The Great American Baking Show Cast on Boxed Cake Mix and Midwest Classics

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0:30Prue Leith:You're going to hate me for this. Uh-oh. But we don't eat much snacks, and my children never got any snacks. We don't do snacks, because snacks is what makes you fat. I mean, I'm not a big girl. Hi, and welcome to Snacks, the show where we talk to your favorite stars about their crazy food obsessions. I'm Jo Salts, the editorial director of Delish. Today, we're talking to the stars of The Great American Baking Show. Prue Leith, Casey Wilson, and Andrew Reynolds, all of whom are superstars in their own right. Let's get started. We'll be right back.

1:09Okay, first of all, I'm so excited. Individually, fans of each one of you. And wanna just say that having all three of you together is blowing my mind. Also, I'm very sorry it's so hot in here because it's nothing I can have control over. But if I start, if my face starts slowly sliding down onto my shirt just you know we've filmed this show in a tent outside we know sometimes it was hot where was it shot hell no it was shot in Pinewood in Windsor oh so you shot in England even though it's American I see so what was

1:50Prue Leith:that you're used to the tent yeah well tent is always too hot or too cold I I think that's deliberate. It's just to make it difficult for the baker. It's cruel. It's cruel. So, you know, on the hottest day of the year, that's when we do chocolate. Do you actually do that on purpose? Of course. Really? No, of course not. No, but really. I always wondered, though, because I'm like, you guys are always like, okay, you're going to do something that has to stay frozen, and it's like a million... Also, it's Celsius. I never actually know how hot it is in there. It just happens. It just happens. Every time we're dealing with chocolate, it's very, very hot.

2:25Prue Leith:sometimes it's freezing. I mean, if you're filming early in the air, it can be practically snowing outside. And we're all dressed in summer kit and absolutely freezing. But I really, so you're telling me the producers aren't doing that on purpose. Obviously, they have no control of the weather, but they can pick. It's not cool like American reality shows, you know, where they would do that on purpose. Well, that's a good question. What do you think is the major, now that you've been on it, What do you see is the major difference between the American version and the what do you feel like in the British version?

2:59They're pretty similar actually. They really are similar and that surprised me because when they first asked me if I would do the American baking show I said no because I thought it would be like all, I hadn't seen it and I thought it would be like all American competitive shows where

3:16Prue Leith:everybody sabotages everybody else. They're absolutely horrible. They're playing for the attention. They're whining each other's face. Yeah, wine. They just behave badly. And I thought, I don't want that. And they said, well, have you watched the show? And I said, no. And I watched it. And it's exactly like the British one. I think what happens is that really keen, first of all, the whole choosing process is about finding the best possible bakers. Right. And so everybody who's interested in getting on Bake Off are really interested in just showing off their baking skills and pitting their baking skills against other great bakers.

3:54Prue Leith:So they aren't in it for, well, it's just as well they're not in it for the money because there isn't any. Cake plate. Is it still a cake plate? And in fact, the prize, if you win, is, you know, you're lucky if you get an apron or a tea towel or something. Right. In fact, the British one, they're a bit better treated. you get a really naff cake stand. It's really nice. It is a nice cake stand. No, no. It's a little DIY-ish. It feels homey. It's a$10 cake stand. It's not... But they decorate it nicely. Yes. It is decorated. It does say, you know. Anyway, but that's not the point. They're there because they want to...

4:35Prue Leith:Show off. Yeah. Yes. And they want to work with other bakers and they want to learn and the whole vibe is lovely. And they're so nice. It's a great, it's another good point though. And I have to ask the Americans. Americans? Yeah. Okay, I was like, oh wait, is somebody from Canada? And I didn't look this up. Okay, just making sure. I'm just making sure. If there was a lot of money as the prize, do you think it would have been, do you think it's, is that what makes Great British Bake Off so pure? I think it does. It's just for the love of doing it. And I think that's why it's so wholesome and it's such a gentle show.

5:11And it's, I think it's just a nice show. It washes over you and no one's there to backstab or for all this money. They seem like friends.

5:20Prue Leith:And they help each other. They do help each other, which was the nicest thing to see. Like if someone was falling way behind schedule or somebody had a problem with one of the things they were making. And you know, Casey and I don't really have the skills to be helpful, but it was nice that the other bakers would then like get together and help each other. And it was really, it's very sweet to watch. Were you fans of British Bake Off before? Yeah, very much so. So what did you love about it? I mean, this was terribly exciting to get to just hang out with. I mean, Paul not so much, but really. I got a head pose.

