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 13 Challenges.
Since replicating Season 8 of the Great British Bake Off wasn’t enough, I decided to try my hand at a different season! This time, I am working on season 13 which is the most recent season! This season had some great bake ideas as well as some not-so-great ones (but we’ll get there when we get there).
So, I figured, let’s do this all again! One of the big challenges I wanted to attempt this time around was coming up with original ideas for the signature and showstopper challenges instead of doing a recreation. On your mark… Get set… Bake!
THIS IS IT! The final week of challenges and of course, they are a little difficult and full of so many components. The signature challenge is effectively three different bakes which I found to be rather challenging.
The bakes themselves were easy, but time management is a killer. And then figuring out how to post them was additional fun. The signature challenge was to make a mini picnic consisting of 6 finger sandwiches, 6 savory pies, and 6 mini cakes. And putting those into one recipe did not make a whole lot of sense. So, this time, I am splitting this signature challenge up over three different posts.
The second part of this challenge that I’m going to explore is the mini cakes. I decided to do a strawberry & cream mini cake because it felt like a British Classic that I have not had. The original design of this cake has a thick layer of cream atop a thick layer of cake. While I can make the cake in that manner, I was not sure how to accomplish this effect with the cream. Especially since I was going mini.
Check out the Season 13 Great British Bake Off Page to see other bakes from this series or the Make section for more recipes! Leave a comment below and let me know what you think and how the recipe works for you!
Check out Part One (Mushroom and Lentil Pies) and Part Three (Cucumber Sandwiches)!
Ingredients
While I decided to post all the of the signature dishes as separate recipes, I forgot to take separate photos for the ingredients. So instead, I have a photo of all the components needed for all the dishes. It was an overwhelming amount. I felt like I was about to lose all my counter space since the ingredients took up so much space.
The cake needed mostly classic cake ingredients. Although I did use cake flour (not pictured because I forgot to round it up with all the others) and almond flour. I was quite curious to see how this mix of flours would react in the recipe. Also, I needed strawberries because it is very difficult to make a strawberry & cream mini cake without strawberries.
Process
The Cake Batter
The cake batter felt relatively simple as it worked very similarly to cakes I have made in the manner recently. The start should be familiar to any baker, we’re going to cream the butter and sugar together! This step always reminds me of how impatient I am.
I know I should wait for a few minutes (at least) to get everything truly incorporated. But I want to go off looks and it’s technically mixed after seconds… However, stopping this step too soon will mess up the cake so I guess I should do it correctly.
While the sugar and butter were mixing, I sifted together the cake flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Sifting these ingredients together is not necessary but I like to do this in order to get a really smooth finish on the cake and make sure there are no lumps.
After the butter and sugar have properly integrated. I added in one egg and mixed until it was incorporated. Scraping down the sides at this point was crucial because I didn’t want to have any butter chunks stuck to the bottom of the bowl. Then I added another egg and mixed until combined. And then the last egg, and some almond extract, and mixed until combined.
Before I started adding one mix into another, I measured out the milk. Having everything ready before the next step is key to making sure the mixing goes smoothly.
First, I added one third of the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mixed until just combined. Then I added one third of the milk and mixed until just combined. I repeated this process two more times until everything was in one bowl. And just barely combined.
Bake the Cake
This batter is surprisingly delicate and can easily get the air knocked out of it. Which would result in a stogey and not very good cake. To combat this, I gently moved the cake batter from its bowl into the prepared pan. I used a spatula to smooth out the top and get the batter as even as possible before putting the cake into the oven.
The baking for this cake was also a little more invested than I thought it would be. This is not a recipe that you can put in the oven and forget about. The cake will cook uncovered for the first part and then I covered the cake in tin foil for the second half. The tin foil helps prevent the top of the cake from burning or turning too dark of a color.
Once the cake is done cooking, I let it fully cool before turning it out of the pan. Then I used a cutter to cut out 6 mini cakes. I tried to be very careful during this step because I didn’t want to crush the cake. And I wanted to keep the cakes as uniform as possible.
