Showing posts with label Tips and Tricks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips and Tricks. Show all posts
Monday, 17 December 2012
Baked Gifts - Part 2, Presentation Makes Perfect
I wasn’t originally
planning on turning my discussion on how to plan home baked gifts into a
miniseries but after publishing what is now titled “Part 1, Tips to avoid
stress and manage disasters” I was stuck by the inspiration fairy. So here I
present Part 2, Presentation Makes Perfect.
This article is a
little heavy on the links, and I freely admit that all of them are to Lakeland.
I promise that I’m not being paid to promote them; I just really like the
quality of their products. That and their website usually has everything I need
in one place! However these particular products and
similar ones can easily be found on Amazon or in high street shops.
In my opinion the key
to brilliant homemade gifts lies in the presentation, if something has been
presented beautifully receivers are less likely to notice any flaws! Taking the
time to present a gift nicely really shows how much you care, and if you’ve spent
hours working on something you want it to be displayed at its best right? So
here are my ideas for making homemade gifts really look magical.
Presentation Bags
One of the simplest ways
to present baked goodies, these bags are gusseted which makes them easier to
fill (and fit more in...). These bags are perfect for individual cupcakes,
biscuits and chocolates. These bags are
plain which makes them perfect to use all year round, just pop your goodies tie
it up with some nice ribbon and you’re all done!
And at £2.99 for 50 bags you can’t go wrong!
If cake pops are more your thing why not try
these cake pop bags? This pack of 12 bags includes white ribbons and is a snip
at £1.69
Or how about some cellophane sheets in festive
colours? This pack of 12 costs £3.99 and includes 4 of each colour (red, green
and clear). These sheets are perfect for chocolates and candies.
In a similar vein to the cellophane sheets
linked above Lakeland also offer these foil wrappers. Perfect for chocolates and
a bargain at £4.99 for 200!
Boxes
Cake pops can be a bit awkward to package
(well I think they are, I don’t actually like them so I’m only guessing)
especially if you have created a particularly complex design. In that case why
not present them in this specially designed box? This box will hold up to 8
sticks, and costs £4.29 for 2 boxes.
These boxes are brilliant in my opinion; they
are designed to hold cakes (up to 6’’ or 15cm) but by using the included
inserts these boxes can be adapted to hold 4 cupcakes or 9 petit fours! The design
is suitably modern and festive, and at £2.99 for 2 boxes they really are good
value. But get in quickly as these boxes are reduced to clear!
Given that macaroons really are a pain to
make, I think they deserve special presentation! This lovely box is designed
for macaroons and it looks very pretty. This costs £5.49 for 2 boxes but like
the cake boxes are reduced to clear.
Other ideas
No gift of jam, marmalade or chutney is
complete without a nice label to tell the recipient what is inside! So why not
jazz up your jars with some unique homemade labels? Get technical and design
some on the computer to print out onto white labels (available in stationery
shops) or if you are feeling creative why not get busy with brightly coloured
card? Just punch a hole in the corner, decorate with fancy pens, glitter,
stickers or whatever takes your fancy and tie the label onto the jar with some
string or nice ribbon? Another easy way to jazz up your jars is with jam-jar
covers (a perfect way to use up scrap fabric) or with some pretty lids. Lots of
cooking shops sell patterned lids amongst the preserving equipment and these
are an easy way to add a cute touch to your jars (especially if you are
recycling old jars!)
How about including a long lasting gift with
your goodies? When giving cake or biscuits why not buy a pretty cake tin put
them in? That way your recipient gets a lovely new tin to keep (extra tins are
always useful) and you don’t have to worry about cakes/biscuits going stale in
non-airtight containers. Finally don’t under estimate the effect of using seasonal
decorations and cake cases when making cupcakes. This is a really simple way to
make your gifts look extra special!
This article is a
little heavy on the links, and I freely admit that all of them are to Lakeland.
I promise that I’m not being paid to promote them; I just really like the
quality of their products. That and their website usually has everything I need
in one place! However these particular products and
similar ones can easily be found on Amazon or in high street shops.
In my opinion the key
to brilliant homemade gifts lies in the presentation, if something has been
presented beautifully receivers are less likely to notice any flaws! Taking the
time to present a gift nicely really shows how much you care, and if you’ve spent
hours working on something you want it to be displayed at its best right? So
here are my ideas for making homemade gifts really look magical.
Presentation Bags
One of the simplest ways
to present baked goodies, these bags are gusseted which makes them easier to
fill (and fit more in...). These bags are perfect for individual cupcakes,
biscuits and chocolates. These bags are
plain which makes them perfect to use all year round, just pop your goodies tie
it up with some nice ribbon and you’re all done!
