S15.E01: Cake Week

[Quilt Fairy]

Twelve new bakers enter the tent.

[dgpolo]

John reminds me of someone, I just can't remember who. The duck was very well done. I wonder if she, Sumayah, hadn't been the first to be judged on her Signature if she would've got a handshake?

Seems like a good bunch of bakers and Alison and Noel seem to be working well together.

[Deskisamess]

I enjoyed the first episode, and wonder if Jeff will be back next week.

That duck was amazing, especially considering Sumayah's young age. Christiaan needs to stop using odd spice flavors in his bakes. 2 of his were not appreciated by the judges. Had they sent someone home, he may have been the one to go.

I fear Hazel may not last long.

[libgirl2]

I like John a lot. I don't think Hazel will be around very long. I worry about Jeff. He looked ill. 

[jpgr]

1 hour ago, dgpolo said:

John reminds me of someone, I just can't remember who. The duck was very well done. I wonder if she, Sumayah, hadn't been the first to be judged on her Signature if she would've got a handshake?

Seems like a good bunch of bakers and Alison and Noel seem to be working well together.

Sumayah didn't get the handshake, Illiyin did, and she wasn't judged first (although the order shown is not always the order judged so we can't know for sure).

[Rahul]

Sumayah was robbed. That duck cake blew everything else out of the water. She should have been star baker.

[caitmcg]

36 minutes ago, jpgr said:

Sumayah didn't get the handshake, Illiyin did, and she wasn't judged first (although the order shown is not always the order judged so we can't know for sure).

I think dgpolo was thinking that Sumayah might've got a handshake if her cake wasn't first up in the signature judging (as we saw it, anyway), not suggesting she did get one.

Overall, the group seems to be starting out quite strong. I guess we'll see what happens when they move beyond cakes.

[dgpolo]

42 minutes ago, jpgr said:

Sumayah didn't get the handshake, Illiyin did, and she wasn't judged first (although the order shown is not always the order judged so we can't know for sure).

I know! I didn't say she got a handshake. I was just wondering if she would have gotten one if she wasn't first. Paul was very complementary about her bake and I could almost see his thoughts that he couldn't give one to the very first person with the very first bake. Then he felt safer later and gave one to Illiyin who I also know wasn't judged first. I don't know how you read what I said and came up with the exact opposite?

[MerBearHou]

I want Illyin’s cinnamon loaf cake AND the recipe!

ETA:  found the recipe online — going to try making it 😊

Edited September 28 by MerBearHou

[Straycat80]

I’m so glad this show is back. A nice group of bakers too. I’m glad no one was voted off. And agree  Sumayah should have gotten star baker. Her duck was amazing. 

[Quilt Fairy]

1 hour ago, MerBearHou said:

I want Illyin’s cinnamon loaf cake AND the recipe!

ETA:  found the recipe online — going to try making it 😊

I want the cake, the recipe and the loaf pan, which I assume was NordicWare.  Do you have a link for the recipe?

[MerBearHou]

https://www.relaxedrecipes.com/latest-gbbo-rich-recipes/cinnamon-roll-loaf-cake

Here you go!

[Corgi-ears]

"Soaked in lemon and lime syrup and covered in lemon buttercream, Mike will marble his loaf yellow and purple." It's back! Bake-Off! And the scriptwriter who has never been able to master the use of modifiers, always misplacing them left and right to hilarious effect!

[libgirl2]

10 hours ago, Rahul said:

Sumayah was robbed. That duck cake blew everything else out of the water. She should have been star baker.

I was surprised too. It was gorgeous. I guess it came down to just a slight difference in taste. 

[SnapHappy]

5 minutes in and Paul already smiled & laughed more than he has in the last 5 seasons!  I've always loved him, and he so warm & genial now. 

And my beloved Noel is still enchanting me.  I love Alison too.  Together they are magic!

I'm a knitter, and Sumayah is wearing a sweater that's going to be all over the Reddit knitting boards this weekend, with folks looking for that stitch pattern!  *LOL*  Baking & knitting often go together!

Very cool technical challenge, working without even the abbreviated recipe as usual.  I like the change. 

So much creativity already!  That fried rice paper flower is brilliant!   Those were some of the best showstoppers ever!

I was happy to keep them all for another week!

