Le Bureau

It’s week 2,094 in the pink Battersea B, and members are rising to a fund-raising challenge…

Welcome to The Great Battersea Bake Off.

This week was cake week in our Battersea offices as we raised dough (yes, Mel and Sue style pun intended) for Macmillan Cancer Support.

From cheesecake to cupcakes, sweet loaves to showstoppers, members excelled themselves to produce a host of baked goods – and very good they were, too. A banana bread baked by Villiers’ Pip was devoured within the hour. A seemingly simple Victoria Sponge from Joanna at i-res tasted anything but. A mysterious Le Bureau member known only by the pseudonym ‘Asda’ provided a moreish fruit pie.

To add a little spice into the mix, The Great Battersea Bake Off saw members compete for the accolade of Star Baker. The winner was Rosy Edwards, whose chocolate and orange sponge was topped with a seemingly impossible stream of  falling Maltesers. “It took just five hours to make and my boyfriend only broke up with me twice,” she said,  twitching slightly at the memory.

The Great Battersea Bake Off left members buzzing, and not just because of the instant sugar rush that comes from eating five slices of cheesecake in ten minutes. We were raising money for a brilliant cause – and one close to many members’ hearts. Cakes were priced at a bargainous £1 a slice but many of us donated far more, both in person and online, to raise an impressive £296 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

=>Read more about Le Bureau’s charity fundraising here

Macmillan is unique in the way it offers support to cancer patients and their families. Its services begin from the moment of diagnosis and continue throughout treatment and long into recovery. To find out more about the work of Macmillan Cancer Support, or to donate to Le Bureau’s fund until Friday, click here.

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If you’ve been inspired to get baking, try Joanna’s recipe for a perfect Victoria Sponge.

Ingredients

1. 225g/8oz butter or margarine, softened at room temperature.
2. 225g/8oz caster sugar.
3. 4 medium eggs.
4. 2 tsp vanilla extract.
5. 225g/8oz self raising flour.
6. milk, to loosen

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. Grease and line 2 x 18cm/7in cake tins with baking paper.

3. Cream the butter and the sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy.

4. Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, and stir in the vanilla extract.

5. Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon, adding a little extra milk if necessary, to create a batter with a soft dropping consistency.

6. Divide the mixture between the cake tins and gently spread out with a spatula.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

8. Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes, then remove from the tin and peel off the paper. Place onto a wire rack.

9. Sandwich the cakes together with jam, lemon curd or whipped cream and berries or just enjoy on its own.

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For non-bakers who still like to be judged, take Buzzfeed’s How Normal Are Your Cake Options? and discover how your patisserie preferences stack up.