S04.E05: Biscuits and Traybakes

[Athena]

Almost halfway through the Bake Off and the remaining eight bakers are faced with biscuits and traybakes.

 

First up, a Signature Challenge that requires them to do something apparently simple - produce their favourite traybake. The bakers offer Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood their twists on everything from bakewells to banoffees and brownies.

 

Next they face the thinnest Technical Challenge ever devised on Bake Off - the French classic tuiles, biscuits formed into fragile rolls and decorated with delicate designs of piped chocolate.

 

And finally, a Showstopper of epic proportions as the bakers make 'biscuit towers'. Mel and Sue follow the trail of biscuit crumbs as the bakers produce architectural feats inspired by everything from ancient Japanese civilization to one of time travel's most feared enemies.

 

Meanwhile, we discover how the Tottenham Cake, a pink, iced traybake produced by the Quakers of North London, became a match day treat at White Hart Lane.

[Jodithgrace]

Well, the first thing I had to do after the episode was look up "Helter Skelter" in an non-Manson context. It seems to be a carnival ride, like a roller coaster down a large cone. (American here)

I did know what a Dalek was, however. 

Tulles are notoriously difficult because of the timing. I haven't made them myself, but I've seen them on other cooking shows. The templates were a very useful tool. I think that too heavy a squirt of chocolate batter made them too thick. I cringed when I saw the bendy ones. 

I was seriously worried about Kimberly this week. As well as Ruby. Thank goodness they were safe. That Bavarian clock was amazing, though, so I was fully behind the star baker. (sorry..her name escapes me.)

I agree that various tea flavored biscuits might be boring, but that was a beautiful tower. 

The problem with being the first poster is that i am notoriously poor with names and rely on previous posts to save me, but I agree with the Rocket Scientist being sent home. He did have a good run, but he was ultimately a better scientist than a baker. 

Why is Mel always there when disaster happens? She wasn't touching anything, but she seems to be a tad unlucky. 

[NYCFree]

Second week in a row I gasped during this show. We are big Dr. Who fans so the Dalek cookie was fun. I know they complained about the scientist's (also bad with names) use of sugar glue, but the other choice seemed to be royal icing, which is also pretty tasteless.

Paul really seems to have a soft spot for the student (Ruby?). He always finds something positive to say about her bakes, definitely doesn't do that with the others.

[Frost]

Trying to figure out the American equivalent for the baked goods on this show is so much fun!  I'm not always successful though.  Is a "traybake" similar to what we call '"bars" in Minnesota?  Bars cover anything from brownies to date bars - basically anything baked in a sheet pan that isn't a cake.  Bars have a heavier texture than cakes.  But the classic traybake seemed to be the Tottenham which was a cake cut into small squares.  So I'm confused.  :-)

 

Biscuits are easier.  Cookies!  I figured that one out right away when I was at university in England.

[Athena]

Trying to figure out the American equivalent for the baked goods on this show is so much fun!  I'm not always successful though.  Is a "traybake" similar to what we call '"bars" in Minnesota?  Bars cover anything from brownies to date bars - basically anything baked in a sheet pan that isn't a cake.  Bars have a heavier texture than cakes.  But the classic traybake seemed to be the Tottenham which was a cake cut into small squares.  So I'm confused.  :-)

 

That's a pretty good definition. Traybakes can include squares of things. It's a fluid term.

[jenh526]

I thought the Dalek thing was R2D2. Must start paying better attention. When they were mentioning Dalek I thought they were talking about the type of cookie. Hehe.

[GaT]

Kimberley is just so friggin’ adorable.

 

The traybakes all looked delicious to me, & I thought everybody seemed to get them, but the tuiles were tough to do, nobody did a great job on them.

 

Howard’s & Christine’s show stoppers were perfect looking, & Rob’s dalek was really clever, I wasn’t expecting him to go home. Francis & Ruby seem to be hanging on by a thread to me, I think both of them are on their way out

[Rinaldo]

That's a pretty good definition. Traybakes can include squares of things. It's a fluid term.

