A few weeks before the birthday party I did a practice run of the cake to get to grips with using fondant icing and the recipe I’d tried out – MaryBerry’s Madeira Cake – went down so well with everyone there was no question that I’d be using it for the real thing
The theme was cakes and the contestants shared their signature Swiss roll recipes, tackled a classic MaryBerry cherry cake and baked mini versions of British classics
Benjamina made a pina colada roulade which sounded really fun and her sponge was lovely and soft according to Mary, but Paul thought the coconut extract she used tasted too artificial
I made this one last year using MaryBerry’s recipe. Omit the sherry and cranberry sauce too. Since I don’t eat dairy and nor does Roo, I will use almond milk and coconut oil instead of the milk and butter
to hear MaryBerry saying it was “to die for” is still one of the best moments in my life. Coconut cream (the thick sort you get in cartons) is sublime and when mixed with lime juice and perhaps a splash of rum
From the terrifyingly qualified and exacting Cherish Finden, whose jawdropping creations are miniature works of art, to the homeliness and failsafe recipe of the Queen of baking, MaryBerry, Lorraine Pascale's straightforward, yet impressive approach often offering a "lighter" version of classic bakes, to the truly gifted amateurs who have stepped out of their kitchens and into the spotlight that is (was
Unfortunately, MaryBerry was busy writing her one thousand two hundred and fiftieth cookbook. ), Brownies, mini Victoria Sponges, tiffin, Bara Brith, Coconut Squares, Coffee and Walnut cake, battenburg, Cupcakes, Lemon Drizzle Cakes and a lovely two tier iced Fruit Cake for cutting (pictured up top)
Meanwhile Delia plumps for a Ginger Cake and MaryBerry the classic Victoria Sponge. cake. For Tea Time Treat's very first birthday I will bake the nation's favourite cake
Sherry perhaps in MaryBerry style, stout as Dan Lepard prefers or maybe rum like Nigella. Other countries have their own version of Christmas cake, for example Germany has Stollen, Italy it’s Panettone, Japan is a spongecake topped with cream, strawberries and chocolate and in the Philippines it’s a bright yellow pound cake that includes nuts and (similar to ours) soaked in brandy and a palm sugar and water syrup, with added orange flower water
Corina based this recipe on a MaryBerry’s recipe in the Baking Bible in the Baking for Children chapter, but used different quantities of ingredients and different types of sugar and flour
Paul had great stage presence and immediately launched into banter with the audience by making jokes about MaryBerry's, or as he calls her "Bezza", drinking and age
