A few weeks back it was just brilliant to watch the Great British Bake Off Masterclass programmes.  I love the Masterclasses as they show you how it should be done.  I was intrigued to see how the terribly difficult technical challenges were meant to be done.  I had attempted a couple of them like the Angel Cake and the English Muffins but now I have a little more confidence to have a go at some of the others.

I also loved the inclusion of some of Paul and Mary’s signature bakes in the Masterclasses.  One of my favourites was Mary’s Ginger and Treacle Spiced Traybake which looked like a perfect alternative to Parkin at Hallowe’en, Bonfire Night or even as an excuse to eat cake in the cold, dark and damp Autumn months!  Well, any day or any type of weather is an excuse to eat cake for me though! The Friday of half term week up here in North Yorkshire was one of those miserable days.  It didn’t seem to get light at all so baking this gorgeous sounding traybake was definitely on the cards.

Here’s how I got on:

The traybake did go down well with my hubby but the children aren’t that keen on heavily spiced gingery things. I loved it too and had to steel myself to make sure I only had one small piece.  It did keep well for several days in an airtight tin. It was so simple to  make that I think it would not only be a good bake for children to attempt or something that a novice in the kitchen could cope with.  I love traybakes for coffee mornings and the like as a little goes a long way.  I cut my traybake into 16 pieces but they were very large ones.  I don’t “do” small portions!  Hope it’s not too long before I get the chance to try baking this delicious bake again,

Happy Baking!

Love Sam xx