AIBU to think it costs money to get into baking

[mailfuckoff]

So over the last year I have started baking more and it takes money to do so. Different sized bowls and spring cake tins/ load tins and tray bake tins, lots of ingredients that you don't use before they go off.
I wanted to make a spiced apple cake. I had to buy a lemon and mixed spice. I used Brown sugar instead of demarera (sp?) And baking powder I already had. It didn't rise and looks a bit pants. Do I need to buy all fresh ingredients every time? How do I stop wasting my time and money? I have a cake tins and neither was the exact size needed!

Im not a massiv ebaker, but I'd say the main expense is different tins. If you are baking fairly regularly the ingredients shouldn't go off and affect the quality of the bake between cakes.

I don't buy the expensive sugar - use ground up granulated sugar or honey. I don't buy mixed spice (use cinnamon or ginger)

Baking is expensive. I tend not to be too precise over cake tin sizes. Most ingredients are store cupboard ingredients that last well, it's really just eggs and butter that go off, other than extras like apples.

I find storing it all is a PITA too. I built up a collection of various things I needed, tins, icing stamps and the like. Obviously have all the flour, sugar, colours ... But now I only very occasionally bake it's taking up valuable space in the kitchen.

Maybe I just need to know more about baking subsitutes then? I have some ground almonds I was going to make macaroons with but got cold feet as they look hard to do. Any ideas what else I could do with them?

I used to make celebration cakes but I couldn't store all the tins and cutters, it was taking over my house and in the end I gave it up.
Initial outlay was expensive but I reused most items.

Make some marzipan with the ground almonds

Ground almonds are great in a chocolate cake, they make it moister.

Frangipane if you have almonds. A nice bakewell tart?

I second ground almonds in a chocolate cake. I have a (very easy) recipe but you could probably also replace some of the flour in a regular chocolate cake recope

Yes please, and tried and tested recipes would be helpful. I'm grabbing ones of the internet and hoping for the best at the moment

I have stuff like mixed spice and brown sugar in anyway on an ongoing basis. I buy at least a couple of lemons most weeks anyway. I've had most of my baking tins for ten or twenty years.

Baking is just part of normal everyday cooking to me; I honestly can't remember the last time I had to buy something new, that I hadn't bought before, especially for my baking. I did invest in some colouring gels a couple of years ago, so I can pull a rainbow or marbled cake out of the bag if required.

Try Nigellas clementine cake with your almonds. It's lovely.

here you go

Try Nigellas clementine cake with your almonds. It's lovely. I can confirm this!

My recipe was in a book but I found it online here: recipes.sainsburys.co.uk/recipes/baking/chocolate-and-almond-cupcakes . I'm not very good at cooking, but this always works. I have also found I can get away with using a different kind of sugar. I don't usually make the buttercream they recommend because we tend to eat them before then

Did you use too much baking powder? It's the opposite of what you'd expect, but too much makes it rise too far, then collapse.

Als though, if you do make the buttercream, in the book I have they pipe it on in swirls and sprinkle almonds on top and I do think that looks nicer, but as I say I don't really bother

I use loaf tins for all my cakes and they come out lovely. The only thing I make sure is in date is the flour and eggs and baking powder. I don't use fancy sugar and provided you get the flour, fat, sugar and egg ratio correct I've never had any problems.

Only thing I spend cash on is lemon and vanilla essence (lemon essence is my secret lemon drizzle cake ingredient) and people fight over it. They last for ruddy ages as well and don't go off so worth the price.

You don't need fancy tins or ingredients imo, just find a basic cake recipe you like and works for you and then you can add things. I've just ground almonds in cakes when I don't have enough flour to make it up to the flour weight needed and they have turned out lovely and moist.

To my basic cake recipe I've added nuts, seeds, fruit, chocolate, even coffee and Nutella and not had a cake fail.

I've always use the 225g self raising flour, fat and sugar ratio with 4 eggs method for all my cakes. Easy to remember and make and improvise with flavours depending on what I have in the cupboard

I make white sauce with finely ground almonds.

I made this with ground almonds and it was delicious: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/694633/double-chocolate-loaf-cake

Noooooo I hate marzipan 😨

But love sugared almonds!!😋

Once you've got a couple of tins you can use the closest size and type, I don't buy a new tin unless the recipe calls for one hugely different from what I've already got. You need to keep a closer eye on the cooking time in a different tin but once you're more experienced it kind of comes naturally.

OP, it sounds like you were trying to make the spiced apple cake from the Hairy Bikers. The easiest mistake to make with a cake like that is to over-mix the wet and dry ingredients. You just want to stir enough to combine them.