Recently our office was blessed with a visit from legendary local baker Natalie Paull. The visit coincides with the publication of her second cookbook Beatrix Bakes: Another slice (yes, we have signed copies), and to celebrate our multi-talented staff participated in an in-house bake-off, where we trialled recipes from Paull's latest collection.

With Paull on-site to judge an array of delicious bakes including tarts, chiffon cakes, buns and pies – this was truly a taste test to relish and remember. Without further ado, these were the results along with each baker's reflection on their process.

Joe made Chocolate rum maple pecan pie

Pecan Pie is one of my favourite desserts, so I was excited to attempt it for the bake-off. It's always a tightrope, baking something for the first time. Unlike a tightrope, however, you can be completely unaware of your missteps, progressing through the recipe oblivious to the fact that you've made some fatal flaw. What I liked about the recipe and the tips and hints around baking a pie shell, was that Paull has identified the pain points and carefully guides you through the steps required to, say, avoid a leaky pie shell, or how to shore up the pastry walls to avoid collapse. This version of Pecan pie features two interlopers: dark rum and dutch cocoa. Their presence was not unwelcome, the flavour was rich and delicious. I look forward to making it again. 

Tasting notes: 'Consistency and flavour of the filling is beautiful. A gorgeous crust that's perfectly cooked with good snap and flake.'

Elke made Lemon tart

When I heard Natalie Paull would be including a lemon cream tart in her new baking book, I knew we were all in for a treat. I’m very spoilt to live with someone who makes lemon tarts occasionally, so even though I am not a confident baker and have never made one myself, two things convinced me to go out on a limb and try the recipe. The first was I assumed we would already have most of the equipment required, so it seemed a bit ridiculous not to try, and the second was that, without exception, everyone I know who has used Natalie’s recipes has raved to me, repeatedly, about their unusually user-friendly and reassuring nature.

Well, I too could now launch into a very long rave about every single thing I loved about the recipes I tried (the brisee pastry recipe is a preliminary part of the larger lemon cream tart recipe), but I’ll attempt to limit myself to saying that the whole experience was amazing. Natalie’s instructions are superb – they just work! Even when making pastry on a 38-degree day! I made the foolish mistake of not transporting my still-warm tart in its tin, and so a small crack in the pastry shell led to a wider stability issue that ultimately resulted in a crack in the lemon cream filling, but if I had followed the instructions more precisely and allowed adequate chilling time (and transported in the tin), this aesthetic crime could have been avoided!

Needless to say, I’m a full Natalie Paull/Beatrix Bakes devotee, now not only as a recipe beneficiary, but also as a recipe follower. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Natalie’s recipes is that while they are kind to the nervous baker, even the most experienced old hand in the kitchen will also be delighted by the spectacular results.

Tasting notes: 'The sheen and wobble means it is perfectly baked. This is Tarts Anon level and better than what I could do. Zinging flavour and with a perfect crust.'

Natasha made Olive oil sponge roll with one-pot passionfruit curd

I have attempted to make a rolled cake multiple times in my life. I have a zero percent success rate, for both roulade and sponge, but reading the instructions for the olive oil sponge roll with one-pot passionfruit curd gave me an ill-founded confidence. Setting the sponge batter with warmed olive oil, the detailed cool down instructions, no pre-roll – I can do this. The components of the recipe all came together super easily. The passionfruit curd was a dream, the sponge cake the easiest and tastiest recipe I’ve attempted (thank you, grassy olive oil), and the mascarpone cream tangy and light. Anyway, everything tanked when my very fast oven overbaked the sponge in under seven minutes. However, I did transform my structurally unsound cracked sheet into a delicious stack, as per Natalie’s postscript.

One day I will roll (pending oven thermometer purchase).

Tasting notes: 'I can see this is layered instead of rolled but the texture is beautiful like angels made it. Adapting it to layers is a great example of how you can save a bake. Perfect curd with a good zing. The cream is slightly over done but that easily happens on a very hot day.'

