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Curious Cases

The Curious Cake-Off

Curious Cases

BBC

Science

4.84.1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 September 2017

⏱️ 20 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Can chemistry help us bake the perfect cake?

Listener Helena McGinty aged 69 from Malaga in Spain asks, "'I have always used my mother's sponge cake recipe. But is there a noticeable difference in the outcome if you vary some of the ingredients, or the method?"

In this episode Hannah and Adam go head to head in a competition to create the perfect cake using the power of science.

They are aided by materials scientist Mark Miodownik, from University College London, with tips on how to combine the ideal ingredients and trusted techniques to construct a structurally sound sponge.

Jay Rayner, food critic and presenter of Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet, is on hand to judge the results. But who will emerge victorious in this messy baking battle?

Presenters: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford Producer: Michelle Martin.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

MUSIC

0:06.0

I'm Dr Adam Rutherford.

0:07.3

And I'm Dr Hannah Fry.

0:08.6

And you are going to send us your everyday mysteries.

0:11.5

And we are going to investigate them

0:13.5

using the power of science.

0:15.7

Science.

0:16.3

Science.

0:17.3

I like it.

0:18.3

MUSIC

0:21.3

Welcome back.

0:22.2

It is Series 7.

0:24.9

Series 7 of the curious cases of Rutherford.

0:28.0

Did you miss us?

0:29.5

I missed us.

0:31.2

I missed you, the listeners, the special pod listeners,

0:34.8

the ones that secretly we love a little bit more,

0:37.2

22% more than the broadcasters.

0:39.9

Yeah, absolutely right.

0:40.9

Now, in the last series, we were in the Women's Hour studio

0:44.0

and we asked you to send us in some questions

0:47.0

where we could get to eat some delicious food

...

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