100 Recipes in 100 Days!

That's it. Sweet mother of holy hell, I'm done! I've spent hundreds of pounds, worked tirelessly for countless hours, finished work and baked myself to exhaustion but finally I have finished. With 23 and a half hours still left on the clock! In the last two days I have not only worked for fifteen hours at a windmill, attended (and solved!) a murder mystery evening - which involved rather a lot more alcohol than was wise - , i've welcomed my brother home and went out for a meal with my family but somehow I've also managed to squeeze in enough time to bake seven different things for my challenge. And these weren't any old seven baked goods, they were the final seven and by god am I glad I pulled it off.

Was there a part of me which thought I couldn't do it? Oh definitely, I have never been particularly good at sticking to my plans, I've had attempts at doing many different long term ideas or projects and most - if not all - have fallen through in some way. This was my way of proving to myself that I really can do something which takes time, effort and forward planning ( we will ignore the fact that I had to bake non stop for the last five hours to meet my deadline!). And I certainly can do those things!

Has there been any point in doing it? I suppose not, it was mostly for my self gratification. I wanted to bake, and I wanted to write about something new. But the blog side of things was really my way of making sure I finished it; if there was no proof of me doing it all then I would definitely have not finished! I guess if I wanted people to take any sort of message away from my challenge then I have a couple of points to make.

DO NOT EVER TRY THIS. That's the main one! Ok, it shan't been that difficult, but I have become rather sidetracked by it. I've been a very irritating person to live with and spend a lot of time with in the last few months because my prolific baking. I apologise for that, especially to my lovely girlfriend, Weezy, who has put up with the stress of post-baking-disaster-Me and for my time spent on the challenge. All I can hope is that the baked goods have helped assuage the pain! 

But, on a more positive note, there is nothing quite like proving people that you can do something they thought was ridiculous, or impossible or a pipe dream. I'm not going to be preachy about it - then proceeds to be preachy...- but as far as I'm concerned, if I can bake 100 recipes with very little initial know-how then I'm fairly sure anyone can do anything they put their mind to! Don't let people boss you about, accept their help of course, but stick to your guns. No body knows yourself like you!

And with that, adieu!

 Many thanks to you for reading, for my family and friends for eating a lot of cake, my boss at work for buying them off me to sell and of course my wonderful Weezy who was both the catalyst for the challenge and the biggest help of all!

The Final Results:

Then Disaster Stir-ikes

I can't decide what has been worse about this challenge, for the most part it has been an absolute joy but obviously 100 recipes in 100 days is no mean feat!

The main problem I have encountered, which has affected me the most has almost certainly been the monetary factor. A friend pointed out to me the other day that whenever he looks through a recipe book he looks at all the fancy recipes and thinks "ooh that looks good... But oh wait, I don't have that, this or that... Damn, I'll settle with a Victoria sponge!" Unfortunately, I can't simply settle with a Victoria sponge so I have had to get all those this's and that's and by god are they expensive! 

But money isn't too big of a deal, especially considering I used to spend a lot of my money on eating anyway! No, the most difficult bit has definitely been the time constraint. Now I know it has all bee self inflicted but irregardless, 100 days is not easy. I've allowed myself no opportunity for breaks or rests, one per day, no more no less. It's very difficult! It has tested my drive and commitment almost to breaking point. I'll be first to admit that about halfway through I was fed up and wanted to stop the challenge but I knew that I'd never forgive myself if I couldn't finish it. 

So here I am, the morning of the last day of the challenge. Tomorrow is the deadline (and I'm actually away all day and night, so have no time to bake tomorrow!) and I have still got five things to cook. Something I thought would be do able up until yesterday afternoon. Whilst at work I discovered, to my horror, that I had written down my dates wrong and am actually working today. Til five o'clock. I am crushed, I have five things to make and all of them will take an hour or so to do, just how am I going to fit them in? I have no clue, but I can tell you one thing for sure; I won't let you down.

Ill part with a gallery of all the baked goods I've made in the last week or so... Yeah, it's been a busy week! 

The Results:

Whoopie doo, I'm almost there!

In just under two weeks my challenge will be over, and though a significant part of me is relieved that I'm coming to the end of what has seemed like such a significant effort in my summer it must be acknowledged that I have achieved a great deal. When I started my challenge I was ok at baking, I certainly wasn't the novice I may have made myself out to be but I certainly wasn't a "Baker" I dabbled in cooking and usually only the same few things. For example, I used to always make the same sponge cake, scones, bread and flapjacks almost every time I baked. 

The main thing I've discovered about myself during this challenge is that it is remarkable that all it takes is a little drive and you can do anything. Us human beings are funny old things we're so diverse; knowledgeable, comitted, happy, excitable, foolish, lazy, sad, impatient, focused,

 scatterbrained and self-contradictory...And that's all just one person, me! 

The thing is, this challenge was part of me just trying something new. I've been writing a lot about different topics over the years, particularly about films, and really I just wanted to see whether I could do something other than that. Having been so focused on being that film critic for years and years its hard to suddenly lose the desire for it anymore, but that's what happened. So maybe if I could bake a hundred recipes in a hundred days I could prove to myself that really, if I put my mind to it then I can do anything.

