S11.E07: 1980s Week

[Athena]

Quote

The signature challenge features a classic quiche, while the technical round requires the bakers to master a popular retro sweet treat. For their final showstopper task, the contestants must keep their cool while preparing an ice cream cake before judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood pick this week's star baker and decide who will be leaving the tent.

 

[Aulty]

Its almost amusing that this is the season where week in, week out, the bakers are the architects of their own doom by overcomplicating stuff. You can't save yourself to often with a complicated but rubbish bake. Seems as if planning bakes should include a SWOT analysis.

Hermine did so well this week by doing straight forward things well. Paul probably would have given her a handshake if her pastry wasn't slightly underbaked - you can see he really wanted to 😉

Again, very little between Lottie and Laura. It was a bit annoying that Noel pointed out that Lottie has been in the bottom a few times already before judging.

The judges were spot on about using brownies and fruit cake in an ice cream cake - they are going to be hard as rocks. The Tiramisu cake looked tasty.

Again: CHEST FREEZERS!! (I don't think a show about home bakers need blast freezers - but working chest freezers would be a big help for challenges like those)

Finger Doughnuts FTW!

 

[ShortyMac]

Nooooooooooo, Lottie!!!!!!!!!!!! She could have maybe saved herself if the flavors of her showstopper were better. Boo, hiss!!!!!!! 

[Lois Sandborne]

I'm heartbroken.

But at least it's offset by Hermine finally winning star baker.

I like the ice cream cake challenge. Hermine's, Marc's, and Peter's were beautiful. And I agree a big unsaid part of the challenge was knowing what would freeze well and how to pull it off. I know from experience it's quite a feat to get frozen ice cream and tender cake to slice up in one smooth form like in Marc's cake. He really did a great job. Also wow, lol haven't thought about Vienetta in 30 years.

These finger donut things reminded me a lot of the iced buns bakers had to make a couple of times in the old days. Are they different?

[Christina]

Did Prue have a cold or a touch of laryngitis this week? Her voice was squealing to me and she isn't normally that bad. I also noticed that she seemed to talk more, but thought it may be because her voice was so irritating. (I have hearing loss and sometimes voices take an unpleasant pitch on video or audio but are fine in person.)

When they were joking around about deep frying in the heat, I wondered why they didn't have them do the technical and showstopper on day two like they did once before. It was so hot that after the first bake, they called it quits for the day. Then, Paul said something about day two was expected to be hotter, and I figured out why. 

I'm pleased that they didn't hold the look of the ice cream cakes against them, since that was so far out of their control in the tent environment with the equipment provided. The flavor and things like the brownies are enough to base a judgment on, in my opinion. Even with the technical, Prue commented on something about one of the fillings and Paul said he wouldn't hold it against them because of the heat in the tent.

I'm sorry to see Lottie go because I liked her as a cook, just hated her hair always hanging in her face. Other than that, quiche and donuts for 80s week? I feel like I live in an alternate universe because those are not anything I would consider 1980s. Although, I am American and was born in the 70s, so perspective differs a bit. I could sing along with Matt, though. 

[Aulty]

1 hour ago, Lois Sandborne said:

These finger donut things reminded me a lot of the iced buns bakers had to make a couple of times in the old days. Are they different?

Iced buns are baked, finger doughnuts are deep fried. Even though one had chantilly and the other creme mousseline, the flavours are very similar - as, I think, is the dough base.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Usually it ends up being blazing hot during chocolate week, but of course it ended up being the third hottest day on record when they had to make ice cream cakes. I'm glad that the judges were very forgiving of the way the ice cream cakes ended up looking. It was so hot that just assembling the cakes was making some of them melt already.

I know that stress and heat can make you lose your concentration, but I cringed when Laura realized that she hadn't pushed the chill button on her ice cream machine. GURL. I feel bad for whoever had to clean that mess out of the freezer she was using. What a disaster.