This question has also been discussed in the "both sides of the Atlantic" thread. The discussion is complicated by two terminology disjunctures: Americans would call a baking container a pan or maybe tin, but never a tray (a tray being a serving surface on which plates etc. are placed); and Brits will give "flapjacks" as an example of one kind of tray bake, where to Americans a flapjack is a pancake, not a granola bar.

 

As to the handling of tuiles, which must be molded when just out of the oven, there are various tricks: Mary suggests elsewhere popping the untouched ones back in the oven for a few seconds if they've cooled too much. And Julia Child's usual suggestion was to set the baking sheet on the open oven door while you retrieve the tuiles one by one, so they stay warm and pliable. 

Edited October 5, 2015 by Rinaldo

[Zahdii]

This episode is up online:

 

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365541714/
Season 2, Episode 5: Biscuits and Traybakes

 

For the Brits a cookie is called a 'biscuit'.  A 'traybake' is a type of cake or similar sweet food that is baked in a square or rectangular container and cut into individual pieces for serving.

[Quilt Fairy]

I can sort of see rolling the tuilles into a cigar shape since you're going to dip the ends in chocolate, but I don't get molding them over a rolling pin. Why would you want them half-curved like that?

Frost, I agree with you. Never heard the word "traybake" before and I would have called them squares or bars (and brownies are always just brownies!), but that last thing they showed was just a sheetcake cut into squares. Brits.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Quilt Fairy

[QuelleC]

Yes, there are bars and squares.  And then there are brownies. 

 

Thanks for the flapjack explanation, I was confused.  It looked like granola when it was done and you could tell while mixing it the batter was very thick. 

 

I get a kick out of the expressions on Glen's face.  But that part where he mopped his face and head with a towel was pretty gross.  I think I prefer simple foods party because people aren't touching every single thing.  Oh, I forgot, Glen was blowing on his tower to cool it off, wasn't he?

[Quilt Fairy]

I don't remember, were the show-stoppers supposed to be self-supporting? I think Kimberley's tower would have looked spectacular if it had had some help staying upright.

[BusyOctober]

I watch this seres with my 8 yo daughter.  We also watch The Amazing Race together.  We usually have TAR favorite teams and cheer them on.  I have no problem picking my top tier vs. "go home now" teams.  However when I watch Great British Bake Off, I cannot choose aanyone I dislike or pick out the one who is less likeable.  I love all of these people!  They are all so joyous and passionate and considerate and talented. My daughter keeps asking me to pick a favorite week after week, but I keep telling her I like them all the same.  I'm sad every week when somebody goes home and I will truly be happy for any of the remaining bakers to win.

[emma675]

I know she's young, but Ruby needs to get over her serious Debbie Downer phase stat. She was apologizing for her first bake before the judges could even taste it and then she was convinced she was the worst at the signature bakes before even getting feedback. I find it exhausting to listen to her.

 

I liked Rob but he was the right choice to go home. His ideas were fantastic, but he never seemed to have the execution or taste down correctly. 

[QuelleC]

I thought the same thing about Ruby but when I thought about it, when confronted with someone like Paul, who I thought had some harsh comments and glares, I might admit my mistakes up front rather than hear it from him.  Just to get it over with.  Trust me, it doesn't work. 

 

When they were tasting the towers there were a lot of cuts.  I was concerned more fell down than I thought, but Mary and Paul must have divided/destroyed the things before they tasted them and all we saw was the tasting.

 

And good lord Sue shut it with the BAAAAKE  I think Mel is there just to make her look relatively normal although she's awfully impressed with her own puns.  Basically, I'm watching the show for the contestants and Mary only.

 

I think her pants are what we call boyfriend jeans. 

[shandy]

I recognize Ruby's negative self talk from being a  TA. So many smart accomplished young female undergraduates adopt this behavior when talking about their work,  it both puzzles and upsets me. 

