Home-made Christmas cake? It's so bad we've thrown it in the bin

By JAYA NARAIN


Don't bother: Our efforts at baking Christmas cake during the festive season are so bad they often end up in the bin


If you’re planning to bake a beautiful Christmas cake and ice it with a traditional winter scene – don’t bother.

Research has revealed that our baking efforts during the festive season are so bad they often end up in the bin.

Almost ten million of us will attempt to make a Christmas cake this year but three million will make a culinary creation so bad it will be thrown away.

And with a cost of £10 for ingredients for each failed attempt, the nation is tipping around £30million into the rubbish bin.

The research, carried out by Sainsbury’s, found that home baking has seen a major surge in popularity in recent years.

Television cookery shows have sparked a renewed interest in food and recipes across the country.


Sainsbury’s findings show one in five people said they were baking more in 2010 than they were in 2009.

On average, Britons say they spend around two hours each week producing everything from bread and pizzas to cakes and biscuits.

But our attempts at Christmas fare are proving a flop. In 2009, deflated by their poor attempts at festive baking, British cooks rushed out to the shops to buy ready-made Christmas puddings, with sales jumping by 71 per cent.

Researchers found that around half of us buy ready-made Christmas puddings, while one in five does not bake at all because of fears it will go wrong.

Now Sainsbury’s is to set up the UK’s first dedicated help-line for victims of Christmas cake baking disasters on November 21 – the day traditionally used to make Christmas cakes and puddings.

The supermarket giant is to provide an expert team to offer tips to avoid kitchen disasters.

They will give advice on how to rescue seemingly lost causes and will also be able to tell bakers when it is best to give up and go and buy one.

The most common problem reported by Christmas cooks is currants, sultanas and walnuts sinking to the bottom of their cakes.


source: dailymail

Posted in: Cooking,Foods