Perfect Budget Baking Tips For Students
Despite students insisting that they never have enough time to study, a lot of them can always find the time to bake cakes or cupcakes, probably because they are such a big hit at house parties – especially when there is a cheeky shot of liquor involved. Although many student may have a lot of recipe ideas that they are dying to try out, they often don’t have the resources readily available due to a lack of funds. This article will take you through some top tips for budget student baking so you don’t have to sacrifice on quality.
The first top tip is to always keep your recipes simple. Don’t attempt to create the perfect red velvet cupcake with a cream cheese frosting as you might not have the equipment (and ability) for it. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t create them for a special occasion, but students won’t really admire the decoration or the perfect scarlet colour of your sponge. They’ll be just as happy with a plain old sponge and some icing slapped on.
Our second tip is to be very careful when weighing your ingredients. Don’t just throw them in willy nilly, and then be appalled when you have suddenly run out of flour. Carefully measuring your ingredients will not only make your cakes come out tasting better, it will also make them last longer, which means the potential for more baking!
Take some time at the beginning of the year, or when your parents are taking you shopping, to invest in the essential kitchen utensils for cake baking such as a whisk, spoons, scales etc. If you suddenly find yourself without a rolling pin halfway through working on those perfect banana cake recipes, then grab an empty bottle left over from the night before and voila!
A lack of equipment doesn’t mean that your cupcakes can’t look professional. In fact, a top tip by expert cupcake bakers is to use zip lock bags to pipe your icing onto your cakes. Just spoon it all in, cut a corner off the bottom and pipe away!
If you come across a fantastic looking recipe that includes expensive ingredients, then just hold your horses and restrain that inner domestic goddess (or god). There is no reason to justify spending a lot of money on an ingredient that you will only use a teaspoon of and then forget about.
If you are really strapped for cash then invite all your friends around one Saturday for a baking day. Get them to bring loads of different ingredients and see what you can create. Unfortunately, when this happens, the main ingredient usually becomes cheeky shots of vodka, although this can be justified by their inclusion in many professional recipes.
Have a rummage round your cupboards and see what you can find, whether it be a handful of cereal left over or an unopened jar of Nutella. You will be surprised with what you can use when you let your imagination run wild. And it’s a lot cheaper too!
And a final tip for students who are strapped for cash is to be careful with your cakes once they are made. Students who share accommodation have a tendency to 'borrow' other people’s food and then 'forget' to mention it. And if you walk around with a box full of cupcakes in your arms then you will get pounced upon. Be prepared to beat away emaciated students if you wish to keep them for a later date but if you are a generous baker, then by all means share away. But bear in mind that they will probably expect you to keep supplying more.
