Luis shares his top tips for Pie Vs Cake!

Do you fancy your chances in our Pie Vs Cake competition? We are once again inviting visitors to take part in their own bake off and put their skills to the test! Choose Pie or Cake and bring your creation along on the day to be scrutinised by our guest chefs and win a hamper!

We asked Luis Troyano of the Great British Bake Off to share his tips with you:

• A cake should be really moist, you could always brush a little flavoured syrup onto the sponges for extra oomph!
• Every bake should taste as good as it looks, flavour always comes first.
• The perfect pie has crisp pastry. Bake it on a hot stone to prevent the dreaded soggy bottom!
• Let your pastry come to room temperature for an hour before rolling for perfect results.
• A pie’s filling should be crammed with chunky ingredients and a thick sauce.
• Go the extra mile and take a little time to decorate the top of your pie with the pastry leftovers.
• Always make the bake unique to you, originality is the key to winning.
• If the top of your pie is getting a little too dark in the oven towards the end of baking just rest a piece of foil on it to stop it browning further.
• Make your cake look beautiful and grab the judges attention! We eat with our eyes first.
• For perfect cake sponges, bake them on the bottom rack of your oven at 150c fan. They’ll take a little longer but you’ll get a much better result.
• Your cake is done when a skewer comes out clean and it’s just pulling away from the edges slightly.
• Decorate your cake with natural ingredients like fruit or even edible flowers, they will look and taste amazing.
• Don’t forget a pie can be sweet as well as savoury!
• Make your pie filling well in advance and let it cool before using it.
• For the perfect buttercream, whip it for at least 10 minutes until it doesn’t feel grainy.
• Try using natural extracts to flavour your buttercream for great tasty results.
• Make your cake stand out from the crowd, try making something the judges haven’t seen before.
• Great presentation always helps. A cake stand or nice plate makes a difference.
• You can make your cake layers well in advance. Wrap them in cling film and freeze them.
• Biggest isn’t always best, small and perfectly formed is great too!