you feel you’re doing something good for yourself. I don’t have a lot of experience with bread, and this came out really nice, so don’t feel intimidated if you choose to try it. I do have two recommendations though.

First, the recipe called for putting a milk wash on the dough before baking it, presumably to make it shiny. Next time, I wouldn’t do this. It makes the bread get dark more quickly and made me nervous about whether the bread was burnt or done or what. Also, I’d knead the dough by hand. I used my mixer and with a mixer it is easy to over work the dough. And, since I don’t have a lot of experience with bread, I don’t have an eye for it, and wasn’t entirely sure when it was sufficiently kneaded. Luckily, I didn’t over work it. But in summation, until I’m an expert bread maker I intend to knead by hand so I can learn it by look and feel.

And now behold my beautiful bread braid. Adapted from The Great British Bake Off: How to Bake. Please note that the measurements in grams are most accurate and for bread that is important. Go with those if you can! The measurements in ounces are my converted approximations.

Ingredients:

100g/3.5oz/.4 cup hazelnuts (If you can buy some skins off then you can skip the first few steps)

500g/17.6 oz/4 cups whole wheat bread flour

1 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes, crushed

7g/.25 oz/1.2 tsp active dry yeast

1 tbsp honey

300ml/1 1/4 cups/10.5 oz lukewarm milk

100g/3.5oz/.4 cup dried apricots

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF.

2. Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until the skins darken.

3. Remove the hazelnuts from the oven. Turn the oven off. Wrap them hazelnuts in a dishtowel and leave them to steam for 1 minute. Rub the hazelnuts in the dishtowel to rub the skins off.

4. Cut the hazelnuts in half. Set aside.

5. Cut the apricots in quarters. This is easiest to do with kitchen scissors.

6. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Make a well in the center. 

7. Mix the honey into the milk.

8. Pour the honey-milk into the flour well.

9. Using your hand, or the dough hook on low on your mixer, mix the flour and milk until you have a soft dough. If it feels dry and there are lots of crumbs, add a little more milk one tablespoon at a time. If it is very wet and sticky, add a little more flour one tablespoon at a time.

10. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for 10 minutes. Or knead for 4 minutes using the dough hook on low on your mixer. The dough is ready when it feels very elastic. This can be hard to tell because whole wheat can get firm as it is worked. You want to be able to pull the dough apart and have it stretch a little like putty – not just rip in half.

11. Add the hazelnuts and apricots. Gently work into the dough until evenly distributed. It will seem like too much nuts and apricots but it isn’t. As the dough rises later it will all work out.

12. Put the dough back into the large mixing bowl (so long as it isn’t all dirty). Cover with plastic wrap. Leave it to rise in a warm place for one hour or until doubled in size. It might take longer than an hour if your kitchen is cool.

13. Punch down the dough and then put it on a floured work surface. Divide into three equal portions (I did this on a scale).

14. Using your hand, roll each third of dough into a long rope about 16 inches long.

15. Pinch one end of each strand together. Then neatly braid the three strands. Pinch the ends together and tuck them under.

16. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Put the braided dough on the baking sheet.

17. Put the dough into a large plastic bag, or cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise for an hour. Don’t let it get too big or it could loose the braid shape.

18. Towards the end of rising time, heat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF.

19. Uncover the loaf and bake for 30 minutes. It is done when it is darker brown and the loaf sounds hollow when you tap/knock on the underside.

20. Cool on a wire rack. Then cut and serve!

Messy level: Overall, this isn’t too messy of a recipe. The dough is easy to work with and doesn’t stick too much. But, getting the skin off of hazelnuts is frustratingly messy. No matter how hard the skins get all over the towel, the counter, and on the floor as I try to put the skins in the trashcan. Also, flouring the counter repeatedly led to a lot of scrubbing from me. Still, you won’t have a lot of dishes or anything at the end so that is pretty nice.

The post Hazelnut Apricot Whole Wheat Bread appeared first on Cooking is Messy.