In April's newsletter (coming to your inbox this week) we're launching a new baking competition to keep us fueled through our virtual training. 

Competition points will be calculated based on number of cakes baked and accuracy of the bake as judged by the Windrush baker sharing the recipe. Trickier bakes = more points but harsher judging standards. There's also some bonus points for biggest disasters. Will you be crowned star baker? 

If you want a slice of the action then make sure you tag #cakeclub and Windrush tri in any photos of your bakes on Instagram or post them in the Triathlon whatsapp group. 

Here are the full recipes for bakes which aren't online.

Alex's Chocolate Cake with pistachio icing

Depending on how you like your cake, you can either fill this cake with layers of dark chocolate ganache (with an optional sprinkling of chopped pistachios on top of each layer) and half the pistachio icing recipe below or fill the cake with pistachio icing.

Decorate with chopped pistachios, chocolate flakes and/or freeze dried raspberries as you wish.

Chocolate Cake
For the cake:
* 250 ml Guinness or other dark ale
* 250 g unsalted butter
* 75 g cocoa
* 400 g caster sugar
* 142 ml sour cream
* 2 eggs
* 1 tbsp real vanilla extract
* 275 g plain flour
* 2 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 / 180oc  (reduce 10 - 20 degrees if fan assisted) butter and line a 23 cm/8 inch springform tin
2. Pour the Guinness/ale into a large wide saucepan, add the butter gradually, and heat until the butter has melted. At which time, whisk in the cocoa and sugar.
3. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the bicarb and flour.
4. Pour the cake batter into the greased, lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack as it is quite a moist cake.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream with pistachio

Ingredients
·         6 large egg whites (180g)
·         300g caster sugar
·         284g unsalted butter at room temp cut into small chunks
·         113g salted butter at room temp cut into small chunks

Instructions
1.    Important! Make sure you thoroughly clean your whisk attachment, handheld whisk, and mixer bowl (anything coming into contact with egg whites) to remove all traces of grease/oil.
2.    Place medium saucepan with 1 inch of water onto stove and heat to simmering.
3.    Separate the egg whites into mixer bowl.
4.    Add sugar to egg whites and place mixer bowl over saucepan with simmering water.
5.    Using handheld whisk, stir egg whites constantly to prevent cooking and until temperature reaches 70oC on thermometer. (If you don't have a candy thermometer, rub the egg whites between your fingers. If egg whites are very warm/hot and sugar is dissolved, you're good to go.)
6.    Attach mixing bowl to mixer and begin beating using whisk attachment. Beat egg whites until glossy, stiff peaks form and bowl is cool to the touch. Better to overwhip than underwhip at this stage!
7.    Turn mixer to lowest speed and add the butter once piece at a time, slowly. (Wait about 3 seconds between pieces.)
8.    Continue mixing on lowest speed until meringue and butter have emulsified into a silky smooth buttercream. (Mixture will look soupy and curdled at one point but be patient! It will come together, I promise! This may take 5 minutes or 15 minutes, but it will come together.)
9.    Beat in about 200 grams of pistachio paste or very finely blended pistachios (if you want some texture to the icing)

Cat's chocolate brownies

115g butter

130g plain chocolate

300g golden caster sugar

pinch of salt

1tsp vanilla essence

2 large eggs

140g plain flour

2tbsp cocoa powder 

100g white chocolate

100g milk or plain chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a brownie sized tin.

Melt the butter and 130g of plain chocolate broken into chunks in a bowl over some simmering water

Once smooth leave to cool for a few mins

Add the sugar, salt and vanilla 

Then add the eggs one at a time

Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the mixture 

Stir in the remaining chocolate broken into BIG chunks

Pour into the tin and bake for 15 mins then check the gooeyness level. They may need 5-10 mins longer but make sure you take them out when they're still nice and gooey.