Mary Berry webchat: Join the queen of tarts on Monday 1.30 - 2.30

[RachelMumsnet]

We are excited and delighted that queen of the kitchen, Mary Berry, will be joining us at MNHQ for a live webchat.

Mary Berry, CBE is one of the UKs best-known and most respected cookery writers and television presenters. She has over 80 books to her name and over 6 million sales worldwide. A judge on The Great British Bake Off she has been voted as Britains favourite baking companion.

Mary's autobiography A Recipe for Life is out this month. A touching, evocative and fascinating memoir, Mary tells the story of her remarkable rise to fame. Everyone who joins the webchat will be entered into a draw to win a signed copy of A Recipe for Life. Join us on Monday or post a question in advance to Mary on this thread.

[MaryBerry]

@NotAFeminist

{Ooh, I have never been part of a webchat before and am not quite sure how it works??? But I have only just discovered the joys of The Great British Bake Off (4 series in, I know, where have I been?!) and love it immensely! I think Mary Berry is simply delightful which is why I would love to ask the following question...}

For someone who has only really baked in cooking classes at school and a handful of other times, what advice would you give to someone starting out in the world of baking? For example, simple recipes to start with, or what vital cooking utensils should every budding baker have in their kitchen, or what ingredients must one always have to hand etc...

Many thanks in advance if you answer my question! :)

When starting off, just sit down and think what sort of cakes do you want to make? If it's a victoria sandwich, buy yourself two tins of the size of the cake you're likely to make. Some bun tins or muffin tins, and a couple of flat baking sheets.
A hand mixer is not expensive and a great help if you want to take it fairly seriously. Always have self-raising flour, plain flour and caster sugar in the cupboard, and Stork for baking and eggs in the fridge so you're always at the ready for baking.

[MaryBerry]

@Valentinegal

Hi Mary, was just given your latest book for my birthday and enjoying working through it. Dont want to out myself but your sister taught me all I know in the kitchen and gave me such confidence in cooking. Seems like these days, and in the past, cooking lessons in other schools have often been rather lame. Her lessons were the highlight of our week and I have always wanted to thank her so could you pass the message on. Thanks

I suspect it was my sister-in-law, Margaret Berry, who taught cookery and she's a brilliant cook.

[bundle]

can i use preserved cherries in a clafoutis? or is it beyond the pale?

[MaryBerry]

@TerrorMeSue

During GBBO do you eat anything at all except what the contestants make?

I have no idea how you manage to try so many different cakes (or whatever). You must be stuffed!

I enjoy the tasting very much. The bakers are most inventive but I'm very careful not to go back for a second slice. I can assure you I eat a normal meal in the evening, but at lunch time I just have soup because it's cold.

[MaryBerry]

@MrsCampbellBlack

Hi Mary - like everyone else I love your books and GBBO. I also loved hearing you on Desert Island Discs - it was a very moving episode.

I have an aga and no other cooker and wondered whether you had any plans to do another aga book - one focusing on christmas in particular would be wonderful. I am already dreading the trauma of trying to get my roast potatoes to roast whilst the temperature plumits.

Thank you!

The Christmas Collection cookery book comes out in three weeks time, and it has aga cooking times in so hopefully it will help you navigate through Christmas!

[BetsyBidwell]

Mary, do you have cold hands for pastry?

[BetsyBidwell]

( oh and - everyone says that my mother is the spit of you - a little bit terrifying too )

[MaryBerry]

@hermancakedestroyer

Hi Mary,

I'm a huge fan of the GBBO and always find that your comments to the competitors is kind and constructive.
My question to you is about meringues. My aunt used to make delicious meringues which were crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle but I have never managed to replicate them! Can you help? Thank you
Keep up the good work

Have a look at DK's The Cookery Course Book. It has meringue recipes in detail. Have a look in your local library. To make the best meringues put the egg whites in a clean bowl and whisk with an electric whisk on full speed until it looks like cloud, then continue adding the sugar on full speed a little at a time until it is exceedingly stiff. This should give you really good meringues.

[MaryBerry]

@bundle

can i use preserved cherries in a clafoutis? or is it beyond the pale?

Certainly you can use preserved cherries in clafoutis. Make sure they're well drained before adding them to the mixture. You can use any of the syrup that remains slightly thickened as a sauce.

[BetsyBidwell]

DOnt you add vinegar to meringues? Or is that pavlova?

[MaryBerry]

@HoneyDragon

Mary, you really are fantastic. Your Fast Cakes was the first recipie book I ever used, when I was little. And what's lovely to me is that my son now gets it down and flicks through it looking for stuff to make just like I did.

Speaking of said boy. Cake is his favourite thing. He doesn't like fondant icing (and I'm rubbish with rolling it out!) and he doesn't particularly love buttercream either . So what else can I use to decorate the fancy birthday cakes he asks for each year?

You can just make water icing which is lemon juice added to icing sugar. There is a new icing sugar called fondant icing sugar which is excellent and sets reasonably firmly. I've found it very good and it has a nice shine.

