S10.E09: Patisserie

[Athena]

Quote

It's the semi-final, and the remaining bakers are tested on their patisserie skills, with a domed Signature dish, a towering Technical and a display case Showstopper

Channel 4 Air Date: October 22, 2019

Netflix USA Air Date: October 25, 2019

[ShortyMac]

Poor Rosie won the technical (with upside-down choux) and really flubbed the showstopper. David is lucky, because all he did was make a cake, and it was not perfectly executed. 

Steph, Alice, and David for the final...

[pfk505]

Noel to Rosie: "Have you ever fixed a gorilla?"

Noel to Rosie: "What's the biggest animal you ever castrated?"

Noel to Rosie: "What's the smelliest thing you've come across?"

Noel was on fire tonight lol. So sad Rosie has gone. I liked her showstopper idea, just needed more flair. It's pretty obvious that they don't weigh the technical at all in the decision-making, but her exit definitely wasn't totally unwarranted. I hope Steph can pull it off next week!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Awww, so cute that everyone wore ties for Henry!

Alice's mocha, hazelnut, and orange domed tarts with espresso buttercream, mocha mousse, hazelnut praline paste, and mirror glaze were so shiny. I agreed with the judges that the inconsistent piping was the only problem.

Steph's raspberry, lemon, and white chocolate domed tarts with raspberry jelly, lemon mousse, and pate sable pastry sounded really good. Heh, I laughed when she said they looked like boobs.

David's leche flan dome with roasted rhubarb, aperitif jelly, orange pastry disc, and mirror glaze were pretty. The little blue flowers on top added a nice bit of color. Paul's advice to make nuts even smaller if they're used to decorate the outside is something I've never thought about before but it made sense.

Rosie's domed tarts with pate sable, raspberry gin and mint crème pâtissière, lemon bavarian cream, yuzu jelly, and lemon mirror glaze were so cheerful looking. Loved  the yellow color.

Although the gâteau St. Honoré is definitely a technical challenge, it's not a dessert I would ever order. There are just so many other things that I'd rather have.

Poor Rosie. Everything seemed to go wrong for her in the technical challenge - first her choux then her pastry and then her crème chiboust. I'm glad that she didn't give up though, even after she'd made three batches of choux and two batches of crème chiboust. It was quite a comeback for her to get first place after all of that!

Rosie's orange pate sable Breton clock with mini choux buns religieuse with mocha crème pâtissière, brioche tarte tropézienne with salted caramel crème, chocolate tartlets with crème pâtissière and ganache was a little messy. I didn't like how uneven the frames for the windows were. She really gave herself a challenge by making so many little desserts with multiple components. I agree that visually it wasn't really a showstopper and the theme was kind of weak.

I had mixed feelings about Alice's coral reef showstopper. I liked how she swirled blue into the bottom of her windows to simulate the ocean, but it was obvious even from a distance that the frames were uneven and there were huge gaps when she assembled it. The mirror glaze entremet cake with lemon genoise sponge, raspberry curd, lemon & honey custard, white chocolate bavarois sounded like a great flavor combination.

David's terrarium with beetroot, prune, parsnip, and apricot cake, maple syrup buttercream, chocolate soil, hazelnuts, and almonds was pretty good. The glass wasn't completely clear but I loved that instead of a plain rectangle, he put triangles in his windows and that he used different colors.

Steph's opera cake with jaconde sponge, chocolate ganache, chocolate glaze, chocolate orange maracons, orange crème au beurre, and almond brittle was very neat. I thought the mirror glaze could have been shinier though.

I didn't think anyone did an amazing job with the showstopper so I could see the judges sending any one of them home. I think if Rosie had done something that looked or tasted just a little more impressive, she wouldn't have been the one eliminated.

[Aulty]

What a roller coaster for poor Rosie but to be honest I don't really care about the finale or who wins it. Some of the charm of this show has definitely gone missing.

7 hours ago, pfk505 said:

Noel to Rosie: "What's the smelliest thing you've come across?"

That's not something I want discussed during a baking show tbh.

