S05.E06: European Cakes

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The remaining hopefuls face three European cakes. The signature challenge sees them having to bake yeast-leavened cakes whilst the technical challenge sees them having to create a swedish princess torte. The showstopping finale sees them having to make their own contemporary version of the dobos torte.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Loved Nancy saying she's had Europe vacations and she's had lots of cake but she's never really thought about what they're called or how they're made. I also loved Kate explaining savarin and babka to Martha.

 

Luis' apple and cinnamon kugelhopf with honeyed apples looked beautiful. He chose a great pan and then really took advantage of the shape when decorating. And how can you go wrong with apple and cinnamon?

 

Chetna's orange savarin with cinnamon cream looked a little plain, and it was too bad to see that it collapsed because of all the syrup being added when the cake was still warm.

 

Richard's fruity guglhupf with orange glaze seemed too much like fruitcake for my taste. I liked that Paul explained that the split on the bottom meant he put it in the oven before the yeast was done rising.

 

Nancy's rum punch savarin with coconut cream definitely sounded Caribbean, as she said. Passionfruit, coconut, and banana! I cracked up every time Paul said bananer. The decoration was a little juvenile. It looked like something that would be served at a pool party on the Brady Bunch. It's too bad she let the dough overproof, but again, glad that Paul mentioned it. It's a good thing everyone loved the flavor.

 

Martha's dark chcolate and almond liquer savarin looked very traditional. Paul and Mary both really loved it too.

 

Kate's Israeli pecan, chocolate, and sour cherry yeast cake sounded good. I loved the marbled effect inside.

 

Mmmmmm, cake tables. I fully approve of the concept. Three or four hours of eating cake sounds amazing!

 

Richard's princess cake looked pretty terrible on the outside. It didn't look domed enough, and the chocolate swirl looked like a little kid did it. But the rose was nice. Martha's looked okay but not great and the layers looked good. Kate's looked way too flat and her chocolate looked pretty bad. The marzipan looked terrible where you could see the seam. The cream collapsed everywhere once they cut it open though, so I guess the cake wasn't cool enough when she put it together. Luis had a really nice dome and his chocolate looked much better than everyone else's, and the layers looked good. Chetna's had really nice layers but the chocolate looked messy. Nancy's layers looked great, the dome was nice, and the chocolate looked simple and neat.

 

Luis' vanilla, hazelnet, and salted caramel cake looked really impressive. The sugar work was really nice. Even without having ever seen the cage on the hill, it was very distinct and it was obvious what it was. It's a shame that they didn't love the flavors.

 

Richard showstopper seemed to be a bit too ambitious. Two cakes, each with ten layers? That is a lot of work! But it sounded delicious. Raspberry puree with chocolate cream caramel on the bottom, peach and white chocolate on the top? Yum! I liked the idea of a sugar forest but it didn't end up looking like a forest. It was kind of messy looking, but I appreciate that he did so many different kinds of sugar work.

 

Martha's chess themed chocolate and salted caramel torte sounded very promising. It's too bad that it ended up being so uneven. I actually liked the way it looked after Paul cut into it. Once it was really crooked, it looked like a crazy Alice in Wonderland had an earthquake kind of way with the chess pieces at angles. Her flavors are always good which saves her.

 

Chetna's almond liqueur tortet with chocolate caramel butter cream sounded good. Her caramel circles made on the grapes looked great. They added a lot of dimension. I don't know why Mary seemed to think it was such an original idea though. People do the same with chocolate and balloons to make bowls all the time.

 

Nancy's chocolate and caramel torte looked very neat. The edges were very sharp and clean. Her cakes looked like perfect rectangles.

 

Kate's three tiered raspberry, chocolate and orange torte sounded very risky. I give her credit for making three cakes. It looked nice but simple.

 

Once I knew it was between Richard and Kate, I was convinced that Richard would be the one going home because Kate did better in the signature bake. Then I remembered how terrible Kate's princess cake was. I'm glad they took advantage of Diana leaving last week to keep both Kate and Richard. I feel like they have both been pretty good throughout the competition and they had a bad week. Nice to see Chetna get star baker this week. She has been plugging along!

