Help a really shit baker win the office festive bake off................

[DrNortherner]

It's on Monday. Everyone is pulling out the stops, talking about homemade christmas cake and snowman shaped choc orange cakes.

I need something that looks impressive but is easy.

I bake about twice a year and it is always quite shit. I can not seem to get biscuits right ever so they are out......any ideas?

Thanks

I'd get a victoria sponge from the supermarket, paste some apricot jam over the top, then some ready rolled icing and decorate.

Make some hash cake.

Christ knows. I never bake. I would probably just take in a couple of thermoses of mulled wine, that will make you popular.

If everything you cook is rubbish it's your oven, not you.

Are we going for taste or looks?

You can't go wrong with a chocolate refrigerator cake. Tastes great, easy, sprinkle on some icing sugar, voila!

If you take belledechocchipcookie's advice please don't buy a supermarket cake, they taste vile. Buy a cake from M & S.

Too much hash cake makes you feel sick.

By supermarket I mean Waitrose!

LynetteScavo has a great idea. What about making some Rocky Road? I made some for the summer fair at school and it was the first to sell out.

I second the chocolate fridge cake idea. Nigella's Christmassy Rocky Road would be perfect.

M&S isn't that much better than a supermarket.

Waitrose is a supermarket.

Asda is a supermarket.

M&S seem to want to "get down with it" and do a good impression of a supermarket.

I was going to suggest Tiffin! Easy and everyone loves it.

xpost in my rocky road excitement!

Giant cookies. Glace icing. White marshmallows. Dark choclate drops.

Splodge icing onto cookies very messily. Place a marshmallow to one side. Use choc drops to make eyes, mouth buttons...

Voila, melting snowpeople

I have just finished baking a christmas cake with the Mary Berry cake mix from Tesco. I am rubbish at baking, I usually mess up even the simplest recipe. The cake looks delicious, have not tasted it yet. Everything is supplied in the bag, even fruits pre soaked in brandy, marzipan and icing. You just have to add the fresh ingredients. I followed the recipe exactly. Would get back after tasting.

Nigella's gingerbread recipe is easy peasy and I always get tons of compliments. It is festive but a bit different from the usual choc/mince pie overload. Sorry I don't have a link - it's in the domestic goddess book.

Easiest Biscuits Ever (thanks to whichever kind MNer gave me the recipe)

4 oz marg or butter or combination
4 oz sugar, pref soft brown
2 tbsp syrup
2 tbsp treacle
10 oz sr flour
1 teasp ginger
1 teasp mixed spice or half teasp cinnamon and half teasp nutmeg

Oven Gas Mark 5/180 C
Warm marg, treacle & syrup in a pan.
Mix dry together in a bowl.
Add warmed mixture to dry ingredients and mix.
Leave for 5 mins.
Roll out to about 1/4" thick on floured board & cut out.
Cook for 7 mins.

It really is fool proof I've managed it twice because it doesn't get rubbery if you bash it around a lot!

Thanks guys! Love the rocky road idea, am going to do that, even I can't get that wrong surely?......will report back.

Not baking, but what about Stained-glass window jelly? It's impressive looking and no oven required!
make up different colours of jelly and leave to set. Chop it up into pieces and put into a rectangular dish. Make up jelly using milk or condesned milk and leave to cool slightly. Pour over the pieces of coloured jelly and leave to set. Serve in chunks on cake cases.
foodlibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/03/broken-glass-jello.html

I would buy the gingerbread house from Lidl then go all out decorating it.