I am a patisserie grinch. Its all too fiddly, I don't like mousses or puff pastry. They already did a Gateau St. Honoré as a show stopper in the semi final of series 3 (sweater model James did a bicycle shaped one, remeber?).

Was Steph's cake really an opera cake?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Rosie has a nut allergy. After her elimination, she thanked the GBBO crew for dealing with it so well.

From her official exit interview:

Quote

I have a nut allergy so I was so amazed that the production team took that on board, had me in the tent and had to adapt certain practices for filming, everyone worked around it so well, the back room production team were incredible and flexible.

She also a letter which mentioned it:

Quote

The crew were incredible – they managed my nut allergy so well and kept everything safe – including the awesome NUT RUNNER - how many people can put that on a CV?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes

Signature challenge - domed tarts
Rosie's filled sablée pastry shells

Technical challenge
gâteau St. Honoré

Showstopper challenge -
Alice's save our oceans lemon, honey, white chocolate & raspberry cake
 

[Lois Sandborne]

Every week starts with them going, "Oh, I don't really know much about [mundane and ubiquitous baked good of the week]." Next week Alice is gonna say, "Oh dear, I've never really made finals before."

So sad to see Rosie go, but it really could've been anyone, and it would've been sad no matter who it was. They never would've let it be Steph, I guess, even though she struggled this week.

Loved the ties for poor Henry. It must've been really hot though for them to take them off so quickly.

I laughed at Sandi trying to be excited about domed tarts. I also laughed at rhubarb being as sweet as David gets.

Alice's mocha, hazelnut tart sounded really good, as did Steph's chocolate orange opera cake. David's box turned out prettiest, but they all seemed rather beside the point.

3 hours ago, Aulty said:

They already did a Gateau St. Honoré as a show stopper in the semi final of series 3 (sweater model James did a bicycle shaped one, remeber?).

I thought they'd done St. Honore before, but couldn't remember when. It does kind of support the idea that they're running on fumes. But I suppose it makes sense to have it as a technical too. There's a lot of skills as Mary Berry would put it. I'd rather have them repeat a challenge than, say, have them randomly build a brick oven and make pizza in it.

[TVbitch]

The boxes seemed like a waste. David's was the prettiest, but I don't think they added much to the look of the dessert. They are not meant to be eaten and didn't seem to factor much into the judging, so... why?  

[Danny Franks]

So I would say David was lucky there, because even by his own admission he was keeping things simple, and I can see why Paul was less than amazed. But I didn't imagine David would be full of invention and ambition for patisserie, given that he still refuses to bake anything with a lot of sweetness. Beetroot and parsnip? I'll pass, thanks. The stuff he makes always looks great, but I'm struggling to think of anything he's made that I'd really want to eat.

I think the editing of the technical was a bit misleading, because Rosie still having the time to complete it despite have to remake everything seemed a bit off. And despite having a fraction of the time, she makes it all better than the others? 

Noel had some good moments with everyone tonight, and while I'm sure he'll miss Rosie, he seems to have built a rapport with Steph and with Alice, who claimed she finds him funny (I'm not convinced she gets him at all, but she's too nice to say so).

The sugar cases for the showstopper were kind of pointless, given that they were all made from the same substance, and not even tried by the judges. Were they just supposed to make them as clear as possible? Is that really a baking skill?

It wasn't really surprising that Steph made the final, of course, and once it came down to the showstopper I thought Alice was a shoe-in as well. She always seems to do really well in them.

[Athena]

2 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Noel had some good moments with everyone tonight, and while I'm sure he'll miss Rosie, he seems to have built a rapport with Steph and with Alice, who claimed she finds him funny (I'm not convinced she gets him at all, but she's too nice to say so).

Ha. Whenever Alice interacts with Noel, I get the sense she is using her teacher persona a little as well. She may not get him completely but she values him in her tent as she probably does most of the boys in her classroom.

I like the look of David's precision and grown to like him overall, but that cake was on the boring side. 

