GBBO - Are you ready to bake?

[SheHasAWildHeart]

Guardian article on all this year's contestants www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/aug/16/the-great-british-bake-off-meet-the-2016-contestants

I listen to cakes too - this is what my Mum taught me many years ago.

a wet batter/cake mix won't sizzle - its impossible. But when all the cake mix is cooked, the fats in the cake sizzle in the air and spaces of the cooked sponge & that is what you are listening for. I don't think the fat free sponges will sizzle though (can't really ever making one).

How my Mum taught me to know if a cake is ready:

1. Listen to it.
2. Notice if it is starting to shrink away from the sides of the tin a little bit.
3. Pat the top and watch it bounce back or leave a dent or wobble.
4. skewer method.

Experience is the greatest tool - with every cake you make you get better at knowing if it's ready. Knowing your oven helps too. If you cook a big cake too hot for example you might get some pulling away from the edges, while the middle is still uncooked. But this cake won't sing, and may wobble.

Oh how I've missed Bake Off! So glad it's back and loved the first episode. Favourites so far are Andrew and Benjamina. Not keen on Candice and Selasi, although his cakes looked pretty good.

at Paul dunking a Jaffa!!!!

V happy bake off is back!

I liked Candice, and felt really sorry for her when her genoises turned out so badly. Surprised to see quite a lot of people have taken agin her here.

I also liked Benjamina and star baker woman. Undecided on that guy who almost won star baker, could go either way on him.

I really wanted to like the older lady who listened to her cakes, but she doesn't inspire a lot of confidence...

I have taken agin swallow woman with all her smugly home grown fruit.

Looking forward to the next episode (and learning people's names).

My opinion of nearly star baker man is tainted because Candice told him to put cinnamon in his syrup and he just took the praise from Mary for the idea without thanking Candice. It makes his laid back persona a bit false. It might be the editing though.

I think he just didn't no what to say and brain went blank sort of thing. You saw that a bit from him when Sue was doing her bants. I think it's just first day/ep stuff and hopefully he'll get into the swing of it. He's not been as "chatty" as the others in those situations, iyswim

It might be the editing though.

It is almost certainly the editing. 99.9999%

I was shocked by the outrage over the Jaffa cake dunking! Surely it's a perfectly normal thing to do, or maybe I just think that because I'm Northern.

What's wrong with dunking a Jaffa???

Jaffa cakes are shit, that's what's wrong.

I wouldn't dunk a Jaffa. Don't like them that much. Also don't dunk that often - don't dunk biscuits but might a chocolate bar.

I'm a Midlander.

dunk Jaffa cakes if you want! I think they just threw in the north/south thing to try to create a little controversy and reinforce stereotypes that don't really exist! :)

I'd never heard of homemade Jaffa cakes before. I thought they were just a McVities thing. Not sure I'd go to the faff of making the jelly etc, but I bet they were good (if nothing like the packet ones). I do like chocolate and orange together.

YAAY Soup dragon Jaffa cakes are shit with knobs on

A good example of possibly a bright idea made in a factory as cheaply as possible , I never liked them even when I was a little girl ; before I knew what was good IMHO of course

With homemade Jaffa cakes, hie do you stop the jelly melting when you put the melted chocolate on?
(Presumably the McVities factory has some kind of food science magic way of doing this).

I suppose you'd have to put the biscuit with the jelly on it in the freezer and literally dip it in the cooled (but not solidified) chocolate very quickly

I love tea and biscuits and always dunk but would NEVER dunk a Jaffa Cake. I'm a Lahndahner born and bred. Boom tish!

Well melted chocolate shouldn't be that warm when applied I think.

Is Extra Slice filmed each week as we see it? They get the baker that left the tent back, months after it actually happened?

I think so, Crotchet.

Yes but is Crochet.

My friend was in the audience in extra slice last year. They get the GBBO episode to watch I think somewhere around the Thursday before it airs so they have time to bake stuff to take along with them. Extra slice was then filmed the week of that GBBO episode ready to air on the Friday.

ah thanks, that makes sense. I'm still amazed that so much is able to be kept secret from the general public anyway without anyone letting things slip, that a studio audience seeing a single episode a few days early shouldn't surprise me!

I wonder sometimes if they have watched the programme at all, they all seem a bit unprepared on the first episode. They are all well able to bake but its like they don't "get" the show at the beginning every year.
Loved it btw!!

Also, a jaffa is a cake, not a biscuit so has no business being dipped into tea

When it 'goes off' a biscuit goes soft but a cake goes hard, that's how you tell between a biscuit and a cake.

My DM dunks biscuits, cake, bread, you name it into her tea. She's Indian. It's vile. There are thousands of crumbs and all sorts in the bottom of the cup when it's finished! I'm from Lo don and will do a qui k dunk with a firm biscuit. That's it