S13.E01: Cake Week

[chaifan]

47 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

I just managed to find the elusive first two seasons on Roku, first episode for both was Cake Week.

Do you mean the actual BBC Series 1 and 2?  (Which were skipped when PBS started showing it in the US.)  Those aired in 2010 and 2011.  I've never been able to find them available, either streaming or by dvd, here in the US.

If anyone's interested, here's a link to an article that has a handy chart of the episodes:

https://heresthedish.com/gbbo-vs-gbbs/

[dgpolo]

48 minutes ago, chaifan said:

1 hour ago, dgpolo said:

I just managed to find the elusive first two seasons on Roku, first episode for both was Cake Week.

Do you mean the actual BBC Series 1 and 2?  (Which were skipped when PBS started showing it in the US.)  Those aired in 2010 and 2011.  I've never been able to find them available, either streaming or by dvd, here in the US.

If anyone's interested, here's a link to an article that has a handy chart of the episodes:

Yep, those are the ones! The discussion here is under All Episodes Talk (Roku also has the Celebrity one airing)

https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/6137-all-episodes-talk-under-the-tent/page/3/#comment-7656584

[SemiCharmedLife]

3 hours ago, dgpolo said:

I understand when people say things like this but on the other hand, you know you are going to have to bake cakes. I just managed to find the elusive first two seasons on Roku, first episode for both was Cake Week. You have to know this and practice your weaknesses.

Yes, I believe Cake Week is always the first episode of the new season.  All the contestants know by now that they have to have a well rounded knowledge of the different bakes/recipes.  Will definitely got flustered and I was confused why he wouldn't have mastered his Italian buttercream in practice bakes.  On Extra Slice, he said that the cold temperature in the tent kept the butter from blending in.  He said he was prepared to deal with extremely hot temperatures that he has seen in previous episodes.  

[kittykat]

The method to making Italian Buttercream is no joke.  You have to get the sugar hot and melted then add the warm merengue to whip to soft peaks then slowly incorporate the softened butter to a smooth texture. I had to make it in culinary school years ago and a lot of the students messed it up the way Will did.

Good premiere.  The mini sandwich cakes kind of reminded me of the brownie challenge where the bakers take something so simple and overcomplicate the shit out of it.  And of course the bakers that did well we're the ones that found that happy medium of interesting flavors without too many gimmicks.  Again I like everyone well enough it will be sad when they start dropping.

I'll admit I find myself an anti red velvet cake person because I've had too many mediocre ones but the ones you're all talking about with the ermine frosting has me wanting to revisit and making one in the classic form.  Syabira's cake looked perfect, I'm looking forward to learning more from her about Malaysian flavors.

Showstopper was tame compared to previous seasons, at least it wasn't an anti gravity or human likeness.  Cake homes at least structurally make sense.  Janusz and Dawn's we're my favorites.

Sadly Will going home was the obvious choice.  Some on webs were surprised Rebs wasn't discussed but I think she did a decent enough showstopper.  Will just biffed it the whole way through.  Seemed nice enough.

[iMonrey]

Just chiming in to say this new cast seems perfectly lovely, and I agree a non-elimination first episode would be a great idea. 

I missed it - how long did they give them for their Showstoppers? If they are going to make them do something as elaborate as a house made of cake for their very first Showstopper they need to give them plenty of time, and it doesn't seem like they did. In fact that seemed like an awfully elaborate Showstopper for a first Showstopper.

I thought Matt looked rather sickly, I hope nothing serious is wrong with him. I for one get a a kick out him and chuckled at his "I'm semi-bilingual" joke.

[Cetacean]

25 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I thought Matt looked rather sickly, I hope nothing serious is wrong with him. I for one get a a kick out him and chuckled at his "I'm semi-bilingual" joke.

Matt's weight loss is explained here.

[SheldonY]

Loved the first episode. The “fantasy” team I’ve picked I think is poised to do well. 
Great discussion on the Scrummy Handshakes podcast this week - would love to hear if you agreed!

[hendersonrocks]

What a joy! It felt so nice to just watch an hour and seven minutes of happiness and lightness, and Star Caker of Bake Week is maaaaybe the most charming thing I've ever heard on this show.

I'm so glad it's back.

[Aulty]

18 hours ago, Cetacean said:

Matt's weight loss is explained here.

Thx, I was wondering what he did to lose weight. He doesn't have that haggard look people get when the've had gastric band or bypasses fitted. Good for him.

[Ilovepie]

On 9/16/2022 at 2:46 PM, SnapHappy said:

Now cream cheese frosting?  THAT is my jam.  I will make a batch, keep it in my fridge in a specific mason jar and eat it with a spoon.  No, I'm not proud of it.  But I own it.  

You are my kind of people! I have a great Red Velvet Cake Recipe that's so old I don't remember where it came from, and I use Paula Deen's cream cheese frosting recipe for it. I also use it on my favorite carrot cake. It makes so much frosting I always have left over and it does NOT go to waste, that is for sure!  I like it on graham crackers ;-p

I think just for taste, I think pink haired lady's signature with the bees was cutest. Most everyone made their signature bakes too big. Most were a full serving, not something to pick up and eat in a few bites! 

[gaPeach]

On 9/21/2022 at 1:16 PM, hendersonrocks said:

What a joy! It felt so nice to just watch an hour and seven minutes of happiness and lightness, and Star Caker of Bake Week is maaaaybe the most charming thing I've ever heard on this show.

I'm so glad it's back.

Me Too!  I binge watched all seasons last year and have been waiting for it to come back.  I'm not crazy having to wait a week for each episode, but I will survive.

