GTBBO Week 6: Autumn
The Great Taisty Bytes Bake Off
Welcome to #GTBBO—The Great Taisty Bytes Bake Off! 🍰
With the new season of Bake Off gracing our screens, I thought why not join in on the fun and attempt as many of the weekly challenges as I can? It’ll be a great way to push my baking skills in real time, try new recipes and give me the perfect excuse to create some chaos in the kitchen!
For more info and to see how Week 5: Pastry Week went, check out this post:
Hello my friends, and happy Monday!
Yes - we are posting a day early this week, as I seem to be unusually on top of everything. *Looks around with suspicion*
It also means that I can head out for a nice long hike with Hiro tomorrow afternoon, ready for a fun evening of firework watching and stuffing our faces with parkin… (keep reading to see how this bake turned out!). Hiro loves fireworks, thankfully, and will no doubt be spending the evening dashing from one side of the house to the other, trying to see them all.
Week 6: Autumn Week
Signature Challenge: Autumn Pie
It was Autumn Week in the tent this week and the first challenge was to make a sweet pie with seasonal filling. Since starting this challenge I was looking forward to making a pie, but was unsure what flavour I wanted to go with. After playing around with the idea of blackberry and cardamom, I finally settled on spiced apple and pear - as I thought that felt more ‘autumnal’.
Now I know what you’re going to say when I say that I thought I fudged this bake right up, “you always say that!” But this time, I really thought I had.
Note: I don’t have a 9” pie dish, so opted for a 9” tart pan instead!
First things first, the pastry. I find that when a recipe tells you to rub flour and butter together to make something akin to breadcrumbs - it really hurts my hands! I’m not sure if this will get better in time as I use those muscles more or if I’m doing it wrong? Any tips on this is greatly appreciated. But for now, I’ve picked up a pastry blender which seems to work wonders.
After cutting the butter into the flour, I added the water to make the pastry. I thought that it was way too dry, despite having added more water than the recipe said. I figured that’s how it was supposed to be - split the dough in two, made them into disks and put them in the fridge. It was only later that I realised I was using a teaspoon rather than a tablespoon to add the water! Doh!
When it came to rolling and shaping the dough into the pan, it was quite crumbly and some patchwork was needed. It also seemed like I only just had enough pastry… something I’m guessing would have been easier to achieve if I had used the correct amount of water.
Next was the filling: not only did I forget completely to peel the apples and pears - I dont think I let them macerate long enough before spooning the mixture into the pie. I then realised just as I put the pie in the oven, that I had forgotten to dot the little cubes of butter into the mixture before putting the top on.
See? This is where you can understand how I thought I’d fudged this one up.
To my utter surprise - it turned out bloody brilliant! The pastry is so flaky - I’m guessing that the dough seeming quite dry and crumbly was actually a good thing and a sign that the butter had stayed cool enough before going in the oven.
And the pie itself… I dare say is quite literally the tastiest thing I’ve made so far!!
Yet again are we reminded that although things may not seem like they’re working out at the time, see them through. You might be pleasantly surprised!
And now for the important question… what would you eat yours with? For me, it’s warm pie / cold madagascan vanilla custard. Leave a comment and let me know!
Technical Challenge: Parkin
Fully glad was I to see a recipe, especially for a technical challenge, that looked relatively easy! Growing up in rural Lancashire, you’d guess that parkin would have been a firm favourite this time of year. For me, last week was the very first time I’d heard of it! This one isn’t vegan, mind - as I do have eggs and milk I need to use up this week.
Did you know: Parkin is a gingerbread cake traditionally made with oatmeal and black treacle. Often associated with Yorkshire, it is widespread and popular elsewhere, notably in Lancashire. It is baked to a hard cake but with resting becomes moist and sticky.
I won’t lie, heating the sugar, syrup, treacle and butter in a pan did bring back slight pangs of PTSD from caramel week, but all went well. After that it’s a relatively simple cake to put together, mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl and then pour your heated syrup in and whisk. Add buttermilk, an egg and some vanilla essence and then in the oven for just under an hour. Done!
I love styling my food photography and in my spare time I pretty much save either recipes or styling ideas to try. Jamie Oliver recently shared a post using the silhouette of a baking tray as the frame for his mince pies and I thought I’ve got to give that a go!
I don’t think my pan was quite big enough to get the full effect, but think it’s such a creative and simple way to just elevate your photos and make it more interesting.
I’m looking forward to exploring some of our local antique stores soon to pick up some more props. Some old milk jugs and interesting chopping boards perhaps…
Back to the perking - It’s now wrapped up tightly in some parchment paper and tin foil to rest - getting softer, moister and gooier over the next few days!
What I’m listening to
I’ve recently found a band, a brother and sister duo, who have become ‘famous’ on TikTok after garnering a lot of hate for their style. Personally, I have become low key obsessed with them and have been playing them non-stop over the past week. Check out Whatcha Want and Guy I Used To Be are BOPS!
If you have any music suggestions, pop them in the comments!
Well, that’s all from me today my friends. Thanks for stopping by and sharing in my little corner of the world. Next week we will be reviewing how Dessert Week has gone.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or just say hi. I love hearing from you!
Until next time,
Mark
Pictures get better week on week. As does your baking, it would seem!
The pie looked delicious. I personally love a good chunk of cheddar cheese with apple pie. Any combo of apple and other fruit. Yummy!
I made savory scones this weekend and completely forgot the egg. They turned out so good! I wonder why the recipe even called for it.