13 minute read
Nadiya Hussain
The Great British Baker
Nadiya Hussain rose from baking show champion to Netflix star, and wants to spread her love of baking to you
BY MARY SUBIALKA
Nadiya Hussain’s smile and excitement are infectious. “For me, baking really is my happy place, and I want it to be yours, too,” she says at the beginning of her new Netflix series, “Nadiya Bakes.” Her ability to draw in the audience— not to mention her impressive baking skills—has brought Hussain a long way since winning “The Great British Baking Show” in 2015. After taking home the trophy as the top amateur baker in the U.K., life changed quickly for this mother of three young children.
Born on Christmas Day 1984 in Luton, a town a little more than an hour’s drive north of London, England, she grew up in a lively house with her parents, who had emigrated from Bangladesh, and five siblings. After marrying her husband Abdal in 2005, they moved to Leeds a few hours farther north. Having no formal cooking training, it was there that she first began to hone her baking skills.
After her youngest child was born in 2010, Hussain worked on her college degree through the night feedings, nappy changes, nursery runs and long days, she says. “Life progressed, but my desire to get my degree never left me, so when the kids went to bed, I worked on my degree and when I felt stressed, I baked. I was baking my way through my degree on my path to become a social worker,” Hussain shares on her website. She “forced” Abdal to sit through many cooking and baking shows: “I would sit quietly and observe techniques and get familiar with alien baking terms. He would sit through each episode and shout at the box, ‘Nadiya, you can do that!’ And I would ignore him.” He downloaded an application to “The Great British Baking Show,” and she took a chance.
Since winning the show, Hussain has written 14 books—including cookbooks for adults and children, picture books and a memoir—and has appeared in television shows such as “The Big Family Cooking Showdown” for BBC2. Her first cookbook, “Nadiya’s Kitchen,” hit the bestseller lists in 2016, as did her cookbook for children, “Nadiya’s Bake Me a Story.” In “Time to Eat,” published in 2019, she shares tips for making meal prep as simple as possible, including repurposing leftovers into new recipes, creating second meals to keep in the freezer and using shortcuts such as frozen foods to reduce prep time.
In her new book, “Nadiya Bakes,” which comes out in the U.S. this July, Hussain returns to what she describes as “her first true love”—baking. The book features recipes ranging from easy everyday treats and savory bakes to indulgent desserts to share, such as the Mango and Coconut Yogurt Cake with German Buttercream, which she describes as “sunshine in a cake.” (See the recipe on page 55.) “I bake every day, whether that’s for work or for my family,” Hussain says. “I very rarely go a day without baking.”
With many exciting projects on her plate and plenty of new recipes, Hussain shared her thoughts with Real Food via email from her home across the pond.
How did you prepare to compete on “The Great British Baking Show”? I practiced an awful lot. We filmed on weekend[s] and so I had the weekdays to practice when kids were in between nursery and school. So, I practiced from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., got the kids home and then got them to bed for 6 p.m., and started around half [past] 6 and baked till 3 a.m., and slept for a few hours till I was back up again at 6 a.m. with the kids. I did this five days a week for 10 weeks; it was exhausting, but practicing allowed me to make mistakes. Rectifying and recognizing them at home was important, so I knew what I was doing if it happened in the tent, and that philosophy served me well most of the time.
On your website you shared that you have anxiety. How did you deal with this during “The Great British Baking Show”? It was a constant battle that I struggle with even to this day; I wish I didn’t but I do. It was tough because I didn’t talk about my anxiety. I did things like shock therapy where I pinged my wrist with an elastic band every time I felt anxious—a technique that I was taught as a teenager by a professional, something I have stopped doing altogether. I had frequent panic attacks while on ‘Bake Off,’ but used prayer in my quiet times to feel focused when my head was all over the place and the panic was setting in. What was your life like immediately after winning? Life well and truly changed after the show. The biggest shock was being recognized when out and about. It was not something I was ever prepared for, and to be honest, nothing can prepare you for that. Since ‘Bake Off,’ I have forged a career in food and television. It was unexpected and never a part of the plans, but something I hope to be doing in years to come.
