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self-raising flour (to make gluten-free, substitute with a gluten-free self-raising flour blend that contains added xanthan gum, plus ½ tsp xanthan gum) Incredible flavours and proper seasoning (the salt balance is so crucial!). But also having the right ‘vibe’. Having a meal with good friends is the best experience for me. Nice chill vibes, nice chat, nice lighting (candles!) and nice ambiance. I love amazing presentation - not fancy expensive stuff, but just things that are well thought out. There’s something about a nice plate/bowl and a small spoon (or cake fork) that just makes a dessert a really lovely and mindful experience. And if it’s cat themed, well that’s even MORE AMEOWZING. What will surprise people in your book? Note: You only need to make half the quantity of royal icing, as it’s hard to make a much smaller quantity and divide it up to create different colours. Any leftover icing can be piped out onto baking paper in long thin strands and left to dry. Once dry, chop up – and you have made sprinkles! Store these in an airtight jar. I grew up with mental health issues, and still have social anxiety,” she says, explaining why baking can be such a soothing antidote during difficult times. One woman was in the first cohort, now she mentors new trainees. I think it’s because it’s something that makes you feel useful.”
ROYAL MAIL STRIKES DURING NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2022 WILL DELAY DELIVERIES. THE LATEST UPDATE ON THE STRIKE DATES CAN BE VIEWED HERE . The characters all experience loneliness in different ways, but they join together and bond through baking.” Add the milk and white wine vinegar to a large bowl and whisk together. Add the treacle, oil, salt and vanilla, then whisk again until combined. We have a lot to learn from cats,” Kim-Joy tells me. “They’re secure in what they want, and they live in the moment. They’re not thinking about the past or the future, just the here and now. I think that is a good message to take across to baking.”self-raising flour (to make gluten-free, substitute with a gluten-free self-raising flour blend, plus ¾ tsp xanthan gum) The decoration on top is like doing a simple oil painting, but in buttercream that you can eat – and remember that asymmetrical faces are all part of the charm, so there’s no need to be too exact.” Leave the pizzas to prove at room temperature for about 20 minutes, or until puffed up slightly. They shouldn’t increase much in size. If you did an overnight first rise, then just wait for the dough to come to room temperature (up to two hours) before you bake it. It’s more like real life, in that you bake and things are a little bit better, but it’s not always good. It’s about how we keep going.” Baking can be a mindful activity, where you can totally lose yourself. There’s structure within it, too, which makes me feel a bit safe.
These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community. I wanted this book to be full of life, full of the quirkiness and weirdness of cats, to capture that within the bakes.” Chill the cake in the fridge for at least one hour, or in the freezer for 10 minutes until the buttercream is chilled and firm. Then cover the whole cake in another layer of vanilla buttercream to cover most of the crumbs. Use a palette knife (heating it under hot water for a smoother finish) to smooth the buttercream around the sides, then smooth the buttercream on the top, smoothing it in from the edges and towards the centre. (Make sure there is a little vanilla buttercream left for the decorations). Scatter sprinkles all along the bottom of the cake, then chill in the fridge for at least one hour again, or in the freezer for 10 minutes until the buttercream is firm. I definitely went a bit bonkers and I couldn’t really sleep for a while – but it was all worth it in the end,” she says of the home transformation, which features decor as colourful as her culinary creations. I realised that instead of piping the meringue into neat cat shapes, I could show how you can make ‘scruffy’ cats by dolloping meringue onto baking paper, swirling through jam/chocolate/curd, sprinkling on freeze-dried fruit, and then just using fingers to pinch out the cat ear shapes and using edible eyes or food dye to create a little face. What are the components of a fantastic meal for you?
Kim-Joy is an expert in creating gorgeous animal-themed bakes, and her adorable feline characters have a purrsonality all of their own. Catering for a range of skills levels, whether you fancy baking Tiger Buns, Meow Bao, Kit-tea Scones or a Happy Purrrrthday Cake, bring joy to your cooking and a smile to every cat-owner's face with Bake Me a Cat! Named after the reptilian bread she made on Bake Off, the title is “a metaphor about stepping out of your shell – having that armour up, which prevents you from being vulnerable and connecting with others.” Biscoff spread (this is added to a third of the buttercream; omit this if making the recipe gluten-free)
Add the flour (plus xanthan gum, if gluten-free), bicarbonate of soda, ginger, sugar and salt to a large bowl, and stir until combined. It’s been an eventful few months for former Bake Off contestant Kim-Joy, who got engaged last summer and married shortly after in a spontaneous ceremony in Las Vegas. The cutest and chonkiest fat cat in its spiritual food form”, is how former Bake Off star Kim-Joy describes these pizzas – for the uninitiated, ‘chonky’ refers to animals that are delightfully pudgy. My cats (Inki and Mochi)have been very inspirational for Bake Me a Cat. And just cats in general because they are so wonderfully weird. I’m inspired by how cats squeeze themselves into tiny boxes; how they want to sit in plant pots; how they curl up and sleep; so many things. And all these personality traits and cat archetypes have been translated into baking form. That’s why there’s cats cosying up in fruit tarts, or kitten buns in flowerpots, and there’s even a Schrodinger’s cat box! Not to mention cat’s who’ve got the cream, and Ragamuffin cats (which obviously, had to be muffins!). What recipes would you recommend we try first from the book? verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{
Kim-Joy is an expert in creating gorgeous animal-themed bakes, and her adorable feline characters have a purrsonality all of their own. Catering for a range of skills levels, whether you fancy baking Tiger Buns, Meow Bao, Kit-tea Scones or a Happy Purrrrthday Cake, bring joy to your cooking and a smile to every cat owner's face with Bake Me a Cat! To make the dough, place the flour, salt and yeast together in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment (you can also use a bread machine just to knead). Make sure that the salt is not directly touching the yeast. Stir together, then pour in the water and olive oil. Plus, offering a batch of brownies or a homemade cake to a loved one can be its own reward: “It makes you confident as you’re learning new skills and also being able to bring happiness to other people.” We’ve renovated our house recently, and one of the most exciting things is that we now have a walk-in pantry! I never would’ve thought I’d ever have a walk-in pantry. It’s a total dream just being able to see all my ingredients. So I’ve always got food dyes, plain flour, baking powder, strong white flour, vegetable oil and vanilla bean paste (and many many other things). How do you balance tradition and innovation in your cooking?
The pun-filled book features adorable feline fancies, such as marshmeowlow cats, miaowringues and pudgy 3D cookie cats. Place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl, cover with oiled plastic wrap and leave to rise for about one hour or so (this depends on the ambient temperature – if the room is warmer, it will rise faster), or until doubled in size. On a similar theme, forthcoming fictional graphic novel, Turtle Bread, tells the tale of a bunch of friends who meet at a baking club.Going for a big Chinese meal with my family for the Lunar New Year! It’s just so nice to have a massive meal together, and the fun of watching when everyone is getting really full towards the end, and everyone just telling everyone else to polish everything off! Mostly, I just love meals that have shared dishes in the centre, and you help yourself to whatever you want. That’s pretty much how me and my partner Nabil try to do every meal out. Having tastes of lots of different dishes is always better than having all of one dish. Unless that one dish is clearly the best of the lot! What dish do you make most often? I don’t like things that are all the same or really uniform – it takes a bit of life out of them,” she says. When I was making the ‘meowringue’ cats recipe on the actual book shoot, I realised that I could create a simpler and just as effective version for people who aren’t into piping, or are in a rush or have young kids who want to help.
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