I love baking. I've known this for a very long time now. But it wasn't until the pandemic that I realized the connection between mental health and baking. According to the internet, activities like baking are helpful mental health lifelines because it is a focused activity that requires mental/physical attention. In summary, baking gets me "out of my head" while working on a short-term project and goal. Baking requires mindfulness.
It now seems pretty obvious that my love of baking combined with living with high anxiety plus a global pandemic would equal a next level of baking during these unnerving days.
As we inch closer to the one year mark of our lives in quarantine, I've become more and more depressed. (In fact, I am actually taking all this week off for mental health time). I've also hit a wall in baking (which kind of makes sense since it was like the only thing I was doing "for fun" these days). Both of these things have been tough. Depression is really hard, not only living with it but also having to know how to advocate for yourself during bad spells. Everyday activities take an extraordinary amount of energy to complete. But, as my therapist says, sometimes it's okay to give yourself the space you need to rest while other times, the best thing to do is the opposite of what you're feeling. Don't feel like getting out of bed? Get out of bed. Don't feel like baking. Bake something.
So that's where I am right now. This is my rest week but also I am trying to keep pressing on with mindful activities, like writing this blog entry. And baking. (I just pulled some brioche out of the oven).
I thought this would be a good time to finally blog about some of the bakes I am the most proud of from the past couple of months. (I've been meaning to for months anyway).
1. An Autumnal Biscuit Chandelier
"Biscuit" as in a cookie, not a "biscuit and gravy" type. I got the idea for this from The Great British Bake Off. (I've been rewatching all the seasons again and it has been such a comfort to me in my depressed state). And even though that episode was from a few seasons ago, if you google "biscuit chandelier" you still won't find very helpful things. So this project took a lot of creativity to piece together. I used three different types of sugar cookies (so technically this should be called a cookie chandelier) one "Maple" sugar cookie (although it doesn't taste like maple), a chai spice sugar cookie and a pecan shortbread-ish cookie). All the craft supplies came from the Newton Et Cetera Shop.
We did not end up eating any cookies off the chandelier in part because I was so proud of how it looked hanging above the table but also because I didn't think to cut any of the recipes in half. We were eating these cookies for weeks and weeks after the final construction.
2. Spooooooky Halloween mummy eclairs.
I love a good theme. And this halloween I made something else on my GBBO dream list - learning to make choux pastry.
3. Murder on the Orient Express cakes
In the fall, I ordered some different kinds of pastry tools that allow me to cut circles out of cake in a variety of different sizes. One afternoon, I was rewatching the latest cinematic version of "Murder on the orient express." In one scene, the Johnny Depp character is eating a small fancy cake. I wanted to make something similar. This little cake was a chocolate cake, with a hazelnut mousse and a coffee buttercream. Needless to say, it was way too rich and will do some things a bit differently if I make it again. But it was fun, which was the main point.
4. A Gingerbread House
Another GBBO inspired bake. This gingerbread recipe is actually from a GBBO alum, Kim-Joy's Christmas cookbook. I was also a bit homesick for Asheville when I made this. Bake when my parents first moved there, the National gingerbread contest submissions were still free for the public to view at the Grove Park Inn. For several Christmases in a row, we would go an view these incredible works of art. After making one very basic gingerbread house, I had even more respect for those bakers.
It was very fun to make and 100% edible, even though we didn't eat it. It smelled lovely sitting on our bookshelf throughout the holiday season.
5. A Christmas Stollen Wreath
Again, I learned about this traditional German holiday bread on a Christmas episode of GBBO. It has a ton of dried fruit in it including a swirl of pistachio marzipan running though it. I also tried to make a fondant ribbon from marshmallow. All of these things were quite tricky to do. I doubt I will ever make this again but it did smell nice and amazingly enough, we did manage to eat it all. (It had an amazingly long shelf life).
6. A Yule Log
This is quickly becoming my New Year's Eve tradition. (As in, I made one last year too). This year's was just a basic chocolate cake with a vanilla marscapone cream filling. I find these roll cakes to me a lot easier to make than they look.
7. A mirror glaze cake!
This one I am probably the most proud of how it looks. Another GBBO inspiration, since I do not think mirror glazes are that popular in the States. And even though I think the recipe I used for the glaze had too much gelatin in it, it was still really fun make. I definitely will be trying this technique again.
Valetine's Day is coming up so I am sure I will have some more signature bakes coming out of my kitchen very soon.
Keep on keeping on everyone.
Comments
Post a Comment