Pages

Friday, July 1, 2011

My-Baking-Baby Steps- Please recommend a Baking Recipe

Anyone who has added me as a friend on FB would know my Baking woes, I have updated it there often enough. I could always say, you win some you loose some n' just quit trying. But I just couldn't do that. I have almost never had a craving for sweets, cakes or cookies. But Rj is a die hard fan of anything sweet, he has the mother of all sweet tooth so to speak...lol..;)

So anyways, truth be told, i'm scared of baking. I have had so many of my baking efforts flop on me in the last 2months. Yet I see so many people doing it effortlessly n' successfully. If you have faced baking problems like me, you will know how irksome it really is. Do you guyz remember, Arundhuti from My Saffron Kitchen, gave me this book, Sanjeev Kapoor's Cakes and Bakes. It's a really nice book, but I still managed to goof up. If you have gone through my blog, you will know how big a Sanjeev Kapoor Recipes fan I'm. Along with Aru, I also, wanted to give a special thanks to Namitha from Collaborative Curry n' Maria from Maria's Menu too, who have listened to me patiently and answered my queries, whenever I have talked to them about baking. :) Ria from Ria's Collection was telling me yesterday, to go easy on myself and to relax and try again after a while to find my baking mojo back. But I was scared what if I loose track n' loose my steam. So she has recommended a few of her simple cakes recipes for me to try out. :) Thank you so much gal.

Madhuri from cookcurrynook, another established Baker like the others I have mentioned here, is a really good friend now. She takes bulk orders for baking, (how awesome is that, right?) knows so many digs in and around Bangalore where you can go pick up baking goodies n she is on first name basis with so many renowned chefs. ;) That's how cool she is. We attended this 'Active Foods' workshop in Taj Gateway Hotel, Bangalore organised by Food Lovers Magazine. It was an awesome experience and Chef Naren Thimmaiah shared with us a lot of tips and recipes on healthy cooking. I had a wonderful experience, all thanks to Madhuri (who told me about it in the first place) and Food Lovers Magazine. :)

Coming back to the topic of baking, Chef Naren served us a Molten Chocolate Souffle with a Florida Orange Reduction. It was divine, to say the least. Sitting there I said to myself, thats what I will try first. I promptly tried it. It flopped on me, literally. It rose well enough in the oven, but 5mins after taking it out from the oven, it shrank to half its original size and tasted bad. :(...Here is a picture, just so you can get an idea. I also tried a Red Velvet Cake recently, it turned out as hard as those Red Angry Birds from the game Angry Birds....:( I tried a sponge cake to make Jam Rolls n it rose n' rose while baking in the cake tin n' had this smell of eggs after baking...eeks.. It was horrible. Let's me not say anything more. But anyways you get the picture. Having said that I should also say, I have successfully baked, a simple chocolate cake, a Marble Cake, a Chocolate Carrot Cake, a Banana Bread n' a Chocolate Mud Cake before.


Photobucket



Photobucket



The contradictory part about this is the fact that the first time I baked, I was in my 8th Std in school. I used to make Butter cookies, learnt from a summer holiday workshop my mom sent me to. My grandmom, her sister n' one of my aunts are all really good at baking. I still remember how proud my ammachi was when the butter cookies I baked turned out well. I used to have fun distributing them too. :).But after that, I don't think I baked anything till we went to Bahrain. I have been told on countless occasions that practice is key in baking n' also follow the recipe to the last drop of the batter.

