Do you have a recipe you just can’t make?

[gramercie]

My dad made the best French toast. He just had some sort of gift for it.

I know how to make it, but it’s just not the same!

I was not taught to cook as a child and have effectively taught myself over the years. I love cooking and am actually now not bad at it (other people have said this, not just me!)

However I cannot bake for toffee. It always tastes ok but it's just a bit meh IYKWIM? By contrast I can rustle a tasty and well presented meal out of a bunch of random ingredients with no issues.

DH reckons I "lack the finesse" to bake well

a roulade! even though I've tried a few times. I go to bed early the night before so I'll have all my wits about me but I still cannot do it.

When I saw Kate Middleton could do a roulade I thought jesus you're some woman.

fair dooz

@Shangrilalala Thank you, I will give it another try. It's DH favourite cake and I've never been able to do it justice.

I tend to be a good cook and baker, but I suck at presentation. Everything I make looks what Mary Berry would call "rustic" or "homemade."

Also struggle with custard, for some reason.

I finally mastered soft(ish) flapjacks during lockdown - the trick is to cook them for a lot less time than it says, otherwise you get the sort that can break a filling. I've been using the GF recipe on Doves Farm, and cooking them for 5-10 mins less than stated and they are soft, squishy and delicious.

I can't make decent honeycomb to save my life though - it never tastes exactly how I want it to.

Simple boiled potatoes! Tried different types, cooking from cold water, adding to boiling water, steaming, they mostly end up floury on the outside and cooked or undercooked on the inside.

@onemouseplace

I finally mastered soft(ish) flapjacks during lockdown - the trick is to cook them for a lot less time than it says, otherwise you get the sort that can break a filling. I've been using the GF recipe on Doves Farm, and cooking them for 5-10 mins less than stated and they are soft, squishy and delicious.

I can't make decent honeycomb to save my life though - it never tastes exactly how I want it to.

Surely flapjacks are meant to be chewy!?

Anyone got a really good recipe for scones?

Biscuits they are always soft in the middle.

When I read ‘soft in the middle’ my brain filled in ‘when the rest of my life is so hard’

Scones. Doesn't matter how much I try, they come out like sad little biscuits.

DH makes amazing scones and couldn't understand the problem. So one day we experimented and he stood with me watching me follow his step by step instructions. They still didn't rise. He remains baffled!

Lasagne. My absolute nemesis.

Also blondies, always too greasy and stodgy.

My brownies are great though!

I'm yet to find a curry recipe that tastes restaurant quality. I have tried many, and some are very tasty, but they just don't have that nom nom factor, the depth of flavour you get in a restaurant.

Lasagne. It’s always sloppy.

Meringue. Never works.

Scones:
50g Butter (unsalted)- I use salted and leave out the pinch!

200g Self-raising white flour

1 tbsp White caster sugar

1 pinch salt

125ml Milk

Rub butter and flour together to resemble breadcrumbs. Add sugar and salt. Make well and pour in milk. Cut or shape (recipe says just bake In a square and cut after but whatever you want). Brush with milk.
Bake at 200 (fan assisted) or 220 for 15 mins.
I've always had good scones with this recipe. Make double though as they are delicious!

I couldn’t make poached eggs until last week, when I used shallow water in a frying pan.

Result.

Curry.
I’ve tried every recipe going from authentic to easy and they all come out tasting bitter and unblended.

Closet I got was a sort of curry gravy that a Brit in America posted online, as he couldn’t get the British takeaway curry taste over there. The smell was amazing and the neighbours even commented on how nice it smelt and they had to order one.
I then added the meat and vegetables and the whole thing just became a really weird tasteless Indian stew. So I added more of the blend of spices and yet again it became a bitter mess in which none of the ingredients had combined.

My Mum makes a fabulous Californian Risotto and even if I follow her instructions or even the actual recipe it never comes out as good as hers but my toast potatoes knock spots off hers each and every time 👍🏼

@Fanthorpe

When I read ‘soft in the middle’ my brain filled in ‘when the rest of my life is so hard’

😁

@Mmmmdanone you say pour in milk, then cut into shapes, but can you describe what happens in between? I think that’s the bit that can go wrong.

Pancakes, we used to have the thin ones when I was as child. I'm totally fine making American pancakes, which are the ones my sons prefer, but the thin ones - nope!

Wrt meringue - I can make a great lemon meringue pie, but not pavlova or individual meringues. I think, even when it's on its absolute lowest, my oven is still a little too hot.
Then I discovered microwave meringue. You take one egg white and then mix in enough icing sugar so it's like stiffish royal icing. Put some greaseproof on a plate and spoon 4 - 6 blobs around the edge, depending on the size of the plate. My microwave takes about 90 seconds on full to achieve perfect meringuey crunch before it starts turning to toffee. I've added food colouring and flavouring and my children love them.
As for Yorkshire puddings - the big ones never rise and the small ones do, but then don't get the dip in the middle. They taste fine though!

Haha Yorkshire puddings... mine rise ok but they are totally mutant. Think Elephant Man meets atomic cloud. Not sure why.

Thanks for the lasagne tip, will leave it to congeal deliciously next time

With scones I think the trick is to be really,

really gentle with the dough mix, handle it as little as possible. When you put the liquid in, just bring it all together with a knife, don't 'mix it' iyswim. Don't have the dough too wet. I never ever roll the dough out, just gently press it until it's about 3-4 cms thick. Use a well-floured cutter and put onto a baking tray that's already hot from the oven. And only egg wash on the top, apparently if it's on the sides etc that can stop the rise.

TimeWasting those sound delicious though! Do you need a dip in the middle, really?

Thank you box I think I’m far too heavy handed by the sound of it.