S09.E05: Spice Week

[Athena]

Quote

Paul and Prue set the bakers a classic teatime Signature. There's also an Arabian Technical and a fiddly Showstopper.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

This week's recipes:

Signature challenge - ginger cake
Manon's Italian meringue ginger cake with ginger and lemon curd
Jon's family ginger cake

Technical challenge
Paul's ma'amoul

Showstopper challenge
Kim-Joy's Christmas spiced hanging biscuits

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Normally I look to see what each week's theme is so that I can have something similar on hand to eat while I watch the episode (otherwise I start getting so envious that I'm likely to start gnawing my own arm), but this week I knew that wouldn't be necessary. Ginger? No thanks! Then I realized that this is how people who don't like chocolate feel when they watch most dessert type shows.

Briony's ginger cake with dried apricots, honey buttercream, apricot jam, chocolate ganache, and honeycomb looked good. The chocolate was well tempered and so shiny.

Dan's ginger cake with lemon curd, swiss meringue buttercream, and white chocolate looked terrible. I'm impressed that he had anything to present after he had to start over.

Rahul's bonfire night ginger cake with swiss meringue buttercream and salted caramel looked good. The drips were well done. Hollywood handshake!

Karen's bonfire night brandy ginger cake with Brandy Alexander cream cheese frosting, crystallized ginger, and cinder toffee didn't look great. I couldn't tell if she meant for the frosting to look that way or if something went wrong. I don't think I've ever heard any of the judges say there was TOO much booze in a cake so that was a first!

Ruby's Jamaican ginger cake with orange mascarpone cream, ginger snaps, and toffee drizzle looked nice.

Manon's ginger cake with lemon and ginger Italian meringue buttercream,  candied lemons, and lemon curd was beautiful. It was so fancy looking. Loved watching her eat it after the judges came by. And yay, was that her first Hollywood handshake?

Terry's caramelized pear ginger cake with vanilla cream cheese frosting was a nice idea and very different from the way everyone else's looked, but it's too bad that he didn't have enough time to let it cool before judging because it ended up looking like a mess due to the frosting oozing out.

Kim-Joy's ginger cake with poached pears, cream cheese frosting, and salted caramel drizzle was cute. Loved her tiny gingerbread house. I couldn't read what the sign next to the house said though. What I like about Kim-Joy is that she manages to make her stuff look cute AND it tastes good. In the past, we've had bakers who could do one or the other but not many who do both really well. And she got a Hollywood handshake too!

Jon's family Christmas ginger cake with lemon glitter balls and Italian meringue buttercream looked a little bit homemade, but in a cute way. The icing was a little rough but the gingerbread people were so sweet.

I'm not familiar with ma'amoul so I had to take Paul's word for what they were supposed to look like and taste like. Yay for Ruby winning the technical challenge!

Ooh showstopper chandeliers! That sounds like the potential for some great presentations (but also the potential for some disasters).

Karen's Pontefract School reunion chandelier with licorice and cardamom biscuits was colorful but a bit basic. I laughed when Paul said the biscuits looked chunky and she said they're solid girls out at Pontefract.

Jon's birthday chandelier with cinnamon marshmallow, raspberry chili jam, and cinnamon biscuits was too simple looking for me. They were just purple circles hanging in columns.

Dan's butterfly chandelier with cinnamon biscuits and apple royal icing was pretty. The technique he used for the wings was simple but effective.

Kim-Joy's Christmas chandelier with caradamom clove biscuits, cinnamon nutmeg biscuits, and isomalt glass was gorgeous. The tiny scenes she painted on some of them were great and I loved the way she decorated the snowflakes. The melting ice was a nice touch too.

Manon's art deco chocolate and tonka bean checkerboard biscuits, cinnamon ganache biscuits, and timut pepper biscuits looked good. I think that the checkerboard biscuits really helped visually.

Terry's 12 days of Christmas chandelier with cinnamon, pepper, and clove biscuits and all spice and vanilla biscuits with lemon royal icing was such a good idea but the finished product was disappointing. It was unfinished and messy looking.

