The Bake Off

The Great British Bake Off is now in its sixth series and has quite literally taken over the world, well the UK at least as ‘bake off’ competitions are cropping up all over the country and the humble village of Birkenshaw was not one to miss out.

The Golden Fleece in Birkenshaw has recently been refurbished and since its reopening has placed itself firmly as ‘Birkenshaw’s favourite local.’  

This bank holiday weekend saw the first ever ‘Fleece Fest’ and welcomed over 60 types of beers, a hog roast, live music and even a BOUNCY CASTLE!!!  The village’s first ever Fleece Fest Bake Off was held on the bank holiday Monday and I of course had to take part.

The cake that my very good friend Emily and I made for the occasion was GBBO winner John Whaite’s Sherbet Lemon cake.

Herre I am with my mate John Whaite and his lovely shorts

The baked masterpiece combines the popular lemon sponge with zingy sherbet lemon filling and homemade mixed peel. Guys we made mixed peel! Surely that means points in our favour? 

Our contribution was the first cake on the bench as I (naturally) was the first to arrive and my hopes were high. I mean there was free meal at stake here. However my hopes were dashed somewhat when a cake with an actual sheep on top arrived a.k.a The Golden Fleece.

All proceeds of the Birkenshaw Bake Off went to the BVA (Birkenshaw Village Association) and indeed as well as the £1 entry fee, each slice of cake  was also sold off at the end of the competition.

There were three separate categories: cakes, cupcakes and children. however of the grand total of 6 entries (one being the kids’ so that won by default so there were technically only 5)  they were all cakes. Maybe I should of made cupcakes instead. 

To be honest things were getting a bit tense as I sat waiting patiently…ok not so patiently…for the judging to start and it did not help matters that the affair was late. 

Head Chef Ollie (from Hotel Chocolat no less) was to head the judging joined by the general manager. Apparently Ollie recognised me…maybe I've been to Roast and Conch a bit too much.

The first cake under scrutiny was the Homer Simpson Doughnut cake which though chocolatey didn't look all that appetising alas we didn't get to hear any feedback and I was eager to hear what the judges thought as my cake was up next. 

I was quite disappointed that they didn't try any of the peel.

Sophie's’ Cookies and Cream cake was a tribute it would seem to the popular Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream yet I never really got the hype about that and personally I feel that it lacks flavour. Something that can also be said about this cake (i tried some of it) Sorry Sophie

The Golden Fleece cake caused quite a commotion as the judges weren't sure how to cut it - eventually they went for the popular delicacy: mutton rump. As the cake had been called ‘Golden Fleece’ it wasn’t clear what type of cake it was and as we got no feedback from the judges i just had to guess. The sheep looked to be lemon whilst the base was a plain sponge decorated with coconut. 

The final cake to be tried was Chocolate and Strawberry. This yummy looking chocolate cake was topped with strawberries yet I’ll guess we’ll never know whether or not there was anymore strawberry involved.

Three men debating about cake - it doesn't get much more tense

I was gutted to find out that I had not even placed as third place was awarded to Charlotte’s Strawberries and Cream, Second place surprisingly went to Adele’s Golden Fleece which I had thought was sure to win. 

The Cookies and Cream cake by Sophie was declared the winner much to my shock and hence why I had to try some for myself. Suffice it to say that I did not agree with the judges verdict. 

Next week on the GBBO it is ‘Free From’ week, here the bakers will create gluten free/dairy free e.t.c  bakes. For some free from recipe ideas check out the baking tag. 

Matcha, pistachio and goji berry biscotti

In the second week of this year's Great British Bake Off the signature challenge was biscotti. An Italian tea time treat that is twice baked and super crunchy and delicious. As for many of my bakes however I opted for a bit of experimentation rather than just sticking to a recipe. 

The original recipe that I based my biscotti on is as follows and can be found on A Pocket Full Of Rye

50g whole almonds
50g pistachio nuts
200g Plain Flour (ideally organic)
150g caster sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 grated lemon rind

Whilst I used this blog post as a guide my recipe was somewhat different:

25g Matcha green tea
25g Goji berries 
100g Pistachio nuts (shelled)
200g Ground almonds 
1 Lemon rind
150g Honey 

It can therefore be seen that my biscotti are gluten free - no flour and contain no refined sugar. 

The first step to biscotti heaven is to roast the pistachio nuts in a preheated oven for 4-5 minutes. Whilst these are becoming lovely and crisp in the hot furnace I like to find a super smashing great playlist on Spotify and dance around. 

Anyway onto phase two: whilst you leave your nuts to cool - the pistachio nut guys, spot snickering- place all the rest of the dry ingredients in a bowl. 

You may have noticed that with the matcha and almonds combined I seem to have a lot more dry ingredients than the original recipe calls for. This is because my version contains no gluten and is therefore makes a fairly wet dough. Therefore I have added a little bit more almond to compensate.

Stir in the pistachios, goji berries, honey and eggs until you have a violently green dough.

Transfer the dough to a greased baking tray using a spatula to work it into a rectangular shape so that it will bake evenly.

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Place your baking tray in the centre of the oven preheated at 200 degrees C / 180 fan for approximately half an hour. I had a slight mishap at this stage as I realised bit too late that my oven was actually at 200 rather than 180 because it is indeed a fan oven - idiot. 

Its fine though, just a little brown.

It doesn't look very appetising at this stage (maybe its the green) but you need to wait until the dough is completely cool before cutting the biscuits otherwise they will crumble. Again I took to dancing madly around the room whilst my 'not quite biscotti yet' cooled.

