Last Christmas my friend Amy gave me a brilliant present. It was a giant poster from Crumbs By Colette and it features 100 scratch off squares. Underneath each scratch off square is a picture of a traditional or popular bake. The idea is that you choose one of the squares, bake the recipe and then scratch off the pictures until all 100 squares are revealed.

I planned to make this my blogging project for 2022 and to fit this in around all my other baking and other commitments. At the time of typing (1st December), I have scratched off 54 bakes but actually I have baked a lot more than that. I have gone through and found seven bakes that I baked before this year which I can scratch off. Not only that, I have more which I make repeatedly each festive season. There are also a few which I might struggle to fit into the rest of 2022. I’ve had bouts of baking for SmartCookieSam, being away, being sidetracked by my crochet blankets or having my kitchen revamped. So I haven’t got as far into the challenge as I would have liked.

I’ve gone through the poster and here are the seven bakes which I actually made before I was given the poster. I honestly don’t think I can make these again in the next few weeks as I have so much on. I don’t think I am “cheating” as I have made them!

French Fancies

I’ve actually made French Fancies a few times over the past 10-12 years or so and I hate making them. They are so fiddly and time consuming. I would never put Mr Kipling out of business with my messy creations! The last time I made them (in Summer 2021), I struggled to coat the fancies with the icing. It was so uneven and definitely the opposite to being dainty!

Even with a different colour- a pastel pink, they didn’t look as neat as they should. Despite the nice comments about them on social media, these are definitely not ones I can make and sell!

Swiss Roll

I love making Swiss Rolls. Especially if I can fill them with fresh whipped cream. Unfortunately, I could eat more than one slice at one sitting, hence the reluctance to make another at the moment or I’d scoff the lot! I made a Swiss Roll for a dessert one Sunday lunchtime. Although the sponge turned out as well as could be expected, I found I hadn’t put enough filling in between the roll, though. So it looked a bit lacking, especially with the jam! But it still tasted delicious and it also disappeared very quickly.

Chocolate Roulade

Ditto the comments above! A while ago I made a gorgeous Mint Chocolate Roulade. Now chocolate is heaven but mint chocolate to me is double heaven! This was another successful Sunday lunch dessert which didn’t actually need a lot of time to devote to making it. Although it cracked when rolling it up, it didn’t spoil the taste.

Chocolate Eclairs

I made Chocolate Eclairs a couple of times on a Patisserie course I went on at my local Further Education College. Sadly, due to the pandemic I only could complete the Beginners and Intermediate courses but never got the chance to do the Advanced Patisserie and Confectionery Course. I cried with sheer delight at the time because I made choux pastry and it worked. I loved my course and my work colleagues at the time got to taste the leftover eclairs. I’d make them again, but I just don’t have the spare time at the moment. So this is why I’ve added this to my #100bakeschallenge. I’ve made them before, so why can’t I add them?

Brandy Snaps

I absolutely adore Brandy Snaps and baskets. In fact I chose Brandy Snap baskets filled with berries and whipped cream as a dessert option at my wedding reception. I chose it from what I remember, it was that long ago! I made Brandy Snaps on my college course (the same one mentioned above) and they were a huge hit at home. I piped whipped cream inside ours. I even think they didn’t last the night once I got home.

Angel Cake

This is the three coloured sponge version, not the egg white ring version more popular in the USA. Before the pandemic, I baked a giant Angel Cake for my work colleagues. The first attempt had been a disaster and had come out like rubber. It was meant to be a Genoise sponge. In the end I remade it as an ordinary sponge flavoured and coloured three ways which turned out much better. I was much happier with that and the giant slabs of cake went down really well with my work colleagues. I really enjoyed decorating the top of the cake with glace icing and adding the feather pattern as can be seen on shop bought Angel Cake Slices.

Tarte Tatin

Tarte Tatin is one of those things I’d never made before, even though I’d eaten them plenty of times as a dessert at functions. I was so happy to find out we were making on my college course one week. It was a challenge to get the caramel just right but I loved making it. The accompanying creme anglaise was delicious as well: who needs Ambrosia or Bird’s custard?

So, adding the previously made seven bakes to the #100bakeschallenge brings the grand total up to 61 out of the 100 bakes at the time of writing. There are more in the pipeline, with some festive things on the menu.

Watch this space!

Happy Baking!

Love Sam xx