The Great Global Bake Off

It’s that time of year again: We’re all going baking-mad as the new series of The Great British Bake Off arrives back on our TV screens and our baking skills (and kitchens) are put to the test as we aspire to become a ‘star-baker’.

In the absence of a Mary Berry or a Paul Hollywood among the team, Lotus UK has asked their clients from around the world for their favourite baked good to create their very own Great Global Bake Off…

“On your marks, get set…BAKE!”

Brigadeiros from Brazil – LATAM Airlines Group

Fly to Brazil with TAM Airlines, part of LATAM Airlines Group, and you can sample this sweet treat. These sticky chocolate bonbons are made with condensed milk and cocoa powder rolled into balls and covered in chocolate sprinkles. They were invented in the 1940s and can still be found today across Brazil and as a mainstay at birthday parties and celebrations.

Spanish Almond Cake – Spanish Tourist Office

Almond cake is popular across Spain from Galicia’s Tarta de Santiago in the north, to Mallorca’s Mediterranean variety. The dense cake is made with almonds, lemon and sometimes cinnamon and goes perfectly with almond ice cream and a little sherry!

Karidopita – Visit Greece

A firm favourite of the team over at the Greek National Tourism Organisation, Karidopita is a Greek walnut cake with a cinnamon-infused syrup and ground cloves.  The traditional way of baking this is with powdered breadcrumbs, or galeta, rather than flour and then left to cool before ladling over the hot syrup, made with a glug of cognac. On the Ionian islands, Karidopita represents happiness and abundance – particularly when served at its best with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup!

Wild Alaska Salmon en Croute – Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute

The best way to keep a delicious fillet of Alaska sockeye salmon tasty and moist is to bake it and salmon en croute is an old favourite. By wrapping the salmon in a layer of pastry with a bit of pesto you can lock in all the flavours and the vibrant red of the wild salmon will be a real surprise when your guests cut into it. Delicious!

Baked Alaska – Travel Alaska

For an Alaskan desert, nothing is more appropriate for a bake off than…Baked Alaska! Comprising of ice cream, cake and browned meringue, this desert was named by a Parisian chef working in New York’s Delmonico’s restaurant to mark the newly-acquired American territory in 1876. Bombe Alaska is a variation which involves a splash of dark rum to flambé the cake when served.

Guernsey Gâche – Visit Guernsey

This humble fruit loaf is one of Guernsey's definitive delicacies and is perfect accompanied with a thick spread of yellow Guernsey butter, or even richer Sark butter. Gâche, pronounced Gosh, means cake in Guernésiais, the Norman language of the island, and teatime isn’t complete without a toasted slice or two. It should be made with butter and milk from the island for the full taste and mixed with sultanas, currants and orange peel.

Finnish Karelian Pasty (Karjalanpiirakka) – Visit Finland 

Originating from the region of Karelia in eastern Finland, these traditional pies have a crispy rye crust and a soft rice pudding inside. The best way to enjoy them is with real butter, often mixed with egg, spread over the hot pasties and then served as a delicious snack or for breakfast. They’re now widely eaten across the whole of Finland and neighbouring Estonia and found in most grocery stores around the country. Every Finnish family has their own unique recipe, passed down the generations, and with variations of filling, ranging from potato and buckwheat to cheese, gravlax or even slices of roast reindeer.

Torreznos de miel – Visit Andorra

Nestled on the border between France and Spain, Andorran cuisine fuses Catalan and French delicacies to create hearty, mountain fare. Torreznos de miel is one of the country’s most authentic deserts and is certain to be found in ‘bordas’, traditional stone-built mountain huts that are usually family-run. The crispy cake is essentially bread dipped in egg, fried and served with honey.

Or….Bake in the sun!

If all this baking sounds a little too much like hard work, head to Ibiza’s Playa d’en Bossa to bake in the sun instead at Ushuaїa Ibiza Beach Hotel or Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza, where international artists and world-class DJs provide the ideal ingredients for a bake off break!