Gibby Bakes

Now, I've already said that my Botanicals Week showstopper was a shocker, and I couldn't just move on from the week without trying to redeem myself! With that in mind, here's a little bit of bonus content!  Enter then this Lemon and Thyme Ring Cake, inspired by the Botanicals Week technical challenge. I had to make a couple of alterations to the recipe though. I didn't have a proper bundt tin, which meant decorating the cake according to the recipe on the Bake Off website just wasn't going to happen. And as ever, my oven remains a thorn in my side, so I had to experiment with the temperature a little bit!  Preparing the cake batter was very simple, by creaming together butter and sugar, then adding self raising flour, baking powder, eggs, lemon zest and juice, and fresh thyme. Once baked, the still warm is brushed with a lemon and thyme syrup to boost the flavour. With the decoration problem I simply decided to go with a "flood" of lemon glace icing, toppi

The Bake-a-long continues! And this week's is an absolute shocker... It's been two months since I last posted! A combination of work, COVID, and Christmas haven't left me with a great deal of time. But I'm back to continue the bake-a-long saga! In what has certainly proved to be one of the more interesting themed weeks of the season, the bakers were tasked with creating Spiced Buns for the Signature, a Lemon and Thyme Bundt Cake Technical, and a Layered Floral Dessert Showstopper, which had to contain a significant baked element.  I've had my eye on the recipe for Hermine's Chocolate and Raspberry Mousse Jelly Cake for quite some time now, which immediately settled which of the three challenges I'd be attempting this week. I didn't anticipate struggling as much as I did, but with the benefit of hindsight it's actually a miracle I got as far as I did. Let's get into it! Now, I was going to face one critical problem. With the exception of the spong

The Bake-a-Long continues with Pastry Week!  See, I'm slowly catching up with my writing! Last week, the bakers were tasked with an individual picnic pies Signature challenge, a Dauphinoise Pithivier Technical challenge, and a sweet pie Showstopper consisting of three pies with at least two different fillings. With it being the run up to Halloween, I was desperate to give pumpkin pie a go, which meant I simply had to choose the Showstopper! I've already decided I want to give the Dauphinoise Pithivier a go some other time as well though. Of course, this meant I had to decide on another flavour for the second variety of the two pies.  I came across the recipe for an Apple, Pecan, and Miso Tart in the Bake For All Seasons book, and instantly knew this was the one to pair with the Pumpkin Pie. Let's break it down!  Preparing the two smaller Apple, Pecan and Miso Tarts was my first priority, as there were a few components to make, a couple of which are rather fiddly. Firstly, t

The Bake-a-long continues with Chocolate Week!  I feel as though every time I write about my bake-a-long posts, I start them off by justifying why they look so... questionable sometimes? When I read my own writing back this can sometimes come across as insecurity, so that's something I definitely need to try and move away from. I need to accept that my bakes look the way they do, and that's fine, and if I make mistakes then that's fine too, it's a learning curve! With that in mind, let's get into Chocolate Week! And full disclosure, this is a mammoth of a post you might want to make sure you're sitting comfortably.   "But James!" I hear you cry, "this week was the Botanicals Week episode of Bake Off! You're two weeks behind!". I'm a busy guy alright cut me some slack.   In Chocolate Week, the bakers were tasked with creating a Chocolate Torte without any wheat flour for the Signature, Caramelised White Chocolate and Blackcurrant Chees

Before we get started with this one, let me just address the elephant in the room, Bread Week hasn't been kind to me. I tried to plait both of the loaves I attempted this week, but they just didn't want to behave. Plaiting is clearly a skill that I can't seem to nail down just yet, but I didn't want to shy away from a good learning experience by not writing about it and reflecting on it. With that in mind... let Bread Week begin!  It's not looking good... So, the Bake-a-long continues, and this week it was Bread Week! The bakers this week were challenged to make a Cottage Loaf signature, a Devonshire Split technical, and a plaited loaf centre piece showstopper, which meant I also had to choose one of these challenges to take on! Seeing as I've already taken on a Cake Week signature (see my Almond and Summer Berry Vertical Layer Cake!) and a Biscuit Week technical (see my Custard Creams!), I thought it was time for a showstopper! So, I hope you're sitting com

The Bake Off Bake Along continues!  Alright, so this week was actually Bread Week, and I've fallen behind with my bake along already... but in my defence my Custard Cream stamp didn't arrive until the Monday of Bread Week, so what was I supposed to do!  As soon as my stamp arrived I leapt straight into action, channeling the spirit of Biscuit Week! As ever, the bakers faced three challenges, which also meant three potential bakes for me to choose from! The signature challenge was a marshmallow biscuit, the technical challenge was these Custard Creams, and the showstopper was an illusion biscuit spectacular!  Once again, time and space were against me, which ruled out the showstopper, and I've made marshmallow before, so I decided to go for the Custard Cream technical, as I've never attempted crème au beurre, also known as French buttercream, before! Even the method for preparing the biscuit dough was a little different to what I'm used to. To start, butter and sugar