[OhDearNigel]

Mary,
Further to my previous question about angel food cake, I have 3 passion fruits and 4 lemons languishing sadly in my fridge. I have a full cupboard of ingredients, what would you do with them ?

[HoneyDragon]

Oooooh thank you. I shall play with the fondant icing sugar. I keep looking at it in the shop

[MaryBerry]

@ThisTimeItsPersonal

Hi Mary, I was just curious, who inspired you to become such a fantastic baker? You have inspired so many people and I think you really are a fab role model!

I was very lucky at school to have a fantastic cookery teacher, Miss Date. She inspired me to cook and bake. I only wish that cookery lessons were back in school, but there is a lot of talk about it coming back which would be wonderful and would hopefully inspire a whole new generation.

[hermancakedestroyer]

Thank you Mary, I am chuffed to bits for your advice and off to bake a fluffy meringue now!

[BetsyBidwell]

they do have cookery lessons in schools!

[NotAFeminist]

Thank you for answering my questions! I'm pretty serious about starting out in the world of baking and look forward to my son being old enough to bake with me! I've a few years yet so have plenty of time to hone my skills?! haha :D Thanks for coming to talk to us! Have a lovely day.

[cm22v077]

Great, thanks for answering my question! Another one, if I may...
My mum had the Hamlyn Cook Book also - it was our bible as we were growing up and we had the clock cake every year for our birthdays. I still love looking through it because it's so dated - all that aspic Jelly. Do you ever use this book?

[alwaysneedaholiday]

Hi Mary - thank you for all of your fantastic recipes - you have converted my Father to a keen baker, in his mid-70s!!

My question is; how do you stop cherries from sinking in a cherry cake?

Thank you so much!

[IsaacCox]

Hi Mary :) I'm a huge fan of yours. You have really inspired me in the kitchen. What is your best ever baking tip? Thank you

[down2earthwithabump]

Hello Mary Berry.

I am totally inspired by your career, attitude to life especially through times of adversity but also your successes, and of course baking. My baking has been a bit limited recently despite being a keen amateur trial-and-error-cook/baker but we have recently had architect plans for a small extension and creation of a kitchen diner at the back of our house (you wouldn't want to cook in the current 30 year old kitchen ) where I have dreams of teaching 6yr old DD and her friends to bake. (Many of our best times have been baking in the kitchen together).

Apart from the "kitchen working triangle" what would you say is the most important aspect in kitchen design? (It's a lot of expense and I want to get it right!)

Many thanks, regardless of whether or not you manage to answer my question.

[MaryBerry]

@TallyGrenshall

I love Mary! My mother bought me one of her books 13/14 years ago and I used it all the time until it got lost in a move and I can't remember what it was called to replace it :( (white cover with all the basics in it if anyone remembers/has it)

My question is what has been your favourite bake from all the GBBO series?

Ryan's key lime pie. It was delicious.

[MaryBerry]

@expatinscotland

Mary, I'd like to ask if it is necessary to adjust my cake and biscuit recipes in any way if I am using duck eggs, which are richer than chicken eggs.

(P.S., am a big fan of yours . Also, as a mother bereaved of my beautiful daughter, thank you for being so sharing of your experience of bereavement and I am sorry for the loss of your son).

Duck eggs can be used to replace hens eggs using the same volume. If you break four eggs in to a jug then compare it with a couple of duck eggs I think you'll find it'll be about the same volume. You could use the hens eggs that you've broken up in scrambled eggs. Duck eggs are very good for baking. I bought my grandchildren an ostrich egg last weekend and we made it into scrambled egg. It had a very tough shell!

[MaryBerry]

@down2earthwithabump

Hello Mary Berry.

I am totally inspired by your career, attitude to life especially through times of adversity but also your successes, and of course baking. My baking has been a bit limited recently despite being a keen amateur trial-and-error-cook/baker but we have recently had architect plans for a small extension and creation of a kitchen diner at the back of our house (you wouldn't want to cook in the current 30 year old kitchen ) where I have dreams of teaching 6yr old DD and her friends to bake. (Many of our best times have been baking in the kitchen together).

Apart from the "kitchen working triangle" what would you say is the most important aspect in kitchen design? (It's a lot of expense and I want to get it right!)

Many thanks, regardless of whether or not you manage to answer my question.

Kitchen design is all about what suits you. For example, I like to have plenty of space for recycling and I have four containers in two draws. I therefore don't want a waste deposal unit. I like a separate kitchen table for eating so that I don't have to keep clearing it when I'm working. Choose a floor that's easy to clean otherwise you'll regret it! I like my ingredients and equipment in cupboards rather than on open shelves to reduce cleaning. I like vertical storage for my baking trays, chopping boards, bun tins as it takes up less space. I could go on indefinitely – good luck!

[MaryBerry]

@cm22v077

Great, thanks for answering my question! Another one, if I may...
My mum had the Hamlyn Cook Book also - it was our bible as we were growing up and we had the clock cake every year for our birthdays. I still love looking through it because it's so dated - all that aspic Jelly. Do you ever use this book?

I still love the Hamlyn Cook Book but I am certainly not into aspic anymore!