How did it come to pass that you made Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday cake? Are there other notable people you would like to bake for one day? I received an email and I didn’t think it was true. But soon after I was traveling to film, so I didn’t have much time to think about it. When I got back, I was jet lagged and had five days to bake this cake.
I would love to bake a cake for David Attenborough and my nan when I finally get to see her after [the pandemic] is over. What are some of your biggest influences from your family growing up? Staying humble—I grew up in a working-class family and everyone around me worked hard, worked long and worked all the time, so growing up around people who have grafted has always made me feel grounded and humble about everything I have achieved so far.
Growing up in an immigrant household, my family has always been apologetic and ever grateful for their opportunities, but they were never proud of their achievements—something I tried to always encourage them to do as a young teenager. Whilst I am grateful and humbled by all the opportunities that I am offered, I am equally as congratulatory of myself—to remind myself that I work hard for everything I achieve and try to celebrate these achievements however I can.
Did you take formal cooking/baking classes? No, I have no formal training. I am a home cook and everything I have learnt has been by myself. But that is what I love about being a home cook; I learn and understand at my pace and in a leisurely way with none of the pressure of being formally trained. I would love to get some formal training one day, just because I love the pressure of learning and I love exams! Everything I have learnt has been through books, media and all led by my curiosity.
—Nadiya Hussain
NADIYA’S ESSENTIAL EATS
What are some favorite foods? I love Thai food!
American food? I was in L.A. recently and I absolutely loved papousas and tacos!
Indulgent/“junk” food? I love crisps and chips, pretty much anything deep fried! Samosas are one of my most favorite things to make, fry and eat. If you were left on a deserted island, what are the few food items you would want with you? Marmite, bread and cheese.
Where do you get inspiration for your recipes? A lot of inspiration comes from reading, my own curiosity about other cuisines and travel. Travel allows me to fully immerse myself into a whole other culture, which I absolutely love. Although travel is a luxury that I try not to take for granted, and whilst I can’t always travel, I love reading books and using social media to learn about new cuisines and cultures.
Do you have a favorite item to bake? I love baking brownies, in every which way: simple brownies, loaded brownies, layered brownies, over-complicated brownies—all the brownies.
What was one of your most challenging items to bake? One of the bakes that I really struggled with when I first started to bake were macarons. They can take a while to master; there are lots of techniques and so many recipes, but once you have the right recipes and you have mastered the techniques, you can really feel like a master in the kitchen.
What are your favorite aspects of making TV shows and cookbooks? I love the crew. We have a really good vibe; we have all worked together for a few years and we know each other really well, so the familiarity is wonderful. But what I love is that we spend weeks eating and chatting, and [those] are two of my favorite things to do.
The best bit about writing a book is developing the recipes. I love being able to develop, tweak and change the recipe till it’s perfect! That, and the photography, is my favorite bit to get involved in. Then, when the book is released and I see people cooking the recipes, that is also a moment of joy for me—that’s when it feels really worth and special to be able to write cookbooks. How long did it take to develop recipes and write “Time to Eat” and “Nadiya Bakes”? Do you have favorite recipes from each book? Books can take up to a year to develop, write, test, photograph and print, so it is a true labor of love. I have so many favorite recipes, but from ‘Time to Eat,’ I love the peanut butter and jam pancake tray bake, and from ‘Nadiya Bakes,’ I really love the chicken doughnut, and mango and coconut cake. Do you get your children involved in cooking and baking? My kids love baking. If they want cookies or cake or a sweet treat, they have to bake it—that’s the rule! Are you teaching them some ageappropriate ways to help cook or bake? If so, how do you suggest others get their children involved? I think start as early as possible; get them cooking, stirring, washing, weighing any job, big or small. Get them confident in the kitchen … As a starter, begin with something simple that does not require an oven, like a rocky road or tiffin, where you get all the joy of being in the kitchen, measuring and mixing and licking the bowl, and a delicious treat at the end.
