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In the News
Summer Baking |
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Summer Baking - The Perfect Mix |
The start of summer brings summer fetes, graduations, weddings, camping trips and picnics - and more pressure for home bakers everywhere! Help is at hand from baking expert, Jane Asher who, ahead of her Home Baker of the Year contest, shares some useful advice to help would-be bakers rise above the competition. Jane Asher explained: “If you’ve never baked before it can seem quite daunting, but as long as you weigh the ingredients carefully and follow the recipe you really can’t go wrong. This all-in-one easy tray bake recipe is a great way to start and is perfect for summer teas and picnics – the fresh, zingy lemon keeps it from being over sweet, and it’s easy to transport if you leave it in the baking tray.”
LEMON TRAYBAKE225g spreadable butter Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan assisted, 350°F, gas mark 4). Prepare a 12”x9” baking tray. Simply put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat well together. Turn the mix into the baking tray and bake for 35-40 minutes until risen and springy to the fingers. Let the cake cool in the tray. Spread with lemony butter icing, mark into 16 slices and decorate each one with a sugar ‘lemon slice’ or a few raspberries. LEMON BUTTER ICING
Put the butter and sieved icing sugar into a mixing bowl and beat together (I do it in my mixer, with the lid on, which stops the icing sugar flying about, but you can do it with a fork or with a handheld electric mixer if you take it slowly). Stir in the lemon rind, then add the juice little by little, beating all the time until the mixture gets really light and fluffy.
Taken from Jane’s recent book, Beautiful Baking, Simon and Schuster £10.99
COMPETITIONBakers who have their sights set higher than the school fete can prove they have what it takes by entering Jane’s Home Baker of the Year competition and submitting their cake recipe through the website: www.homebake.co.uk by 10th August 2008. Jane will select a shortlist of five who will be entered into the final Poggenpohl Kitchen Showrooms in Manchester on 9th October 2008. Recipes can be brand-new ideas or variations of old classics: last year’s winner, Linda Edmonds from Brentwood, Essex, was a success with her Tipsy Apple and Blackberry Cupcakes, fighting off some very tough competition from among a high standard of entries. This year’s winner will receive a fantastic £25,000 Poggenpohl Kitchen, compete with appliances. The second prize is a weekend cookery course for two at Lucy Cooks in the Lake District plus an overnight stay at the '4 Star' Lakeside Hotel, while three runners-up will each receive a luxury hamper of goodies from the Jane Asher Home Baking range. For further details on how to enter visit www.homebake.co.uk
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| Food Northwest Awards 2008. Shortlisted for Manson Insurance Award for Innovation | |
A family company, committed to making high quality products using the best ingredients, Victoria Foods has focused a great deal of effort during the last year, in expanding its brand portfolio to create baking and dessert mixes for people of all ages and experience - from the health conscious to those who are looking for an indulgent treat to share with their friends and family. In 2007, the company developed and launched a range of dessert and baking mixes with Weight Watchers. The range was developed with low sugar and with a low saturated fat, within strict POINTS® controlled development guidelines, using all natural ingredients. This is an impressive technical feat considering cakes are generally high in saturated fat and sugar. The company sees this as creating the first branded ‘diet’ offering on the home baking and dessert fixtures. The Weight Watchers dessert mixes have also been produced in a unique shelf-space saving ‘stick pack’ format. Work during 2007 has also included a partnership with Nestle Creations under the Jane Asher Creations banner, to create a dual branded range of baking mixes combining iconic Nestle confectionery brands with the Jane Asher name. Dan Ross, Managing Director of Victoria Foods said: “We are committed to investing in new systems and technology to ensure that our business grows into the 21st century. We strive to stay one step ahead of the competition and continue to evolve our product portfolio to respond to what consumers want.”
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 Record ‘Home Baker of the Year’ entries expected as home baking’s popularity surges |
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According to research carried out by Mintel*, the home baking industry is set to be worth over £550 million by 2011, a huge leap from the £429 million it was worth in 2006. With the nation embracing home baking so enthusiastically, actress and queen of home baking, Jane Asher, is expecting record entries for her Home Baker of the Year award 2008, which launched in Manchester today (10th April 2008).
