Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

What is the point of baking?

425 replies

waitingforautumn · 26/02/2021 15:40

OK to cover myself - I'm actually not a bad baker (promise! :)) my issue is that baking - while highly therapeutic, is not necessarily cheap, and it leaves you with a commitment to eating the baked good all week!! (doesn't sound like a bad thing does it...). Cakes in particular are quite hard to scale down.

AIBU to just prefer a supermarket / cafe slice of cake etc to spare myself the faff and expense of baking, and the smaller/individual portion sizes?! I know they are rarely as good as the home baked kind but some of them can be very decent. I get FOMO for not baking when a lot of friends and family do it - they make it look so fun and rewarding! Yet when I bake I totally lose interest in the final product after I've had one portion.

I spent a large chunk of last weekend baking a half size chocolate cake (it could still feed 10 tbh!), and by the end I just wish I'd gone to M&S lol. Especially now, 4 days later, when the fam are all bored of it and the remainder of this cake is just sitting there uneaten, getting drier and drier every day... yet we all feel too guilty to throw it away. It wasn't a very nice recipe actually. Not chocolatey enough and was on the dry side to begin with. But thats just part of the risk of trying a new recipe I suppose.

Or am I just missing the point of baking???? Is it supposed to be something people only do when feeding a crowd? How often do you bake and why do you do it? Does it all get eaten?? If you crave something in particular are you more likely to bake it or go out and buy it?

OP posts:
Original poster
waitingforautumn · 26/02/2021 20:53

@CrystalE

I hate cakes. We have been subjected to my MIL zoom baking throughout lockdown. It's expensive, results In a load of unhealthy food that goes to waste. I am totally with you OP.
LOL she sounds like a character!
OP posts:
CoRhona · 26/02/2021 20:54

I have teenagers. There is no way cake lasts very long in our house Grin

underneaththeash · 26/02/2021 20:54

We try and make something every week, it's good for DD who struggles with concentration and I make something to use up stuff too.

We made banana cake today with brown bananas and then on Tuesday we made Viennese biscuits which we dipped in chocolate and then they ate.

I don't like sweet things very much, but the rest of the family do.

hiredandsqueak · 26/02/2021 20:57

I bake because it keeps me sane, I don't even eat cake but I find it relaxing and the process pretty satisfying. I offload cakes on family and friends and neighbours. The more stressed I am the more I bake so at times of high stress I have been known to throw uneaten cake away and replace it with another cake.

Thehawki · 26/02/2021 20:57

This is the recipe that I use!

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/best-ever-chocolate-brownies-recipe

I use salted butter because that’s what I normally get in. Make sure you whisk the sugar and eggs for long enough. Also use bread flour in brownies, it helps the gluten which makes them more fudgy! I like to under-do them by 5 minutes and stick them in the fridge to let them set overnight and omg that’s amazing, probably not to everyone’s taste though! I’ve experimented a lot with that recipe so I know what I like :)

Original poster
waitingforautumn · 26/02/2021 20:58

@oblada

Can you give an example of a cake that turned out to be nasty OP? I've never had a really bad cake. Or even a bad cake. Occasionally more cooked than I wanted (for a chocolate brownie) or a little under (for a banana cake/bread). Or a bit too much sugar. So I take note for next time. But if I like the ingredients and taste as I go along to check quantities, not much can actually go that much wrong.

DH likes to make bread and that really doesn't compare to shop bought!

My oven does tend to scorch things, so many things do come out drier than I'd like. Brownies usually always turn crumbly (my own fault, I am always naïve when adjusting the cooking time to our oven), the choc cake this weekend was soo dry, not fudgy at all (again my fault, probs not the recipe I wanted). Also - Banana bread, I have never found a good recipe for - yet I've been to cafes that have gorgeous banana cake. I just need whatever it is they do!

I can make delicious scones and sponge cake - far better than any I can buy. Only do those once a year tbh.

OP posts:
Original poster
waitingforautumn · 26/02/2021 20:59

@Thehawki

This is the recipe that I use!

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/best-ever-chocolate-brownies-recipe

I use salted butter because that’s what I normally get in. Make sure you whisk the sugar and eggs for long enough. Also use bread flour in brownies, it helps the gluten which makes them more fudgy! I like to under-do them by 5 minutes and stick them in the fridge to let them set overnight and omg that’s amazing, probably not to everyone’s taste though! I’ve experimented a lot with that recipe so I know what I like :)

You are very kind for sharing, thank you! Must try and I definitely will take note re under-doing.
OP posts:
BritWifeinUSA · 26/02/2021 21:01

Like any hobby, it’s not for everyone. I love baking. But I hate dancing, for example. I spend all weekend baking and I absolutely love it. I get excited on Friday that I’m close to the weekend and my baking. I bake all our bread. I bake muffins, pies (sweet and savory), crumbles, sausage rolls, cakes, etc. Not everything every week, of course. I freeze it all and we never buy any shop bread, cakes, pies, etc.

