IF YOU could have been stuck in any household over the past few months, Edd Kimber's would've made a very lovely haven. While the rest of us have been scrapping over who ate the last biscuit, or who forgot to put French Fancies in the online shopping basket, baker, food writer and blogger Kimber (theboywhobakes.co.uk) has been deluged in cake.
Any hint of a sweet craving and he can just "pop into the kitchen, because there's 17 different things I could have," he casually points out.
Bradford-born Kimber has been baking professionally for a decade now, since winning the first ever series of Great British Bake Off back in 2010, and has, over that time, "realised that the amount of questions you get about equipment is very high".
Most food writers or bakers, he says, overestimate what home bakers have in their cupboards – and so his latest cookbook, One Tin Bakes, only requires either a short rummage for a single version of the classic and ever popular brownie pan, or a small investment in one.
It means whatever level of baker you might be, you won't need to "go out and buy 300 different types of bakeware".
As we speak, Kimber has a tin of the book's tahini babka buns ("A modern take on a cinnamon bun") in the oven, and is just as regularly found cooking up a batch of his turtle brownies (a rye brownie with caramel, pecans and dark chocolate), or the oatmeal raisin cookie bar with a caramelised white chocolate ganache on top.
One Tin Bakes also features rather grand treats, like a giant Portuguese custard tart, a slab of an Eccles cake, and entire tray of burnt Basque cheesecake.
Kimber (35) says his time is usually spent 50 per cent in the kitchen, 50 per cent writing things up, but during the last few months of lockdown, he reckons he's "probably baked more than I ever have done in my life".
And yes, in the early days, when flour was basically gold dust (he had to "hustle" for his stash) and bananas were left in fruit bowls to deliberately gather bruises, he too got involved in the sourdough and banana bread phase – even "combining both lockdown obsessions" by using discarded sourdough starter, usually thrown away every day, to make said banana bread.
It's a trick he uses to make sourdough chocolate chip cookies too: "There's a few of those in the freezer most times, ready to be baked off at a moment's notice."
Kimber has now moved on from those original pandemic baking clichés but has continued to recipe-test throughout, all the while continuing to be aware of cutting waste. Normally, he'd be plying friends with all these surplus creations – but this hasn't been possible with all the restrictions in place.
Instead, Kimber, who lives in London, has been helping support a local restaurant via cake.
"I could tell it wasn't the most fun time for them," he says, "and I've got all this baking I can't get rid of, so most days I wander down with some of the baking, a random assortment of things."
For someone whose life revolves so much around home baking, how exactly does he feel about shop-bought cake?
"Sometimes there's nothing wrong with those because they have a real nostalgia factor. It's what we all had growing up," he says with feeling.
"When I was a kid, we always used to have Mr Kipling Battenberg. Something like that you will just always, always have a sweet spot for, because they just remind you of something, or they really take you back."
That said, any solid memories of eating a Colin the Caterpillar cake do seem to elude him.
"I've definitely had a Colin the Caterpillar cake, I must've done! It's funny because I often make my own birthday cake, which is incredibly sad and also controlling," he says with a laugh.
"I'm a baker! So I know what I like! If I wanted it, my partner would definitely make one for me, but it's one of the few times I get to bake just for me."
This year's birthday, you'll be pleased to hear, was marked with a pistachio and cherry cake. Talking of 'knowing what he likes', sweets, he says, can be incredibly personal.
"Balance is really important, and it's really interesting because people have very differing requirements for what they consider to be balanced," Kimber explains.
"Someone commented on a recipe of mine the other day, saying, 'I reduced the sugar by 50 per cent and it didn't work', and I was intrigued because I thought, 'Well yeah, of course it didn't work – you reduced the sugar by 50 per cent!'"
It turned out his reader considered it an American-style recipe, which they found too sweet – but it all comes down to an individual's interpretation of what constitutes 'too sweet'.
"I'm not a massive cupcake fan, and there's no reason for that, because if they're made well, they're delicious," muses Kimber.
"But I find a lot of times when you buy a cupcake, they're just overly sweet."
Not that he won't give them a go, though – Kimber is always willing to have a taste.
"I'm not a huge fan of chocolate and raspberry together and find that a little bit awkward flavour-wise, but I'm one of those people that will happily try anything once."
Kimber grew up baking mince pies and scones with his mum, and those scones are still "one of the things that I don't even think about making, I just do."
As One Tin Bakes goes out into the world, he hopes it can exist as a similarly ongoing and enduring guide for bakers.
"Say this is the first baking book you ever buy, you will be able to bake from it for years as you get better and better and better, and you're willing to try harder and harder things," he says, enthused.
