S13.E06: Halloween Week

[Athena]

Quote

It's Halloween Week and the bakers make apple cake, a s'more-ish Technical and a spooky showstopping piñata. Whose bakes will be eerie-sistible enough to earn them star baker?

UK Original Air Date: October 18, 2022.

US Streaming Date: October 21, 2022.

[Aulty]

I assume it was Noel who suggested or at least heavily supported GBBO having a Halloween themed week (he suggested Vegan week and Danish week was down to Sandy). SO here is the question: what would you like to see or suggest to the producers?

Me? I would love to see them do something Eastern European - anything East of Vienna will do - because they have really tasty treats and delicious breads. An apple based challenge (as they did this week) would've been high on my list too, along with something nut-themed or floral flavours. AN allotment themed week maybe.
I am sure for copyright reasons they couldn't get away with HArry Potter or LOTR themed weeks, but a literature inspired week, why not?

Edited October 18, 2022 by Aulty

[Lois Sandborne]

On 10/18/2022 at 3:03 PM, Aulty said:

I assume it was Noel who suggested or at least heavily supported GBBO having a Halloween themed week

That would make sense. I didn't think Halloween was generally very popular in the UK, but I guess it would be something Noel was into. With all the talk now about sustainability it could be fun to try an austerity theme, like cooking from old wartime methods or using rations for the week. I guess they did something kind of similar the time they tried "alternative" ingredients.

I was amused wondering when this week was filmed, since it was obviously not during spooky season. And I was disappointed that the challenges were just vaguely autumnal: apple cake and fake s'mores. The showstopper was pretty Halloween-y though, and Janusz and his cricket truffles did terrify me.

I agreed with Abdul about it being a little silly for them to make digestives. I would never make graham crackers from scratch, even for Bake Off. Maybe on biscuit week.

It's nice that Syabira got Star Baker, but it didn't seem like a very challenging week. I don't think she will make it to the finals; I'm still feeling Maxy, Sandro, and Janusz. Although Abdul could sneak in there. His lantern was impressive. And Maxy was a little fragile. I hope she will hold up.

Kevin certainly lucked out. I thought the sloppiness of his spider would send him home; it truly did look awful. But I guess it tasted better than Dawn's biscuit bricks.

[TVbitch]

Noel is doing a really good job hosting this season. Not too intrusive, personable, and sometimes amusing. 

Edited October 21, 2022 by TVbitch

[dleighg]

How Dawn expected her two halves to fit together in the Showstopper is beyond me. It was certainly her time.

I loved Syabira's little spider tattoos. Wonder if she had to be careful with her shower between day one and day two! Also liked Maxy's white braids. 

I enjoyed the episode but agree on fancifying s'mores. Who does that? I understand it was more about technique of marshmallow, biscuit, ganache. But still, Americans are snickering.

[Pj3422]

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

I enjoyed the episode but agree on fancifying s'mores. Who does that? I understand it was more about technique of marshmallow, biscuit, ganache. But still, Americans are snickering.

Snickering American here. Those were NOT s’mores, but I appreciated the effort.  The marshmallows need to be gooey, and they’re right — why bake digestive biscuits? And it’s not ganache — it’s a melted chocolate bar. 

I have heard of Build Your Own S’mores bars, with a variety of cookies and chocolate. Here’s an example: https://www.cleanandscentsible.com/diy-smores-bar/

Edited October 21, 2022 by Pj3422
Add’l info

[Ms.Lulu]

49 minutes ago, Pj3422 said:

Snickering American here. Those were NOT s’mores, but I appreciated the effort.  The marshmallows need to be gooey, and they’re right — why bake digestive biscuits? And it’s not ganache — it’s a melted chocolate bar. 

I have heard of Build Your Own S’mores bars, with a variety of cookies and chocolate. Here’s an example: https://www.cle anandscentsible.com/diy-smores-bar/

Completely agree!

I happen to have a favorite s'mores bar here in Portland, 1927, and they also ship gourmet kits:  https://www.1927smores.com/

The Crest S'more has rum coconut marshmallows. The chocolate is bittersweet fudge, and the salted caramel and toasted coconut make this a special treat.

If you are ever in Oregon it is worth visiting to enjoy in their cabin in the city!