 

Christine was so clever with her Bavarian clock - a hurricane wouldn't have dented those slabs of shortbread. My mom's coffee klatch crew would be all over that.   I'm so unused to Mary being abrupt when she told Howie he was quite boring I nearly choked laughing. 

 

Someone said they loved Becca/Beca(sp?). So do I, she is warm and helpful, and she doesn't care that Glen sweats under the lights and the canvas. She is always going in for a cuddle. Welsh girls rock. 

Edited October 5, 2015 by shandy

[GaT]

I recognize Ruby's negative self talk from being a  TA. So many smart accomplished young female undergraduates adopt this behavior when talking about their work,  it both puzzles and upsets me. 

As someone who is on Reddit every night, this sounds a bit like humble bragging to me. "I thought it was terrible, I was so surprised the judges/teachers/other students loved it". At first it always seems like they lack confidence and are just being humble, but once it happens numerous times, it starts to feel like they're fishing for compliments.

[LittleIggy]

Kimberley and Ruby should be models for a "Let's Get Baking, UK!" ad campaign. That are both so gorgeous. :-)

[meep.meep]

I don't think anyone mocks the modest.  And there are examples in Austen of the type of false modesty that's described.

 

Ruby is in a competition - she's trying to win.  You don't do that by pointing out flaws before they are detected.  You have to show some confidence in what you have made.  She's been Star Baker, she should know that Paul and Mary appreciate her skills.

[Aquarius]

I'm totally loving this show for all the reasons others have mentioned!  It's so nice and fun.  I love them all . . . the only hard part is seeing the eliminated contestant leave.

 

I was happy that Christine was Star Baker again this week.  That clock tower was fabulous!  And I will love her forever for how genuinely upset she was that Ali went home.

 

I love Kimberley but she really had an off week.  Too bad about the tuilles being burnt, because otherwise they looked like they would have been among the top attempts.  They were shaped and decorated nicely.  However, her showstopper did not look good to me.  Beyond the fact that she picked such an apparently delicate base (I have no idea what Viennese is), it just didn't look very nice with all those spiky pipings in between.  It wasn't very pretty at all.

 

It's ironic that Frances' signature bake was a tower that probably met the height requirement of her failed showstopper.  And Paul took out a "Jenga" piece from the middle and it still stood!  Sad that for her showstopper she designed such a precarious tower.  But I did love her little tape measure and the idea that that the piece was a pile of tailoring items.

 

I thought Beca would be among the first ones to go home in the beginning, but here she is at the mid-point and apparently picking up steam.  I thought her showstopper was very pretty and it apparently tasted good too.

 

Hee.  I had no idea what a Dalek was, and I still don't, although I'm guessing from Sue's TARDIS reference that it has something to do with Dr. Who.  So I laughed a little when Rob's showstopper was described as a "universally recognized sci-fi character" or whatever.  I'm pretty used to not being part of the known universe.  LOL.

Edited October 6, 2015 by Aquarius

[Pallida]

I hate my apartment's kitchen and rarely bake because of it, but I want to make some traybakes now!  I just wish Mr. Pallida liked the same flavors as me.  Guess I could do what these bakers do and share with coworkers...

[Ritalin Smoothie]

NYC Free:

 

Paul really seems to have a soft spot for the student (Ruby?). He always finds something positive to say about her bakes, definitely doesn't do that with the others.

 

So I'm not the only one who senses that our salsa dancer of the week has a soft spot for her.

 

Even with this awfully awfully off week, I still think Kimberly will make it to the finals.  Christine is the other one I pegged to be in the final 3.

 

The next one to go?  Probably Howard.

Edited October 6, 2015 by Ritalin Smoothie

[jellywager]

 

And good lord Sue shut it with the BAAAAKE  I think Mel is there just to make her look relatively normal although she's awfully impressed with her own puns.  Basically, I'm watching the show for the contestants and Mary only.

 

I think her pants are what we call boyfriend jeans.

Each time she squeaks out BAAAke I cringe and tell the TV she's annoying. I really can't stand anything about her. Besides her lack of being funny I rely hate her PeeWee Herman hairdo. Ok I'll leave the shallow end of the pool now. But really is it necessary to have two hosts?

