Baking Heroes

I love to bake. No surprises there! I have been baking since I was a small child, sitting on the windowsill watching and 'helping' my Mum as she made cakes, tarts, scones and buns ready for Sunday afternoon tea. I'd like to share with you three of my baking heroes that inspire, motivate & make things easier.

My first baking hero is of course my lovely Mum who led me on my first baking experience.  Like so many of us my first bake was fairy cakes. The best bit being the obligatory licking out of the bowl before I ran off to play with ‘My Little Ponies’ whilst Mum washed up. One of my earliest school memories is coming home on a Friday after swimming (feeling ravenous) to my home filled with the aromas of baking: scones, tea breads, tray bakes. "Can I have one? Please?" "They're for Sunday tea." Oh the pain of having to wait as the baked goodies cooled on the windowsill. But, every Sunday it was worth the wait. The scones were warmed, the tea loaf had matured and developed in depth of flavour and the tray bakes had sustained their moistness. Yum.

An old favouite

My octogenarian Grandma is another hero and at 88 she is still baking and rustling up cakes, buns (always buns, never cupcakes!) and pies for when the family visits. She creates the flakiest of pastry and I am more than thankful that her cold hands have passed onto me. Cold hands make good pastry! She also introduced me to Mary Berry and one of my faithful books is one that my Grandma and late Grandad gave me, dated inside as Xmas 1996. Fifteen years on I still go for the same recipe book that by now has pages stuck together and flops opens at the favourite recipes (lemon drizzle & cheese scone round). It is still the book I go to try something new- my first pavlova I recently made and profiteroles that I hadn't made for about 13 years but knew the recipe came from this book!

The beauty that is my k-Mix

My final and most recent hero is not a person but my k-Mix. It is amazing and makes such a difference to my baking life! Before I got my mixer I had been using a Dualit hand held whisk for several years and I loved it. After baking more and more often my husband did the deed and purchased my mixer for me for Christmas- what a surprise! Quick as a flash it was taken out of the box, instructions (briefly) read, bowl and k-beater washed and American pancakes were rustled up to accompany the streaky bacon & maple syrup. Straight away I was converted. Now, I can be creaming butter and sugar together whilst weighing out the flour. Or making butter icing and leaving it to beat for 5 minutes knowing that the fluffiest frosting will be made ready to pipe onto cupcakes. I have the space to have the mixer out all the time and it is a stylish feature to my kitchen and, above all a gadget that is frequently used! Why choose a k-Mix over a Kitchenaid? The price wasn't the overriding factor, yes, k-Mixers are cheaper and some might prefer the design of the Kitchenaid but not me. My mum and Grandma have both had a Kenwood mixer for 30 and 40 years and they still get them out to use today. Design and longevity was the key for me. I love the design of the K-Mix, the fact that everyone else seems to have Kitchenaids puts me off a little too! I have never used a Kitchenaid or other brand so can't compare how they work. I love the idea of using my k-Mix when I'm old(er) and grey(er) rustling up family favourites. And yes, I will be making my family wait till Sunday tea time before they can eat them. Some things you just can't change.