The Great Kiwi Bake Off - General Discussion

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes

Signature challenge
Heather's seafood pizza

Technical challenge
chocolate kugelhopf

Showstopper challenge
Naomi's bread centerpiece

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S2.E6: International Week

Quote

The bakers go worldwide with their taste buds for international week. Bon Appétit!

Original air date: 12/8/19

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Cornish pasties!

Heather's pork, apple, and fennel Cornish pasties with apple sauce looked a bit messy on the outside. Even before she put them in the oven, I thought the crimping looked terrible.

Naomi's lamb, bacon, and veggie Cornish pasties with yogurt sauce looked had a great color on the pastry so it's a good thing she put the back in the oven. I had to laugh at Naomi's "WHATEVER!" after the judges said her filling was bland.

Louise's char siu Cornish pasties were a little small which made the meat to pastry ratio off. This is not the first time that Sue has said she was confused by Louise's flavors. This time it was that the pork and the pastry didn't go together. It's beginning to make me think that Sue doesn't like Asian flavors or fusion food. It annoyed me that they said she should have had vegetables in the filling. If that's a requirement then say so in the brief.

Trev's venison, bacon, carrot, and Camembert Cornish pasties with spicy plum sauce looked like they could have used a little bit more color on the pastry but other than that, they looked good. They were nice and full of filling which I love.

Ethan's vegetarian Thai green curry Cornish pasties with pumpkin sauce were definitely too small.

I'm not familiar with nastars, but yum, pineapple! It's a good thing that Louise told Ethan he had his oven on the wrong setting or they definitely wouldn't have been baked as much as they were. It was clear even before we saw the finished nastars that Ethan and Louise were going to have some underbaked pastry (his because his oven was set too low and hers because she made them too big). Congratulations to Trev for winning!

At first I thought the hosts said that the showstopper challenge was to make a shallot cake and I thought whaaaaat?

Awww, I love that Trev revealed that the first thing the bakers do in the morning is share all of their recipes with each other. I also loved seeing so many of the bakers helping each other get their charlotte cakes off the metal pans and onto their presentation plates.

Heather's chocolate, mint, and strawberry charlotte cake sounded good so I felt bad for her when it collapsed. I agreed when they said part of the problem was all the heavy stuff she put on top.

Trev's boysenberry and limoncello charlotte cake was gorgeous. Between the hearts on the ladyfingers and the detailed latticework on top, it was so beautiful to look at. I agreed with the judges that the cake layers were too thick though.

Ethan's lemon meringue charlotte cake with raspberry and lemon mousse looked pretty good for something he didn't even practice once! Of course my question is WHY DIDN'T YOU TRY MAKING THIS AT LEAST ONCE?! The layers inside were even and I loved the colors.

Naomi's cherry and chocolate charlotte cake with cherry and white chocolate mousse and lemon ladyfingers looked good but I would have removed the stems from the cherries on top.

Louise's chocolate, raspberry, and lychee charlotte cake with cream and chocolate ladyfingers was pretty. I liked her idea of doing the split layers to mimic the ribbon that traditionally goes around a charlotte. She really saved herself with that showstopper.

Awwww, congratulations to Naomi and Trev for winning the first ever double star baker!

Ethan's been middling at best the last few weeks so before the episode began, I was sure either he or Louise would be next to go home. Louise was not doing week either so they were neck and neck until she pull off that lovely showstopper. I expect she will go home next because Trev, Naomi, and Heather have been consistently strong.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes

Signature challenge
Trev's venison, bacon, and blue cheese pasties with plum sauce

Technical challenge
nastar cookies

Showstopper challenge
Louise's chocolate, lychee, and raspberry charlotte cake

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S2.E7: Dessert Week

Quote

It's the semi-final and our four remaining bakers delve into desserts! Who will crack under the pressure?

Original air date: 12/15/19

Edited December 15, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Yay, dessert week! I love sweets so I always look forward to dessert week.

Gawd, the hosts are annoying. I hate how they SHRIEK and YELL when they're like 6" away from the bakers. Seriously, STFU. Yelling at stressed out people is not funny. I also hate how close they get when the bakers are, you know, baking. I kept watching the hosts walk up to someone's work station and then step closer, lean in, and get into their personal space. Even if I weren't baking, that would annoy me.

I like crème brûlée but duh, the crunchy top is the best so when I have them at home, I eat the top and then torch it again (repeat ad nauseum).

