The Great Australian Bake Off - General Discussion

[Aulty]

I've said it after the vegan week in last year's GBBO and  I will say it again: The fecking attitude of the judges, presenters and some contestants in vegan week is really grinding my gears. The constant moaning about not being able to use butter or eggs or bacon is so annoying. Why can't they treat vegan, gluten free or milk free bakes as techniques worth mastering instead of making thinly veiled jokes about them?

Knowing about what flaxseeds, buckwheat or almond flour and aqua faba can do for your bakes is a good skill to have, not just for vegan bakers.

I was surprised that Matt and Maggie didn't know about chickpea water cream (which was all over the internet two years ago), and instead of saying 'oh thats new to me' they could have asked Anston to explain (to the audience) how it is made.

I will try that terrine, it looked very good.

And the cupcakes? Not that hard to make vegan cupcakes, and there was a nice variety. (iirc one of the best contestant, and I think all stars winner, on Cupcake Wars was a vegan Bakery)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Awwww, I'm sad that Laura wasn't able to come back. I hope she's okay.

I'm not vegan but I know people who are vegetarians and vegans, as well as people who have severe food allergies, so I'm always happy to try alternative recipes with different ingredients. Some are definitely tastier than others. Anston and Angela definitely had an advantage this week since they're both vegan. I was surprised that neither Matt nor Maggie knew about using chickpeas though. I'm not vegan and I know about aquafaba!

Angela's slice with coconut almond base, raspberry puree, and matcha cashew nut cream were really colorful. All that raspberry puree and Maggie said there STILL wasn't enough raspberry flavor?

Anston's black forest slice with cherry chocolate cake, cherry jam, and chickpea whipped cream looked a little messy. It didn't help that the layers were so dark that they were indistinguishable.

Dan's cherry slice with almond meal base, macademia and coconut center, and cherry, strawberry, and coconut compote sounded so good. I was the kid eating cherries and strawberries together too because I love them both so I bet I would have loved these! Dan cracks me up. When he said that he and his partner eat vegan stuff and think it's healthy so they eat too much of it, I could relate.

David's peppermint slice with chocolate sponge, cashew nut peppermint cream, and dark chocolate did not look great. I mean, honestly, they were a mess. When he said that the cream didn't have enough peppermint flavor and Sunny told him to follow his gut, I just rolled my eyes when he said his gut was telling him to use eggs and butter to make it properly. The peppermint flavor has very little to do with whether there are eggs and butter in it. I'm nowhere near being a vegan. I love butter and honey and meat. But it annoys me when people get so uptight about not being able to use certain ingredients. Unclench and try to be open minded for like, two whole days.

Don's chocolate caramel slice with fudgy chocolate cake, lime and coconut center, caramel sauce, and chocolate looked very tempting. I loved the thick chocolate and the caramel oozing out.

Sue's ma'amoul slice with pistachio and rosewater looked pretty uniform, but too dry is never a good thing. I want to like her "everyone has different taste" attitude, but the judges' criticism wasn't about the flavor combination. They said her slices were too dry.

Sunny's peanut butter, chocolate, and date slice with an oat and coconut base, peanut butter and date center, rhubarb compote, and chocolate sounded delicious. And her study snack inspiration (a date with peanut butter, raspberry, and chocolate) sounds great too. Loved the the judges wanted to take some home.

Wynn's chocolate and raspberry slice with pistachio dark chocolate base, raspberry and white chocolate mousse, and raspberry jelly looked so pretty. I loved the color and the presentation. Hahaha, I loved that Matt saw right through his claim that he wanted the jelly to be firm.

Wow, the vegetable terrine with mushroom duxelle, bell peppers, spinach, sweet potato, purple carrots, and saffron buckwheat galette technical challenge was so difficult that Matt gave them full directions? That made me so nervous for the bakers.

Cupcakes were a good challenge in theory because one of the things I see a lot are birthday parties with cakes using no eggs or no dairy (or no gluten), but I don't think of cupcakes as a showstopper.

Angela's saint vanilla cupcakes with lemon curd and vanilla buttercream sounded really light. Her sinner chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel and chocolate ganache frosting sounded good. I wish Maggie had explained why she thought the frosting didn't go well with the cupcake.

Anston's chocolate and lavender cupcakes were so colorful. His vanilla and vodka cupcakes with raspberry coulis, lime swiss meringue buttercream were really pretty.

Dan's milk bar themed cupcakes were so cute and cheerful. Loved the striped straws he used to decorate them. His vanilla cupcakes with strawberry jam and berry frosting sounded delicious (but again, I love strawberries). His chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel and peanut butter frosting sounded great too. Ha, Matt got a nudge and a whack from a speechless Maggie! And Matt said he was taking two more home with him so they must have been awesome.

David's carrot cake cupcakes with macademia and cashew cream looked exactly like what I thought carrot cake cupcakes would look like. His red velvet cupcakes with raspberry coulis and tofutti cream cheese sounded good. Red velvet plus raspberry!

Don's chocolate cupcakes with raspberry curd sounded good but they looked a little messy. His vanilla cupcakes with coconut milk vanilla crème pâtissière and chocolate looked nice but it's too bad the cake was dry and the creme was rubbery.