And at £2.99 for 50 bags you can’t go wrong!
If cake pops are more your thing why not try
these cake pop bags? This pack of 12 bags includes white ribbons and is a snip
at £1.69
Or how about some cellophane sheets in festive
colours? This pack of 12 costs £3.99 and includes 4 of each colour (red, green
and clear). These sheets are perfect for chocolates and candies.
In a similar vein to the cellophane sheets
linked above Lakeland also offer these foil wrappers. Perfect for chocolates and
a bargain at £4.99 for 200!
Boxes
Cake pops can be a bit awkward to package
(well I think they are, I don’t actually like them so I’m only guessing)
especially if you have created a particularly complex design. In that case why
not present them in this specially designed box? This box will hold up to 8
sticks, and costs £4.29 for 2 boxes.
These boxes are brilliant in my opinion; they
are designed to hold cakes (up to 6’’ or 15cm) but by using the included
inserts these boxes can be adapted to hold 4 cupcakes or 9 petit fours! The design
is suitably modern and festive, and at £2.99 for 2 boxes they really are good
value. But get in quickly as these boxes are reduced to clear!
Given that macaroons really are a pain to
make, I think they deserve special presentation! This lovely box is designed
for macaroons and it looks very pretty. This costs £5.49 for 2 boxes but like
the cake boxes are reduced to clear.
Other ideas
No gift of jam, marmalade or chutney is
complete without a nice label to tell the recipient what is inside! So why not
jazz up your jars with some unique homemade labels? Get technical and design
some on the computer to print out onto white labels (available in stationery
shops) or if you are feeling creative why not get busy with brightly coloured
card? Just punch a hole in the corner, decorate with fancy pens, glitter,
stickers or whatever takes your fancy and tie the label onto the jar with some
string or nice ribbon? Another easy way to jazz up your jars is with jam-jar
covers (a perfect way to use up scrap fabric) or with some pretty lids. Lots of
cooking shops sell patterned lids amongst the preserving equipment and these
are an easy way to add a cute touch to your jars (especially if you are
recycling old jars!)
How about including a long lasting gift with
your goodies? When giving cake or biscuits why not buy a pretty cake tin put
them in? That way your recipient gets a lovely new tin to keep (extra tins are
always useful) and you don’t have to worry about cakes/biscuits going stale in
non-airtight containers. Finally don’t under estimate the effect of using seasonal
decorations and cake cases when making cupcakes. This is a really simple way to
make your gifts look extra special!
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Baked Gifts – Part 1, Tips to avoid stress and manage disasters
I love handmade gifts, they are so much more personal than
shop brought gifts and one of my favourite things to do is bake gifts. However
Christmas is a busy time of year so here are my tips for giving baked gifts while
avoiding stress and disasters!
Plan ahead and make lists
In my opinion this is the most important step to undertake when considering giving baked or homemade gifts. Way ahead of time, stop and think about the following things and then write it all down:
In my opinion this is the most important step to undertake when considering giving baked or homemade gifts. Way ahead of time, stop and think about the following things and then write it all down:
- Who you want to bake for
- What you want to bake
- When you will be giving people their gifts
- What other stuff do you have to do
Why do you need to think about all this stuff? Well you need
to think about who you want to bake for as some people may not appreciate a
baked gift (certain members of my family wouldn’t I know), also some people may
have special dietary requirements that you need to account for. That is why it
is also important to think about exactly what you want to make, it’s no good
planning to make everyone chocolate cupcakes if you know that someone doesn’t
like chocolate for example. So try and find a recipe that works for the maximum
amount of people.
It is also important to consider when you will be seeing people;
baked goods have a limited shelf life and need certain storage conditions. It’s
no good making something 2 weeks in advance if you know it won’t keep until it’s
required. As an example I know I’m seeing relatives this weekend, so I need to
have their gift ready first, everyone else I’m not seeing until Christmas Day
so I can make their gifts closer to the big day. Additionally consider all the other things you
have to do between now and then like shopping, wrapping presents, making
Christmas dinner .etc and choose a recipe that fits into your schedule.
To use
myself as an example I know that I’m not very busy this week so I’m baking a
slightly more time consuming recipe for the relatives I’m seeing this weekend
(Pepper Nuts for those who are interested) but the rest of my family are
getting cupcakes. Why? Because I can make and decorate those in stages and slot
it around everything else I have to do and I have a lot of Christmas cooking to
do!
Plan some more
Got your recipes? Excellent now it’s time to plan exactly what ingredients you need as you don’t want to find yourself running out of anything on Christmas Eve! So sit down and write down everything you need and how much then head to your store cupboard check what you have and what you need. This is also a good time to work out your baking schedule.
