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).


Monday 21 April 2014

59. Mississippi Mud Pie

This bake is on my current list; another one which required some kind of occasion, on the basis that me and Joe couldn't possibly get through this unaided, nor could I really take the leftovers into work. So, some visiting friends were treated to this heart attack on a plate, and very nice it was too. I'd never had 'proper' Mississippi Mud Pie before, so was curious to see what it would be like. I'm seldom disappointed by anything chocolate-related, so was fairly sure it'd be a winner. It started well, with a digestive biscuit base, and certainly did turn out to be a bit cheescakey, without the cheese. The filling was basically oodles of dark chocolate, butter, cream and 5 whole eggs. There will have been more, but that's sufficient to demonstrate how rich and calorific this bake is! It was really easy to make; a surprise ingredient of some instant coffee made the flavour quite interesting and not to everyone's taste, I'd imagine. I found it diminished after the first mouthful.
The pie really slumped once removed from the oven, and actually looked quite a deflated, sorry mess until I put the cream on top. I over-whipped the cream, so it still didn't look aesthetically appealing until I chucked some chocolate flakes at it. Only then did it really look passable as an appetising dessert. I kept it chilled in the fridge until serving, and it was very easy to slice and lovely and firm. It would probably be tastier if it was out of the fridge for a spell though.
Baker's verdict: easy to make and very tasty. I'd try it without the coffee next time, though.
Husband rating: 8/10 - first mouthful was a bit too coffee-ish, but then as it went on you didn't really notice the coffee, and it was a lovely, indulgent, rich chocolatey thing.
 
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