Ruby's peacock chandelier with pistachio caradamom biscuits with raspberry white chocolate and cinnamon clove biscuits with white chocolate ganache sounded like a good idea but I didn't like the shades of blue and green that her biscuits ended up being. I didn't think it was the end of the world that she couldn't sandwich the biscuits together due to the heat. I think they looked find without.

Briony's turmeric latte chandelier with coriander, cloves, and lemon juice was pretty. I really liked the dotted design she had on her biscuits.

Rahul's durja puja cardamom chandelier with green and black cardamom biscuits with fruit was so pretty and colorful. I especially liked the roses. He was the most ambitious with 150 (!) biscuits. I agree that it was a bit messy.

I'm glad that Kim-Joy won star baker this week. Her showstopper was the best by far. If Rahul's had not been so messy, he might have inched past her. One thing I like about Kim-Joy is that she is so calm when she bakes. She seems to have good time management skills too.

Awww, poor Terry and Karen. They both seem like nice people but they clearly had bad weeks. I was tearing up when Terry started talking about how baking helped him after his wife's death.

[Danny Franks]

It was obvious from the first challenge that Karen was going home, and that Terry was likely to join her. I read about his wife passing away last week, and it was tough seeing him almost break down at the end. Poor bloke. Karen was on borrowed time already, though.

Kim-Joy still irritates me a bit, but I'm glad she got star baker ahead of Rahul. I prefer different people to win them.

Rahul seems to be paralysed by the fear of being judged, at least by Paul and Prue. He actually apologised when Paul said Rahul's talent was annoying, but when Ruby said "you're so annoying" to him at the end, he laughed and teased her. And he had a playful little exchange with Noel as well, when Noel pretended he could identify the flavours in his biscuits. 

Ruby is my favourite now. As my girlfriend says, she's completely gobby, but seems really nice with it. She seems like she'd be the life of any party, and brings a lot of energy to the tent. Pleased for her winning the technical, and it's a shame she didn't factor in the heat of the tent when planning her showstopper. I did laugh out loud when she bent over her oven, then huffed in irritation as her glasses steamed up. 

The chandelier showstopper was a daft idea, but Dan saying that so unequivocally to Paul didn't seem to go down well at all. I thought Kim-Joy's looked genuinely like something you'd see in a classy bakery's Christmas display.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Terry’s wife died of cancer about a year ago

[Athena]

I was pleased Kim-Joy won. I really like the look of her chandelier and it sounded like she got her flavours right this week. Well deserved because as much as I liked Rahul's chandelier, it did look a bit messy and too intense to conceivably do well given the time frame.

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

The chandelier showstopper was a daft idea, but Dan saying that so unequivocally to Paul didn't seem to go down well at all.

A lot of the show's Showstoppers are over the top and a little ridiculous, but that's part of the fun of the challenge. I was with Paul on this; the idea was different and I wouldn't actually mind having Kim-Joy's chandelier at my Christmas party either. I haven't had an issue with Dan up until this point, but that remark to Paul and his competitiveness (chiding Jon to stop dancing) made me wary this week.

Terry and Karen were both doomed early on this week. Terry's exit interview was sweet. I think both of them have been really inconsistent overall and they both messed up on things this week. It was fair elimination.

[Occasional Hope]

The elimination this week was extremely obvious.  The editing also signalled fairly clearly that Kim Joy would be star baker.

I like ginger if not too strong, but I don't like anything else spicy so I didn't really fancy any of this week's bakes, but some of them were very pretty.  LOL when Manon's starting falling off as it was being judged though.

[rhys]

I freaking love ginger so this was a great episode for me. I liked the episode except I admit the bakers make me anxious with all they choose to do with their show stoppers. Arrg 150 cookies? Come on! Have you seen this show?

I am getting a bit annoyed at Prue & the male judge's choices of challenges of baking things no one has ever heard of.

[halopub]

Heh. Paul's never going to live down that time Nancy forgot his name.

I was one of those who teared up when Terry started talking about Bake Off and his late wife. It would be lovely if GBBO kept fan favorites around post elimination, just to interact with Noel and Sandi. I really liked that aspect of Making It.

