The Great British Baking Blog

Hello!

My name is Erica, and today I'm going to do the honors of letting you in on a small secret I've been keeping: I love the Great British Bake Off. It has everything I could ever want from a television show. It features a diverse group of contestants, all of whom are really kind to one another. The show itself is structured around one of my favorite things in the world: baking. And, it introduced me to the radiant joy that is Mary Berry.

For almost a year now, The Great British Bake Off has been almost like a stress reliever to me. Whenever real life seems too hectic, I'd get lost in the world of the tent, which seems like it was made to be my personal utopia. The stakes are never too high, the judges never too critical, and the music is never too intense.

Of course, things aren't perfect in the tent. Things can go wrong. Bread fails to rise. Cookie sculptures crumble. And occasionally, pies have soggy bottoms. But none of these things succeed in squelching the over all positivity of the show, or the decidedly British ‘keep calm, and carry on’ attitude of the contestants.

I watch the show and imagine being as good a baker as these contestants, my fingers itching to pick up my whisk and make a sponge worthy of a Paul Hollywood handshake. And then… I never do. I stay cuddled on the couch with my dog, drinking coffee and dreaming, comfortable, but not quite content.

No matter how many times I tell myself that today will be the day I'm going to start perfecting my baking skills, something always seems to hold me back. My kitchen is too tiny to bake in. I don't have a dishwasher, so cleanup would be a nightmare. I'd have to change out of my sweatpants to go to the store to buy ingredients. Or simply, the old classic, I'm just too tired.

And that's true. Most days I am pretty tired. I work as a preschool teacher during the school year, and a private nanny during summer break. While I love what I do, both jobs are physically and mentally draining. And whatever constitution I do have left after work goes into taking care of my dog, Captain. As he is the best dog in the entire world, I don't really mind, but our nightly walks hardly do anything to reduce my weariness.

So, I let myself fall into complacency. I say tomorrow, or this weekend, or over my next school break, knowing that it will probably never happen. I re-watch episodes and feel decidedly unsatisfied.

Until now. I'd like to say that there was some big, come to Jesus, moment that spurned the start of this project, but there wasn't. There was just a simple thought. ‘Wouldn't it be fun to try to make all the recipes from the Great British Bake Off?’

It was an easy thought to dismiss at first, the same old excuses working their way in. But then, the thought popped up the next day. And the next. Until finally I gave it some real consideration. Yes, it would be fun, and what could make it even better would be combing this project with another passion that I rarely indulged in anymore: writing.

The decision was made then and there. I'd bake a recipe from, or inspired by, every episode of The Great British Bake Off, and then I'd write a blog about my experiences. Do I know anything about writing and maintaining a blog? No, but I'm a good Googler and a fast learner. Will anyone read it? My mom probably will, but other than that, who knows. Will every recipe be a success? Definitely not, please don't read this expecting that. I'll only let you down.

So that's the plan. Every week I'll tackle a new recipe from the show. Signature, Technical, Showstopper; every week will be different, mostly depending on my personal taste. Naturally, I'm starting with Season 1 (Series 5 for the Brits) which means we’ll be beginning, in true Bake Off fashion, with a cake.

For now, I'll leave you with the words of someone who had faced my challenge, except worse, because they had to compete in the actual competition. Nadiya Hussain.

(If you didn't cry like a baby when she said this, I'm pretty sure you don't have a soul.)