[Straycat80]

Another snickering American here. Those were NOT s’mores and I don’t think Halloween when I think of s’mores. They looked tasty though. 
This was a fun challenge, all the apple cakes and show stoppers were inventive and fun, even the messy ones. 
It was Dawns time to go and unless Kevin steps it up next week I think he’s next. 

Edited October 21, 2022 by Straycat80

[Adiba]

2 hours ago, Straycat80 said:

Another snickering American here. Those were NOT s’mores and I don’t think Halloween when I think of s’mores. They looked tasty though. 
This was a fun challenge, all the apple cakes and show stoppers were inventive and fun, even the messy ones. 
It was Dawns time to go and unless Kevin steps it up next week I think he’s next. 

I guess the fall weather and campfires or fire pits are more likely to go together, hence the s’mores as a challenge? It’s kind of a stretch, but I can see the logic. It was a good test of three different things—biscuits, marshmallows and ganache.

Syabira deserved her SB this week, and I was sorry to see Dawn go, although it was her time. How did she make an apple cake with two layers of apples yet Paul said he wasn’t getting apple flavor? And as much as I like Janusz, he’d better do something besides a drip decoration in future cakes if he wants to impress the judges.

[Irlandesa]

I wish they would have just called the technical challenge "s'more cookies" or s'more biscuits instead of s'mores.  S'mores need the heat and the melt and sometimes the partial melt. Plus, I feel like the ratio of cookie to chocolate to marshmallow was off.

I'll have to rewatch the showstopper again.  I think it was too complicated to only half pay attention to at the end.

I did love the first challenge, especially since I didn't recognize so many of the apple varieties other than granny smith.  By the way, those bench top apple corer, peeler and slicer contraptions they had?  One of my favorite kitchen gadgets. I don't use mine all that often but when I do, I'm always so glad to have it for the amazing consistent and thin slices it creates.  Arguably my favorite 20-something dollar kitchen purchase ever.  Highly recommend.

[blueray]

First of I want to say I was surprised (and happy) when they acknowledged that Syabira had nailed it and that it wasn't even close. Handshake on the signature, first in technical and a pretty good show stopper. Often shows will name some else to do add the "drama". But this time Paul admitted that she was getting Star Baker. 

As for the other side, that was way more close. I feel like it could have been either Dawn or Kevin. 

Also s'mores, really. I don't associate that with Halloween at all. But that could be because by Halloween it is two cold to do that here (and sometimes snowing). 

[Ellaria]

I love Halloween so I enjoyed this episode. Seeing the bakers in costumes was great.

I agree about the s’mores. The proportions were way off for me. Too much marshmallow. What I like about s’mores is the subtlety of the biscuit, melty chocolate and marshmallow combined together.

This may be an unpopular opinion but I’m getting tired of bakes that need to do something else such as hanging from a hook or the standing mask. I don’t need these bakers to be civil engineers. Make it look interesting/fun/gorgeous and tell me that it tastes amazing. It causes me to lose focus on the bake itself and the ingredients. Instead, I’m wondering if it will hold together for the judging.

[dleighg]

50 minutes ago, Ellaria Sand said:

This may be an unpopular opinion but I’m getting tired of bakes that need to do something else such as hanging from a hook or the standing mask.

not an unpopular opinion as far as I'm concerned. I agree. When on earth are home bakers (or even fancy pants pastry chefs in a 3 star Michelin restaurant) doing crazy stuff like hanging lanterns? Sure, do multilayer things, or other things you can imagine seeing on a menu. But not these structural challenges. I felt so bad seeing these things fall apart on some of the bakers. And even the absolute best ones were not necessarily .... you know .... particularly pretty.

[MagicEyes]

2 hours ago, Ellaria Sand said:

This may be an unpopular opinion but I’m getting tired of bakes that need to do something else such as hanging from a hook or the standing mask. I don’t need these bakers to be civil engineers.

It’s too much like Food Network shows. “I’m not tasting enough apple” is also something I expect from FN judges. It’s not a good thing. I’m also not impressed with the s’mores challenge. Have they really run out of ideas for things to bake? 