Sue's turmeric cupcakes with coconut cream and fig looked nice with the figs on top. Once again, she made something that was too dry. Her red velvet cupcakes with tofu cream cheese were so pretty but hearing that the cake was gluey and sticky made me go ACK out loud.

Sunny's chocolate and raspberry cupcakes with pistachio buttercream were very pretty. Her coconut cupcakes with flaxmeal, passionfruit jelly, passionfruit buttercream, and meringue kisses were so cheerful.

Wynn's ginger and pear cupcakes with molasses, vanilla almond milk frosting, caramel sauce, and gingerbread men were hilarious. I loved the different facial expressions on the gingerbread men and the legs sticking out of some of the cupcakes.

I was really rooting for Sunny to win star baker this week, but Dan did so well this week too. I wasn't surprised that Sue was eliminated this week. She had too many dry bakes.

[akr]

Aside from the terrine, I really wasn't inspired by much of anything this week (definitely none of the slices). Sorry vegans, but vegan baking rarely looks very good to me, no matter how much they try to act excited about it. I'm not vegan & while I could cook for someone who was, I probably wouldn't bake for them (but instead serve fruit or sorbet, or buy something, since sometimes fruit or sorbet might not feel satisfying enough. Perhaps if you can make a good olive oil or nut flour cake without eggs...  If I'm going to go to the trouble of baking I want good results, so my sense is I'd rather serve (and eat) something that's naturally vegan rather than use a whole bunch of substitutions to come up with something that's only ok. If I'd rather skip dessert (in favor of having more of my vegan dinner) than eat a vegan one, that's what I'd likely offer guests as well, but with the option of some sorbet & raspberries to finish the evening. Perhaps some sort of peach & blackberry crumble using coconut oil in place of butter for the topping? But not slices or cupcakes. They're bound to disappoint.).

I agree that the judges no doubt knew about aquafaba but pretended not to to give the viewers the shared sense of discovering something new & clever.

[rhys]

I'm more curious about what a slice is. Even after watching the episode it's a bit unclear. Some kind of layered brownie deal? Maybe there isn't a U.S. equivalent that I'm familiar with.

I do like a vegan challenge even though I'm an omnivore. It's a decent way to challenge all the bakers.

[akr]

22 minutes ago, rhys said:

I'm more curious about what a slice is. Even after watching the episode it's a bit unclear. Some kind of layered brownie deal? Maybe there isn't a U.S. equivalent that I'm familiar with.

I do like a vegan challenge even though I'm an omnivore. It's a decent way to challenge all the bakers.

I'm thinking bar cookies, basically. In this case they had to have distinct layers, but I don't think that's always the case.

(actually, I guess that was my impression before this episode. Now when I look it up, I see that some versions incorporate things like cream or jelly layers (vanilla slice & jelly slices, for example), and we saw that kind of thing here, but I wouldn't expect to see those in American bar cookie type treats. I guess you see cake layers, too. But, something baked or formed in a tray or pan & then cut up.)

Edited October 26, 2019 by akr

[retrograde]

I would consider a "slice" just a vague catch-all term for anything cooked in a tray then sliced up, I don't think there are any other rules to it. A brownie is a slice, a mille-feuille is a slice (vanilla slice), a lemon bar is a slice (lemon slice), but also there are savoury slices.

On a show like this they probably expect/demand a layered dish, but for example, white christmas is still a slice (a really disgusting slice), despite having no distinct layers. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S5.E5: Classics

Quote

This week, it's a return to the classics and the seven remaining bakers need to bring their personal baking style and understanding of the basics to some traditional favourites.

Original air date: 10/31/19

[ElectricBoogaloo]

"Classics" covers a wide range of recipes so I was interested to see what the bakers would have to make this week. Ha, I totally cracked up when Dan said he was sweating like a donkey and wanted to take his shirt off.

Sunny's fried vegetable samosas with potato, peas, raisins, cashews, and green yogurt dipping sauce looked perfectly fried. Maggie has NEVER had a good samosa? Maybe she's eating samosas in the wrong places.

Don's French chestnut pasties with parsnips, potatoes, and truffle butter had beautiful flaky pastry. Heh, but whenever I see anything made with chestnuts, I think about a book I read when I was 12 where the main character said chestnuts tasted like something she would feed a stray dog that she didn't like.

Anston's shepherd's pie pasties with lamb, ham, chorizo, and mashed potatoes looked a little light but the judges didn't say the pastry was underbaked so I guess it was fine. I loved that Dan taste tested his filling since Anston is vegan.

Dan's boscaiola pasties with Italian sausage, porcini mushrooms, smoked scamorza cheese sounded great. Maggie seemed very skeptical about how the cheese would affect the pastry so I'm glad that it worked exactly the way he thought it would!

I was nervous for Wynn. It's always frustrating when you practice something at home and it turns out fine and then it doesn't quite work out in the tent. He made it sound like they weren't done even though he baked them for the same amount of time but Maggie said the issue was time management, so which one was the actual problem? His beef and mushroom pasties with rump steak, potatoes, and red wine sounded good (as Matt said, classic beef bourginon flavors) so it's too bad that neither of the judges liked the meat.

David's mint lamb pasties with peas and potatoes sounded simple but tasty. He and Wynn were the only ones who didn't cook the meat before baking their pasties, but neither of them had undercooked meat so I wasn't sure why Matt said (after tasting David's pasties) that he would have cooked the meat beforehand. Was it not seasoned enough? Not tender enough? Give me a specific reason, damn it.

