I went out and bought some things for baking. To be honest, whenever I’m out, I’m on the lookout for baking bits n pieces. My baking cupboard is blooming, space is running out, so much so that I’m forced to keep some of the stuff in my closet. Yeah.

Anyhow. These are some of the bits and pieces I picked up. I will give you a rundown of the places where I got them.

The best places where you’re going to find baking things here in Islamabad are either Al-Fatah or D.Watson; because these two places will have everything you’ll ever need. These are, to be honest, my two most favorite places in Islamabad. Yep. Grocery stores are my favorite places. Do not judge.  I could literally spend hours and hours strolling down the aisles, reading all the labels, gazing awe-eyed at all the gorgeous pieces of cutlery and china, the rows and rows of chocolates, all the beautiful spatulas…

Ok. Enough jabbering. Let’s get going.

So first off we have, none other than a…SPATULAAA. Not just any spatula though mind you, it’s a PINK SPATULA. I’ve been out on a pink spatula hunt since ages, especially for these new ones with a wooden handle.

Found it at Al-Fatah. Costs round Rs. 175. So very pretty. A spatula is a kitchen-must people! You can never have enough spatulas.

Next thing I picked up is Cream of Tartar. It’s an acid used to stabilize egg whites. I’d never really seen the need to buy it before, since lemon juice can be used as a cheap substitute. But I saw it in D.Watson the other day, for the first time ever, it’s not available here in Pakistan, and had to buy it.

Next up, I bought hordes of chocolate. Not on one single trip though. We’d go to D.Watson to get like soap or toothpaste or something, and I’d return with a bag of Rolos or a bar of white chocolate.

Chocolate and caramel combination never fails to attract me. I bought this bag of Rolos a long time ago, but I can’t decide what to make; Rolo blondies or Rolo cookies?

And they finally have Hershey’s chocolate chips in Islamabad! Woohoo!

I’ve been struggling to get hold of these in any supermarket. I usually have to get my yearly stock from Saudi Arab or somewhere, but now I can just buy them from here. They are a tad bit pricier here. 800 something for a small bag of chocolate chips O.o

Anyhoo. I picked up some White Chocolate Chips for blondies and cookies and stuff.

And some mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips.

Next up, we have Munz 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate. These were on a Buy-1-Get-1-Free offer at D. Watson, so obv had to buy them and give Munz a try.

Saw a recipe for triple chocolate cookies on youtube a while ago that called for white chocolate chunks, so bought this Milky Bar. Cost round 400 rupees. Have yet to make those cookies. Cookies scare me.

Also saw these Mini Oreo packs for the first time in D.Watson, but now almost every superstore has them. Aren’t they adorable? Mini Oreos, perfect for topping cheesecakes and my Cookies and Cream Cupcakes. Cost: Rs. 110

This next thing I bought was a Silicone Tart Mold. This is such a great alternative if you can’t find a tart pan with a removable bottom, or don’t want to spend too much on a pan which you will be using only once or twice. A bit hesitant to buy it at first, I found this silicone tart mold very affordable and very easy to use. The tart, as shown here, slid out very smoothly and baked perfectly. And it cost me half of what it would have cost to buy the normal loose bottom pan. Silicone works wonders!

And also from Al-Fatah, I picked up a round 9 inch cake pan. Cost around Rs. 885. Very useful for, obviously, making a round cake.

And this next pan here was a gift from my mother all the way from Saudi Arab. It’s a neat pan to have in your collection. Very versatile. Can be used as a water-bath, for making lasagna, brownies, to roast chicken in… love it!

I was in Al-Fatah the other day, and found a whole new array of sprinkles. I think, Al-Fatah in all of Islamabad has the best sprinkles. And so, I bought this tiny cute jar of red Christmassy balls. They are adorable. Perfect for topping cupcakes.

And also a pack of hundreds-and-thousands teeny tiny round balls in a myriad of colors. I absolutely love them.

Also at Al-Fatah, I spotted a whole range of liquid food colors. Picked up Bright Blue, and Raspberry Red.

Blue Velvets and Red Velvets…YES.

I have noticed so many people using gel food colors and going on and on about how awesome they are, and how the bright and vibrant the colors are. Here in Pakistan, food dye isn’t that common unless its Zarda, in that case, yellow food dye powder FTW. In Pakistan here, we only, if lucky, get to find the liquid food colors, that too in a very limited number of color options, mostly just red, green, or blue. So, I had to have a box of these gel food colors, in a range of colors; pinks and purples and yellows. So, to start off I ordered this AmeriColor Junior Soft Gel Paste Food Color Kit from Amazon through my awesome friend’s awesome brother in America who just happens to work in Amazon. How cool is that? It cost around sixteen dollars.

Also, from Amazon, I ordered this Turntable by Wilton. This is cool for when you’re icing big layer cakes, and especially for when you want perfectly smooth frosted sides on your cake. It’s not really necessary. I feel like you can just go round a cake with a pallet knife, or spin a plate to frost all sides. But if you really want to amp up your icing level, get this. It cost around thirteen dollars.

THIS. I’ve been wanting this for the last I.Don’t.Know.How.Many years! You have no idea how many stores I’ve visited in search of this six holed thing, in not one, but TWO countries. And now thanks to that Amazon friend of mine, I now have this pretty thing in my pan pantry. Loads of baked donuts to come.

It’s a six cavity Donut Pan by Wilton. Priced round ten dollars. Very affordable I think, very smooth and shiny, it’s an investment I tell you, for many years to come.

This next thing was actually a gift given to be my lovely cousin. She gets given loads of chocolate every year from Britain by her husband to be. Most of it is super dark, so dark, in fact, that it is unfit for direct consumption. It needs to be used in baking, mixed in sugar. So she passed on three bars of bittersweet chocolate to me.

First one was Lindt 90% Cocoa. Always handy for molten lava cakes or for topping up your tarts or making a glaze for cakes.

She also gave me two bars of a British Brand Montezuma. First of all can we just look at the packaging? How gorgeous is it!

First one here is the Montezuma 73% Cocoa Very Dark Chocolate.

And then, my favorite, the very unusual, the Sea Dog, Dark Chocolate with Lime and Sea Salt. How weird is that. I have no idea where I’ll be using that, maybe sea salt brownies…?

That is pretty much everything that I have bought, that I have added to my baking collection recently. I really hope you enjoyed this post. If you have found some interesting baking bits, do tell me. I’d love to hear any recommendations you might have about baking utensils or any brands who do really good sprinkles that might be available here in Pakistan or anything else. Let me know in the comments.

That’s it from me now.

Till the next post, Ciao!