Edited September 11, 2014 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Athena]

Aww, Chetna really deserved it this week. I really liked the look of her Showstopper. I'm glad for her. I'm also glad neither Kate or Richard went home because I like them both. I like everyone now except Luis. 

[Rickster]

I know the Brits love to anglicize foreign words, especially French ones, but I just wish we could get the people on this show to pronounce genoise correctly. It drives me crazy.

[Meredith Quill]

Chetna is a good & overall consistent baker and I am happy for her that she won star baker but I do think Nancy was robbed (by a smidge). Luis continues to be a bit smug but he rarely puts a foot wrong. I think Martha at 17 years old; she's certainly holding her own against the more experienced bakers! I wonder if baking is in her blood?

I knew as soon as it came down to Richard & Kate that nobody was going home this week, especially given that they were so evenly balanced in their strengths and weaknesses this week and I'm glad because I like them both. They really need to pull out all the stops next week though, unless someone else has an absolute disastrous week of course (looking at you Luis) ;)

 

SquirrelWatch: (drumroll.......) 0

I think the squirrels have gone into hiding, either that or they're saving all the squirrels up for a parade in the finale.....should I be excited or nervous? Current status: 60% excited, 40% nervous.

[ceebee]

I know the Brits love to anglicize foreign words, especially French ones, but I just wish we could get the people on this show to pronounce genoise correctly. It drives me crazy.

Hi - I'm British and, although I believe both the French and English words are used in British English, I've always spelled it and pronounced it as an English word (genoese: 'from Genoa'), rather than as a loan word from another language,  so for me, it's jenn-oh-eeze :-)

Edited September 11, 2014 by ceebee

[Rickster]

Hi - I'm British and, although I believe both the French and English words are used in British English, I've always spelled it and pronounced it as an English word (genoese: 'from Genoa'), rather than as a loan word from another language,  so for me, it's jenn-oh-eeze :-)

In the US, it is pretty much invariably the French spelling and pronunciation, which is why it sounds so odd to me.

Sort of like the usage of "fil-let" and "fil-lay"

[ceebee]

I find the variations in our language fascinating. If you're interested, there's a great blog about it written by an American linguist living in the UK - and I think she has a post about fillet ;-).  

 

http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.co.uk/

[Janc]

I was fascinated with the Swedish princess cake - I'd never heard of this before.  The layers upon layers, the whipped cream dome, followed by green (why green?) marzipan!  Timing really was of the essence here, need all your ingredients to cool before assembling.  Looks delicious and rich, though.

[halopub]

Once it was really crooked, it looked like a crazy Alice in Wonderland had an earthquake kind of way with the chess pieces at angles. Her flavors are always good which saves her.

Nancy's chocolate and caramel torte looked very neat. The edges were very sharp and clean. Her cakes looked like perfect rectangles.

 

I got the Alice vibe too! She should have presented it that way, maybe adding a little marzipan top hat.

 

So different from her cheesy-looking signature bake!

 

 I like everyone now except Luis. 

 

I can sort of get why some folks haven't warmed up to Luis - the show often cuts away to him when he has a pinched expression - but I do think he's good at technical exposition and those design executions are lovely without being schmaltzy. I'm tickled that he designed his showstopper on one of my favorite places ever to photograph and I suspect he has a more jovial, fun personality than what we get to see on TV. Kate mentioned that he gives sheriff's badges to the different star bakers to wear, for example.

 

I was fascinated with the Swedish princess cake - I'd never heard of this before.  The layers upon layers, the whipped cream dome, followed by green (why green?) marzipan!  Timing really was of the essence here, need all your ingredients to cool before assembling.  Looks delicious and rich, though.

 

I thought that was just an insane technical and the amateur bakers acquitted themselves well considering the incredible amount of work involved. If the producers are going to assign such difficult challenges, though, I think they really have to give the competitors more time. I spotted a funny tweet by a GBBO fan who quipped at this rate the show will soon be asking contestants to make a "meringue tesseract."  Heh.

 

Loved that Nancy called Paul Hollywood "that male judge." It may have just been a stressed-induced brain fart but it really made me laugh.

