I love to bake I would say it is the one job in the kitchen that gives me the most pleasure.
If I’m feeling stressed over something, a cake is often the answer after all if I don’t feel better after baking it I can always eat it and that usually does the trick.
Cakes and scones often considered life’s little luxuries and one of the first things to go out the window when a budget is restricted. Yet I find them to be a pleasant way of stretching a meal for only a few pence. To have sandwiches followed by cake or scones leaves the family well fed and feeling like they have had a decent meal.
Scones are so simple to make and if people have any difficulty making them it is usually through one of two problems either they roll the mixture out to thinly or they over handle the dough.
Simple fairy cakes are the easiest of cakes to make and variations are so simple by adding dried fruit, drops of flavourings and even zest of citrus fruits. Decorating them can be elaborate or simple which ever you feel you skill level to be, letting the children make or decorate them is a great family activity. There are many people who put more filling in a muffin cake paper to make cup cakes, although technically there is really completely separate recipe for cup cakes mixture, many people prefer a larger individual cake and fancy decoration.
To make any cake in muffin cases I find using a medium sized ice cream scoop to measure the mixture into the cases creates the perfect sized cake.
I have a regular request when there are Scout or School fundraisers to make what I suppose has become my signature dish, carrot cakes. Originally made as a large cake I prefer to make them in muffin cases when making them to be sold as this is easier to cost and easier to sell. I like to be able to say how much it costs to make 1 cake so they can be sold at a few pence more than it costs to make, rather than giving them away at ridiculously cheap prices. I would rather donate the money directly and not bother making anything nice to sell.
A carrot cake for example will make either a 6” cake that can be cut into 10 comfortably or 12 muffin sized carrot cakes so it is easier to cost for fairs and fates and can even produce 2 more portions for a fundraiser.
I find baking is a good way of using up fruit that needs to be used up quickly adding to cake recipes such as my Carrot and Pineapple cake, Banana loaf even adding coconut milk to this make an even moister tea loaf, or in muffins.
For many, many years muffins seem to evade me until I discovered Rachel Allen’s 30 day muffin recipe, a great base for carrying all sorts of flavours and another way of increasing a fresh fruit intake. 5 a day is no problem in this household.
Click on the links below to find the recipe:
Banana loaf
Banana and coconut milk loaf
Fairy/cup cakes/butterfly cakes
