The brief for this showstopper challenge was a 3D biscuit scene, so I decided to make something reminiscent of my own childhood, The Sledding Hill. Using gingerbread for the base, I covered it with fondant and meringue "snow," then added gingerbread people and nut-shortbread trees.
Author: Marilyn
Florentines
This delicate, lacy cookie is traditionally made with almonds and orange flavors, reminiscent of Italian baking, but the use of butter and cream is evidence of its French origins. Mary Berry's version uses a variety of dried fruits and nuts and then, after baking, is brushed with a decadent layer of dark chocolate.
Savory Biscuits (i.e., Crackers)
Biscuits in the U.K. are what Americans normally call cookies, but what Americans call crackers, Britons would call savory biscuits. The inspiration for my dill-and-onion biscuits came from a bread recipe of my mom's that we called Dilly Bread.
Miniature Classic British Cakes
Thanks to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, lemon and elderflower cake has become a modern classic. These mini cakes have lemon zest and elderflower cordial baked into the batter, but the flavor is enhanced by drizzling more cordial over the warm cakes and sandwiching the layers with fresh, bright lemon curd. Moist without being heavy, these cakes taste like spring and are definitely moreish!
Cherry Cake
Mary Berry’s cherry cake uses ground almonds and glacé cherries, a classic flavor combination that makes the perfect accompaniment to afternoon tea!
A Swiss Roll
What better filling for a pumpkin spice Swiss roll than a light, airy eggnog-flavored diplomat cream? The chocolate polka-dots add a whimsical touch to this festive fall treat or holiday dessert!
A Three-Tiered Wedding Cake
With changing leaves and sweater weather come fall treats like caramel apples, chai tea and spicy hot chocolate! My 3-tiered cake is an homage to my favorite flavors, ranging from praline and coffee buttercream to spice cake with a salted caramel drip!
Sweet and Savory Pretzels
This technical challenge uses Paul Hollywood’s recipe for six sweet and six savory pretzels. The savory pretzels are made with traditional pretzel dough sprinkled with coarse salt and sesame seeds before baking. The sweet variety has poppy seeds and orange zest mixed into the dough. After baking, it’s brushed with orange syrup and garnished with candied orange peel.
A Savory Picnic Pie
My Chicken Curry Gala Pie features layers of coconut rice, curried chicken, peas, roasted butternut squash and, of course, a continuous hard-boiled egg throughout. This Signature savory picnic pie is to be served outside the pan, so the pastry must be strong enough to hold up to all those fillings.
Opera Cake
The inspiration for my opera cake came from the popular ‘70s dessert, the Watergate cake. My interpretation of the Watergate cake in operatic form was to make a pistachio joconde sponge brushed with a pistachio syrup and layer it with coconut Swiss meringue buttercream and pineapple filling studded with pecans. I finished it off with a thin chocolate glaze.