Wednesday 12 October 2016

Bake-Along-A-Bake-Off 2016 Week 8 - Tudor

Week 8 - Tudor (12.10.2016)

1 - Savoury Stuffed Pie
2 - Unusual Tudor Biscuit - Jumbles?
3 - Spectacle of Marzipan

Wednesday 5 October 2016

Wednesday 28 September 2016

Bake-Along-A-Bake-Off 2016 Week 6 - Botanical

Week 6 - Botanical (28.9.2016)

1 - Citrus Meringue Pie
2 - Fougasse
3 - Three-tier Floral Cake

Wednesday 21 September 2016

Bake-Along-A-Bake-Off 2016 Week 5 - Pastry

Week 5 - Pastry (21.9.2016)

1 - Danish Pastries
2 - Mary's Bakewell tart
3 - Amuse-Bouche

Wednesday 14 September 2016

Bake-Along-A-Bake-Off 2016 Week 4 - Batter

Week 4 - Batter (14.9.2016)

1 - Yorkshire Puddings
2 - Laced Pancakes
3 - Churros

Wednesday 7 September 2016

Bake-Along-A-Bake-Off 2016 Week 3 - Bread

Week 3 - Bread (7.9.2016)

1 - Sweet dough with a twist
2 - Dampfnudel
3 - 3-flour Plaited Centrepiece

Wednesday 31 August 2016

Bake-Along-A-Bake-Off 2016 Week 2 - Biscuits

Week 2 - Biscuits (31.8.2016)

1 - Iced Biscuits
2 - Viennese Whirls
3 - Gingerbread Story Centrepiece

Friday 26 August 2016

Bake-Along-A-Bake-Off 2016 Week 1 - Technical Challenge

Jaffa Cakes

For this recipe you will need a 5cm/2in round biscuit cutter, a 4.5cm/1¾in round biscuit cutter, 30x20cm/12x8in baking tray and a 12-hole shallow bun tin.

Ingredients
For the jelly
1 x 135g packet orange jelly
150ml/5fl oz boiling water
1 small orange, finely grated zest only
For the sponge
unsalted butter, for greasing
1 large free-range egg
25g/1oz caster sugar
25g/1oz self-raising flour, sifted
For the topping
180g/6¼oz plain chocolate (about 36% cocoa solids)

Method
1. For the jelly, break the jelly into pieces and place in a small bowl. Pour over the boiling water and stir until the jelly is completely dissolved. Add the orange zest, then pour into a shallow 30x20cm/12x8in tray. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour, or until set.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and grease a 12-hole, shallow bun tin with butter.
3. For the sponge, whisk the egg and sugar together for 4-5 minutes until pale and fluffy, then gently fold in the flour. Fill each well in the bun tin three-quarters full (about a dessert spoonful per hole) and smooth the tops. Bake for 7-9 minutes, or until well risen and the top of the sponges spring back when lightly pressed. Leave to cool in the tray for a few minutes then finish cooling on a wire rack.
4. To assemble, break the chocolate into pieces then melt in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Remove the bowl from the heat and leave to cool and thicken slightly.
5. Turn the jelly out onto a sheet of non-stick baking parchment. Cut 12 discs from the orange jelly using a 5cm/2in round cutter. Sit one jelly disc on top of each sponge.
6. Spoon the melted chocolate over the jelly discs. Using the tips of the tines of a fork or a skewer, lightly press to create a criss-cross pattern on top of the chocolate, then leave to set completely. You may need to reheat the chocolate a little if it starts to set before you have finished all the jaffa cakes.

Recipe Tips
It's important to use the lower cocoa solids chocolate because stronger chocolate will overwhelm the orange flavours.

It is better to use a bowl and an electric hand whisk to make the sponge because a freestanding mixer might struggle with such a small amount of cake batter.

Thursday 25 August 2016