I agreed when the judges chastised various contestants for using brownies and fruit in their ice cream. You really have to think about what is going to freeze and how hard it's going to be. Coldstone always has gummi bears and gummi worms as mix in options but I would never choose them because who wants to gnaw through a cold hard gummi bear while eating ice cream? That's the kind of thing you have to think about. If you're going to have brownies, they have to be small brownie chunks, not a whole fat layer of brownies. The same goes for fruit because some get a really icy texture once they're frozen. And most fruit gets really hard when it's frozen which I don't find pleasant to chew.

I'd never heard of finger donuts before, but a donut with cream and jam? Sounds good to me! I thought they would be filled through a hole like jelly donuts so I was surprised when I saw that they were just sliced down the top. Dave's were so dark that they looked like baked potatoes when he took the out of the fryer.

I love quiche so I learned to make it when I was in middle school. I never considered it to be an 80s specific food though. I try to keep an open mind when the bakers describe what they're going to make but I had to agree with Prue when she seemed very skeptical about putting eggs into the custard. How would you be able to differentiate between the two?

Yay for Hermine finally winning star baker!

ETA: And now we know that Prue hates baked beans. Future contestants, take note!

Edited November 4, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes

Signature challenge: quiches
Hermine's salmon and leek quiches/spinach and mushroom quiches

Technical challenge
jam and custard doughnuts

Showstopper challenge: ice cream cakes
Marc's retro ice cream parlour cake
Peter's Christmas cake

Lottie's exit interview

[Corgi-ears]

5 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I agreed when the judges chastised various contestants for using brownies and fruit in their ice cream. You really have to think about what is going to freeze and how hard it's going to be.

Yes, but it's not like it's impossible to have frozen brownies taste good:

[Danny Franks]

Dammit, that sucks. Lottie was my favourite. I love that she took all her travails and even her final elimination with that sardonic humour and a smile. Seeing her crying at the end was actually shocking, then the fact that she talked about missing the others but not about having to leave the competition was really sweet. But as soon as she talked about having the ice cream moulded on the outside of the cake, I figured she'd be in trouble.

The theme this week was... rubbish. Quiches, donuts and an ice cream cake? It feels like they're really scraping the barrel for new themes, because 80s baking really isn't a thing that anyone would recognise.

Seeing how hot it was in the tent, with all the bakers sweating through their clothes (or, in Lottie's case, someone else's clothes) was unpleasant. After twelve years, they're still incapable of getting any kind of air conditioning to make the tent bearable? There have been a few days in the UK this summer that were over 30 degrees Celsius and asking people to work in a plastic tent, with ovens and deep fat fryers, is borderline dangerous if you ask me.

Hermine was a deserved star baker. It was immediately obvious just from looking at them that she'd nailed the technical, and then her showstopper looked really good.

[Christina]

5 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

After twelve years, they're still incapable of getting any kind of air conditioning to make the tent bearable?

Apparently, the air conditioners are too loud and drown out the sound. There have been articles about it and how they are unable to make it work.

[Cactus]

So, let me get this straight. Prue says she hates baked beans and Paul tells her she has to be open-minded about it, but he hates gherkins and Lottie and Mark removed them from their steamed buns. Right.

Edited November 5, 2020 by Cactus

[ElectricBoogaloo]

12 hours ago, Corgi-ears said:

Yes, but it's not like it's impossible to have frozen brownies taste good:

That's why I said in my earlier post that if you're going to include brownies in your ice cream, they have to be in small chunks, not a giant layer of frozen brownies. You can incorporate tastes and ingredients without serving people a cake that has an entire rock solid frozen sheet of brownies. That was just a poor decision on Laura's part. She would have been better off making a chocolate cake that had a slightly thicker/fudgier texture instead of making actual brownies.

11 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

as soon as she talked about having the ice cream moulded on the outside of the cake, I figured she'd be in trouble.