7 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Kim-Joy still irritates me a bit, but I'm glad she got star baker ahead of Rahul. I prefer different people to win them.

Rahul seems to be paralysed by the fear of being judged, at least by Paul and Prue. He actually apologised when Paul said Rahul's talent was annoying, but when Ruby said "you're so annoying" to him at the end, he laughed and teased her. And he had a playful little exchange with Noel as well, when Noel pretended he could identify the flavours in his biscuits. 

Ruby is my favourite now. As my girlfriend says, she's completely gobby, but seems really nice with it. She seems like she'd be the life of any party, and brings a lot of energy to the tent. Pleased for her winning the technical, and it's a shame she didn't factor in the heat of the tent when planning her showstopper. I did laugh out loud when she bent over her oven, then huffed in irritation as her glasses steamed up.

Same here. She earned it over Rahul's messier showstopper. 

It was great to see how Rahul engaged Noel and Ruby in banter, even when he's so timid around Paul.

I've really grown to like Ruby a lot. As chatty as she is, I'd totally love to be friends with her.

The contestant I'm worried about is my early favorite Briony. It doesn't feel like she's been able to put a string together of consistent bakes.

[Ceindreadh]

26 minutes ago, rhys said:

I freaking love ginger so this was a great episode for me. I liked the episode except I admit the bakers make me anxious with all they choose to do with their show stoppers. Arrg 150 cookies? Come on! Have you seen this show?

I am getting a bit annoyed at Prue & the male judge's choices of challenges of baking things no one has ever heard of.

Do you mean for the technical challenge? 

The whole point is to test the bakers so if Prue and Paul (that’s his name, btw) give them something that everyone has heard of or bakes regularly then it’s not exactly much of a challenge. 

“Ooh look, everybody managed to bake 12 perfectly identical chocolate chip cookies...well done!”

[justmehere]

Finally had a chance to watch this. I was really pleased for Kim-Joy. She's so creative and easy-going, managing to do quite elaborate designs without (apparent) great effort. Rahul does too, but he's so down on himself. I thought after a number of successes he might start to find a bit more confidence, because he is pretty ridiculously good. 

I thought the technical challenge -- at least the ones they showed with Paul and Prue -- looked really good. Like they'd be quite yummy and different. I'm always pleasantly surprised by how well some do in the technicals when they've never heard of the bakes. It says a lot. On the other side, I don't necessarily blame those who don't do well. The challenges look so hard, and they never have much time.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

7 hours ago, justmehere said:

I'm always pleasantly surprised by how well some do in the technicals when they've never heard of the bakes. It says a lot. On the other side, I don't necessarily blame those who don't do well. The challenges look so hard, and they never have much time.

Yeah, it's hard for me to side with the judges when they're nitpicking details on the technical challenge because in many cases, they're aesthetic choices that the bakers were not given specific instructions for. If you're going to criticize someone because whatever they presented had chocolate lines drizzled at a 45 degree angle instead of horizontally (and the directions just said "drizzle chocolate on top"), I don't see it as an error because in a lot of cases, there is not a right or wrong way to do it. That goes double for all the times when the bakers have never even heard of whatever they're supposed to make! Just because the bakers didn't decorate it exactly the way Paul/Mary/Prue normally make it doesn't mean it was done incorrectly.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Terry's exit interview

Karen's exit interview

[sharifa70]

I saw the eliminations coming but my heart still broke for Terry even before he mentioned his late wife. 

What I appreciate about Kim-Joy is that she doesn’t seem to have the style-over-substance problem that so many other bakers have struggled with. I would want to taste just about everything she has made.

I want Rahul to see his talent the way everyone else seems to. 

Edited November 10, 2018 by sharifa70

[Winter Rose]

The chandeliers looked more like baby mobiles for cribs, IMO.

I felt for Terry. From his struggles throughout the competition to missing a week due to illness, I'm happy for him that he made it this far. It was heartbreaking to hear him talk about his wife, it sounds like baking has been a real outlet for his grief. I hope he keeps at it.