[SnapHappy]

I just can't stand Syabira.  She's got little range in recipes, she ping-pongs from bad to good to mediocre with the strangest flavor combos, and then a borderline disaster the judges magically seem to see a masterpiece. 

I think she's already been chosen winner.   Last season was Giuseppe, Season 11 was Peter, Season 10 was David, Season 9 was Rahul.   They HAVE to put a female in the top spot this year.  Maxy possibly, but I think Miss Malaysia is going to be crowned. 

The only things I enjoyed about this episode was Janusz's guyliner and Noel's skeleton onesie.  

[MagicEyes]

I’m not really buying that an apple, sour plum, and chili cake was that delicious.  🤨

[Girl in a Cardigan]

This was an interesting week because I also thought that Halloween wasn't big in the UK (until recently - mostly influenced by social media and American culture). And then the challenges were more fall-themed than Halloween themed in my eyes. As I just got back from Apple Hill and made s'mores at a recent beach bonfire, those are just "sweater weather" activities, not 10/31 things IMO.

As another American, those definitely weren't s'mores. Which I get because s'mores are boxed graham crackers, premade chocolate bars, and large, but not jumbo marshmallows which are warmed over a fire on a stick, not requiring a lot of baking. So once the word "digestive biscuit" was used, I was like, yeah, that's not it. Which is FINE! But stop making American desserts wrong and then getting shirty about it, Paul Hollywood!

I was also completely confused by the showstopper when they were like "think jack-o-lantern" because everywhere I've lived in the States, you carve the pumpkin and it sits on the front steps. You put a CANDLE inside, not candy, and you don't hang it for smashing unless you're a group of rowdy teens. I would have much rather seen pumpkin flavored desserts or desserts inspired by a favorite candy (or candy bar) as the UK has great sweets. And I'm happy to stand in total wrongness if the UK celebrates Halloween by putting candy in their pumpkins and hanging them outside before smashing them, but that just felt like a weird challenge. Let's step back from making weird structures and work on flavors, techniques, and BAKING. Surely, there's enough there to work with.

[dgpolo]

12 hours ago, dleighg said:

I loved Syabira's little spider tattoos. Wonder if she had to be careful with her shower between day one and day two! Also liked Maxy's white braids. 

They were different from day one to day two, there was a bigger one lower down on day two and one on the side of her neck on day one that wasn't there on day two. (I just checked to be sure because I thought they looked different)

Helena should have been there.😞🕷️🦇

[libgirl2]

I'm okay with this season but I miss some of the British and foreign bakes I never heard of. I know smores,  I know tacos.... I also watch for baking, not engineering.  

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, Girl in a Cardigan said:

I was also completely confused by the showstopper when they were like "think jack-o-lantern" because everywhere I've lived in the States, you carve the pumpkin and it sits on the front steps. You put a CANDLE inside, not candy, and you don't hang it for smashing unless you're a group of rowdy teens. 

It's almost like they combined the twin disasters of Mexican week and Halloween week and came up with the idea of a lantern instead of a pinata.

[Jodithgrace]

When I heard s’mores, I could only picture the contestants being given a sleeve of graham crackers, a package of stay puft marshmallows and Hershey chocolate bars. Then I realized that, of course, they had to make it all from scratch. Still, digestive biscuits are not graham crackers. If you can make one, why not the other? They were cute, though. 
 

Yeah, really the only Halloween thing about Halloween week was the showstopper. They really had to stretch to make the other 2 challenges even Halloween adjacent. 
 

I’m glad that Kevin stayed  I could listen to his Scottish accent all day. 
 

Who said that his greatest fear was child prodigies? I laughed out loud at that. 

[blueray]

1 hour ago, dgpolo said:

They were different from day one to day two, there was a bigger one lower down on day two and one on the side of her neck on day one that wasn't there on day two. (I just checked to be sure because I thought they looked different)

Helena should have been there.😞🕷️🦇

Was thinking the same thing. Then decided if this was an American reality show, she would have been a guest judge. 

Also, as an American, I agree with what everyone said about S'mores. It's gram crackers, Hershey chocolate bars and the marshmallows are way smaller. 

[loki310]

I liked the use of crickets but I really just want to say how dreamy Sandro looked in his black angel wings. And was he wearing eye makeup? I swear the first time he appeared this episode I was shocked at how good he looked. 
 

