S13.E05: Dessert Week

[Cetacean]

50 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

There is a Kevin?

[dgpolo]

2 hours ago, SnapHappy said:

Wow, I've totally blanked on seeing the drawings.  Weird!

This shows the drawings and bakes from Cake Week, I haven't been able to find something similar for Dessert Week.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jenniferabidor/great-british-bake-off-cake-week-2022-side-by-sides

[buttersister]

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Add me to not that impressed with Sandro's showstopper. It was fine but not overwhelmingly great. 

The continents were, to borrow a phrase from Paul, all over the place. It was certainly ambitious and I'm guessing it looked more impressive irl. And apparently, was delicious.

[WildPlum]

I think Syabira's flavors in the first few episodes were novel enough to surprise Paul and Pru and that's worn off a bit, plus, as others have said, she should have known not to use an extract.

I think Dawn is a better baker than she showed this week, but I don't think she is a flashy enough (or technical enough) baker to last much longer. Next week will likely be her or Kevin (which is sad, because I quite like Kevin). Both he and Abdul have been downplayed on the show. And, wow, Paul, when you've dug yourself a hole, stop digging! I am two years older than Dawn and Paul would've gotten a much tarter comment back than that. Which is why I am not a GBBO or other TV show candidate.

We're also at the point where a single big mistake can send you home.

Definitely Janusz, Sandro and Maxy in the final.

[dgpolo]

26 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I didn't either. Honestly, very few of them seemed to show an image. Probably Janusz and Carol.  

Kevin had his dog bones (and loved the aside to Noel about using a gingerbread person cutter so it looked like buried bodies)

Sayabira had her bees and the plus signs (B+)

Janusz had the cupcakes

Carole had the strawberry

Abdul had his cakepop planets.

Sandro had his planet core? I think that's what it was supposed to be, so really only Dawn's failed totally and Maxy's was a little 'off' though the judges said they could see it.

[Deskisamess]

I enjoyed this episode much more than the previous ones. The right person went home.

Paul calling Dawn "mom" was cringy, he needs to buy a clue.
 

I think it is time to give Sandro and Selasi from season 7 their own show.

Edited October 16, 2022 by Deskisamess
Name correction

[Cetacean]

Probably picky but I do appreciate Maxie tying her hair back when she is baking. I hate contestants (male OR femail) with long hair hanging over the cooking/baking.  And while Carol's hair was part of her personality, it drove me bonkers.

[Jodithgrace]

I think the reason Maxi’s sunrises were hard to see was that she seemed to have two long rolls side by side in a round cake tin. When a pie shaped piece was cut out, the sunrises were only seen at an angle. Other people had oblong cakes, so that when slices were cut, the surprise showed up in each slice. I’m not sure I explained this very well, but when I saw her putting the rolls in the cake tin, I wondered how it was going to look when cut. 

[dleighg]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

I didn't either. Honestly, very few of them seemed to show an image. Probably Janusz and Carol

Keep It Simple Stupid. Syabira's was way too complicated with the little plus signs. I don't know how she expected it to work (and it didn't). Simple, large figures, like Janusz's and Carole's worked best. 

[oliviabenson]

It was carols turn to go home.

Silly me thought Paul was still with Marcela lol.

[BryroseA]

I really appreciated that the technical was something more “normal” - something a British home baker actually should know how to make. There were a few seasons there where every single technical was something completely niche that most of the bakers had never heard of. I get that they don’t want to repeat challenges, and I do like the occasional more challenging or unique bake, but I so much prefer to see them challenged by more standard bakes that really reward skill and knowledge - not just luck. 

[kittykat]

Agreed that this week was way better than the last two.  Some good back to basics techniques.  Steamed pudding is not only classic British but a great thing that seems so simple but can go soooooo wrong.

Also loved the lemon merengue technical.  I did enjoy the no method because these bakers should know how to make a short crust, lemon filling and a French merengue.  I do believe they were given the measurements for all the ingredients so it's baffling that Dawn had so little filling.

