By Chrissie Lewis, Account Exec.

The bake off is an absolutely fantastic idea, what better than to enjoy a yummy cake (or seven) whilst raising money for a local charity.

This thought crossed my mind again as Amy’s delicious millionaires short bread gave a boost to my Friday afternoon. This really IS a fantastic idea, I exclaimed as I dipped my fork into Anna’s delightful lemon drizzle cake. And last Friday’s oozing chocolate brownies made by Kelly, confirmed to me this was the best idea I had had in a long time…That was until it was my turn, of course.

So, we may as well rename the bake-off on my week, ‘challenge yourself to bake without any sort of equipment, whatsoever’. I realised as I walked to my local Tesco Express (not the smartest move in the first place, they don’t exactly have a wide range of baking goods), that I own no baking trays, no weighing scales, no mixing bowls, and none of the basics required in order to excel in my beloved bake off. Oh dear.

Pacing the aisles of Tesco, I considered my offices reaction to ‘angel delight’, fine cuisine if there ever was any. Or even worse, I considered buying cupcakes and ruining them slightly to give them a ‘home made’ look. I know, I look back on it with shame too, but dark times and all that.

You see, I’m not intending to steal Anna’s excuse here (ok, maybe slightly) but I’ve recently moved into a new flat and I just didn’t prepare for this level of baking at MK PR.

I eventually came to the conclusion that I would create the bake with the least amount of equipment needed: flapjack, the chocolate kind of course. I may be lacking in equipment, but I’m certainly not lacking in sense about the sweet stuff!

So I got home and my challenge began. I began pouring mixing, heating and melting a variety of ingredients (mainly guessing quantity- sorry fellow MK’ers!), and in the oven it went.

Once the right time, according the BBC recipes site (thankyou BBC), came, I left my oats to cool, smothered them with an ungodly amount of chocolate, and left them in the fridge over night.

So, Friday had arrived. I took my bake in, proud of my flapjack, even if slightly disorganised in its creation, and moreover, proud of MK PR, for raising funds and awareness for a charity who provide support to those with terminal illness.

Oh, and the results? Here they are:

Appearance
9,8,8,9

Taste
10, 9 ,8, 9

Texture
10, 9, 8,10

Not so bad after all! Sarah, I pass the challenge baton to you!