Let’s see… the white truffles and orange sounded disgusting. So there you go. A Sandwich Sandro post - random comment + Sandro + random comment. A Sandro trifle, if you will. 
 

1 hour ago, Jodithgrace said:

When I heard s’mores, I could only picture the contestants being given a sleeve of graham crackers, a package of stay puft marshmallows and Hershey chocolate bars. Then I realized that, of course, they had to make it all from scratch. Still, digestive biscuits are not graham crackers. If you can make one, why not the other? They were cute, though. 
 

Yeah, really the only Halloween thing about Halloween week was the showstopper. They really had to stretch to make the other 2 challenges even Halloween adjacent. 
 

I’m glad that Kevin stayed  I could listen to his Scottish accent all day. 
 

Who said that his greatest fear was child prodigies? I laughed out loud at that. 

That was Kevin. He is hilarious and I love his accent too. So glad he’s staying. 

[loki310]

Oh and Sandro’s Instagram account is so good! He has super easy recipes that are great for kids, especially those with autism or sensory issues. I think I’m going to try the apple/pear crumble with my preschooler. 

[Cetacean]

At first I thought they were kidding about the crickets.  Sorry, no way in hell I would try that.  Just the idea gives me the willies.

I adore Kevin - his accent and sense of humor are endearing. Sadly, I foresee him going next week.

Again with a virtually non-baking challenge - s'mores. I know there was a digestive biscuit to bake but let's be real here, s'mores use graham crackers.  Those looked dreadful to me - a huge mouthful of marshmallow is not appealing to me.

Count me in as hating the engineering requirements.  Even the poshest bakeries don't have things that hang or move or do anything silly.  And if they did, I wouldn't waste money on that type of thing. I want wonderful tastes and decorations for my money.

[bugsmum]

Are graham crackers a thing in the UK?  They were invented in the US in the 19th century; I have no idea if they've migrated.  Maybe digestive biscuits are the closest UK equivalent.

Those were the fussiest s'mores I've ever seen.  I'm not opposed to stepping up the ingredients.  I've made s'mores with homemade marshmallows (honestly, homemade ruins you for the store bought kind) and dark chocolate that tastes a lot better than Hersheys.  I've even contemplated making the graham crackers but haven't tried it yet.  And those had WAY too much marshmallow.  Also gently browning the marshmallows with a torch doesn't compare to roasting them over an actual fire.  

I was hoping Kevin would stay over Dawn simply for his sense of humor.  

[Misslindsey]

Some theme weeks I do not mind, but lately I feel so underwhelmed with them. I would prefer them to repeat challenges or themes from earlier seasons instead of them trying to come up with new bakes that are IMO lackluster.  

[sharifa70]

14 hours ago, Ms.Lulu said:

I happen to have a favorite s'mores bar here in Portland, 1927

Oh! I’ve been wanting to try that place but I don’t get into town much now that I’m working from home. I guess I’m going to have to make more of an effort to leave the house.

9 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I feel like the ratio of cookie to chocolate to marshmallow was off.

I agree. I felt like there was way too much marshmallow, and definitely not melty enough. Abdul’s were actually closer to how my s’mores look. 

Kevin’s comment about not wanting to have to give a leaving speech in that shirt, as well as his fear of child prodigies cracked me up (I forgot he’s a musician). I seriously envied Janusz’s zebra boots. His joy is so endearing.

[caitmcg]

2 hours ago, bugsmum said:

Are graham crackers a thing in the UK?  They were invented in the US in the 19th century; I have no idea if they've migrated.  Maybe digestive biscuits are the closest UK equivalent.

All my British cookbooks and recipe sources tend to call for digestive biscuits in contexts where American recipes would use graham crackers, e.g. crumb crusts. So I’d say they are analogs: mildly sweet, crisp, and made with some whole grain wheat (i.e. graham) flour. 

The “s’mores” would’ve more resembled s’mores if the marshmallows were half the size and if they’d toasted the whole marshmallow with the torch before putting them together. 

2 hours ago, bugsmum said:

I've made s'mores with homemade marshmallows (honestly, homemade ruins you for the store bought kind) 

This is so true. I’ve made marshmallows, and they’re far superior to store bought. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t even like marshmallows. 

