Sophie Gray
Sophie Gray is known for being able to squeeze every last bit out of the household budget. Known as the destitute gourmet, Sophie has put out cookbooks crammed with money-saving recipes, her latest being Fill the Tins. I asked Sophie a few questions about her life and her baking.
YOU ARE KNOWN AS A COOK ON A BUDGET. IS HOME BAKING REALLY A MONEY-SAVER? Without a doubt. You can make a whole cake for the price of a slice of cake in a city cafe. Who wouldn't rather have the whole cake?
HOME BAKING SCREAMS LOVING KINDNESS. WHY? Effort. Baking isn't that hard, but if you are doing it for someone else you are sacrificing time, effort and ingredients for their enjoyment - and that is kind. Baking also allows us to give vent to our feelings of loving kindness without causing unnecessary awkwardness.
A batch of favourite muffins waiting on the bench for the excruciatingly self-conscious 13-year-old on the first day of wearing braces at the new college says you love them and understand, without sending them cringing into their room. Likewise, the big batch of home-made biscuits sent to the cash-strapped uni student proud to be going it alone, or the freshly baked cake and card left on your doorstep on the anniversary of your mother's funeral ... Only people who care about you do these sorts of things, so do them.
TELL US THREE TIPS TO MAKING A GOOD BISCUIT 1.Don't let the kids pick all the chocolate chips out before you've even baked them.
2.Use the right kind of sugar and fat for the biscuit you want - soft or crunchy.
3.Don't be afraid to substitute flavours or additions - if it says white chocolate and cranberries and you have only dark chocolate and sultanas, make it anyway. It will still be delicious because it's fresh and contains nothing you can't pronounce
THREE TIPS FOR THE PERFECT CAKE?
1.Read the recipe first. Raising agents begin to work as soon as liquid is added so you need to be sure you have prepared everything in the right order.
2.Preheat the oven - you don't want the raising agents working away while you are still waiting for the oven to heat up.
3.A perfect cake is ruined the minute you think about calories. If you have decided to make it just enjoy it. I'm not saying eat the whole thing, but don't spoil it by feeling guilty
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO STORE BISCUITS AND CAKES? I freeze cooked or uncooked cookie dough. If I make a big batch and don't want them all gone in one go I'll put baked biscuits into a plastic bag, suck the air out and freeze them, hidden under a bag of spinach. An airtight container is essential in the pantry - you can't really go past an old fashioned biscuit or cake tin in my opinion, they do what they were designed to do: keep the air out and the contents out of sight.
I also freeze lots of cakes, iced and not iced - butter cream, ganache and cream cheese icing all freeze well.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE RECIPE IN THIS BOOK? I have favourites in each chapter but the chocolate roulade is hard to pass up and, as a bonus, it happens to be gluten-free. The two-tier sponge cake will make you feel like you are Delia Smith because it's such a perfect old-school cake and brilliant for a kitchen tea or Mother's Day.
And the sticky pecan brioche with caramel glaze is an "impress the guests at brunch" favourite.
But I love some of the simple stuff such as date and orange scones and gingerbread men, and the beetroot walnut and feta tarts are easy and delicious ...
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE BISCUIT AS A CHILD? Anzac biscuits, with a glass of cold milk.
WHAT'S AN EASY RECIPE FOR CHILDREN TO START WITH? Rock cakes were sometimes called "children's cakes" as they were often the first thing kids learned to bake by themselves, myself included, or a melt-and-mix biscuit such as Anzacs. Choose something that is not too fiddly and will be ready to eat in under an hour.
DO YOU SHOP WITH A LIST? Absolutely. I developed a shopping app called ShopCookSave so I could shop efficiently, track my spending, keep a record of my essentials, luxuries and general grocery items and menu plan, make sure I am buying in season and keep some of my favourite recipes close at hand. ShopCookSave eliminated the scraps of paper in my handbag, ShopCookSave for iPhone is available in the App store and we are working on the Android version.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THIS BOOK? I hope it's practical. That may sound a bit dull but I tried to make it a collection of recipes to cover different lifestyles, including the "double income no kids" dinner party desserts; cakes and treats for lunchboxes and birthday parties, show-stopper cakes for anniversaries and celebrations; savouries for family dinners, picnics and lunches; slices; Christmas baking and some must-have classics.
I've tried to choose things that are timeless and won't go out of style, and included some of our much-loved favourites such as Dana's chocolate cake and all its variations.
TELL US ABOUT A WEEK IN SOPHIE GRAY'S LIFE It's pretty much like any household with teenagers - housework, driving practise (terrifying), laundry, shouting, hunting for the remote, stabbing at bits of technology I barely understand, paying bills, having dinner with friends, planning to lose a couple of kilos, hoping to find the spare car keys, rummaging through the pile of un-ironed washing. Normal, I hope.
I work from home with my PA, Janette, and the days are usually spent in the kitchen developing recipes, at the computer answering emails and talking to our Destitute Gourmet Facebook fans, or doing photography for Food Magazine, Taste magazine or other clients, then cooking dinner and maybe drinking the photo-shoot wine if there is any.
I travel around the country doing workshops for community groups of up to 500 people so there is also a fair bit of serious packing and planning, but somehow the house still looks like an unlit bonfire most days.
AND TELL US THREE THINGS ABOUT YOU THAT WOULD SURPRISE US. 1.I play computer games, including Age of Empires and The Walking Dead.
2.I have a paralysing fear of plummeting, such as planes, high places and lifts.
3.I don't love cooking, it is an economic necessity because I do love eating nice food.