I'm really not enjoying watching Rahul look in anguish even while the judges are praising him. Honestly, I think he's worse with the faces than Candace was (if I completely ignored when she pursed her lips, I could find a sense of humor). And since it is praise that he's getting, thus not going anywhere, I can't say I'm thrilled with potentially having to look at that all season. Well... halfway there.

[Sharpie66]

This morning, I bought some ground ginger and molasses for ginger snaps. I only bake about once every two years, but GBBO has inspired me!

Poor Dan with the split batter. Cheese in your cake did not look appealing.

“No time to relax and have a cup of tea or anything.” (Sips tea.) Loved Jon razzing Dan!

Rahul’s self-effacing manner would be annoying if it wasn’t so obviously genuine. I just feel sorry that he can’t take a compliment without apologizing. 

Kim-Joy’s delight over her handshake just made me grin!

Manon’s meringue cake was gorgeous. 

Love that Paul chose a Ramadan dessert for the technical. Those two spices were in a season six technical—I recognized their names.

I was thinking someone might mix up which dough was which and sure enough, Karen messed up. And poor Terry with his ghee melting.

Sandi’s “God, you’re handsome!” teasing of Paul cracked me up. I will admit that I love his full beard—much better than the goatee. 

Holy shit—150 biscuits?!? And it looked gorgeous as usual.

Loved Noel’s Prue look.

Ruby’s steamed glasses looks so familiar to me (been wearing glasses for nearly 50 years).

Manon got the look right again, but missed the flavor as did Dan. Kim-Joy’s decorating was my favorite, and she nailed the flavor. 

Terry and Karen were obvious bootees to me. I think they tossed in Briony and Jon to try and make it not so obvious, but it didn’t work. Poor Terry’s reaction after was so sad, though.

[GaT]

The showstoppers this season seem a little bizarre to me, chandeliers? That's very different.

As has been said already, no surprise who was going home.

[AZChristian]

I must speak up a bit for what makes me wonder about Rahul's reactions.

I don't KNOW for sure what his childhood was like, but I do know what mine was like.  It sucked.  I was told continually that I was never going to amount to anything, and nothing I did was good enough.  On the rare occasion where I shone (usually on a school-related project), I knew that the female birth vessel would dig deep to find SOMETHING negative to say.  I learned early that with every compliment, I should just stand there and wait for the demeaning comments and insults.  She was so full of self-loathing that she wanted to bring everyone else down as well.

Even if it wasn't Rahul's mother, I just get the gut feeling that SOMEONE whose opinion matters deeply to him is a real nasty piece of work.  Maybe he makes those anguished faces because he's waiting for the smackdown that he's used to getting from an authority figure.  The constant "I'm sorry" comments also lead me to believe that he has been bullied.

He is so talented.  I hope he goes far . . . in the GBBO and in life!

[Mabinogia]

2 hours ago, AZChristian said:

The constant "I'm sorry" comments also lead me to believe that he has been bullied.

He also has his head down a lot, in a "don't pick me/don't look at me" kind of way. He does seem like at some impressionable point in his life someone overpowered him at least in personality. Someone made him feel small and like he shouldn't take up much space. It's just the impression I have gotten. He reminds me, sadly, of an abused dog. Head down, tail between legs, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. I hope I'm wrong, for his sake, but he just feels very defeated by life. I wanna give him a hug and tell him he is worthy. 

[PaulaO]

I adored Kim-Joy’s chandelier.  It looked like Christmas.  She has become my favorite baker, personality wise.  I could hang around with her.

[Winter Rose]

I had to hear my entire life how smart/pretty/nice/great-at-everything my mother was, usually followed up with "Oh, but you're nothing like her", that it drives me crazy when my every move or behavior gets traced back to her. I don't doubt that Rahul's self-deprecation is real but I know as much about his life as I do any other contestant's that it just doesn't sit right with me to base whose self-deprecation deserves sympathy, and whose doesn't, on assumptions. I certainly hope he wasn't a victim of bullying but, harsh as it may sound, he's no less painful for me to watch.

