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| I couldn't resist taking a picture of the beautiful blueberries I had for breakfast the other day. |
I've been baking for twenty years or so. I started with sugar cookies, and moved on to pies. One thing I've never baked though is a cake. Sure, I've used boxed mixes, with mixed results, but I've never done one from scratch. (except for a Scottish Sultana cake...but that's more of a coffee cake).
We're having a little lunchtime party for my friend's birthday tomorrow, and I get to make the cake! Using the most gourmet recipe I know of, from the Eat, Shrink, and be Merry cook book. I was quite nervous about trying to make a cake with two bouncy preschoolers in the house, but I manged to get all three layers baked with none falling! I'm quite happy with how the baking turned out! I'll do the frosting tomorrow morning. That's the part I had trouble with for Juliana's first birthday cake, and the reason why she ended up with a Dairy Queen cake instead. Wish me luck! I'll post a final picture of the cake, good or bad, tomorrow.
I was updating my Facebook page as I baked, and a friend told me something I never knew about baking. Did you know that all ingredients should be at room temperature before being mixed together? How have I not learned this sometime in the past twenty years?
I'd love to hear some more baking tips! Please share your favourites in the comments!
Hi, great post. I love baking too and continue to learn new things,hopefully im getting better too. had fair few disaters. hope you're happy with your cake.
ReplyDeleteLove blueberries so tasty and healthy .
xnicki
nicki fannings blogspot
That's a big step, Jo. Well done. And your friend is right - especially the eggs and butter. If the eggs are too cold they won't whip as well. The key to a light cake is blending the eggs and butter really well untill they are a pale yellow colour and very velvety. Of course if you used the Eat, Shrink & Be Merry recipe there probably wasn't butter......but whatever "fat" they used, blend it very well. Can't wait to see the finished product!!
ReplyDeleteI love baking too. I've heard the tip about all ingredients at room temperature, but I've never followed that. :) I do follow the "whip sugar and butter very well" rule for whatever I'm baking. Can't wait to see the finished cake! :)
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ReplyDeleteI just found your blog while putting together my most recent post called Rules for Novice Bakers. You should check it out!
ReplyDeleteI think a blueberry cake is the next thing I'm trying to tackle - hope the final turned out well!
~Brynn from http://brynncody.blogspot.com/2012/08/novice-baking-rules.html