Saturday, August 21, 2010

Happiness is a great cake

I love home baking but don't do as much as I would like because I end up eating most of it and at the moment I'm still trying to diet slowly.
I love chocolate but my weakness is cake .... so when some of you out there post yummy photos of your latest baking creation I have to stop my tongue gravitating toward the monitor at the moment.
To stave the cravings I decided to let myself have a treat when I was having a day out and so coffee and a cake was my thing. The problem is that the choice of one special cake makes one so fussy and things that I might have let enter my mouth a few months ago, now become not good enough to waste my calories/syns on.

Yesterday, I stood at a counter in a cafe for ages... weighing up which was to be my treat...Caramel cake ? ... Millionaire's Shortbread ? ... Rocky Road slice?....Danish pastry ( of which there were many) ...Muffins (such a variety) ... Cream slice ... Cream horn... Cream sponge....Strawberry Tart ... shall I go on lol... the choice was endless but nothing made me excited because I knew what they would taste like ... the same as those in the baker down the road and the Tea Rooms in the little village a mile away and dare I say... the Supermarket. They are all churned out to the same recipe with not a loving hand in sight. No room for the individuality of a master baker... we actually had a bakers like that locally but they shut down 6 months ago and my waist line actually sighed with relief.

I was about to walk away and not eat some thing for the sake of it, when I spied a large sponge under a cover ... it looked home made ...as if it had not long emerged from a friends oven ....gloriously tall and oozing a thick layer of raspberry jam and butter cream....I was not disappointed ... the flavour was magical and excited the taste buds beyond description ...I was happy and so contented.

I would love to know whether it is just my 'watching what I eat' that makes me feel like this or whether there are many of you out there who are actually disappointed or bored by mass produced bakery. What is your favourite indulgence when it comes to cakes....what is your favourite homemade offering ....would love to hear your thoughts.... just because I'm nosey lol

Take Care xx

10 comments:

Jocelyn said...

Oh now you have my mouth watering...that cake sounds awesome...I too love to bake...but I have cut back due to Joe's Diabetes!!! I am a sweet lover, I adore homemade lemon bars, chocolate anything, and I make a mean carrot cake with butter cream icing...I usually get the itch to start baking when the weather turns cool and make tons of fresh apple tarts...which I give to my neighbors.....they just said they can't wait for Fall.....

Have a great one!!!

Morning's Minion said...

I felt that I was standing there with you trying to decide on the best treat.
I love to bake, but have become somewhat gluten-intolerant, which limits how often I can have baked goods or pasta without internal combustion.
We have only one source for baked treats here, a cafe which specializes in soup, sandwiches and baked goods. They have a pumpkin roll which is a spiced cake with a cream/pumpkin filling--nice, but my favorite indulgence is usually something rather gooey and chocolate!
I think such treats shouldn't be gobbled--savored slowly, bite by bite with a wonderful cup of tea.

Ann said...

All that choice and nothing that appeals? Sounds very familiar.
Our local bakery has plenty of mass-produced offerings and none tastes like 'the real thing' and I'm disappointed every time I buy one.
I rarely bake cakes, due to lack of time, the rapidly-expanding 50+ waistline and because Hubby hasn't got a sweet tooth like me. But there are two recipes I enjoy making: Chocolate Brownie with walnuts and a Delia Smith recipe for last-minute Christmas Cake (but it's good any time of year!).
You've done it now Angie, I feel the need for a piece of cake with my cup of tea - and there's none in the house ;)

Jane (J-bug) said...

Angie! I was drooling just reading your blog!! I love home baking and wouldn't spoil my diet for something like a Mr Kipling out of a packet...however I have to say that just about anything from Fisher and Donaldson in St Andrews or Cupar is amazing - my favourite? Coffee towers (which don't taste of coffee at all and I think they should be called toffee towers)...they are huge, creamy choux buns with toffee icing and a chocolate disc on top - deeee-licious!

Arkansas Patti said...

I feel so blessed not having much of a sweet tooth. My quandry comes from deciding which fried food I will eat on my once a week break from blaah. Fried foods also makes me want more but it goes away pretty quickly.

Liverpool Lou (Anne) said...

Hi Angie, it's good that you have become more particular as you very nearly got away without buying some cake and that would've been good for the waistline and though on this occasion you did find something to tempt your taste buds it seems you may not do so as often as you used to, so that's good. I must admit I'm more of a cake person than chocolate too. I was thinking the other day about blackcurrant tarts, you don't really see them these days, at least I don't. I used to love a blackberry tart, can't remember where I used to get them but if you do get them now they used tinned (I think) blackberries in a gloopy syrupy stuff, not like they used to be :-( I do like the odd Bavarian cream slice but also like jam doughnuts, fondant fancies, and well too many to name hehe. I don't do much baking now for the same reason as you, but I used to like making sponge cake with (having one of those moments) - icing sugar mixed with butter? and lemon curd. As for puddingy type things you can't beat apple crumble with custard, or rhubarb ;-)
Anne xx

Carmen said...

I know exactly what you mean Angie. And don't you hate it when your treat is wasted and the taste just doesn't cut it? I've got so fussy with my naughty treats.

My favourite synful treat is carrot cake, OMG I adore it - my favourite homemade cake is lemon drizzle cake cos it is SO easy but never ever goes wrong ;)

Devon said...

Wow that cake sounds YUMMY. LoL. I have a tiny tiny bit of a sweet tooth...

I love Mums Lemmon drizzle it is soo yummy but I also love her malteaser cake in which she made for my birthday. I like to bake but the only things I can really make is cheese or fruit scones, I get orders put in by My Nann and Grandad when I make them LoL.

Carmen said...

Angie your hair sounds just like mine at the mo :P If I run my hand through it I come away with a handful of loose hair, the bath plug hole needs cleaned out every time I have a bath - it's ridiculous. My head is so itchy, I think it must be all the loose hair. I never ever get this problem when it's shorter and contrary to what your daughter said mine goes a lot thicker when it's shorter. Maybe becaue it isn't falling out all the time ;)

Maybe you could get it cut and see what you think? After all you can always grow it back. I'm going back to a bobbed cut. Easy, get up, brush and done style *g*

Thank you for your lovely words on my post Angie :)

Gez Butterworth said...

Ooooh I feel so hungry now!! I love to make a pavlova. :)
Hope you are well. Sorry, it's been a while since I called. Wishing you a great weekend. Gez.xx