I Wanna Wish You A Merry Christmas
Michelle Phetlhe | Tuesday December 14, 2021 06:00
Your measurements have to be exact, there is no room for error. No heaped teaspoons, leveled cups of flour and always bend over to check on the meniscus of your liquids. Failure to head these basic reminders will result in your baked goods flopping to the side, failing to rise, being stodgy or chewy. The ratio of wet to dry ingredients determines a cake's moisture level.
Too much flour and not enough butter, the cake will taste dry. Too much milk and not enough flour, the cake will taste wet. While too much baking powder results in an ugly taste and batter rising too fast and collapsing. These aren't to put the fear into you when you think of baking, rather reminders of how important it is to follow the instructions to the T. Unlike with cooking, there’s very little room to be whimsical. After all the sifting, beating and time in the oven, the last thing you want is a finished product you can present or eat.
Once you have the foundations, baking can become more exciting, therapeutic even. Playing with shapes and discovering new flavour compositions is easily the best part of it all.
I trust that everyone has the potential to bake, you just have to get into the mindset and also make sure you have the appropriate tools. We are half way there at Chellzkitchen, we have measuring cups and spoons and our patience has grown. We are still a huge fan of non bake desserts, they are easy. Every time we discover a baking recipe we nail, we get so excited and encouraged that we can't wait to bake it for a second time and share it with you.
Every time we get online with Mascom MySurf, I love how the algorithms always suggest recipes, like they are reading my mind. Quite smart the Internet.....a blueberry bread popped up the other day, I scanned through it and it looked simple. After screen shotting it, I went back to it a little later when I wasn’t so busy. Little did I know I had just discovered the next baked signature dish at Chellzkitchen after our Chelsea Buns. Have fun with this delicious bread/cake and serve it with Ultra Mel Custard or Dairymaid Ice Cream. Blueberry bread is so easy and quick to mix up.
It's a one bowl recipe whipped up in 10min. I was shocked by the one hour in the oven, but it was worth it. Fresh blueberries topped with a little sugar for some crunch. If using frozen blueberries, it's advised to use them directly from the freezer and not to let them throw. When fielding them into the batter, be extra careful so that they don’t cause streaks.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup Delta Fresh Milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1 Tbsp sugar
INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 175° C). Grease and flour loaf pan. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir milk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract into flour mixture until batter is just blended. Combine washed and dried blueberries with 1 tsp of flour and gently fold them into the batter. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle one tablespoon of sugar over the batter. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.