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 9 January 2014

53. Banoffee Pie

This was a bit of an unexpected bake which began life as something else! I'd finally got to the bottom of my second list with just a cheesecake to go, but unfortunately this particular one contains gelatine. Being a strict veggie makes me very reluctant to bake anything containing animal bits, so I bought a vegetarian equivalent and attempted to make it using that. What followed was a disaster: I had to discard the entire filling because when everything was combined, everything just kind of separated. There was no way we were eating that! I'm now faced with a dilemma: do I avoid the cheesecake altogether, or make it with gelatine and not try it? I feel like being militant and going for the first option.
Anyway, I had a lovely biscuit base to do something with, so a flash of inspiration took me to the Banoffee Pie page. I've made these before, and they're really easy, so it was a good last-minute substitute for the dessert promised to our visiting friends. Husband thought I should cheat and buy the ready-made caramel, but I'm not compromising the integrity of the project, so I used normal condensed milk and made my own. It was a bit nerve-wracking (is it done? is it over-done?) but it turned out ok and was nice and thick. I was a bit disappointed by the amount of biscuit: the last cheesecake I made had the same issue (I think I doubled the mixture for that one). In my opinion, the base is the best bit!
Desserts like this are like heart attacks on a plate and this wasn't an exception. I gave our friends enormous portions (which they soon gobbled down); me and husband could barely finish ours. The sickly factor soon kicked in and we actually gave them the leftovers to take home!
Baker's verdict: tasty and simple to make, but soooo sweet and sickly.
Husband rating: 8/10 - rich, lovely caramel, but 6/10 for the queasy after-effects.
 
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