5:54Yeah. No, Paul's great too. Yeah, he is. But no, so I mean, my first day I was so overwhelmed at like, you're in the tent, it looks like the tent. It feels like the tent. It feels like the tent. There's Paul and Prue. Everyone has accents. You, and then here we are, just. Clowning around. Clowning around. Yeah, having fun. But I do feel like that is the, it's the comic relief, I think too, of the show. So are you a baker? I'm going down there. Do you bake at home? No, I cook. Cook. But not baking. What are you known for? My partner Tuck is a very good baker. Okay. But I don't have the patience.

6:34But here's what I will say. And the best advice that I got from doing the show is something that you said, which is so simple, but something that I've never done, which is read the entire recipe before you start. Which I don't know why that never occurred to me. Never occurred to me until now. And then you get to step five and you're like, I should have, I was supposed to do this other thing. And Prue kept telling people, just like, read, take a minute, and read the whole thing. And it's really true. So I've gotten a little bit better at like, just calm down and read the recipe. It's why cooking I think is really good for kids.

7:14And it is something I use for my daughter, who I feel like is like learning reading comprehension and all that stuff. And I'm always like, you gotta read through it and handle it. What are you known for cooking wise? What's your thing? Making a mess? What am I known for? What's the thing you go to? With the kids, cuz kids are terrible. And they don't wanna eat what you make them. Right, yes. They get really hostile about things. I stumbled upon a turkey meatball recipe that the kids actually liked when Tuck and I first started dating and it was like the first win that I had that I was like so that's heavy rotation Are these turkey meatballs?

8:05Meatballs, all meatballs are delicious I mean Americans do love a meatball though too, we love We do Kasey, what are you, are you a cook or a baker? I'm not, I'm neither nor, unfortunately So what makes either one of you qualified for? Nothing, truly nothing It was really right place, right time Yeah, yeah And you know, I'm not. But maybe that placed us in a unique position to learn from these masters. But you'll do like a birthday cake or a - I'll do a box birthday cake for my kids. What's your go-to box cake? We love a box cake. Just kind of a funfetti. Yeah. Or a yellow cake, which I remember you and Paul, we were trying to explain yellow cake that's in America, and you kept asking the flavor, and we just kept saying yellow.

8:52Yes. Because it's not vanilla. Do you have boxed cake mix in Britain?

8:56Prue Leith:Well, we do have cake mixes. They tend to come in packets, not boxes. But they, I mean, I have never made one in my life. You've never made a boxed mix? I feel like there's kind of like nothing like a, there's nothing quite like a boxed mix. But maybe is that just what we're used to in America, just settling for? I mean, maybe. I think it's not like, I think the difference is, it's when you eat a box mix you're not like this tastes like homemade cake this tastes like a box mix cake yeah it has its own definitive flavor right I'm gonna give you the hot tip because I tried it and it's it's a good one yeah I did try it too yeah so you take the box cake instead of oil right use melted butter and instead of water you use milk and and it is like and it tastes like Like real cake.

9:48Prue Leith:Like real cake. Now here's another thing that's gonna - And we tell this as though we're telling people how to make a Michelin star meal with the zeal on it. But it's so exciting. But do you know the soda can one? You're gonna love this. Yeah, what's this? You take a box cake. Okay. And instead of everything else that it tells you to put in it, you just put a can of pop, as we say in the Midwest. Pop meaning like cola? Yeah. Or any kind of flavor? Any flavor. So like - Like a texture of pepper? Or like an orange? We tried a carrot cake mix with a ginger ale. And I, okay, I don't know how the science of this works.

10:23You just, it's just a one can and then the mix and it turns into cake. That is so amazing. Because this is what I will say, just as like a PSA. If you're donating food to like food pantries, that is an item that is often overlooked are cakes, like birthday cakes, right? But you can't donate the stuff that like goes in it with the egg. Which tends to be the most expensive. But you can donate a can of soda with it. And then you've got your birthday cake. How about that? So next time you're donating food to a food pantry, throw in a couple of cake mixes and a can of pop. And a can of sit back. And some pop.

11:00Did it taste good? It did.

11:01Prue Leith:And the pop just replaces whatever the liquid is. All the liquids. All the liquid and weirdly the egg? I'm not a scientist. I have a lot of questions about it. But it is sort of bad you but I don't think it's good to ask questions on this No point is just you throw it in and you just hope for the best absolutely We don't dig any deeper. No, don't you remember that line that seemed from From seal magnolias. There's like a cup of cup of cup of cup of cup of cup of which is like I'm like how a cup of flour cup of sugar cup Some cocktail cocktail with the juice. Yeah, and then you bake it and somebody I think on somebody on tick-tock did that and it It turns into a cake.