Lian made Lemon buttermilk chiffon cake

I'm a fiend for an angel food cake, so the decision to make the Lemon buttermilk chiffon cake was a no-brainer. This incredibly light and delicately fragrant cake is like a cross between a sponge cake and a meringue, and you can easily eat an enormous slice without feeling sick afterwards. I really wanted to Do Things Right, so I made sure all my ingredients were measured, weighed, and brought to room temperature before I started. My Meyer lemons were sadly still green on the tree, so I decided to use a combination of regular lemons and oranges for the zest instead. Once all the prep was done, it was actually an incredibly easy cake to make – the most difficult part was finding a bowl big enough to fold in the mountainous meringue (I ended up using a huge salad platter). Flipping the cake over onto a wine bottle was a bit nerve-wracking too, but it held throughout the night, and when I cut it out of the tin in the morning it was satisfyingly fluffy. The accompanying citrus crisps were a cinch to make with Natalie's tip for freezing the orange halves beforehand, and the zingy lemon yoghurt frosting gives the flavour a good punch (though truthfully, the cake would be just a delicious entirely by itself).

Tasting notes: 'Beautiful texture. I can see there's been a little trouble getting it out of the tin, but it's baked perfectly with no loss of height – bouncy and fluffy. The buttercream is also perfect. The crisps are also cut absolutely perfectly and have just the right amount of chew.'

Mel made Gingerspice angel food cake with milk chocolate ganache and rye streusel

In Natalie we trust: that’s what I kept telling myself as I separated 13 eggs, spent an embarrassingly long amount of time grinding spices (my equipment was limited) and watched the cake cooling upside down, willing it to not fall out of the tin. And it’s true! The bakes you see here are a true testament to just how detailed (and excellent) this book is. I’ve never made an angel food cake and was sceptical that I would be able to pull it off with my terrible oven, but I was so delighted with the results. I made the ganache and the streusel the morning of and they paired beautifully with the lightness of the cake and the warmth of the spices (even if my ganache did split slightly!).

Tasting notes: 'Perfectly baked with lots of air and height. Also a perfect crumb. Ganache is perhaps a little overheated due to the temperature. Beautiful texture and flavour with the spices coming through.'

Arthur made Orange ras el hanout sunshine buns

Much like me, these buns are a little bit fancy and need a long rest to reach their full potential. Temperature management for the dough was a bit of a challenge, keeping cold butter cold on a 35 degree day is tricky! But with a bit of fridge reshuffling to make room for the dough to rest and setting my air-con to high it came together without too much fuss. The dough needs to proof in the fridge for 24hrs, plenty of time to make the spice mix and the marmalade butter filling.

Assembling these was simple enough; they just need to be rolled up gently so the filling isn’t squished out. Then another few hours resting for us both before it was time to bake them. I took them out of the oven a little sooner than the recipe suggests as they were browning fast. After another short rest they get a generous dusting of sugar and spices. I’ll be making these again, just on a cooler day and maybe more than one batch.

Tasting notes: 'Fluffy and visually perfect. These are professionally held together. Perfectly proofed, tender and with a great dough structure. They're also perfectly spiced and with a tickling pepper.'

Judi made Flourless chocolate cake

Ever since I started going to the now-closed Beatrix cake shop (SOB!) the gloriously fudgy Flourless chocolate cake has been a favourite (amongst the other delectable treats). I was very excited to see the recipe included in Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice so of course couldn't wait to try it for our bake-off. One of the things I love about baking, apart from the end result of course, is the preparation and a clear, precise recipe (The rest is up to the cake gods!). This book has it in spades. The instructions in Another Slice are next level and impart many tips and tricks to help you on your baking journey without making it seem daunting. I found the Flourless chocolate cake a treat to make and while a stand mixer would have made it easier I had no trouble using a hand mixer. All the ingredients are weighed to exact measurements and I thought the quantity of eggs I had would be enough for the yolk weight required but had to rush out and buy more. A lesson for me was to make sure I always have eggs in reserve as the white-yolk ratio can vary wildly depending on the source. The rest of the recipe came together without a hitch and the mousse-like batter was far too tempting as I piled it into the cake tin. Its final appearance wasn't quite the same as the picture (no collapsed top) but I later learnt some handy advice from Natalie re the egg whites: on hot days they don't need to be whipped for as long and the speed can come down a notch. I can't wait to bake more from this book – ALL the recipes look amazing. 

Tasting notes: 'I can see it has a little bit of extra air; possibly overwhipped egg whites. The texture inside is perfectly baked and fudgy like a soft chocolate bar. There's a tiny bit of grittiness – this can easily happen on hot days – but the flavour is delicious.'

The final verdict?

Joint winners: Arthur's Orange ras el hanout sunshine buns and Elke's Lemon tart!

Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice is out now and can be purchased online or in-store.