S1E1 Technical: Victoria Sandwich

It's time for my first technical challenge! 

For those of you who don't watch the show, the technical challenge is the only bake that the bakers cannot prepare for. They are told what they will be baking right before the clock starts, and the recipe that they are given is minimal, forcing them to rely on their skill and intuition to complete the bake. It's not really possible for me to replicate this challenge exactly, as I have to prepare for these challenges. No one assembles my ingredients under a gingham cloth for me. Therefore, it wasn't a shock that I would have to bake a Victoria Sandwich. 

Side note: I am watching the episodes as I go, trying to find exact times and instructions for each bake. Unfortunately, it seems that they did not announce time limits in the first season (I got the timing for my last bake from Wikipedia). As this challenge consists of baking two sponges and throwing some jam in between them, I'm not too worried about the time limit. I don't even have to make the jam myself! I gave myself one hour. The cameramen were even gracious enough to pan across the recipe for this one!

Okay. One hour. Go!

Amazingly, I had already taken the eggs and the margarine out of the fridge this time, so they had warmed up to room temperature (I'm learning!). I mixed my butter (margarine) and sugar first (I used granulated sugar instead of caster sugar, as that was what I had), and then I added my eggs one at a time. 

I may or may not have dropped one of the eggshells into the mixer while it was on. 

The recipe calls for self-raising flour, which is not an item normally carried in Canadian grocery stores. I have encountered this issue before, so I was comfortable adding an extra two teaspoons of baking powder to the mix. I whisked my flour and baking soda together in a separate bowl and then folded it into the wet mixture until just combined. 

My mixture was fairly thick but looked similar to what the bakers had made on the show, so I wasn't worried. I proceeded to line my cake tins with margarine and parchment paper. I use a technique that I learned on bake off (I can't remember who first did it), and I thought I would share it here for anyone interested!

Fold the parchment paper in half, and then in half again to form a square. Keep folding it in half diagonally, keeping track of the centre of the sheet. After 4 or 5 folds, flip your cake pan upside down and line up the centre point of the parchment with the centre of the pan. Use scissors to trim off the excess. Unfold, and voilà!

I then divided the batter between my two tins, weighing each tin to make sure the two halves were as even as possible (this is Bake-Off, it has to be perfect!). And then they went into the oven. 

I kept them in the oven for 20 minutes before checking them (opening the oven too quickly can stop the rise and cause the sponges to sink in the middle). They were done in about 22 minutes and I let them sit a few minutes in their tins before turning them out onto cooling racks. 

I was so disappointed. The cakes barely rose. They looked like chubby pancakes!

I tried to run through all the things that could have gone wrong. Maybe the tins were the wrong size. Maybe I used the wrong ratio of baking powder to flour. Maybe I mixed it wrong. 

But then Evie asked if there was something wrong with the baking powder. I checked the container and it just so happens that the baking powder expired in August of 2018. I looked it up, and while baking powder is perfectly safe to eat once it has expired, it loses all leavening ability. So... this wasn't my fault at ALL. Right? Right. 

I spread jam over one side and slapped the second layer on top. 

Evie, who is British, thought that I didn't use nearly enough jam, but I'm not a huge jam person so I ignored her.

I then sprinkled the top with icing sugar. 

Evie said that I should have used granulated sugar, but my instincts said icing sugar. I'm pretty sure it's actually supposed to be caster sugar, but who cares.

So...

Please don't laugh. 

Here is a screenshot of the line-up of the bakes on the show:

Honestly, I don't think I would have come last. For one, they all had fresh baking powder, and I think my technique was okay. Also, look at this picture of the cross-sections:

The second cake from the front is like an inverted version of mine. That's on technique, not ingredients.

Here's my cross-section, look at how much it didn't sink!

First thought: Okay Evie, I should have used more jam. 

Second thought: It doesn't look awful! It's a little uneven, but it could have been much worse.

The overall review from my taste-testers was that it tasted great. It wasn't too dry, it wasn't too sweet. But it needed more jam. And better baking powder.

Time taken: 54 minutes

If you want to see the judging for this challenge, click here.