11:38Yeah. Wow. Who knows? Science. Food science, wonderful. Food science in particular. So wait, so I want to, Casey, I'm going to ask you though. You also have kids. I do. And are you, do you think you're a good snack mom? This is my, this is my question. Are you, are you guys good snack parents? Oh. This is such an eternal question. I try to be, you know, have one little thing for them, but my, my son has celiac disease. So I try to be good having the gluten-free snacks. So he has something. My daughter has celiac too. Yeah. It's hard. It's really hard. It's not easy. And also, I just found out that Haribo gummy bears have open in them.

12:12And so I'm like, you don't even know until you go to look. Yeah. And baked goods is hard to do gluten-free baked goods. Very hard. We had a contestant, Susie Essman did. Oh, she was, yeah. Susie Essman did a gluten-free cake. They're hard to make without the binding. Yeah. Are you a good snack? Were you a good snack, Mom? Did you have good snacks in your house?

12:33Prue Leith:You know, you're going to hate me for this. Uh-oh. But we don't eat much snacks, and my children never got any snacks. We don't do snacks, because snacks is what makes you fat. I mean, Americans love a snack. We do love a snack. You, if you have... No, no, I'm going to be very pompous about this, and you're all going to hate me. No. No. If you have a good breakfast and you have a good lunch and you have good supper and they're all fairly healthy and there's not too much sugar and carbs, you're gonna grow up well. If you spoil your appetite by eating stuff between meals, you're not going to enjoy your lunch unless it's full of sugar.

13:19Prue Leith:Or you won't enjoy your supper unless it's full of sugar. Preach. I'm preaching at you. You are, no, I know you're right. It is the truth, because I grew up on Slim Jims and nacho-flavored Doritos. Yeah, same. Just snacking all the time. Not great. Nutter butters. And now, and this, that's the end of this podcast. Thanks so much. We hope you've enjoyed. Oh, my God. Snacks goes out of business. So I'm going to get down right. That's a real boring now. It's so true, but do you guys, in Britain, do you have bigger lunches than dinners? Because I actually do feel like part of the problem in America with snacking is, and I have three kids.

13:57My kids all eat lunch at 10.30 in the morning because that's what lunchtime is. So when they come home at 3 o 'clock, they're starving. Or if they have sports, my kids are starving. I mean, how much could I pack them? And how much could they eat in a 35-minute lunch period, right? And so they come home and they're starving. I didn't mean to turn this into a rant about the American lunch system.

14:21Prue Leith:Do they take lunch boxes to school? They do take lunch boxes. and they, you know, and we pack what I think is a wholesome meal. But again, how much could they eat? They leave at 7 in the morning. They eat lunch at 10.30 and then they get home at 3. 10.30 is crazy. 10.30 is crazy. That's very early. And then we eat dinner at 6. I'm like, of course they're coming home hungry. I don't disagree with you. I just think it's hard to manage. And America is such a snack. is like snacks, introductions, flavors of Oreos. I mean, what are your guilty, what are your guilty snacks? So many. We do like a bagel bite.

14:59We do pizza rolls. I mean, I, even though we live in Los Angeles, I just fall back on every frozen snack food item I grew up with. Is that like, is that looked down upon in LA? I mean, I don't think we brag about it. But the kids really like it. that I'm like, guess what? We got pizza rolls. I'm trying to do protein snacks because I feel like women now are being marketed to, it's not even marketing. What is it? They're like, if you don't have 17 ,000 grams of protein, like you're going to drop dead. How much cottage cheese? What's your cottage cheese intake right now? I don't eat cottage cheese, but I try to do eggs and string cheese, but I can't get it.

15:36How much protein can we get? You can't get enough. Do you like those slim Jimmy, like ostrich? No.

15:44Prue Leith:I think you need to have more protein than carbs. Yeah. What's a what's your what do you eat in a day? What's a prude day? What's a prude day of meals? Well, I'm a bit strange because I don't normally eat breakfast. Okay. So what do you have it first thing in the morning? Coffee? Tea? Coffee and tea. How do you take your coffee? First of all, I have Tea. Okay. Tea with milk, but no sugar. Then I have a little while later I have coffee with milk and no sugar. And then at lunchtime we normally have I don't know a salad or something. It's quite light. and maybe fruit for, you know, there's always a boat of fruit around.

