Bake Off is back and after Week 3 – bread week, my favourite – I finally feel inspired to make one of the technical challenges. So this week I tried making Paul Hollywood’s Devonshire Splits (link to original recipe here)! Definitely a yummy technical challenge though I do feel slightly guilty at how much whipped cream I have been eating…
I thought Paul’s Devonshire Splits were a really good technical, not too difficult and yummy to eat. I did cheat a little and used shop-bought strawberry jam, but I had it in the cupboard and it needed using up. Definitely makes life easier, too. I have a few little tweaks and some tips for making this recipe, so read the next small bit to see what changes I have made.
Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks to Paul’s Recipe
As far as Bake Off Technical Challenges go, these Devonshire Splits are a fairly straightforward recipe that require very “normal” ingredients and don’t take too long to make! In order to help speed up the proving time, I would recommend creating your own “proving drawer” in your oven. You can do this by placing the dough on the racks in the oven (turned off) and adding some boiling water into a tray at the bottom. This created a warm, humid environment perfect for rising dough. You can check out my German Bauernbrot recipe and video to see how I do it.
As I mentioned above, I used shop-bought strawberry jam instead of making my own as it needed using up. Make your own jam by all means, but honestly, just using jam you may already have is much easier!
Finally, the recipe calls for way too much double cream. I thought 400mL sounded excessive, and you could easily get away with only using half of that! I have changed the amount in my version of the recipe below and would recommend using 250mL. That way you’ll have a little extra, but it should still be more than enough.
More Bake Off Technical Challenges
I am absolutely obsessed with the Great British Bake Off and have challenged myself to attempt all of (or at least the ones that are “realistic” – I won’t be making pitta breads on a camp fire in the back garden!) the technical challenges from the programme! I have tried quite a few already, so make sure you check out some of the other recipes and see how I got on!
- Mary Berry’s Religieuses
- Mary Berry’s Fraisier Cake
- Paul Hollywood’s Hand-raised Chicken, Bacon and Apricot Pies
- Mary Berry’s Bakewell Tart with feathered Icing
- Paul’s Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes
- Mary Berry’s Frosted Walnut Layer Cake
- Paul Hollywood’s Cottage Loaf
- Mary Berry’s Homemade Jaffa Cakes
- Paul Hollywood’s Wagon Wheel Biscuits
- Mary Berry’s Victoria Sponge Cake
- Paul Hollywood’s Mini Pork Pies
- Mary Berry’s Viennese Whirls
- Prue’s Vegan Chocolate and Raspberry Tarts (S2UC Special)
- Pizza Star Bread (Junior Bake Off)
- Mary Berry’s Coffee and Walnut Battenberg Cake
- Paul’s Crusty White Cob
- Paul Hollywood’s Rainbow Bagels
- Prue Leith’s Malt Loaf
- Paul’s Jammy Biscuits
- Paul Hollywood’s Olive Ciabatta Bread Sticks with Homemade Tzatziki
- Prue Leith’s Sticky Toffee Puddings with Sesame Tuiles
- Prue Leith’s Prinzregententorte
- Paul Hollywood’s Baklava (22cm)
- Paul’s Caramel Biscuit Bars (Twix)
- Prue Leith’s Vegan Sausage Rolls
- Prue’s Sablé Breton Cake
- Paul Hollywood’s Sticky Belgian Buns
- Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
- Prue’s Garibaldi Biscuits with Feathered Chocolate Icing
- Paul Hollywood’s Pain au Raisins
- Paul’s Spicy Beef Tacos
- Paul Hollywood’s S’mores
- Prue Leith’s Pistachio Praline Ice Cream Cones
- Vegetable Spring Rolls
- Prue’s Vertical Chocolate, Hazelnut, and Raspberry Tarts
- Paul Hollywood’s Devonshire Splits
Paul Hollywood’s Devonshire Splits
Recipe
Ingredients (makes 8)
FOR THE DOUGH
- 335g strong white bread flour
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 25g caster sugar
- 9g dried fast-action yeast
- 25g butter, at room temperature
- 215mL full-fat milk
- A little sunflower or vegetable oil, for greasing
FOR THE JAM
- 100g strawberries
- 125g jam sugar
FOR THE CHANTILLY CREAM
- 250ml double cream, well chilled
- 15g icing sugar, sifted
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
TO FINISH
- 8 small strawberries, thinly sliced into 4
- Icing sugar, to dust
Method
- To make the dough, weight the flour into a large bowl and add the salt and sugar to one side of the bowl. Add the dried yeast to the opposite side of the bowl and mix in with the flour on that side.
- Gently warm the milk in the microwave until warm but not hot. Add the butter in with the dry ingredients alongside ¾ of the milk and use your hands to start bringing the mixture together. Gradually add more milk until you have incorporated all the flour and the mixture is slightly sticky (you may not to add all of the milk).
- Lightly oil your worktop with a flavourless oil to prevent sticking and turn the dough out onto the surface. Knead for at least 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky.
- Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm, and leave to prove until doubled in size (around 45-60 minutes). To speed up the proving process, you can use my trick of placing a tray with boiling water in the oven and placing your dough on a rack above to create a warm, moist environment. Check out my video for making Bauernbrot here if you want to see how it works.
- To make the jam, mash the strawberries in a deep saucepan and add the jam sugar. Warm over a low heat until the sugar has melted, then increase the heat and bring to the boil. Boil the jam for about 4 minutes then transfer to a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool. Alternatively, use shop-bought jam to make your life easier XD.
- Line two large baking trays with baking paper for later.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, knock it back on your worksurface (flour your surface lightly to prevent sticking if needed) by gently kneading it a few times. Then divide the dough into 8 equal parts (about 75g each).
- To shape the dough, bring the sides of each piece into the middle and turn the ball around, seam side down. Cup your hand over the ball of dough and use quick circular motions to shape the dough into a smooth ball.
- Place the dough balls onto a baking sheet leaving space between them to rise. Cover loosely with a lightly oiled piece of clingfilm and prove the dough again for around 45 minutes (until doubled in size).
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Bake the buns for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and they sound hollow when tapped underneath. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the Chantilly cream, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Then add the icing sugar and vanilla and continue whisking until it holds stiff peaks. Chill in the fridge until needed.
- Wash and pat dry 8 small strawberries. Cut off the tops and then slice into 4 thin slices.
- Use a serrated knife to cut a deep slit into the top of each bun (you may want to cut out a slight wedge). Spread some of the jam on both sides of the split, then fill with cream to the top. Use a palette knife to smooth out the cream and scrape off any excess to that it is flush with the top of the bun.
- Decorate each Devonshire Split by laying four strawberry slices across the top of the cream. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.