Now that Henry is gone, the show has lost a valuable reaction shot person. I noticed they have been cutting to Steph's reactions when David does something. Are they trying to fake a rivalry out of that? 

Poor Rosie. I liked her more and more as the competition went, but at this stage, it could have been Alice as well. She did well. 

14 hours ago, pfk505 said:

It's pretty obvious that they don't weigh the technical at all in the decision-making, but her exit definitely wasn't totally unwarranted. I hope Steph can pull it off next week!

I think they weigh it much less than the other two. It is understandable as contestants haven't practised it and in some cases, the show has done a poor job of setting the technical challenge. The Showstopper often saves it for the contestants in trouble so it's weighed much more than the other two. At this point in the competition, they are splitting hairs so if you do a little worse than the others on the last day, you are very at risk of elimination. 

[Margo Leadbetter]

I’d say the reason they don’t give the technical as much weight as the signature and showstopper is that you go into the technical cold, but you’re supposed to practice the others. So if you screw THEM up after baking them a few times, then you really don’t have much of an excuse. The technical is probably the go-to if they need a tiebreaker, which they often don’t.

I’ll miss Rosie because she definitely grew on me, even though she was often a 78 that needed to be played back at 33 in order for me to understand her. (Did I just seriously date myself there? :D) She certainly didn’t deserve any of the crap I heard she got on social media. 

Alice is a good baker, but she’s exhausting. Not in an S4 Ruby way, but she’s such a bundle of nervous energy I feel wrung out by the end of the episode. 

I like David as a person and I think he’s a creative and meticulous baker, just not one who bakes things people actually want to eat. 

Stef/Steff/Steph is my pick. She’s been the most consistent, she’s creative, her flavors are usually very good and while she’s had her moments, she’s mostly unflappable. And while she’s no Henry (who’s tied with Tamal and sneaking up on James for my favorite contestant ever) in the personality department, she’s got a dry sense of humor that sneaks out every once in a while.

Edited October 24, 2019 by Margo Leadbetter

[ElectricBoogaloo]

7 hours ago, Margo Leadbetter said:

Stef/Steff/Steph is my pick

She spells it Steph.

[dleighg]

as far as I'm concerned, the short jokes about Sandy (and ESPECIALLY the "Sandy in a bag" riff) are really really old.

[dleighg]

On 10/23/2019 at 4:03 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Although the gâteau St. Honoré is definitely a technical challenge, it's not a dessert I would ever order.

I totally agree. Nothing really to inspire me-- just sweetness. No fruit, no chocolate, nothing special.

[dleighg]

On 10/23/2019 at 11:46 AM, Danny Franks said:

Were they just supposed to make them as clear as possible?

Prue did say "crystal clear."

[Rammchick]

Yesterday, the media made a big deal about Paul's faux pas about the Gateau St. Honore looking like "diabetes on a plate."  They said that that would be removed from future rebroadcasts, in the interest of being sensitive to diabetics, but it was still there in the US version on Netflix.  Of all the things he could have said and has said on this show, surely that wasn't all that egregious.

Edited October 25, 2019 by Rammchick

[Writing Wrongs]

2 hours ago, Rammchick said:

in the interest of being sensitive to diabetics, 

Seriously? I'm diabetic and I didn't even give it a second thought. People need to get over all this "sensitivity" crap.

[akr]

4 hours ago, dleighg said:

I totally agree. Nothing really to inspire me-- just sweetness. No fruit, no chocolate, nothing special.

Choux pastry, creme pat & puff pastry? Sounds good to me! Mostly for the choux & creme pat. It's got the most important components of a good eclair, & I can't remember the last time I had one of those, so I'd be happy. A little would go a long way, though, & the puff pastry seems incidental.

(Yes, eclairs have chocolate, but I never care about that, so long as they've got good custard in them, not whipped cream.)

[Adiba]

Poor Rosie, if she had a little more finesse in her showstopper and hadn’t dried out her tarte tropezienne, she’d have made it to the final. David’s showstopper was a little boring, imo, save for the pretty sugar case. As Paul put it, it was just “sponge on sponge on sponge.” He really didn’t show many patisserie skills, whereas Rosie attempted many in hers.