 

[dleighg]

were some of them making marzipan with egg white? I would have thought it's just almond and sugar. (Doing my research on the google machine, some recipes use egg white, but it's not necessary. I'd be concerned about the safety aspect.)

[Michichick]

I can’t remember if the woman who won the technical was the same person who said she’d just read a Battenburg recipe the night before.

[J-Man]

41 minutes ago, Michichick said:

I can’t remember if the woman who won the technical was the same person who said she’d just read a Battenburg recipe the night before.

Yes-- it was Georgie. 

[Rickster]

Given some of the past disasters in the technical challenges, I was pretty shocked at how well they all did without a recipe.

[caitmcg]

11 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I want the cake, the recipe and the loaf pan, which I assume was NordicWare. 

This is the pan.

[iMonrey]

So far so good. No obvious train wrecks yet. Pretty diverse cast, lots of interesting personalities. 

I kind of like the twist on the technical challenge, because most of the disasters stemmed from the bakers never having seen the product and having no idea what it was supposed to look like. That's half the battle. The directions they had been given were always vague anyway. 

The cake that looked like the overnight bag was incredible. 

I got a laugh out of Alison going "Hey look I made an illusion cake out of Noel." Then bit him.

[marinite]

On 9/27/2024 at 4:52 PM, dgpolo said:

John reminds me of someone, I just can't remember who. The duck was very well done. I wonder if she, Sumayah, hadn't been the first to be judged on her Signature if she would've got a handshake?

Seems like a good bunch of bakers and Alison and Noel seem to be working well together.

Mike the farmer reminds me of Rowan from last season.  Mike seems like a really sweet guy, and I thought his showstopper was incredible. I love his baritone voice too.

Edited September 30 by marinite
Corrected contestant’s name.

[meep.meep]

Let's face it, the showstopper was "Is it cake?"  The jeans, overnight bag, and duck were magnificent.  I had my fingers crossed about the handbag making it to the judges - too bad it didn't taste good.

I liked the new format technical - not any harder than "make a lemon meringue pie"

[blueray]

It was obvious nobody was going home once the one was sick. But as usual there is going to be a double elimination at some point.

That being said there wasn't really a clear winner. John did well, as did Sumayah (who's duck was amazing). And I feel like Mike saved himself with the books (that you could actually hold, which was awesome). Not sure why he was so worried, when it was clear that they loved his show stopper.

[kittykat]

Yay we are back and lovelier than ever.

It was so nice to see realistic baking challenges with appropriate time given.

Loaf cakes can be kind of meh but all of these look awesome.  Iyllin's cinnamon cake and Sumayah's carrot one both looked so good.

I think the technical twist is interesting.  As others said it may better help to taste and visualize over reading a vague recipe.  Good on Georgie for studying the Battenberg.

As for the showstopper, it's good to prove that the show can repeat a showstopper (series 8 also did illusion cakes) and keep the viewer invested.  Sumayah's duck was amazing, kind of agree she should have gotten SB over John but he did great as well.

Hope Jeff is ok.  Hazel or Christiann definitely dodged one.  Hope Christiann can get his flavors together and Hazel can pull off a proper bake.

[Orcinus orca]

So thrilled for another season!  As always, I love seeing the backstories and hearing about their lives and families.

The technical was quite a new twist on things. What's next, a picture and a "bake it" challenge?

Sorry, but that opening sequence was just beyond stupid.  What a waste of time.

Cinnamon loaf, yum!

[caitmcg]

5 minutes ago, Orcinus orca said:

Sorry, but that opening sequence was just beyond stupid.  What a waste of time.

They're all quite cringey. I just FFW. In this case, it was a little late for that shtick, anyway; the Barbie parodies are pretty played out by now.

[blueray]

1 hour ago, Orcinus orca said:

Sorry, but that opening sequence was just beyond stupid.  What a waste of time.

I was thinking isn't this a year to late? Barbie came out last summer, not this one. I'm not sure why they thought it was relevant.

[Suzn]

2 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

Sorry, but that opening sequence was just beyond stupid.  What a waste of time.

1 hour ago, caitmcg said:

They're all quite cringey. I just FFW. In this case, it was a little late for that shtick, anyway; the Barbie parodies are pretty played out by now.

OMG, yes!  They are just embarrassing.

