Gloverly Cupcakes

It’s that time of year again – ready… steady… bake! As with previous years we’re going to attempt all the technical challenges (assuming that they don’t involve buying random equipment/ingredients). This week was cake week and I was really pleased to see that the technical challenge was exactly that – a technical challenge which tested the bakers ability to make a Genoise sponge and Italian meringue buttercream. I haven’t made either for a while but luckily they both worked first time. However, if I made them again there are a few things I would do differently:

• More food colouring – the butter looked quite dark but given how light/airy the mixture is (and the small amount of butter) they ended up very pale. Same with the icing that I coloured pink for the feathered icing on top.
• Use the flavours from the original recipe – I didn’t have raspberry extract or a lemon, so used strawberry extract and an orange (I reckon the original flavour combination would be better!)
• Not make anything else at the same time – I tried cooking dinner at the same time and my pasta starting boiling over as I was folding in the last sponge. As a result, I stopped folding (to rescue the pasta) and that sponge was slightly flatter/more dense than the other 2
• Put the cake in the fridge before slicing – if the buttercream was firmer it would be easier to slice (the sponges moved about as I was trying to cut them)
• Leave the icing on top to set a bit more before slicing – I cut it almost straight away and it did start sliding down the sides a bit

Although parts of the recipe are slightly tricky it’s actually quite quick to make. The most time consuming part was getting everything ready for the three cakes so that they could be mixed together quickly. It also used a lot of bowls! The cake was tasty but I probably won’t be making it again (I’m not a massive fan of Italian buttercream – I find it too rich/buttery). If you want to have a go the recipe is here: https://thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk/angel-slices/