Bake Off Challenge: Goosebery and Honey Cake

Now that the The Great British Bake Off is back, I've decided to have
a little Bake Off challenge of my own. The idea for this came from
the lovely Marianne of Ladybird Diaries. Every week throughout the
new series I'm going to bake something new. I'm currently feeling inspired to try out some new recipes, to be a little bit more
adventurous with my baking and I think that the next ten or eleven
 weeks while The Bake Off is on will be the best time to do this.
I'll get inspiration and encouragement from the programme and
I just think it will be great fun too.

So to kick start my Bake Off Challenge I chose Gooseberry and Honey
Cake from the June issue of The Simple Things magazine. 

If you'd asked me a few years ago if I know what gooseberries are

I'd honestly tell you that I have no idea. I only got to taste and like 

these soft fruits about two or three years ago when my father-in-law

started growing them in his allotment. They can be a little tart but when

 they're fully ripe they're lovely and sweet and perfect for summer 

crumbles. I didn't know they can be added in cakes too so I was really eager to try this recipe.

Baking this was straightforward and easy. What was interesting for 

me were the ingredients: instead of the usual sugar, it has honey

and two tablespoons of elderberry cordial to make it sweet and

there's no flour, just ground almonds.  

I think it turned out well. The texture is nice and moist although

it's a little bit greasy. The honey and elderberry cordial were effective

sugar substitutes. I was tempted to sprinkle icing sugar on the top to 

make it less plain looking but decided not to. Maybe next time I will. 

You've also probably noticed that my version is slightly thinner 

compared with the magazine's. It's because I didn't have the required 

baking tin and used one that was a little bit bigger. As for the gooseberries, I think they add a nice, sweet flavour and texture

 to the cake although I think it can do with maybe 50grams more.

So a baking success? Not quite, I think. Because even though the
girls and I like, it my husband's not particularly taken by it. Maybe
he'll enjoy it more with a dollop of creme fraiche as it's suggested
in the magazine. But it has fulfilled my criteria of baking something
 new so I'm still very pleased. I'm now looking forward to my next challenge. Bread, maybe? We'll see!

Hope you're all having a good week. Enjoy tonight's
Bake Off!