A little of what you fancy does you good - Cake!

This is going to be my Baking Blog.  I am not 100% sure how these blog pages work.  I would like to create this to be my Baking post and then when I do more baking I will add more to this actual blog... think of it as a little experiment!

For me baking is a real tonic.  I like good food and I have to admit as a working mother some days I cannot be bothered to cook and go for the quick and easy route.  As a family we are very lucky we have fresh produce everyday and we tend to cook from scratch.  Nat and I enjoy our time in the kitchen.  Often it is Nat that puts music on and dances whilst I am pulling serious faces at her and she tries to get me to dance with her in the kitchen which means a simple meal can end up taking 3 hours to cook!

It is known that baking and cooking lifts depression and eases stress levels ... for some that is not the case, which is a shame.  I know when I have time and I fancy being creative, this is a great thing to do!!

Baking is an experience we can enjoy and it encourages us to get back in touch with our senses – and in particular with the sense of smell – can reawaken happy memories of early childhood, of feeling looked after, cared for and safe. Smell is the first way we recognised our loved ones, so a particular smell may even bring to mind memories that were embedded before we knew language; memories we didn’t realise we possessed.

I have very fond memories of baking.  I used to go and stay with my Nanny for odd weekends while my parents worked.  My Nanny was a phenomenal baker, I often tell people about what she used to make and how she would not use bowls or measuring equipment.  Before I went home on a Sunday morning, Nanny and I would make some shortbread for my mum and we would mirror each other.  I would work on one counter and she would work on another and I would copy her.  She would make the shortbread on the worktop itself and I remember being fascinated by this.   The shortbread would come out of the oven and she would send me to Tesco to get some fromage frais to have with it so I could take it home for my mum.  My Nanny also used to make danish pastries, apple pies, blackberry jam, biscuits (that she would post to me right up to a few years ago).  She would also make the most amazing roast beef, Sheppard pie, cauliflower cheese and lentil soup with homemade rolls.  When I think about this.  I realise how lucky I am to have memories like this.  Not everyone does.

My lovely Nanny on the left with my Mum and my daughter X

I am lucky that my two daughters like baking too.  We often make cookies or cakes on a weekend afternoon ... Miss F enjoys the measuring and making process and Miss L prefers the decorating part. I enjoy these moment as these are moments that my daughters will remember  ... and take into their adulthood.  The exciting part is Miss F wants to be more independent in her cooking and has started baking by herself and will cook simple meals for the family such as spag bol (veggie of course).  

The act of baking is a process.  It takes time to read a recipe, gather the ingredients, mix the dough, let it rise, shape it, and then bake what we’ve created. That’s how humans are designed to operate – to understand what they’re doing, step by step and creating something from a few ingredients.  I do this by going onto Pinterest and looking at what is on there and creating boards for me to refer back to when I want to try something new.

Thanks again for reading this.  Speak soon, Love F x