The annual competition, which is open to anyone aged 16 and over throughout the UK, aims to remind people that baking is great fun for people of all ages. To stand a chance of being crowned Home Baker of the Year, all you have to do is create an interesting, tasty cake recipe, and submit your entry via the website, www.homebake.co.uk. Jane Asher will then personally choose five people to be in the final, which will be held in October in Manchester. Recipes can be brand new ideas or variations of old classics. Jane says: “Home Baker of the Year is a fantastic event. The UK enjoys a strong baking culture, and hopefully, by reminding people just how much fun baking can be, the competition will go towards helping this tradition to keep going for generations to come. The competition has been a great success ever since we launched it in 2004, and this year we hope to attract even more than the 500 entries we received last year. The winner will receive a £25,000 Poggenpohl Kitchen, compete with appliances and the second prize is a weekend cookery course for two at Lucy Cooks in the Lake District plus an overnight stay at the 4* Lakeside Hotel. Three runners-up will receive a luxury hamper of goodies from the Jane Asher Home Baking range. All entries must be in by 10th August 2008. For further details on how to enter please visit www.homebake.co.uk.
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| Jane Asher launches Home Baker of the Year award 2008 | |
Actress and queen of home baking, Jane Asher, has announced the dates for the Home Baker of the Year award 2008, which is open to adults of all ages all over the UK.
The annual competition, which is now entering its 5th year, aims to remind people that baking is an enjoyable activity for people of all ages - it can be fun for families, professionals, mothers and even men! All you have to do to be crowned Home Baker of the Year is design a cake or recipe and submit it through the website which is www.homebake.co.uk. Jane Asher will then choose 5 finalists to be entered into the final which will be held on 9th October at Poggenpohl Kitchen Showrooms in Manchester. Recipes can be brand new ideas or variations of old classics; last year’s winner, Linda Edmonds from Brentwood, Essex was a success with her Tipsy Apple and Blackberry Cupcakes, fighting off some very tough competition amongst a high standard of entries. Jane Asher commented, “The award has been a resounding success since it launch in 2004 and we had a record number of entries last year! The UK has such a strong baking culture and I am aiming to help this continue for generations to come. Baking isn’t just something that should be done for special occasions, its fun for all the family – and it can be easy too. “I really enjoy being involved with the competition; baking is a fun activity for all the family, and gives a great reward at the end! I hope Home Baker of the Year encourages people to get back into the kitchen, and I look forward to seeing the entries pour in for another exciting Final.”
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| Home Baker of the Year 2007 | |
Linda Edmonds for her Tipsy Apple and Blackberry Cupcakes
The competition was a big success. Jane Asher said " What a wonderful day it was at this year’s Home Baker of the Year final! The standard was fantastic, and the judges and I truly had an almost impossible task in picking the winner. Good Housekeeping yet again looked after us beautifully, and, thanks to the generosity of Dan Ross, the lovely MD of Victoria Foods, the company that makes my mixes for me, we were all kept well-supplied with champagne and delicious food throughout the day. Many congratulations to all of the finalists, and especially to Linda, of course, and I look forward to reading more brilliant recipes when we start HBOY 2008. Meanwhile, keep up the baking and have a wonderful year"!
Please visit the homebake website for full details.
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Dan Ross, Managing Director of Victoria Foods, says: “2007 has been an exciting year for Victoria Foods; we have seen our brand portfolio expand rapidly to boast a wide range of fantastic licensed products that will excite and inspire you, the consumer. We are thrilled to be working with Weight Watchers and Nestle and look forward to continually developing and evolving our ranges.” Tasty, innovative and most importantly, clean recipe, these are all must-try products from the country’s largest manufacturer in home baking.
