Tuesday night’s episode of Great British Bake Off attracted nearly eight million viewers, which is no surprise as the nation is set to start baking again while being stuck at home
17:54, 26 Sep 2020Updated 23:28, 26 Sep 2020
Prue Leith is a judge on the the Great British Bake Off(Image: PA)
Just when we need a lift, The Great British Bake Off is back.
Tuesday night’s episode attracted nearly eight million viewers, which is the Channel 4 show’s biggest ever launch audience.
So, with the nation on the edge of a second lockdown and about to start baking again, here are some delicious treats from previous series to give you inspiration.
1.Pineapple Upside-Down CakeEight tinned pineapple rings in natural juice, drained200g golden syrup7 glacé cherries, halved; 200g unsalted butter200g caster sugar; 200g self-raising flour, sifted¾ tsp baking powder3 large eggs75ml whole milk1½ tsp vanilla extract
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YOU WILL NEED
20cm solid-based round cake tin, greased then base-lined with baking paper
1. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas 4. Halve six of the drained pineapple rings and quarter the remaining two. Set aside.
2. Pour the golden syrup into the prepared tin, tilting the tin to evenly spread the syrup. Arrange the pineapple halves in a circle around the edge of the tin and arrange the pineapple quarters in the middle. Place a glacé cherry in the middle of each pineapple half and one cherry in the middle.
3. Place the butter, sugar, flour and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor.
4. Lightly beat the eggs, milk and vanilla extract together in a jug, then add the mixture to the processor bowl.
Blitz for 1 minute, until thoroughly blended.
5. Spoon the mixture into the tin and level out with a palette knife. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
6. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for at least 15 minutes, then turn out on to a serving plate or chopping board and cut into slices.
2.Baked Cheesecake
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FOR THE BISCUIT BASE
200g digestive biscuits100g unsalted butter, meltedfinely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
FOR THE FILLING
900g full-fat cream cheese275g golden caster sugar; 40g plain flour, sifteda pinch of salt1 tsp lemon juice3 eggs, plus 2 yolks300ml soured cream2 tsp vanilla paste200g raspberries, to decorateicing sugar, to dust
YOU WILL NEED
23cm springform cake tin, greased, then base- lined with baking paper large sheet of tin foil (enough to cover the base and reach above the sides of the tin); large baking tray half-filled with boiling water
1. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/400F/gas 6.
2. Make the biscuit base. Place the biscuits in a freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin to a crumb. Stir in the melted butter and 1 tsp of the lemon zest until combined. Reserve the remaining lemon zest for the filling.
3. Tip the biscuit mixture into the base of the prepared tin and press down with a spoon. Bake for 10 minutes then remove from the oven and set aside.
4. Make the filling. Beat the cream cheese in a stand mixer fitted with the beater, on medium speed for 2 minutes, until smooth. Add the sugar, flour and salt and beat on low speed until incorporated.
5. With the mixer on medium speed, add the remaining lemon zest and the lemon juice. Then, add the whole eggs, one at a time, followed by the two yolks, mixing well between each addition. Stir in the soured cream and vanilla.
6. Pour the filling on to the biscuit base and level out. Place the cheesecake on the large sheet of foil and gather up the foil around the sides of the tin. But not over the top.
7. Carefully place the cheesecake and foil into the tray with the boiling water and bake for 15 minutes. Then, reduce the oven to 110C/90C fan/225F/gas 1/2 and bake for a further 50 minutes, until the filling is almost set.
8. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake to cool and set for 2 hours without opening the oven door. Then, remove from the oven and refrigerate for 2-3 hours, before decorating with raspberries and dusting with icing sugar.
3.Blackberry Pound Cake
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FOR THE SPONGE
250g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature425g golden caster sugar1 tsp vanilla paste5 eggs180ml whole milk340g plain flour, sifted, plus an extra 1 tbsp for dusting2 tsp baking powdera pinch of salt225g blackberries
FOR THE TOPPING
350g thick Greek yogurt1 tbsp runny honey100g blackberrieshalved edible flowers, optional
YOU WILL NEED
23cm deep, round cake tin, greased, then lined (base and sides) with baking paperMETHOD:
1. Heat up the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/ gas 4.
2. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla in a stand mixer fitted with the beater, on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, until pale and creamy.
3. With the mixer on a low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Don’t worry if the mixture curdles slightly – it will come together when you add the flour.
4. Gradually add the milk and mix well to combine. Using a large metal spoon, fold the flour, baking powder and salt into the mixture, until just combined.
5. Put the blackberries in a small plastic bag with the extra 1 tablespoon of flour and give them a shake to coat. Gently fold them into the cake mixture until evenly distributed.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 50–60 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely, about 1-2 hours.
7. Meanwhile, make the topping. Using a wooden spoon, beat together the Greek yogurt and honey in a bowl, until smooth.
8. Once the cake is completely cool, spread the topping on top. Decorate with the halved blackberries and then dot with edible flowers, if using.
4.Rahul’s Rock Garden Cake
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SERVES: 20
Hands-on: 11⁄4 hours.
Bake: 30mins
FOR THE SPONGE
100g cocoa powder, sifted120ml boiling water600g dark brown soft sugar200g baking margarine or softened unsalted butter6 eggs350g self-raising flour, sifted2 tsp baking powder200g caster sugar4 egg whites; 250g salted butter, diced250g unsalted butter, diced; 1 tsp orange extract1 tsp vanilla extract1 tsp lemon extract; green food-colouring gel or pastered food-colouring gel or paste
FOR THE CHOCOLATE SOIL
100g caster sugar75g 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped
YOU WILL NEED
20cm sandwich tins x 2, greased and base-lined with baking paper15cm round cake tins x 2, greased and base-lined with baking paperSugar thermometer plate lined with baking paper2 small disposable piping bagsMETHOD:
1. Heat the to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas 4.
2. Beat the cocoa and boiling water in a stand mixer fitted with the beater on medium speed to combine, then add the remaining sponge ingredients and mix until everything is fully incorporated.
