For this week’s Bake Off, spices were on the menu, with ginger as the signature bake. The last time I made a ginger cake it was Parkin for fireworks night last year, and it was frankly a bit of a disaster. But I still fancied the idea of a sticky gingerbread that gets stodgier the […]
great british bake off
GBBO week 4 – raspberry blancmange
Who knew that blancmange could be so delicious? Actually I had a sneaking suspicion it was delicious as I remember being fond of it when young: a blancmange rabbit surrounded by green jelly ‘grass’ – surely the stuff of every seventies / eighties child’s diet? But this raspberry blancmange, recipe courtesy of Prue Leith, is […]
GBBO week 7 – margarita pizza
I make homemade pizza quite frequently, as I like it so much more than shop bought pizzas (although I do love a takeaway as well). However, it’s usually a weekend job because the dough requires proving. So this time I decided to make the dough on Sunday and prove it, then make the pizza on […]
GBBO week 5 – caramel apple steamed sponge
I rarely had school dinners when I was younger, as my friends and I used to eat our packed lunches together in the ‘Quiet Green’ rather than bother with queueing for lunch. However, I definitely fondly remember stodgy school puddings from primary school: jam and coconut sponge with pink custard, chocolate pudding with chocolate custard […]
GBBO week 4 – caramel: salted peanut millionaire’s shortbread
I watched the GBBO caramel episode from our cabin at Centerparcs, drooling over the different varieties of millionaire’s shortbread. But of course I am trying to be healthy, so how can I munch on millionaire’s shortbread? Well, luckily my friend Lucy had been looking after the cats while we were away, so this seemed like […]
GBBO week 2 – sandwich biscuits: cobnut and chocolate viennese biscuits
Once again I enjoyed the new series of Bake Off – ultimately the format is winning out, regardless of whether the new presenters are still finding their feet. I am becoming a big fan of Prue (can I be honest? I never really loved Mary Berry …), and Noel and Sandy are growing on me. […]
GBBO week 10 – a picnic fit for a Queen
Okay, so I didn’t really make a picnic for the Queen this week to meet the GBBO brief for the final week (sob – the final!) … but I had a bunch of even more discerning guests: my NCT mummy pals and their gorgeous babies. Ioan’s little buddies would need to be impressed. But whilst […]
GBBO week 9 – lemon fondant fancies
Okay I know I have only just posted my tudor pie (chicken and leek with hot water crust – delicious), but I am catching up before the GBBO ends tomorrow (sob, end of an era as who knows how it will be reincarnated on Channel 4?). For patisserie week there were the options of savoury […]
GBBO week 7 – vanilla and speculoos roulade with strawberries and cream
It’s already week 7 of the Great British Bake Off, and the latest challenges were based around desserts. Options were a signature roulade, a technical marjolaine, or a showstopping range of petite mousse desserts. Once again I had to cater to Andrew’s fussiness so couldn’t make a marjolaine which is meringue, nor mousse – Andrew […]
GBBO week 6 – coconut and raspberry cake
Botanicals … when I think of botanicals I think of gin … I do have a rather one-track mind where my favourite tipple is concerned though. Mmmmm, gin. But for the Great British Bake Off botanicals week I was a bit stumped, as I have already made a G&T cake. Inspired by my weekly visits […]