Bake Off is finally back and we can’t wait to see what the 12 contestants whip up each week.
The only problem is, we’re sick of macarons and Victoria sponges… so what can the budding bakers wow Paul and Mary with instead?
1. A twist on traditional baklava.
Combine two scrumptious things and Mary and Paul will love you. Ok, it isn’t that straightforward, but who doesn’t like Nutella?
2. Moreish modak.
Modak is Hindu God Ganesh’s favourite treat, so surely if it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough to clinch star baker?
The sweet treat is a dumpling made from rice flour, filled with fresh grated coconut and jaggery. They are then steamed or fried.
3. Martabak – crumpets but not as you know them.
The sweet version of this widely-eaten savoury dish is only really found in Indonesia, and we bet Paul and Mary have never tried it.
Pancake batter is cooked in a pan, then butter spread on top. Then chocolate sprinkles, fresh cheese and condensed milk are added.
Sounds weird, tastes absolutely delicious.
4. The Australian Victoria sponge – lamingtons.
Sponge, with or without jam in the middle, wrapped in chocolate and covered in dessicated coconut.
We reckon this one would be popular with Mel and Sue, although they aren’t the ones doing the judging.
5. Baked coconut rice pudding.
This simple Thai street-food classic could be shaken up in so many ways.
We’d love to see what the contestants would do with it!
6. Season’s best mooncake.
As the competition will extend into the autumn, perhaps the bakers should try whipping up a Chinese mooncake, which is eaten to celebrate the mid-autumn
The Cantonese cake is made from pastry with a thick filling usually consisting of lotus seed paste or red bean.
7. Water droplet mochi – a technical bake.
This dessert, called mizu, is only available in a handful of places in Japan, so it’ll be a great choice to make for the judges.
They’s better get the timing right though, as the dish begins to disintegrate after half an hour
8. Show-stopper mirror cake.
A cake so good you can see yourself in it is sure to impress.
The bakers should have a go at creating Russian confectioner Olga Noskova’s master mirror-finish.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here