Last week was the final of The Great British Bake Off and, spoiler alert, John won.
The last ever technical challenge was fondant fancies, one of my all time favourite treats! I love the big ones you can get in Waitrose and of course the classic Mr Kipling but I’d never tried to make my own before.
The contestants used Mary Berry’s recipe and so, I did too. I understand why Paul and Mary left it until the last week because the recipe was really tricky to follow. I assumed, being a basic sponge base, that it would be easy peasy, but there was just so much to do!
After the cake was cooled it needed to be covered in jam, then marzipan. Next I had to measure it out into square and cut. Spread buttercream over four sides of the sponge and pipe a blob of it on the top, then cover with icing and then decorate. They took me two evenings!
After all the effort though, they were worth it. They were light and sweet and lemony and beautiful and went perfectly with a cup of tea. Although they were difficult, I’d definitely recommend giving it a go!
When I was a child I used to think fondant fancies were the height of sophistication! I never imagined they would be so hard to bake, it was a really great challenge for the final. I liked seeing the usually calm and collected Brendan descend into chaos and messiness!
They are on my to-bake list as well… but will make sure I have a whole free weekend! Good job though