This post is dedicated to me and my Baking Efforts. I have decided I need to conquer this worry I have about Baking. This July, I'm planning to challenge myself and try to bake something or the other over the coming 2-3 weeks, lets say 4weeks. More like a baking class for myself, where the cook and the student is one n' the same. :) I realize this post is too long, so i'm highlighting this para for you. It would mean a lot to me, if you could recommend an easy but yummy baking recipe from your blog (sweet or savoury) to help me get better at baking. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say. :)

19 comments:

  1. This is such a sweet post, Miriam! Thank you so much!

    Don't worry, you are going to get your mojo back! I think you already did :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Miri, keep practicing...soon u'll be baking wonderful goodies...:)

    Here are two links to some easy baking, a vanilla cake and a choco cherry muffin recipe..hope u'll like these...:)

    Vanilla Sponge Cake

    Chocolate Cherry Muffins

    All the best!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You are so sweet :-)Thanks for the mention !
    As you have already realized, muffins are a breeze to bake :-)
    There are more than about 10 muffin recipes in Collaborative Curry :-)If you would like to bake some cookies, I recommend "melting moments",Oatmeal raisin and Short bread cookies.
    If you need any help, I'm always here :-)Good luck !

    ReplyDelete
  4. Miri, dont worry. everythign would be perfect soon. I believe baking is more an science than art, its always better to know your ingredients and how they react with other stuffs. I tried to know how they are used and in what proportions etc. it took me 3 attempts to get my cookies right for the first time and since then am confident.
    check out sunitabhuyan.com she has some amazing recipes which you can try without worries.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey,
    Very don't worry ...just before baking, think no one other than you is perfect...and try again....even the experts make mistakes....but I appreciate you for your patience and trying hard. Try easy recipes which does not exhaust you and then go for the basics..that should work! :))

    ReplyDelete
  6. Miri these look delicious and practice makes it perfect :)
    check out my site for some ideas as well would love to be of help in your adventure
    regards
    Akheela

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thats a beautiful post dear, dont worry at all, u will be rocking soon with ur bakes..You have loads of patience and am damn sure u gonna be a wonderful baker soon..

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thought I have attended baking classes ,I never bothered to bake any cakes or muffins at home as nobody in my house have any cravings for cakes or cookies and I am also such a health freak that I never eat bakery products. But after I started blogging ,things changed not because I developed any liking for cakes but because I did not want my blog to lag behind .I watched lot of TV shows and saw videos on baking. The banana muffins and brownies in my website was tried after watching a TV show by a very famous culinary expert.Don't give up. Baking is very easy and fun.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dont be too hard on urself miri...Relax & be calm when u start baking..Worrying if it will turn out alright makes u stressful...I too was in ur position earlier but now after many attempts, I can just about breeze through simple cakes & cookies..Watching cookery shows on television helped me a lot..Rachel allen, Nigella, Australia Masterchef to name a few..Main thing is to enjoy the entire process than worrying..Eventually it just HAS to turn out fine...right?? U can check out my latest post, a cake made by my & it was her first attempt at baking cum cooking! Its an easy recipe to start with..Good luck miri :)
    Prathima Rao
    Prats Corner

    ReplyDelete
  11. Well Miri there are so many things which we keep learning in our life...nobody learns to write a sentence without learning ABC....we all have started at some point or the other and after mnay attempts have been baking well ...so don't give up just keep on trying ...ull find urself being perfect one day :)
    Thanks so much for visiting my space u have such lovely blog with so nice collection of recipes keep it going ...All the best!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for the explanation, Miri. Now I know what pani puri are. (They looked so tasty and interesting!) Good luck with the baking! I'll be watching!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am sure you'll get your mojo back. Baking is pretty scientific and you first need to be familiar with your oven because each oven has a mind of it's own. Try different combinations, and remember to make a note of what worked the best.Importantly, don't give up. Make a smaller cake, half recipe, so you don't feel too bad if things fail. Maybe you can try this recipe. http://www.passionateaboutbaking.com/2010/09/baking-chocolate-buttermilk-pound-cake-change-is-the-only-constant.html
    It's one of my favourites and works with a number of different flavour combinations.
    Good luck, and I know you'll come out a winner!

