Since September, the team have been competing in a CCA bake-off, to coincide and be enjoyed during our fortnightly, team meetings. In our Newton Abbot office, each individual bake has been judged in 3 categories: taste, technical and appearance, with a total score out of 10 in each. The scores have been totted up and we have a winner, but first of all let’s see what delicious creations we’ve been feasting upon…
Ali kicked us off with a delicious lemon meringue pie, with a tangy lemon curd with popping candy, light and fluffy meringue and a buttery crust – no soggy bottoms here!
Next up Rhi wowed us with a selection of Italian Cannoli – a tube-shaped dessert with fried pastry dough filled with not 1 but 3 sweet, cream cheese fillings of tiramisu, macha, and coconut coffee.
Charlotte indulged us with a rich, chocolate and Oreo brownie, with gooey centre and crisp top.
A savoury treat for us next, with JA’s chicken and pancetta pie with celeriac, butternut squash and leek in a creamy vermouth sauce, covered in a golden and crisp puff pastry. JA also catered for the vegetarians in the team, replacing the chicken with mushrooms.
Next up, Sab baked a Citrus 3-layered citrus cake with orange buttercream, and chocolate buttercream.
October saw Tim bake us a Halloween inspired 4-tiered choc orange cake with choc buttercream, white choc ganache and topped with choc orange segments.
JD pushed the technicality boundaries with a Vegan, 3-tiered sponge cake with buttercream, salted caramel drizzle and pretzel topping.
Aaron made a crunchy topped apple pie with delicious, tart but sweet apple filling. Finished with a drizzle of creamy custard.
For the last bake-off before the Christmas break, JJ baked a warmly spiced ginger and cranberry wreath cake.
The first bake for 2024 was Anand’s cheesecake. Shar baked a sweet, braided Babka bread Babka, with cinnamon and chocolate.
Our final baker, Max, made a classic Italian focaccia bread, with red onion, rosemary and olives, enjoyed with a mild Provolone cheese.
And the winner of the CCA 2023/24 bake-off goes to… Max, with his delicious focaccia bread – we clearly saved the best ‘til last.