But it's not just about me, it's about everyone. Anyone leaving uni, school or college really can do anything they want, you've just got to have the desire to do it, the get up and go attitude to make it happen and if you're lucky, some friends and family to help make it worth it.

The last few days of baking has gone pretty darned well if I may say so myself. I've done many flapjacks, Chocolate whoopie pies, butternut squash and orange cake, carrot cake and some hazelnut and chocolate cookies. All delicious! 

The Results:

Mmmm flappy

Mmmm Whoopie...

Mmmmmm Butternutty

Mmmm Carrot-ey

Mmmmm On Display in the Shop...

My time is meringue-ing out...

So, what have I been playing about at for the last few days? Yet again it's been almost a week since my last blog and the strain is really showing now. Although I only have 28 recipes left in my book there is only eighteen days until my challenge is over - crikey, 80 days really does fly by! - and though that may sound pretty easy to complete for a hardened baker such as myself it is definitely not!

I have had a quick glance through the remaining recipes left incomplete in my Home Baking: From the Oven to the Table book (still available for only three pounds in my local The Works) and I audibly groaned... Despite being alone at the time! Among the recipes yet complete are A bundt cake, stollen, a five layered almond and chocolate cake, chocolate whoopie pies (with home made marshmallow), pumpkin (how I will find a pumpkin in August I'll never know!) plus no end of tarts which Look gloriously  tasty... And fiendishly tricky to master!

It's true, I've obviously become more confident with my baking skills over this time - so much so I'm confident people buying cakes and biscuits from me won't be disappointed - however nothing I've done yet will prepare me for the coming days worth of baking. Twenty Eight ridiculously tricky cakes and tarts and breads in a week and a half. Expect just as few blog posts in the next few days, because I'm going to be exhausted and almost drowning in all the washing up ill be doing!

But I have to leave some pictures of this weeks fine creations! I must admit that I forgot to take a picture of my white chocolate and coffee gateaux - for shame! - but believe me you aren't missing out on much... It looked more like a sticky toffee pudding than a gateaux! And tasted, by my friend's judgement, "bland"... So much for supporting one's friends! I guess I better pull my finger out if I am going to bake that many layered chocolate cake!!

The Results:

Mmmmeringue pie (with lemon!)

Mmm Onion bread

MMM Tupperwarey

I biscotti get a move on!

Since I last blogged I took my baking produce to my workplace to sell and I must say that I did rather well selling them myself, all but one of the packets of goodies had been sold by the end of my shift ( and I'm pretty sure my boss will sneakily take that for his pudding!). Although I obviously had confidence in my baking -it's really looking a lot better these days! - I was still surprised at how easy it was to sell them for the price my boss had given them (£1.50 per pack of two flapjacks or five cookies)  this was mainly because of the struggle I had selling cake at the car boot sale a few weeks back. 

But it got me thinking about the audience of the food and how it can make a difference. My boss really likes to live the high life at almost every opportunity he can so when, on a recent visit to London, he decided to pop into the savoy hotel he simply couldn't resist buying tea and biscuits. First, lets bear in mind that in the shop he owns he sold six vanilla macaroons for £1.50 (made by yours truly) which he paid £1 for .... Which I made for approximately 30p for the six! He went to the Savoy and paid £18 for a - paltry if you don't mind me saying! - dozen Macaroons. Wow! So by my maths, the savoy has made an approximate £17.40 profit from those macaroons... It just shows how the location can make a difference; at a carboot they're worth 20p each unwrapped, at a shop £1.50 for 6 wrapped up and at one of the poshest hotels in London you are clearly paying the money to be allowed to walk into the place... The macaroons are more like a free gift for being wealthy enough to afford entry! 

Today's produce - also being baked for my boss to sell on - are Almond Biscotti, Date Pistachio and Honey slices and Apricot Flapjacks.

The biscotti are particularly good I must say! It's been a while since I made a truly satisfying crunchy biscuit, but by god do these have some crunch to them, and they taste absolutely gorgeous, just another nut based thing definitely worth giving a try yourself! The Date Pistachio and Honey Slices are really quite well made... I say this mainly because they definitely are not my thing. Dates taste absolutely awful, even when mixed with sugar and honey! They are clearly one of those things which are only ever eaten by the elderly to ensure one's bowels are working efficiently - sorry about that one if you're currently eating some form of chocolate! But I have definitely made them particularly well, the pastry which sandwiches together the date, honey and pistachio mix is done perfectly and really what more can you want!? Oh yeah, a tasty end product! The Apricot Flapjack is... well, it's flapjack with bits of apricot in, hardly worth explaining!

 And if I'm honest, it's barely worth mentioning in terms of the cooking process. I have finally got batch baking down to a tee, there really is no way easier to do it than leave the oven going and switching things round and using the same bowls to weigh things. It saves an enormous amount of time on washing up and also seems to be more worth taking the time to do. In recent weeks I've slowed down because it takes two hours out of my day to simply do one baked good. Whereas now I can manage to do three baked goods in the same amount of time, and sell them all on! It's a win win situation! And there's even no disasters to report... Boring, I know! 

