The Tintern Baking Challenge.
I’ve technically been homeless for the past month, crashing at Jen’s house in West Didsbury since my tenancy at the infamous Amherst Road came to an end.
It’s been fun. West Didsbury is fantastic, the house is great, and spending time with Jen is always nice. But while I’ve loved my time at Tintern Avenue, I think I’m about to move out (if I find somewhere soon) just as a massive baking rivalry begins.
See, Jen does a pretty good job of making desserts. She’s even gone as far as calling herself the Pancake Queen, although that’s obviously a market pretty saturated with competition.
But Jen’s last few attempts — two big ‘ol chocolate brownies — have been met with mixed reviews. The second cake was reviewed by Sam (her housemate) in one sentence: ‘Yeah, your chocolate bread tastes alright.’
Eesh. Harsh words.
Then Sam kind of took offence to Jen’s poor efforts and said he could do a better job. Jen disagreed, and said her terrible cakes were a result of doing everything in a rush.
Instant rivalry.
As you can imagine, this is great for the rest of us currently in the house. Sam and Jen put all of the effort in to baking, and we get to ‘judge’ their tasty produce. I can’t imagine a better situation.
It’s already turned quite serious. Sam made a Victoria sponge yesterday, and it tasted pretty good, if not a little dry. It was a solid 8/10 effort.
Tonight, Jen clearly felt threatened by the 8/10 sponge and declared that she was making cupcakes. I kid you not, I thought fists were going to be thrown earlier when she told Sam about his cake being a bit dry.
Note to self: never criticise Sam’s baking.
Anyway, Jen cracked on with her buttercream and strawberry cupcakes while Sam watched Gilmore Girls upstairs.
14 minutes later, they came out alright.
Buttercream and Strawberry Cupcakes, by Jen.