[Eliza422]

I find Rahul extremely painful to watch - just like Ruby from a few seasons ago. Whatever the reason behind such behavior is, I don't like to watch it. It's one thing to be humble and self-deprecating, but this is an unbearable self-loathing that is just too much.

In a knitting group I belong to there was a woman who came once who was acting like that about her work - it was just so disturbing and uncomfortable to listen to her say her work was such crap when it looked fine to the rest of us. I'm not saying that one shouldn't develop a realistic view of one's own talents. With this woman we said her stuff was good, etc. etc., but she wasn't having any of it. In the end it's not my responsibility to fix your self esteem - at some point the person who suffers from that needs to help themselves get out of that. Whether it's therapy or something else, whatever.

 

I hope maybe after seeing himself on TV Rahul realizes he has a problem and tries to work on it. He seems like a nice guy and talented.  Hopefully in his regular life (I forget what he does for a living) he's not quite so bad.

[sum]

Judging from their tweets and comments in various forms, Rahul was loved by the fellow bakers and the judges and hosts, although you can say that about almost every contestant this year. They showed some footage of the bakers having meals, partying together as an epilogue and he looked far more relaxed there. So, I guess it was partly due to the nature of the environment and his upbringing but also due to editing. Unfortunately all we can see is what the editors let us do and Rahul or any other bakers can't do anything about it.

[rab01]

This showstopper was too much like a Food Network challenge for me to like it.  (On one of their baking shows, the contestants had to make christmas cookie trees.)  I was sorry to see Terry and Karen go but it wasn't just a bad week for them, this is the part of the season where you the cast starts to clearly split between the possible finalists and ones who really don't have a chance and they were in the latter group.  That said, Terry really doomed himself before they got to the tent by picking the 12 days of Christmas.  The theme didn't give him room to simplify mid-stream if necessary and perfect the portion he did finish.  The bakers really need to plan escape routes into their bakes at this stage.

[mjc570]

I really liked this episode because I very much like all spices, especially the warm ones and most especially gonger.  I've started putting ginger in pretty much everything at this point, whether its sweet or savory.  I give the show credit for coming up with new ideas.

I also like that I'm always learning something new, not just about the bakes and techniques but also British words.  This time, i had never heard of stem ginger or tonka. 

My two faves at this point are Kim-Joy for her originality, whimsy and precise execution, and Ruby who seems like she is funny and down to earth while also being a very good baker (as, indeed, they all are).

[Captain Carrot]

On 11/12/2018 at 6:48 PM, sum said:

Judging from their tweets and comments in various forms, Rahul was loved by the fellow bakers and the judges and hosts, although you can say that about almost every contestant this year. They showed some footage of the bakers having meals, partying together as an epilogue and he looked far more relaxed there. So, I guess it was partly due to the nature of the environment and his upbringing but also due to editing. Unfortunately all we can see is what the editors let us do and Rahul or any other bakers can't do anything about it.

I have anxiety issues, and think that Rahul may suffer from similar issues. (Based on the edited version of him that we've been shown, I'm probably completely off base).

I'm fine when I feel like I can relax, but certain situations amplify everything. Paul dragging out his judgement, not being able to tell if the joke about being annoying was a joke, the very nature of the contest itself, etc.. I would be freaking out much worse than Rahul in those circumstances, and think he's doing an amazing job.

[pasdetrois]

I started binge-watching this season on Netflix this week. Hurrah for finding it, as my local PBS stations have been maddening with "hide the episodes." I never saw who won the previous season and eventually looked it up.

Really am loving Noel. He's sweet and gently funny, and he's quick with his quips.

As an American, I love how all of these folks look like real people (even Kim-Joy with her makeup and hair). I'm exhausted from the shrieking plastic-stuffed bimbos on American reality TV.

I love hearing the various accents and learning about British baking (I never heard of caster sugar until BBBO). A long-ago babysitter, who lost her London home to WWII bombing and lived with her son in the US, and I had a hilarious showdown over "biscuit." Which to me were my mother's beloved southern flaky white treats, smothered in honey.

I like that production has picked up the pace in the editing, as sometimes I was bored in earlier seasons. The good humor around the tent is infectious, although I do think I see Dan emitting stealth snits.