[Athena]

But really is it necessary to have two hosts?

 

While Mel & Sue have individual careers, they started in entertainment as a comedy duo. They are writing and comedy partners. It's common to have comedy duos or two comedians host or lead shows in the UK (X Factor UK, QI, Nevermind the Buzzcocks, etc.). 

[DeLurker]

I like Mel and Sue.  Not crazy about the BAAAAAKE but given the general abrasiveness I am used to with hosts, I find the pair more genuine.

[ceebee]

Each time she squeaks out BAAAke I cringe and tell the TV she's annoying. I really can't stand anything about her. Besides her lack of being funny I rely hate her PeeWee Herman hairdo. Ok I'll leave the shallow end of the pool now. But really is it necessary to have two hosts?

Aww. I like Sue (and Mel, though a little less, for some reason). Sue fronted a fabulous series about the Mekong River and its people and she managed to find a perfect pitch. Serious when needed but funny, too. (Not that that's relevant here, but it showed a versatility and intellect that we don't get to see on GBBO).

I love that Bake Off is appreciated beyond these (UK) shores, but I guess it's inevitable that not every single ingredient will translate. I think they're perfect for the show and the funny (for me) comes from their silliness and sense of the ridiculous - poking a bit of gentle fun to cut through the tension and keep things in perspective. It is, after all, only cakes! I like them because they do it all with genuine warmth and affection, and I like them partly because they're not the typical 'beautiful people' we see on TV. Agree about the BAAAAKE! thing being annoying, though ;-).

Edited October 10, 2015 by ceebee

[jellywager]

Ceebee, I normally love British humor, but I just can't with her. After she delivers a joke, I hate the way she looks down, swallows and adjusts her glasses waiting to hear the laughter. I equally hate when someone in the US cracks a "joke" then says ahh with his mouth hanging open so he can pause got the inevitable laughter before he continues talking. Just a pet peeve of mine. I still love the show, though it doesn't sound like it. :p

Edited October 11, 2015 by jellywager

[stillshimpy]

I think her pants are what we call boyfriend jeans.

 

They're sort of like the bastard cousin of boyfriend jeans, crossed with cargo pants and skinny jeans.  I like Sue and I like Mel.  What I do not like are Sue's incredibly odd taste in pants.  I feel a desperate urge to hike up her waistband because they are some form of low hanging crotch skinny jeans that just....I do not get them. I do not wish to.  Other than that, she's a blast as is Mel, as far as I'm concerned.  I like the variety of Baaaaakkkkkes too, but admit, at first I didn't.  Now I do.  If I start liking those jeans/trousers/terrible ill-formed-offspring of jeans, I will fear for my own sanity though.  Sue often looks like she just crawled directly out of the bottom of a laundry basket, though and it seems to be on purpose....so it's apparently just her look.  

 

 

 

Paul really seems to have a soft spot for the student (Ruby?). He always finds something positive to say about her bakes, definitely doesn't do that with the others.

 

I like Ruby and she's in an incredibly pretty, bright and talented young woman, but she's still young and I think Paul takes it easier on her because she's still a developing person.  He was the same way with the youngest contestant last season.  He just seems to soften the blows a bit, maybe because he's a parent, maybe because he'd hate to be the reason anyone gave up something liked at a young age.   I'm not sure, but I do think it has something to do with thinking she's unlikely to win the competition and trying to keep in mind that adding as few dents to her belief in her own abilities prior to that moment is likely the kindest thing he can do. 

 

I think Bob went because between the edible glue and the thick fondant (which is not particularly tasty)  was the problem that the cookies themselves were not particularly good.  It was all flash, no substance sort of creation, but I admit I started droning, "Exterminate!" at my husband when he asked, "What's a Dalek?"  And I know the Beatles song Helter-Skelter, but had never envisioned one before.  