 I do like David, but his beetroot and parsnip cake didn’t look or sound very appealing to me.

I was impressed with both Steph’s and Alice’s showstoppers, though. Can’t wait to see the final!

[dleighg]

while non of the cases were edible-- David's was much prettier than Rosie's (as I recall hers was a bit wonky and not really neatly glued together). I get that it was a close call, but personally I'm glad David made it through.

[2727]

6 hours ago, Rammchick said:

Yesterday, the media made a big deal about Paul's faux pas about the Gateau St. Honore looking like "diabetes on a plate." 

Was the complaint that it wasn't funny?

Sheesh. I guess all the comments about fried foods being a heart attack on a plate are offensive to cardiac patients, too.

[LilJen]

Loved the ties for Henry, noticed them right off. Why didn’t Noel wear one?

[WatchrTina]

This show often gives me cravings but tonight it was more so than usual.  I just wanted to reach into my TV and snag a slice of Steph's Opera Cake.  She really is the leader of the pack.

I was sorry to see Rosie leave after she snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the technical challenge, but if her chou pastry was not good in the show-stopper after all she went through making it three times in the technical challenge the day before, well then, yes it was her time to go.

Now someone needs to have a talk with Noel and explain what subjects are NOT "table talk" (i.e., subjects that should not be discussed while cooking or eating.)  I am VERY grateful that Rosie did not allow him to lead her astray.

Edited October 26, 2019 by WatchrTina

[MisterGlass]

I'll miss Rosie.  It's clear why she went rather than David, but it did seem very close.  I'm glad Rosie won the technical after all her struggles.  Last episode someone commented that Rosie speeds up when she wants to be done with a conversation (for example with Noel), and that did seem to happen in this episode.

David's showstopper was odd in several ways.  I'm not sure about parsnip cake.  They are good when fried, but they have such a sharp taste in other dishes.  The cacti looked fine, but blobs of icing really seemed like the wrong kind of decoration for this.

I cringed when Alice said she was making an entremet, and when they showed her molding starfish, but she pretty much pulled it off.

Sandi got a laugh from me when she said of Paul, "Get that man a white cat."

On 10/23/2019 at 11:46 AM, Danny Franks said:

I think the editing of the technical was a bit misleading, because Rosie still having the time to complete it despite have to remake everything seemed a bit off. And despite having a fraction of the time, she makes it all better than the others? 

I think you're right, and there was another editing inconsistency in the signature round.  Part way through the round Rosie was trying to cool her mirror glaze in the freezer, and her unmolded domes were visible in the freezer.  Then in the last few moments they showed a shot of her unmolding the domes, as though everyone was doing it at the same time.

[GaT]

So glad I don't have to watch the final going "what did she say?" I finally figured out that Rosie has a vocal fry, & when you add that to her accent & the fact that she speed talks, she's indecipherable.

[CatLover74]

16 hours ago, dleighg said:

as far as I'm concerned, the short jokes about Sandy (and ESPECIALLY the "Sandy in a bag" riff) are really really old.

I totally agree.  Pretending she's in a bag this week.  Having her sleeping in a cutlery drawer last week.  It's like get some new material already.  Surely there's something or someone else out there that they can make fun of besides Sandi and her (lack of) height.

[dleighg]

7 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

The cacti looked fine, but blobs of icing really seemed like the wrong kind of decoration for this.

I've seen a number of "succulent cakes" which I understand is something of a fad, and his were not nearly as nice what's currently out there in the world.

[Bad Example]

21 hours ago, dleighg said:

I totally agree. Nothing really to inspire me-- just sweetness. No fruit, no chocolate, nothing special.

I think Paul agrees with you, too. Totally putting aside his "diabetes on a plate" comment (whatever, btw), he just didn't seem all that excited about the St. Honore at all and avoided complimenting it when he tasted it.  

[mmsourness]

Biggest laugh of the show:

Alice: I'm just making a chocolate starfish...

