The Future of Baking? Great British Bake Off Finalist Shows How to Combine Cake and Chemistry

Asynt, a global provider of innovative technologies and services for scientific research, is partnering with Great British Bake Off Finalist and Chemist, Dr Josh Smalley, to combine chemistry with cake. 

During CHEMUK, Josh will demonstrate both his culinary and chemistry skills at Asynt’s stand by creating sticky toffee pudding using Asynt’s DrySyn® range of oil-free laboratory heating blocks. 

Using regular cake batter, Josh will transfer the mixture into the DrySyn® Reaction Vial Inserts, which can be used for up to 27 parallel heated reactions at once. Subsequently, Josh will infuse cream for flavoured ganache using the DrySyn® Multi-S kit, whilst delving into the scientific underpinnings behind each step. 

The DrySyn® range is designed to offer clean, safe synthesis for single or multiple reactions in a sustainable way and allows safe and rapid temperature ramping to over 300 ºC. The low well design of DrySyn bases and inserts prevents cracking of glassware and gives excellent reaction visibility. The DrySyn heat blocks require no messy oil, have heat resistant handles and are simple to configure making the products and processes efficient and safe. 

Commenting on the demonstration, Josh said: “As a chemist by trade and avid baker, I’m extremely passionate about sharing the many ways chemistry influences our daily lives, particularly its parallels with baking, and what better way to do this than with a cake demonstration. I’ve always hoped to use my platform to showcase how exciting chemistry can be and I’m thrilled to be partnering with Asynt to bring this to life using their DrySyn heating block range. And who knows, maybe this could be the future of baking!”

Martyn Fordham, Managing Director & Head of Product Development at Asynt, said: “This is truly a unique collaboration which blends the world of chemistry and culinary arts and we can’t wait to watch the demonstration. Dr. Josh Smalley’s participation at CHEMUK with the Asynt team is a testament to our commitment to innovation, education, and sharing the joy of science.”