How to become a star baker

So the big question for all us GBBO lovers has to be how to become a star baker ?

At school kids used to be asked to gather round and look at my baking for tips on what NOT to do.

Sigh.

Last week after his first cooking session at school my son came home with a certificate declaring he was the star baker in his class.

I was very proud and I need to up my game!

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with my kitchen . I work in a tiny corner of it so get rather bored of it to be honest. I am also a bit of a rubbish baker so the kitchen is often the place I tear my hear out in exasperation.

I needed to fall back in love with my kitchen and learn to become a star baker (but this is a thrifty home so of course budget matters!)

Homebase sell lovely budget kitchen accessories and I was delighted to be offered a few to review.

The spotty cake tins mean that even if the cakes are a disaster I can hide them very stylishly! My daughter does most of the cake making in our house and the cheery spotty cake tins (£12.99) really made her smile.

What is is about dots and spots?

To display our baking, again I need all the help I can get, and how absolutely beautiful is this cake stand (£9.99)  Like a great dress I’m pretty sure anything would look good in it!

To give our cake baking a bit of a hand in the first place the secret weapon of bakers has entered our home for the first time ….a mixer (£40) !

It’s such a great mixer and it can also be used a s a hand whisk. saves me lots of effort and pretty much guarantees better baking. Out went the old muffin pan and wire rack and spangly new ones replaced them along with an icing and piping bag to help me along. I want to be able to do some fancy piping so watch this space!

I will become a star baker (well maybe not on GBBO but perhaps in my own kitchen.) My kitchen is way more practical and stylish now thanks to Homebase.

I have been cooking up a storm since these new kitchen accessories came to jazz up my kitchen.

So who do you think is going to win? My money would be on Nadiya. I love Great British Bake Off . it really has made baking cool and I now feel so full of ideas. I think having the right accessories makes all the difference, it just makes life so much easier and baking so much speedier.

The crumble recipe below is from my good pal Penny (it was her mum’s) and was so delicious. You can find the recipe here.The apples were from our friends garden fallen that morning and still wet with dew. I love the sense of community baking can bring.

I really have fallen a little in love with baking this past week.

But my piece de resistance? Og it has to be my slimming world salsa. Do pop over and take a peek!