Why Baking Kits?

The other day, as I excitedly opened yet another baking kit that I had received in the post (for research, I swear) my boyfriend asked me “if you’re so into your baking, why do you love those kits?” He makes a good point I suppose. I have always loved baking, carefully measuring ingredients, throwing them into a bowl, mixing them up and creating something delicious. It’s a real feeling of achievement when something you’ve created is finished and comes out just as perfect (and yummy!) as you had hoped. So why use pre-prepared baking kits instead?

Well, like a recipe has many parts, there are many reasons, here are just a few:

A large dollop of aesthetics: I love opening these kits, seeing the different boxes (and sometimes bags) they come in, all of the ingredients in separate little containers, neat and easy to just throw into the mix. Another lovely thing about these kits is the personal touches shown by companies like Baking Fresh who wrote “Hello Georgina!” on the front of the little booklet included in my kit. Opening these kits is like opening a present, it’s the same feeling of ownership you get when you open a magazine with a free gift, all wrapped up in plastic. The pieces in this box/bag were specially put together for you, just so you can enjoy cakey goodness!

A dash of ease (or laziness): Whether you’re a skilled baker, a somewhere-in-between-baker (like me) or you’ve never baked in your life, these kits help bring baking to everyone. That, or it helps seasoned bakers be just a little bit lazy!

A handful of great ingredients: Literally, well, almost literally. The ingredients in these kits in measured out for you and you only get what you need, which means there’s nothing left over. No bags of flour, no tiny bottles of vanilla essence that sit in your cupboard forever, nothing wasted and no weird ingredients left behind that you never use again, sitting on a shelf, going off.

A generous drizzle of togetherness: Though its fine to do these kits alone (more cake for you, right?) they are even better to share. Because they are so easy, anyone can use one of these kits to make delicious treats which means they are perfect for children of any age. I love the idea of young children and their families baking together (I can see the flour flying now!) These kits can be a lovely introduction to baking for young people or new bakers. Though I don’t have a young child of my own to share this with, I love baking and cooking with my younger brother who is at university and appreciates being taught how to make something other than pasta!

And just a sprinkle of fun: Along with all this, they are great fun. Baking is fun anyway, getting stuck in and creating something you can be proud of but this way, its (nearly) always perfect. As Baked In, one of my favorite producers of these kits say “There’s less fuss, no waste and a great taste!” and I am inclined to agree with them!

Miss Mollett's High Class Tea Room - Appledore

My parents have visited this sweet little tearoom before and told me about the wonderful time they had here, so when my father asked me where we should take my mother for Mother’s Day, I knew this was the place. The bright tearoom is painted light pink and covered in a variety of decorations, (all for sale) from beautiful paintings of birds, cottages and even a tiny drawing of a teapot who’s chunky frame is at least twice the width of the picture.

We’ve pre-booked three ‘High Class Afternoon Teas’ so when we sit down we are asked what kind of tea we would like, what jam we’d like with our scones and (the best part) what cakes we’d like after. Its all prepared super-fast and is on the table just as we are admiring the mis-matched cups and saucers. Everything in here is mis-matched (one of the things I love about this type of tearooms) including the table cloths, plates and decorations around the room including three different but similar mini chandeliers (to add a touch of class) and a beautiful old bird cage complete with fake birds and  adorned with tea cups dangling underneath, hanging from the centre of the room.

My mother warned me that I might not be able to finish the my food and when the fairly modest spread arrived I’m not sure if I believe her, however three perfectly soft sandwiches, delicious cups of tea and a medium-sized scone (with strawberry jam) later I can see why she said that (and there is still cake to come!) When a member of staff comes to clear away he even offered to pack the left over scones for my mum to take home and brings them back in tin foil fashioned into handbag for her. Perfect for taking home AND a great accessory! The Icing on the cake (so to speak) of this perfect Mother’s Day meal was there huge slices of cake they brought out to finish the meal and finish us off as none of us could eat all of the generous helpings!

This meal, the tea room and the staff were all so lovely and we felt welcomed and comfortable here. There really is nothing better than a nice meal in a lovely place with your family after which the world seems a little brighter (and you feel a whole lot more full). I would really recommend this place to anyone, especially familys as they are so welcoming to people of all ages.

Website: missmollettstearoom.co.uk
Address: 26 The Street, Appledore, Kent, TN262BX

In The Mix - Baked In Gluten Free Mug Brownie

Name: Gluten Free Mug Brownie

Company: Baked In

Bought In: (Would you believe it,) Whirligig… the toy shop.