The results: 

Mmm Crunchy!

Mmmm Good for the bowels..

Mmmmore Flapjacks!

A-muesli-ngly Done

That's right, I'm writing another blog post! Imagine it, someone doing a hundred day challenge and actually writing for two days in a row after 60 days, it must be unheard of! And today is just one of those days where I've really taken advantage of the summer sun and enjoyed almost every minute of it!

Too long have I been a typical uni student and gone to bed in the small hours of the morning and then woken up at midday, the last few days I've begun to get myself out of this holiday cycle I'm stuck in. I must admit that things like driving lessons and work have ensured that I am up early every now and then but for the most part early is around about ten o clock... And I rarely woke up 'early'! 

I suppose the heat has helped, I just want to take the best advantage of that lovely morning sun and not be stuck in my bed - which is almost unbearable in the morning heat anyway! - and honestly, I love it. I have been so proactive in the last few days that I have developed a quite good routine. Ill get up in the morning and have a glance at the news and various social networks whilst eating my breakfast and drinking my cuppa before settling down to paint a little bit - not the really artistic pretentious kind but the more lame/geeky toy soldier variety! - Then it'll be around 12 and ill get baking, by lunch everything's in the oven and I can rest before enjoying the afternoon doing some more energetic and less claustrophobic activities. 

There just feels like there's so much more day time now. It's fantastic, I would highly recommend giving it a go yourself... Well, at least until the English summer ends (in a few days undoubtedly!.

In my baking today I attempted some muesli cookies (made with almonds and mixed dried fruit and oats) which were absolutely delicious. Although I reckon they were closer to being circular flapjacks, in terms of consistency, they still made lovely cookies and went very well with my post lunch cup of tea (which to my utter dismay had been made with milk 6 days past the sell by date! Yet it still tasted fine...). Probably more suited to the winter months but still a tasty treat!

The second recipe ( there's absolutely no way I can finish without doing two recipes or more almost daily!) was definitely more suited to the summer months; a Herb Foccacia. I have to admit, I have no idea what a Foccacia actually is, but to me it just looks like a circular bread with holes in it for decoration - which were made by just poking a greased up finger into the dough a few times! When making it I had quibbled the amount of herbs required (it asks for 4 tbsp of mixed herbs for a 400g loaf) and decided to go with around three in the end (basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme) the smell was extremely pungent. I worried that I should have used a bit less yet, in the end the taste came out rather subtle and improved what is essentially a normal white loaf into one perfect to accompany summer salads. All in all, a great success!

The Results:

Mmmmmuesli Cookies

Mmmm Herby (No, not the car!)

Tardy Tart Tatin

I suppose you could say that time got the better of me. Or you could say that I've been lazy. You could say I've given up. But none of these are true, in reality I've just been enjoying my summer holidays in the sun and amongst the company of my wonderful girlfriend and my lovely friends. It has been over two weeks since I did a blog post and honestly there hasn't been a moment in which I've had the desire to do one either.

Again, you could call me lazy but the reason I did this challenge was so that I could enjoy writing about something in my summer months whilst completing a fun challenge. I have enjoyed both aspects but I certainly won't do it til I actually hate doing it or if it gets in the way of spending time with those important people I don't get to see all that often anymore!

Alas, poor reader, don't weep into your keyboard or frustratedly tap your tablet screen in anger because I have finished. No, I certainly haven't finished! There are still nearly 40 recipes to be baked and just under a month to do it! Can I do it? Oh I've no doubt that I will but whether ill be alive at the end I just don't know!

I the past few weeks I have been baking I can assure you this, I have even begun selling some of my produce to my place of work (a local Windmill) at a profit and shall be taking even more in this coming Wednesday. I have another car boot sale planned in the near future and a lot of the more difficult cakes and tarts left to do. But don't worry, I still haven't had any awful disasters in a long time so the future is looking bright for those dastardly looking challenges. 

Today's recipe though was a particularly exciting one, mainly because it looked absolutely dastardly. A Tart Tatin is essentially an apple tart made with melted sugar and butter, the apples are then simmered  in the toffee esque sauce before being covered over with puff pastry and baked. The tart is flipped out of its tin before serving. It looks so very impressive I could hardly believe that it worked so well. I was so sure I'd be facing a bit of an embarrassment which I could easily not mention (after all, my break means that I didn't have to mention burning a few things!) yet to my astonishment it slid out of the tin easily and was, and I quote my father, "the best thing yet" (My dad is a fan of tarts... Though hopefully not the kind out in the local club on a Friday night!).

The Result:

Mmmmm, Toffee Apple (Tart Tatin)

Here is a collection of some of the cakes I've made in the last two weeks, I have definitely done more than just these but unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of some of them. Hand on heart though, they were completed! 

Mmm Burnt Cherry Pie!

Mmmelting Cream Palmiers

Mmmalted Chocolate Biscuit Slices

Mmmacaroons... Vanilla Style!