Edited September 11, 2014 by halopub

[Janc]

I hope all of you are also watching "An Extra Slice", I really enjoy it.  It's my first exposure to Jo Brand (I'm from Canada) and her dry wit is my favourite type of humour!  Diana was near tears in her short interview with Jo, she just didn't want to re-live the story again.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Norman was great on An Extra Slice last week but I'm glad that they had Diana this week, if only so she could explain what caused her to drop out. I hope she gets her sense of smell back soon. Some of their guest panelists are better than others, but I liked the vegan guy using his veganism to to avoid eating that gross sounding cake.

[Primetimer]

European Cake Week is hardly a cakewalk for the six remaining Great British Bakers.

Read the story

[Athena]

From Sarah's recap on Nancy:

 

 

I find her a bit dull; I don't know why. Certainly you can't argue with her Swedish princess cake;

 

I like Nancy, but I agree. She is a bit dull; I couldn't even say why either. I love Kate and Richard (aka Bob the Builder) so I'm glad they both stayed.

[LittleIggy]

I'm a fiend for caramel, so I would love to taste Chetna, Nancy, and Martha's cakes. I'm glad Chetna got the Star Baker, although the designation appears to carry a curse! ;-)

In the US, it is pretty much invariably the French spelling and pronunciation, which is why it sounds so odd to me.

Sort of like the usage of "fil-let" and "fil-lay"

And "val-ay" and "val-et."

[GaT]

Non elimination! I thought for sure Kate was going home when they kept talking about how she didn't have enough caramel. The cakes all looked delicious to me, I would have eaten them all.

 

I hope all of you are also watching "An Extra Slice", I really enjoy it.  It's my first exposure to Jo Brand (I'm from Canada) and her dry wit is my favourite type of humour!  Diana was near tears in her short interview with Jo, she just didn't want to re-live the story again.

I haven't seen any of them, anybody in the US know if there's some place to see them?

[Lamb18]

I'm glad neither Kate nor Richard was eliminated.  I was wondering if there'd be a non-elimination episode.

[shandy]

I don't know what Sarah Bunting is smoking because I loved this episode. The Swedish Princess Cake was BONKERS but I need to get to IKEA and try one of  their minis. I'm almost 100% sure the marzipan was store bought but mystified why Nancy decided that 'pus' was the color to aim for in an otherwise perfect bake. That said, I think she had been knocking back rum all day, as that signature was so retro even my Great-Nanna (who wore muumuus and drank cuba libres) would have thought twice. I do like her mom approach though, no time to make another one, no tears, just cover up and drown in booze and pretend to be surprised when Paul points out the problems.

Mmm Babka - I was wondering if Kate was Jewish. She has a sort of funky j-girl vibe, spent time in Israel, but those pork pies last week?! That convo about Israel being in the EuroVision Song Contest, I died.

So pleased Chetna won star baker, even if gravity and syrup made her savarin bend in middle. Did anyone else catch the snark to Sue, who was trying to make a joke about it? I would have ripped her a new one too. When things are going wrong, get out of the way. To be fair, she did LMAO.

I've never seen the point of Bundt cakes - Richard's Guglhupf was the wrong side of fruit cake, looked like a cheap panettone. His showstopper was a mess. I think he practices a lot and unlike Nancy and Chetna, he's so used to plan A working.

Ouch, Mary threw shade all over Martha's chess pieces. Don't think I missed the 'I love a queen' from lesbotastic Sue. My new British phrase of choice - "job's a good 'n" although this may well be some anglo-spanish patois from Luis.

Edited February 2, 2015 by shandy

[halopub]

I do like her mom approach though, no time to make another one, no tears, just cover up and drown in booze and pretend to be surprised when Paul points out the problems.

.....

So pleased Chetna won star baker, even if gravity and syrup made her savarin bend in middle. Did anyone else catch the snark to Sue, who was trying to make a joke about it? I would have ripped her a new one too. When things are going wrong, get out of the way. To be fair, she did LMAO.

I haven't seen any of them, anybody in the US know if there's some place to see them?

 

Between that and the "male judge" flub, I think this is when I started to like Nancy.

 

Just another way Chetna rocks. I realize Sue is prompted by the producers and runners to ask certain questions about what's going on with a contestants bake, but sometimes I wish she would restrain herself a bit with the heavy handed jokes. Iain, for example, implied on Extra Slice that Sue's fluttering around and jokes about "Lake Alaska," during bin gate only escalated his frustration.

