Cake Monday 9th September

We race (electronically) and the loser has to bake a cake to feed the office. 

Why? because we like cake.
Who? everyone in the office. No one gets out of it.
When? 1st Monday of the month.
The rules: you make the cake yourself, without any help. You can't 'repeat' a cake. Your cake will be judged on presentation, difficulty and taste, and marked out of 10 by each colleague.

'Jamie's Fabulous Fruit Cake Mark 1'. This is Jamie's first submission to Cake Monday and we got the impression not all went to plan. The fruit cake was packed full of fruit and almonds and a lot of work had gone into the making of this cake. Eggs were separated and whisked and the dried fruit had to be chopped by hand (really?). However, 2 principles of fruit cake were ignored; soaking the fruit the night before & adjusting his oven temperature setting for a fan oven. We've seen this oven error before with Jess's cakes and with similar outcome: a dry & slightly burnt cake. 

The Verdict: The flavours were there and it tasted okay. It sounded a difficult & time-consuming cake to make & it was a good first entry to the competition. Sadly, its consistency was more of a rock cake than a fruit cake, and no one likes that chopped candied orange peel you get in fruit cakes.

'Jamie's Fabulous Fruit Cake Mark 1' Average Score: 5.7

Next time: Ellie's up with her first cake. 

A David Mitchell-ed Desk & Accessories

George likes TV programme 'Would I lie to you'. She also likes David Mitchell who is in the programme. George had forgotten that she mentioned this a while ago to Jess and came in this week to find her desk and everything on, around, and within it (including food snacks in her drawer) plastered with David Mitchell's smiling face. This photo doesn't do Jess's work justice. Several different photos of David Mitchell were used, spanning different eras of his time on British television. Her desk phone also had his face on the inside of the receiver. Shocking, perturbing and slightly stalker-esque, George quite likes her desk's new look. Jess meanwhile has gone on to pursue art & design at university.

2nd Cake Monday: August

We race (electronically) and the loser has to bake a cake to feed the office. 

Why? because we like cake.
Who? everyone in the office. No one gets out of it.
When? 1st Monday of the month.
The rules: you make the cake yourself, without any help. You can't 'repeat' a cake. Your cake will be judged on presentation, difficulty and taste, and marked out of 10 by each colleague.

'Giant Chocolate Sponge' by Jess. Jess volunteered herself for this additional Cake Monday to prove that she could indeed make a cake and, I quote, "redeem herself". 

Initially, Jess "forgot" all about her promise of this Cake Monday & then claimed she was too busy to be able to bake one by today. To cut a long story short, she did produce a cake for the office today. First impressions - we were impressed, it was straight out of the oven and still warm. It looked good (although some felt that the sheen from the icing gave it a melted plastic look). First impressions over, we very quickly realised that this wasn't a cake baked using ingredients, this was an out-of-a-packet cake. She added water to a powder mix. One saving grace was that she made the icing and spared us the decorative disney rice transfers.

The Verdict: It was warm. People were reluctant to come forward to sample the cake. The mixture was raw in places (George spat hers out). A couple of people did like the cake, but the majority were unimpressed. 

'Giant Chocolate Sponge' Average Score: 4.6

Next month: Jamie - his first Cake Monday bake.

Cake Monday - 6th August

We race (electronically) and the loser has to bake a cake to feed the office. 

Why? because we like cake.
Who? everyone in the office. No one gets out of it.
When? 1st Monday of the month.
The rules: you make the cake yourself, without any help. You can't 'repeat' a cake. Your cake will be judged on presentation, difficulty and taste, and marked out of 10 by each colleague.

'Orange & Almond Cake'  by Adam. Boiled oranges for 2 hours (whilst watching the football). Mixed everything together (using an electronic mixer this time) and cooked it for an hour. 

The Verdict: very succulent. Nice & tasty and moist. Good effort - something different. Rubbish presentation...tasted more like a quiche (Jess). Slight burnt tinge round the edges. George questioned how 'different' this cake submission really was given her 'clementine and almond' cake in December. Apart from substituting oranges for clementines, it appeared to be a replica cake.

We had 2 guest judges this week, Oscar (aged 7) and Isaac (aged 5). They thought it was really nice. Really orangery. But they didn't like the nuts which were too hard. 

'Orange & Almond Cake' Average Score: 7.4

Adam benefited from the Guest judges, one of whom bolstered his score by awarding a 10 - a first 10 since Cake Monday began. 

Next month: under debate. 

What's happening this week?

Team Trip September 2013 Confirmed

The countdown to our trip to Lille has begun. 8 weeks to go til we're on that train drinking vodka, according to Jamie. I'm sure we chose Lille for it's cultural attractions, non?...

Cake Monday: 2nd July

We race (electronically) and the loser has to bake a cake to feed the office. 

Why? because we like cake.
Who? everyone in the office. No one gets out of it.
When? 1st Monday of the month.
The rules: you make the cake yourself, without any help. You can't 'repeat' a cake. Your cake will be judged on presentation, difficulty and taste, and marked out of 10 by each colleague.

'Carrot Cake' by Teresa. All we needed to know was that it took hours and that she won't be making it again in a hurry. Oh, and she had moulded the chocolates sitting on top of the cake. She wasn't prepared to give away what the ingredients were or how it was made until we'd all eaten the cake. 

The Verdict: a very popular cake; it looked good, tasted great, and was a favourite cake for Jamie. The icing split the team; enjoyed as "not too sweet" for some, but "too sweet" for others. (Catering for the different palates within the team is nothing short of a nightmare). Flavour guesses of the cake included, apple/cinnamon/sultana, orange peel/sultana/carrot, "not got a clue", carrot/raisins/coconut. In fact, the cake was made of predominantly carrots & raisins, drenched in an orange syrup and topped with mascapone cheese & cinnamon. Quoted as the type of cake you'd find in a café, it's gone straight to the top of the leaderboard.

Carrot Cake Average Score: 8.25

Next time: Adam. Can he improve upon his 'pizza cake'. The lending of kitchen implements and appliances have been offered (i.e. no soup blender excuses allowed).