I have been more and more interested in gluten free baking in the past year or so since having a celiac partner means I have to watch what I cook (and bake). So when I spotted a selection of Baked In easy baking kits in a local toy shop (of all places) AND that one was gluten free, I had to buy it! I have also never baked a mug cake before, I was sure they were harder than they looked and I was worried that getting it wrong would create a mug cake explosion in my microwave! However because this one was gluten free and in a simple to use kit, I thought why not, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s chocolate…

The kit comes in a lovely box with the dry cake mix, separated into four bags for four mug cakes and another bag of marshmallows for decoration. All you need to add is butter, water or milk (I used milk) and a mug (or four, depending on whether you want to share or not!)

Part 1) Put the butter into the mug and microwave for 10-20 seconds to melt it, I needed the full 20 but you may need less or more depending on the power of your microwave. However, make sure it is completely melted before going on to…

Part2) Empty one bag of dry ingredients into the mug and add the milk or water. I used milk because I felt it would give a better taste but the water option does mean that lactose intolerant people can also enjoy this baking kit.

Part 3)Make sure the mixture is fully combined  and place in the microwave for 60 seconds. When you take it out, sprinkle some marshmallows on top for decoration and sweet gooey taste! Now, I wish I had tried putting some of the marshmallows (of which there were more than enough) inside the cake for melty goodness all through, you might want to try this in one of your cakes!? I also wonder what would happen if you bought a giant mug and did them all at once… though I guess that would be just like… a cake.

And enjoy! The box says allow to cool for 5 mins but its really not THAT hot, I only left it for a couple of minutes and the temptation got too much! Dig in!

I would really recommend trying these gorgeous kits, a few of which have won Great Taste awards, for parties, nights in with friends (like I did with this one and it disappeared before I could take pictures!) or just as an indulgence for you! These were super tasty and a great addition to a night in with friends.

In The Mix - Betty Crocker's Devil's Food Cake Mix

Name: Devil’s Food Cake Mix

Company: Betty Crocker

Bought In: Tesco

Oh yes, chocolate again, we all know how much my Adam and I love it by now and this beautiful pile of chocolate filled with chocolate covered in chocolate is no exception. You will need vegetable oil, 3 eggs, water and a tub of chocolate icing, the preferred,(and the one I used) being Betty Crocker’s Chocolate Fudge Icing (lots left over mmmm!).

Part 1) Mix the cake mix with the eggs, oil and water. The box suggests an electric whisk but I did it by hand, takes a little while to get it “smooth and creamy” as the instructions say but it does the job just fine. I would use the electric whisk it you have one though!

Part 2) Now I have something to confess here… the instructions say to “pour the cake mix into two greased tins and I did not… I poured it into one, my logic being that I could cut it in half after to fill it. It didn’t really turn out that way…

Part 3) it says on the box to bake 23-28 mins, of course because I put the mix all in one tin I did it a little longer and it came out looking gorgeous, so I flipped it onto a wire rack to cool…only (and this is SO, SO important) I didn’t knife test it first! And it splattered all over the rack and my table. I did manage to clean it up, save it and put what was left back into the oven for a bit more time, KNIFE TEST IT and have a pretty good looking cake after (albeit one that was about half the size of the one on the box.

Part 4) The icing on the cake, literally! If you have followed the instructions properly, let your two halves cool on your (nice and clean) wire rack and then pop one on a plate, add a layer of icing, sandwich the second half on top and smother your cake in all the icing! Also, if you so wish (like I did) sit and eat the remaining icing with a spoon!

Notes: This is an amazing cake, the box only has one thing in it, the bag of cake mix, so this recipe is super easy to do and its all chocolate, perfect! If there is one thing that this recipe has taught me though, it is that when taking a baked cake out of the oven always, always, ALWAYS knife test it! I can’t stress this enough, ALWAYS! Slide a clean knife into the centre of your cake/cup-cake/loaf etc and take it out again, if the knife is clean the cake is done, if it comes out with batter on it then put the cake back for another couple of minutes.

Cafe 1809 - Hildenborough

Café 1809 (pronounced ‘one eight oh nine’ after its founders winning race number) has come to be called simply ‘Kelly’s Café’ (again, after its founder and probably because it’s easier to remember.) and is one I have been meaning to visit for a while. So when a friend suggested popping in there for lunch I had to say yes.

The main room is on two levels, the counter and majority of tables on the same level as the door and a raised platform with a few more tables on one side of the room. The room is well spaced and light, partly owing to the beautiful borrowed light that takes up a third of the room (with a view of the clear sky today that brings to mind countless inspirational quotes I'm sure founder Kelly Holmes would be proud of) and fills the room with natural light, it is under this light that I sat for the first half of my meal, enjoying the light and looking at all the interesting items in the stacked crates serving as a display case next to us. The whole room is dotted with interesting knick-knacks from paintings to clocks shaped like bikes and different shaped and sized mugs. The space in decorated in earthy browns and greys giving it a half earthy half industrial feel, large bare metal girders helping the latter.