It's definitely doable to use ice cream as the outside layer of frosting (Baskin Robbins does it for their ice cream cakes and they're awesome!) but it was just way too hot to pull that off. Unfortunately, I don't know how much she would have been able to adapt her recipe for the heat since they have to submit their list of ingredients in advance. She probably could have scrounged up enough extra sugar and butter to make a simple buttercream icing but considering how hot it was in the tent (35C/95F), I'm not sure how much longer it would have lasted.

Quote

Seeing how hot it was in the tent, with all the bakers sweating through their clothes (or, in Lottie's case, someone else's clothes) was unpleasant.

Most of the wet clothing seen on the bakers wasn't from their sweat seeping through. They all had wet towels hanging around their necks to keep cool. The moisture from their towels ended up all over the fronts of their shirts and aprons.

[Adiba]

14 hours ago, Cactus said:

So, let me get this straight. Prue says she hates baked beans and Paul tells her she has to be open-minded about it, but he hates gherkins and Lottie and Mark removed them from their steamed buns. Right.

I'm gonna say something (slightly) blasphemous here--there should be three judges, not just two--especially now that Mary Berry is no longer a judge. Paul Hollywood's star power has increased over the duration of the show and it seems like it's mostly a one judge show. Sure, Prue states her opinions and makes her snide comments, but I think Hollywood rules the day. YMMV

[Danny Franks]

7 hours ago, Adiba said:

I'm gonna say something (slightly) blasphemous here--there should be three judges, not just two--especially now that Mary Berry is no longer a judge. Paul Hollywood's star power has increased over the duration of the show and it seems like it's mostly a one judge show. Sure, Prue states her opinions and makes her snide comments, but I think Hollywood rules the day. YMMV

It's definitely the Paul Hollywood show. I imagine all the final decisions fall to him, with whatever input from Prue he's happy to take. Prue rarely has anything constructive to say and her catchphrase "not your best" is the most banal, pointless addendum ever to what Paul tells the contestants.

Rather than have three judges, they might as well just have Paul on his own (which he's done at least once, when Prue wasn't well) and probably would if they didn't want some kind of good cop/bad cop contrast to the judging.

[skipnjump]

I admit I think of quiche as being from the 1980s.  I remember the book "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche" was big in the early 80s.  Not sure about ice cream cakes and doughnuts though. 

[TVbitch]

On 11/3/2020 at 2:22 PM, Aulty said:

Again, very little between Lottie and Laura. It was a bit annoying that Noel pointed out that Lottie has been in the bottom a few times already before judging.

Maybe Noel was jealous cuz Lottie does eye-liner better than he.  : D

Actually I thought Noel was trying to sway the judges toward Laura, as he pointed out how she has already come very close to being eliminated several times. 

I think GBBO needs to accept global warming and spring for some quiet air conditioners! 

[krankydoodle]

I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention because I was sure Dave would be the one going home considering his performance in all 3 challenges. I know he's done well in the past, but even their praise of his tiramisu cake in the showstopper didn't seem very enthusiastic. I was surprised he went ahead with piping ice cream on top of his cake knowing how hot it was and after being warned about it.

Noel's bluntness with Laura when he said she really might be going home after the ice cream maker fail was sort of refreshing, but I did feel bad for her. She seems sweet and she held it together well considering the problems she was having.

[AZChristian]

Just started to watch it.  That opening was PHENOMENAL!!!! "E.T. bake cake."

[BradyB66]

5 hours ago, skipnjump said:

I admit I think of quiche as being from the 1980s.  I remember the book "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche" was big in the early 80s.  Not sure about ice cream cakes and doughnuts though. 

My first job was at Carvel in 1982 and I spent the entire summer making ice cream cakes because EVERYONE was using them for parties.  I did wedding cakes, shower cakes, birthday cakes, you name it.  So I was not surprised that ice cream cake was the showstopper.  Never heard of finger donuts, though.