Rosie: (bemused side-eye, snort)

[MisterGlass]

7 hours ago, dleighg said:

I've seen a number of "succulent cakes" which I understand is something of a fad, and his were not nearly as nice what's currently out there in the world.

I was unaware of this as a thing, but see from googling that you're right, there are quite a few out there.  This article has some that are gorgeous.

[Bunnyette]

What the Telegraph thinks When did Bake Off, the cosy contest for amateurs become a cut-throat professional competition?

[leighdear]

I'm ready for the finale.  I adore all 3 of them, and unlike last season, would be just fine with any one of them taking the big prize home.  

David seems to be a little less inspired, but I guess at this point, none of them are terribly fired up with creativity all over the place.  And the technical bakes seem to be the most obscure, strange combinations of techniques and forms. 

The research staff is scraping the bottom of the culinary barrel for good recipes, despite having the entire globe to provide them.  But cheers, they keep coming up with something for them to bake. Even if nobody has ever heard of it before, even the judges!  *LOL*

[snarktini]

It's not only the repetitive short/small jokes about Sandy -- nearly all their interactions are so scripted and forced IMO. They're trying too hard. I don't dislike Sandy or Noel, but I miss the more natural, easy camaraderie of Mel & Sue. 

I don't get the appeal of the St Honore cake at all! I'm with Rosie, I don't like custardy things, period. (TBF I'm allergic to egg yolks so it's moot. I suspect I don't like eggy/custardy textures because they made me sick as a kid long before it was diagnosed.)

[magdalene]

I suspect had Rosie's final showstopper been just a bit better tasting David would have gone home. He got lucky there. I always admire his inventiveness without wanting to eat most of his baking.

My guess for winner is Steph.  Four episodes ago I thought it was Steph, David and Alice for the finale so I am feeling pretty good about my guess.

[Irlandesa]

I guess I'd actually eat a lot of what David makes.  They said it tasted like a carrot cake and I do like maple so I'm curious what it tastes like.  His box was my favorite.  I did have to roll my eyes at Paul saying that David struggled in the signature.  I seem to recall him getting a lot of compliments other than Paul thinking his nuts weren't small enough. 

On 10/23/2019 at 6:02 AM, Aulty said:

Was Steph's cake really an opera cake?

Opera cakes tend to be square or rectangular and hers was circular but otherwise, she had most of the major components--an almost sponge, french buttercream and chocolate ganache. (Usually there's some coffee syrup too but she may have replaced that with something else that better matched her flavor profile.)

[peeayebee]

9 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

I was unaware of this as a thing, but see from googling that you're right, there are quite a few out there.  This article has some that are gorgeous.

I thought David's cake was pretty nice looking, but seeing the ones from your link made his look kind of mundane. 

I really thought David was going home, but since I like him, I'm glad he's staying. I like his calm demeanor and his meticulousness. He don't look bad either.

[Lois Sandborne]

Those cakes in the linked article are beautiful. They are popular, and I've seen a lot of very pretty ones. The look of David's final result doesn't really stand up to the best examples, but I would bet that those immaculate creations took more than 4 hours to produce, and that their bakers didn't also have to make a sugar cage to plop on top.

David's been a pretty polished contestant so far, and he certainly has a style. He's good at precision and making things very attractive. I was listening to the Bake Down podcast this week or last, and Jane mentioned noticing how neat his bakes generally are, but also his work station. I agree with everyone who's unconvinced by his flavor sense though. I still think it is Steph's game to lose, but if David manages to find a way to put celery across as the next taste sensation, he could walk away with it. Alice is the dark horse.

[theatremouse]

On 10/23/2019 at 8:46 AM, Danny Franks said:

I think the editing of the technical was a bit misleading, because Rosie still having the time to complete it despite have to remake everything seemed a bit off. And despite having a fraction of the time, she makes it all better than the others? 