Angela's creole pasties with red beans, rice, and liquid smoke were cute. It was sweet to see Anston and David helping her make her alligator shaped pasties. She just ran out of time. She knew the pastry needed more time in the oven but she had to get them on the tray, so it's not like she didn't know what the problem was. I always appreciate when the bakers are honest with the judges about what went wrong. She didn't make any excuses or try to justify it, which I liked.

The molds they used for their flans in the technical challenge made them look so fancy. Awww, I loved that all the bakers hugged after they brought up their flans.

Ugh, another example of why I hate the way the technical challenges are done (without giving the bakers complete instructions) - Maggie explained Angela's mistake as fear holding her back. No, it wasn't fear. It was because she didn't know how to put the chocolate in. Congratulations to Don for winning first! The judges really loved his flan.

When describing the botanical chiffon cakes, Matt said they needed to be big and bold with nice subtle flavors. How do you make a cake that's bold AND subtle?

Dan's lemon and earl gray cake with lavender buttercream and his orange and rosewater cake with rose buttercream was very colorful but it was a little messy in execution.

Don's Japanese inspired showstopper with cherry blossom cakes and matcha mousseline was very pretty. I loved all the flowers on the outside.

Sunny's bay leaf sponge with buttercream and candied kumquats and fennel sponge with buttercream and candied lemons looked elegant and restrained.

David's juniper berry sponge with vanilla buttercream and orange blossom cake with cardamom cream frosting was crooked and the decoration was a bit clumsy/childish.

I couldn't decide if Angela's English garden showstopper with rose, orange blossom, and lavender cakes was pretty or messy. I liked that she colored each flavor of buttercream to give it a pop of color when it was sliced.

Wynn's lemon chiffon cakes with blackberry curd and elderflower buttercream was so sophisticated with the ombré and the huge paper flower. His flavor combination sounded great - very botanical and the flavors went together without overpowering each other.

Anston's lavender and mandarin cake and rosewater and strawberry cake with Swiss meringue buttercream looked a bit rustic and messy looking.

Congratulations to Don for winning star baker. He had a really great week. First in the technical and star baker!

I had to laugh when Matt said the reason they didn't eliminate anyone this week was because both Angela and Wynn did really well in the showstopper. Uhh, more like Laura dropped out due to illness and they want three people in the finale.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes

Signature challenge - pasties
Angela's English garden chiffon cake
Anston's lavender, mandarin, rose, and strawberry chiffon cake
Dan's lemon and Earl Grey/orange and rose chiffon cake
David's juniper berry and orange blossom chiffon cake
Don's Japanese cherry blossom chiffon cake
Sunny's bay leaf and fennel chiffon cake
Wynn's lemon and blackberry chiffon cake

Technical challenge
Chocolate, hazelnut, and orange flan

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Showstopper challenge - botanical chiffon cakes

Angela's Creole pasties
Anston's shepherd's pie pasties
Dan's Boscaiola pasties
David's mint and lamb pasties
Don's French chestnut pasties
Sunny's vegetable samosas
Wynn's beef and mushroom pasties

[rhys]

As an American, I probably should be rooting for Angela, but I just don't care much for her. I can't articulate why. So I was disappointed she didn't get the boot. Nice that Don got star baker. 

I've never much cared for chiffon cakes.  Too airy & tasteless back in the 60s. On my tv they all looked a wee bit damp. Dan's frosting was kinda Monet-ish.

I want to like Maggie Beer but she is so obsequious. Come on, Mags, you know your stuff. You don't have to kowtow to Matt ferchristsakes. Urg

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Why Laura left the Great Australian Bake Off

Quote

“I have cholesterol hypertension and neurocardiogenic syncope, which basically means that when my heart and my brain don’t work together I get really dizzy - and if I get overheated I can sometimes pass out.

I wasn't well that day. I actually did have tablets that I was supposed to be taking, but I wasn’t taking them as I didn’t think they were doing anything for me.

It was a young foolish mistake. Because after that day, I am sure to take them every single day and I have never felt the same since.

There have been a lot of things that were happening since I was little and nobody really knew anything about it. Just before I went on the show, my doctor gave me some pills and I didn't think I needed them, but turns out I did!

There’s no cure for it, I just have to take pills and keep on top of it. I should’ve been more cautious of my health but at the time I really wasn't.

I don’t remember the episode. I remember little bits, but overall I don't remember what went on as I was so out of it."

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S5.E6: Pâtisserie

Quote

It's patisserie week and the bakers must prove their pastry skills and showcase their imagination with decoration.

Original air date: 11/7/19

[Aulty]

What a lovely set of challenges, especially the tarts. A nice balance between taste, execution and design on a level that would tempt me to try something similar at home. Like in the olden Bake Off days.

Well done Dan! After the first episode I thought he was just some over the top personality they cast for drama, but he has some serious baking chops and seems like a very lovely guy.

Dunno why they didn't have Angela on the bottom, other than the technical all her bakes this week where undercooked (or too blond as they say on GABO). I find myself rooting for the guys and a final with Dan, Don and David does not seem unlikely.

I don't like cream horns. My mother used to make them for every party or celebration when I was younger (using shop bought puff pastry of course). I think she liked to show off because she was the only one who did them and she got so many compliments for them.