Using a sharp knife  cut the biscuits to roughly 10mm  in thickness, if you want to be super precise use a ruler for this stage or if like me you aren't that bothered - don't. The biscuits should however be roughly the same thickness so that they cook evenly.

Put your biscotti back in the oven for 5-10 minutes for a second bake, this seals the extra crunchy yumminess. 

Leave to cool if you can wait that long and enjoy with a cup of tea. 

They still look a bit weird though.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe - basically Potterheads unite

The Fringe festival features quite high on many people's bucket list as not only is it the world's largest arts festival but also showcases fantastic new and up and coming talent. Did you know for example that Monty Python, Rowan Atkinson aka Mr Bean/Edmund Blackadder and Graham Norton plus many more household names had their first big break at the Fringe?

The Edinburgh Fringe is now in its 65th year. The first was in 1947; the same year in which the Edinburgh Festival was launched as an act to boost the country's moral after the Second World War. A group of eight theatre groups turned up in the city unannounced and despite not having been invited to the party they decided to perform anyway. Boom the Fringe is born.

Trying to get accommodation in Edinburgh during August is nigh on impossible as with the Festival, Fringe and the Tattoo later in the month the city is what you might describe as chock-a-block. Yet this year we finally managed to go!

My mother and I ventured out on our 3 hour train journey on Tuesday night (4th August) with the intention of spending the whole of the next day in Edinburgh before catching a night train back. The Fringe was to start officially until the Friday (7th) yet there were plenty of preview for us to watch as the whole city prepared for what would no doubt be a memorable month.

We stayed in the Clan Walker Guest House which is located a little bit out of the city whilst still being in walking distance. After a hearty breakfast including haggis ( I mean I'm in Scotland it has to done) we ventured out on the our quest to get to the High Street so that we could collect our pre-paid tickets. I had only booked two shows in advance and I feel that this was probably a good move as it left us with plenty of time to explore and allowed us to spontaneously go to some shows that we hadn't heard about before. Yet I'm getting ahead of myself.

After getting our tickets we ambled up high street, stopping to watch amazing busker Alex Varey

As well as MixIt days; a disabled choir who run workshops to boost confidence and give  those with disabilities the same opportunities as abled people.

The highlight of my morning however was the 'Potter Tour' lead by Mischief Managed.' The city of Edinburgh is home to one and only J.K.Rowling and her inspiration can be found all over the city for example did you know that William Mcgonagall was the name sake for Minerva Mcgonagall. This is however the only trait that these two share as William is remembered as being Edinburgh's worst poet.

A favourite tourist spot for all Potterheads is the Elephant cafe where it is said to be 'The Birthplace of Harry Potter' that however is not actually strictly know as we all know that the idea of Harry Potter and the entire wizarding world came to J.K. Rowling whilst on a train. The author however did tend to write in cafes and it was the Elephant in which she wrote the second and third books. The Philosopher's Stone (or if you are American Sorcerer's) was also written in a cafe yet this one owned by J.K Rowling's brother in law is sadly no longer. It changed into a chinese and ironically then back into a cafe. This cafe/restaurant is called Spoons and we actually went there the first time that we were in Edinburgh without even realising this. 

The lower floor is still owned by J.K.Rowling's Bother in law and we may have stopped here for Ba-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Batman and Back to the Fruiture smoothies.

The graveyard of Greyfriars Kirk with its imposing headstones has a air of foreboding when you walk into it and this must have been what J.K. Rowling must felt to as this is the site that she imagined when writing the graveyard scene in the Goblet of Fire. Indeed Greyfriars is home to another clue in the Harry Potter vein and this also has to do with a particular dark wizard.

Tom Riddle and his family were fashioned after another Tom Riddell yet as you can see that spelling of the last name has been altered slightly and this was so that it fit in with the anagram ' I am Lord Voldemort'. A name is not the only that the real and fictional 'Riddle' share,  indeed Riddell and Riddle's fathers were both rich merchants.

Did you know that the name Voldemort  literally means flight of death.

Edinburgh Castle  has been confirmed as being the inspiration for Hogwarts and with the neighbouring Quidditich pitch...I mean the set up for the Tattoo who are we to argue with this. 

J.K. Rowling has received two degrees from the University of Edinburgh including a masters and honoury degree and this was to be our next stop. By coincidence this was the site of where the city potteries were situated and therefore this where you can find Potterrow - nothing to do with the boy wizard yet Potterrow has another significance as the tunnel that goes under the bridge has an eerie presence in the Order of the Phoenix as the place where Harry and Dudley were attacked by a Dementor.

Dragon Alley


At the end of the tour we went over to the C for Cartography; a poignant devised theatre piece performed the Lincoln Arts group. Using very few props and audience participation the group told the story of map obsessed Sarah who had a hole in her heart. I totally didn't cry at this touching piece.

Backwards Anorak wowed the audiences of last years Fringe with their Game Of Thrones parody Winter Is Coming and this year were back with the hilarious Winter Is Coming Again. The comedic musical parody combined many aspects of pop-culture including Mean Girls, Doctor Who, Harry Potter and even Eurovision that had the audience  in hysterics.

Jon Cozart aka Youtube sensation PAINT was a personal highlight as he told the story of his successes and sang many of his famous videos including 'Harry Potter in 99 seconds' and 'After Ever After.' His one man show including the unveiling of some never before heard songs such as the humorous 'YoutubeCult' and the three songs from the world exclusive 'Hunger Games; The Musical.'