Linda Collister - The Great British Bake Off: How to Bake: The Perfect Victoria Sponge and Other Baking Secrets

The book and digital booklet are published to accompany the television series entitled The Great British Bake Off, first broadcast on BBC TWO in 2011.

Executive Producer: Anna Beattie
Series Editor: Melissa Brown
Series Director: Andy Devonshire
Senior Producer: Jane Treasure
Producers: Claire Emerson, Emma Phillips
Unit manager: Caron Miles
Head of Production: Letty Kavanagh
BBC Commissioning Executive: Emma Willis

Recipes Love Productions 2011
Photography and design Woodlands Books Ltd 2011
Love Productions has asserted its right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

The Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009

Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at www.randomhouse.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

To buy books by your favourite authors and register for offers, visit www.randomhouse.co.uk

BBC Books and Love Productions would like to thank all the contestants and Linda Collister.

And a special thanks to the bakers for the following recipes, which all appear as The Best of the Bake-off in the book:

Ben: Rhubarb and Custard Cup Cakes ()

Holly: Cherry Bakewell Cup Cakes ()

Ian: Stilton, Spinach and New Potato Quiche ()

Janet: Christmas Shortbread and Marzipan Biscuits ()

Jason: Macaroon Mocktails ()

Joanne: Chocolate and Orange Cup Cakes ()

Keith: Earl Grey Cup Cakes ()

Mary Anne: Melting Moments ()

Rob: Chocolate, Fennel and Ginger Tarts ()

Simon: Smoked Haddock and Watercress Quiche ()

Urvashi: Elderflower and Honeycomb Tarts ()

Yasmin: Sweet Coconut Rolls ()

The Great British Bake Off is searching for the finest home bakers in Britain and this accompanying book shows you how to achieve baking perfection in the comfort of your kitchen.

Once you understand the baking basics, the possibilities are endless. To help you achieve a perfectly risen sponge, a crisp biscuit or the smoothest bread dough, this book guides you through foolproof recipes with simple step-by-step master classes. Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood also offer fail-safe recipes from the series their Technical Challenges for classic bakes ranging from the elegant Battenberg Cake to bakery favourites Iced Fingers.

There are over 120 mouth-watering recipes to try including cakes, biscuits, breads, pies, tarts, patisserie, puddings and celebration cakes. Mary and Paul are on hand throughout the book offering practical tips, while the amateur bakers also show-off their skills with the best of the bake-off.

There are recipes here to challenge keen bakers as well as inspire baking novices. Beautiful and practical, this baking bible will soon become your most treasured cookbook.

This years The Great British Bake Off was really special we really got it down to a tee this series. Having twelve bakers this time, instead of ten, made for an even more exciting competition and as almost all the contestants had watched last year and knew what the series was about, the standard was noticeably higher.

We were on the look out for an all-round baker someone who could handle every challenge thrown at them, someone who represented the very best home baker. All the contestants showed great promise in the early stages and we also decided to raise the stakes by providing them with three different challenges each week.

First they had to create a signature bake, a recipe they were proud of or a family favourite. It needed to be individual and creative as much as it had to be delicious and technically perfect. We told the bakers what the theme would be 1 week before filming so they could practise it before the bake-off.

Next, they had to rise to a technical challenge from Paul and me the recipes for all our technical challenges are featured throughout this book. The bakers didnt know what they were going to be baking until the day, when they received a basic recipe that included ingredients, quantities and a scant method no technical advice, they had to work out the details themselves. No two bakes turned out the same.

The final challenge was the showstopper and as the name implies, the bakers had to really impress us with a wow-factor bake. They were given the type of bake and how many to make, but it was up to them to add flavours. Our challenges were designed to demand a number of skills all at once. The bakers had 1 week to practise their showstopper bake, but this didnt mean everything went smoothly on the filming day. We had a few disasters!

Unfortunately, accidents did happen but Paul and I tried to be fair there was a finished cake that slipped on to the floor. We didnt mark it down as wed seen it completed and it was rescued so we were able to taste it. However, if a mixture curdled or pastry was burned then we werent quite so forgiving!

The bakers were under a lot of pressure, but I think you can see how well we got along on set. The bakers really bonded, developing into a team, helping each other through each challenge and we were all genuinely sad when someone had to leave. I think that camaraderie is what makes The Great British Bake Off so unusual and charming to watch.

Its always a joy to work with Paul, who is a firm but fair judge and Mel and Sue always keep everything light and enjoyable, cheering and comforting the bakers and, of course, tasting the bakes especially Sue! And with all the best bakers recipes in this book, you can recreate the flavours of The Great British Bake Off at home, indulge with Mel and Sue, and see if you agree with the judges comments!

The second series of The Great British Bake Off was fantastic to work on. This year we tested the bakers like never before, we pushed their technical ability to the limit to see who really had the know-how and the skills to win.

When Mary and I devised the recipes for the technical challenges it was important that we chose recipes that stretched the bakers and challenged their prowess in the kitchen. Its all good and well producing a Victoria Sandwich every week for the family, but when youre confronted with Pork Pies filled with quails eggs and a time limit in which to make them, well this would scare anyone especially working with a hot water crust pastry for the first time.

The first hurdle to jump, in my opinion, is equipment. Ovens can be notoriously unbalanced, so it is a good tip to buy a probe to check whether your oven is actually achieving the correct oven temperature. A good set of knives, baking trays and tins are also essential. There are so many pieces of kit you can buy now when baking, its up to you to pick the ones you like but be consistent. Its very important when making sponges, for instance, following a recipe that calls for a 23cm tin, not to use a 26cm tin. The larger tin will not produce the desired results.