Cakes by Nadia Couture Cake Boutique #2: To bake or not to bake - that is the question

Over the last couple of months I have entertained the thought of buying in my cakes to decorate…… I really am busy and a day spent standing in front of my oven baking (and then a good hour or so of cleaning my kitchen and cake pans) could be better spent elsewhere. Paperwork, updating my blog, website or cake photo albums or perhaps I could do the grocery shopping for the house so that my husband and kids have something other than cake “restovers” and ganache to eat!

I have on the odd occasion bought in a naked chocolate mudcake when I have been strapped for time. Noone complained, in fact all comments were favourable but I felt like a cheat. A cheat with more time on my hands but a cheat nonetheless. If I push those feelings aside I can see the benefits. More time, less mess, a more organised Nadia. Running with my new thoughts on the matter, I decided to buy in a white chocolate mud cake to see what it was like. Honestly I could not tell if it was a white chocolate mudcake or just a vanilla cake. Being a Coeliac, I couldn’t even trim the top to taste it. All I could do was squish, smell, feel and weigh it up. Not convinced it was the real deal, I made my own anyway!!! So much for being a more organised Nads, I was now a sleep deprived one. Satisfied but sleep deprived!

What do I do when someone wants me to make a white chocolate raspberry mud cake ? This is my most popular flavour …… where am I going to find someone who bakes one just like mine?? Close friends and family tell me to “buy buy” or find someone to bake for me! But the less I bake the more I miss it. I started my training in the Women’s Weekly Test Kitchen, its part of what I do …. I bake!! I play with ingredients, test and retest until its right and know that its good. Should I hand this over to someone else to save me time and perhaps my sanity but feel like a cheat and provide a product that I’m less than happy with????

So the question is ……. do you bake or do you not bake??? I would love to hear your thoughts.

X Nadia