For the first half of my lunch (while sat under the borrowed light) I had an amazing hot chocolate with marshmallows and here is the first thing I love I want to point out. Café 1809 not only does hot chocolate but the very smart waitress informed me that they do milk hot chocolate (at 58%) and not one but two types of dark hot chocolate (at 70% and 85%) AND white! Choices, choices… As always, I accompanied my hot drink with a cheese sandwich but since the plain cheese sandwich only seems to be on the children’s menu, when it arrived I got a surprise. Whilst my friend’s sandwiches were accompanied by smart salads covered in a lovely dressing MY sandwich came cut into triangles and separated by piles of popcorn! This is certainly a first for me but a tasty first!

It was at this point in the lunch that the table next to us got up and left, this table was surrounded by sofas so of course we switched tables immediately (don’t pretend you wouldn't  do the same!) to eat our second course in comfort. My second course was another hot chocolate (70%) and a piece of Rocky Road from the gorgeous dessert bar up on the counter, full of all sorts of home-made desserts that make it very hard to choose! Next to this is also a juice bar for juicers of you out there!

All in all I really enjoyed my lunch at Café 1809, the smartly dressed staff are a pleasure, the food is delightful and the space aesthetically pleasing, highly recommended! 

Twitter: @Cafe1809
Facebook: facebook.com/Cafe-1809-Hildenborough-891302637566330
Website: cafe1809.co.uk
Address: 152-154 Tonbridge Road, Hildenborough, TN11 9HW

In The Mix - Morrison's Double Chocolate Cupcake Mix

Name: Double Chocolate Cupcake Mix

Company: Morrison’s Own

Bought in: Morrisons

Preparation: Another easy one, grab a bowl and spoon and a muffin tray and enjoy these delicious treats!

What is better than chocolate? That’s right, double chocolate, this wonderful pack not only comes with the chocolate cupcake mix but the chocolate icing mix AND chocolate sprinkles to decorate. All the chocolate you could wish for! You need an egg and a small amount of water and butter.

Part 1) Mix the extra ingredients (egg and water) and the cupcake mix in a bowl, I would recommend using a hand held or free-standing mixer if you have one because it took me quite  while to get the lumps out of my mix mixing by hand.

Part 2) Pour your cake mix into a tin, making sure its flat on top and pop it in the (pre-heated) oven. The mix says 12-15 mins so I set the timer for 14 minutes and they were perfect, really fluffy and soft!

Part 3) While they are cooling, mix up the icing mix and the butter. Be so, so careful while doing this as I managed to cover myself and the table in powder by mixing just a little too quickly. Don’t worry if it seems like there is too much powder and not enough butter at first, just keep mixing and folding that powder in.

Part 4) Finally, cover your, now cool, cupcakes in icing. Don’t be stingy, there is plenty of it, we even ate it out of the bowl after (because you have to, don’t you?!). To top it all off, sprinkle the chocolate curls on the top for a gorgeous professional look and enjoy.

Notes: This is the first baking kit that I have made that isn’t Betty Crocker and I am very pleased with it and if you’re very careful not to cover yourself in icing powder like I did and you smother your cakes in icing they will be absolutely perfect! 

Chocolate No-Bake 'Fridge Cake' or Tiffin in 5 Easy Steps

This is the first recipe I ever learned to make AND the first recipe I learned by heart, my mother taught me to make Tiffin when I was younger and needed something to take into school for my birthday and cake fairs and I continue to make it for birthdays and special occasions today. Anyone who loves chocolate (with chocolate on top) and sweet treats and wants an easy bake will appreciate this one pan mix.

You will need:

A medium knob of butter

2 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of coco powder

2 tablespoons of golden syrup

200 grams of plain digestive biscuits

200g of milk chocolate

Step 1) Crush the digestive biscuits to crumbs, I pop mine in a deep bowl and crush them with a potato masher and my mother seals them in a plastic bag and crushes them with a rolling pin, you can do either (or even come up with your own method of crushing!)

Step 2) Melt the butter in a pan and add the sugar, coco powder and syrup (hint: run boiling water over a spoon before using it to add the syrup, that way it doesn’t stick to the spoon and it all goes in the mix). Use a wooden spoon to blend the mix and then leave it to boil and froth about half way up the pan.

Step 3) Take the pan off the heat and fold the digestive crumbs into the mixture, make sure you run your spoon right around the bottom of the pan and coat all the crumbs or your tiffin will have dry patches. When you’ve mixed it completely press the mixture into a medium depth baking dish making sure to flatten the top and pop it in the fridge

Step 4) Put some water in a clean pan (or clean the one you were using) and grab a heat-proof bowl, break up your chocolate into squares and leave them in the bowl to melt, stirring every few seconds to stop it burning.

And…

…Step 5) Take the chcolate off the heat and your tiffin mix out of the fridge and spread the chocolate on top, pop it back into the fridge for a couple of hours and leave out on the side for about ten mins before cutting into squares and serving.

Enjoy!