Estimation Nation, baking by guesswork!

Seriously?!? Are you sure? Estimate? (O’Connor Photography)

How good are you at guesswork? Let’s see. Could you cut a cake into equal slices? Of course. Buy enough apples for a family sized apple crumble? Almost certainly. Bake cupcakes or scones with just a list of ingredients and no scales or measuring cups? Not on your Nelly!

Ingredients? check. Method? check. Scales or measures? No, not a thing. (B.T.)

That was the challenge set by Smart Energy GB for a kitchen full of food and parenting bloggers recently. Just a little background for you, to set the scene.

Smart Energy are championing Smart Meters. No one would stand for estimated bills from the supermarket, so why have we put up with estimation of bills from energy companies for so long?

Smart meters are the new generation of gas and electricity meters. They are replacing traditional meters in homes across Great Britain, finally bringing the energy industry up to speed with modern living. They send automatic meter readings to your energy supplier, meaning accurate bills and an end to meter readings and unpredictable estimates. The accompanying smart meter display will also show the user exactly how much energy they’re using and what it’s costing them in pounds and pence.

There are multiple benefits to having a smart meter but the key advantages are that bills will always be accurate and the user will have access to all the information needed to manage your household budget, at no extra cost.

Smart meters give you:

•  Near real time information, in pounds and pence, showing you what you are spending on gas and electricity.
•  Accurate bills – no more estimates. You can be confident that you are only paying for what you have actually used.
•  Improved visibility around gas and electricity use so you can reap instant rewards from energy-saving changes in your home, or choose to keep the heating on when you need to, without the fear of an unknown bill.

Chocolate raspberry cupcakes made by guesswork. We did rather well. (B.T.)

So how did we fare with our Estimation Nation challenge? Set by Ian Cumming (from THAT baking competition) we had to bake a set of chocolate and raspberry cupcakes complete with cream cheese icing and a batch of cheese scones.

Guestimated cheese scones (B.T.).

With the support of my partner for the challenge, Pretty Edible Stylist we managed to produce plates of food that were both edible and pretty. Whilst we didn’t win “Best in show”, we didn’t get the wooden spoon either. It just goes to show that you can get close with an estimate but accuracy is better for all.

I’ll be posting the recipes we made by estimation as well as a more  accurate version later in the week, along with the video from my GoPro too!

Photos are either mine or from O’Connor Photography as stated.

 

 

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