Comic Relief Staff Bake Off

Baking is difficult at the best of times. Baking under a tight time limit, with people watching plus the added pressure of making something to win a competition is just slightly below the level of insane.

So it was with some trepidation that I suggested that for Comic Relief this year that ten staff members take part in a Staff Bake Off. Fortunately I work with some rather cool people, or possibly very stupid, who immediately signed up and began planning their bakes, well 9 out of the 10 did, the last person instead began to plot on how best to sabotage everybody else, her solution was to lick each and every bake afterwards.

Over the last month or so the 'friendly' competition escalated into all out warfare with psychological warfare being the preferred method. One baker, printed off a spectacular wedding cake off google images and spent the day convincing people she just whipped it up over the weekend.
Others brought in stuff they made and fed it to other contestants to psyche them out, whilst others had conversations with the sole intention to convince the other person they were doing it wrong, one quote I overheard was that you have to take the green off pistachios before you use them.

Worse than the actual kids some of them.

Anyhoo, competition day came round and bar some last minute sparring, all ten bakers got on with the job admirably and produced some outstanding bakes.

Me in my self elected role of Chief Judge and 3 other brave greedy volunteers sampled all ten bakes, it was a tough job, but hey someone had to do it and we came to a conclusion based on Style, Control, Damage and Aggression.

Before I present the top three bakes, here are the remaining 7 in no particular order;

Victoria Sponge

Lemon Surprise Cupcakes

Chocolate Birthday Cake

Smiley Cupcakes

Profiteroles with pistachio cream

Coca Cola Cake

Black Forest Cake

 While all spectacular bakes, they didn't come close to the following, I give you bake number three:

Lego Cake

Bake number two:

Rennie Mackintosh Chocolate Cake

 and finally, The Bake Off Champion 2013:

A Cup of Cupcakes

All in all, It was a great couple of hours and a very difficult judging session, all that cake is tiring to eat. We raised with donations and selling them to the kids over £130 for Comic Relief.