 

The Extra Slice episodes could be found in the usual places right after they originally aired in the UK but I think only a few remain. You haven't missed much. The aftershow was unfortunately overly scripted and didn't really capitalize on the host's quick wit. Each episode they did show a few unseen clips and would have a quick chat with the eliminated contestants, having them bring a 'redemption' dish. But the show double downed on whatever storyline the editors of the original show wanted to emphasize. So on the accompanying show for the non-elimination cake episode, they brought back Diana and largely supported her non-explanatory explanation of things.

Edited February 2, 2015 by halopub

[Meredith Quill]

My new British phrase of choice - "job's a good 'n" although this may well be some anglo-spanish patois from Luis.

 

;) "Job's a good 'un" is a common phrase in the UK.

[mlp]

I'm not sure how watching nice people bake stuff has become riveting television but I absolutely love this show and look forward to it all week.  I like every one of the contestants and I like Paul and Mary but those two hosts or whatever their role is are very annoying.  They try way too hard to be funny and they're just not plus they appear to bother the contestants who are trying to concentrate.  They don't seem necessary to the show at all.

[PaulaO]

I love this show.  Absolutely hooked.  Question.  Is "sponge" just a basic cake like a white or yellow cake in America?  We do have a sponge cake which is light and, well, spongy.  But sponge seems to be the default on this show.

[LuciaMia]

PBS Video usually has the new episode Monday mornings. But not today. Still has the Pie/Tarts one and thats it. Sigh

[meep.meep]

 

I can sort of get why some folks haven't warmed up to Luis - the show often cuts away to him when he has a pinched expression - but I do think he's good at technical exposition and those design executions are lovely without being schmaltzy. I'm tickled that he designed his showstopper on one of my favorite places ever to photograph and I suspect he has a more jovial, fun personality than what we get to see on TV. Kate mentioned that he gives sheriff's badges to the different star bakers to wear, for example.

.....

Loved that Nancy called Paul Hollywood "that male judge." It may have just been a stressed-induced brain fart but it really made me laugh.

I like Luis!  He's my favorite.  He's just as humble as everyone else.  This was the first time that his flavors weren't on.

 

I spotted Kate wearing the star in this episode, I assumed that it was from the show, so good on Luis.

 

Babka isn't supposed to be cooked in a tin, that's probably what did in Kate's signature bake.

[GaT]

Thanks for the link to her interview halopub. She doesn't give much in the way of explanation, does she?

[stanleyk]

Sort of like the usage of "fil-let" and "fil-lay"

 

Which reminds me of my favorite linguistic bafflement anecdote; when I was studying abroad in Dublin, I was taking a Latin class taught by an American grad student - we were the only two Americans in the room. We ran across the Latin word for "to fillet" and he translated it for us as "to fil-ay." Dead silence. Then, from an Irish student, "...what?" And the prof just keeps saying "to fil-ay. You know, to fil-ay, like to fil-ay a fish." I back him up, unhelpfully: "Fil-ay. To fil-ay something." Baffled stares from all sides. I'm thinking, "what's wrong with you dummies? do you not know what 'to fillet' means?" FINALLY, one of the Irish students goes, "OH. To FILL-it." Relieved sighs all around.

 

On topic, I enjoyed this episode, though I too wish they'd provided more technical detail and information. I was in Budapest relatively recently and loved all the insane cakes there (including the Dobos) and though I'm not a terrible baker myself, I had no idea what all went into making them. I was a little disappointed that no one seemed to do very well on these challenges, though - perhaps there is just a point where, no matter how good, the home baker is simply not able to reach the heights of a professional? A pie is one thing, but a really architectural, very technical cake like that? 

 

In any event, glad to see everyone stay. Richard seems to be reaching the end of his tenure, but I've really enjoyed him and I love his easy-going attitude. So nice to see someone whose response to criticism isn't knee-jerk defensiveness, but a sort of cheerful, "yes, I did terrible at EVERYTHING, didn't I? Nailed it!"

[Zahdii]

Episode 6: European Cakes
http://www.pbs.org/food/features/great-british-baking-show-episode-6-continental-cake/

[QuinnM]

Very pleased that Chetna finally won star baker.  I really do think that it's interesting how Nancy and she manage when things go bad.