She at some point said she was going to remake both the choux and the puff, but then later decided she didn't actually need to redo both after all. I'm pretty sure she only remade the one. And she didn't have to make her caramel twice. Plus they had that convenient shot of Steph saying something to the effect of "I think she's more worried about running out of time than she needs to be'. It looked to me like Rosie was in a "everything is going wrong for me today" spiral and even when some of the things weren't unusable terrible - because it was more "I know it's not right" she was freaking out even more.

[chaifan]

Rosie's showstopper was lackluster.  The only thing I liked about it was her no-frills box - personally I liked the plainness of it, and I thought it showed off the skill it takes to make the clear panes better than the rest.  But everything under the box was very ho-hum.  If she had made a more impressive cake - like the opera cake - and decorated the top in a clock face, I think she would have stayed in. 

I have never been a fan of Noel.  Just as I start to warm up to him, he has an episode like this that makes me really not like him again.  And I agree with others, the Sandy is short "jokes" are lame.  I don't get the attraction of having these two on this show. 

[skipnjump]

On 10/26/2019 at 5:14 AM, CatLover74 said:

I totally agree.  Pretending she's in a bag this week.  Having her sleeping in a cutlery drawer last week.  It's like get some new material already.  Surely there's something or someone else out there that they can make fun of besides Sandi and her (lack of) height.

But yet, they had to apologize for Paul saying "diabetes on a plate" because it was offensive to diabetics.  What about EVERY week with the short jokes?  That is getting really old.  I thought Sandy and Noel were ok last season, but this season, they are awful.  And Noel has been really annoying these last few episodes - hounding the contestants.  I don't know how they just didn't tell him to bugger off.

[dleighg]

7 minutes ago, skipnjump said:

And Noel has been really annoying these last few episodes - hounding the contestants.  I don't know how they just didn't tell him to bugger off.

I agree. I loved him last season. This time around he seems just plain annoying. I think the contestants should tell him they are busy, duh.

[Kroliosis]

I don't know if Noel has to be so close to the contestants to be in the shots, but he is SO close it makes me uncomfortable.

[leighdear]

I actually love the little exchanges Noel has with the contestants.  You can see times when they catch him off guard with their humor and it surprises & delights him.  

Yeah, the Sandy-is-short thing is played out, but I adore Noel, even when he's being a bit of a pest. 

[springbarb]

The "Sandy in a bag" bit has gone on long enough that it's gone around to being funny. For a while, I was like, "Really, again?" but they've done it so much that I've just accepted it as a bit. Also, they don't seem to be trying as much to make it look even vaguely lifelike.

[meep.meep]

8 hours ago, dleighg said:

I agree. I loved him last season. This time around he seems just plain annoying. I think the contestants should tell him they are busy, duh.

Noel has yet to break anyone's work so he can get a lot worse in my opinion.  There were past seasons when you could see the fear in contestant's eyes as Sue approached.  She broke so much stuff!

No one has mentioned Steph's great line in this episode:  she's kneeling by her oven looking in and Paul Hollywood stops to observe her, and she says "it helps if you watch"

[MisterGlass]

A thought popped into my head about the Sandy-in-a-bag bit.  Does she have another show going?  Is it possible that she can't be there for some scenes, and this is what they came up with to cover?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

7 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

A thought popped into my head about the Sandy-in-a-bag bit.  Does she have another show going?  Is it possible that she can't be there for some scenes, and this is what they came up with to cover?

She's there for both days of filming each episode so I don't think that having Noel pretend she's in a bag would give her enough freedom to pop off and film something for an hour or two before returning.

[Aulty]

She does have other shows and making fun of her height seems to be a common denominator for most of them. It's getting old.

I think they film most of the time call sequences and comedy bits all in one go, probably before the bakers enter the tent or between the first two challenges. Do we think that Noel and Sandy come up with the stuff or whether they are scripted?

[Rinaldo]

9 hours ago, Aulty said:

She does have other shows and making fun of her height seems to be a common denominator for most of them. It's getting old.

It seems to be her own idea, in fact, that her height is this huge source of humor. But I agree that it's lost whatever freshness it may (possibly) once have had.