I was so disappointed that no one made the joke about how real men do eat quiche, but maybe the book didn't make it to the UK.

[dleighg]

On 11/4/2020 at 11:25 AM, Danny Franks said:

The theme this week was... rubbish. Quiches, donuts and an ice cream cake? It feels like they're really scraping the barrel for new themes, because 80s baking really isn't a thing that anyone would recognise.

I agree. And I've never heard of, or seen, a "finger donut." I'm American though. Was that a British thing? And I was a 20-something single in the 80s and certainly never thought "oh I want an ice cream cake for my birthday!" Tiramisu, yes. Ice cream cake-- that's what you buy at Carvel for your kid's birthday.

[dleighg]

On 11/3/2020 at 4:22 PM, Aulty said:

Again: CHEST FREEZERS!!

Just curious-- why? Are they colder? My kitchen freezer is 0F, as is my extra stand-alone freezer.

[Adiba]

Those finger doughnuts looked very similar to the iced buns they did in Nadiya’s season, only deep-fried. 

If Laura hadn’t forgotten to turn on the freeze button on her machine, she wouldn’t have had so much trouble getting her cake to set. Also, she could have done a chocolate cookie base instead of brownie— that would have worked better. Lottie’s was a mess— she made a bigger mistake than Laura, imo.

And now I want to have quiche— haven’t had it in a long while and do enjoy a good one.

[Aulty]

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

Just curious-- why? Are they colder? My kitchen freezer is 0F, as is my extra stand-alone freezer.

They are not colder, but they contain the cold air better. The cold air inside a freezer is like a liquid. When you open a cupboard freezer the cold air pours out. If you open and close it a lot or keep it open for minutes, especially if you keep the door open to work in a cake in an otherwise empty freezer, the temperature inside rises and it becomes really inefficient.

If you open a chestfreezer the cold air is contained like water in a bucket and while there is some dissipation on the surface, they are much more efficient (many supermarkets still have those huge chest freezers without lids in their frozen section). I think it would also be easier for bakers to continue working on their cakes because they are a bit roomier than those tiny units they have atm.

They went out of fashion as household appliances though because cupboard feezers, especially the big ones with drawers, are easier to organise.

 

[Crs97]

As sad as I was to see Lottie leave, I was primed to call shenanigans if Laura was voted out after Noel mentioned that she’s had trouble for several weeks.  It has been made clear so many times that they focus only on the current week, and they had nothing good to say about Lottie’s showstopper.  At least Laura’s tasted pretty good.  If suddenly Laura had to leave due to an over-all consideration, I would have been disappointed so well-done show even though I am so sad about it.

  I was thrilled for Hermine, but in what world did Mark leapfrog Peter to be in consideration?  They loved his showstopper, and he came second in technical.

I think they have to have two judges to mitigate the accusation of favoritism.

[Kohola3]

15 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

As sad as I was to see Lottie leave, I was primed to call shenanigans if Laura was voted out after Noel mentioned that she’s had trouble for several weeks.  

Noel and his idiot sidekick need to shut the heck up.

[leighdear]

I felt that Lottie was more innovative and creative than Laura.  Laura's plan was to make an ice cream cake that looked like cake and ice cream. Lottie's plan was to make an ice cream cake that looked like a mix tape, one of the staples of teenage life in the 1980's.  She actually THOUGHT about the challenge parameters and attempted something unique.  

Lottie wuz robbed. 

[Ellaria]

1 hour ago, Kohola3 said:

Noel and his idiot sidekick need to shut the heck up.

Agree. I don’t find them entertaining this season, particularly the opening skits. Noah is annoying and intrusive. 

On 11/4/2020 at 4:47 PM, Christina said:

Apparently, the air conditioners are too loud and drown out the sound. There have been articles about it and how they are unable to make it work.

I’ve heard this before. Sigh! There *must* be some way to cool down those tents during filming. It is ridiculous to have them use deep fryers and bake ice cream cakes when it is a zillion degrees in that tent. It defeats the entire purpose of a baking contest when the end product cannot be judged properly because it’s too hot. I find it hard to believe that no alternative exists.