[kittykat]

Hello fellow snickering Americans.  That said I really liked the Smore technical.  It had one of those bake something simple you would normally buy and also make something texturally correct.  Ticks the boxes.  And we all got a good laugh at watching the British interpretation of an American classic.  The final look reminded me of the Tillamook brand ice cream sandwiches I buy(Tillamookies!) Since those also have a thin Chocolate layer on their cookies.

Glad there was no fuss with Syabira, she really nailed it.  I could hear the sound of every Food Network judge groaning in agony when she pulled out the truffle oil.

Overall a fun week.  When I envisioned the cold open I figured there was going to be some joke about Noel dressing up like normal and...well.

[Ohiopirate02]

6 hours ago, sharifa70 said:

Kevin’s comment about not wanting to have to give a leaving speech in that shirt, as well as his fear of child prodigies cracked me up (I forgot he’s a musician). I seriously envied Janusz’s zebra boots. His joy is so endearing.

The contestants' joy and camaraderie made up for the lackluster bakes this week.  

[LilyP]

My husband has gotten to enjoy watching this with me and even he, a non baker, scoffed at the s'more's challenge. The end product reminded me of an upscale restaurant's interpretation of a basic recipe that they fancied up so they could charge you more money. Reading comments about homemade marshmallows made me want to try making them. That's a plus.

If anything, a more fitting theme for this week would've been "camping week". They could have made it more challenging by limiting what tools the bakers could use. I don't mind themes but only if they are accurate. For Halloween they could've had the bakers use pumpkin, focus on making candy, include candy in a recipe, create a Halloween character (ghost, skeleton, witch, zombie, etc.) for the show stopper. My problem with having too many theme weeks for GBBO is my fear it would turn it into a copy of Food Network challenge shows and focus more on the theme than the actual baking.

LOVE Sandro! It makes sense that his Instagram has so many kid friendly recipes since he's a nanny. I also love Janusz. He's so cheeky. I do agree Kevin will be the next to go. He's been lucky to have escaped elimination up to now because his creations have never been up to par.

[ombre]

Graham crackers were initially invented as a health food (they didn't have sugar when Sylvester Graham, a fervent believer in a kind of acetic moderation, invented them), and I actually really appreciated the little light bulb that went off in my head of "duh! Of *course* Graham crackers are digestives! How brill!" 

Were those smores? Nah. But do eleven billion retailers (led by Williams Sonoma) market something just like that as smores every year at the holidays? Well. Yeah.  So I can understand the confusion from those folks squinting from overseas. At least these guys flamed that marshmallows! And I agree with those who've said upthread that it was, nevertheless, a fun technical with a good mix of skills. 

I was genuine pleasantly surprised at how hip Paul and Prue were to the crickets. Prue seems to have more wide-ranging taste, but Paul seems to have a stunningly long list of things he hates. And crickets aren't on that list! Love it. 

And they've come around on matcha! Hail Jurgen! 

I think I'm in the minority who don't mind most of the builds. Baked goods have structure, they *can* be engineered, but it requires good decisions and good understanding of how ingredients and recipes work. They have time to research before they submit their proposed bakes, they have time to practice before they do it for real.  If they've made bad choices despite those opportunities... Well... That's the drama! :D. I have far fewer qualms about the built pieces than I do with, say, not giving enough time to do the task. 

(That said, there was one holiday bake - a technical? - where they deliberately gave seemingly *faaaaaaar* too little time and it became a testament to the efficacy, efficiency, and accessibility of a different technique and so help me I may have teared up a little watching as the thing showed that *anybody* could achieve this dish and it takes ages less time than you'd think. Tip of the hat to Prue, who set it as a challenge. It was genuinely a gift.) 

I kept waiting for Sandro's wings to get caught on some bit of the kitchen, but he's too cool for that! Delighted for syabira. I always like the folks who take real risks in their flavors. They make it so much more fun to watch and imagine. It's easy to say in retrospect that truffle and orange don't mesh, but how often has she had things they were skeptical of and then had to admit that, no, that's amazing. 

