Have Your Cake, And Eat It

Baking is one of my passions in life. Watching a pasty mixture turn golden brown and mellow is one of the most satisfying things. But when your passion adds more weight to your middle than your life, it was inevitable that I would go on a cake detox.

It, however, wasn't really by choice. When I moved to uni, I envisaged baking thousands of things to share with my flatmates. But, on seeing the size, and later, the state, of our kitchen, I decided otherwise and indulged on victoria sponges made by Marks and Spencer and cookies of volumes larger than the whole nation of America would consume.

When your kitchen looks as 'clean' as your desk on a daily basis, nothing is getting done!!

Writing, then, took over. I've always loved writing and it is passion equal to my love of baking. Baking and writing should strike quite a nice balance. When you don't write, bake. And when you don't bake, write. But I've found it that much harder to do than say it.

I'm tight. I can't deny it. I try to save my money in all areas I can, and so the last thing I want to be doing is spending my student loan on flour and sugar - although I wish I did. I've gotten better at spending (and I still manage to save!) so hopefully next year should see some more baking creations.

Writing takes alot of time, but I've decided to dedicate more time to baking this summer, especially as I'm going to be working selling sandwiches until September.

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You won't find a yellow banana in our house, most days, so before holiday the black ones went straight into the freezer and a banana and carrot loaf. 

I don't know why it should be like this, but I've never actually done a cream cheese topping like this. It was so easy and spread like a dream. Usually I don't get a lot of texture in my icings. They are either too runny or spread smooth like a glaze - good for somethings, but I'm all about volume! 

So I thought I'd share it with you, though - to be honest - if you do any cooking at all, you've probably already got this in your baking bible! 

Simply mix 150g cream cheese (philly - straight from the fridge) with 2 tbsp lemon curd. Go quick, but avoid over-beating, then spread straight away!

That's all for now! :D  

Carrot and walnut cupcakes

These delicious little cakes were SOOOO moist and delicious. Every mouthful was a mixture of soft fluffy cake pickled with the crunch of walnuts. The colour of them was just lovely!! The orange strands of fresh carrots really brightened them up! :D (I'm just in LOVE with these!) 

They read didn't take long to bake either. Just 15 minutes before they were beautifully golden and firm to the touch. Absolutely delicious, if I do say so myself. :D 

To finish them off I iced them with a Philadelphia and icing sugar mixture with orange juice. That really finished it of. The icing was just so smooth and mixture of textures and colours was just divine! 

I'm using the recipe from my absolute favourite baking book at the moment: 'Home Baking'. I adore books and for me I low nothing more than sifting through cooking books :D I bought it last summer in 'The Works' in the UK for about £3.99 and every recipe I've made from it has turned out remarkably well for a heavy handed and poor decorating baker like me! 

As far as I can tell, 'The Works' no longer sells the book but follow the link below for the book on Amazon: 

tinyurl.com/k2whvmc