Helping Aspiring Bakers Everywhere With Online Cakes

Watch all the cooking competitions, but if your own secret (or not-so-secret) are aspirations to being a great cook or baker, tuning into the following can only help. 

Image by jwalsh via Flickr

Some of us watched “The Great Australian Bake Off” in rapt attention because we are sweet demons. Some of us may have been accused of salivating in front of the screen in the way a teenage boy looks at Margot Robbie or a teenage girl looks at Liam Hemsworth. Nonetheless, all we can imagine is sampling the delights. Then again, there are those who tune into TGABO and other cooking competitions because they adore the drama, the emotional outbursts, the…epic fails.

But there’s a strong minority of viewers whose emotions and intentions are geared more towards their own spirit of the game. Meaning, sure, you’re happy Nancy Ho and her 22-year-old self and her signature white chocolate mud cake with sour cream and white chocolate ganache won the whole kit and caboodle. But there’s a side of you, one that you might not want to voice, for fear of reprisal: you know you could do well on the show. You’re not entirely sure you’d win (that’s a whole combination of elements, all falling into rightful places), but you would be a fierce competitor. If you could just get a little help to prep you… luckily, there are well-established and highly regarded services like Planet Cake offering online cakes Sydney and world-wide (all you need is the Internet) with courses that will push you towards your goal of master baker.

Get motivated by keeping up with the best and brightest Australian television has to offer chefs, cooks and bakers – and anyone who just likes a good TV show. Here are some shows you must tune into:

MasterChef Australia

We couldn’t write about TV cooking shows/cooking competitions without mentioning the juggernaut that is MasterChef. Since it first aired in 2009, the Logie Award-winning series captivated Aussies everywhere. And, in the interest of transparency, it elevated the original inspiration, Britain’s MasterChef.  When a “mere” I.T. office manager (38-year-old Julie Goodwin) won the first seasons, audiences were addicted. The drama only increased when second-season winner Adam Liaw took the prize over next-best competitor Callum by the tiny margin of seven points! Four more seasons only garnered more viewers. The second series final became the third-highest rated show of all time. The show was so profoundly successful that it sparked spin-off fever (“Celebrity MasterChef Australia,” “Junior MasterChef Australia,” “MasterChef Australia All-Stars,” and “MasterChef Australia: The Professionals.”)

Planet Cake TV

No matter how many steps your favourite on-air baker or chef goes through on one of their television shows, you’ re going to need better and more thorough directions. That’s where Planet Cake TV comes in. The online cake decorating school allows anyone who has Internet the opportunity to bake and decorate like a professional. Planet Cake has the distinction of its uniquely decorated cakes, so this is definitely a situation where they know what their doing. Subscriptions are available monthly and annually and members have access to all Planet Cake TV courses and the new tutorials, which debut monthly.

My Kitchen Rules

What can we say? We love a good cooking competition show and “My Kitchen Rules” certainly qualifies. We love the “grace-under-pressure” moments, especially “Rapid Cook-Off,” “Showdown” and “Sudden Death,” because if you’re rooting for a chef, and as the time seems to speed up, it’s effectively emotional and stressful. At my house, we refer to the series as “Amazing Race in the Kitchen.”  The “Video Diary” is dubbed “Top Model in the Kitchen.” The results (food cooked) on “My Kitchen Rules” are consistently out-of-the-box and are interesting and lively. Yes, the show has borrowed from others, but they borrowed the best and the show is very strong.

Given the success of the aforementioned series, it’s likely you’re already watching these shows. If not, it’s definitely the right time to try it out. You’ll feel honoured and supported.

OH! NUTS Review and Caramel Walnut Crumbly Bars Recipe

One of my favorite things to do during the month of December is my family’s traditional holiday baking.  We buy tons of supplies including many bags of chocolate chips, Flour, Sugar, and nuts. Good nuts can be hard to find. They are also really expensive to buy. I love all kinds of nuts. My two favorite are Pecans and Walnuts.  I had the opportunity to work with OH! NUTS. OH! NUTS sells all kinds of nuts from walnuts to pistachios, even Hazelnuts. They also sell chocolate and candy. They have great prices too.  Everything is so fresh, you don’t have to wonder how long it has been sitting on the shelf at the grocery store.  I was asked to share a recipe with you guys using an OH! NUTS product. Even though I received both Walnuts and Pecans, I decided to be different and not use Pecans.  I used things I had in my home and created a delicious masterpiece.  It was odd making a dish without buying any ingredients because usually there are some special items. I had chocolate chips and caramels in my cabinet. This is my recipe.

Caramel Walnut Crumbly Bars

14 ounces of Caramels unwrapped

2 cups of flour

1 and ½ cups of Brown Sugar

½ teaspoon of salt

1 cup of Butter (softened)

1 cup OH! NUTS Chopped Walnuts

1/3 cup milk

2 cups oatmeal

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

12 ounce bag of Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan. Heat caramels and milk in a 2 quart pan over low heat until smooth.  It does take a while for them to melt.

Mix the flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, baking soda, salt and egg in a large mixing bowl. Stir in butter with a fork or hands.  Press half of the mixture in the bottom of the pan. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Sprinkle on chocolate chips and walnuts. Drizzle the caramel. I just used a big spoon.  Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top and bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly brown on top.

Cool completely and enjoy!

OH! NUTS provided me with nuts to help me create my recipe. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recipes Across America Review

As someone who loves to cook and bake, I love to read cookbooks and use them for meals.   My favorite type of cookbooks are the ones that have all sorts of items to make.  I had the opportunity to receive the Taste of Home, Recipes Across America Cookbook.  It is recipes submitted by readers all over the United States. I love this idea because I love learning about other areas and seeing what foods are popular there. There are so many great recipes. It also has tidbits about different areas, which is extremely interesting. My family’s favorite recipe so far is the Mississippi Mud Pie. We have made it twice in a two week time frame. I also had my mom look at it, because she loves to cook and bake almost as much as I do.  When we were making the Mississippi Mud Cake the first time, we were talking about Marshmallow crème.  When my mom was younger she liked eating peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwiches.  Since we had some, I thought it would be a good time for Noah to try it, since he loves peanut butter and marshmallows.  I mentioned how my best friend’s children like it. My mom said I read in the cookbook that is a common food for New England.  Noah didn’t like the sandwich as much as I thought he would.  The Mississippi Mud Pie was so easy. We were able to make it from ingredients that we had at home, besides marshmallow crème.   It never lasted long and even Noah liked it.  There are so many great recipes to try out. I am really excited to work my way through Recipes Across America.  It’s like taking a cross country road trip in your own kitchen. You know the most important thing about traveling is trying the local cuisine.

You can find Recipes Across America in a bookstore near you or on Amazon.

For more information please visit the Taste of Home website.

I received Recipes Across America to review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.