Bake Off Star Ruby Bhogal Shares Baking Secrets and Favorite Foods

Ruby Bhogal, a baker and author known for her appearance on "The Great British Bake Off," has shared insights into her favorite ingredients, culinary spots, and baking techniques.

Bhogal favors "All Things Butter" for its rich, creamy taste and its commitment to supporting British farming, noting that a portion of its profits goes back to British agriculture. When it comes to baking, she identifies potato starch as a secret ingredient that can tenderize a cake's crumb and enhance moisture when substituted for some of the plain flour. This can be found in local Polish supermarkets.

Her go-to quick bake is kladdkaka, a Swedish cake described as a hybrid between a chocolate brownie, molten lava cake, and chocolate fudge cake. It requires only six ingredients and bakes in 20 minutes.

For a more indulgent experience, she highlights the cheese doughnuts at The Loch & The Tyne, a gastropub near Windsor run by Adam Handling, and recommends his lobster mac and cheese and boozy trifle.

Essential kitchen tools for Bhogal include a silicone spatula for scraping bowls thoroughly, and a Thermapen thermometer probe, which she considers a worthwhile investment for ensuring baked goods, particularly bread, are cooked correctly. "There’s no bigger heartbreak than slicing into a loaf you’ve just baked and finding it’s still doughy in the middle," she stated.

Her condiment of choice is Tabasco sauce, which she carries with her to add spice to meals. For a convenient meal, she recommends Itsu's frozen soup dumplings, which can be prepared in three minutes and enhanced with soy sauce, sriracha mayo, and spring onions.

When dining out, Bhogal's favorite New York eatery is the taco chain Los Tacos No.1, praising its fresh, authentic Mexican food. In London, she favors Ambassadors Clubhouse in Mayfair for its atmosphere and lamb chops, expressing a differing opinion on the popular Indian restaurant chain Dishoom, which she finds to be "too watered down for the Western palate."

For drinks with a view, she recalls a trip to Santorini, specifically mentioning Santo Wines for its spectacular sunset views over the caldera. Her most extravagant store cupboard item is a pot of truffle from Tartufaia, which she plans to use in pasta dishes.

Bhogal's book, "Around The World In 80 Cakes," is published by Pavilion.