Not this year. This year I will hold my word.
I have decided - nay, promised - that I will make at least one of the bakes from the show each week.
The first episode of the 2015 series saw the new bakers tackle Madeira cake, whip out a Walnut cake, and finish up with decadent Black Forest Gateaux. All three are bakes I would love to make and consume as they're among my favourite baked goods (BFG... unffff) but in the interest of ease, creativity and intrigue I've opted for a Madeira sponge.
I've never made a Madeira before, which is largely why I chose it for my first GBBO challenge, but equally as I really wanted to try candied peel. What can I say? I'm an overachiever.
I ended up making two; one to take into work with me and one to devour with my family. This was irrefutably a good plan as there's now just half of the second one left even though they only came out of the oven 2 hours ago...
Hows that crumb looking? Sadly this one came out a little overcooked on the sides and top but the inside is still fairly moist and has a lovely vanilla and lemon flavour. The recipe I used (see below) called for almond extract but in it's absence I used vanilla. It's a fairly close textured cake but I feel it would probably come under a fair bit of scrutiny from Mr Hollywood!
I'm pleasantly pleased with how the candided peel/orange slices came out. I used to the left over syrup on top of both of the cakes and found I had just enough to drizzle. Nice. It was a lot simpler to make than I thought it would be as well - the first recipe I found suggested it would take over 3 hours to make; mine took 35 minutes.
Madeira Cake recipe
Adapted from I'd Much Rather Bake Than...
- 175g butter, room temperature
- 175g caster sugar
- 3 eggs, room temperature, cracked and whisked
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 150g self raising flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 75g ground almonds
- Splash of milk
Cream the butter for around 5 minutes with a hand mixer until it's very soft and creamy. It should go a lot lighter; almost white.
Slowly add in the sugar, whilst still using the mixer. Keep mixing it for another 5 or so minutes - your aim is to completely combine the sugar and butter into a creamy paste.
Combine the eggs and vanilla extract in a jug and add slowly to the mix in stages. Keep mixing as you add. For the first few glugs the mixture will start to thicken but by the last it should have started to release again.
Sift in the flour, baking powder and almonds in two parts. Be sure not to get any almond lumps or 'debris' in the mix. Fold this in using a metal spoon. You've added a lot of air in the previous three stages, now you're folding in the dry ingredients gently to keep that air there!
Splash the milk in so that the mixture releases a little more. It should be fairly runny. Turn the mix into either a lined loaf tin or a lined and greased round tin.
Bake for 30 - 45 minutes at 150oC, keeping an eye on the top. You should get a crack down the middle but be careful not to let the colour go too dark. If it's starting to catch then cover the cake with tin foil and return to the oven. I put a cake tin with water in at the bottom of my oven to generate some steam; which I think helped. I will have to try without and compare the two!
The cake is done when a skewer comes out cleanly. Leave it in the tin for ten minutes and then turn it out.
If you're using syrup, poke some holes in the cake with a toothpick and drizzle the syrup when the cake is out of the tin.
Candied Peel Recipe
- 1 large orange
- 1 1/2 cups of water
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
Either slice the orange thinly or remove the peel in thin chunks and lines using a sharp knife. Set aside.
Put the water and sugar in a saucepan and stir; bring to the boil.
Once boiling, add the orange pieces or peel. Simmer for 20 - 25 minutes until the syrup has thickened and the fruit has gone translucent. Remove from the pan and place on greaseproof paper to cool. Drizzle the remaining syrup over the cake and place the orange pieces/peel on decoratively.
If you're making candied peel, be very careful as sugar water gets very hot and it sticks if it touches your skin!
Next week it's biscuits - another enjoyable thing to bake!
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