[rhys]

Yay, Dan is right. He really does continue to impress. Sorry to see Anston go. I'm hoping Dan or Dave for the win or Sunny. She seems terrific, too.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Heh, I'm with Sunny on pastries. I'm great at eating them!

David's cream horns with chocolate puff pastry and orange date crème pâtissière looked great. I loved the chocolate stripe.

Sunny's cream horns with kaffir lime crème pâtissière, blueberries, white chocolate, and coconut flakes looked nice and plump.

Anston's cream horns with coconut mousse, grilled mango, longan, and crushed pistachios sounded interesting but since the judges said that they were getting all coconut and none of the fruit flavors, I wish he had infused the mousse with mango instead of just adding chunks. I laughed when he didn't get the blonde host's "horn stars" joke and then he said, "Ohhhhh."

Dan's cream horns with macadamia vanilla mousse and macadamia praline looked well baked. I totally cracked up when the blonde host was hovering around his station to he put her  to (fake) work.

Wynn's cream horns with cheesecake, strawberry jam, and spiced biscuit crumb were definitely too pale and underbaked. I had to laugh at Matt pointing out the bend in the horns, especially after the hosts made a joke at the beginning about it.

Don's cream horns with mandarin and cardamom curd, kumquats, and fresh cream looked great except for the pastry being too light. Everything else about them looke so good. Something about that shiny chocolate on the edge made them look extra tempting.

Angela's cream horns with peanut butter crème pâtissière and strawberry jam sounded good . It's too bad they said her pastry was too cakey.

Canelés, yum! Congratulations to Sunny for winning first place. Angela did surprisingly well, especially considering how little she seemed to know about them while she was making them. Poor Dan. I wish he judges had explained why his were such different levels of doneness. Was it the amount of beeswax he put in the tins?

I loooove fruit tarts so I was excited about the show stopper challenge!

Anston's vegan tart with coconut oil pastry, spiced apple filling, and rhubarb jam was very simple and traditional looking. I agree that an egg wash would have added a little something extra but overall it just looked too simplistic for a show stopper. I loved that Matt said Anston really changed his mind about vegan stuff the other week.

Angela's blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry tart with pears and steampunk decoration was a little too busy looking. I would have preferred a few less gears. It's tooo bad that her tart had a soggy bottom.

David's straight edged tart with cinnamon pastry, walnut, pear, and walnut tree decoration looked great. The tree was lovely and the straight edge looked so fancy.

Sunny's frangipane tart with pâte brisée crust, pears, blackberries, and a daisy chain border sounded delicious. I agreed with Maggie about having too much pastry on top.

Wynn's strawberry lattice top tart with prosecco, mint, and coconut meringue top was beautiful. I knew he was jinxing himself when he said he likes thin pastry and that his never breaks.

Dan's tart with dates, spiced apples, and dulce de leche was so beautiful. It was really sophisticated and decorated well without being too much. I'm glad he made up for his last place finish in the technical. And he made ice cream - bonus points! Heh and I loved his cheeky "eat me" on the pie.

Don's French apple tart with cranberry glaze and crème anglaise was gorgeous until he covered it up with that Eiffel Tower/Parisian scene pastry top. I think if he had done the reverse and just added the shapes he cut out of the pastry top (like the Eiffel Tower) to the top of his tart, it would have looked so much better. Honestly, I don't think it needed any pastry on top but I know that decoration was part of the challenge.

David and Dan were the only two who excelled at the fruit filling, perfectly baked pastry, and showstopper worthy decorations.

I was so happy for Dan winning star baker. He had the best show stopper by far. Ha, that lucky star shirt worked!

Farewell, Anston! I am glad he was able to show Matt that vegan stuff can taste good. Imagine Paul Hollywood's reaction to half the stuff Anston made.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes

Signature challenge - cream horns
Angela's peanut butter and strawberry cream horns
Anston's coconut, mango and longan cream horns
Dan's macadamia and vanilla cream horns
David's chocolate, date and orange cream horns
Don's mandarin and cardamom cream horns
Sunny's kaffir lime and blueberry cream horns
Wynn's cheesecake and strawberry cream horns

Technical challenge
canelé

Showstopper challenge - fruit tarts
Angela's bumble berry steampunk tart
Anston's coconut, apple and rhubarb tart
Dan's date, apple and ulce de leche tart
David's pear, walnut and cinnamon tart
Don's cranberry French apple tart
Sunny's frangipane, pear and blackberry tart
Wynn's strawberry and coconut tart

[Gabby929]

On 11/1/2019 at 5:46 PM, rhys said:

As an American, I probably should be rooting for Angela, but I just don't care much for her. I can't articulate why.

I agree. I can't stand the way she explains what she's doing to the cameras constantly, in this very know-it-all way, but at the same time I don't think she's a great baker. She has done nothing since winning star baker with the pancake stack cake that has impressed me. Every week I wish she would be sent packing, but since there are so few women left I think they're stringing her along a bit longer. I would be happy if Sunny won the whole thing, however.

Edited November 10, 2019 by Gabby929

[purist]

12 hours ago, Gabby929 said:

I would be happy if Sunny won the whole thing, however.

Same. Sunny is an awesome baker.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S5.E7: Spice

Quote

The heat is on for spice week, with the bakers having to carefully consider their flavours as they tackle maamoul biscuits and a baklava tower.

