The Cake and Bake Show 2014 [gluten free]

I was lucky enough to snag a ticket to the Cake and Bake Show 2014, which took place in the exhibition centre at Earl’s Court (thanks, Baking Mad!).

The centre was filled stalls of every baked confectionery imaginable. Brownies, macarons, cupcakes, you name it – they had it. There were also the most tempting sausage rolls I’ve ever seen (blood pudding and apple, anyone?), as well as stands with the latest must-have culinary gadgets.

I was really impressed with a lot of the baking that I saw. I couldn’t really believe some of the things were cakes – not all of them looked particularly appetising, but they were certainly works of art. The subjects of the following pictures are all edible.

(Yes, that is Mary Berry on a unicorn and Paul Hollywood as a zombie.)

On the stages there were various demonstrations and competitions. The crowd was going wild at the sight of some of the celebrity bakers – and I was expecting everyone to be fairly civilised!

As a gluten free baker, I was really interested to see some of the latest trends in GF baking, and to see if there were any special flours I could purchase.

No luck on the flour front, but there were a couple of gluten free brands that I was really impressed with, that I’d like to feature.

One of the biggest qualms I have with gluten free baking is that it often gets relegated to the realm of ‘healthy eating’, or ‘health food’. The only places you can really get a big selection of gluten free flours and products are often health food shops, and, while this is all very well, it doesn’t do much for someone like me who loves baking. I’m definitely more into the aesthetic side of baking – in fact, I don’t really like cake. At all. But I love decorating and baking.

Which is why whenever I see any gluten free baked goods for inspiration, I’m always a tad disappointed. There’s a lot of brown, and it’s not very pretty. So when I came across the Mr. Prempy’s stand, I looked admiringly and then walked away at first, thinking that it was too pretty to be gluten free. But I was in luck – their products are gluten-free, dairy-free and all that jazz, but they look amazing too! I took home a Gerald, a lime and ginger cheesecake made from cashews and coconut oil.

The other discovery I made at the show was the visually exquisite work of the Meringue Girls.

I have never had meringues like these before. The variety of colours and flavours were amazing. Watermelon, raspberry, lavender, pistachio and rose and salted caramel were among the few I tried. I was absolutely gutted when I found out they’d run out of gin and tonic flavoured ones. I brought a few home with me, and I’m afraid to say these have become my new obsession. The Meringue Girls also do classes, so I’m definitely going to try and get myself on one of them soon.

Although I enjoyed myself at the Cake and Bake Show, I would’ve liked to see more savoury baking present. Gluten-free baking particularly: I would’ve loved to see some GF pies, or sausage rolls (especially that blood pudding and apple one!). I didn’t manage to spot any gluten-free bread, either. I’d like to see a stall next year filled with all sorts of savoury gluten free baked goods – if not, I might just have to set up a stand of my own!

Gluten-free Billington’s Brownies #Bakeface

Last week, I got an adorable hamper through the post from the lovely BakingMad.com. The challenge? To show them my best #bakeface – the face you make when you take the all-important first bite of something deliciously warm and fresh out of the oven.

The recipe provided was for Billington’s Brownies – gooey, chocolatey and indulgent, with cherries throughout. I deviated from the recipe provided to make it gluten-free, of course.

For this recipe, you’ll need:

3 eggs

175g Billington’s dark muscovado sugar

200g unsalted butter

200g chocolate (I used a mixture of dark and milk)

110g gluten free plain flour

3 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

100g glace cherries

pinch of salt

To make the brownies gluten free, I used gluten free flour (shocker). I followed the recipe on the site, with two exceptions: while you are folding the flour in, add the cocoa powder and baking powder for best results. I also combined dark and milk chocolate – I’d like to say for a deeper, more complex flavour. (I’d run out of dark chocolate).

The #Bakeface challenge was a great excuse to bake something I wouldn’t usually – and I had a great time! Here’s my bakeface below – although I’m not eating that particular gluten-filled brownie – taken at the Cake and Bake Show, which I will be covering in my next post!

Have you submitted your #bakeface?

A Baking Masterclass with John Whaite

Can you think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than baking? I was lucky enough to attend a baking masterclass today, courtesy of Baking Mad, led by Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite. The class took place at the Fair Cake school in Greenwich, just along the river Thames. It was such a lovely way to spend an afternoon – baking, drinking prosecco in the sun, and eating cakes, of course!

We made lemon sherbet cakes and gingerbread soldiers with yellow and white dip, a sweet version of your favourite childhood breakfast. I won’t share the recipe here as you’ll find it in John Whaite Bakes: Recipes for Every Day and Every Mood but it all tasted incredible, and definitely worth trying out for yourselves!

I learnt a few tips from John today that I hadn’t known before – such as listening to your cake. If you’re not sure whether your cake is done, have a little listen – if you can hear a crackling or a popping sound, it needs a little more time. And when you bake with golden syrup/treacle, dipping your spoon into hot water beforehand will make the syrup slide off of the spoon and into the mixture smoother and quicker.

It was a lovely way to spend the day, and I had such a great time! We all got a few Billington’s goodies to take away also – and I managed to get a signed apron too. 

If you ever get the chance to attend one of John’s masterclasses, I highly recommend it!