It’s that time of year again – the Great British Bake Off is back on our screens, promising another season of baking triumphs and disasters. As a new batch of amateur bakers steps into the iconic white tent, they’ll face thirty challenging tasks over the next ten weeks. In 2023, judge Paul Hollywood threw down the gauntlet: recreate the show’s signature chocolate fudge cake, the one we’ve all come to know and love from the opening credits. To truly experience the Bake Off journey from the comfort of my own kitchen, I took on the challenge myself. Could I measure up to the skilled bakers on the show? Read on to find out how my attempt at Paul Hollywood’s Chocolate Fudge Cake went.
The Great British Bake Off is a cultural phenomenon, a whirlwind of sugary treats and stressful challenges. Yet, every autumn, it brings millions together across the UK (and the world) to revel in impressive baking skills and cringe-worthy gaffes. Three weeks into the latest season, the bakers are being whittled down with each passing week, their fates hanging by the thinnest of threads.
This year, the show promised a return to basics, ditching the quirky, often random, culinary challenges that had little to do with the show’s essence. For the bakers’ first technical challenge, they were tasked with creating the most iconic Bake Off creation: not a Vicky sponge, but the familiar chocolate fudge cake adorned with raspberries (with the obligatory missing one, of course), the brainchild of judge Paul Hollywood himself.
I decided to step into those bakers’ shoes, taking on the task to taste the toil they endured. I’ve heard people lament the ‘mammoth’ task, wishing they’d simply gone for a pre-mixed cake packet. Now, you should know I don’t actually eat cake. I haven’t for years. But my love for the process never faded, nor did my self-sabotaging desire to prove that even though I can’t stand cake, I could still bake it.
“But how do you know it tastes good?” I hear you ask. Well, I put that to the test, exploring just how challenging it is to replicate the beloved Bake Off cake. Tackling a bake as instantly recognizable as this filled me with dread even before the chocolate hit the heat. What would Paul say about the color and thickness of the ganache? Would Prue find it too dense? Would they notice the missing raspberry?!
Waiting for the butter, chocolate, and water to melt together only intensified the feeling of “a watched pot never boils.” The murky, fat-splotched water seemed far from appetizing. How could this ever evolve into a screen-worthy cake?
The agonizing wait was punctuated by the mixing of the wet ingredients, which resembled nothing more than runny scrambled eggs. Eggs, sour cream, oil, and vanilla were whisked together to create a custard-like puddle. Then came the sugars, light brown and caster, whisked in until smooth.
In a frantic rush to cool the chocolate mixture enough to add it to the mix, I understood the panic I’d witnessed on the faces of many bakers as they moved bowls and tins from fridge to freezer, fanning like madmen on a London Underground during a heatwave. A pool of chocolate, reminiscent of the river in Willy Wonka’s factory, lay at the bottom of the mixing bowl.
The mix didn’t split or curdle, so I could breathe a sigh of relief. No one wants a runny mess, so dry ingredients of self-raising flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt were folded in. Remember, bicarb, not baking powder. These two are very different. Whisk too little, and you’ll end up with lumps of powder in the mix; whisk too much, and all the air is knocked out, leaving you with a limp, flimsy pancake. Only time would tell. What looked smooth on the exterior could be hiding a monstrosity underneath.
Safe and secure in the oven, it was time to tackle the ganache. Even the word “ganache” can send confusion and fear into the heart of a novice baker. It can split, become grainy, or too runny – there are endless possibilities for disaster. My fear wasn’t so much about the shine and gloss of the ganache but rather getting it right in the first place.
The unknown of getting the cream “just to the boil” was a risk I had to take. Carefully adding it to chopped dark chocolate and a knob of butter, I waited for it to settle. The next few minutes were crucial; it could make or break my ganache. A shine appeared like the first morning sun, but the ganache was too thin. How would this hold the cake together? The sponges would just slip and slide!
I bundled the ganache into the fridge to set, patiently waiting for the sponges to finish baking. I found myself staring at the timer, willing it to tick faster. The oven’s ding signaled “crunch time” for my cakes, as I cautiously inserted a skewer into the middle. A clean, batter-free skewer meant there was no need for panic; no agonizing re-baking was needed.
Attempting to balance the delicate art of keeping the sponges intact while speeding up the cooling process could be disastrous. I placed the sponges in the fridge, waiting for them to cool and thicken. But there was only so long I could wait. If the ganache failed to set, it would be the final nail in the coffin.
One layer of sponge topped with a thin smudge of ganache on a cake board, followed by a generous glob of more ganache spread to a visible thickness, before being sandwiched with the second sponge. A cake’s appearance is half the battle – it’s got to look good and taste good – so if my bake looked like a dog’s dinner, I’d surely be sent packing into a hole of humiliation.
I have a relentless, perfectionist need to make cakes look good. It’s the only time I’ll ever consider myself a perfectionist. With my cake scraper in hand, nerves took over, compelling me to smooth out the ganache over and over again. There wasn’t enough time to fuss, I needed to be put out of my misery. Misery topped with raspberries (with one missing, of course).
However, the final test didn’t come in the form of a blind tasting by Paul and Prue, shrouded in gingham. Forcing my family to sample a slice, I received nothing but positive praise. “Mm yes, very nice,” my dad said. And with my dad, nothing is ever “nice,” so this was like my very own version of a Hollywood Handshake.
So, if you’ve ever looked at the iconic Bake Off cake and thought how much you’d love to make it but dismissed it as too hard – think again.
Paul Hollywood’s Chocolate Fudge Cake
For the sponges:
* 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
* 11⁄2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
* 1⁄4 tsp salt
For the chocolate ganache:
* 300g dark chocolate, 54%
* 25g unsalted butter, diced
* 450ml double cream
Instructions:
1. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4.
2.
For the sponges
, grease and line two 20cm sandwich tins with butter and baking parchment.3. Combine the chocolate, butter, and water in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until melted, then whisk to combine. Remove the bowl from the heat and let it cool slightly.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the sponges comes out clean. Let the sponges cool in the tins for ten minutes, then carefully remove them from the tins and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
7.
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 it just to a boil. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate and butter. Let the hot cream melt the chocolate without stirring for one minute, then stir until smooth and glossy. Once smooth, let it cool and thicken before using.8. Place one of the sponges on a cake stand and spread approximately six 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.
9. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining ganache and roughly smooth the sides. Arrange the raspberries on top.
