It is cake o’clock here at TopCashback for our Customer Service team. They have not only been working hard answering all your queries but also in their kitchens ready to present the nicest cake to our judges’ tent, the socially distanced office.
The challenge was simple, deliver a cake that looked like a main course. The choice was theirs and believe us when we say there were just as many whisk takers as there were blenders of the rules. Some even moved us to tiers!
Join us, as we discover a little about all the contestants and our next legend in the baking in TopCashback’s Great Bake-off - Customer Service Edition.
Hannah
Hannah produced this amazing work of art which instead of the tasty beer it might make you crave it is actually a vanilla tray bake sponge, cherry jam and a chocolate mirror glaze. We think it looks tasty enough to enjoy in a beer garden in the summer sun.
Charlie R
This beautiful cheesy delight complete with chocolate mouse is a raspberry sponge cake decorated in hand coloured yellow icing. We reached out to Charlie for a comment about her entry:
“I only had very little time to do it. Cal roped me into it and told me he already put my name down, so there was no getting out of it.. My vibe was smart but basic by going with a wheel of cheese....”
She told her partner her smart idea and he responded with "a little bit like you" Charlie isn’t sure if she should be offended but sees the funny side at least and we still think the mouse is adorable and it tasted great.
Cristina
Christina’s entry had us challenging our Tina Turner vibes singing “You’re Shrimply the Best” with her paella inspired cake. She channelled the great Mary Berry herself using her recipe to bake a quick chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and added white chocolate covered rice krispies decorated with fondant. She stated the painting and modelling was the hardest part but we are really glad she grained and bared it to come up with this delightful piece.
Tash
The plan here was to make a lovely cactus garden. A classic vanilla victoria sponge, strawberry jam middle, and buttercream for the icing on top. It is a classic case of what can go wrong when the kitchen heats up just a little too much and the icing melted a little.
Tash commented, “It didn't go quite to plan. Tasted delicious and 100% homemade although not the best looking”.
We know it tasted great though Tash and your effort had us bowled over.
Jess
Chocolate cake inside a delicious bowl of fondant meatballs, who can argue with that.
Jess stated of her creation, “I wish I saved myself some time and piped the spaghetti with buttercream instead of hand rolling it all, there was a big old mess was made in my kitchen from it!”.
Whether there was a mess or not we still think this cake was a pasta de resistance.
Callum
Callum entered with a vanilla sponge cake with a vanilla orange buttercream, covered in marzipan and decorated in fondant. We think you will agree this cake definitely shows off how you really can be the slice of the party.
Lauren W
Lauren’s classic take on fish fingers and chips with complementary peas had us reminiscing our past. Cutting up Victoria sponge cake and using green icing for the peas was off the scales. Unfortunately, the fish finger crumb is a secret, but we can tell you it tasted wonderful.
Rhys
Well what can we say about the audacity or genius or Mr. Rhys. He did indeed send in Colin the Caterpillar but we can confirm there is no beef against Cuthbert and no political stance was being taken.
He had this to say when we reached out for comment “I completely forgot to send one in so as a laugh I sent a picture of a Colin the caterpillar (as it was topical!). I would not have accepted victory had I won”
Lauren C
This beautiful orange cake was entered by Lauren C. A beautiful orange infused sponge with tasty orange buttercream, except hold on a second. We suspected a little bit of foul play here though and maybe a case of bake it until you make it with a potentially shop bought entry! When we asked for comment from the contestant she confirmed a football cake was purchased, however this is a really impressive icing job.
“In my defence I have a sprained wrist and a full bake might have been a little beyond me. my leaf was a genuine leaf from the garden, and the green dot on top is an M&M I tried to recreate the dimpled texture of orange skin but it just ended up spikey like a pineapple”
It is ok Lauren, we forgive you because the icing was fantastic and the attention details superb. You're the zest!
Charlie P - 3rd
Now we are onto the final three and in third place is this delightful burger entry by Charlie P. We guarantee this would have ben Bread Pitt’s favourite and there was no bacon our hearts with this one. Fantastic effort, and if you wondered yes it did taste as good as it looked.
The Recipe
Vanilla sponge cake, cut into 3, used chocolate icing to cover the middle sponge for the burger. Used tiny white pieces of icing fondant to make the sesame seeds.
In the middle, again I used white fondant with a drop of green food colouring for the lettuce, orange for the cheese and red for tomatoes, then just cut and shaped.
200g caster sugar
200g butter
4 eggs
200g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk
Kayley - 2nd
If you were thinking this waffle was a real waffle and baffled at how impressive the beans are well then we join you because it is indeed actually all home-made cake. The attention to detail here made this all day breakfast cake and all day delight to sample and a highly deserved second place.
Kayley commented about her challenge, “It was super fun to make, but shaping them was interesting and a little more difficult!”
The Recipe
The waffle and beans were Victoria sponge. The beans had orange icing wrapped round them with a little buttercream for the sauce. The sausages were chocolate chip cake, with some brown icing around and a little bit of airbrushing. Red sauce was also buttercream.
Chocolate Mix together 200g golden caster sugar,
200g unsalted butter,
4 eggs,
200g self-raising flour,
2 tbsp cocoa powder,
100g of chocolate chips,
1 tsp baking powder,
1/2 tsp vanilla extract,
2 tbsp milk and a pinch.
Divide into two tins and bake for about 20 mins.
Victoria Mix together 200g golden caster sugar,
200g unsalted butter,
4 eggs,
200g self-raising flour, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract,
2 tbsp milk
and a pinch of salt.
Divide into two tins and bake for about 20 mins. Then it’s about shaping them.
Sam - 1st
And our winner is… the amazing meatball creation from Sam. The different flavours, textures and colours are all so accurate and delicious that they had us salivating. He definitely ended the contest in a glaze of glory and is a worthy winner.
The Recipe
“Bowl” is a Sponge cake, with fondant
“Spaghetti” is salted caramel frosting
“Meatballs” choc coco pops covered in Nutella
“Sauce” strawberry jam
“Parmesan” white choc.
For the sponge, 2oz self raising flour,
2oz caster sugar,
2oz baking butter,
1 large egg,
dash of milk
and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
180 degrees in the oven for 20/25 min.
Judges
We asked the judges about their experience trying to sift through all the contestants.
Head judge Matt let us know how they decided on their final winner. “It was so impressive to see everyone create such a delicious range of treats, but it did make it super hard to choose the winner! After a lot of deliberation, in the end it all came down to the illusion design itself and all the elements needed to create it, and let’s be honest...who wouldn't want to have dessert as the main course?”
So that is it for this year folks! Remember you can follow in the flour-steps of our contestants and create something magical and tasty.
Bake a leg, bake to the future, and baking paper over the cracks until you make something amazing with your cashback of course!
