The Great Hunt: How to bake cheaply

jillmarie

I do a lot of baking for charity so over the years I've collected a lot of equipment but if you're starting from scratch try looking in the charity shops. Iceland 10 large eggs for £1, 2 boxes for £1.60, also buy basics dried friut and flour. I've never had any complaints, all my goodies sell and they come back year after year asking for a particular cake. Last year I made 16 Christmas cakes so I must be doing something right.

tain

Vanilla pods! I have no idea why the supermarkets charge so much - get these off Amazon for a fraction of the costs.

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/asda-compare-prices/Home_Baking/Schwartz_Vanilla_Pod.html - Single pod, £2.50

http://www.amazon.co.uk/VanillaMart-Gourmet-Madagascan-Vanilla-Beans/dp/B00FAL8Y3O/ - 20 pods, £6.97 (needs prime or an add-on item to avoid postage)

They even do 50 pods for £15.73 delivered. They keep for two years at least as well.

Nada666

tain wrote: »

I think it's sweetened slightly for cakes though - so don't be using this in sandwiches!

Don't think that alert is necessary. If you can stomach any kind of margarine in a sandwich then you can stomach any kind of margarine in a sandwich.

Vikki29

If you want to try baking something new, just halve the recipe. You've saved money while still trying something new AND if it goes horribly wrong it won't be such a waste.

Also, my Gran (prolific baker my whole life) always taught me to 'remember you can add but you can't take away'. In other words, add things slowly and carefully when baking because you can always add more, but you can rarely take it out if you use too much of something.

browneyedbazzi

tain wrote: »

Vanilla pods! I have no idea why the supermarkets charge so much - get these off Amazon for a fraction of the costs.

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/asda-compare-prices/Home_Baking/Schwartz_Vanilla_Pod.html - Single pod, £2.50

http://www.amazon.co.uk/VanillaMart-Gourmet-Madagascan-Vanilla-Beans/dp/B00FAL8Y3O/ - 20 pods, £6.97 (needs prime or an add-on item to avoid postage)

They even do 50 pods for £15.73 delivered. They keep for two years at least as well.

I order vanilla pods in bulk online and use them to make really nice vanilla essence for a fraction of the cost of buying it....a few vanilla pods left to steep in a bottle of vodka is all it takes. I don't think I'll ever buy vanilla in a supermarket again.

VfM4meplse

I'm another one that agrees with Lidl vanilla pods. I also bought some saffron there in the same premium range for a bargain price (on offer at the time). Their Bundt and other baking tins are excellent quality, in fact I returned a baking tin to Lakeland recently knowing that it's just a matter of time before Lidl do a replica. And although I don't much like their cheap chocolate, it does melt well for baking purposes so well worth stocking up on the white, milk and dark when on a weekend offer for 17p each.

The Jane Asher range in Poundland is a long-term fixture, has been going for several months now.

My top moneysaving baking tip is freezing expensive nuts that you would otherwise end up scoffing mindlessly (especially hazelnuts and pistachios) to preserve their shelf life. They can be chopped really well from frozen!

madvixen

I bake a LOT of Brownies (hubby takes them on tour with him) and the best chocolate I have found for them, by a big margin, is the 35p chocolate from Lidl. Two bars of the dark and one bar of the milk makes for amazing brownies.

AuntyVi

Sainsbury's have 1/3 off their posher-range baking trays and pans etc at the moment...

gloriouslyhappy

Buy Sainsburys basics sponge mix, 22p per packet. Follow the packet instructions - add 1 egg and 5 tablespoons of water to the mix - and bake as instructed. Makes a pretty decent sponge cake, sandwhich with basics red berry jame and ice with water icing or buttercream icing and decorate with a couple of cherry halves or sprinkles or as you wish,
BUT try these:
add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and a mashed over-ripe banana, bake in a loaf tin for about 20 mins or until a skewer comes clean, and voila - banana loaf;
add 1 tablespoon cocoa and a bit of vanilla essence to the mix, bake in 12 cupcake cases (100 for 99p / 99p store) for 9 minutes and ice & decorate as desired;
add 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules (Sbys basics 60p / 100g) to the mix, bake in 2 x7" cake tins for 15 mins, ice & fill with coffee flavoured icing and a few finely chopped walnuts;
use your imagination to come up with other flavour combos. Just don't put dried fruit in the mix as it's not suitable for that, but otherwise is an amazingly versatile sponge mix, and all for 22p plus an egg!

Callie22

AuntyVi wrote: »

Sainsbury's have 1/3 off their posher-range baking trays and pans etc at the moment...

There are really good, they're very solid and hard-wearing. They're on offer quite regularly and I'd definitely recommend them.

Wilko's is also good for baking basics. If you're only just starting out in baking then I'd recommend that you spend money on decent baking tins and an oven thermometer, but that you save on the rest and replace it with better quality stuff as you need it.