Mary Berry has answered all of our summer cooking woes! Heatwaves are synonymous with sipping ice-cold drinks in the garden, and when it feels like a million degrees outside, the last thing you want to be doing is standing next to a stove cooking dinner. Have you ever noticed that Mary never seems to get hot and bothered when she's whipping up a meal, even when it was warm in The Great British Bake Off tent?
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The TV cook has shared some expert advice on the best meals to prepare when the temperatures soar - and they leave you plenty of time to sit and relax in the sunshine!
© Photo: iStockMary Berry suggests cooking sausages with roasted vegetables during the heatwave
"Cooking things in the oven means you’re not staying over a heat," she tells us. "I would do a great big roasting tray of sausages. Put them in, brown them on one side and turn them over. Then add a whole lot of vegetables to that and oven-roast them,” Mary told Country Living.
The 85-year-old recommended using Mediterranean or English garden vegetables and lots of onions as the perfect accompaniment to the meat. She also suggested a stir fry as another quick alternative during this summer weather, as it takes only minutes to cook.
The 85-year-old has been sharing her tips to make cooking easier and more enjoyable
Mary even has dessert sorted! She previously revealed the shortcut she uses to whip up a delicious Victoria sponge cake mix in just five minutes. Writing for The Telegraph, Mary said: "I no longer prepare a Victoria sandwich with the traditional creaming and folding methods, as this all-in-one method gives excellent results every time. All that creaming of butter and sugar. I never seem to have the butter soft enough. And then the tins have to be lined and everything has to be just so."
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Rather than following the traditional method of creaming sugar and butter together, Mary uses baking spread, which she simply places in a large mixing bowl with sugar, eggs, flour and baking powder until it's smooth. This all-in-one method can take as little as five minutes, and Mary encouraged budding bakers to apply a similar method to other classic cakes and biscuits too.
"Cakes, tea breads and biscuits can all be made quickly and easily with the minimum of fuss and trouble. There is no need to bother with fancy tins or piping bags to produce an informal, yet professional, finish to all kinds of teatime specialities," she said, adding that the most important thing was to "have fun" during your time in the kitchen.
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