What is a little tip or trick you learned along the way that really helped you? And is there a mistake you often see and can you suggest techniques to avoid this pitfall? Buy an oven thermometer. Ovens can dip and vary in temp, so to make sure it’s exactly right, be sure to get one. They can be bought online and are a great investment to make sure your bakes are really well baked.
Make mistakes. Mistakes mean you learn, and when you learn you rectify, and that is all a part of the process. What has been one of your biggest surprises or unexpected/proudest moments since winning the baking show? Receiving an MBE* was probably the biggest surprise. It was something I never expected, so when I got that very beautiful letter through the door, I was well and truly surprised. To be recognized for the work I have done within the culinary arts is pretty special.
This interview has been edited for clarity and style. *Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, an order of chivalry that rewards contributions to the arts and sciences.
MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS PREP 35 MINUTES, PLUS CHILLING; COOK 45 MINUTES
These flavors are as traditional as they get for me. They’re the flavors I grew up with, though while mango was cooked in curries, dried, or eaten in the sun under the shade of the tree, it was never put in a cake! The same went for coconut. If it wasn’t being eaten dry, it was being stewed or eaten early, drinking its sweet water and scooping out its young flesh, but never ever in a cake. So, let’s fix that, and put all that wonderful stuff straight into a cake, shall we?
For the Cake butter, for greasing the pans ½ cup dried shredded coconut 1 mango, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise 1⅓ cups plus 1 tablespoon Greek yogurt 1½ cups granulated sugar 7 large eggs, lightly beaten 3¼ cups all-purpose flour 5¾ teaspoons baking powder ¾ teaspoon salt
For the German Buttercream ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk ½ cup granulated sugar 3 large egg yolks 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1½ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Decoration ¾ cup mango pulp ¼ cup coconut flakes or dried shredded coconut, toasted
Greek yogurt and extra mango pulp, for serving
1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and grease two 8-inch round cake pans. 2. Toast the coconut in a small pan until it is golden, and sprinkle it into the bottoms of the cake pans, making sure to evenly distribute it. Toasting it will enhance the flavor (untoasted coconut is no different to the wood chip shavings I lay out for my rabbit). Add the mango in some sort of orderly fashion, straight on top of that coconut. 3. The cake is an all-in-one method, so really easy. Pop the yogurt into a large mixing bowl along with the sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and salt and mix until you have a smooth, shiny cake batter. 4. Pour the mixture into the pans and tap the pans a few times on the work surface to level off the top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean. 5. Take the cakes out and let cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out and allow to cool completely. 6. Meanwhile, make the buttercream by putting the milk in a saucepan with the sugar. As soon as it just comes to a boil, take off the heat and mix, making sure the sugar has melted. 7. Now put the egg yolks in a bowl with the cornstarch and whisk. In a steady stream, pour in the hot milk mixture, making sure to stir all of the time. Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently until it all thickens into a really thick custard that coats the back of the spoon. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool, then chill in the fridge 30 minutes to 1 hour. 8. When chilled, beat the custard mix, then add a good tablespoon of butter at a time, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla. Keep beating until you have a really stiff, pipeable buttercream. Pop into a piping bag. 9. Take the first cake, with the fruit side facing upward, and arrange on a serving dish. Pipe swirls of the buttercream all around the edge and then in the center, covering the top of the cake. Pop the other cake on top and make the same swirls around the edge, avoiding the middle and leaving gaps between the swirls. 10. Pour the mango pulp into the center, allowing it to drip down the sides. Sprinkle it with the toasted coconut and serve the cake with Greek yogurt and any extra mango pulp.
RECIPE AND PHOTOS REPRINTED FROM “NADIYA BAKES” BY NADIYA HUSSAIN. COPYRIGHT © 2020 BY NADIYA HUSSAIN. PHOTOGRAPHS COPYRIGHT © 2020 BY CHRIS TERRY. PUBLISHED BY CLARKSON POTTER, AN IMPRINT OF RANDOM HOUSE, A DIVISION OF PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE LLC.
