Wednesday 2 November 2011

Making Winter : baking

Aaah, it's all so idyllic - pottering round with the ingredients, happily sifting flour*, enjoying the warm smell of baking drifting through the house. So cosy, so familiar..


.. so disastrous.

I do like baking but sometimes it Just Goes Wrong, and that's what happened today. The recipe was for banana bread, which I'm not that keen on really, but I had some bananas going mushy and I thought the kids might like it. I'm not sure what happened - it was looking fine on the top, and the skewer came out clean but when I took it out of the tin the middle was mushy and the bottom third was glued to the tin. I bunged it back in the oven for a bit longer on the off-chance, but it didn't really work out. I'm not too worried - at least it wasn't my Christmas cake! I'm planning on doing that next week and I would cry if that went wrong! I'm not sure I can be bothered trying the banana bread again, though I think that was what my brother baked a lot of last year and his was fine. Maybe I should get his recipe.

Still, the house is full of baking smells, could be worse!

* Apparently some people hate sifting flour and icing sugar and begrudge the time it takes - it's my favourite bit of the whole process! I sift even when I don't have to just because I like it!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, sometimes it just turns out like that, doesn't it?
What recipe do you use for your Christmas cake? I'm thinking I should finally make one, it is after all my favouritest cake ever.

Unknown said...

Gaaah, hate it when that happens!! Sometimes the baking gods just do not play ball! Best of luck with the Christmas cake, I'm hoping my mum might make ours. xx

Scented Sweetpeas said...

Bet it still tasted good though :-) I have burnt a boiled egg before if that makes you feel any better. x

Peeriemoot said...

Ms Woodsmoke, I use a Sue Lawrence recipe for my Christmas cake, slightly tweaked. If I can't find it on online I'll post it in my blog. Did you have any of Ben's cake last year? That's an excellent recipe too.

Belinda, so right about the baking gods - I think they deserted me! I'll have to offer a libation next time :-D.

Sweetpeas - it was so bad I had to chuck it!

Anonymous said...

Recipe would be great, otherwise I will probably resort to Be-Ro book. I have done all varieties of non-traditional ones (mincemeat cake, Nigella's one with the marzipan inside it) which are quite marvellous but I want the real thing!