Where it all began

I love baking. I always have and probably always will. As a child I loved nothing more than watching  ( and dare I say 'helping') my grandmother and my mum whilst making cakes and bakes. There was something so special in seeing how a few basic ingredients turned into something which smelled good and tasted even better. I should ask really ask my mum how old I was when I made my first cake. I recon I was probably around 8. I went through my mum's recipe books (yes, it was pre-Internet!) , chose a recipe and went for it. Luckily the recipe seemed to have been quite simple and easy to follow as I kept baking and the cakes kept coming out quite well baked and well, tasting good. Or so I was told. I must confess I do not remember clearing up afterwards - poor mum, I am sure the kitchen was a mess every single time. But I am also sure that I must've put a smile on my parents faces when a cake was waiting for them at home after a long day in the office. On a few occasions my cakes were taken to parties (and no, no one got poisoned!;)) I never did any baking as a teenager and then life took over... Fast forward 2012 - The Great British Bake Off was introduced to me. I was hooked on baking once again. Paul and Mary were really scary at first and although I wanted to make pastries, cakes, savarins and brioche they made me feel that these are almost impossible tasks for novice bakers. So I made a simple loaf instead and stuck with baking one loaf after another. Autumn of 2013 a friend introduced me to Country Living magazine. Their December 2013 issue had a lovely recipe for pandoro - I tried it, it worked and all of a sudden baking was not scary at all. The last 10 months have been loads of fun, trying out various recipes and perfecting techniques. So now I would like to share what I have learnt so far and hope you will follow me in my journey as I continue the explore the wonderful world of baking.