Words & Photography by Felicity Spector
Talk about a dream assignment. Would I like
to judge a baking competition, alongside Great British Bake Off winner Frances
Quinn, involving head chefs from some of London's top restaurants and hotels? I
couldn't book the day off work fast enough.
It was all hosted by Portman Village, the
not-quite Marylebone, not-quite Marble Arch part of central London just behind
Selfridges. Local businesses have been holding a street party every summer, and
given the nation's current love affair with cake, they decided this year's
would kick off with their very own local Bake Off.
It was a blazing hot day and Portman Square
was decked out like a proper village fete: there was bunting. There were tea
urns. And - glory be - a large white marquee with trestle tables laden with
cakes and desserts.
A quick rendevouz with Frances and the
organisers to determine the rules: and
we were off, starting with best 'Native dessert'. We tucked into a gigantic
lemon ice-box pie from The Lockhart, a dream of a dessert with an impeccably
crunchy ginger biscuit base, glorious lemon curd and a vast pile of mallowy
meringue. It was difficult not to just stop right there and finish the entire
thing - but we had 35 more entries to go, and it seemed judicious to pace
ourselves.
I was particularly taken with a moist,
nutty banana bread from Daisy Green - and there was a spicy ginger molasses loaf from Lanes of
London which also scored well. A cheesecake beautifully decorated with berries
was another favourite - surviving surprisingly well in the blazing heat -
although we did deduct a few marks for the soggy bottom. Harsh - but fair.
On we went. The 'Tastiest Cake' category
beckoned - and there was one outstanding winner for all of us - The Grazing
Goat's dark, rich flourless chocolate cakes topped with a perfect quenelle of
almond-butter mousse: think peanut butter taken to the next level.
We went back
for more, just to make sure they really were that good. Daisy Green's 'Mega
banana bread' made a reappearance, this time stuffed with copious amounts of
whipped cream and strawberries. Mega was the word.
By this stage, the cookie category seemed
like light relief. Some strawberry shortcake cookies from Lanes of London
scored well for the buttery, short biscuits, but were let down by a too-sweet
strawberry filling.
Top marks went to the Grazing Goat again, for some utterly
perfect chocolate chip cookies: melting chocolate, soft centre, crisp around
the edge. Exemplary.
The contest wasn't just open to chefs: some
local businesses had also got involved - and we had especially high praise for
Zora Govorusa from Zoki Couture for her crumbly pecan-based cookies - along
with some attractive looking creations in the best Decorated Cake category.
By the end we were all surfing on a massive
sugar high and a large queue of punters were impatiently lining up, waiting to
be allowed into the tent to try the entries for themselves, once we'd awarded
the prizes. Frances and I may have sneaked back for another spoonful of the
chocolate cake - before announcing the winners. The Lockhart for their lemon
icebox pie, and the Grazing Goat for their cookies and their flourless
chocolate cakes.
By this time the square was full of the
happy buzz of families enjoying the other activities, from a 'pin the beard on
Paul Hollywood' game to stalls raising money for a local homeless charity, the
West London Day Centre. Local restaurants and cafes were staying open late into
the night, offering special menus, cocktails, special discounts and live music.
Reluctantly, though, we had to leave:
Frances and I were due at another event involving - yes - more cake. But what
an afternoon we had: I'm already looking forward to another Portman Village
Bake Off next year.
No comments:
Post a Comment