Decorations
Now it’s time to add the strawberries to my strawberry & cream mini cakes. I decided to do two different approaches with the strawberries. First, I cut six strawberries so that they were mainly intact but just missing the head around the leaves. This helps them stand with their pointed side facing up. I put one of these strawberries on each mini cake.
Then I cut the strawberries a little closer to the tip so that the strawberries were about ½ inch high. Then I cut each smaller strawberry in half. Using 6 of these pieces, I placed the smaller strawberries on each mini cake around the big strawberry.
Cream Cheese Frosting
The last component of this dessert is the frosting! This is a simple cream cheese-based frosting that is easy to make and keeps it shape well. The first step of the process is whisking together the cream cheese and sugar. I wanted to get the mix light and fluffy, so I let the whisk go for several minutes.
Then I slowly add in the heavy whipping cream. I tried to get the frosting to the consistency I wanted before whipping the frosting to stiff peaks. This ended up being the amount I showed below in the recipe. But more (or less) can be used until the desired consistency is reached.
With the frosting having a good stiffness, I spooned the frosting into a piping bag and decorated the cake around the strawberries. The stiffness of the frosting allowed be to make some star designs along the top of the mini cakes.
Reflections
This cake gave me a lot of trouble but was a delicious result. To be honest, I had to make the cake twice because the first one deflated (either due to overmixing or knocking out air, not sure which). But once I was able to be patient with the cake, the result was fluffy and delicious. I had to hold myself back from eating all of the scraps in one session!
The strawberries and cream added a nice fruity and sweet contrast to the cake which made the whole dish even more delicious. I think it was the perfect cream to cake ratio which I was concerned about when making these mini cakes.
Lessons
Knocking Out Air
When baking cake, or anything else that rises, it’s important to be gentle in the area around the oven. The baked good is going through a chemical reaction in the oven which can create air and cause the cake to rise. All that cake goodness is then spread over a large surface to result in a light and fluffy sponge.
But if you slam the oven door, all the air can get knocked out of the cake and cause it to deflate. It is still the same amount of cake that was there before, but all the air is gone so the cake gets a squished texture. So be careful around oven doors!
Overmixing
There are so many online recipes that warn against overmixing. But why? What will mixing for too long do? Well, the main thing that overmixing can affect is the texture of the cake. It can become rubberier due to the ingredients being overworked.
Most baked goods have a leavening agent (baking powder, baking soda, yeast, etc.) which allows it to rise. It is a chemical reaction that you want to happen in the oven. But as you continue to mix, the reaction can happen in the bowl and be mostly completed by the time you get to the oven.
recipe
Strawberry & Cream Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ Cup Unsalted Butter softened
- 1 ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- ¼ Teaspoon Almond Extract
- 1 ½ Cup Cake Flour
- ½ Cup Almond Flour
- 2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Cup Whole Milk
Decorations
- 2 Cups Strawberries
Frosting
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese 1 block
- ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit. Grease a 9-inch circular pan.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until soft and fluffy (about 4-5 minutes)
- Add eggs, one at a time, until fully combined. Add in vanilla extract.
- In a separate medium bowl, sift together cake flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Measure out milk and set aside.
- Alternate adding the flour and milk into the butter mixture. Add about 1/3 of each at a time and let combine. Do not overmix.
- Transfer to the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Cover with tin foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes cleanly out of the center. Let cool completely in pan before removing.
- Using a 7-inch cutter, cut out 6 circles. Set circles aside and remove scraps.
Decorations
- Remove the heads of the strawberries and arrange them on the top of each cake.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, whisk together cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy (about 4-5 minutes). Slowly add in heavy whipping cream and whisk until the desired consistency is reached. Should be near stiff peaks. More cream can be used for a thinner frosting.
- Spoon frosting into a piping bag with a star shaped nozzle. Decorate around the strawberries on the top of each mini cake.
- Enjoy!
Leave a ReplyCancel reply