Monday 1 July 2024
‘Sweet like chocolate’... Who would pass up the opportunity of consuming copious amounts of chocolate to enhance their Monday morning? Well, that’s how Team Bake Off began their Enrichment Week, with Chocolate Day. In true Bake Off style, 24 (new) Year 9 and (new) Year 10 pupils were tasked with making a tray of decadent brownies, a rich chocolate sponge cake and a Chocolate Swiss roll. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, eat your heart out!

Tuesday 2 July
Today pupils were put through their paces and given a workout – kneading style! By the end of Bread Day, the food room was full of freshly baked bread and scones. The brief was for each pupil to make 8 evenly sized bread rolls and a decorative loaf, finishing off the afternoon with some more sweet treats - home made scones. And of course, the judging panel included a generous helping of clotted cream and jam for good measure. The group did a fabulous job and made it very difficult to pick the best bake.

Wednesday 3 July
It was a shorter day for our chefs today - Biscuit Bake Bonanza was on the menu, followed by an afternoon of rest and relaxation at the local outdoor pool. The pupils had to make 12 evenly sized biscuits, decorated with icing and all the sprinkles!

Thursday 4 July
The group were set a technical challenge today - making shortcrust pastry, lemon curd and a crispy meringue to create a zesty, vibrant sweet lemon meringue pie. This provided a significant challenge with crumbly pastry and some tangy lemon curds. Mary Berry would have been pleased with the pupils' attempts and there were no ‘soggy bottoms’ when it came to the judging.

In the afternoon pupils were treated to a decorating masterclass from Mrs Tipper, where they learnt how to make fondant animals and roses and even an astronaut, following this year’s theme of Science and Nature. The group saw examples of cakes Mrs Tipper has made for weddings and Birthdays. This session taught the teams all they needed to know for Friday’s showstopper cakes.

Friday 5 July
The big Showstopper Cake Challenge. The theme for this year was Science and Nature. Sponges were baked and decorations were made. The pupils were inspired by what they saw from the cake decorating demo and pulled out all the stops with beautiful flowers and solar system models. We had buttercream and fondant icing galore!

When it came to judging it was hard to decide on the winners. Lots of prizes were awarded across the week from ‘most improved baker’ to ‘most unique idea’ to ‘best bakes’ and ‘most ‘aesthetically pleasing’. All pupils had a fantastic week and showed off some very creative and impressive baking skills! Well done Team Bake Off!

Mrs Millar, Mrs Tipper and Mrs Dearing