16:23Prue Leith:Or maybe a bit of cheese or something. But it'll be fairly light. And then at supper, because I'm normally cooking just for John, I'll cook whatever, you know, maybe it'll be a lamb stew and rice and veg. Do you decide the day of what you're going to cook or do you have a kind of planning it? I'm very good at opening the fridge and turning whatever's in there into something. That is the greatest skill of all time. That's the gift. You're so lucky you have that gift. And I love doing that. John sometimes says he's never had the same meal twice, which is not true, because he's had an awful lot of scrambled eggs in his life and omelets and stuff like that.

17:00Scrambled eggs for dinner, omelets for dinner is like one of my favorites. It is nice.

17:05Prue Leith:And especially with, you know, with prosciutto fried till it's really crispy. I mean, we're talking to a woman who cooked for the Beatles. That was the thing you told me the last time we spoke, which I feel like. So yeah, I mean, I feel like John's very lucky. And I, my sort of guilty stuff is things like I'm famous for trifle. I make a lot of trifle. What's your favorite combo? If we have friends to come and it's a family party. And it's so simple and I'm quite ashamed of it really. But on the other hand, I'm quite proud of it because I know it tastes great. but any cake that's knocking around, and I do make cakes occasionally, and people give me cakes, so I take some cake out of the freezer and I slather it with any kind of leftover jam or lemon curd or Nutella or whatever is in the fridge, in the cupboard, and then I pour lots of booze on it, any kind of booze, but you need a lot of it.

18:13Prue Leith:What's your go-to? Sherry and brandy are the best, but you know in the corner, in that cupboard, there's that half-bottles of all sorts of food. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You've brought back from holiday and you thought you'd one day use. It doesn't matter whether it's got no sugar in it, if it's sort of very dry like Kirsch or something. It doesn't matter because there's lots of jam in this recipe. So then you soak it, soak the cake. So you've got slabs of cake jammed up and then soaked, and they're in the bottom of the bowl. And then you pour, and this is the shaming bit, because I almost never make fresh custard like you're meant to, starting with egg yolks and stuff.

18:56Prue Leith:I just buy the packet stuff that I don't know that you can get in. I've never seen it in America, but it's custard in a carton. Oh, you mean like a pudding mix? Not that, not dry? it's no no it's wet it's already made it's pre-made custard and you just pour that all over you couldn't make the custard and if you've got a machine you can make it easily and then you pour you have a great thick layer of custard and then you whipped cream on top and then you put anything you like on top of it to decorate it whatever is in the cup I will put a mixture of Maltesers what do you call the bombers yes no whoppers whoppers yes um wow i like the way they exploded yes and um and glacier cherries or sultanas or or edible flowers or anything or fresh raspberries just whatever i can find lots lots of things of different colors and it i promise you it works it's delicious i'm just like why can we go now yeah that sounds delicious i would like to eat that now.

20:03Although I'm really disappointed in you, Prue, with the pre-made custard. I mean, I do feel like that might break the internet.

20:12Prue Leith:I nearly did it with the water. No, all good. We honestly, we're going to break the internet with that. And we'll be right back. This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required, compatibility and availability varies 18+.

20:48Okay, I need to know the craft services situation at this great, the American baking show. There are a lot of treats. There are a lot of treats. A lot of treats. Yeah. Yeah. But it's really nice. They have a culinary team that they'll come around and bring freshly baked things. And they're kind of fancier than... You have a full country behind the scenes cooking for you all. Yeah. And they make sort of... It's higher end snack items than we're accustomed to. Like, give me an example. Like, I remember them coming around with, like, tiny, like, tea sandwiches, like, you know, cucumber sandwiches, which I know is very common, but not for us.

21:30Prue Leith:Or little pizza pieces. Fancy chicken fingers. So good. But this is a very strange thing about, I don't know whether it's the same in America, but in England, for many, many years, the unions, the technicians and cameramen's unions were so strong, they insisted on everybody getting fully fed so you get so and it's just that habit has gone on you turn up on a location there's breakfast for everybody and it's every kind of breakfast you can have any sort of fried stuff or or anything and then all day they bring you around snacks and stuff there's there are tables with commercial snacks you know chocolate bars and and doritos and everything and packets of this which you just help yourself to Kit-Kat bars and chocolate, everything.

22:26Prue Leith:I mean, that sounds like a lot of snacks for a country that doesn't. And then there's lunch. That's what they call Noah. Percy Pig. Percy Pig. They break for lunch. There's a huge lunch, you know, sort of buffet lunch for everybody. Yeah. And then afternoon, cakes come around and stuff. And it's just crazy. But you are very disciplined. Yeah. You would often not eat lunch. Well, I don't eat anything because I'm eating cake all day. to eat cake all day. I reckon I eat, what I do is I sort of, anybody of my age knows exactly how many calories there are in everything. Because we were all brought up on, you know, what's calorie.