Gibby Bakes

Where on earth to begin with this absolute failure... Well... MY BLOG IS 1! Exactly one year ago today I started writing down my little thoughts about my little bakes! And to celebrate I decided I'd attempt a recipe that I've had my eye on for quite some time, this Peach Bellini Cake! Well... says it all... You don't need to go back for a second look to notice that this cake has collapsed. Honestly, I'm laughing when I write this, as this disaster is, ironically, one of the freshest tasting cakes I've eaten for a long time (if ever!), but it has also given me the chance to do something I'm usually too embarrassed to do, write about my failures. A first for a first birthday! This cake consists of 3 three layers of vanilla sponge brushed with a prosecco syrup, and is filled with both a vanilla and orange blossom honey crème Chantilly, and a peach and prosecco compote! The cake is (was, before it collapsed!) decorated with extra crème Chantilly, sliced peaches and

When life gives you rhubarb... I have absolutely no idea how to finish that sentence!  But my best friend currently has an excessive supply of homegrown rhubarb going begging, so with rhubarb by the kilogram turning up at my door I decided to get creative with the ways I could use it up! Crumble with homemade crème Anglais is nice, but there's only so many days in a row you can have it before it starts to wear thin...  Enter then this gluten-free Rhubarb, Rose, and Pistachio Cake! A very pretty slice! Let me start this off by saying I am absolutely obsessed with this cake! Another gluten free masterpiece, this cake consists of three layers of gluten-free rhubarb and pistachio sponge brushed with a vanilla and rosewater syrup, and is filled with a rhubarb and rosewater compote before being decorated with a vanilla buttercream and fresh flowers. I'm not usually a fan of using fresh flowers to decorate cakes, but the look is so elegant that I couldn't resist this time!  Natura

Surely everyone remembers the GBBO series where Chigs, Crystelle, and Giuseppe made it to the final, Crystelle's focaccia nightmare, and Giuseppe winning the series?  Well, long story short, but this recipe is one that Chigs made on the show! Two layers of joconde sponge, chocolate ganache, raspberry mousse and raspberry jelly layered up in order to create this stunning dessert that really does belong in a French patisserie! And the fact that I was able to recreate something close to the original shows just how far my skills are coming along. No long preamble before this post though as it's probably going to be a biggie as it is, but I actually took pictures of the assembly process this time! The finished slices, with  all their layers! The first step was to prepare the joconde sponge for layers one and three. This was only my second time making this type of sponge, by whisking egg whites and sugar to form a stiff meringue, before folding in melted butter, flour, ground almonds