14 August, 2015
13th August 2015
Episode 2, Biscuit week
Hello All,
So last night we experienced ‘Biscuit Week’ on GBBO. What may have sounded an ‘easy’ish’ week turned out very challenging. This week saw the signature bake being Biscotti, which are also known as “Cantuccini” and mean twice baked and originated in Prato (Italy). AS flavouring for my Biscotti, I opted for Italian White wine, a mixture of nuts and seeds and the superfood which be Goji Berries. I tried to build a luscious structure with the fruit, nuts and seeds without losing the rusk-like crunch a good Biscotti should have. As the Italians would say the outcome was “Bellissima”! Both Paul and Mary loved my Biscotti which was pleasing to say the least…now who said you can’t bake with WINE!!
The ‘technical’ bake this week was the Arlette which is a French ‘biscuit’ made out of very thinly rolled caramelised puff pastry which should have a great crunch and lamination throughout. Anyone who knows about baking will tell you that to make puff pastry in itself is a great challenge, mix that with a recipe unknown to well 11 bakers, mix it up with a dash of immense pressure, a pinch of judges staring you down and several cameras watching your every move then you get the idea as to what most of us dished up, eek! – it is one of those bakes you will more than likely never attempt in your kitchen unless called for either way!
The showstopper this week was a biscuit box (out of biscuit base itself) with 32 identical biscuits to fill your box. I found inspiration in my Lithuanian roots in terms of the biscuits I prepared and went for a cottage cheese based biscuits which are traditional in my country of birth, Lithuania. As for the biscuit box I took myself back to my childhood and us children pinching cookies from the cookie jar when Mom was not around! It was playful in a sense and the colours pan-Russian inspired so boisterous, flamboyant and colourful (Mary thought it to be over the top – but I suppose she missed the point about my cultural background and where I may have found inspiration from – but each to our own I guess and you learn and move on). The theme as such was a baby pinching cookies from the cookie box (as we did from the jar as kids). Paul said that he didn’t like my biscuits…HE LOVED THEM so yayyy!
I felt overall week two was a good week for me and I look forward to week 3 – ‘Bread Week’, I absolutely love baking bread and very much looking forward to it. I hope you all enjoyed week 2 as much as I did and thank you all for your continued support!
X Ugne B
