The Great British Bake: Creating the perfect cake

CAKE decoration specialist Cake Angels has been busy asking the nation what makes the perfect cake.

The research revealed that one cake-type isn’t enough to please the nation, but a mixture of the classic bakes we know and love.

Zesty Lemon was named the favourite flavour, topping the lists of 26.4% of participants in the study.

Milk chocolate came a close second, with one fifth unable to resist the call of cocoa.

With the impending final episode of Channel 4’s Great British Bake Off, and new trends such as unicorn cakes and mirror glazes taking over our Instagram feeds, Cake Angels is looking to create Britain’s ‘Ideal’ Bake.

Ensuring the nation’s ‘Ideal’ treat has the correct texture shouldn’t be too hard, with a whopping 50% insisting their cakes must be moist, oozing tangy lemon juice or saucy chocolate ganache.

Crumbly sponge hardly gets a look in (17%), and not a single participant in the study favoured the Christmas fruitcake’s distinct and compact consistency.

Three layers is the choice when it comes down to structure and height per slice, with 54% claiming it’s the magic number.

Bond the layers together with sweet and velvety smooth buttercream and you’re on for a winner, with 64% of us opting for the classic filling over more indulgent slatherings of chocolate, whipped cream and fruit.

Starting with colour, more than 1 in 4 participants chose traditional white as their preferred pantone, closely followed by a pleasant pink fascia (14%) to the bake’s surface.

But it doesn’t stop there when it comes to beautifying our food, with almost half favouring their bake to be topped with a multitude of chocolate shavings (44%), professional piping (23%), and copious lashings of sprinkles (33%). Decoration, decoration, decoration.

A new contender in the baking industry, mirror glaze also proved to be a popular trend, with 22% of Brits wanting to see this professional finish applied to their dream cake.

Cake Angels has commissioned a beautiful illustration of the Nation’s favourite bake from talented artist Sophie Green, in the style of the much-loved GBBO drawings which grace our screens every Wednesday night.

Emma Tomkins, Marketing Manager at Cake Angels, said: “Baking, and decorating even more so, gives us so much opportunity to experiment and combine everything we love into one delicious mouthful!

“There are so many products out there now to give us that helping hand in the kitchen, whether a professional baker or an amateur just enjoying the experience. We may eat with our eyes but baking, decorating and eating cake is an important experience – so flavour is very important too!”