Making Sense of Double Cream and Britannia Baking

I love to Bake. Baking is so relaxing and there are few things that are more staisfiying than producing a light and buttery sponge cake or a few dozen cookies or muffins. There is something amazingly comforting knowing that you will be feeding others sweet treats that will make them smile. There are few things that turn adults into children than a choclate cupcake topped with fudgy icing.

I have a need to feed people that I am certain is an inherited trait. No one ever passed my mother’s front door without having a cup of coffee and a slice of orange cake or apple pie. I do the same. I panic if someone stops by and I haven’t a biscuit, cookie or chocolates to put in front of them with their cup of tea. And what better than something you have baked yourself?

Well, baking in Britain was not easy when I first got here. My (now) husband never baked and never had the implements or ingredients or reference point so I had to buy everything and then try and figure everything out.

The first hurdle: weights. In Britain, everything is weighed. I would read a recipe and it would say 4 ounces of plain flour. Now, I had NO IDEA that they cooked differently in Britain. There was Nigella or Jamie gracing the Canadian airwaves in the mid ’90s. Gordon Ramsey had yet to invade the US. So this was all new. I mean NEW. To me and ounce measurement was in liquid cup form. Did I measure this four in a measuring cup. And what exactly is plain flour?

Hurdle number two: where the hell do you buy a cup measure???? Everything is in pint or metric measurements. No cups. NO CUPS! Well, it is reasonably easy to figure out: 8 ounces = 1 cup. This is great as long as it is liquid. It just is not easy to measure 2 1/4 cups of flour in a pint jug. Try it one day.

The third hurdle: the ingredients. So you want to use your Canadian recipes over here – and why wouldn’t you, they have always worked a treat in Canada. Well, cream cheese is an ISSUE for me. You cannot get real cream cheese. It is all whipped and watery and light as air. For 10 years (think about it!) I would make a cheesecake once a year and wind up throwing it away. Last year I finally gave up on my Canadian recipe and tried a British one. It actually worked! I was overjoyed! I cried! I sent texts to all my friends and family in an effort to spread this momentous news! (You think I am joking, I assure I am not, sad as that may be).

Then there were things like Double Cream, Crème Fraiche, Self Raising/Strong/Plain Flours. There is vegetable lard. I know now that vegetable lard is really just shortening, but I was baffled thing. I made every cake only with butter (no hardship, I sure you, just more expensive. Oh and I still only make cakes with butter). Bicarbonate of Soda. And where is the Bakers Unsweetend chocolate? Where are the chocolate chips? Lemon Extract? Oh it was a minefield!

I have only mentioned baking things and I think I will leave it there today and cover cooking another day. I have learned to bake in the UK and very successfully. I make all my favourites from Canada and have lots of my favourite British recipes like scones, tea loaf, Bakewell Tart…. Just one word of advice: bring your own measuring cups!