'I tried cooking famous Bake Off cake - and nearly lost my mind in the kitchen'

29 September 2023 , 14:26

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Sara gets busy in the kitchen (Image: Phil Harris)

To be honest, it all went wrong from the moment I stood in the baking aisle at Tesco.

If I had only picked up the ready-made Betty Crocker

, lied through my teeth and carried on, I wouldn’t be in this situation. Instead I navigated the baffling cocoa percentages of cooking chocolate and spent several stressful minutes debating the importance of egg sizes before rushing home to measure an old cake tin with my son’s school ruler.

The iconic GBBO chocolate fudge cake (missing raspberry optional) has been beloved by the nation since those opening titles first hit our screens. This week, judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith challenged the bakers to make the “moist chocolate sponge, covered in chocolate ganache, topped with fresh raspberries”. In two hours.

I decided to do the same. (AKA, the editor thought it would be funny to watch me try). No pared-down recipe, an internet full of tips, what could possibly go wrong? It started well enough. Flour, sugar, salt and cocoa powder all went into a bowl along with baking powder and bicarbonate of soda (these last two are apparently not the same thing, although I couldn’t tell you why).

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It's a daunting task for Sara as she eyes the ingredients (Phil Harris)

Milk, vegetable oil, warm water and eggs went into a second bowl. The recipe said to mix the wet and dry ingredients together until it was smooth, then divide into two tins and bake. At this point, I’m smugly thinking I’d be on course for a Hollywood handshake. Confidence on the up, I turned to the chocolate ganache, something I’ve never made before and can barely pronounce.

I’ve seen enough Bake Off to know a ganache should be glossy. Thick chocolate with a shine. Finely chopped chocolate and butter went into a bowl, while I followed the instructions to “slowly bring the cream just to the boil”. They say a watched pot never boils, and it really did take ages. Finally I poured the boiling cream over the chocolate, a quick stir… and there was definitely a gloss.

But then, just as in the show, everything suddenly switched from ‘have a cuppa chill’ to ‘a little bit panicky’. The oven beeped, but a quick skewer test revealed the cakes were still raw. I spent the next ten minutes staring at the oven door. Another timer revealed the ganache was ready.

Impatient, I turned the cakes out of the tins too quickly and the first one fell apart. I quickly shoved the chunks of sponge back in place. Half of it remained on the worktop. Thank God steely-eyed Hollywood wasn’t in my house. “Leave to cool completely,” said the recipe. Well, now I understand why GBBO bakers turn into insane beings with fans and freezers. I even grabbed my daughter’s pink hairdryer, but there was no cool setting… I think I turned into a madwoman.

With my own newspaper deadline looming, it may as well have been Noel Fielding or Alison Hammond yelling at me that my minutes were running out. I squished the broken sponge onto my display plate, figuring it would be best at the bottom. I then spread six tablespoons of ganache over the sponge, trying desperately to fill in the gaping holes and stick the sponge back together before placing the second sponge on top.

The structure wobbling like jelly, it felt like playing bricklayer Jenga as I smeared the entire cake with the rest of the ganache. It’s harder than it looks. Paul and Prue said it shouldn’t look like two cakes are stacked. Mine looks like several cakes are stacked, held together by Pritt Stick and covered in a gloop that is weirdly lumpy.

All's well at the mixing stage (Phil Harris)

I am reminded of the gunge from kids’ shows like Crackerjack. I decided that my punnet of fresh raspberries would hide a multitude of sins - and to some extent I was right. Arranging the raspberries on top, making sure to leave one space, I am reminded that sometimes the GBBO bakes look terrible but taste fantastic. This could still be a success.

Diving straight in, though the cake is still too hot to cut, I try a slice before making my family suffer. First impressions: surprisingly fudgey, a bit sickly, not terrible. I think ‘not terrible’ is now my new gold standard. I did however win mum of the year when the kids got home to find a big slice of chocolate cake for pud - but then when it comes to chocolate, my kids will eat anything…

Paul Hollywood’s Chocolate Fudge Cake

SERVES 16

FOR THE SPONGES

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175g dark chocolate, 54%

150g unsalted butter, diced

125ml hot water

3 medium eggs

125ml sour cream, at room temperature

50ml vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

150g caster sugar

150g light soft brown sugar

250g self-raising flour

50g cocoa powder

1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

¼ tsp salt

One cake broke up as it was 'de-tinned' - but Sara attempted a rescue mission (Phil Harris)

Success! Sara tucks in - and discovers her cake tastes better than it looks (Phil Harris)

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

300g dark chocolate, 54%

25g unsalted butter, diced

450ml double cream

TO DECORATE

400g raspberries

1 Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4.

2 For the sponges, grease and base line 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with butter and baking parchment. Combine the chocolate, butter and water in a heat-proof bowl and set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until melted and then whisk to combine. Remove the bowl from the heat and leave to cool slightly.

3 In a large mixing bowl use a balloon whisk to mix the eggs, sour cream, oil and vanilla until combined. Add both sugars and whisk until smooth. Add the melted chocolate mixture and whisk again until smooth.

4 Sift the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt into the bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared tins and level with a palette knife. Bake for about 35-40 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the sponges comes out clean.

How it should look: Paul Hollywood’s Chocolate Fudge Cake (DAILY MIRROR)

5 Leave the sponges to cool in the tins for 10 minutes and then carefully remove from the tins and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

6 For the ganache measure the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl and set aside. Pour the cream into a medium saucepan and slowly bring just to the boil. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate and butter. Leave the hot cream to melt the chocolate without stirring for 1 minute and then stir until smooth and glossy. Once smooth, leave it to cool and thicken before using.

7 Place one of the sponges on a cake stand and spread approximately 6 tablespoons of the ganache over the top with a palette knife or spoon. Top with the second sponge, turned upside down so the flat side is the top of the cake. Gently press the two cakes together. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining ganache and roughly smooth the sides. Arrange the raspberries on top.

Sara Wallis