Afternoon teas, celebration cakes, cupcakes and dessert bars... I was born in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe and spent part of my early years in what is currently Zambia. I learnt to cook, quite literally, at my Grandmother’s knee. Earliest recollection of Granny’s cooking is of Peanut Butter cookies. I ate them hot out of the oven, great! ... and was promptly sick from over-eating. I still can’t stand th
e smell of Peanut Butter. Granny’s system, like many of her generation, was a handful of this, pinch of that, did we add xyz? Mom was less of a cook but taught me to use recipes – what a wonderful invention. I chose to cook sweet things and the family will confirm that I am not a great meals cook. But I can and do make cakes and biscuits and pies and have recently discovered food porn in the form of entremets. Thomas Trillion, ladies, if you are interested. He makes divine desserts in Hong Kong but you can still drool over the computer. I took cake decorating classes in London and made a few Christmas and birthday cakes for friends and all four wedding cakes for the children. I also discovered the Internet and how easy it is to find online classes. Slowly building up my expertise. Once in Australia I took on the grandmother role and had Oliver sitting on the benchtop while we made dinosaur biscuits, etc. Then along came cupcakes for charity at the golf club and then dessert Bars for birthdays and weddings. I only recently obtained Council approval to run a home baking business and now sell at local markets and take personal orders. I am looking forward to many more years of successful baking and also the mistakes which usually taste great but look awful. Fortunately I have great friends who are willing to taste the experiments and eat the leftovers.
