Super Blogger Sunday: Deeba of Passionate about baking

This week's featured Super blogger is Deeba from "Passionate about baking". Beautiful pictures, attractive food site, wonderful garnishing skills, a super baker, a prominent face of several blogging communities- thats Deeba for you..Read more about her and visit her blog for a fascinating experience ( but remember you will get to only see her tempting cakes on your screen and not have them)

EC: Tell us something about yourself

Deeba: I’ve been food blogging since August 2007. My blog is about my passions in life...baking, cooking, photography, nature, and art. I believe in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. I enjoy blogging immensely, & am part of a wonderful online community.

I blog from India, where my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients. I have to admit that I now cook to feed my blog, and try to post at least twice a week.

Join me in my adventures as I wriggle my way through the kitchen!


EC: Who and what inspired you to start food blogging??

Deeba: I began blogging just over 2 years ago; a meek attempt to document my adventures & misadventures in the kitchen, and record basic recipes as I had time on hand. Little did I know that blogging would take over my life? I am ambitious as far as blogging goes, am addicted to it, and enjoying it thoroughly. It has enriched my life beyond belief, put me in touch with beautiful and fun foodies, made me a Daring Baker, and made me look at the camera with new eyes. I have learnt that there is more to 'macro' than what I learnt in university while doing my honours in economics, and this macro is certainly more fun! The camera is my best friend, and has escaped many a threatened fall into curries and cakes. I love it! I have a long way to go, and want to write cookbooks, improve my photography skills, learn to make macarons like French pastry chefs...ah I love this life!


EC: Like the name of your blog and your recipes suggest, you do a lot of baking..Can you share some tips about baking.

Deeba: As people who now know me, baking is my passion, the joy of my life. The name is a reflection of my passion. The most important tip for baking is to know your oven. It's usually oven temperature & over beating that messes up the end product. If you are a beginner, then try an easy muffin or pound cake to gain confidence. An apple/pear crumble is also a good way to begin. If you need help, please feel free to ask me. I am always willing to share whatever little I have learnt along the way.


EC: The photographs and garnishing on your dishes are superb..Some tips on it please

Deeba: Thank you. I have a long way to go, but basically enjoy shooting in natural light. I don't have fancy SLR. Just a Canon G9, which is a slightly higher end point & shoot camera. I shoot in macro, mainly using a sheet of white cartridge paper as background. My skills in photography are non-existent, so I still shoot in auto, but do try & experiment. I edit my pictures in Picasa, and sometimes in Photoshop.

For some tips on garnishing, please see my post on Food talk, at Daring Kitchen here,

EC: Your views on plagiarism and how can we fight it??

Deeba: Don’t be shy to step onto the blogging platform; don’t be intimidated. It’s a whole world out here, with a lot of bloggers, but there’s always room for more. Bloggers share a wonderful camaraderie, and are more than willing to share their world with others. Do remember though, to always ask before you use any ones work, and always give credit when you do. There is no place for plagiarism here. We need to take a united stand against it.


EC: What are your sources of recipes and which is the dish that is a hot favourite among ur family and friends.

Deeba: My recipes are often inspired by the season, and from blogs I visit. I am a free spirit and find it difficult to follow a recipe exactly. I often make changes as I work my way, and tend to take pictures at every stage to record what I do. My iced cakes are a hot favourite with my family & friends, as are my iced cookies.


EC: Any interesting incident/experience that you relate to blogging.

Deeba: My first attempt at making successful French macarons nearly drove me to tears. I made 6 batches on one morning, and I had the whole bunch of twitter friends holding their breath. That was the most interesting & trying day of my baking life. I finally found my ‘feet’. You can read the chronicles here if you like...


EC: Your favourite vegetarian recipe

My favourite vegetarian recipe is a dessert, 'Apricot Cherry Mini Crumbles', a recipe easily adaptable with seasonal fruits like apples and pears also. I have made a mango & ginger version in the past as well. I like this recipe as you can make individual servings in ramekins, or then one large portion in a pie dish.