Our Great Bake Off Beauties

Winners of Viva!’s very own cookery competition

It’s that time of year again, when Viva!’s bakers have been busy creating an homage to the Great British Bake Off! A serious competition took place between September and December, to run alongside the show, and it came complete with tears, tantrums, baking delights and disasters

The rest of the office enjoyed a seemingly endless parade of weekly treats until the votes were in and winner and finalists chosen – and calorie counts went back to normal We’re delighted to share their top bakes with you to recreate at home – hopefully minus the sweat and tears – enjoy!

Giant Cookies with Chocolate Ganache Filling

LUCY CONSTABLE

I am Viva!’s merchandise, sales and event coordinator and have been with Viva! since 2021 I organise and coordinate all markets and festivals

Viva! attends I was inspired by Mrs Potts Chocolate House in Bristol and their iconic vegan chocolate chip cookie sandwich and had to try and give it a go!

PREP TIME 30 minutes

COOK TIME 25 minutes

CHILL TIME overnight

MAKES 10 medium cookies or 5 large cookies

Cookies l 400g plain flour l 2 tsp baking powder l 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda l 150g vegan chocolate (i used dark), chopped small l 150g vegan margarine l 75g vegetable fat

(flavourless oil or shortening) cookies l 150g caster sugar l 170g brown sugar l 1 tbsp vanilla extract l 3 tsp egg replacement powder l 3 tbsp lukewarm water

Ganache l 225g vegan chocolate, chopped l 225g full-fat tinned coconut milk

1 Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4

2 Grease 2 large baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

3 In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Stir in the chocolate pieces and set aside

4 In a separate bowl, cream together margarine, vegetable fat, caster sugar, brown sugar and vanilla Set aside

5 In a third small bowl, whisk together eggreplacement powder and lukewarm water until light and fluffy Add this frothy mixture to the bowl with the flour, then add margarine mixture and combine

6 Form dough into 20 small balls (or 10, for giant cookies) and place on baking sheets, leaving space for them to expand Bake for 11-12 minutes for the small cookies and 15-16 minutes for the big ones or until golden and soft to touch Remove from the oven and immediately whack the baking tray on the worktop to deflate the centre of the cookies Leave to cool. ganache

1 Place coconut tin in the freezer for two hours prior to making the ganache

2 Scoop out the thick white solids from the tin you can save the coconut water for another recipe

3 Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water until melted

4 Remove from the heat and whisk the melted chocolate and coconut cream together until silky smooth

5 Once combined, chill mixture in fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight to thicken into a ganache consistency assembly

1 With either a piping bag or spoon, spread ganache onto half the cookies, placing the other half on top to form a cookie sandwich.

I m an office administrator. I was inspired to make the eclairs because I’ve never seen or even heard of a vegan alternative in shops or bakeries It was a labour of love but definitely worth it in the end My recipe was inspired by Little Lighthouse Baking’s lovely recipe!

PREP TIME 1 hour & 30 minutes

COOK TIME 40 minutes

CHILL TIME 3 hours

SERVES 8-10

Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissière) l 250ml unsweetened soya milk l 2 tsp vanilla extract l Pinch of salt l 2 tbsp cornflour l 55g caster sugar l 70g scrambled oggs (cracked and Just egg will also work) l 3 tbsp vegan butter

Choux Pastry l 110g scrambled oggs (cracked and Just egg will also work) l 2 tbsp unsweetened soya milk (to mix with scrambled oggs) l 60ml water l 60ml unsweetened soya milk l 1 tsp vanilla extract l ½ tbsp caster sugar l 2 tbsp vegan butter l 60g plain flour

Chocolate Ganache l 1 x 60g bar vegan chocolate l 1½ tbsp unsweetened soya milk

Pastry cream (crème Pâtissière)

1 Make the pastry cream first so it has time to set Place a sieve over a mixing bowl and set aside.

2 In a new mixing bowl, combine the sugar, cornflour and Scrambled OGGS. Whisk until combined

3 To a large saucepan, add soya milk, vanilla extract and pinch of salt Mix to combine and simmer on a medium heat for a few minutes

4 Pour half the warm milk mix into the OGGS mixture and thoroughly combine

5 Slowly whisk in all the mixture from mixing bowl back into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture Cook on medium heat whisking continuously to thicken – until whisk streaks show

6 Turn off heat Scoop mixture from the pot into the sieve you prepared earlier Using a rubber spatula, press it through the sieve to remove lumps (scrape the outside of the sieve so as not to waste any

7 Mix in one tablespoon of butter at a time while the mixture is still warm The butter should melt and incorporate into the pastry cream.

choux Pastry

1 Mix 2 tablespoons of soya milk and Scrambled OGGS together then set aside

2 Combine the 60ml water with the soya milk, sugar, vanilla extract and butter in a saucepan on medium heat Mix until the butter dissolves then leave until starting to simmer

3 Carefully add the flour and turn the heat to low

Continue mixing until the flour is fully incorporated

The mix will thicken into a dough, almost form a ball and come off the sides of the pan easily – about 3 minutes

4 Scoop dough into a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer Press dough down to flatten and leave it to cool for a few minutes Cover with clingfilm, touching the dough so it doesn’t form a skin

5 Once dough is room temperature, add the OGGS/soya milk mixture, a few tablespoons at a time. Mix and fully incorporate each spoonful. Final consistency should barely run off a spatula and look pipe-able. If too thick, add more soya milk.

6 Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F/Gas Mark 6

7 Line a baking tray with baking paper. Scoop the choux mixture into a piping bag with a ½ inch opening or smooth tip

8 Keeping the tip close to the tray, squeeze continuously and slowly pipe a strip about 4 inches long and 1 inch wide It should make at least 8 eclairs

Wet the tip of your finger and gently flatten the little pointy tips that form on the ends from piping

9 Place tray in middle of oven and bake for about 40 minutes until golden Do not open the oven until the last few minutes of baking

10 Once cooked, turn off oven but leave the tray in for about 10 minutes with the oven door open

11 Remove tray from the oven Using a sharp small knife, make two small holes at the ends of your eclairs to allow any remaining steam to escape. Rotate the knife after inserting the tip to create the hole chocolate ganache

1 While the eclairs are baking, prepare the ganache

Put the 60g bar of vegan chocolate and soya milk in a glass bowl, place on top of a small saucepan with water, boil and once melted, set aside to cool assembly

1 Remove piping bag of pastry cream from fridge

Insert tip of the piping bag into one of the end holes of the eclair and carefully squeeze in the pastry cream You will feel the eclair expand as you fill it Wipe off any excess cream and repeat with all eclairs

2 Cover tops of eclairs with a thin layer of chocolate ganache by carefully dipping éclair into the ganache – which should be room temperature or it will run.