A few months ago, gripped by baking fever, I purchased Mary Berry's Baking Bible. I quickly decided to embark upon a mission to bake everything in the book, and turn myself from an occasional baker into a bit of an expert. My Grandad Ern was a Master Baker by trade; the man responsible for introducing Danish Pastries to England in fact, and I wish it had occurred to me to spend more time learning from him, rather than simply enjoying the fruits of his effortless labours. This project is almost a way of making amends for that; I'd like to follow in his footsteps (if not in my career, at least as a hobby) and continue the proud heritage of baking in my family.
I credit my friend Rachel with the idea to write a blog about my baking exploits, hoping that there will be more successes than failures as I attempt all 213 of the Queen of Baking's recipes.
So as not to bore the husband with a monotonous diet of sponges, followed by weeks of biscuits, I've decided to tackle the recipes by selecting the first bake from each chapter, followed by the second recipe and so on. I'm not going to pick and choose; I'm determined to face my baking demons and learn how to do everything baking-related, even if the consequences are disastrous!
Everything will be photographed, with comment about how I found baking it, and a husband rating (to be taken with a pinch of salt as he has a very selective cake-tooth).


Thursday 8 November 2012

28. Melting Moments

Biscuit time again! These are somewhere between a cake and a biscuit to an extent: there's an egg yolk in them and they looked a bit like little flat sponges when they came out of the oven. There was a distinct 'merging' of the biscuits; 18 per baking tray did seem like a lot, and it's not like you can obtain/use giant baking sheets! These were very easy to make; I interpreted the 'few drops' of vanilla extract my way - what did I think would be needed to make them taste of vanilla? I used my nose as my guide. Making 36 equal-sized portions out of a big ball of dough is always a bit of a challenge, and I don't have much of a head for division. I split the mixture into two - one lump per tray and then worked from there. They were as close to equal in size as I could be bothered to get them! I flattened the biscuits out in the oats rather than rolling them in the oats as balls - none of the oats were sticking that way. It's always satisfying when you find something out for yourself. The biscuits soon baked, the ones on the top shelf a bit browner than the others, but not 'overdone' as far as my novice opinion goes. The paler ones were softer when we ate them, but had more of a biscuit 'snap' after storing for a day. I ran a knife between them while they were still soft to retain a bit of a shape to them - I feared there'd just be a pile of broken biscuits at the end of it if I left it until they'd cooled.
Baker's verdict: tasty, very very tasty. Buttery and light and very edible. Easy enough to make.
Husband rating: 8.75/10. Absolutely beautiful but didn't give them a 10 because they're quite simple. Very moreish. Preferred the ones which were under-baked as they were slightly chewy.
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