People start your fan ovens!!!
(and fetch the drool bucket)
Yes tonight sees the return of the Cake Olympic Games...The Great British Bake Off returns to our screens as The Berry and Blue Eyes decide who is to be the b-undisputed champion of the world!
So before we marvel at the macaroons and faint at the florentines let’s take a moment to recall that life wasn’t always such a cake walk as we waddle down memory lane to take a bite from...
The Cakes of Our Youth
Fairy Buns
Oh everyone is so fancy these days with their red velvet cupcakes made from the joyous tears of a French patisserie chef but in our day they were called Fairy Cakes/Buns. They were either plain, filled with currents or on special occasions topped with a little blob of jam and cream. Timing was key as eating a dry fairy bun could choke a horse and older ones could be used as sliotairs!
Battenburg Cake
The 80’s loved a good cube and well here was a series of pink and yellow squares encased in an outer marzipan casing. They looked and sounded exotic but nobody liked them...nobody!
Jam Tarts
From TV Channels to getting picked for the lunchtime game of football, our childhood was a time of little choice and tough decisions and if anything summed this harsh reality up it was being confronted with a two layered packet of jam tarts. There were only 3 flavours, blackberry, strawberry and for those who didn’t act quick enough, the orange one....shudder!
Rice Krispy Buns
If forced into an Apocalyptic scenario us children would have quite gladly survived on breakfast cereal and chocolate so when it emerged that you could combine the two into a confectionary as moreish as crack it was a tooth destroying revelation. A staple of any self-respecting kids party they were simple to make and even easier to stuff into your mouth. Other variations branched into cornflakes and for the more adventurous...smarties! *swoon
Mr Kipling’s French Fancies
True to the hype, the mysterious Mr Kipling did indeed make exceedingly good cakes. His French Fancies were a particular treat and most often wheeled out for visiting dignitaries like your snobby Aunt or the English cousins.
Gateau Swiss Roll
GOT TO GET A GATEAU, GOTTA GET A GATEAU CAKE. IF YOU WAN' EM FRESHLY BAKED, YOU, GOTTA GET A GATEAU CAKE....that is all!
