A few months ago, gripped by baking fever, I purchased Mary Berry's Baking Bible. I quickly decided to embark upon a mission to bake everything in the book, and turn myself from an occasional baker into a bit of an expert. My Grandad Ern was a Master Baker by trade; the man responsible for introducing Danish Pastries to England in fact, and I wish it had occurred to me to spend more time learning from him, rather than simply enjoying the fruits of his effortless labours. This project is almost a way of making amends for that; I'd like to follow in his footsteps (if not in my career, at least as a hobby) and continue the proud heritage of baking in my family.
I credit my friend Rachel with the idea to write a blog about my baking exploits, hoping that there will be more successes than failures as I attempt all 213 of the Queen of Baking's recipes.
So as not to bore the husband with a monotonous diet of sponges, followed by weeks of biscuits, I've decided to tackle the recipes by selecting the first bake from each chapter, followed by the second recipe and so on. I'm not going to pick and choose; I'm determined to face my baking demons and learn how to do everything baking-related, even if the consequences are disastrous!
Everything will be photographed, with comment about how I found baking it, and a husband rating (to be taken with a pinch of salt as he has a very selective cake-tooth).


Monday 17 June 2013

43. Bakewell Slices

Father's Day and a visit from my parents could only mean one thing where my bake of choice was concerned: Bakewells. Dad loves them, in any guise, so these slices seemed the perfect thing to make for the occasion. I've made Bakewell Tart before (possibly only with Mum though), so I wasn't phased by this recipe, which is very straightforward. The pastry was made first, but it wasn't the easiest to handle, so I had to do quite a lot of patching up to compensate for the many cracks! It doesn't really matter when it's underneath something else and not under close scrutiny though. The next task was the basic sponge topping, only adapted by the inclusion of almond extract and some milk. 4 tablespoons of raspberry jam were used, but as Mary advises not to 'scrimp' on the jam, I did add an extra one for good measure. The sponge mixture was spread on top, and the whole thing was sprinkled with flaked almonds. It only needed 25 minutes in the oven, after which time it was still quite pale but definitely baked, so I took it out. It lasted all weekend, even with me cutting it into very large slices! Between us we all enjoyed it, but felt more jam was needed and possibly a little more almond extract. Unmistakeably a Bakewell though!

Baker's verdict: easy to make and very tasty. I did feel that the sponge felt a bit dry somehow, possibly because it was so light and fluffy. The contrasting textures of sponge and pastry may have caused it - who knows?
Husband rating: 7.5/10 - nice flavour of almond; looked nice and professional; nice individual layers like a Bakewell should be. Just needs more jam and the sponge was ever so slightly on the dry side. The sponge was nice and fluffy though.
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