The Great Bloggers Bake Off - Week 1 Round-up

It's been a great first week of our challenge on the theme of CAKE, we've been overwhelmed with the support we've had and are truly grateful to everyone that has joined in and baked as well as tweeted, commented and shared posts.

First up was virgin baker Lianne aka GHD Queen with her luscious looking Strawberry & Vanilla Sandwich. Well done on your first bake Lianne, keep up the good work!

Next we have another sandwich cake from Sarah at The Watts Family Begins, this time with raspberries added into the batter and elderflower and mascarpone into the cream and white chocolate fingers around the edge - look how fresh those raspberries are.

If you like mint chocolate you will love the next entry from Munchies and Munchkins as it is another sandwich cake, this time infused with mint from the garden in the cake, buttercream filling and icing, and then decorated with chocolate leaves - very indulgent.

The first Angel food cake linked up came from Cat at Yellow Days, and it was definitely a good one and would put some of the GBBO entrants to shame. Cat added orange & lemon juice to the cake and decorated it with fresh cream and home made orange curd to use up some of those yolks.

The second Angel Food Cake comes from Aimee, Wallflower Girl, who has made a delicious looking cake, this time with the addition of poppy seeds and topped with a lemon icing.

Jo from Jo's Kitchen made a delicious sounding rhubarb and custard sandwich cake, topped with pink & green icing which she also used on 'gender reveal cupcakes' - you'll have to visit her sister blog to find out whether it's a boy or a girl though!

Gill from Pigling Bland has made, in her words, a very retro looking angel food cake. Like myself she topped hers off with lemon curd, but unlike me she made her own!

Next up we have another sandwich cake from Chloe at Vanilla Stitches, this time it's decorated with very impressive looking pink and white piped roses as well as a very clever hidden marzipan heart through the middle of the cake. 

Now I do love these mini sandwich cakes from Blue at Bluebirdsunshine, filled with Delia's passionfruit sponge filling - I wonder if I could fit one of those in my mouth whole!

Another lemon & poppyseed cake comes from Mary at Keynko, this time a sandwich cake and gluten free too! It looks delicious and I would never know that it was gluten free.

Our second chocolate cake this week comes from Emma at Helvetia. Emma describes the cake as a little messy looking. In my opinion there is absolutely nothing messy looking about a cake sitting in a sea of chocolate - apart from my face after I've devoured it!

Another delicious looking white chocolate and raspberry combination came in the form of a Raspberry Ripple sandwich cake with white chocolate ganache from Mummy Makes Cakes, very luxurious looking.

The further I get down this post the hungrier I get and this is one cake I wouldn't mind a slice of right now with it's delicious mascarpone, cream & blueberry filling courtesy of Denise from Snaffle's Mummy.

Next up, from my old mate Julia, a wannabe foodie , is a sandwich cake / angel food cake kind of combination - with light (butter free) sponge sandwiched with lemon syrup and curd and slathered in meringue - delicious!

Another rose infused cake is from Helen at The Good Life Mum, but this time it's an Angel Food Cake, and decorated with beautiful white chocolate ganache swirls and rose petals.

Another delicious chocolate sandwich cake was made by Emma at Cakes and Scribbles, sandwiched with both chocolate icing and chocolate cream. Emma says it's one of the best cakes she's ever made - we hope she's got the baking bug now!

Andrea from All you need is love & cake jumped in at the deep end in this first week and made an Angel Food cake topped with white chocolate cream and summer berries. If this is only half of Mary Berry's recipe it's hard to imagine how big the 10 egg version would be!

After watching The Great British Bake Off with her mum, 10 year old Miss Frugal from The Diary of a Frugal Family made this very impressive looking chocolate sandwich cake topped with chocolate chips. Well done Miss Frugal.

Jennifer from Jennifer's Little World took on the challenge with her children, and for their Summer theme day made a very colourful underwater Victoria sponge with fondant fish.

Plans for a chocolate show stopper didn't quite go to plan for Debs from Super Busy Mum when she realised that she hadn't added the cocoa powder to her sponges..she didn't let that stop her though and instead made a delicious Victoria sponge with raspberry jam and whipped cream.

Nikki from Stressy Mummy would describe her Lemon Meringue sponge cake as 'a little messy', but I would have to disagree - the sponge layers are very neat and that is the biggest meringue I have ever seen on top of a cake! 

I love nuts in cakes so this Walnut Buttermilk Blueberry cake from Multi Layer Mummy really appealed to me. Combined with whipped cream and blueberries it sounds like heaven on a plate.

Leanne from Little Life of Scrap was going to make a bannoffee sandwich cake but as it was her birthday her husband took over and made an impressive looking chocolate peanut butter chess cake for her, and it was only his 4th baking attempt ever - well done Mr Little Life of Scrap!

Debbie from Johnson Babies was determined to try something other than her usual victoria sponge cake and made her husband drive her around looking for an Angel Food Cake tin. Alas she could only find Bundt tins and despite having a little trouble getting it out of the tin it turned out great, and she even made her own lemon curd!

Karin from Cafe Bebe is a Coeliac and therefore needs to follow a gluten free diet, which can made cake baking a bit of a challenge. Her Muddy Flourless chocolate cake looks & sounds delicious though and was a big hit with her daughter.

Talented cake maker Angie from Cakes Photos Life  decided on a chocolate show stopper  for this week's challenge and it really is a show stopper covered in chocolate paste and topped with white chocolate buttercream and decorations made from more chocolate paste. 

Sarah from Sarah's Wacky World had never made a Victoria sponge before and made an excellent job, with some great looking sponges!

If you're watching your waistline then Rebecca from Here Come The Girls has the perfect cake for you..calorie free sponge cake...made from actual sponge, yes the kind that you have in your bath!

Bryony from Love Bryony has made one deliciously moist looking orange sponge cake sandwiched and covered in a white chocolate & creme fraiche frosting

The final victoria sponge of the week comes from Mrs C (Being Mrs C) who may possibly have used jam that was just too posh for her perfect sponges making the filling slide out - but we donb't cake about formalities like that - it all goes down the same way. 

An extremely impressive looking chocolate show stopper was provided by Nickki at Cookies Cakes & Bakes, with a lace chocolate collar and topped with some popular chocolates.

The last, but by no means least, Angel Food Cake, is from Lindsay at Baking, Making & Crafting, who will admit to having a little crumb in her cream, personally I don't see any problem with that, it all goes down the same way.

Something a little different was made by Emma at Crazy With Twins who made cupcakes inspired by a Victoria Sponge, and filled the centres with buttercream and jam.

There may have been a few more entries but unfortunately myself and Jenny aren't allowed to enter the linky challenge, but please don't let that stop you looking!

Anyway, the important part of the proceedings has arrived and myself and Jenny have had much difficulty deciding who would be our very first Star Baker.

We have been overwhelmed by all the entries, especially by those that have never baked a cake before and those that have never made an Angel Food Cake before, and especially 10 year old Miss Frugal and Leanne's husband who made her a fab birthday cake.

After much deliberation we have decided that Helen from The Goodlife Mum would be our Star Baker for week 1 with her elderflower and rose infused angel food cake, topped with gorgeous piped white chocolate roses.

Well done Helen, we will send you a special Star Baker badge to wear with pride on your blog!

Please go and show our #GreatBloggersBakeOff bakers some comment love, I'm sure they will appreciate it.

The next theme is bread and you will find the linky on here and my partner in crime Jenny Berry's blog which you will find here. The linky will open tomorrow and close at 8pm on Sunday and the round up will be on next Tuesday over on Jenny's blog.