Original air date: 11/14/19

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes

Signature challenge - pide
Angela's vegetarian pide
Dan's Italian pide
David's pumpkin and caramelised onion pide
Don's four cheese pide
Sunny's sujuk pide
Wynn's spiced lamb pide

Technical challenge 
walnut and apricot ma'amoul

Showstopper challenge - baklava towers
Angela's baklava palm tree
Dan's baklava Christmas tree
David's military baklava fort
Don's baklava colosseum
Sunny's baklava Jenga tower
Wynn's baklava spiral tower
 

Edited November 14, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Aulty]

That was very much a middle eastern inspired spice week - thats not a complaint, a lot of bakes looked really tasty.

I didn't know that Pide are a thing in Australia. They looked so nice on the show that I might try to make one instead of pizza next time.

Now, I love baklava, preferably drowned in a buket of sirup, but why on earth would you try to stack them up? I know they do that for turkish weddings etc. but I really don't get why you would use a bake famed for its fine layers and destroy all that flaky goodness by building a tower. Davids looked alright, but really none of their structures made the pieces themselves look very inviting.

Its the same with those croquembouche towers - they look very impressive if they are really really tall but everyting under 40 cm is just not worth the caramel burns you get from making it.

I am slightly disappointed that Angela ist still around, but Wynn has been struggling the past for weeks too.

Craving baklava now ...

[rhys]

On 11/15/2019 at 6:22 AM, Aulty said:

I am slightly disappointed that Angela ist still around, but Wynn has been struggling the past for weeks too.

Arrgh!! Right there with you. What does she have to mess up in order to get kicked off? 

I've never heard of pide but those looked yummy & if I ever see one on a menu I'm ordering one. 

3t cinnamon, Dan? Holy smokes, that's a lot!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Spice can mean a lot of different things so I was interested to see what the bakers actually had to make this week.

Wynn's spiced lamb pide with zatar, sumac, feta, lemon, pomegranate, cherry tomatoes, and red onion sounded good and his canoes looked nice. Maggie says more spice!

Dan's Italian pide with rocket pesto, marinated eggplant, haloumi, pecorino, chili, tomatoes, rocket, and pine nuts looked great. I loved the tiny twist at the ends. - they made his pide look so fancy. I liked that Dan knew Maggie doesn't like chili but he added some in the hopes that she would like it. And it worked!

David's pumpkin and caramelized onion pide with chili, cinnamon, all spice, rocket, pine nuts, and feta looked good but I wish he hadn't put quite so much arugula on top because I couldn't see the rest of the filling.

Sunny's sujek sausage pide with bell peppers, feta, cumin, coriander, paprika, and chili looked great. The pinched off ends looked so good. I was so glad that she counted and realized she was missing one, but I was disappointed when the last one didn't finish baking in time.

Don's pide with goat cheese, mozzarella, sheep's milk cheese, ricotta, sumac, egg, chili, and nigella seeds sounded delicious, but honestly if you put an egg on top of anything I'll eat it. But if Maggie is telling you that she isn't getting the spice, you really need to dial it up.

Angela's vegetarian pide with sun dried tomatoes (and hee at her pronouncing it as to-mah-toes - I guess that's the result of living in Australia), cumin, paparika, pomegranate seeds, feta, and pine nuts looked like perfect little canoes. Using spelt in her dough to give it a little nuttiness was a nice addition. And another one who didn't use enough spice!

I loved the ma'amoul mold the bakers used for the technical challenge - so pretty! Ha, and I loved when Angela referred to whacking the mold to get the ma'amouls out as angry baking. I noticed that Angela wasn't pressing the dough flat so they ended up wiith puffy bottoms.

When Maggie said there was a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom and then they cut to the bakers saying they were going to start with one teaspoon and then they kept adding more and more, I was yelling, "NOOOOO!" at my screen. But then I started laughing as I imagined Matt and Maggie trying them and spitting them out. I can't believe Dan ended up using 3 teaspoons of cinnamon. Yay for Sunny getting first!

I tend not to like the challenges that require building. It just seems like the producers are just hoping someone will have a disaster.

Wynn's spiral tower with apricot, pistachio, rosemary, and honey baklava, cranberry, almond, cinnamon, and star anise baklava, and rosemary, cinnamon, and clove syrup seemed like a risk so I wasn't surprised when he ended up having to disassemble it and stack them into a block.

Dan's Christmas tree with green cashew cardamom baklava, red pistachio baklava roses, yellow almond semolina cinnamon baklava,  orange cinnamon vanilla syrup, rosewater syrup, and lemon cardamom syrup was so creative, from the three different shapes of his baklava to the actual tree construction.

David's military fort with cashew, cinnamon, and mandarin baklava and macadamia, cardamom, chocolatee, and orange baklava was very neat and precise but at the same time, he built two squares.

Don's cinnamon and cardamom coliseum with pistachio walnut baklava and almond and date baklava cracked me up. I mean, you can't argue with his reasoning - the coliseum is already falling down!

Sunny's jenga tower with pistachio, ginger, and cardamom baklava, chocolate hazelnut baklava with star anise and cinnamon, and cardamom ginger syrup was a fun idea.

Angela's palm tree with cashew, walnut, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, and clove baklava was a terrible idea. It was a huge risk because she was building a tall skinny tower. It would have been safer to build a structure with more support.