The showstoppers kind of reminded me of the entremet finale a few years ago and getting the right amount of gelatin is always a challenge.  When I make a basic chocolate mousse I usually fold it egg whites with whipped cream, no gelatin.  I'm guessing gelatin was needed in this case for structure.

It's a shame Abdul's flavor and textures were all wrong since his galaxy looked good.  I agree that Sandro earned Star Baker this week.  He's right up there with Maxy and Janusz in the top tier.

Glad Carole went home.  Judges basically told her no disasters then went 3 for 3.  They scared me into thinking that Syabira was going but I think past performance saved her, I would have thrown something if that was the case.

[SnapHappy]

16 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

It was carols turn to go home.

Silly me thought Paul was still with Marcela lol.

Nope, if he was, I think she'd make sure "Mexican Week" was much better organized and conceptually more cohesive.  *LOL*

[iMonrey]

Quote

It doesn't really seem like anyone other than Maxy, Janusz or Sandro has a chance of making it to the finals.

Quote

Well, that was the prediction for Jurgen and look what happened to him.

We've seen plenty of times where the front runner had a total meltdown in the final or sem-final, so that can obviously happen to anyone. Still, there are clear front-runners here and clear also-rans. And more of the former than the latter.

[Cetacean]

11 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

We've seen plenty of times where the front runner had a total meltdown in the final or sem-final, so that can obviously happen to anyone.

Take a lesson from Jurgen. It looked like he was a shoe in.

[Aulty]

22 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

I would liked to have seen Kevin's little cloth wrapped puddings succeed.  That was an interest and I suppose traditional approach.

The clootie dumpling. They've been done before (James in Original season 5 (I think thats US Netflix collection 1), episode 6) and didn't go down well back then either if I remember correctly.

Edited October 16, 2022 by Aulty

[Ms.Lulu]

6 hours ago, Cetacean said:

Take a lesson from Jurgen. It looked like he was a shoe in.

I've speculated with friends that the powers that be didn't want to have a German, an Italian, and one British-born person in the finale of The Great British Bake Off. 

I know, a conspiracy theory, that too many non Brits might reduce viewers in Britain. 

Edited October 16, 2022 by Ms.Lulu

[J-Man]

19 hours ago, Deskisamess said:

Paul calling Carole "mom" was cringy, he needs to buy a clue.
 

He called Dawn "Mom."

Did they explain how Janusz got so many different colors and layers in his hidden cupcake? What was it made of?

[SandyToes]

On 10/15/2022 at 5:15 PM, BryroseA said:

I really appreciated that the technical was something more “normal” - something a British home baker actually should know how to make. There were a few seasons there where every single technical was something completely niche that most of the bakers had never heard of. I get that they don’t want to repeat challenges, and I do like the occasional more challenging or unique bake, but I so much prefer to see them challenged by more standard bakes that really reward skill and knowledge - not just luck. 

On 10/12/2022 at 10:28 AM, Danny Franks said:

Steamed puddings are a decent challenge and, judging by some of these results, a tricky one.

I also liked that these seemed to be genuine "home baker" tasks.  The early seasons' signature bakes seemed to be more or less things they really did do at home, and were probably the kinds of things that got their friends and families to urge the bakers to be on the show. I think that's where Dawn fits - the things she does "at home" are probably really, really good, but maybe not much variety, or detail in appearance this show now goes for.

It looked like there was an additional page of instructions besides the "make the pie" page - I thought I caught a glimpse of something.  But Dawn not having enough filling was strange. Maybe she went by memory for HER pies, not the different sized tart on the show?

[caitmcg]

7 hours ago, J-Man said:

Did they explain how Janusz got so many different colors and layers in his hidden cupcake? What was it made of?

There was a shot of Janusz with a bunch of small pans of brightly colored cake batter, so I believe he cut the cooked colored cakes in graduated widths and stacked, shaped, and nestled them in his mousse. It was his required baked component.

