The Great British Bake Off is one my favorite shows, inspiring new bakes, new flavors, and new techniques! Join me on my journey to bake through all the Season 8 Challenges.
Total Cooking Time: 1 hour / 6 hours (total project)
The Great British Bake Off is a classic show for bakers and those looking for a friendly competition. All the bakes on the show look delicious and I often want to try baking them myself! I finally got off the couch and into the kitchen to recreate some of the recipes from Bake Off! I chose to start with season eight of Bake Off as it is my favorite season and the one with some of my favorite challenges!
I made it to the end of the Pudding Week! And this challenge was a doozy. The showstopper challenge was to make an ornamental trifle terrine. I was inspired by the trifle terrine made by Sophie on the show. Hers was a yuzu and raspberry trifle terrine. I didn’t have access to yuzu so I decided to go with something more accessible: a lemon and raspberry trifle terrine. This dessert was absolutely delicious. It did not last more than a day in the house because I wanted to eat all of it. But it also was an extremely complicated dish made up of six layers with five different recipes going on.
In this post, I’m focusing on the sponge base of the trifle terrine. But check out the following posts to make the full recipe!
Check out the Season 8 Great British Bake Off Page to see other bakes from the series or the Make section for more recipes!
Ingredients
The sponge is a genoise-adjacent sponge. This cake doesn’t use any rising agent. Instead, it relies on the eggs (and the air whipped into the eggs) to get the sponge to rise! I think it’s fascinating. But I’m also not very good at making a genoise. I still have nightmares from the week two technical. I made 5 genoise cakes before giving up and going to a more familiar recipe. Anyway, I digress, this recipe only needs eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Pretty simple for a cake!
Process
01
Prepping the Eggs
The eggs are prepared in two separate ways. The first involves the egg whites. The egg whites and salt are added together and whisked until they are light and fluffy. I was aiming for soft to medium peaks because that’s the only way I know how to measure egg whites. I wanted a lot of air in them but if they over whisk, the sponge becomes chewy.
The second preparation is that of the egg yolk. This is also whisking, just separate whisking. In a separate bowl, I mixed the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla extract. This one I mixed by hand. Mainly because I didn’t have a second mixer. But also, I can’t resist a good kitchen arm workout 😉.
02
Folding
After the eggs are fully prepped, I folded the egg yolks into the egg whites. I like using the cut and scrape methods. This is where I cut through the center and then scrape the mixture along the sides of the bowl. This allows me to be gentle while folding everything together. I then folded in the flour after the two egg mixtures were combine. If whisking wasn’t a kitchen workout, then folding definitely is. It takes time to get everything combined while also avoiding knocking the air out of everything. And with this, the batter is done!
03
Baking
The last step for making the sponge is throwing it (or gently placing it) into the oven and allowing it to bake. I love the way this came out of the oven. It was positively golden. It’s a gorgeous color and I was vey excited for it. I let the sponge cool down in the pan for a few minutes before turning it out and letting it cool on a rack.
04
Creating the Trifle Terrine
The trifle terrine is all about layers. But I also chose to make this upside down since it was going to be turned out before serving. I used a loaf tin because it was the closest thing I could find in the house that would work. I chilled it and lined it with a clear plastic wrap. I just wanted to make this as easy as possible to turn out.
I made this inverse, so I started off with the top layer: the Raspberry Jelly. I poured the entirety of that recipe into the win and waited for it to set. The next layer was the complete recipe for the lemon custard and waiting for it to set. This recipe has a lot of waiting. More than an impatient person like me would like for it to have. The next layer was half of the white chocolate bavarois and waiting for it to set. The layer after that is raspberry mousse and waiting for it to set. Then the remaining white chocolate bavarois is placed in the tin and left to set. Finally, the cake was placed on top.
I left the terrine in fridge overnight to let everything really set. Also, it was late, and I was tired. In the morning, I turned out the terrine and I was both happy and disappointed. The disappointment came from the jelly being the layer that did not set. I talk about this more in the raspberry jelly post, but I know what went wrong. However, the remaining layers looked absolutely beautiful.
Reflections
This was a light and fluffy sponge that tasted soft and melted in the mouth. It made me feel better about making genoise. And honestly, this was one of the best cakes I’ve had in some time. I had to hold back from eating the cake because it needed to be a part of the terrine!
Am I ready for bake-off?
I have mixed feelings about this one, especially since the jelly didn’t set. I felt like Liam did when I turned out the terrine. Just a mess everywhere. But it tasted so good. This is my new favorite dessert. I ate too much of it. And I want more, so much more. In terms of looks, I still have some room to grow. In terms of taste, I couldn’t have asked for it to get any better.
Lessons
What is a genoise?
A genoise sponge is one of the simplest cakes in terms of ingredients and one of the most complicated cakes in terms of technicality. This cake’s light and airy texture comes from the air that is whipped into the eggs. There is no use of yeast or any chemical leavening agents (like baking powders or baking soda). Some genoise will also called for butter to enrich the batter.
Lemon and Raspberry Trifle Terrine
Ingredients
- 2 Eggs Separated
- A Pinch of Salt
- ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ Tsp Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ Cup All-Purpose Flour
Instructions
The Sponge
- Pre-heat the oven to 375F
- Using an electric whisk, whisk the egg whites with salt until soft peaks are achieved
- Whisk half of the sugar (1/4 cup) into the egg whites and then set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract until pale. The whisk should leave a ribbonlike trail when lifted.
- Gently fold the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture.
- Gently fold the flour into the egg mixture.
- Transfer the mixture into a baking dish and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden and springy.
- Loosen from baking dish and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Putting Together the Trifle Terrine
- Prepare the tin with plastic wrap (I used a loaf tin). Chill.
- After preparing the raspberry Jelly, pour a layer into the tin and allow to set.
- After preparing the lemon custard, pour on top of the set Raspberry Jelly and allow to set.
- After preparing the white chocolate bavarois, pour half of the mixture on top of the lemon custard and allow to set. Occasionally stir the remaining bavarois to prevent early setting.
- After preparing the raspberry mouse, pour on top of the white chocolate bavarois and allow to set.
- After the raspberry mouse has set, add a layer of the remaining white chocolate bavarois and allow to set.
- After the white chocolate bavarois has set, place a layer of the prepared sponge.
- Very carefully, turn out Trifle Terrine
- Decorate and Serve with whipped cream and fresh raspberries as desired!!
- Enjoy!
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