Help me win Bake Off!

[HighlighterPenPot]

Every year my office has a Bake Off competition for charity- everyone bakes, eats and then votes (blind) on what they like best.

For the last three years I have come second every time 😂

What sort of thing should I make to up my chances? What would you like to eat in an office bake off?

I think fresh cream is also a bit divisive

Can definitely vouch for the chocolate and Guinness cake

Angel cake is supposed to be so very light and delicious

Nanaimo Bars

The Guinness cake tastes really “tinny” to my taster buds. The raspberry and white chocolate blondies from Jane’s Pattisserie are lovely

Monkey bread is delicious and unusual, but not really cake so I don't know if it would count.

I would love a chocolate orange cake. Definitely not anything with nuts or coffee

Nigella's carrot cake with ginger
Absolutely delicious

I second this, it's my go to recipe and everyone raves about it 😋

The best chocolate cake recipe (in the world) is Ina Garten's. Barefoot countessa/Beatty's chocolate cake- all the same.

It's like the cake from Matilda and a winner.

Those mentioning hummingbird cakes - are recipes online, or is there a book pls? Thx!

@ScatterKitty Hummingbird bakery is an American bakery. There’s a few books and you can sometimes find their recipes online.

I’ve won with these before - https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/recipe/martha-collisons-chocolate-florentine-tarts

Homemade custard creams?
Chocolate cake/chocolate brownie/anything chocolatey.
Toffee apple traybake for an autumnal theme

I would go in a completely different direction (if it is within the rules) and try a savory bake. How about sausage rolls or pesto palmiers or similar? The voters might be pleased to have some relief from sweet things

This is a faff, but lovely! I've done well with this...

https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/apple-and-olive-oil-cake-with-maple-icing/

My mum used to make this really tasty dessert and it’s sooo simple to make.
You place ginger nut biscuits in the bottom of a Pyrex dish and cover it with tinned mandarins and a bit of the juices, then cover the whole thing with dream topping. Could even add some grated dark chocolate over the top to make it look a bit more “fancy”. But omg it’s the best dessert I have ever eaten!

https://www.inspiredtaste.net/46269/carrot-cake-cupcakes/

https://www.inspiredtaste.net/25753/carrot-cake-recipe/

I have made both of these although my decorating skills are not that great

The winners in my office were.
a cornflake tart but the tart base was made out of brownie. I can still feel it sticking to my ribs now.
A strawberry milkshake cheese cake. Beautiful.

Hummingbird trifle cupcakes are my go to if I want to impress. Having said that, I recently made a carrot cake for work (not a comp) and colleagues proclaimed it the best carrot cake they'd ever eaten. The recipe was from the Great British Book of Baking (Bake off season 1 book I think)

I made wagon wheels for the office once and people went mad for them! Super simple too.

Not round ones I might add, a traybake that I cut up 😆

Sorry recipe here - https://www.greatbritishfoodawards.com/recipes/wagon-wheel-bars/

What has been winning and what have you made?

I like carrot cake, apple cake, Victoria sponge etc and anything with chocolate,meringue,lemon or coffee is wasted on me.

Can't go wrong with a decent chocolate cake. Tesco chocolate fudge cake recipe is great, and I usually decorate in chocolate overload style. Melt some milk or dark chocolate, pour out onto greaseproof and then swish melted white through it and swirl. Chuck some sprinkles (gold for a bit of sparkle looks fancy) over that then break into shards when set and stand into the top of the cake. Then just chuck whatever onto it, a box or roses or maltesers or anything really to just fill the gaps. Always looks really fancy and grand.

I won my office Bake Off with chocolate covered flapjacks a few years ago. As one of the judges said 'flapjack is good but covered in chocolate is fantastic'.