Getting tired of Prue’s unhelpful comments like “it doesn’t look good.”

Good for Hermine. She managed to keep it together in the heat. Sorry to see Lottie go. She was a delightful contestant. 

[MisterGlass]

I knew it was Lottie when Paul said the top layer was tasteless.  If it tasted amazing she might have made it.  She realized she was out standing there in front of them.  You could see it in her face for an instant.  I'm sad to lose her.  She was a fun contestant and had some good ideas, but she seems to be in a good place.  Hopefully she can go back to waving at her grandparents and baking for them.

Someone called quiche last week.  I don't associate quiche with any particular decade, but I seem to remember party sized quiches being around then.

I've never seen a finger donut.  It looked like a hot dog to me, especially with the red jam squiggle.  I do remember Viennetta ice cream cakes.  My family would have them for special occasions in the 80s.

I'm happy for Hermine.  I would absolutely have eaten her quiches.  And her ice cream cake looked modest but it was beautiful and perfect, which is amazing in that heat.

If they have fans running I would think they could put some ice trays in front to cool things a bit.

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, Crs97 said:

I was thrilled for Hermine, but in what world did Mark leapfrog Peter to be in consideration?  They loved his showstopper, and he came second in technical.

I don't think Mark was really in consideration. Or even Peter. Every once in a while, there's just one baker that's head and tails above the others and I think that was Hermine this week.  I think they just wanted to point out that he improved his position. 

On 11/4/2020 at 3:21 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I agreed when the judges chastised various contestants for using brownies and fruit in their ice cream. You really have to think about what is going to freeze and how hard it's going to be. Coldstone always has gummi bears and gummi worms as mix in options but I would never choose them because who wants to gnaw through a cold hard gummi bear while eating ice cream? That's the kind of thing you have to think about. If you're going to have brownies, they have to be small brownie chunks, not a whole fat layer of brownies. The same goes for fruit because some get a really icy texture once they're frozen. And most fruit gets really hard when it's frozen which I don't find pleasant to chew.

I wouldn't want gummi's in my ice cream but since Cold Stone is generally intended to be eaten right away, I don't think gummis or brownies have much time to get hard.  But if you take it home for later and freeze it?  Then it gets hard. (Although with all the artificial ingredients, do gummis actually get hard?)

But I agree that a big block of brownies is not the way to go.  They need to be broken apart.  I do wonder if Paul's complaint about them not being fudgy can be fixed by breaking them apart?  Or maybe it can be achieved by changing up the recipe?  The best ice cream brownies I've ever had were gluten free. 

1 hour ago, leighdear said:

I felt that Lottie was more innovative and creative than Laura.

Innovation never beats execution on this show.  So many bakers do themselves in by trying to do too much. 

Now I want an ice cream cake--but a Dairy Queen kind.  I've never liked ice cream and real cake put together in cake form. 

[jpgr]

I'm really sorry to see Lottie go, but 11 seasons in the bakers have got to know that it's going to be hot in the tent. They need to think through their strategies for what to make and how to organize their process to have the best chance. Don't plan to coat your cake in ice cream! Marc was so smart to wrap the joconde around his cake. Hermine had fewer fussy elements but presented them creatively.

I love Noel and Matt, but I do feel like Noel has been a bit more intrusive over the last couple of seasons. Don't stand there having extended conversations when the bakers are working. Make a quip (if you must) and move on.

[MerBearHou]

Hermine’s darling son running up to her at the end — my biggest smile of the night.

It was absolutely the right decision for Lottie to go after that drippy, unappetizing Showstopper.  As said above, a clever idea that doesn’t work in reality plus the baked product tasting blah won’t get you any points.  

Laura’s cake at least looked like a cake and they said her ice cream had tasty flavor.  Saved her.