[janie jones]

I also thought the lemon meringue pies were a good challenge. I was actually surprised that not more of them were better. I actually turned to my husband and said "these guys can do that."

On 10/15/2022 at 4:52 AM, J-Man said:

Paul said that Dawn reminded him of his Mom. I took that to mean that she looked or acted like his Mom did when she was around Dawn's age, not that she's old enough to be his mother now. 

That's how I took it, too, but it was still weird that he walked up to her and called her Mom. I wonder if it's something he'd mentioned to her before, or if this was the first time.

I was in love with Janusz's showstopper. I thought it looked amazing inside and out.

I didn't think Sandro's cake had much of a surprise inside. Not that it wasn't complicated to execute, but you would expect to see the earth's layers inside an earth cake.

[hiisa]

I didn't understand Syabiyas choices during the technical. Every step she seemed to look around and just copy what everyone else was doing but when it was time for the blind bake she was suddenly like ....I'm gonna go my own way this time.  Which was a mistake.

[SemiCharmedLife]

I just love these bakers.  Each one is delightful in their own way.  Syrabira is such a sweet, kind person- I hope she stays around to bake longer.  Janusz is such a happy baker, always with a twinkle in his eye.  Some bakers are more serious and competitive, but alway have a kind word for their fellow bakers and are willing to lend a hand.  Last week Abdul was comforting Syrabira and it made my heart melt.  I am sad Carol left, although among the other talented bakers, it was her time.  She should be proud of her time on bake off.  She had a great attitude, even when mistakes were made.

If I had been Dawn and Paul called me "mom," I would have went along with the joke and called him "sonny."  I would bring it up from time to time while he is judging my bakes.  😊

[ninjakid]

12 hours ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

I just love these bakers.  Each one is delightful in their own way.  Syrabira is such a sweet, kind person- I hope she stays around to bake longer.  Janusz is such a happy baker, always with a twinkle in his eye.  Some bakers are more serious and competitive, but alway have a kind word for their fellow bakers and are willing to lend a hand.  Last week Abdul was comforting Syrabira and it made my heart melt.  I am sad Carol left, although among the other talented bakers, it was her time.  She should be proud of her time on bake off.  She had a great attitude, even when mistakes were made.

If I had been Dawn and Paul called me "mom," I would have went along with the joke and called him "sonny."  I would bring it up from time to time while he is judging my bakes.  😊

Just be like Nancy and call him "The Male Judge"

[Eliza422]

On 10/14/2022 at 10:09 PM, TimothyQ said:

Ruby chocolate was a “flash in the pan” fad, too, a few seasons back. Funny how these trends come and go. 

I listen to The Bakedown podcast, and they have said several times that classics become classics for a reason!  There are always trends that come and go, but you can never go wrong with a classic flavor combination unless the judges get on their high horse about "retro" or "this is 70s/80s" BS.

[Lovecat]

On 10/15/2022 at 4:02 PM, oliviabenson said:

There is a Kevin?

Aye, he's the wee non-kilted Scot who isn't James ;)

[Oosala]

On 10/15/2022 at 1:02 PM, oliviabenson said:

There is a Kevin?

So much this.  Every week I'm surprised when they mention Kevin.  He's just so nondescript I guess that I forget he's there.

[dargosmydaddy]

I'm late to the party for most seasons of GBBO and this one's no exception, but just wanted to say that Kevin is my favorite. I love his accent, and he seems sweet and funny. I also really like Abdul, who has also been mostly forgotten about.

I've managed to remain unspoiled, but I know it's likely that both my boys will be out in the next few weeks. Still, I'd love for one of them to turn out to be the dark horse of the series.

That said, a Janusz/ Maxy/ Sandro final would be lovely-- they're all so positive and bubbly, as well as competent and unflappable. And I really like Syabira, too. Dawn's also fine, but I kind of hope she's the next to go just because I like everyone else better.

[Crs97]

I appreciated Noel (or was it Matt?) trying to save Paul by saying his mom is really cool.