[sharifa70]

2 hours ago, ombre said:

I think I'm in the minority who don't mind most of the builds. Baked goods have structure, they *can* be engineered, but it requires good decisions and good understanding of how ingredients and recipes work. They have time to research before they submit their proposed bakes, they have time to practice before they do it for real.  If they've made bad choices despite those opportunities... Well... That's the drama! :D. I have far fewer qualms about the built pieces than I do with, say, not giving enough time to do the task. 

I love the builds! It’s so much fun to see what people can do beyond simple layer cakes or gingerbread houses (I say simple despite not having ever actually made a gingerbread house, but they’re the only engineered bakes I ever might run across in the wild).

Though I did snicker at the highfalutin s’mores (we’ve come a long way from only getting them at Girl Scout campouts!), I did appreciate the various skills that were required. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of that from scratch, since (as most of the bakers said) it’s cheaper to just buy the fixings.

I agree that my biggest issue would be with time. Although I can be efficient in the kitchen when I have to be, some of those challenges seem to be set up so that if you have to pause to fish a bit of shell out of your egg bowl, your whole bake is doomed.

We’ve reached the point in the show where all of the eliminations will be sad for me. My favorites to watch are Janusz, Kevin, and Syabira for the joy they bring, but Maxy, Sandro, and Abdul (and his delightful blowtorch noises) are so strong and they come up with some beautiful creations. 

[SnapHappy]

16 hours ago, Girl in a Cardigan said:

 Let's step back from making weird structures and work on flavors, techniques, and BAKING. Surely, there's enough there to work with.

I'm convinced the show runners are SO petrified of repeating a challenge from seasons that took place 10 YEARS ago, they just come up with these Mad Libs style challenges.  "OK, let's have a _________ type cake filled with ground up _________, with ________ cream, and make it balance upside down on a _______" . 

For the technicals, they find the most obscure lending libraries across the globe, for whatever cookbook they have that hasn't been checked out since 1936.  There they find the strangest "bake" in the book.  They then pretend it's Prue's favorite. 

Seriously though, it's getting ridiculous how far they are stretching & contorting the terms baking, desert, cooking and cake in an effort to showcase something different.   It's bordering on stupid.   

Edited October 22, 2022 by SnapHappy

[iMonrey]

Kevin is living on borrowed time. Syabira had a good week but I still think this season is Maxy's to lose, and everyone else is vying for second and third place. Sandro constantly puts together amazing looking showstoppers but he really screwed up his treats this week. 

I remember the first time I heard about "digestive biscuits." They sound like something a veterinarian gives a sick dog. 

Quote

This may be an unpopular opinion but I’m getting tired of bakes that need to do something else such as hanging from a hook or the standing mask. I don’t need these bakers to be civil engineers. Make it look interesting/fun/gorgeous and tell me that it tastes amazing. It causes me to lose focus on the bake itself and the ingredients. Instead, I’m wondering if it will hold together for the judging.

Far from being unpopular I'd say that was the widely held opinion of late. The challenges are deliberately designed to be potential disasters because the show thinks it makes "good TV." They don't understand this is a simpler, different kind of a reality show that doesn't need those kinds of hijinks. I'm satisfied to see them make a nice pie, cake or batch of cookies. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

5 hours ago, LilyP said:

The end product reminded me of an upscale restaurant's interpretation of a basic recipe that they fancied up so they could charge you more money.

Great analogy.

[SuprSuprElevated]

3 hours ago, sharifa70 said:

I agree that my biggest issue would be with time.

For me, it would be that a Street & Sanitation sweeper truck would be required to clean my space after the flurry of activity, lol.  I'm terrible at cleaning as I go, resulting in an unadulterated messy kitchen at the end of whatever I'm preparing. I suppose these bakers are blessed with production staff to deal with the mess as they go and at the end.

Edited October 22, 2022 by SuprSuprElevated

[Sailorgirl26]

20 hours ago, dleighg said:

When on earth are home bakers (or even fancy pants pastry chefs in a 3 star Michelin restaurant) doing crazy stuff like hanging lanterns? .

https://www.instagram.com/amauryguichon/

[J-Man]

Graham crackers vs. digestive biscuits

On "An Extra Slice," Dawn complained about being dinged for losing the definition on her digestives. She claimed that she'd never seen a commercial digestive biscuit with a pattern. But in the link above, the digestive shown clearly has a pattern similar to the one they used on the show.

