How to win a work bake off - Bake your way to the top

Smiling millennial Hispanic man standing in kitchen presenting the cake he has baked to camera

We’ve teamed up with Ugne from the Great British Bake Off to give you some handy tips to help you to win a work bake off.

Most people admit they’d love to win any competition where they’re up against their work colleagues. There’s something wonderful about coming out on top. To give you the edge we’ve teamed up with Ugne from 2015’s GBBO for her handy tips to win a work bake off. If you follow them there’s every chance you will be victorious on judging day.

Ugne’s top tips to win a work bake off.

So it is that time again…the time of year where every office in the UK seems to have a go at the Great Office Bake-off! And what a great tradition this is! Pre my time on the GBBO, I loved those little bake-off events at my work place and personally I always took part! I feel it is a fabulous means to get everyone in the office from the CEO to the office support staff involved in a fun activity and its always a fun occasion to see everyone’s bakes; be it a piece of art or well…let us just call it “at least they tried” effort! Knowing me, I would always go for making healthier or free-from bakes.

In the modern age we live in we tend to snack on chocolate bars and crisps…generally the human population the world over isn’t eating the most nutritious foods when at work, so when treating ourselves with something sweet, I personally will endeavour to make it at least little bit more forgiving on the waistline… Ensure it’s packed with fibre, micronutrient dense and overall more nutritious. Free-From is very current and is the way forward…it is also different to the norm and sets you apart from the rest.

So on that note, let us get down to what are my...

Top tips of how to win an office bake off:

Sniff around your office to ascertain what your colleague’s favourite snacks/desserts are so that you can accommodate the most liked treats.
If you are trying to bake something which you haven’t attempted before, ensure that you always stick to the recipe from start to finish. Most of all make two bakes so that you can try one to ensure it tastes as you wish it to. If not – scrap and start again! Worst case scenario here stick to what you are good at as it is bound to taste GOOD!
Try to be adventurous, or at least as far as your baking talent allows for you to be, with your ingredients to impress the ‘judges’. Use good quality ingredients. Where possible, swap sugar for calorie free sweeteners or natural and unrefined sugar alternatives, which will make your baked goods taste so much better. Try using wholemeal or nut flours instead of the everyday white flour. And should the recipe allow for it- incorporate fibrous nuts, seeds or berries.
If you can’t make up your mind what to bake, then go for good old chocolate …it is the failsafe. There are few people who don’t love chocolate!
Practice, practice and once again- practice at least couple of times before you make the final bake. Oh…did I mention PRACTICE!

Ready…Steady…Bakkkkkkeeeee!

If you love baking then have a go! My key messages as a Baker myself is don’t be scared to fail, don’t be frightened of experimenting, the process of getting messy in the kitchen and the full approval of first bites from your colleagues will be the biggest reward if you pull it off! After all that...what are you waiting for…Ready…Steady…Bakkkkkkeeeee!

For more tips from someone who’s been there and done it in Bake off terms head over to Ugne Bakes or choose a recipe from our Health Hub.