How the hell did David win star baker with the description of having an imaginative showstopper? He made two squares and put some plastic army men between them. It's even worse when Wynn was eliminated for making the same thing. I was shaking my head when Matt said that David's fort was perfectly designed. HE MADE TWO SQUARES. I don't think David is a bad baker or anything. I just think it's ridiculous that he was praised for doing something and Wynn was eliminated for doing the same thing.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I just realized we're at the point in the competition where half of the remaining bakers will be in the finale. I am rooting for Sunny to win, but I'd love to see Dan in the finale too. The third spot is a toss up between Don or David. They both usually do well with their flavors.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S5.E8: Hybrid

Quote

The bakers mix things up to create a fusion of favourites: croissants that look like muffins, doughnuts that aren't quite what they seem, and cakes made from anything but cake.

Original air date: 11/21/19

[Aulty]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

croissants that look like muffins

What a funny coincidence, I had one (well, two - I took one home) of those last week when my company hired an organic bakery for an event. They call it a Cruffin and there was one set with butter and cinammon and one with walnut filling -  and they were quite good.

Can't wait to see what the contestants come up with.

Edited November 18, 2019 by Aulty

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, Aulty said:

What a funny coincidence, I had one (well, two - I took one home) of those last week when my company hired an organic bakery for an event. They call it a Cruffin and there was one set with butter and cinammon and one with walnut filling -  and they were quite good.

Can't wait to see what the contestants come up with.

Yes, the cruffin! It was supposed to be the next big thing after the cronut. Cruffins are popular and they sell out but they don't seem to inspire the ridiculous lines that cronuts did (and still do - this person stood in line for almost two hours last year, five years after the cronut craze began ).

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes

Signature challenge - chounuts
Angela's berries and cream chounuts
Dan's passionfruit and vanilla chounuts
David's apple and hazelnut chounuts
Don's blue chounuts
Sunny's passionfruit and chocolate chounuts

Technical challenge
prosciutto and gorgonzola cruffins

Showstopper challenge - biscuit cakes
Angela's queen of hearts biscuit cake
Dan's lemon biscuit plane cake
David's butter biscuit cake
Don's cars and cakes biscuit cake
Sunny's coconut biscuit cake

Edited December 6, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Awww, I always love seeing the bakers help each other so it was nice to see David and Angela helping Dan and Don helping Sunny.

Angela's berries and cream chounuts with vanilla crème pâtissière, raspberry curd, and raspberry glaze sounded really good. I liked that she piped them with a tip that gave them texture.

Dan's chounuts with passionfruit curd, vanilla crème pâtissière, white chocolate, and passionfruit seeds looked pretty and bright with the yellow icing and freeze dried raspberries. Ooh and lots of filling inside! It's always disappointing to get a filled donut with not enough filling.

Sunny's chounuts with passionfruit crème pâtissière, milk chocolate, and hazelnut praline sounded interesting but her choux didn't look great. To be fair, she wasn't the only one who had soft choux. I agree that the crunchy praline was a good textural contrast.

David's chounuts with apple crème pâtissière, cinnamon glaze, and hazelnut praline sounded good and his choux looked nice. I was worried about the apple chunks clogging his pastry bag tip too so I'm glad that it worked.

Don's blue chounuts with toasted marshmallow crème pâtissière, salted caramel praline, and freeze dried blueberries looked so good - they were so tall and decorated so nicely.

Ha, I was cracking up at Sunny's step class versus Dan's zumba class while they were kneading their dough for the cruffins. I also laughed when Angela and Sunny said that they don't like the smell of blue cheese. I'm not a fan either. I like technical challenges like this where it's clear that no one has made this before so they're all on pretty even footing. Congratulations to David for winning the technical challenge!

Are biscuit cakes really worthy of a showstopper challenge?

Angela's queen of hearts biscuit cake with vanilla biscuits, raspberry buttercream, chocolate brownies, meringue kisses, and heart shaped macarons was really lovely. It looked sophisticated but still fun.

David's butter biscuit cake with white chocolate and pistachio buttercream, pistachio macarons, coconut white chocolate maracons, coconut jelly, licorice, and coconut chocolates had a lot of elements, but I felt like the vanilla and pistachio colors made it look a bit plain.

Don's cars and cakes biscuit cake with French butter biscuits, champagne buttercream, raspberry and vanilla macarons, almond nougatine, and salted praline chocolates was fun and festive without being too much. The blue color scheme helped keep it from looking messy.

Dan's lemon biscuit plane cake with passionfruit buttercream, raspberry marshmallow, meringue kisses, and macademia blondies was so fun and colorful. i loved thee multicolored meringue kisses and the twisted marshmallow for the plane exhaust was great.

Sunny's coconut sable biscuit cake with lychee jelly, rosé jelly, rosewater cream cheese icing, rose meringues, coconut marshmallows, and fresh raspberries was understated by lovely.

Yay for Sunny winning star baker! I'm surprised that Angela lasted this long.

[Aulty]

That episode made me so hungry!

Why did nobody deep fry their choux? A doughnut should always be deep fried. Isn't that more or less what churros are - deep fried choux? Anyway, the chouxnuts all looked yummy. I dunno why Don is so obsessed with blue, its the least attractive colour for food.

