I'd like to start baking...

Flour -self-raising and plain, butter, eggs and sugar are the basics.

Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda are useful too. These are NOT interchangeable btw, they are different things and do different jobs.

Extras that won't break the bank are dessicated coconut and cocoa powder and rolled oats. Golden syrup is quite useful too for easy melt and stir biscuits like flapjacks.

You can spend a lot of money on special sugars -muscavado etc which are lovely but you can make perfectly delicious cakes with ordinary caster or granulated sugar. I think it is worth buying butter over the cheaper marge as the flavour is so much better and butter is just one natural ingredient and not dozens of artificial ones. Get flour from a supermarket budget range.

A useful gadget is an electric beater.

Scones are definitely one of the most economical things to start with.

Easy Scones -makes about 16

Put in a bowl
1 lb self-raising flour
half a teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of baking powder

Cut 4oz of butter into cubes and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until you have crumbs.

Stir in 4oz sugar and a handful of sultanas if you like.

Next gradually add about half a pint of milk, go carefully though you don't want a too sticky dough. Bring the mixture together in a ball and roll or pat out on a floured surface. It needs to be about an inch thick.

Stamp out circles with a 2.5 inch cutter or a glass. DON'T twist the cutter though, this will prevent them from rising.

Place ona greased baking sheet and bake a in a very hot oven -220c for about 10-12 mins.

Easy biscuits -just 3 ingredients makes 16

In a bowl beat 4oz of soft butter.
Add 2oz of sugar and beat again.
Add 5oz of self-raising flour, continue beating until it clumps together. Then using your hands form a ball of dough.
Cut the ball in half, and half again, and again so that you have 8 pieces. Divide these into 2 and roll each into a little ball.
Place well apart on a greased baking tray, flatten slightly with your hand and bake at 180c for 20 mins.
Allow to cool for a few minutes on the tray, then remove to a wire rack to crisp up.

Variation -Chocolate biscuits -replace half an oz of the flour with half an oz of cocoa powder. I just made a double batch of these for my kids.


Easy Sponge Cake

Grease 2 sponge 7-8 inch cake tins. It's a good idea to put a circle of greaseproof paper in the bottom too. You can buy these ready cut for the size of your tin.

Put in a large mixing bowl
6oz self-raising flour
6oz soft butter (make sure it is very soft)
6oz sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp of baking powder
Beat everything together very well.
Pour into the tins, levelling out.

Bake at 180c for about 25min or until the tops feel nice and springy.
Cool in the tins then turn out. BTw tins with loose bottoms are easiest to use.

Fill with jam and whipped cream or make buttercream by beating together 2oz butter, 2 tbsp milk and 6oz icing sugar. You can replace a tbsp of sugar with one of cocoa or you can use lemon juice or coffee instead of milk.

Best of luck with your baking, I'm sure once you start there'll be no going back.

And icing sugar, for drizzling over the top of a sponge

You can mix it up with lemon juice, orange juice or add cocoa powder for a change

Tianna, have a lok at this thread for more info on food colouring pastes. I'm pretty sure you'd be able to use it in a cake mixture as well as in icing. I use a metal skewer to add mine gradually.