According to research from oven makers Stove, 46% of adults in the UK said they struggled with getting the french dessert to rise. One in ten said their pudding rose too far to the point of collapse, and 15% said it sunk.
Food and Drink on Female First
More than half admitted to having difficulties cooking beef wellington, saying they overcooked the meat, and made the pastry soggy, in the survey of 2,000 adults. Managing to cook baked Alaska without melting the ice-cream also proved to be a problem, putting the pudding in third place of difficult to cook dishes.
A spokesman for Stoves said: “Cooking is a subjective thing and a dish that one person may struggle with another person may find easy. But there are some meals that are notoriously hard to perfect.
“Any dish that has many components that you have to marry together such as beef wellington or baked Alaska is a challenge for even experienced cooks. This research proves it can take years to accomplish staple things like pastry and even gravy. But practice really does make perfect and more attempts you have at making something, the easier it is likely to get.”
The survey also revealed that Brits don't make it easy for themselves when cooking for friends, with one in ten saying they attempt the most complicated meal possible, so as to out-do their friends, and 12% admitting to not reading the recipe properly.
Regarding this, the spokesman for Stoves said: “Dinner parties can be stressful, but the key to pulling off the best food for guests is all in the preparation.
“Tempting as it is to show off and cook something complicated, it could backfire, so it may be an idea to have a trial run beforehand.”
Emily Bancroft