Well, “Dessert Week” is finally here in the Great British Bake Off.
What have they been baking all this time, I hear you ask? (Apart from that one week where Paul randomly forced them to make burgers).
Well . . . desserts, I guess. But let’s not look at it too closely, we might melt the ganache.
First up, the Signature challenge: a layered meringue cake.
Reactions to this challenge were mixed, ironically. But without Helena there, no one attempted a meringue monster. And that’s just sad . . . especially when she tweeted this today:
I’m afraid I am not allowed to reveal what my showstopper would have been, all I can tell you is that it was my goriest yet so they would have definitely sent me packing ? #GBBO
— Helena Garcia (@Helenagarciafp) October 2, 2019
Dang it.
Anyway, there was the cakiest of meringues from Henry, Eton mess from Steph, Black Forest gateau from Alice, and every single flavour imaginable from Rosie. Michael and Priya both hope to appeal to the judge’s love of booze.
David’s bake was flavoured with clove, cinnamon and star anise, which sounds a lot like licking a crunchy spice rack.
And that’s exactly what Prue thought of it.
The technical challenge
“The most complex technical the Bake Off has ever seen”. This should go well.
The bakers are tasked with making six identical layered verrines. Cue the now-all-to-familiar confusion at the ovens.
This dessert required some precision to get the layers of mango compote, coconut panna cotta and raspberry jelly just right.
Also, precision was needed to deliver the “bakes” to the judges:
The baking equivalent of an egg and spoon race. #GBBO pic.twitter.com/bRS67eJMQ3
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) October 1, 2019
After acquitting herself well in the Signature, Alice came out on top in the Technical. Though Prue made sure she knew she was merely “the best of a bad bunch”. Is this year’s contest meaner than before?
Priya’s effort was inadequately cooled, meaning the layers failed to stay separate. Following a poor performance in the Signature (and a lucky escape last week) things weren’t looking good.
The showstopper
A celebratory bombe dessert (a dessert in a spherical mould so as to resemble a cannonball, not an actual explosive device).
Michael reveals it was his birthday, presumably putting him right in the firing line along with technical winner Alice (yes, still bitter about that).
But then Paul spent an uncharitable amount of time goading Priya. Had he already made up his mind?
The bakers attempts to remove their bombes from the tins offered a little bit of drama, before Steph produced a spectacular showstopper. Would she win Star Baker for the third week in a row?
Yes, yes she would.
And it’s sadly curtains for Priya. Everyone saw that coming, but everyone pretended like they didn’t
Henry went through a bit of a wobble, but managed to pull it off in the end.
Don’t scare us like that, boy!
The bakes.
This week, the bakers tackled:
- Meringue cake. There are no meringue recipes on “The People’s Friend” website. An oversight we’ll try to address soon!
- Verrines. Yeah . . . I got nothing.
- A celebratory bombe. OK, this hasn’t been the best week for us. But the challenges are getting a little silly. Why not just keep things simple with a good ol’ cheesecake?
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Iain McDonald I am the Digital Content Editor at the “Friend”, making me responsible for managing the flow of interesting and entertaining content on the magazine’s website and social media channels.