[Ms Lark]

Sumayah's duck was stunning, even if she didn't get Star Baker. Remember Paul from Season 6's "bread lion." Yeah, everyone still does. He didn't get Star Baker for that, either. I know I will remember the duck.

 

[Quilt Fairy]

I liked the twist on the Technical, is that a one time thing or for the whole season?  However, those Battenberg cakes just looked unfinished to me.

[Dirge]

I hope the "let the bakers see it" technical challenge continues. I'd rather see the bakers challenged on their baking talent than if they've lived lives where they had the money and opportunity to SEE some of the more exotic baked goods. 

And I loved that the showstopper went for realism instead of building nonsensical tower kinds of of things. 

[Orcinus orca]

11 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

Sumayah's duck was stunning, even if she didn't get Star Baker. Remember Paul from Season 6's "bread lion." Yeah, everyone still does. He didn't get Star Baker for that, either. I know I will remember the duck.

Ditto.  That duck will live on as one of the best.

[iMonrey]

17 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

Sorry, but that opening sequence was just beyond stupid.  What a waste of time.

Aww, I thought it was kind of funny. Corny as all get-out? Absolutely. They always are. But I enjoy seeing Paul and Pru having fun with it.

[Deskisamess]

I love the goofy openings. Especially Paul & Prue being silly, it's fun. We need more fun and silliness. My favorite was the one where Paul was Billy Ray Cyrus.

[dleighg]

4 minutes ago, Deskisamess said:

I love the goofy openings.

I'm glad someone does. Not being snarky. I don't care for them, but if people enjoy them, so be it. They aren't that long. I can deal :) 

[sugarbaker design]

21 hours ago, dleighg said:

I'm glad someone does. Not being snarky. I don't care for them, but if people enjoy them, so be it. They aren't that long. I can deal :) 

This year's was mercifully brief.  

[Domenicholas]

On 9/28/2024 at 9:30 PM, Ms Lark said:

Sumayah's duck was stunning, even if she didn't get Star Baker. Remember Paul from Season 6's "bread lion." Yeah, everyone still does. He didn't get Star Baker for that, either. I know I will remember the duck.

 

I thought that Sumayah should have at least gotten a special commemoration for her duck like Paul did for his lion.

[AheadofStraight]

I'm surprised there aren't any comments about Alison saying, "How does Fanny taste, guys?" Everyone cracked up. Is it because Americans are less familiar with the British slang usage? Very similar to them talking about "beaver" a few seasons ago.

[dleighg]

I'm American, and got both references. Maybe I watch too much Britbox and Acorn :) 

[AheadofStraight]

Haha, same!!!

[janie jones]

I'm American, and I got it. I don't have anything to say about it, though.

[Cattoy]

4 hours ago, janie jones said:

I'm American, and I got it. I don't have anything to say about it, though.

Same. It wasn't really funny.

[blueray]

On 10/6/2024 at 5:33 PM, AheadofStraight said:

I'm surprised there aren't any comments about Alison saying, "How does Fanny taste, guys?" Everyone cracked up. Is it because Americans are less familiar with the British slang usage? Very similar to them talking about "beaver" a few seasons ago.

I took that as similar to a certain body part. Which similar to "beaver". I get what they were saying and why everyone laughed. But it seemed stage to me (not that most of the stuff isn't). At least that's how my American ears took it.

[RoxiP]

I have always thought fanny referred to the part of your anatomy that gets spanked. Don't even remember her making the remark.

[dleighg]

I think the chicken (?) was named Fanny, so that's why she asked "how's your Fanny."

[Shrek]

27 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

I have always thought fanny referred to the part of your anatomy that gets spanked. Don't even remember her making the remark.

Isn't that the American version of fanny.

The British version is the same as the American pussy. With pussy just being another word for a cat in the UK & has caused me much trouble since I moved to the USA 20 years ago.

[sugarbaker design]

2 hours ago, dleighg said:

I think the chicken (?) was named Fanny, so that's why she asked "how's your Fanny."

It was Sumaya's duck! 🦆

[Orcinus orca]

1 hour ago, sugarbaker design said:

It was Sumaya's duck! 🦆

The duck's name was Pato.  The chicken was Fanny.

[sugarbaker design]

53 minutes ago, Orcinus orca said:

The duck's name was Pato.  The chicken was Fanny.

Sorry, I'm confusing my baked fowl!!!