GBBO Causes Cake Commotion

[aaronatthedoublef]

There are many fans of the GBBO (I keep meaning to record and watch it). Thought you might enjoy this article. It does not appear to be behind a pay wall.

Spread the word

      

  

  

[Mike Nolan]

I don't see a link.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I see it in the word "article but I'll put it in here:

I just registered for the Clandestine Cake Club. The closest club is in Boston (there are only three in the US) which would be a two hour drive but it might be worth it to stretch my cake muscles again.

[Mike Nolan]

I think the link was there, but I just couldn't see it on the laptop I was using this morning, it shows up better on the big screen monitors in my office.

You're a lot closer to the nearest 'Clandestine Cake Club' location than I am.

It will be interesting to see how GBBO handles the transition from BBC to Channel 4. Losing 3 out of the 4 personalities could be more change than it can tolerate. I used to think of myself as a pretty good baker, but the weakest of the contestants on GBBO could bake rings around me.

This year will be the first year in a long time that I will be in town for the county fair. I'm not planning on entering anything this year, but I do think I'll make a trek clear across town (we're in SW Lincoln, the fairgrounds are in NE Lincoln) to see what the baking and photography entrants look like.

[BakerAunt]

The article has limited access, but at least it let me read the first page. I'm not, and will not be, close to any locations. Hmm--maybe after we're settled in Indiana, I could start a group. I'm going to miss baking cakes for my office.

[Mike Nolan]

There's a link about 'National cake Week' (Oct 2-8, 2017), but I think that's a UK event, not an USA one. Maybe we should try to promote it here and see if we can create a movement!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Sorry BA. I read through the whole article.

Yes Mike, we should aim for aa National Cake Week. I could actually use Instagram for something for a change.

[cwcdesign]

I enjoyed the article. To finish reading the article, BA, I had to click on the next page icon a couple of times, but I did read it all. You might want to try again.

I decided to check out the website on American holidays - there's a flour month (March) and a cookie month (October), but only individual cake days - carrot, pound, & chocolate that I saw through quick perusal- I had no desire to look at 365 days of food holidays :-). It does appear that National Cake Week may have been started by the Clandestine Cake Club.

Mike, the nearest one to me is probably 5 hours away - not happening 🙂

[BakerAunt]

Maybe we need a Cyber Clandestine Cake Club?

However, let's start by figuring out how to promote National Cake Week through this site.

I'm currently watching the season of GBBO that is airing on PBS. It is one that I haven't seen. Last week was "biscuits" and then cakes. They show two episodes. Tonight, one will be bread.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

[Mike Nolan]

I think PBS is either 3 or 4 seasons back from what's been shown in Great Britain.

But that's about how far back I stopped being able to view episodes online.

[aaronatthedoublef]

So was "Biscuits" cookies?

[BakerAunt]

Yes, biscuits are what we Americans call cookies. One challenge was to produce 24 identical decorated, iced biscuits.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Interestingly, an English friend of mine who has lived in the US for many years now maintains that all British biscuits are twice baked. So they differ from most American cookies in that regard. However I have several recipes for things like shortbread that are only once-baked so that has me wondering. I'll have to research that. Also, years ago, when I took my cooking class in Italy, "biscotti" referred to twice baked cookies and was translated as "biscuits". I do not know if biscotti were always biscotti or if that is something that developed from British English which is still the dominant English in Europe.

I am now a member of the Clandestine Cake Club and affiliated with the Boston chapter. But they do not appear too be very active. So perhaps I will try to start a Hartford chapter.

I am up for celebrating Cake Week if Mike will allow us to do that through his site.

[Mike Nolan]

This is what Wikipedia says about biscotti:

"Biscotti" is the plural form of biscotto. The word originates from the medieval Latin word biscoctus, meaning "twice-cooked."

Biscuits as a 'twice-baked' product were often made as travel food, especially travel by ship. (Hardtack. which is made from flour, water and sometimes salt, shows up in many books about sailing ships.)

Not sure how the name got applied to raised biscuits in the USA, which are a quick bread.

I'm up for trying to promote National Cake Week, maybe we can get others working on it too. I'm not sure an 'online clandestine cake club' would work, part of the fun would be seeing and tasting other people's cakes!

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