I love this show for many reasons and one of them is that the contestants do not all have a sad story of bad childhood, bullying, someone close is sick or died, no Noble Cause they are spearheading for awareness etc.  I just got off AGT and EVERY contestant had one or many of the issues listed.  No constant repeating of some cash award, the bakers all seem to get along and even help each other.  No cutthroat, backstabbing and smack talking.  Very nice, lovely people making delicious looking food.  Love this show!

[AZChristian]

We were traveling for the past week, and I just got a chance to sit down and watch the first episode while having lunch today.  

Again - I love them all!

The bakers are so beautifully unique.  I love Janusz's personality AND his skill.

I pretty much fell on the floor laughing at the opening skit.  Paul is loosening up, and the comment from Matt to Noel of "You'll have to make this 'flan solo'" was a wonderful pun.  Matt has definitely dropped a lot of weight, and I applaud him for working that hard and that successfully.

[Ilovepie]

3 hours ago, gaPeach said:

I love this show for many reasons and one of them is that the contestants do not all have a sad story of bad childhood, bullying, someone close is sick or died, no Noble Cause they are spearheading for awareness etc.  I just got off AGT and EVERY contestant had one or many of the issues listed.  No constant repeating of some cash award, the bakers all seem to get along and even help each other.  No cutthroat, backstabbing and smack talking.  Very nice, lovely people making delicious looking food.  Love this show!

Yes yes yes for all of these reasons! Just regular non-fame seeking people in a adorable tent making amazing food (barring a disaster). I love it because it's the antithesis of every slick, over dramatic American reality show. I can feel my blood pressure going down while I watch this :-)

[theatremouse]

I was surprised (although I shouldn't be - Paul tends to get "American" stuff wrong) when he was explaining the technical and was all "of course they'll have to get the food colouring right" because traditionally, red velvet cake doesn't use food coloring. That's a modern cheat. The chemical reaction between the cocoa powder and the other stuff made it "red", but at some point everyone decided that red wasn't red enough and started on the food colouring. When he first announced it was red velvet I was prepared for him to expect the no food colouring version. So it was weird to me when he went the other way.

[MisterGlass]

I would like to have seen the dye-free version as well.  My understanding is that to do that traditional red velvet cake you need raw cocoa powder (blog article).

[ABay]

On 9/17/2022 at 2:25 PM, ombre said:

Everyone seems lovely, but Rebs reminds me so much of Alona Tal's character from Veronica Mars that I'm feeling the need to check a calendar and make sure of what decade it is!

THAT'S who she was reminding me of! Thanks, @ombre.

[oliviabenson]

The phallic coconut tree sent me lol

[Iseut]

This show is just a big warm hug and I will forever love it. (Except for the opening skits. I'm a huge Star Wars fan, but man, I was cringing through that whole thing. Just...get to the tent already.)

Toward the end, the episode seemed to be running long, and I was wondering if we were going to get to see Janusz's call home, and then we did, and it turned out to be the BEST Star Baker call home ever! Star Caker! And calling his boyfriend "hon-bon!" And both of them giggling gleefully and uncontrollably! So incredibly sweet.

The grandmotherly types never seem to do as well as I want them to on these shows, but the two here (purple hair lady and short-haired lady with glasses, not sure of all the names yet) seem to be pretty strong, at least to start. Come on grannies, you got this! 

Also, two guys with Scottish accents? A buff manny? This is my Christmas. 😍

[Me from ME]

Quote

Matt has alopecia and has had multiple health problems since childhood.  I don't think he has a lot of control over his appearance, and I admire him for not hiding from the world.  I can see where some might not enjoy his humor, but he was one of the best Thenardiers ever to Iplay in Les Mis in London (IMO).

I was once a faithful viewer of the GBBO but when Mary Berry left I did as well. I had seen articles about the new cast and especially that most people did not find Matt to be funny. Apologies if this has been discussed in previous seasons but he and David Walliams were in a sketch comedy show called Little Britain which I absolutely loved.. His alopecia really was useful when it came to dressing in drag. If you haven't seen it I think some sketches can be fond on YouTube. I just tuned in to the current season and could not believe how much weight Matt had lost. I don't think some of my favorite characters that he played would be as funny unless he wore a fat suit. Namely Vicky Pollard, Marjorie Dawes of Fat Fighters and the LADIES who were in full Victorian costume but had facial hair.

[Oosala]

On 9/16/2022 at 8:39 PM, Kiddvideo said:

The Swedish baker: Matt speaks German. Anyone who has seen a few episodes knows that.

I mostly know Matt from Little Britain and I think he's hilarious.  I don't know how I did it but I missed the return of this show and only started watching it last night.  It was nice to snuggle up and watch everyone's amazing baking skills.  I'm retired now and I'm tempted to start baking again but I'm off sugar so it just doesn't make sense.  I love when they veer away from the tent and show the bakers in their homes and with their families.  Everyone seems so nice.

The Scottish guy from Glasgow is going to be my undoing.  I watch a lot of British TV and that's one accent I just can't understand, especially when spoken quickly.  Kevin Bridges, a comedian from Glasgow, is a hard slog for me; VERY deep accent.

Edited October 13, 2022 by Oosala

[sharifa70]

7 hours ago, Oosala said:

The Scottish guy from Glasgow is going to be my undoing.  I watch a lot of British TV and that's one accent I just can't understand, especially when spoken quickly.  Kevin Bridges, a comedian from Glasgow, is a hard slog for me; VERY deep accent.

Subtitles are my best friend.