WATCH: The Guernsey Press Bake Off competition with Cobo Bakes

EVEN as a child Tim Langlois showed a talent for baking.

He entered his cakes into the North Show every year and often won prizes.

‘I have always loved baking,’ he explained. ‘I think it is the creative side of me that loves making and trying new things and with baking it is the excitement of not knowing how something will turn out when you put it in the oven.

‘Also the smell in the house is amazing.’

Tim set up his own business, Cobo Bakes, last year after being made redundant due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘I have baked on and off over the years but during lockdown last year we bubbled with some friends and I made their daughter a chocolate drip cake for her birthday. I posted it on social media and someone asked whether I would be able to make one for their mum’s birthday. I thought, “Why not?”, and made it for them.

‘After that, my wife Sarah-Jane and I were talking and we thought that maybe there is something in this and maybe it could be a good little business to run alongside my photography business, and after a chat in the car with our kids we all decided on the name Cobo Bakes.

‘We have always loved the cupcakes you can buy in London from a shop called Peggy Porschen because the flavours were amazing and they were fancy looking and were unlike others we had seen before. We thought why not have a go and make our own here?

‘When life gives you lemons, we make lemon curd.’

They started out by making small batches of six different cupcakes and delivered them for free to people in Guernsey who saw their Facebook posts and said they would like to try them.

‘All I wanted in return was feedback on the good, the bad and anything that I should change,’ said Tim.

‘We were blown away by the feedback that came back. People said they were amazing and were telling us they were the best cupcakes they had ever had. So that was it, maybe this would work. So we set up Cobo Bakes and have not looked back.

‘We decided that the cakes had to look great but the most important thing was once you had eaten them they had to leave you saying “Wow”.’

Tim and Sarah-Jane run the business from their home kitchen, which means spending more time at home as a family. It also means they have the freedom to down tools on a hot summer’s day and head to the beach as a family for the afternoon, then ice the cakes late at night when it is cooler.

‘Work/life balance has been brilliant,’ Tim admitted. ‘We did not think that being made redundant would have a positive outcome, but it certainly has.’

In the past seven months they have baked more than 10,000 cupcakes and lots of three-layer celebration cakes in all different styles.

Once the current lockdown restrictions were implemented, they came up with the idea of creating hedge bake boxes, which have proved a big hit.

‘It has been brilliant and a lovely way to bring smiles and joy to the community,’ said Tim.

‘In a time where people are not able to pop to a cafe, it has been lovely for people to come out and buy a sweet treat to make the day that bit better. You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy cupcakes.’

Tim believes that baking is the perfect lockdown activity, since it is something people can do at home, whatever the weather.

‘It is great for people to either do something they love or try something new. It is also a great stress reliever and brilliant for people to do something different. Also, at the end there is cake – and who doesn’t like cake?’

So it’s not surprising that Tim jumped at the chance to join forces with the Guernsey Press for our Bake Off competition, which launches today.

Each week Tim will choose a recipe for readers to have a go at and compete for a prize. For the first week of the challenge, he has opted for a classic vanilla cupcake recipe.

‘I chose this recipe just because it is a simple recipe that is a great place for anyone to start with. It allows all capabilities of bakers to have a go and create. Also, it is a good base recipe that you can create around, so as long as the cupcake follows the recipe, however people want to decorate or flavour the topping is up to them to get creative.’

For those who are new to baking or not very confident in the kitchen, Tim has a few tips.

‘Take it slow, read the recipe and don’t panic. Put some music on that makes you feel good and enjoy the experience. This is your time to relax and bake. It’s not scary and it is possible to create a great bake. When it comes to the icing, let the icing do the work when piping – don’t rush it.’

Tim’s all-time favourite cake is lemon cheesecake – ‘I love it. Anything with lemon is a hit with me’ – but the cakes he most enjoys baking are his raspberry ripple cupcakes. ‘They are just so tasty, with a fresh raspberry in the centre filled with our homemade raspberry sauce and topped with vanilla buttercream that has the sauce running through it – it reminds me of raspberry ripple ice cream as a child.’

Tim’s simple vanilla cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

170g margarine

170g self raising flour

170g caster sugar

3 eggs

1.5tsp baking powder

1.5tsp vanilla extract

For the buttercream:

250g unsalted butter

500g icing sugar

1tsp ground rock salt

2tsp vanilla extract

3tblsp milk

Topping:

Lots of sprinkles (or other edible decorations of your choice)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170C. Mix the margarine for two minutes by itself in a bowl and then add in all the dry ingredients followed by the wet ingredients and mix for 10/15 seconds ’til all combined.

2. Fill cupcake cases not too full with an ice cream scoop or spoon. (I use roughly about half to three quarters of an ice cream scoop)

3. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 18 minutes at 170C. When you take them out they should feel springy to the touch. Set aside to cool on a wire rack while you make the buttercream.

4. Make sure your butter is soft to the touch – if necessary, microwave for a couple of seconds until it is soft but not melted.

5. Mix the butter for 5/10 minutes by itself on a medium speed until it is really fluffy and roughly doubled in size. Then add one third of the sieved icing sugar into the bowl and mix again for two minutes. Be careful not to put the mixer on too fast as it will make a lot of mess. Then repeat this step twice for the other two thirds.

6. Once all the icing sugar has been added, add the vanilla extract and mix for a minute. Add a small amount of milk at a time to make sure it is soft and smooth (you may not need all the milk).

7. Fill your piping bag and decorate, easing the buttercream out into beautiful swirls.

8. Once iced, roll in sprinkles carefully or sprinkle on top, whichever you prefer. Or you can decorate with whatever you like to make it special.

• Watch Tim’s online tutorial at https://youtu.be/zzqzmltkCZg

• Follow on Instagram @cobo_bakes or Facebook.com/cobobakes

THE Guernsey Press has joined forces with Cobo Bakes to launch a fun weekly baking contest, open to people of all ages and abilities.

Here’s how to take part in this week’s challenge:

1. Have a go at recreating Tim’s vanilla cupcake recipe (above), or use your own recipe if you’d rather, then channel your creativity to decorate your cakes however you want.

2. Send in pictures of your creations to features@guernseypress.com or post on social media with the tag #GSYBAKEOFF

3. Tim will select the best decorated cakes out of all the entries and the winner will receive a £50 prize.

All your culinary delights will be featured in print and online next week.

Good luck!