We are big Bake Off fans in our house. At last count we have watched Australian, Kiwi, Canadian, Kenyan, South African, American, Bake Off The Professionals, celebrity versions and, of course, the original and the best, The Great British Bake Off.
When this book was announced as the next selection for Cook the Books, I read the blurb and went, I am going to love this book. Whilst the show in the book is called Britain Bakes, it is very definitely a knock off of Bake Off.
When 77 year old Jenny Quinn decides to apply to be on Britain Bakes, she keeps it a secret from everyone around her, including her husband of 59 years Bernie. The main reason she keeps it a secret is because she doesn't expect to get past the application stage let alone make it all the way through to being on the TV. Keeping it a secret, is very unusual for Jenny and Bernie. Throughout their long marriage she has only ever kept one secret from him, albeit a very BIG secret.
Baking has been part of Jenny's whole life, but getting ready for competing on the show takes things to a whole new level. Jenny has the recipes that she has known and loves for years, but she needs to show skills for more than just retro baking!
Jenny makes it onto the show and becomes something of a favourite. She insists on using her trusted balancing scales (no electric scales here) and her warm nature, and in particular her friendship with a young fellow contestant by the name of Azeez, endear her to the public and the crew of the show.
By taking this step to do things for herself though, Jenny finds herself thinking back to an earlier time in her life, the point where the biggest choices were taken away from her. This book is, in effect a dual time line, where the recipes Jenny is baking now are conduits back to that earlier time in her life.
The big question is what happens when the show is aired. Will Jenny win? And will all her secrets be revealed? Of course, I can't tell you that! You will just need to read this fun, delicious and delightful read for yourself!
This is Olivia Ford's first and only book so far. I will be looking out for her next book because I really loved this one.
Because this was a read for Cook the Books, I also needed to choose what to make. There is so much delicious food in this book, both savoury and sweet. I did keep a list, but the reality is that I already knew what I was going to be making as soon as I read the second paragraph of the book! That doesn't mean to say that I didn't contemplate other things. This is one of those choices where there were dozens and dozens of different types of food mentioned!
Here is that paragraph:
Recipe one. It had to be her favourite birthday cake - she had quite a reputation for it in the family. She wrote the heading, Jenny's Black Forest Gateau, twisting her best handwriting into loops and flicks as she divided the page into Ingredients and Method. She could feel the wet cloth of the cream-filled piping bag, the magic of neat rosettes spiralling from its nozzle. She thought of the bitter smell of cocoa powder which clung to the back of your throat if you made the mistake of pouring it too enthusiastically, and how it complemented the tender cherry pie filling.
The reason why this jumped out so much is that Black Forest Cake is my husband's favourite, and I haven't made it for him for a long time! A quick look through my baking cook books gave me a few different options, but in the end I chose a recipe from the cook book that I have been doing a lot of baking from recently which is You Had Me at Cake by Emelia Jackson
In order to make the recipe as written, I did have to sent Robert to go to a specialty place that does all kind of frozen fruits to get frozen sour cherries, and I also had to go and buy kirsch as we didn't have any in the house.
I also had to adapt because I don't have 18cm cake tins. In the end I used 22 cm cake tins and cooked the cakes for 30 minutes which may have been a fraction too long.
It turns out that really this recipe looks more complicated than it really is. None of the three components is difficult, and it looks fine if you put it together somewhat rustically. At least, that is what I am telling myself!
The next Cook the Books selection is The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai and I am the host! I really hope that everyone enjoys it! I am a bit nervous though! If you would like to know more about Cook the Books, click here for more details.
Black Forest Gateau (Emelia Jackson)
6 eggs, room temperature
250g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
90g plain flour
60g cocoa powder
150g unsalted butter, melted
Sour Cherry Compote
200g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
100ml kirsch
600g thickened cream
300g double cream
100g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
shaved dark chocolate to finish
For the chocolate sponge cakes, preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional) and line three 18cm round cake tins with baking paper.
Combine the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is pale and has doubled in volume. Sift the flour and cocoa powder over the egg mixture, gently fold together, then mix through the melted butter.
Once combined, divide the batter evenly among three cake tins and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If you only have one or two cake tins, bake each layer separately. The remaining batter is fine to wait as each layer bakes.
Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool in their tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the cherry compote, put the cherries and their juices in a saucepan with the sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and allow the cherries to cook for 30 minutes, or until the juices have reduced by half. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla paste and kirsch before letting the compote cool completely. This can be made up to a week ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to use.
For the chantilly cream, combine all the ingredients (except the chocolate) in a mixing bowl and whisk by hand until firm peaks form. It will take a little elbow grease, but I prefer to err on the side of caution and whisk by hand as the higher fat content means it can easily split. Once the cream has thickened, place it in the fridge until the cakes and compote have cooled and you are ready to assemble the cake.
To assemble, place the first cake layer onto the serving plate and soak it liberally with cherry syrup, before layering over ⅓ of the cream and cherries. Repeat this process until you’ve stacked all layers with the fillings. To finish, liberally spread the rest of the cream over the top of the cake and pile it high with cherries. Finish with some curls of dark chocolate shaved with a vegetable peeler and set the cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours (overnight is best) to firm up before serving.
Saturday - Hamburgers
Sunday - Grilled cheese on toast
Monday - Pork and beans stir fry
Tuesday - Spaghetti bolognaise
Wednesday -
Thursday - Out for dinner
Friday - Away for the weekend
(Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) The cake looks delicious! I hope I will be able to participate in Cook the Books next time.
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