 

Still just love all the heart that someone as young as Martha shows.

[Quilt Fairy]

I like both Kate and Richard and I'm glad no one went home yesterday. In particular, I would hate to see Kate go as I'm just fascinated by her hair. (Can't explain it.)

 

Paul's little history bite about yeast-leavened cakes vs. baking powder was interesting. I wish he'd gone a little more about how the cakes differ.

 

That Swedish princess cake looked disgusting to me. How incredibly sweet it must be from just the layers, and then topped off with marzipan? Yuck. (Of course, the fact that it was green didn't help.)

 

I was expecting so see some amazing sugar work this week (per Paul's brief) but I think Luis was the only one who knocked it out of the park, although Richard's seemed nice as well. Chetna's, well, you probably had to see it in person. I was surprised they didn't ding Martha more for her store bought chess piece molds, and I didn't think Nancy had much decoration going on either. Kate's was just a mess. Even looking at what she was attempting didn't impress me, it was only going to go downhill from there.

 

I think Chetna has deserved to be star baker a couple of times already, so I'm glad she finally won it. And I hope the 'curse' really isn't.

 

I love bundt cakes. I only make box-mix cakes and I always use a bundt pan. I think they bake more evenly, they look nice right out of the pan, and you get lovely slices. That said, I want a pan like Luis'.  (I love that they let them bring their own pans and utensils from home.)

Edited February 2, 2015 by Quilt Fairy

[Texasmom1970]

I That Swedish princess cake looked disgusting to me. How incredibly sweet it must be from just the layers, and then topped off with marzipan? Yuck. (Of course, the fact that it was green didn't help.)

I agree with that green monstrosity, perfect to test their technical skills but I wouldn't want to eat any, yuck indeed!

[magdalene]

I have tasted the IKEA mini Princess cake and it's yummy. The real full size version is absolutely delicious. Light and not overly sweet. Even the calorie count for one of the mini cakes is not bad at all. The green marzipan does not look un-appetizing in real life at all. The cake may look heavy and like a sugar bomb but unlike some American cakes I have had - where all I can taste is chemicals and way too much sugar - the Princess cake has a lovely taste. 

 

I was happy that Chetna won but I fear for her now. Since Norman left she and Martha are my favorites but I think Nancy is going to win this because she is so technically proficient and knows how to do everything.  Small voice - as good as she is, Nancy's baking is kind of boring to me.

Edited February 3, 2015 by magdalene

[QuinnM]

I have tasted the IKEA mini Princess cake and it's yummy. The real full size version is absolutely delicious. Light and%2.

I had no idea they have these at IKEA. It's on my list now. I just need to try one.

[Trini]

Learned something new; I'd never heard of yeast cakes. Now I'm even more thankful for baking powder!

[magdalene]

 

I had no idea they have these at IKEA. It's on my list now. I just need to try one.

In my local IKEA you can get a mini princess cake ready to eat  in the Cafe. Or you can buy them frozen in the grocery section.

[meep.meep]

IKEA has a grocery section? The Internet is so educational.

I don't like marzipan so probably won't go check it out.

[Pallida]

I like both Kate and Richard and I'm glad no one went home yesterday. In particular, I would hate to see Kate go as I'm just fascinated by her hair. (Can't explain it.)

 

I can't explain it either, but I am also fascinated by Kate's hair.

 

I have a friend who absolutely loved Princess cakes from a local bakery.  I honestly can't remember if I ever tried it, so either I didn't try it or I wasn't impressed.  I have to be in the right mood for marzipan though, so I may have suppressed the memory.

 

There was a great line about nozzling the princess.  I might be incredibly juvenile though.

[shandy]

Looking for prinsesstarta this morning I found this amazing blogger who does all the technical bakes - am I a crazy person in that my favorite thing is the photographs of the ingredients?

 

http://emmaforth.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/technical-thursday-marys-prinsesstarta.html

 

http://emmaforth.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/technical-thursday-pauls-mini-pear-pies.html

 

http://emmaforth.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/technical-thursday-marys-tiramisu-cake.html

 

http://emmaforth.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/technical-thursday-pauls-ciabatta.html

 

http://emmaforth.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/technical-thursday-mary-cherry-cake.html

[QuinnM]

 

Looking for prinsesstarta this morning I found this amazing blogger who does all the technical bakes - am I a crazy person in that my favorite thing is the photographs of the ingredients?