Marc did well again this episode.  He quietly produces such good work.  PS to add:  Was just reading about him (initially to spell check Marc or Mark) and learned that he lost his leg only 4 years ago in a motorcycle accident.  He began baking as therapy after the accident.  Wow.

Edited November 7, 2020 by MerBearHou

[chaifan]

I really thought Lottie was in it for the long haul.  I think they should boot out either Matt or Noel and have her be the new sidekick.

Real Men Don't Eat Quiche.  As someone else posted, I figured that was the inspiration for putting quiche in 80's week.  I have never heard of or seen a "finger donut" before.  It sounds somewhat dirty to me.  But damn, they looked amazing! 

The only reason ice cream cakes seem 80's to me is because I was a teenager in the 80's, and all teens love ice cream cakes.  But other than my personal timeline, I can't think of anything about ice cream cakes that are particular to any era.  I've made ice cream cakes for the last 2 years for my (teenage) niece's birthday.  I love ice cream cakes.  I was really hoping someone would have recreated the yummy fudgy crunchy stuff that's in between layers of Baskin Robbins cakes.  I would want the recipe to that.  (No idea if BR even exists in England, though.)  I make mine real simple - bake a good chocolate cake in 2 loaf pans.  Then cut the loafs horizontally into 3-4 layers.  Line the pans with plastic wrap, put cake down first, cover in ice cream, another cake layer, more ice cream, etc., cover the top layer of ice cream in fudge sauce, put it all back in the freezer 'til firm.  Dark chocolate cake and mint choc chip ice cream is my favorite combo!

Lottie could have, and should have, adjusted her ice cream cake for the weather.  The "showstopper" element of it was the top, so she could have easily switched to a simple layered design and cut out the ice cream on the sides part. 

I also think that the show could have allotted an extra 1/2 hour or hour to compensate for the heat.  I'd rather have them do that and see well executed bakes then be sticklers on artificial time constraints that invite disaster.

So here's a weird thought I had...  assuming the cord reached, would it have helped Laura (or really any of the bakers) if she put the entire ice cream machine in the fridge or freezer while it was churning?  Just shut the door on the cord and let it go while in a cooler space? 

[MisterGlass]

5 minutes ago, chaifan said:

So here's a weird thought I had...  assuming the cord reached, would it have helped Laura (or really any of the bakers) if she put the entire ice cream machine in the fridge or freezer while it was churning

I think the heat from the machine's compressor would start to warm up the inside of the fridge.

I've never used that kind of ice cream maker, so I wonder, why would it have a setting that spins without freezing? 

[Athena]

51 minutes ago, chaifan said:

I also think that the show could have allotted an extra 1/2 hour or hour to compensate for the heat.  I'd rather have them do that and see well executed bakes then be sticklers on artificial time constraints that invite disaster.

Other than Laura and Lottie's bigger mistakes, most of the other bakers did manage to freeze their ice creams. Dave's looked a bit soft in some spots and Marc had issue with the honey layer, but considering the hot tent, both Hermine and Peter managed to get frozen ice cream. Marc, Hermine, and Peter were strategic about it.

 

38 minutes ago, MisterGlass said:

I've never used that kind of ice cream maker, so I wonder, why would it have a setting that spins without freezing? 

I know that with some of these machines, there are options for softer ice creams which means it could adjust the temperature and spinning for the consistency you want to achieve. Similarly, you can do yourself and have it spin for a bit but not have the ice function the whole time to achieve a softer consistency, etc. Also their model could possibly allow for pre-frozen bowls like in cheaper ice cream models.

I'm usually ambivalent to Prue's judging, but I really agreed with her when she said that she was happy Hermine got star baker and that Hermine had deserved it in 2-3 times before but narrowly missed it.

