Mindful Cake Baking!

Baking is (or can be) a perfect way to practice mindfulness. To achieve a good bake it’s essential to be properly focused on the task at hand - from beginning to end.

I find when I come to bake my “signature cake” whatever state of mind I start in, as I finish the process, my state of mind is much more calm, & the shizzle that had been clouding my mind temporarily forgotten, and in some cases, my approach and response to what I was feeling changed.

I’ve had some shocking outcomes from baking. Scones have yet to emerge fluffy and irresistible, more hard bricks and straight to room 101, and yet even though the outcome was less than ideal the joy was still in the process. Very yogic! -

Yoga teaches us to learn to enjoy the journey, and not just focus on the outcomes. The process of making the scones still held value even though the outcome perhaps didn’t. Just like in our practice we connect, explore and try… and yet despite the desired outcome of achieving the “full expression of the pose” being illusive we can experience joy and fulfilment in the journey towards our goal.

Like most people, my life can be a little chaotic rushing from job to job, ticking off one more thing off a never ending to do list, but I find cooking and baking is a way to turn that chaos and rushing tendencies down a bit! When baking I love to organise my ingredients and set them out in a visually pleasing way. I even purchased a segmented preparation tray … (no judgement please!) - I have this complete sense of peace and control, the process for me is un-hurried however rushed I may have been feeling before starting to bake. This is not a difficult cake to make and I could choose to just “bung it all in” and get it over with, however each time I come to make this cake, my process is the same. Mindful & Un-hurried

The phrase “miss en place” comes to mind… Mise en place is a French kitchen phrase that means “putting in place" or “gathering.” It refers to the discipline and organisation a good chef exhibits in the kitchen. To practice mise en place, a chef should have all of their ingredients and supplies prepared and organised before they begin cooking (Source: Wikipedia)

How to use mise en place in your own kitchen

Step 1: Read your recipe ahead of time.

Step 2: Check items off the ingredient list.

Step 3: Prep and measure items.

Step 4: Organize your prepped ingredients.

Step 5: Clean as you go.

Recipe below….. why not embrace mindful baking & give it a try!

125ml sunflower oil plus extra for the tin

175g self-raising flour

175g caster sugar

125ml 10% fat Greek yogurt

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 lemon zested

200g raspberries

For the decoration

icing sugar to dust

100g raspberries (optional)

Step 1

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Oil a deep, 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin and line with baking parchment. Combine the flour and sugar in a bowl. Set aside.

Step 2

Mix the oil, yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract and lemon zest in another bowl. Tip in the flour and sugar mixture and fold in until smooth. Gently fold in the raspberries and bake for 30-40 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack. Dust lightly with icing sugar and serve topped with more raspberries, if you like. Will keep for up to three days in an airtight container.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/raspberry-cake