Within the lengthy and albeit relentless historical past of humankind as we all know it, there are some things which can be sure: all of us die, there is no such thing as a escaping the tax man, and sooner or later in a season of The Nice British Bake Off, a rushed contestant will wave a baking sheet over a cake so as to get it to chill it quicker. Regardless of the season, irrespective of the baker’s ability stage, irrespective of the model of cake, there’ll inevitably be a delirious scramble to chill a cake by way of the rate of a baking sheet and the sheer energy of elbow grease.
At residence, away from the stress of Noel Fielding’s time calls, there’s not often a must decrease a cake’s temperature in beneath 20 minutes. However on Bake Off, the place time is as valuable as a handshake from a hater, the bakers would have you ever imagine that waving a cookie sheet over a dessert is a robust and enigmatic type of witchcraft. The baking sheet waving trick has develop into such a staple of Bake Off lore that on the primary episode of Season 10 (objectively among the best of all of the seasons), when Michael Chakraverty sees Dan Chambers flapping a sheet over his fruitcake, he responds in awe, “He’s doing the factor! He’s doing the factor! Does it work?”
“No,” Chambers says, sounding hopeless. And but, he persists.
Like several one who is hopelessly dedicated to Bake Off, sure issues in regards to the present plague me — Why on earth do they not simply allow them to change garments between day one and day two? Why is Paul so Paul? When will the reign of black forest gâteau finish? — however sooner or later, I couldn’t let go of the truth that the sheet-pan waving factor was all over the place. Everybody does it so that you’d need to assume it really works — however does everybody do it as a result of they’ve seen everybody else do it in earlier seasons?
The one method to discover out was by way of a extremely unscientific trial.
First, a management. It wouldn’t be an episode of Bake Off and not using a genoise sponge and Italian meringue buttercream, so for my first batch, I made each as regular. When the sponge had absolutely baked by way of, I eliminated it from the oven, let it cool within the tin for six or seven minutes, popped it from the springform onto a cooling rack, and caught a ThermoWorks probe thermometer with a temperature alarm immediately into the middle. I watched patiently because it cooled, aiming for it to settle someplace between 70 and 75 levels throughout the hour. I saved watching. And saved hoping. And saved watching some extra.
I used to be gobsmacked to study that, with none intervention, it took my genoise sponge almost two full hours to chill. Think about a Bake Off contestant ready that lengthy in a steaming scorching tent within the useless of humid British summer time for a cake to chill earlier than stacking it excessive with varied sorts of buttercream, tuile, meringue kisses, and tempered chocolate. There was no approach that might be attainable given the time constraints. However would the cookie sheet trick save me even an additional 20, even 10 minutes of time? I used to be skeptical.
For the experiment, I baked the very same genoise sponge, at the very same oven temperature, even pulling up a brief stool to the window of my oven to look at its progress, earlier than overheating and losing interest and deciding this was one transfer that Bake-Off contestants are motivated to do out of crazed, irrational desperation. (No offense, guys, however watching your bake is a waste of already valuable time.) When the timer went off, I stood the new cake straight on prime of a can, stripped it of its springform collar, flipped it onto a cooling rack, jabbed the thermometer probe in its heart, and instantly started fanning it with a baking sheet like a berserk particular person.
And what are you aware, one thing superb occurred. Inside seconds, the temperature on the thermometer started to quickly lower whereas I furiously waved the baking sheet from a foot away. The cake temperature had began at 205 levels, and whereas I huffed and puffed and waved, it dropped quickly to an unbelievable 139 levels because of the sheer drive of my dedication. That’s a lower of 66 levels in 10 minutes! In comparison with my first cake’s drop of 132 levels over two excruciating lengthy hours, that felt like nothing in need of a miracle.
Sweating and exhausted, I made a decision that was sufficient — and way over Bake Off’s contestants would have time to do anyway — and switched to a different widespread trick employed by the baking present’s rivals. I slid the cake into my freezer, dangling the thermometer probe — nonetheless suck within the heart — out the door. Thirty minutes later, my cake had reached the very same temperature as my management cake. My second genoise sponge was cooled within the third of the time it took for my first cake, and able to be iced with what I admit was pretty shitty Italian buttercream. All these Bake Off contestants waving baking sheets over their truffles weren’t simply wildly hopeful, they have been geniuses.
Within the newest episode of this season, Bread Week, self-taught Slovenian baker Nelly waves a diminutive spherical paddle at her plaited wreath through the technical problem — and (spoiler alert) locations in first. The judges significantly praised her loaf’s “pretty texture”: We’re keen to guess that Nelly’s little cooldown wave completely gave her a leg up.
