GBBO Madeira Cake

he Great British Bake Off is back!  #GBBO

Im pretty sure by the end of the series my waistline will have expanded as this year I am totally jumping on the GBBO Bake Along band wagon and hoping to improve my baking skills along the way!  My fellow colleagues at work are preparing themselves for the long weeks ahead to be my faithful critics, my very own Paul and Mary.

The first episode:

Signature challenge: Madeira Cake

Technical Challenge: Walnut Cake

The Show Stopper: Black Forest Gateau 

For the first bake along I went with the Madeira cake. I chose it as I thought it would be the most simple out of the three...how wrong was I! I used the following recipe from Nigella Lawson.....

• 240 grams unsalted butter (softened)
• 200 grams caster sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
• grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
• 3 large eggs
• 210 grams self-raising flour
• 90 grams plain flour

You will need a loaf tin (23 x 13 x 7cm / 9 x 5 x 3 inches), buttered and lined.

1. Preheat the oven to 170ºC/gas mark 3/325ºF.
2. Cream the butter and sugar, and add the lemon zest.
3. Add the eggs one at a time with a tablespoon of the flour for each.
4. Then gently mix in the rest of the flour and, finally, the lemon juice.
5. Sprinkle with caster sugar (about 2 tablespoons should do it) as it goes into the oven, and bake for 1 hour or until a cake-tester comes out clean.
6. Remove to a wire rack, and let cool in the tin before turning out.

I made the first mistake - not reading the recipe properly so I totally forgot to sprinkle on the caster sugar in step 5! 

It seemed like a very easy recipe so I was disappointed when the top and sides started to brown very quickly. I even gave the cake a foil hat as it was still raw in the centre. I have a feeling that it might be due to my oven. Its a very old cooker and you have to guess what temperature it is on as it is a thermometer dial. So I think my oven was at a too high of a temperature...im now thinking of investing in an oven thermometer.

In the end, my cake was over baked and you could tell straight away when you cut into it, it was very crumbly. Although it wasn't like eating a mouthful of stale panatone - it still had some moisture in it. I didn't eat any of the sides and threw most of my slice in the bin but my colleagues seemed to enjoy it - or they're just very polite!! 

But on a positive note, I DID have the crack along the top! And I got the balance of the lemon just right! I didn't want the lemon too be too overpowering (like a lemon drizzle) but have enough lemon in it to be able to taste it, so im really pleased with that outcome.

I've never cooked a madeira cake before and I probably wont for quite a long time, I'd rather have a slice of lemon drizzle cake. However, to go along with my madeira cake I candied some lemon peel to go on the top. Now this element of the bake turned out well, I was pretty chuffed with myself because OH MY GOD is it a faff!!!!

I used the following recipe from the Good Food website...

1. Cut the fruit into 8 wedges, then cut out the flesh, leaving about 5mm thickness of peel and pith. Cut each wedge into 3-4 strips.

2. Put the peel in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 mins. Drain, return to the pan and re-cover with fresh water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 30 mins.

3. Set a sieve over a bowl and drain the peel, reserving the cooking water. Add 100g sugar to each 100ml water you have. Pour into a pan and gently heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the peel and simmer for 30 mins until the peel is translucent and soft. Leave to cool in the syrup, then remove with a slotted spoon and arrange in 1 layer on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Put in the oven at the lowest setting for 30 mins to dry.

4. Sprinkle a layer of sugar over a sheet of baking parchment. Toss the strips of peel in the sugar, a few at a time, then spread out and leave for 1 hr or so to air-dry.

5. Pack the peel into an airtight storage jar or rigid container lined with baking parchment. Will keep for 6-8 weeks in a cool, dry place.                                                                                               

6. To make into a delicious gift, melt the chocolate in a small bowl. Dip the candied orange peel into the chocolate to half-coat them, shaking off the excess. Put them on baking parchment to set, then pack into small cellophane bags tied with ribbon or pretty kitchen string.

See what I mean?! So time consuming! And not to mention I was a bit shocked at the sugar content! But not to blow my own whistle but my lemon candy turned out great! Even passed the GBBO drop test! I've never done anything like this before with sugar so I'm really pleased to have learnt a new skill!

Hopefully next week will be a better week for me....