Today my blog pays homage to three amazing bakers who put great effort into each post they compose. Their blog articles end up as detailed tutorials that allow even a beginner baker to tackle what might seem very intimidating at first. I share three recipes, in the chronological order I baked them in the past couple of months.
SUPERSTAR BAKER #1
HELEN FLETCHER
BLUEBERRY LEMON POKE CAKE
BLUEBERRY LEMON POKE CAKE
One of the tastiest cakes baked in our kitchen, and I am not exaggerating. Moist. Sweet to the perfect level. Luscious. Everything works in this cake. For the recipe and very detailed tutorial, visit Helen’s blog with a click here. You will make a blueberry jam to fill the cake, and I advise you to give enough time to allow it to set a bit, just to make it easier to work with…. Below, a little comparison between Helen’s neat work and yours truly… my jam was still bit too loose. No major harm done, though, I just thought it was funny to share.
Helen’s site and her cookbooks are a constant source of inspiration for me. Plus, she is tremendously helpful and whenever I get into trouble I drop her an email. She has rescued me more than once. A lot more than once (wink, wink).
Every once in a while, Helen offers online classes, and I’ve taken a couple of them. One of my favorites was last year, in which she taught how to make Chocolate Tartlets with a caramel filling. A thing of pure beauty and absolutely decadent! Make sure to subscribe to her blog, so you get notification of upcoming classes.
SUPERSTAR BAKER #2
CAROLINE
RED VELVET OREO STYLE SANDWICH COOKIES
RED VELVET OREO STYLE SANDWICH COOKIES
Absolutely delicious, you can make them without the cutouts if you’d like to simplify your life, but of course turning them into Linzer territory is not a bad move at all! For the full recipe click here. I made a very slightly modification adding strawberry extract to the filling and a touch of pink gel color. Other than that, I followed her recipe to a T.
You can modify the filling, use jam, or Nutella, the cookies are very flavorful and will be perfect no matter your choice of filling. Caro has countless baking lessons in her site, I highly recommend you pay her a visit and subscribe to be notified of new posts. Caroline is one of the moderators of a Facebook group with almost 18 thousand members, for lovers The Great British Bake Off, and that’s how I got to know her. I don’t know how she manages to do all she does…
SUPERSTAR BAKER #3
TANYA OTT
RED VELVET CAKE DONUTS
As you can see, I’ve been on a red velvet kick lately. These are spectacular and simple to make, especially if you follow the detailed instructions and the very helpful video available in Tanya’s blog. Essentially two bowls, no need for an electric mixer until you get into frosting territory.
Another example of a great baking instructor, Tanya’s articles are always carefully composed, and I am in awe of the amount of work she puts into the making of each of the videos often included in her posts. In case you don’t know, Tanya was one of the contestants in season 5 of The Great American Baking Show, and I shared the tent with her a few times. She even got a handshake from a certain guy with penetrating blue eyes…
That’s all for now, folks! I hope you visit my friends’ sites, and get as inspired
by their baking as I do…
ONE YEAR AGO: Turkey Meatloaf
TWO YEARS AGO: Prue Leith’s Smoked Salmon and Beetroot Blinis
THREE YEARS AGO: Mandioca Frita 101
FOUR YEARS AGO: White Chocolate Raspberry Dome Cake
FIVE YEARS AGO: Blueberry Crumble Coffee Cake
SIX YEARS AGO: Pickled Red Onions
SEVEN YEARS AGO: Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake
EIGHT YEARS AGO: Mini-Chocolate Cheesecake Bites
NINE YEARS AGO: Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Grated Tomato Sauce
TEN YEARS AGO: A Taste of Yellow to Honor Barbara
ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Gratin of Beefsteak Tomatoes
TWELVE YEARS AGO: Tour de France Final Stage: PARIS
THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Snickerdoodles with a Twist
Bewitching Kitchen 
Wow !! I can see heaps of delightful homework ahead during the weekend !!! I may not be much of a baker but am always thrilled to read about interesting people ! So glad to read about your teachers . . . perchance I too can learn something . . . for some reason Tanya Ott especially interests . . . am wondering about her background story . . . . bestest . . .
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she is a great baker, and one of the sweetest human beings out there! definitely check her blog…
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Oh, Sally, I am honored to be among your best because I admire your work so much. Thank you, thank you.
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a very small token of appreciation, considering all the inspiration you offered me and all the help over so many years!
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Really nice job of sharing the love/spotlight with 3 of your favorite bakers. I already subscribe to Helen’s and Tanya’s blogs, so I will now subscribe to Caroline’s too.
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Aww Sally, how wonderful of you to include me in this!!! You make such lovely comments in group, but to be mentioned on your site again is an honour. I am so pleased to be in such good company. You know Tanya is my friend too and we link to each’s recipes too, but looking forward to checking out Helen’s. And to think too, you included one of my old recipes with rubbish pics too haha! Guess whose new pics are going to be added to the recipe for Reader’s Pics?? You might be able to tell, I am very touched by this. And I am the one wondering, how you manage so much – I am not getting much done these days. But would love to make Tanya & Helen’s recipes maybe next week.
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Helen is a super baker, a professional with decades of experience and she tests every single step of a recipe, her stuff can be trusted completely. Love her!
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Brilliant. Looking forward to having a proper look on her site and trying some recipes out.
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they are great indeed, and you will love Caro also!
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