Bake-off

Image from BBC 2 Great British Bake Off page

He took a bite of the yeasty cake and began to chew, his brow crinkled in consternation. A couple of seconds later his face had turned a fetching hue of magenta and a grimace of disgust was fixed upon his face. "He's going to spit it out!" I gasped, "it's going to be just like the ciabatta incident of 2011 all over again!"
We were watching Paul Hollywood munching a salty Rum Baba during the first episode of The Great British Bake off. Thankfully the mouthful of Rum Baba was digested and the contestant did not have to face the horror of making Paul Hollywood regurgitate some of his Baba, unlike the contestant who put too much salt in their ciabatta during the 2011 show.
"They probably have had clamped down on Paul Hollywood spitting out food, it's a bad influence on children watching", my husband observed while nodding sagely at me.

We were later fixed to the TV screen in awe as the contestants grappled with various sized sponges as they took references from what looked like engineering plans for small skyscrapers while they endeavoured to make "a cake with a surprise inside". I have to say that I think that if I had been confronted with the task of making a union jack out of blue and red sponge it might just have put me off baking for life! I much prefer simple home baking to overly primped confections, although I'm not adverse to eating them - just making them!

 

I like to stick to the baking classics such as Victoria sponges, chocolate cakes, tarts, pies and scones! And now I have my new oven I'm thoroughly looking forward to gaining some baking inspiration from the Great British Bake Off, but hopefully any Baba's I make will be purely of the sugary variety!