A few of my cakes so far

For my husband, on his birthday, a carrot cake decorated with cream cheese icing:


(Yes, this is low-res; the high-res version will be posted as soon as possible!)


For a baby shower, in April, 2005; the bottom tier was chocolate with coconut buttercream, and the top tier has vanilla cake and orange buttercream. All the decorations are made from rolled fondant:





For our post-wedding reception in with family and friends in another province, in June, 2005; the bottom tier was chocolate with coconut buttercream, the middle tier was lemon cake with raspberry buttercream, and the top tier was vanilla cake with orange buttercream. All the decorations are made from rolled fondant:





Our Yule Log, Christmas, 2005; sponge cake with chocolate meringue icing, decorated with dark chocolate and shaved coconut:



For Easter, 2006, a chocolate cake with coconut buttercream, decorated with fondant and tinted coconut:





For a party, in July, 2006, a white butter cake filled with apricot preserves and chocolate ganache, decorated with fondant:

Bäckerfrau?

So who is Bäckerfrau, and what does her name mean?

Let's start with second things first. Bäckerfrau isn't a real word, but rather a Germanised form of "Baker woman". It isn't proper German (Bäckerin would be better) but then I'm not a proper pastry chef, either. Nor am I German (but my husband is). I'm trying to learn the language (mangling it in ways such as this probably isn't helpful), and love visiting the country, but I'm definitely a Canadian at heart. An Atlantic Canadian, to be precise.

And first things second: I love baking. Have for as long as I can remember. My grandmother taught me how to bake traditional bread, something which I still do (though not regularly, more as a treat). My mother always let me make cookies and cakes. I enjoy cooking, but baking is my kitchen passion. During graduate school, I realised that I baked to alleviate stress; a little bit of time and effort both distracted me from the anxieties of doctoral work and produced something tangible (and enjoyable), a useful variation from the abstract, delayed-gratification realities of academic research. More than once I baked things without any wish to eat more than a small serving, much to the benefit of friends and colleagues.

In the last year and a half or so, I've become interested in cake decorating. I haven't taken any courses, but would like to do so. I've produced a few cakes so far, each of which I've been proud of.

I still love to bake cookies. I have some favourite recipes that I fall back on time and again, but I'm always open to new suggestions, too. Now that I'm expecting, I'm planning to make a few batches of freezable dough, so that even when I don't have the time (or energy) to really bake anything, we can have fresh cookies. No way I'll resort to chemical-y prefab cookie dough!!

As with the cookie dough, I've already begun to stock the freezer with summer fruit pies: strawberry and rhubarb, blueberry, and raspberry pies have already been squirrelled away, peach pies will follow.

I love to make all the others, too: muffins, yeast breads, quick bread, pastries... The problem is, we cannot eat it as quickly as I can make it. I have little fantasies of opening a bakery, but wouldn't that ruin all the fun?

PS - my husband has expressed one particular concern he has about us eventually taking a sabbatical: how on earth would I survive without my cobalt blue KitchenAid Pro 6 standmixer??

He has a point...

The blog who wouldn't be

Well, finally. My food blog. The blog I first considered ages ago. And, as it happens, the third blog I've begun to keep. First, the baby blog; next, the cat's blog; and finally, at last, the food blog.

The irony is that I'll probably have far less time for baking and cooking once the baby is born. I'm sad to admit that this will likely be the most neglected of my three blogs.

The blog who wouldn't be, indeed.

PS - I really wish I had started a home blog, at least once we'd moved into our new home, if not during the construction phase. The ridiculous things we've had to put up with... From the 'creative' interpretation of code to the use of poisonous solvents to the fire in the kitchen, I wish I had recorded it all somewhere.