 

[J-Man]

So many things this week that were unfamiliar to me (and presumably most Americans.) As mentioned above--finger donuts. Never heard of them. And Matt's joke that required one to be over 45 to get it ... Over 45 and British, I guess, because I had no idea what he was talking about. I love a nice quiche. My favorite uses diced ham and Jarlsberg cheese in a cream cheese pastry crust. All of the ones on the show seemed much more complex and ambitious, but most of them sounded good--except for Marc's. I hate fish, and I really appreciated Prue's comment about them being too similar. 

[Quilt Fairy]

I thought Peter's cake was one of the most beautifully decorated things I've seen on the show.  

[Kiddvideo]

I thought Laura should've gone home. The brownie misjudgment was on par with Lottie's ice cream gravy, and Laura had elementary problems with her quiche crusts and donuts. I understand why Lottie's showstopper flavor sank her below Laura in the standings, though.

RE Judges not liking ingredients: I didn't see it mentioned in that thread and it ties in here -- in Japanese Week the 4 non-bakers were having a discussion about this, and Paul said, "Sometimes as a judge you've got to take your opinions on a flavor, for instance, that you may not particularly like --" and then Matt interrupted him with some idiotic joke about Paul not liking macha and then Noel riffed an equally idiotic joke about Paul not liking green foods, and either Paul never finished his thought or the editors thought Matt's and Noel's jokes were more useful than Paul's opinion on how judges need to judge. (I've never cared for the "hosts make jokes" portions of the show including those with Sue and Sandi. I think the hosts are useful talking to the bakers during the competitions, because the bakers can say things to them they can't tell the judges, but I'm embarrassed for the hosts.)

I really like Peter. He's just so darn earnest. He takes the feedback as ways to improve and not criticisms. There's no rolling eyes or shaking heads, and I'm rooting for him to win. Which means next week they'll have to flambe something, and he'll burn the tent down. My apologies, Peter. I'm sure no one will even remember the disaster once they've rebuilt.

Edited November 7, 2020 by Kiddvideo
wrong contestant oops!

[kittykat]

I needed Bake therapy more than ever considering I've been gritting my teeth for four days waiting for a certain OTHER result to happen!

HERMINE!  Finally my fave gets the win and much deserved.  One of those showstoppers where keeping it simple but elegant ended up being the way to go.  On another note Marc also had a great week, seems like he's on an upswing again.

Sigh Lottie, I figured when none of the flavors worked out she was toast especially when they said Laura and Dave had good flavors.  I'm really going to miss her but then I'm at the point where I'll miss all of them.

The challenges, figured they had to have a quiche involved.  Liked the finger doughnuts, that's my idea of a technical, a simple idea going so right or so wrong.  And the ice cream cake was a good showstopper that kept to theme and not too complicated in brief.  Per bake off rules of course it happens when it's hot but at least a Bingate was avoided.

And Matt you are so so so wrong music did not dip in the late 80s, there was good stuff in that period.

[GaT]

On 11/4/2020 at 8:25 AM, Danny Franks said:

It feels like they're really scraping the barrel for new themes, because 80s baking really isn't a thing that anyone would recognise.

I agree, I can't think of any kind of food I associate with the 80s, & like other people, I have never heard of a finger donut.

16 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Just started to watch it.  That opening was PHENOMENAL!!!! "E.T. bake cake."

I definitely laughed, but that was pretty much the only time during the episode. I'm just don't think Matt adds anything to the show.

Sorry to see Lottie go, but she seemed to be staying due more to luck than skill the past few episodes.

[phalange]

I'm so sad about about Lottie being sent home; I was hoping she'd make it to the finals. She did come second to last in the technical, but did well in the signature so maybe could have saved herself if her ice cream cake had better flavors. I'll miss her snarky comments, but at least she'll be able to wear her own clothes now. 

Thrilled for Hermine! She deserved star baker. Her son running up to hug her at the end was adorable.

