Great British Bake Off icon Paul Hollywood is revered for his superlative baking skills. Yet, despite his ability to craft exceptionally fancy bakes, Paul is always keen to guide fans towards time-saving tricks in the kitchen.
The esteemed baker swears by an economical approach to create a Fraisier cake that will “impress all your guests”. This French masterpiece typically involves two tiers of Genoise sponge, simple syrup, Creme Mousseline, and luscious strawberries.
Paul’s adaptation, however, simplifies the process, utilising just cream, strawberry puree, shop-bought sponge cakes, along with fresh fruit all achievable under £4, he claimed, reports the Mirror. Describing his method, Paul explained, “You buy one of the sponges if you don’t want to bake it and then whip up cream, fold through some strawberry puree, then put a sponge on the top of that.
“You’ll end up with strawberries on the outside with a sponge base, sponge top. Loads of icing sugar on the top – it looks like a £35, £40 cake and actually it’s cost you about £4.”
Nevertheless, the actual assembly might pose more of a challenge than Paul suggests, and some sceptics amongst his TikTok audience questioned the realism of that price tag. Quips from followers included doubts, saying, “£4? That MIGHT cover the cost of the strawberries,” and queries on affordability, “Where’s he getting cream, strawberries, sugar and two sponge cakes for £4?”
While some fans expressed enthusiasm, with one commenting: “Looks delicious! going to have to try baking one!”
Paul, aged 58, started his career at his father’s bakery as a teen and rose to become head baker at several prestigious hotels. Prue Leith, the culinary icon, recently shared with the Mirror that she has gained much insight from him during their time on Bake Off.
“What always surprised me is he would often say of a soggy cake: ‘This is overbaked,'” she recounted. “And I’d say: ‘But it’s not, it’s under-baked, because it’s soft. It’s too soft.’ He’d say: ‘No, it’s got too much liquid in it and it hasn’t been able to escape, but it’s actually overbaked… the cake is not crumbling as it should.’
“You know how he scratches it with a fork? If it’s well-baked, it will still crumble like that even if it’s too wet. I do learn stuff all the time from him.
“And to watch Paul kneading something or plaiting bread, for example, is absolute magic. It’s like watching a Chinese noodle chef knitting noodles. It’s magic to watch because he’s so fast and he’s so good. So, yeah, I’ve learned a lot.”