This episode inspired me to start dragging out my supplies for my grandmothers Swedish ginger cookies. She made them every Christmas - a chewy cookie instead of a snap. Now I make them for everyone each year.

Regarding Rahul, I keep thinking what it's like to leave home, travel to and live in a very different culture (where there are haters), all by yourself. Very brave. That said, I'm a bit weary of his Frightened Rabbit routine; felt the same way about Ruby in a previous season.

Jon may need to win this thing based on the pink tutus alone.

Edited November 25, 2018 by pasdetrois

[meep.meep]

I'm sorry to see Karen leave - she had great unquenchable spirit and sense of style.  But she and Terry were circling the drain for the entire episode.

What is "stem ginger?"   When I hear that, I think of fresh ginger rhizomes, like what the French gal was peeling and using.  But the bakers were getting something out of jars that seemed to be filled with a syrup.  Is this something we Americans don't have?

If I was going to make something that had to have ginger, needed to cool, and was going to hang, I'd go with powdered ginger or crystallized, like Kim-Joy.  

[dleighg]

10 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

What is "stem ginger?"   When I hear that, I think of fresh ginger rhizomes, like what the French gal was peeling and using.  But the bakers were getting something out of jars that seemed to be filled with a syrup.  Is this something we Americans don't have?

 

I looked it up when Ryan made a key lime pie they raved about. You cook fresh ginger "chunks" in boiling water, briefly, a couple of times, then cook in a sugar syrup. You can store it in the refrigerator for quite awhile. I think I used a recipe more or less along these lines (except the recipe I used had you cut it into chunks): https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/stem-ginger-in-syrup-44081

Edited November 30, 2018 by dleighg

[stillshimpy]

On 9/26/2018 at 4:19 PM, halopub said:

I was one of those who teared up when Terry started talking about Bake Off and his late wife. It would be lovely if GBBO kept fan favorites around post elimination, just to interact with Noel and Sandi. I really liked that aspect of Making It.

On 9/26/2018 at 8:18 AM, Danny Franks said:

I wish they had decided to bring back a finalist baker from past seasons each week to help Paul judge rather than Prue.   I guess there was no replicating the wonder that is Mary but they've missed the mark with Prue for me.  I was thrilled when she wasn't there.   

On 11/11/2018 at 5:13 AM, AZChristian said:

Even if it wasn't Rahul's mother, I just get the gut feeling that SOMEONE whose opinion matters deeply to him is a real nasty piece of work.  Maybe he makes those anguished faces because he's waiting for the smackdown that he's used to getting from an authority figure.  The constant "I'm sorry" comments also lead me to believe that he has been bullied.

 

I think it is more likely a male figure for Rahul, if that's his background.  He's terrified of Paul but doesn't seem to react the same way to people in general.  He's so gifted, I hope this gives him a lift overall.  He really does seem like someone who suffered some emotional damage during a formative time.  I feel like he's showing a bit more confidence though.  

The chandelier/mobile (it was a mobile, right?) challenge was hilarious and even if it was daft -- and Dan won my affection by calling it out as such -- it challenged their creativity.  Manon's chandelier falling apart during judging was laugh aloud funny and I loved that all the bakers were cracking up too.  

I don't know why something feels off to me in this season, it's the second season with this crew and I like the Mel and Sue replacements (I guess not quite enough to memorize their names, my apologies to all concerned) but I think Prue hit an off note in this season I can't quite shake in my opinion of her, which I'm trying to get the heck over.   I still love the bakers, Terry's heartbreak and Karen's sunny departure were both really moving, I thought, even if the writing was on the wall from the first challenge.  

[AmandaPanda]

I didn't realize this was the first season they had done a spice week. That seems like such a basic theme week that they should have done before the 9th season. 

[kirklandia]

Not sure if these were his exact words, but didn't Paul call Rahul a "little" genius?  Comes off as patronizing, especially from someone like Paul (larger than life).  And I don't think it was the first time this season that someone has referred to him as small.  This, coupled with Rahul's tendency to make himself seem smaller, makes me sad.