Tag Archives: great british bake off

Coming soon to a theatre – and a TV – near you

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With tickets now on sale for the Robin Hood Theatre‘s upcoming production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Rachel Repper will be back in the studio on Sunday to give listeners an insight into this classic of 20th century theatre.

Performed in more than 40 countries across the world since it was first staged in Italy in December 1970, Dario Fo‘s farce comes to Averham at the end of next month.

Based on real-life events surrounding the death of Italian railwayman and anarchist Guiseppe Pinelli,  who ‘fell’ – or was he pushed? – to his death from a police headquarters window, the play is a sharp and hilarious satire on political corruption.

Rachel will be talking about her own involvement in the production, which runs from Tuesday 26 to Saturday 30 September, and she’ll have details too of some of the other shows coming to Averham over the next few months.

Then, in the second hour of the show, the focus moves from theatre to TV…

Different channel, different day and, with the exception of Paul Hollywood, different judges and presenters – whether it will be the same without the ‘Queen of Cakes’, Mary Berry, remains to be seen…

But for the next 12 weeks, fans of The Great British Bake Off will be keeping Tuesdays from 8pm to 9pm clear to watch the contestants battle it out in the iconic Berkshire tent.

Setting the scene for episode one on Tuesday 29 August, June and Sue will be taking a look at this year’s line up. Already described by Paul as ‘the best yet’, they include the oldest contestant ever to take part, a former army officer training to become a stuntwoman, a molecular biologist and a 19-year old student from Hackney known to his university friends as the ‘Cake Boy’!

Tune in or listen online from 10am on Sunday for two hours of easy listening with Rachel and the Girls Around Town…

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The cup(cake) that cheers

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Earlier today, you may have heard the Girls Around Town talking about the latest episode of GBBO and celebrating National Cupcake Week (which runs from Monday 19 to Sunday 25 September) by sampling June’s Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Avocado Frosting.

Admittedly baking isn’t exactly her forte but they did get the thumbs up from Sue – although it has to be said they didn’t look quite like the one above!

Here’s the recipe so, if you fancy a Chocolate Moment with a bit of a twist, why not print it off and give it a go?

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Avocado Frosting

  • Servings: Makes 12 small or 9 larger cupcakes
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

For the cupcakes

  • 110g butter or margarine, softened at room temperature
  • 110g caster sugar
  • 2 free range eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 110g self raising flour
  • 1-2 tbsp milk

For the frosting

  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 3-5 tbsp maple syrup (adjust quantity to suit your taste for sweetness!)
  • 4 tbsp cacao powder
  • 3 tbsp almond butter
  • 2 tbsp softened raw coconut oil

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale. Beat in the eggs a little at a time and stir in the vanilla extract.
  3. Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon, adding a little milk until the mixture is of a dropping consistency. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until they are half full.
  4. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into one of the cakes comes out clean. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
  5. Blend all of the frosting ingredients in a food processor until the mixture is creamy, glossy and completely combined.
  6. Spoon the frosting into a piping bag with a star nozzle and, using a spiralling motion, pipe onto the cupcakes in a large swirl. You’ll have more than enough to frost the 12 cupcakes from the ingredients above – halve the quantities if you like or just keep what’s left in the fridge in a jar or covered tub to spread on other cakes or biscuits!

Bake my day

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Three episodes in, seven to go and the heat is on in the Great British Bake Off tent…

Whose showstopper will capture the star baker crown this week? Who’ll be making a final appearance on the show? And of course the burning question – what colour lippy will Candice be sporting on Wednesday?!

As if all this hasn’t been enough to inspire bakers everywhere to head for the kitchen, from Monday 19 to Sunday 25 September it’s National Cupcake Week. No surprise then that the Girls Around Town couldn’t resist combining cupcakes and chocolate in next Sunday’s show.

Join June and Sue between 10am and 12 noon, when they’ll be giving their verdict on GBBO so far and on a Chocolate Moment with a bit of a twist. Cupcakes topped with chocolate and avocado frosting – what would Paul and Mary think and, more to the point, will they be a hit or a miss with the girls?

Tune in or listen online to find out and watch this space after the show if you fancy checking out the recipe yourself…