Got your recipes? Excellent now it’s time to plan exactly what ingredients you need as you don’t want to find yourself running out of anything on Christmas Eve! So sit down and write down everything you need and how much then head to your store cupboard check what you have and what you need. This is also a good time to work out your baking schedule.
Shop and bake
Finally it’s time to buy all your ingredients and get baking. I would seriously suggest buying as many ingredients in advance as possible, there’s nothing worse than the shop running out of stock just as you need something. I recommend having a backup plan just in case the worst happens and you can’t get the ingredients you need.
Finally it’s time to buy all your ingredients and get baking. I would seriously suggest buying as many ingredients in advance as possible, there’s nothing worse than the shop running out of stock just as you need something. I recommend having a backup plan just in case the worst happens and you can’t get the ingredients you need.
Once it’s time to start baking make sure you have everything
and enough time to do it in. Try and get ahead where possible and remember you
don’t have to do everything at the same time. It’s perfectly OK to bake the
cake early and leave decorating it for later (it might even be easier if you
leave the cake for a day or so...) and where possible make decorations in
advance. They’ll need some time to firm up or dry so it’s best to get them done
in advance.
Finally it’s don’t panic; if a recipe doesn’t work or your
decoration isn’t perfect don’t sweat it. Keep calm and carry on! And maybe take
a look at my guide for dealing with baking disasters?
Good luck everyone! I’d love to hear what sort of things you
are baking for Christmas, let me know in the comments!
Saturday, 1 December 2012
When baking goes wrong, part 1: How to cope with baking disasters
As far as hobbies go baking is a fairly cost effective
hobby, even if a recipe doesn’t work out the way you hoped the results are
usually still edible. But having a recipe go wrong can be a little upsetting
and annoying, so here is a short guide on how to cope when baking goes wrong.
Step 1 Allow yourself to be annoyed or upset
When things go wrong I get annoyed if it’s a recipe I know well or upset if it’s the first time I’ve tried it. No matter what emotion you feel when the worst happens I find the best solution is for 5 minutes to just let yourself feel like that, so have a cry or yell at your oven. Do whatever it takes for you to get the initial upset or anger out of your system because bottling up your feelings is not healthy.
When things go wrong I get annoyed if it’s a recipe I know well or upset if it’s the first time I’ve tried it. No matter what emotion you feel when the worst happens I find the best solution is for 5 minutes to just let yourself feel like that, so have a cry or yell at your oven. Do whatever it takes for you to get the initial upset or anger out of your system because bottling up your feelings is not healthy.
Step 2 Try and find the positives
Just because something in a recipe has gone wrong doesn’t mean that the results are awful, most of I find there is usually a positive side. As an example my recent attempt at macaroons, they went totally wrong but they still tasted like they should. Always try and find that positive part of the bake, like the fact it still tastes right or it can be used for something else. So if you cake has sunk in the middle that doesn’t mean you can’t still eat it. It’ll still taste good and if you don’t want to serve it just cut it up and use it to make something else like cake pops or trifle!
Sometimes everything going wrong can be funny (especially if it’s a recipe you make a lot) and I think finding the funny side and having a good laugh totally counts as a positive side.
Just because something in a recipe has gone wrong doesn’t mean that the results are awful, most of I find there is usually a positive side. As an example my recent attempt at macaroons, they went totally wrong but they still tasted like they should. Always try and find that positive part of the bake, like the fact it still tastes right or it can be used for something else. So if you cake has sunk in the middle that doesn’t mean you can’t still eat it. It’ll still taste good and if you don’t want to serve it just cut it up and use it to make something else like cake pops or trifle!
Sometimes everything going wrong can be funny (especially if it’s a recipe you make a lot) and I think finding the funny side and having a good laugh totally counts as a positive side.
Step 3 Work out what went wrong
You may have noticed that I do this when I post about recipes I’ve tried, I believe that analysing your bake is very important. If you don’t try and work out why everything went wrong what is there to stop you from making that mistake again? It may be something as simple as opening the oven door too early and too often or a complex series of issues (see my post on macaroons!), but if you try and figure out the problem it should be much easier to avoid it happening again. But don’t panic if you can’t figure out the problem, sometimes stuff just happens!
You may have noticed that I do this when I post about recipes I’ve tried, I believe that analysing your bake is very important. If you don’t try and work out why everything went wrong what is there to stop you from making that mistake again? It may be something as simple as opening the oven door too early and too often or a complex series of issues (see my post on macaroons!), but if you try and figure out the problem it should be much easier to avoid it happening again. But don’t panic if you can’t figure out the problem, sometimes stuff just happens!
There you have it my 3 step
program to dealing with baking disasters, in part 2 I shall be listing
solutions to common baking problems and tips on how to avoid having a disaster.
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