 

Poor Bob, an underbaked tray-bake did him in as much as the not particularly palatable (or in some cases, inedible) Dalek, but I did appreciate a shout-out to the Who-vians of the world.   

Whose tower crashed so spectacularly again?  The part I always nearly have a heart-attack during is when they then have to carry these precariously balanced show-stoppers to the judges.   The Teahouse structure was impressive, but that clock tower was genius.  

 

Well done to Glen on his macarons too.  The look Paul gave him when he said he was going to make them, and had made a double-batch of the batter just-in-case as he hadn't made them before might have caused a lesser man to submissively pee.  God that was a withering look.  

 

As for those tuiles, god, what a terrible amount of effort for something not particularly remarkable in taste.  If crisp is your thing, sure, but otherwise...not seeing the value in being a burn victim in the name of them. 

Edited October 11, 2015 by stillshimpy

[jellywager]

 

What I do not like are Sue's incredibly odd taste in pants.  I feel a desperate urge to hike up her waistband because they are some form of low hanging crotch skinny jeans that just....I do not get them. I do not wish to.  Other than that, she's a blast as is Mel, as far as I'm concerned.

Pants? I thought she only had one pair. Each week she is wearing the exact same clothes.

 

The person's tower that fell is the woman who always adds extra style (don't know her name). I could have swore Mel knocked over the cookie tower, but she remained silent about it a judging.

[stillshimpy]

The person's tower that fell is the woman who always adds extra style (don't know her name). I could have swore Mel knocked over the cookie tower, but she remained silent about it a judging.

 

No, thank goodness.  She was measuring the height of the structure from a good foot away, thank goodness.  So she was saying, "I think you're all right..." on the height, with a tape measure and not in contact with it when it came crashing down :-/

 

 

 

Pants? I thought she only had one pair. Each week she is wearing the exact same clothes.

 

Hehe, no actually I'm positive she was wearing different ones, because these ones had the cargo/carpenter pants type pockets and I couldn't help thinking, "Oh my god, they've gotten worse?  How is that even humanly possible?!?"  Unless I'm like some sort of pants-trauma survivor and my mind's eye has refused to acknowledge the cargo pockets before....which is actually....possible. 

Edited October 11, 2015 by stillshimpy

[RealityCheck]

stillshimpy asked:

Whose tower crashed so spectacularly again?

Frances Quinn was the baker who built the haberdasher's biscuit tower that collapsed.  I always thought the structure was architecturally unsound.

 

I do not see how the tower would have survived the move from her workspace to the judges' table.

[Zahdii]

The next episode is up:

 

Season 2, Episode 6: Sweet Dough

It’s week six in the tent and time for sweet dough week – but will it prove bittersweet for the bakers?

 

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365541719/

[dgpolo]

On 10/6/2015 at 2:17 PM, meep.meep said:

Ruby is in a competition - she's trying to win.  You don't do that by pointing out flaws before they are detected.  You have to show some confidence in what you have made.  She's been Star Baker, she should know that Paul and Mary appreciate her skills.

I'm doing a re-watch of the seasons available here (US) in no particular order. Ruby was annoying me big time so came here to see what people said. I agree with the above. I wanted Paul and Mary to say 'OK, if that's what you think we'll go with that' or even better I would love to confront her with Tom Colicchio. At least wait 'til they point something out before you say sorry.

Also, there were several times when I felt Kimberly should've gotten a handshake. I feel she was robbed.

[Crs97]

So late to this, but my day was made when Glen told Becca his idea for his macrons, and she warned him against it and offered him her edible glue and powder.  I love this show!!

I was okay the first couple of times Ruby pre-apologized, but now am over it.  I remember doing that a couple of times as a high schooler, band my mom stopped me pretty fast.  Wish she could give Ruby a call.

Why does Paul hate Glen?  He is so gentle with Ruby, and Glen gets the comment that his large brownies are “grotesque” just because they were big?!?  Then Ruby gets a little pass because she had exams, but Glen gets the Paul lecture on preparedness because he had to grade 200+ exams?!?  So happy those brownies ended up tasting great.