Sweet beginnings

My passion for baking and cooking started in my mothers warm loving kitchen when I was 12yrs old. Pasta was unheard of in India at that time (.....late 1980's) and I found one of my mothers Good House Keeping magazine which had a recipe for home made pasta. Need less to say I tried my hand at it.....without mum knowing and used a whole lot of whole wheat flour instead of plain flour and several eggs and peanut oil, the outcome: Yuck! but my mother still smiled through it all. After that, I stuck to learning the basics and then progressing to the much more complex dishes. My mother used to bake the most moist, delicious and decadent tasting caramel sponge cake ever. It was so good that my dad learnt it from her and watching them I learnt it too.

My early days into my undergraduate degree saw more and more cakes being baked by me and devoured by my brothers and family....so much so that I used to bake my own birthday cakes too!!

Moving to Australia showed me a completely new side to baking: decorating. It took me a while to discover the different types of icing and fondant. All these new tools, gadgets and techniques kept me busy baking batches of cupcakes and cakes which my daughters daycare and my husbands work were more than happy to try out. A few cake/cupcake decorating course with Plant cake and Sweet Deliveries has brought me here today. My ultimate aim is to enrol for a course with Le Cordon Blue and master and sharpen my skills.

Through my very many ups and downs, my husband Neil and my mother have been my pillars of strength and my shoulders to cry on. They have encouraged me through every step ...even when the step was not so perfect and to them I will be forever indebted. My conscience: Neil (my husband) and my mum have always believed in my ability and this achievement of mine is dedicated to you.

This is my journey, my Zen and I share it with you all through this blog.