Send a tray of David's doughnuts my way please.

The curffins looked alright. I am not a fan of blue cheese and prociutto, I prefer a sweet one.

The cookie cakes sounded lame and I probably wouldn't want to eat one, but almost overdecorated with all the sweets they looked rally impressive.

All the remaining bakers are really good and very likeable. Next week is going to be tough.

[rhys]

I'm probably only one of a few who likes black licorice so I was impressed with David's. All those cookie (bisquit?) cakes were so ornate. None seemed to have any issues.

These bakers are good!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S5.E9: Party

Quote

It's the semi final in the Bake Off shed and what better way to celebrate than by baking for a party. Matt and Maggie set a series of party-themed challenges that will help them decide who will have a place in the final.

Original air date: 11/28/19

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes

Signature challenge - vols au vent and savoury canapés
Dan's mushroom choux buns / mussel and spinach vols au vent
David's chicken, mushroom, and leek vols au vent / beef wellington
Don's mini escargot tarts / duck à l'orange vols au vent
Sunny's mini tuna tartare cones / smoky baba ganoush vols au vent

Technical challenge
Sicilian cassata cake

Showstopper challenge
Dan's mojito entremets / tropical sunset entremets
David's carrot cake entremets / chocolate opera cake entremets
Don's mango entremets / chocolate entremets
Sunny's chocolate and ginger entremets / berry opera cake entremets

Edited November 29, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

So party = finger foods?

Sunny's tuna tartare cones with wasabi and yuzu were so cute. And mmmm, tuna tartare. Her smoky baba ganoush vols au vent with tahini, yogurt, and pomegranate looked great despite their drunken leaning.

Dan's mushroom choux buns with Montgomery cheddar, truffles, and truffle oil looked great. His mussel and spinach vols au vent with Roquefort cheese looked so perfect. I liked that he used cheese in both, but unfortunately they were too strong for the judges.

David's chicken, mushroom, and leek vols au vent with bechamel sauce sounded really good. Not enough seasoning? Always taste and season as you go, David! His mini beef Wellington with pea puree, mushroom duxelle, and beef short rib sauce sounded good and I liked the little shapes he made with his pastry.

Don's tarts with snails, cauliflower, broccolini, and garlic cream sounded delicious and looked great. His duck à l'orange vols au vents with mushrooms also sounded yummy. I loooove duck though so I'm biased.

I don't mind when the bakers talk to each other during the technical challenge and ask what someone else is doing because having a conversation is one thing. Dan saw that David was having trouble so he came over and offered his advice without David even asking. What I don't like is when someone looks at what everyone else is doing and then changes what they're doing. For some reason, that seems sneaky.

Dan's cassata was clearly the best of the four, so congratulations to him for winning first in the technical challenge!

Ha, I loved David's description of entremets as overpriced cakes.

Dan's mojito entremets with mint sponge, mojito crémeux, lime mousse, rum jelly, and fresh mint looked so refreshing. That was some quick thinking to add a lime slice on the top to keep the jelly from sliding. His tropical sunset entremets with coconut crunch base, dacquoise sponge, passionfruit, yuzu, and banana compote, and lime mousse looked pretty.

Don's entremets with dacquoise base, mango compote, and white chocolate pâte à bombe looked really flat. His entremets with dacquoise base, praline crunch, dark chocolate mousse, and cocoa butter velvet spray definitely cracked because of the spray. I thought the big chocolate swoosh added height and drama but it also drew attention to the fact that the chocolate was not tempered well and wasn't shiny.

David's carrot cake entremets with carrot jelly, walnut praline, and crème fraîche mousse were so bright. His triple chocolate opera cake with hazelnut biscuit base, dark chocolate sponge, raspberry, white chocolate, and milk chocolate mousse were a nice color contrast from the orange carrot entremets. The flavors sounded delicious. I disagree with Matt - bring on the fat layers!

Sunny's berry opera cakes with lemon jaconde, strawberry mousse, and elderflower jelly looked so fluffy and delicious. Her chocolate and ginger entremets with ginger jaconde base, pear jelly, dark chocolate mousse, and candied ginger were beautifully shiny. Bonus points for pear!

Yay for Sunny being star baker. I have been rooting for her all season. Don made some good stuff, but he just wasn't good enough this week. I'm just glad that Dan made it into the finals too!

[purist]

Yep, the right three bakers are in the grand final. Dan has grown on me - I thought he was a bit full of himself at the beginning, but now I love his confidence and cheekiness. I still want Sunny to win, but I won't be mad if Dan takes the crown.

[Aulty]

Based on this episode, David should have gone home, but I wasn't surprised that they eliminated Don.

There were too many mousses this week. The stuff in the signature looked tasty though. I've never had snails but I don't why people are so iffy about them while they don't have a problem with mussels.

Weird pronounciation for 'tartare' in the voice-over?

I like Sunny, but Dan over the weeks I've grown very fond of Dan and I will be rooting for him in the final. I think the final 4 are a very likeable bunch - much more likeable than the last GBBO finalists.

[rhys]

On 11/29/2019 at 10:51 AM, Aulty said:

Based on this episode, David should have gone home, but I wasn't surprised that they eliminated Don.

Gulp, I agree& was worried as Dave has had a better run. The right 3 have made it to the end, tho. Gosh, they are all good & talented. It was cute that Dan won the Italian cake. He better! 

