82. Swiss Roll

Every so often I experience in my baking what many people these days call an 'epic fail'. This was one of them. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what went wrong, so if I attempted this bake again, I'm not sure how I'd guarantee a more successful (and edible) outcome. Frustratingly, my confidence and optimism was fairly high after managing to make the chocolate version without disaster at Christmas. I really didn't expect the dodgy result I achieved with its more basic counterpart. The only difference in the ingredients is the split of 65g self raising flour and 40g cocoa powder; this recipe called for 100g of flour. Perhaps the missing 5g was the issue, but it seems such a minor diversion that it's hard to believe that was the case. It's one thing I can try and tinker with next time though.
What I did notice as I mixed the 'batter' was that it was extremely wet; definitely liquid. Maybe I didn't whisk the eggs enough, but those vague descriptions (I feel) about the 'whisk leaving a trail' aren't always helpful. Baking is such a science, that the instructions need to be so specific, and when you' ve been whisking away and nothing much changes after quite a period of time, you think 'well, that must be it then'. Pictures would help.

Anyway, liquid mixture duly poured into the tray and 'levelled' (not much effort needed here), I popped it in the oven and set the timer for less than the suggested 10 minutes, as my oven seems to bake things faster (I really must get an oven thermometer, or a better oven). I was pretty horrified when I saw what was happening before the allotted time was up. The sponge had shifted itself so it was pitifully thin at one end, and very brown, and rather wan-looking at the other end. I had no choice but to take it out and then endured the ridiculous farce of trying to prize it off the baking parchment and make something useable out of it. It felt odd; very springy and rubbery (like the chocolate one but more so) and just smelt so eggy. I wonder if 4 eggs is too much, a bit like the extra egg in the muffin mixture. I tasted it; it was horrible. Nothing else for it but to give up and consign it to the bin. It was never going to be a swiss roll - certainly not of any reasonable proportions by the time I'd hacked the burnt bits off - and really it was inedible. It didn't even looked properly cooked when I dissected it. I was completely baffled by the whole thing and have yet to have another attempt!
Baker's verdict: just not right at all - yet to decipher what was amiss.
Husband rating: didn't even get a sniff of it!

81. Gingerbread Men

Having discovered that the (not so) little one quite likes ginger biscuits, I was quite excited about baking these. She's started to become a keen assistant of late, and particularly enjoys using the cutters, so I knew she'd find these fun to make. I did the dough bit, which was very straightforward, albeit a little on the messy side, and then we began the quite lengthy process of turning out our squadron of biscuity soldiers. Time became a bit pressing, with the fan over blowing impatiently away, so after a few toddler cut-out sessions, I took over and delegated the task of applying currant eyes and buttons to my assistant (ably supported by Grandma, who made sure an equal amount of currants found their way onto the gingerbread men after a few diversions to a little mouth). They had to be baked in shifts, due to the quantity (20) and number of baking trays needed, but it was good fun churning out man after man and piling them up on the cooling rack. There's something very satisfying about baking in large quantities!
Baker's verdict: easy to make and great for baking with children. I thought they could do with a bit more ginger to ramp up the warm spice.
Husband rating: unfortunately too long ago to be able to supply one (slapped wrist for the blogger).

80. Buche de Noel

I decided to bake this for Christmas, in addition to my usual traditional Christmas cake (this year taken from The Great British Bake Off book), and because we were entertaining at home and I wanted an alternative dessert to Christmas pud. I also had some chestnut puree which wanted using, so I adapted Mary's recipe to include just a filling of that instead of the whipped cream addition which would have presented fridge storage issues.
I was initially quite nervous about the whole swiss roll thing, having not attempted one before, but one must bite bullets in the baking world, and it was actually quite straightforward in the end. I figured that if the thing cracked when I tried to roll it, I could easily patch it up with icing. So, sponge made, the filling was cobbled together with most of the ingredients in Mary's recipe minus the cream. I also spread the sponge with brandy before adding the filling, just to enhance its boozy qualities.
Having not had a picture to go on, I used a bit of artistic license when assembling the 'log', and then instead of covering it with whipped cream, I made a chocolate buttercream and smothered it in that. We don't have a big fridge, and Christmas means a full one; I simply didn't have room to store a large dessert therein, so buttercream seemed the way to go, with a promise of prompt eating.
Baker's verdict: quite easy to bake and assemble; the sponge was a bit on the rubbery side, whether from over-baking I don't know. Tasted good, but I'd like to try it a Mary intended.
Husband rating: can't even remember trying it!