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The Great British Baking Show: Holidays is Netflix’s carefully curated spot for The Great British Baking Show proper’s uber-popular festive specials. In past years, we’ve seen favorites return to the tent for one last Christmas or New Years-themed hurrah, but this year, The Great British Baking Show gave fans an even bigger treat: the Derry Girls crossover episode! Yep, five of the stars of Channel 4 and Netflix’s hit Irish sitcom Derry Girls came for a load of baking fun and they brought a distinctly Irish bake to the competition. Cork Battenburg is totally a real thing and here’s everything you need to know about it!
Ever since The Great British Baking Show became a massive hit, its producers have served up special one-off episodes just for the holidays. These Christmas, New Years, and seasonal-themed episodes have traveled to the States under the title The Great British Baking Show: Holidays. Three “seasons” of these specials currently exist on Netflix, but 2020’s offerings might be the best yet because we’re finally — legally — getting to see one of the many star-studded Bake-Off episodes. Namely last year’s New Years Day special featuring Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Nicola Coughlan, Dylan Llewellyn, and Siobhán McSweeney. Better known as “The Derry Girls” (minus Louisa Harland).
The overwhelmingly Irish cast of the Northern Irish-set sitcom brought a ton of humor to the tent with their visit, but Siobhán McSweeney brought something else. Cork Battenburg. So what is Cork Battenburg? How is connected to real Battenburg cake? And is it a legit recipe? Here’s what you need to know about Cork Battenburg on The Great British Baking Show: Holidays…
WHAT IS CORK BATTENBURG ON THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW?
During an all-new episode of The Great British Baking Show: Holidays, Derry Girls star Siobhán McSweeney explains to judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith that she’s topping her Showstopper cake with a treat she grew up thinking was a traditional Battenburg cake. However, she says, it was only after she left her native Cork, Ireland that she realized that Cork Battenburg is something entirely different.
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So what is Cork Battenburg anyway?
Although a lot of my family hails from Cork, I myself had to do a little research. No, I didn’t consult a medium to ask my long-deceased Papa if he grew up eating Cork Battenburg. I went to a local Cork publication for the facts.
YayCork.ie devoted a whole piece to McSweeney’s efforts on the show and explained that while the traditional square Battenburg was first created for the 1884 wedding of Princess Victoria to the Prince of Battenburg, Cork has long done something…different. According to YayCork.ie, the yellow and chocolate triangle sponge is “all thanks to Thompson Bakery, which churned out the best traditional confectionery on MacCurtain street for generations. When Thompsons closed, Old Mill Confectionery took up the mantle in 1984, sticking with the unique triangular shape their Cork customers knew and loved.”
Old Mill still sells pre-packaged versions of McSweeney’s Battenburg cake in local Cork grocery stores. Unfortunately, uh, Old Mill Confectionary is still working on their home page.