Edited December 1, 2019 by rhys

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S5.E10: Finale

Quote

After nine weeks of whisking, kneading and piping, it's time for the grand final. Our three finalists have three bakes that stand between them and the glory of becoming Australia's best amateur baker.

Original air date: 12/5/19

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I'm so sad it's the finale. I am going to miss all the baking!

My only exposure to dobos tortes were the ones from Swiss Colony.

Dan's two tiered dobos torte with vanilla sponge, raspberry buttercream, champagne buttercream, chocolate mirror glaze, toffee sponge fan, edible gold, and toasted almond flakes looked great on the inside. The layers were so perfectly even.

Sunny's dobos torte with orange sponge, chocolate French buttercream, crushed pistachio praline, orange popping candy, chocolate fans, pistachio nougatine, and candied blood orange was so symmetric on the inside and the outside. I love that she had never made nougatine before but she saw Don making it last week and decided to give it a try.

David's dobos torte with chocolate sponge, crème de menthe and peppermint buttercream, crushed cashew, and peppermint praline was dramatic with the different sized green glass pieces to make the fan. This layers were clearly uneven when the judges cut it open.

My only knowledge of mont blancs were the Lush massage bars of the same name. The show lost me when they mentioned chestnut and frangipane. Sunny's were great so I can see why she won, especially after the judges said that Dan's caramel was just a shade too close to burnt.

I liked that the geometric showstopper challenge was kind of open ended so that the bakers had a lot of freedom to create something that played to their strengths. I can't imagine how nerve wracking it must be to try to assemble and decorate a huge cake when there are a hundred people watching and screaming.

David's white chocolate and raspberry mud cake, salted caramel mud cake, white chocolate ganache, and white chocolate buttercream flavored with apple cider was unfinished in the design, but the red, white, and black square design that he managed to finish looked really messy to me. When you do a geometric design like that, the squares need to be precise and lined up.

Dan's white chocolate and Pink Lady apple mud cake with white chocolate ganache and diced apples was impressively tall. The bronze color and glitter made it look sophisticated without going overboard.

Sunny's staircase cake with vanilla and cacao nib sponge, caramelised white chocolate, ganache, raspberry jam, swiss meringe buttercream, and marshmallow fondant was so pretty with the watercolor effect. I also liked that she took a risk with the staircase structure.

Awwww, I was so happy that Sunny won! She has been amazing all season.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes

Signature challenge
Sunny's orange, pistachio, and chocolate dobos torte
David's chocolate and peppermint dobos torte
Dan's raspberry and champagne dobos torte

Technical challenge
mont blancs

Showstopper challenge - geometric cakes
Sunny's white chocolate and raspberry cake
David's white chocolate, raspberry, and salted caramel cake
Dan's white chocolate and apple cake

[Aulty]

Congratulations Sunny!

For me, the Australian version is still the best Bake Off franchise out there because they stick to the intial format and their hosts and judges are actually pleasant to watch.

I enjoyed the Dobos torte challenge because one of the best petite four I have ever had was a miniature Esterhazy torte, which is a variation on the Dobos. The original Dobos, as far as I know, is a light sponge with chocolate cream while the Esterhazy uses a nut sponge and vanilla cream.

The showstopper, to be honest, was a bit underwhelming. I didn't really understand where they wanted them to go with the geometric assignment.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Do they spell "enroll" differently in Australia?

[purist]

11 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Do they spell "enroll" differently in Australia?

Yes. 🙂

Sunny was a very deserving winner. There was way too much white chocolate in the show-stopper challenge for my taste (chocolate should be brown). I want to go to a Great Australian Bake Off Grand Final garden party! The food and the games and the setting all look fabulous.

[rhys]

I wanted to hear more about how Sunny hurt her right wrist. Damn! Dominant hand to boot. Nice group of bakers. I felt bad for Dave for losing his top (bottom?) tier to his show stopper. Good recovery tho.

I'll miss this show. My taping cut out so I missed seeing what all the bakers ' plans are. I'll check online in a few days as those can be a lot of fun to read.

[jpgr]

Finally was able to see the finale, and so happy that Sunny won. She was my favorite from the start!

My only problem with this episode is them all just talking with each other openly in the technical. Yes, their results were still slightly different, but to me not sharing information in the technical should be strictly enforced so it's really testing each individual's instincts.

[TVbitch]

Just finished this. Sonny deserved it, but I thought they might give it to one of the guys since it was close and they said a guy has never one. Glad they stayed true to the best baker winning. 

 

[NotRedRobyn]

On 11/26/2015 at 3:17 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

He just had a crappy attitude. He kept saying that he didn't like decorating or the pomp and fluff of the other bakers' show stoppers. Well, then you are on the wrong show, mate.

Totally agree about Ben, I just wanted to shake him! I thought it was disrespectful. 

[Aulty]

Just in case you were wondering, there will be a new series of Australian Bake Off. Filming started at the end of September in Sydney (although I don't know if the Corona lockdown in NSW has affected their schedule) and rumors are that it will be broadcast in early 2022.

[CatLover74]

New Great Australian Bake Off starts screening on Foxtel in Australia on Thursday the 27th of January.  The contestants' names have just been released in the last couple of days.

 

Meet the cast of THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN BAKE OFF new season on FOXTEL - TV Blackbox