I love that somehow, it never fails that the hottest day of the year in the UK will coincide with a challenge requiring easily melted food like chocolate or ice cream. And while I love me a good ice cream cake, I don't think of them as a particularly 80s food. I don't think of quiche that way either, though in fairness, I have no memory of the 80s. Never heard of finger doughnuts but they look tasty enough.

[Crs97]

6 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

 

I thought Peter's cake was one of the most beautifully decorated things I've seen on the show.  

 

It was so striking!  My only issue is that I assume you have to pull most of it off to eat the cake.  I don’t like when they use ribbon or things I shouldn’t eat to decorate.

[sharifa70]

I loved the quiche challenge and lamented that I’m still oven-less (repair guy finally coming on Monday: yay!) because it’s one of my favorite things to make. Hermine’s salmon & leek sounded delicious. To up the 80’s factor they should have been mini-quiches, though.

I did not enjoy watching the showstopper round at all. Even though four of the bakers turned out successful (and 3 beautiful) cakes, it isn’t pleasant to see weather playing such a part. I understand that Laura and Lottie didn’t do well because they made mistakes that were unrelated to the heat, but it still wasn’t fun to watch.

If air conditioning isn’t an option then I don’t think it’s fair to plan a challenge like that and just hope for the gods to cooperate; hot summers have been a Thing over there for the last several years and it’s time for the show to acknowledge it.

Still, count me in the Happy for Hermine club - she deserved her win!

[blueray]

15 hours ago, Crs97 said:

 I was thrilled for Hermine, but in what world did Mark leapfrog Peter to be in consideration?  They loved his showstopper, and he came second in technical.

 

Peter seemed to be the other person they should have brought up, even though they knew (and the audience knew) it was Hermine and it wasn't even close. As he was second in the technical and they liked his showstopper. I honestly keep forgetting Marc is even there. The only reason I can think of is he's has a low key personality and they focus a lot more on the other contestants. Also maybe I just zoned out but I don't recall them talking about what Peter or Marc were going to do for the signature. Did I just miss this?

Anyhow, I'm very happy for Hermine, about time as Prue said she's been close so many times. I am sad to see Lottie go but it made sense. They picked Laura over her because part of her showtopper tasted good even if it was a mess.

[spaulding]

I watched a few episodes, and everybody is forgettable.  Nobody stands out.

[kittykat]

It is definitely a more level playing field.  I'm pretty sure this is the first time in GBBO history that seven different people have won SB.  I think it keeps it exciting, everyone has had a chance to shine.

[Crs97]

Now that Hermine has finally won SB, I am actually okay with Laura getting the pastry one because she was good there (though I thought Hermine was better).  Since my bet is that Laura leaves next, it’s nice that she got one and Hermine can get to the finals.

[krankydoodle]

21 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Noel and his idiot sidekick need to shut the heck up.

I've been a fan of Noel's since watching The Mighty Boosh and have enjoyed him here, but even I have to admit he's been more intrusive lately. I cringed last week when he grabbed Dave's arms while he was trying to pipe frosting.

As for Matt, I thought he showed promise during the first few episodes, but it's been downhill since then.

[Kohola3]

2 hours ago, krankydoodle said:

I cringed last week when he grabbed Dave's arms while he was trying to pipe frosting.

As for Matt, I thought he showed promise during the first few episodes, but it's been downhill since then.

I get absolutely livid on behalf of the contestants because I think they probably have to put up with it. I'd have bashed one of them over the head with a baking pan by now.  They are not funny, they waste precious time, and they serve no purpose other than to announce the times.  Just go away.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 11/6/2020 at 6:32 PM, Irlandesa said:

I wouldn't want gummi's in my ice cream but since Cold Stone is generally intended to be eaten right away, I don't think gummis or brownies have much time to get hard.  But if you take it home for later and freeze it?  Then it gets hard. (Although with all the artificial ingredients, do gummis actually get hard?)

My sister in law decided to order gummi bears as a topping at Coldstone once and she said they were too hard to chew. After she told me that, I was not tempted to try them any cooler than room temperature!