3. Divide the mixture proportionately between the four prepared tins. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean.
Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
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4. Make the Italian meringue buttercream.
Heat the caster sugar and 100ml of water in a medium pan over a medium heat to dissolve the sugar, then increase the heat and boil until the syrup reaches about 110C/230F on a sugar thermometer.
5. Leave the syrup on the heat and whisk the egg whites in the clean, mixer to soft peaks.
Keep the whisk running and, when the sugar syrup has reached 121C/250F, remove the pan from heat and slowly pour the syrup in a thin, steady stream into the egg whites.
Whisk until the outside of the bowl is at room temperature and the meringue is very thick and glossy.
6. Then, start adding cubes of salted and unsalted butter, whisking after each addition to make a smooth, thick buttercream.
Add the orange, vanilla and lemon extracts and mix thoroughly. Cover, and chill until firm.
7. Make chocolate soil. Heat 2 tablespoons of water and the sugar in a grease-free bowl of a stand small pan over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
Increase the heat and boil the mixture until it turns golden around the edges, or reaches 135C/275F on a sugar thermometer.
Stir in the chopped chocolate – it will immediately form clumps and crumbs. Tip this onto the lined plate and leave to cool.
8. To assemble, sandwich the two larger cakes with 3 tablespoons of the buttercream, spread evenly. Spread 1 tablespoon of buttercream on top.
9. Sandwich the two smaller cakes with about 2 tablespoons of buttercream and stack these on top of the larger cakes.
10. Place 6 tablespoons of buttercream in a small bowl and add green food colouring to make a leaf colour. Place 4 tablespoons of plain buttercream in a second bowl and colour this red.
11. Spread the remaining plain buttercream around the top and sides of the stacked cake.
12. Place the red and green buttercreams in separate, small disposable piping bags. Snip off the tip of the bag of red icing and make a v-shaped cut in the end of the bag of green icing.
13. Pipe green leaves around the sides of both cake layers and a few on the top, adding red dots to make flowers. Sprinkle the soil around the bottom of each cake layer and sprinkle a little on top. Chill the cake, serve within 2 days.
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MAKES: 6
Hands-On: 11⁄4 hours.
Bake: 15mins.
FOR THE GÉNOISE
60g unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for greasing4 large eggs, at room temperature120g caster sugar; 120g plain flour, sifted1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract1⁄2 tsp natural raspberry flavouringpink food-colouring gelfinely grated zest of 1 small unwaxed lemonyellow food- colouring gel
FOR THE ITALIAN MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
100g caster sugar1 large egg white85g unsalted butter, softened
FOR THE FONDANT ICING
250g fondant icingsugar pink food- colouring gel
YOU WILL NEED
2-in-1 parchment and foil cut to a rectangle of 50 x 20cm33 x 25cm traybake tin; sugar thermometersmall piping bag fitted with a medium writing nozzlecocktail stickMETHOD:
1. For the génoise, fold the foiled parchment to divide the cake tin into three even sections, each measuring 20 x 10cm, with the parchment side facing upwards, and grease with melted butter. Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/375F/gas 5.
2. Tip the eggs and sugar into a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Gently whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture reaches 43C/109F on the sugar thermometer.
3. Weigh the mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer, then record the weight. Attach the bowl to the mixer and, using the whisk attachment, whisk the mixture until thick and mousse-like, and leaves ribbon trail when you lift the whisk.
4. Meanwhile, divide the flour evenly between three small bowls. Do the same for the butter.
Stir the vanilla into one bowl of butter. Stir the raspberry flavouring and a small drop of pink food colouring into the second bowl of butter, and the lemon zest and a small drop of yellow food colouring into the third.
5. Divide the whisked egg mixture into three bowls. Working with one bowl of egg mixture, flour and butter at a time, sift the flour over the egg mixture and gently fold in.
Add the butter and fold – work quickly to prevent the mixture collapsing.
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6. Repeat Step 5 with the remaining bowls of egg mixture, flour and butter to give three mixtures – vanilla, raspberry and lemon.
Pour each into a section of the cake tin and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the tops spring back when pressed. Cool a little in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. For the Italian meringue buttercream, melt the sugar in 3 tablespoons of water very gently in a pan over a low heat. Meanwhile, whisk the egg white in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, to soft peaks.
Once the sugar has completely dissolved, increase the heat to a rapid boil until the syrup reaches 121C/250F on a sugar thermometer.
8. Remove the pan from the heat. With the whisk at full speed, slowly pour the hot syrup on to the egg whites in a thin stream. Continue whisking until the meringue is very thick and glossy and has cooled to room temperature.
9. Gradually add the butter, whisking after each addition until the buttercream is smooth and thick. Chill until firm.
10. To assemble, trim the sponges so they are identical in size and height. Spread half the buttercream over the vanilla sponge and top with the raspberry sponge.
Spread the other half over the raspberry sponge and top with the lemon sponge. You may not need all the buttercream.
11. For the fondant icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add 11⁄2 –2 tablespoons of water to mix to a stiff, dropping consistency.
Spoon one quarter of the icing into a small bowl and colour it pink. Spoon the pink icing into the piping bag fitted with a writing nozzle.
12. Spread the white fondant icing over the top, not the sides, of the lemon sponge. Pipe fine lines of icing across the width of the cake, spacing them 1cm apart.
Using a cocktail stick, gently drag the icing lines in opposite directions through the white fondant to feather. Cut the cake into six even slices and serve.
Dining and Cooking