[dleighg]

42 minutes ago, Sailorgirl26 said:

https://www.instagram.com/amauryguichon/

oh yeah, I saw him on that chocolate class show. 

[kay1864]

7 hours ago, ombre said:

I think I'm in the minority who don't mind most of the builds. Baked goods have structure, they *can* be engineered, but it requires good decisions and good understanding of how ingredients and recipes work.

Count me in that minority as well. To me showstopper equates to centerpiece. Something visually stunning. Not just a really well-made cake.  

[theatremouse]

S'mores were a doomed preposterous technical from the start. Their nature is to be messy. It's a feature, not a bug. So a challenge that involves them being uniform and neat is ridiculous.

[LilyP]

I thought the judging on the s'mores was inconsistent. The judges complained about marshmallows' toasting being too light or inconsistent but Syabira's looked burnt to me. I don't think other bakers' s'mores were any worse than hers so what made burnt better? Given the time constraints, the bakers' products are not going to be as perfect as the model, but I almost felt they were going to give it to Syabira even thought the judging is supposed to be blind.

[Rickster]

2 hours ago, kay1864 said:

Count me in that minority as well. To me showstopper equates to centerpiece. Something visually stunning. Not just a really well-made cake.  

However, these are accomplished home bakers, not professionals who have spent years training, and I think the quality of these showstoppers reflects that. Not many home bakers construct centerpieces.

That said, there is a point that the bakes need to have visual interest, since no one watching is going to be able to taste them.

[blueray]

I'm in the minority group that likes the engineering bakes. It is interesting and often amazing to see what they can do. In my opinion (probably opinion of one), it was just baking it would be kind of boring. The challenge is part of the excitement. Not that they shouldn't bake but it is nice when their is artistic side as well. 

[sharifa70]

1 hour ago, blueray said:

I'm in the minority group that likes the engineering bakes. It is interesting and often amazing to see what they can do. In my opinion (probably opinion of one), it was just baking it would be kind of boring. The challenge is part of the excitement. Not that they shouldn't bake but it is nice when their is artistic side as well. 

Without these bakes we never would have gotten Paul Jagger’s lion bread or Nadiya’s soda pop cake. I am 100% a fan of the engineering.

Edited October 23, 2022 by sharifa70
Spelling is important!

[SuprSuprElevated]

Perhaps it could be said that we like the engineered, structural bakes when they're well executed, but when they are the hot mess express, we prefer it be skipped.

A fickle lot we are, lol. 

[SnapHappy]

1 hour ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Perhaps it could be said that we like the engineered, structural bakes when they're well executed, but when they are the hot mess express, we prefer it be skipped.    A fickle lot we are, lol. 

Exactly.   I think what some of us are saying is being misinterpreted.  

We LIKE the showstoppers.  We WANT to see them.   We want the contestants to make super-cool projects that are amazing, artistic and delicious.  But the themes and requirements have to make SENSE, and be possible in the time allowed. 

When 50% of the final offerings are unmitigated disasters and the other 50% are just barely recognizable, and not all of them are actually edible, the show runners need to take a beat & re-think what they're asking of the contestants.

I feel the earlier seasons had a lot more successes, especially nearing the end, with better planning & execution and a lot more impressive baking overall.  Now it's like they're just making shit up on the fly.   

[Ms Lark]

On 10/21/2022 at 7:52 PM, Girl in a Cardigan said:

As another American, those definitely weren't s'mores. Which I get because s'mores are boxed graham crackers, premade chocolate bars, and large, but not jumbo marshmallows which are warmed over a fire on a stick, not requiring a lot of baking. So once the word "digestive biscuit" was used, I was like, yeah, that's not it. Which is FINE! But stop making American desserts wrong and then getting shirty about it, Paul Hollywood!

Clearly Paul knows about as much about s'mores as he does Mexican baking. S'mores defintiely need to be ooey, gooey, and melty!

5 hours ago, theatremouse said:

S'mores were a doomed preposterous technical from the start. Their nature is to be messy. It's a feature, not a bug. So a challenge that involves them being uniform and neat is ridiculous.

Yup!

Edited October 23, 2022 by Ms Lark