is home baking cheaper?

hi i am a mum of 5 hungry kids !!
i have just realised that i am spending on average £30 a month on puddings for after tea. i'd like to bake some home made cakes but am not a good cook and would like to know if it would really work out cheaper and what quantities i would need to use for 6 of us.
hope someone can help
many thanks,
louise
P.S i am in debt by about £4500 and on income support so need to change this but without starving my kids!!!!
well that was ruined by lending ex oh £2450 to move out!!!!!! now estimate 21st march 2006hoping to be debt free by end of feb 2006 - fingers crossed !!
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Comments

  • SkippyB
    SkippyB Posts: 99 Forumite
    Try Carrot Cake....very inexpensive but very filling, can have it with custard, ice cream or make your own buttercream. A good way fo getting kids to eat heathily without knowing it!!

    There are loads of different recipes, dont have mine to hand at the moment but is a WI one.

    Baking is also good fun for the kids to do themselves, there are plenty of basic recipes that you can involve them with and they even get to lick the bowl/spoon after.

    I never buy cakes, always make them as i think they taste so much better!

    Have a go......dont be afraid to cook!
    Happy to be Debt Free!!!
  • apple_mint
    apple_mint Posts: 1,102
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    Definately cheaper and healthier to bake your own. None of the additives in home baked. However, they will go faster as everyone seems to love them.

    I use the cheap 'value' range flours - 27p for plain or self raising from the supermarkets (Tesco / Asda) and they have never failed to make a good cake or bun.

    If you can afford it, invest in the BeRo baking book (£1.25) ... lots of good advice as well as recipes. In addition, the OS recipe list has lots of well tried recipes :D

    Try to build up your ingredients a little each week - so that you have a good store cupboard of basic ingredients for baking. I find buns (victoria sandwich recipe) a good one for kids.

    http://www.be-ro.com/recipe/showrec.asp?rec=78

    Just put the same mixture into bun cases in 12 bun tray (and you'll probably find it stretches further than 12) and bake for 15-18 mins (depends on your oven).
    Enjoying an MSE OS life :D
  • Becles
    Becles Posts: 13,163
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    Don't have puddings every day - it's cheaper! I've got 2 boys and we rarely have a pudding - just a main course.

    If you can get "reduced to clear" fruit, you can make a really cheap fruit crumble. It doesn't matter if the fruit is a bit squishy as you're cooking it.

    Peel and chop fruit and place in a oven proof dish. Add a 1-2 tablespoons of sugar depending on your taste and the sweetness of the fruit.

    In another bowl, put 6oz plain flower, 4oz butter/marg, and 2oz sugar. Rub it all together until it looks like breadcrumbs.

    Put that mixture on top of the fruit and put it in a 180°C oven for about 30-40 minutes.

    Mine eat it on it's own, or sometimes with custard or ice cream.
    Here I go again on my own....
  • squeaky
    squeaky Posts: 14,129
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    There's an old challenge thread that covers main courses which might also help you out here...


    Feed 6 for £1.62
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  • I have my grandmas original be-ro book from the 50's. The recipes in the new one are virtually the same. It is a great little book.

    It you do not feel confident baking, supermarkets have cake mixes for about 12p. (plus an egg needed) You will get twelve buns for that. Maybe try that at first until your confidence builds up.

    Wendy
  • Sarahsaver
    Sarahsaver Posts: 8,390
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    OMG do you have a pudding after every meal?
    It is cheaper to home bake, i made a chocolate fridge cake, which if u bought it in a cafe it would often be £1 a slice. I made 10 portions. Jelly is cheap, as is economy custard in tins, and steamed pudding is a doddle. There's always fruit, we tend to have fruit after a meal most days. Pancakes are cheap too, and you can use butteres stale bread broken into pieces as a substitute for crumble topping.
    Member no.1 of the 'I'm not in a clique' group :rotfl:
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  • black-saturn
    black-saturn Posts: 13,937
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    A boil cake is really cheap and even cheaper if you substitute some ingredients for others like brown sugar for granulated sugar. Try making home made yoghurt or a suet pudding in a saucepan.
    2008 Comping Challenge
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  • bread and butter pudding is a good way of using up stale white bread - good for breakfast the next morning too.


    Recipie here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/breadandbutterpuddin_1023.shtmlno need to pre-soak sultanas (raisins work fine too).


    I would usually soak for a lot longer than 30 minutes and I have never made with cream or lemon rind. I sometimes add a bit of vanilla extract or cinnamon.
  • Trow
    Trow Posts: 2,298
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    If you look in the recipe index, someone - curry_queen??? has a recipe for a microwave sponge pudding that is very easy, very quick and very cheap (especially is you use value flour) - we made it last night, served with custard (made with birds eye powder, works out cheaper than instant mixes, but not sure about how it compares with value tins) - pud in 10 mins max
  • I was brought up "old style" and we had a three course dinner every night.

    Pudding was usually a milk pudding and my favourite was always chocolate pudding, basically a custard with cocoa powder added so not too fattening and not as heavy as cake icon7.gif
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