Jane Asher Christmas The Mince Pie Kit will be in supermarkets in time for Christmas. Jane says: ‘I’m very proud of this new addition to my range: it’s only too easy to get overwhelmed by all the things to do at this time of year, and I’ve created this simple, classic mince pie kit to make it all just a little more relaxed! They’re wonderful served either warm or cold, and go down very nicely with a cup of tea or glass of mulled wine. I’m also going to keep a few packets in my store cupboard so I’ll be able to serve some perfect mince pies very quickly to any last minute guests. I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I do.’
Weight Watchers Weight Watchers, the UK’s number one weight loss and weight management organisation, is leading the way when it comes to offering everyone the perfect way to enjoy a cool summer picnic, a sizzling hot BBQ or a perfect sunny day on the beach. As the UK’s leading grocery brand, the Weight Watchers food range offers Weight Watchers members and consumers looking for healthier options the opportunity to eat tasty food for the lowest POINTS values possible with no compromise on taste. From Weight Watchers creamy chocolate flavour dessert whips and cool ice lollies and exciting fruit desserts, the new range is made with the best high quality ingredients. Not only that they all really taste good and look good! On top of this they fit into the Weight Watchers flexible eating plans and are perfect for those following a calorie controlled diet or who want to choose a healthier option.
Fern Milne / Chief Executive / a spokesperson for Weight Watchers said: ‘Our new range of Weight Watchers food offers the perfect solution to a fun, successful summer. Our delicious new range offers the consumer something a bit special without any guilt attached. It is the perfect accompaniment to a BBQ, a picnic or a day at the beach. All of the new delights also fit into the Weight Watchers flexible eating plans – perfect for the summer and for people who want to choose a healthier option. We know everyone will enjoy them throughout the summer months and beyond, indeed at any time of year!’ New additions to the children’s sector include some of the biggest and most iconic brands on television today and are bound to be big hits with kids:
Rupert Bear
Postman Pat 2d Dec Kit Another relatively new addition to the shelves from Victoria Foods is the complete baking “kit”: Postman Pat Strawberry Cupcake Kit with 2d Decorations to the shelves. The Kit contains 2d sugar decorations which are displayed to consumers through unique display windows on the front of pack.
Simpsons The Simpsons Movie has been the biggest character/brand tie-in this year, with the film producing a Homer Pizza Kit is a great tasty pizza base mix with a tangy tomato and herb sauce included. You can create your own pizza, using some of Homer’s favourite ingredients, for fresh oven baked results. Great for all the family, this is made from a clean label recipe, using no artificial colours or flavours, and no hydrogenated fats. Suitable for vegetarians, this is a healthy and delicious treat. Lisa Sparkly Raspberry Mini Muffins are an exciting new addition to the sweet mixes category. Cute and fun to bake and decorate, their bright eye catching design will appeal to girls everywhere; the mini muffins are a delicious treat, with sparkly raspberry flavoured topping, covered in sprinkles and white chocolate stars. Pink printed muffin cases are provided too. Another clean label recipe means that there are no hydrogenated fats, and no artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners. |
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Home Jane Asher
Weight Watchers
Kids Brands
Own Brands |
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These delicious, and easy to bake, pies are perfect for family gatherings around Christmas or for entertaining friends at any time. Each of Jane’s famous Home Baking range uses only the highest quality ingredients and is free from hydrogenated fats, artificial colours, flavours and preservatives, so you know you’ll be giving them only the best.
Upcoming children’s products for 2007/8 include Rupert Bear, which has seen a big revival, featuring heavily on Channel Five’s Milkshake! and enjoying a resurgence of popularity with a new generation of youngsters. Victoria Foods have produced a Rupert Bear vanilla cupcake, which will join a growing roster of Rupert Bear licensed products across many categories, for an impressive brand set to be a big hit with kids. It is a clean label product made from natural ingredients, which is sure to be a big hit with mums. 
multimillion dollar worldwide smash hit and adding a massive boost to the profile of this already phenomenally successful brand. Victoria Foods have brought innovation to the home baking category with their brand new The Simpsons baking mixes. Decorative, creative and unique, these are exciting new products for the market and unlike any currently on the fixture.