The Power Of A Good Baking Repertoire
I have a large baking repertoire and many of my tried and true favorites have been gleaned from books, magazines, generous food writers, and home cooks.
Most of my baking recipes are simple and straightforward classics. Some favorites are the ones that I grew up with. Others, such as Norene Gilletz's Blueberry Crumble Cake from The Food Processor Bible are recent discoveries.
I've been thinking about my collection lately and realize that there's tremendous value in a personal repertoire. Of course, there's sentimental value in the memories, but there's also economic value in the recipes themselves.
As a mother of three kids, I'm constantly spinning my wheels to keep up. My tried and true baking recipes have become like a reliable kitchen assistant. I can turn to them and they will work. They pull me through in a pinch and often help to create a little peace when chaos reigns at our house.
A perfect example is the scenario that played out this week. On Tuesday, I baked one of my family's longtime favorite coffee cakes. My sisters and I treasure this recipe because it comes from a friend of the family and it must be at least fifty years old. It's an enormous recipe made in a half sheet baking pan. When I made the cake on Tuesday, I casually thought I'd just freeze half for another day.
Then, on Wednesday around 6 am, my teenage daughter rolled out of bed and announced that she needed to bring something for the bake sale at school that day. Her high school French class was holding a bake sale to raise money for Haiti and she needed to bring something. Yikes! We went through the usual "why didn't you tell me this sooner" discussion and then we leaped into action.
Thankfully, I had safeguarded the coffee cake and we were able to individually wrap about twenty good size pieces for the bake sale. It was only a small contribution to an enormous cause, but it does illustrate the power of a rock solid repertoire.
What's in your baking repertoire?
Photo by Melissa A. Trainer
--Melissa A. Trainer
Moonstone on February 01, 2010 at 06:24 AM
Melissa, please share some of your recipes. I'll bet they are great! Plus, I would love to have a coffee cake recipe that makes enough for a large crowd!