    ReplyDelete
  14. miri...im gonna be honest here..baking is difficult to say the least...and you need incredible amounts of patience... I know because i have had so so so so many disastrous results and still continue to do so. If you dont know what folding is, you just wont get it right, if you dont know how to whip egg whites till they hold a certain shape (which btw i still dont know), it screws up your sponge cake, if you dont know what beating the egg yolk till it doubles in size u are again screwed. I dont know any of these techniques and i end up throwing it all in the bin. If it was any other cooking aspect i would have given up long back. But i like baking and more so like eating baked goodies:) so i keep trying.
    In a way its good that so many of my stuff doesnt come out great cos i wont have 2 eat all tht buttery high cal stuff ..so i console myself saying so. All i can say is, follow the recipe 2 the dot..procedure tho, watch a video of what consistencies look like and that could help ya.
    dont fret so much over baking miri...screw ups are part of life (ok now im sounding really philosophical) :)
    btw did i tell u i have retorted back 2 betty crocker mixes...have fallen in love with them all over again..wonder y i was slogging it out all the while :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Miri,
    When (and if) you glance at my blog you'll see I bake a lot of savory stuff... I do like to make cakes - but I usually buy a box mix and then frost it as I like - I like Betty crocker and duncan hines... bake from a box and frost your self and dont be too hard on yourself... there are a lot of things tht can go wrong - from baking powder to oil to flour lumps... I make cookies often and yet sometimes one batch turns out different from the other - sometimes i figure it out sometimes its a mystery...
    That being said here are a few recipes you might like and they are super simple...
    http://cookingfoodie.blogspot.com/2011/05/scalloped-tomatoes.html
    http://cookingfoodie.blogspot.com/2009/12/crustless-spinach-and-feta-mini-quiche.html
    http://cookingfoodie.blogspot.com/2010/04/persian-vegetable-omelette.html
    http://cookingfoodie.blogspot.com/2011/01/eggless-brownies.html
    http://cookingfoodie.blogspot.com/2011/04/triple-chocolate-cookies-eggless.html
    http://cookingfoodie.blogspot.com/2010/04/eggplant-parmesan.html

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hai come on... you can do this... Try these
    http://atastychallenge.blogspot.com/2011/06/carrot-and-date-cake.html
    http://atastychallenge.blogspot.com/2011/01/coconut-cake-cup-cake-with-cream-cheese.html
    Red Velvet is my sons favorite specially with its Cream Cheese frosting...
    http://atastychallenge.blogspot.com/2010/06/red-velvet-cake-with-cream-cheese.html
    All the best....

    ReplyDelete
  17. Deepa from Hamaree Rasoi says...(i had to delete the comment Deepa herself posted, coz there was a lot of blank area both above n' beneath the comment she had left....i'm sorry.)

    Don't worry about not so perfect outcomes dear. just keep baking. When I bake I just stick to the original measurements.
    If you want you can try these few easy baking recipes
    1) Butter cookies-http://hamareerasoi.blogspot.com/2011/06/nankhatai-butter-cookies-without-egg.html
    2) Replica of Hide n Seek biscuits -http://hamareerasoi.blogspot.com/2011/03/replica-of-hide-seek-biscuit.html
    3) Chocolate cupcakes with Nutella topping-
    http://hamareerasoi.blogspot.com/2010/08/chocolate-cupcakes-with-nutella-topping.html

    ReplyDelete
  18. Maria from Maria's Menu could not post a comment here, but sent me a mail with her recommended recipes....please click on the below links....
    Chocolate Chip Cookies http://www.mariasmenu.com/snacks-starters/chocolate-chip-cookies
    Her Moist Butter Cake Recipe http://www.mariasmenu.com/cake/butter-cake
    Vanilla Cupcakes http://www.mariasmenu.com/desserts/eggless-vanilla-cupcake-with-chocolate-frosting
    Super Moist Chocolate Cake http://www.mariasmenu.com/desserts/ultra-moist-chocolate-cake
    thank u so much Maria...:)

    ReplyDelete
  19. I just saw that I haven't mentioned the recipes Ria from Ria's Collection had recommended, so I thought its better if I mention them here for my reference. She recommends her
    Pineapple Upside Down Cake http://riascollection.blogspot.com/2009/04/tribute-to-60s-pineapple-upside-down.html
    Finnegans Chocolate Cake http://riascollection.blogspot.com/2010/06/finnegans-chocolate-cakefor-me-from-him.html

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails