Alice gets lost in the land of home baking

For Martinborough's Alice Arndell, delicious home baking doesn't need perfectly formed icing swirls or extravagant, exotic ingredients to be a hit.

The former Chelsea New Zealand's Hottest Home Baker contestant will shortly launch her cookbook, Alice in Bakingland, chock-full of sugary treats, such as ginger cake, macarons and chocolate and bacon cupcakes.

While she realises baking can be daunting at first, Arndell says Alice in Bakingland is the perfect cookbook for the small-town baker - as all of the ingredients can be found in a local supermarket.

"One of my pet peeves are those 'beautiful' cookbooks - the ones where you'll never get to make any of the recipes because you can't find the ingredients anywhere," says Arndell.

"When you're in a small town like Martinborough, you don't have access to places like Moore Wilsons, or any shops that have gourmet foods. But, pretty much all the things in my book you can get at the supermarket.

"It's amazing what you can do with good old supermarket ingredients."

Arndell, who was placed third in season three of New Zealand's Hottest Home Baker, says new bakers can also be discouraged by the highly-stylised photos in many cookbooks.

"We always feel disappointed when our baking doesn't live up to the picture," she says.

"I photographed all my baking for the book, and everything looks a little imperfect. Baking doesn't have to look perfect. If the piping on your cupcakes is a little off, but if it tastes good, who cares?"

Arndell says her signature ingredients include buttermilk, vanilla extract, dark chocolate (usually Whittakers or Pam's) and tasty cheese - all of which she picks up from Carterton New World.

She says she first got the idea for the cookbook, which will be launched in Masterton this evening, after launching her popular recipe blog, aliceinbakingland.com.

"It was amazing how many hits it got in a short time," she says.

"I've got a great fan base on Facebook now. I bump into people on the street all the time, and they ask if I can do them different kinds of recipes, like gluten free.

"I think me being on Hottest Home Baker helped, but it was the blog that got the book deal."

Arndell credits her time on TV with teaching her a lot about baking and increasing her confidence - but says it was a stressful experience.

"It was very high pressure," says Arndell, whose friends encouraged her to enter during a girls' morning tea.

"Everything was filmed in real time - so, when you've got two-and-a-half hours to make 10 things, you actually have two-and-a-half hours.

"It was so hot in the room as well, with all the ovens going at once, and all the lights and the camera.

"But, it was a great laugh, and I met some lovely people."

Arndell made it to the top three on the show, but was eliminated after a marathon challenge, where contestants were given something new to bake every 15 minutes.

"In the end, my sponge looked like an omelette - but I can make a perfect sponge roll now."

Since the show finished, Arndell has been busy with her blog and putting together Alice in Bakingland - and with being a mum to 3-year-old Isobel, who loves to bake alongside her.

"She's amazing - I'll be trying to remember a recipe, and she'll say 'Mummy, you forgot the eggs.

"She's probably the only child her age who can tell six or seven different types of sugar apart."

Arndell will be launching Alice in Bakingland tonight at PaperPlus, Masterton at a "books and bubbles event."

She will be preparing supper for the event, which will feature 10 recipes from her book - including pinot noir cupcakes.

"I do live in Martinborough after all," she says.

"You have to use the local fodder."

The book launch will begin at 6pm this evening. Tickets are available from PaperPlus, by calling 06 578 1326.