"I like books to be able to live with you for a long time."
:: One Tin Bakes by Edd Kimber is published by Kyle Books, priced £17.99. Photography by Edd Kimber
HOW TO MAKE EDD KIMBER'S CLASSIC BIRTHDAY CAKE
Ingredients (Serves 12–16):
For the sheet cake:
170g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
320g plain flour
3tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
350g caster sugar
3 large eggs
2tsp vanilla extract
175ml sour cream
For the chocolate fudge frosting:
340g unsalted butter, at room temperature
120g icing sugar
2tbsp golden syrup or clear honey
60g cocoa powder
80ml hot water
80ml sour cream
1tsp vanilla extract
200g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids), melted and cooled
Sprinkles of your choice, to decorate
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease the baking tin and line the base with a piece of parchment paper.
2. For the cake, place the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and whisk briefly to combine. Add the butter and sugar to a separate large bowl and, using an electric mixer, beat together on medium-high speed for about five minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until fully combined before adding another. Add the vanilla and mix briefly to combine. Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and level out. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream, starting and finishing with the flour.
3. Bake for 35–40 minutes or until the cake springs back to a light touch. Leave to cool in the tin.
4. For the fudge frosting, place the butter in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat on high speed for a couple of minutes or until creamy and smooth. Add the sugar, golden syrup (or honey) and cocoa powder and beat on high speed for five minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the hot water, sour cream and vanilla to a small jug and whisk together. Add the sour cream mixture to the bowl and mix on medium speed until combined. It will look separated for a while but will come back together as a smooth frosting. Add the melted chocolate and beat briefly until smooth and silky.
5. Spread the frosting over the cake, finishing with a generous amount of sprinkles, which as far as I am concerned are mandatory. Cut into squares to serve. Store in a sealed container for up to three days.
HOW TO MAKE ESPRESSO CACAO NIB MORNING BUNS FROM ONE TIN BAKES BY EDD KIMBER
Ingredients (Makes 6):
1 batch of brioche dough (see below – made with just 75g unsalted butter)
Plain flour, for dusting
1 egg yolk, beaten, for glazing
For the coffee butter:
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1tbsp (heaped) instant espresso powder
For the coating:
100g caster sugar
1tbsp cacao nibs
1tsp instant espresso powder
For the brioche dough:
265g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
25g caster sugar
3/4tsp fine sea salt
5g fast-action dried yeast
60ml whole milk
2 large eggs
75g unsalted butter, at room temperature, diced, plus extra for greasing
NOTE: The brioche dough needs to chill overnight, so start this recipe the day before you want to bake it.
Method:
1. Make the brioche dough. Place the flour, sugar, salt and yeast into the bowl of an electric stand mixer with the dough hook attachment and mix briefly to combine. Pour in the milk and eggs and mix together to form a shaggy dough, then on low-medium speed, knead for 10-15 minutes until smooth and elastic. With the mixer still running, add the butter, a piece or two at a time, working it into the dough, then knead for a further 10-15 minutes until smooth and elastic and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Press into a flat disc, cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.
2. For the coffee butter, beat the butter in a bowl using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon until soft and creamy. Mix in the espresso powder. Draw a 20cm square on a piece of parchment paper and turn it over. Scrape the butter into the middle of the square and spread into an even layer within the lines. Fold the parchment paper over to enclose the butter and neaten with a rolling pin. Refrigerate overnight.
3. Remove the espresso butter from the refrigerator 10–15 minutes before the brioche dough to soften it slightly. Roll out the brioche dough on a lightly floured work surface into a 20 x 40cm rectangle. Place the espresso butter on one side of the dough and fold the second side up and over the butter. Pinch the seams together to enclose the butter. Gently press the dough with a rolling pin to flatten it a little before rolling out into a 20 x 50cm rectangle.
4. Fold the dough in thirds like a business letter, then wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Repeat this rolling, folding and chilling twice more, refrigerating for a final 30 minutes. Meanwhile, line the base of the baking tin with a piece of parchment paper.
5. Roll out the finished dough into an 18 x 28cm rectangle. Trim the edges and cut into six even squares. Place the buns into the prepared baking tin, cover with cling film and set aside in a warm place until the buns have almost doubled in size, about one hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F), Gas Mark 6.
7. Brush the top of the buns with the beaten egg yolk, then bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Pulse the sugar, cacao nibs and espresso powder in a food processor until finely ground.
8. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before tossing in the cacao nib sugar. Best served warm on the same day, but these buns will keep for one to two days in a sealed container.
