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).


Sunday, 25 June 2017

101. Cherry Loaf Cake

I decided to make this as a bit of a Fathers' Day treat for my dad, who, as I've mentioned before, loves cherries in cakes. It also contains ground almonds, for that bakewell flavour he likes. Aside from the initial fiddling about rinsing and drying the cherries, it was a very straightforward bake. I decided to use the tried and tested method of putting some flour in with the cherries to help them to stop sinking to the bottom of the cake, and this worked well. I tested the cake ahead of time with a skewer to make sure I didn't over-bake it, but it did turn out a bit dry. This may have been because of it being a hot day and it being left out on the side for longer than it needed perhaps, but it wasn't excessively dry.
Baker's verdict: easy to make; quite like madeira cake with cherries added. Could do with more of an almond flavour, so I might put some almond extract/essence in next time.
Husband rating: 8/10 - good flavoured sponge; the cherries made a nice addition and were very evenly spread. Nice texture when you bite into them.
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