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 14 February 2019

111. Walnut Teabread

When deciding what to bake next, I discovered this recipe and had the happy realisation that I already had most of the ingredients in the cupboard; all I needed was the walnuts and the sugar. Initially, I thought I'd forgotten the butter, so asked husband to pick me some up, only to have another look at the recipe and discover butter doesn't feature. I did a double-take: a cake without butter? Was this a typo? I went along with it anyway, having faith that all would turn out as intended. For the first time in ages, Elizabeth assisted, and she enjoyed watching the ingredients melting in the pan and feeling the sugar dissolve - always a satisfying experience! The time it took us to sort out the remaining dry ingredients allowed enough time for the melted mixture to cool, but we were both surprised at how liquid the mixture was as I poured it into the tin. I was still sceptical about how this would turn out!
I continued my system of reducing the oven temperature by 10 degrees, and baked it at 150 for 1 hour - the maximum time Mary suggests. It rose beautifully and smelt delicious. We initially tried some of it warm, and weren't keen; it was a peculiar bouncy texture, but once it had firmed up a bit and was spread with butter, it was really tasty and satisfying, and was still good several days later.
Baker's verdict: easy to make and very enjoyable to eat. I'd definitely make this again.



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