I am not a professional chef. I never took any home economics classes at school, I was never trained to do anything in the kitchen. I learned to bake through trial and error, as a kid with my mom’s help, and as an adult in my own kitchen with new and old equipment. I’ve gone through many cookbooks, trying to make sense of their terminology and fancy ingredients, and I have tossed those books aside more than once.
I’m a ‘make do’ sort of cook. If I really want to make a certain cake and I am missing one of the ingredients, I will find a substitute and carry on. For instance, did you know that you can reduce the sugar in most cakes by up to half, and not even notice the difference? This knowledge comes from the time that I ran out of sugar and carried on baking, with my fingers crossed behind my back.
I don’t have a lot of fancy equipment. I don’t have the space for it in my small kitchen, and besides, my small children would probably ruin it in the end anyway. I have sturdy bowls and spoons, battered old tins and cake pans that have stood the test of time and still work just fine. Let me introduce you.
These measuring cups and spoons are my real luxury. They are amazing! I love ‘em. They have all the measurements I would need, so I don’t have to do any counting. Just scoop and dump. The largest measuring cup is a 2 Cup size, and the smallest measuring spoon goes down to “smidgen.” They are fun to use, and very practical, because they also show measurements in mls.
These are my lovely wooden spoons and my best ever mixing bowl. They make me feel like an old-fashioned, domestically-inclined housewife, rather than the “mix it up and bung it in the oven” type of baker I really am.
My pots and pans and other stuff. None of them are new, and it shows. Everything is clean, it’s just a tad worn and some of the non-stick coating has come off. I should probably buy new pans, but I never get around to it. The plastic jug in the back is perfect for beating eggs in, or melting butter in the microwave. It also has all the liquid measurements on the side so it’s useful for many things.
Last but not least, a couple of spatulas. Perfect for spreading icing and scraping the last of the batter out of the bowl.
In general, these are the items I use for baking, and not much else. If I use anything extra, or end up buying something new, I’ll be sure to add it to the list.
I’d like to think that most kitchens are stocked with the basics for baking and not much by way of fancy gadgets or specialty cake tins. You can still bake lovely cakes and have them look pretty, too, even with basic ingredients and simple square or round pans.
