At the library: All I want to do is bake!

I don't know about you, but during the winter months all I want to do is bake! I love checking out new cookbooks from the Washington Public Library and trying new recipes.

During COVID, my husband and I have tried to be more creative about at-home date nights. I premade the cake and gathered the ingredients. I showed him a picture of the cake we had to attempt to make.

We had an hour to accomplish it and couldn't look up any instructions on how to construct or decorate it. Nate isn't very crafty, but he had the best time. We pretended we were on the 'Great British Baking Show” but it really looked like we were on the show 'Nailed It.” We had such a great time that I thought it would be such a fun, family program to have at the library.

So, that is how the Great Library Bake Off was born! It is going to get messy in the kitchen, but that's OK! Recruit the sous chefs in your family and join us for a bake off via Zoom Saturday, Jan. 30 at 2:30 p.m. Register by emailing jenisa.harris@washington.lib.ia.us and you'll get a link to the Zoom meeting room. Here's what you need to know to compete:

Your team can consist of your household members or you can compete by yourself. Each team needs to have two round cake layers baked and cooled for the challenge. These should be made ahead of time. Bonus points if you don't use a mix, but hey who will know? We will give you the challenge at the start of the event and you will use the cake layers to assemble it. You will have 45 minutes to complete the challenge. We also suggest that you have ingredients for your favorite chocolate icing on hand or your favorite store-bought chocolate frosting. This is meant to be fun, but we will pick one winner! The winner will receive a baking themed prize! If you have any questions, email Jenisa @ jenisa.harris@washington.lib.ia.us.

Want to brush up on your baking skills before the Great Library Bake Off? Check out these great cookbooks: 'Cinnamon, spice & warm apple pie: comforting baked fruit desserts for chilly days,” 'The children's baking book,” 'Cupcakes: the complete guide to making beautiful and delicious cupcakes,” 'Flying apron's gluten-free and vegan baking book,” 'Icing on the cake: decorating simple, stunning desserts at home,” 'Butter, sugar, flour, eggs”, and many more!

I have also filmed a couple baking tutorials for our Library's YouTube channel. You can check those out here https://www.youtube.com/user/WashingtonPublicLib. While your there check out the other great video's we have on our channel!