Bun in the oven

I can’t believe the Great British Bake Off has finished for another year! We’ve been glued to the screen each week and after each episode I’m inspired to try out a recipe. I have zero skill but I somehow imagine that by simply tuning in to the programme I will manage to emulate these yummy creations. But my good intentions have unsurprisingly not yet reached fruition…

When I was pregnant with my first baby, I looked forward to having some time on my maternity leave to bake cakes and learn new recipes.

Fat chance!

With sleep deprivation and a constantly crying baby I had barely enough time to get dressed and leave the house. For a few special occasions I have managed to make bustrengo, a cake I’ve made hundreds of times before. Jamie Oliver’s original recipe takes too long these days, though, so I save time by:

• Buying tins of chopped apple rather than chopping these from fresh apples myself
• Leaving out the lemon and orange zest
• Baking in bulk (rather than making one cake, I now make about three and freeze them)
• Making the recipe in several stages so that when my toddler gets bored I can come back to complete the cake later

Here is something I managed to russle up for a birthday party (please excuse the mangy sofa):

My toddler is getting to an age now where she becoming interested in baking and she often helps to make cakes at nursery. But at home she can’t reach the worktop in the kitchen. There is a clever (but expensive) gadget that could help with this and I am tempted to splash out if it means I am able to get some things done in the kitchen more easily and introduce her to the joys (!) of cooking with mama.