The Big Birmingham Bake Off: An Honest Review

We went to The Big Birmingham Bake Off to try our hand at winning that coveted rose gold cake slicer….and here’s how it went!

If you’re a bake off fan, or just a baking fan in general then the Big Birmingham Bake is something you need to know about! They do a couple in London too but lucky us in Brum have managed to score their third venue for a day or evening of cake-filled fun!

12 Teams of 2
90 Minutes
One Winning Team
Ingredients & Instructions Provided
A New Bake Every Month
Buy Drinks to Enjoy as You Bake

Think of the technical challenge in GBBO but in real life (and without Paul Hollywood breathing down your neck!). You get 90 minutes, a sheet of instructions, measured out ingredients and and a fully stocked baking bench to create your masterpiece! Once the time is up, everyone brings forward their cakes and it’s time for the judging!

The bakes change each month and ours was a Valentine’s themed jewelled chocolate cake! A cake-pop consistency base squished together with Swiss meringue buttercream and encased in a chocolate heart shell. You get your basic instructions (and help from the master baker if you get stuck) but you can choose the flavours, colours and decorations of your cake from the ingredient station!

It makes for some really interesting combos and you feel like you have some creative freedom despite all making the same cake. We chose a classic rose and pistachio flavour combo with a white chocolate shell, but others in the group did cinnamon, double chocolate, and even rhubarb!

The time flies by SO quickly and its such fun baking together as a team. We both learnt some new skills too – I’d never used a chocolate mould or made Swiss meringue so we enjoyed that…even though we nearly ran out of time for it to set! It’s just great vibes in the tent with music playing and everyone bustling around, plus they do all your washing up for you so all you have to concentrate on is not burning your sponge!

At the end your master baker judges all the cakes and crowns a winner (we came second…we were clearly robbed because just look at that masterpiece!) and you all get to take your creations home to enjoy with a cuppa!

The Big Birmingham Bake Review

As far as things to do in Birmingham go the Big Birmingham Bake is right up there with one of my faves! With the bakes changing each month it’s something you could do again and again and I 100% want to go back. Digbeth is a pretty cool part of Birmingham these days too with loads of options for drinks and food afterwards, you can really make a day or evening of it!