Original poster
waitingforautumn · 26/02/2021 21:01

@kunterbunting

OP, you sound lovely. Yes, I'd like to have a cup of tea with you (and NO CAKE Grin).

Brew

Hahaha yes! Maybe some shop bought snacks?! Grin Halo
OP posts:
Dora26 · 26/02/2021 21:05

If you shop in the right place it can be as good or better than homemade - no mess!

cretelover · 26/02/2021 21:06

I don't enjoy baking, it puts in some time with the toddler. But I do think home made cakes taste much better than shop bought so I'll begrudgingly make something every 2 or 3 weeks.

willowmelangell · 26/02/2021 21:17

I once spent 5 hours(includes cooling and decorating) making a fudge cake. So proud. Presented it to dd. She ate a slice and announced, " It's all right. I've had better."
Now I stick to cheesy wholemeal breakfast scones and we woof them down with butter. I throw the word 'breakfast' in so we get to eat cheesy things in the morning Grin

Thehawki · 26/02/2021 21:23

No problem OP! I often find it’s the recipe that’s the problem and not the cook with baking as well :) Lockdown has given me lots of time to find things I like to make (-cough- eat) in my spare time too Grin

DoAsYouWouldBeMumBy · 26/02/2021 21:26

I love baking, find it really therapeutic, but none of us (DH or DC or me) are big cake eaters, so it takes us for ever to get through a small bday cake. I prefer baking for my parents. aunties and sisters, who can demolish a cake in seconds. None of us would give a shop cake house room though Envy

TinselTinsel · 26/02/2021 21:31

If you don't enjoy baking then don't. Treat yourself to a pre-made cake instead.
Maybe bake something you could freeze in portions if you do want to bake?
I've spend the day baking 2 loaves, 48 bread rolls, some jumbo choc chip cookies and rocky road bars. All but the rocky road has gone in the freezer, I'd rather make ahead and get things out when I need them, plus if I don't hide them in the freezer then my 17 year old human dustbin will eat them faster than I can make them Grin

roastedsaltedpeanut · 26/02/2021 21:31

Highly controversial to claim Mark’s cakes being better than ALL homemade cakes. As PP suggested, the real issue at hand may be you grossly overestimated your baking ability. Cakes could be baked in smaller portions, just keep to the ratio and reduce baking time accordingly. A chocolate cake that feeds ten is ginormous IMO.

Having said that, mediocre home baked cakes are indeed disgusting 🤢 I would much rather have standard supermarket in that case too.

BigPaperBag · 26/02/2021 21:34

I loathe baking. Sainsbury’s or Marks and Spencer’s all the way 😆👍

MustardMitt · 26/02/2021 21:40

My baked goods are a million times nicer than shop bought.

You can buy smaller tins and scale recipes you know. Make cup cakes and freeze the leftovers before icing. If you don’t like baking then don’t, it’s not a prerequisite of being a mother.

drspouse · 26/02/2021 21:41

It tastes better, you can have a whole cake for the price of a dive in a cafe, and it's fun.

ManicMach1nes · 26/02/2021 22:14

Dry cake, make trifle

EmbarrassingAdmissions · 26/02/2021 22:39

@ManicMach1nes

Dry cake, make trifle
Or cake pops or rum balls.
FrenchBoule · 26/02/2021 22:44

Cake,bread,biscuits.
Everything tastes better than shop bought.
Can’t remember last time I ate shop bought bread.Sourdough convert now.

As for the cakes-I’m after the flavour not sugary sickly sweetness with no taste.
Sponge moistened with lemon tea and blackcurrant filling on the cards at the weekend.

BrideofBideford · 26/02/2021 22:47

It is cheaper, it tastes better, no dodgy ingredients like palm oil or Marge. I bake one or twice a week

I always find shop cakes so small. teeny tiny things

I live with 2 DC (16,18) and a hungry DH and any cake I make is gone in 24hrs.

Only a large Dorset apply Tray bake may last until the next day. maybe

If I ever end up living on my own I shall buy lovely pieces of cake for myself. But right now baking makes sense

IsThisNews · 26/02/2021 22:51

For me, the point of baking is to keep my toddler entertained for a bit. Rainy days in lockdown have all resulted in cakes and biscuits.

Lillyhatesjaz · 26/02/2021 22:55

I like baking and I am quite good at it but the main reason I bake is because DS has a nut allergy and it is almost impossible to buy cakes or desserts that do not contain traces of nuts