Great find.  She gives me courage to try one of these myself.  I don't mind semi spoiling myself for the future technical bakes we'll be seeing.

[Bella]

I love those photos, and I'm not usually one to react to "food porn." But those are great! I like that she includes pictures of what the various stages are supposed to resemble.

[TaraS1]

I just started watching this on PBS and I am absolutely in love with it!  It's so nice (and rare) to find a reality show where you like all the contestants and genuinely root for everyone's success.  Even more rare is when they root for each other, like this group does.  And Mary is just wonderful.  I thought she had doomed all of them with that princess cake challenge since the instructions were so vague, but kudos to them all for (mostly) pulling it off.

 

My only tiny criticism is that I cannot tolerate that host with the glasses.  Oh my god. 

[Quilt Fairy]

For anyone else that loves bundt cakes, I'd like to provide this link to bundt pan heaven: https://www.nordicware.com/store/category/bundt-shaped-bakeware#.VNGgRmctEqQ

You can find a lot of them cheaper elsewhere (chefscatalog.com has a decent selection) but to see their entire product line is awe-inspiring.

[Kierstyn]

I love this show. Absolutely hooked. Question. Is "sponge" just a basic cake like a white or yellow cake in America? We do have a sponge cake which is light and, well, spongy. But sponge seems to be the default on this show.

PaulaO, I'm not an authority on this (so corrections welcome) but my understanding is that sponges are quite different from yellow or white cake. I have only made them a few times, but there is much less flour in a sponge, and almost all of the leavening comes from the treatment of the egg whites. you are practically making a meringue and then introducing scant amounts of flour. the end result is quite flexible.

I'm in the mid-Atlantic, and we don't see sponge cakes all that much around here. the only standard baked goods that I see around here that use sponge cakes are jelly rolls and pumpkin rolls.

 

Next day edit - I was being a bit hyperbolic last night when I mentioned making a meringue.  You are not separating the egg whites in the making of a sponge, but you *are* whipping the eggs to bring in a good bit of the lift of the sponge.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Kierstyn

[shandy]

 

Babka isn't supposed to be cooked in a tin, that's probably what did in Kate's signature bake.

 

It looked so tasty as she was spreading the filling, and that swirl seemed to get lost somehow in the oven. What a pity.

[eurekagirl mOo]

I just want Kate to win be because she has awesome hair...that is all

[Mabinogia]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one obsessed with Kate's hair. lol IDK what it is but I'm fascinated by it. Especially, I think it was last ep, when she had that braid in it. No matter how much I looked I just couldn't figure it out. Also, she has really grown on me. They all have. I'm usually annoyed by the episode where no one gets kicked off because I'm all about thinning the herd, but I was so happy that we get another weekend of these delightful people, all of them.

[Athena]

I love Kate's hair too. One of the lovely things about this show is that you get to know and actually like the contestants more and more. There has been one or two rare instances where I disliked a contestant over time, but in general, I just keep liking them more as the weeks go by.

[shandy]

I've said it before, but I find the women more interesting week by week. I like now that the contestants have halved, there is more time to spend with the remainder. They are all very down to earth talented people. I like Martha and Kate's little gossips. 

[wlk68]

I'm going back and watching the previous seasons which I've found on YouTube. These episodes include cute little history segments about the origins of certain baked goods. These segments aren't in the PBS version which is kind of a bummer but I guess they had to cut them out for time. Or maybe they aren't part of S5? Even though Season 5 is also available on YouTube I refuse to jump ahead and haven't peeked at then so I couldn't say.. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

As far as I recall, the little history lessons were still part of S5 so PBS must have cut those segments.

[Hyacinth B]

I think PBS or at least our Chicago channel showed one at the end of the first or second episode they aired, something about ice cream and how street vendors used to use the same small cup over and over again to serve their customers, but had to stop the practice because it was spreading disease. I don't remember seeing any after that, I guess previews for Downton and other programs were deemed more important.

Edited February 9, 2015 by Hyacinth B