We women are bit crazy. And when it
comes to our family we go even crazier I suppose. We want to try out something new and
different … one which we have never done before; same with me. I am a newbie to
all the baking techniques: icing, crumb coating, ganache, fondant… list is
endless.
Previously I used to bake just
normal sponge cakes but whenever on any occasion we used to order cakes from
shops I used to think I should try my hand at it too but didn’t have the
courage or source to research and try (this was nearly 15 years back). But
still whenever I used to bake, I used to love it to see the cake rising while
it is getting baked. It used to give me a sense of satisfaction when my family
members and friends used to devour it with relish.
When my daughter was born, she had a
difficult childhood. Later when she was advised ‘strictly no outside food’ I
was in dilemma. What’s in store for my princess? On her birthdays when we used
to get the cakes I used to hate the amount of cream and coloring used in those
cakes and I used to promise myself ‘next year I will bake a cream cake for her’
but each time I used to fail and we used to end up either with a shop cake or
plain sponge cake.
The reason shop cakes put me off was
- · It used to be tad too sweet.
- · More than 50% of the cake was just cream or icing.
- · More of artificial color and flavoring which used to leave a strange aftertaste.
- · Last but not the least my daughter fell sick after eating the cake once.
But still every time I used to see a cake
picture I used to feel deep inside will I able to fulfill my dream? Luckily
last year while browsing through Facebook I came across a basic cake workshop
ad by Polka Dots Cakes Academy. And I grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
I must say it was the best decision
I made and I got what I wanted; basic knowledge of icing, baking and different
types of cakes and mainly my confidence of baking. I got to know right techniques, ingredients
used and many other tips and tricks.
After attending 1-day workshop I had
that spring in my step and couldn’t wait try out all the recipes taught. My
first trial was all-time favorite black forest cake and it turned out awesome. Slowly
I tried couple of more cakes and everyone liked it. Slowly I started to get
orders from friends to bake for their occasions.
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| My 1st Black forest cake |
Since I had been thinking of
starting something of my own to keep me busy and sane, Chocodisiac was born. During
this journey is past 1 ½ year I met many helpful and talented fellow bakers and
experts who never shy away from sharing their knowledge or experience. I am
really thankful to Gauri, Prabhjot, Shivani, Divya, Rakhi, and many others and
also to the awesome group called Home Bakers Guild for helping me out whenever
I am struck anywhere. I also want to thank Sujata and Mousam my daughter's physiotherapist who always become guinea pigs for my experimentation.
“Fear is just a state of mind”
someone had told me recently and yes its true. I was afraid of many things. I
was afraid of failure and wastage. I was afraid of trying out new things and
ideas. But that didn’t deter me from trying out rainbow cake last year on my
daughter’s birthday nor the doll cake and checkerboard cake with couverture ganache this year.
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| Checker board cake with dark Belgian chocolate ganache with leopard print on top |
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| Doll cake |
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| Inside view |
But when I started working on cakes
I felt “what was I thinking”. I went overboard, wanting to try lot of things
all for first time. The fondant flowers which I wanted to put up on doll cake
were fine till the D-day morning, but heavy rains turned the flowers in a soggy
mess. For first time I tried buttercream and though it didn’t turn out as
expected, it tasted yummy…
Finally when I tried the leopard
print on the checker board cake I didn’t get it right. But I thing I got right.
And that was overcoming my fear. Though these cakes had lots of firsts, and not
everything turned out right but atleast I overcame my fear.
Everyone liked the cake and my
daughter had her fill. Usually I used to just give her little bit of sponge
after separating the cream but since I started baking I don’t separate the
icing for her.
Many people ask me why I became a
home baker? The answer is for my daughter, for my passion. I know what
ingredients I use in my cakes. I avoid using artificial color or flavor. Things
which I know are not good for our children. And atleast I know its fresh and
not stale. And my cake has more of cake than sweet icing. Moreover the satisfaction of having baked a cake from scratch is just so therapeutic.
I wrote this blog not to promote me
or anyone else but to thank all who have helped me through this journey and have
always supported me and stood by me. Being a mother to differently able child
is difficult and doing something like baking and starting a business
from home which requires lots of patience and time and energy is not an easy
thing.
Still a long way ahead… lots of new
techniques and recipes to learn and try. Hope I will be successful. Wish me luck.
Happy
Baking ....