Heather's Celctic crème brûlée with Irish whiskey, vanilla, and Scottish shortbread sounded so good. She was the clear winner because she was the only one who had fully cooked custard and a properly brûléed top.

Trev's passionfruit crème brûlée with passionifruit coulis, thin biscuits, and sugar spoons had such a fun presentation. I was worried that the custard wouldn't be cooked all the way because the cups were so deep.

Naomi's vanilla chai crème brûlée with churros sounded good but between the burnt sugar on top and the soupy custard in the cup, things were not looking good for her. At least the judges loved the churros! I'm from California so I'm used to seeing churros with ridges.

Louise's espresso crème brûlée sounded great and I loved her idea of serving it in coffee cups. She knew that she was in trouble because there was still sugar on the top when she pulled them out of the oven. I was surprised that there was any crack at all when the judges tapped the top.

Naomi's opera cake was a mess. I know part of it was because she dropped her ruler on top after she glazed it so she had to work around that. Louise's would have been better if she had just used more to her chocolate layer. It was so close between Heather and Trev, but Trev just barely edged her out.

Jelly cakes! I was getting nervous watching the bakers unmold their jelly portions while they were getting ready to assemble their cakes. I've made it no secret, the hosts bug the shit out of me but I probably looked pretty similar to them while they were holding their faces and saying they couldn't look when Heather turned hers upside down.

One of my pet peeves about people using charcoal in food products is how most people fail to mention that it will adsorb any drugs/medication that you take within a few hours of the charcoal, rendering the drugs ineffective. If you are taking important meds, that can be a huge problem. [/rant]

Heather's cow udder cake with coconut honey jelly, charcoal jelly, pink jelly teats, shortbread cow tags, and green jelly clover was an interesting idea but the pink fingers looked like pink fingers (not cow teats). I was worried during her first attempt. When she said she was going to reheat her jelly and add more gelatin to make it firmer, I was really worried that it would set too much.

Trev's double faultline cake with chiffon cake, rosé jelly, Swiss buttercream, raspberry coulis, and rosé jelly balls was impressive for having so many layers of jelly but faultline cakes are not my favorite baking trend and this one wasn't done very well. I liked the advice to soften the bitterness with a touch of sugar.

Naomi's beehive with genoise sponge, peach/apricot/mango jelly, honey Italian meringue buttercream, and bee macarons was very sweet and cheerful. Her jelly sounded like a great flavor combination.

Louise's Egyptian pyramid with white chocolate, chocolate mousse, raspberry compote, strawberry jelly, crumb biscuit, and peanut butter sponge was such a cool idea. I was sad when it didn't work out. Aside from the structure not holding, it looked amazing with those clean layers. The flavor combination sounded really good too.

I laughed when the judges said who to send home was a tough decision. Did anyone think Louise wasn't going home? Naomi didn't have a great week but it's been clear all season that the judges like what Naomi does and are not crazy about what Louise does.

Heather did well in all three challenges, so I was sure she would be star baker. I thought there was a slim chance tht Trev could sneak past her but he needed to do something amazing for the show stopper for that to happen.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes

Signature challenge
Heather's Irish cream crème brûlée with Scottish shortbread

Technical challenge
opera cake

Showstopper challenge
Naomi's beehive jelly cake

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S2.E8: Finale

Quote

Christmas comes early at the Bake Off tent, as the three remaining bakers get into the festive spirit. Who will be crowned the 2019 winner of The Great Kiwi Bake Off?

Original air date: 12/22/19

Edited January 8, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[rhys]

I'm in the US so am stupid. What the hell is a jelly cake? Yikes those looked awful & sounded cloyingly sweet & unappetizing. Jelly must be something like jello but we don't have jello cake in the US. I'm udderly confused (thanks, Heather).

[rhys]

Just watched the finale. I was a bit surprised.

[rhys]

Did anyone watch the celebrity episode? I don't know any of them but it was ok to watch for a bit especially as it was just one episode. I was surprised at the winner. 

Also, are the bakers always given cold (refrigerated) butter? Seems like there should be a choice between room temperature& cold.

[akr]

3 hours ago, rhys said:

Did anyone watch the celebrity episode? I don't know any of them but it was ok to watch for a bit especially as it was just one episode. I was surprised at the winner. 

Also, are the bakers always given cold (refrigerated) butter? Seems like there should be a choice between room temperature& cold.

It was amusing in  the technical when some where confounded by instructions to "cream" butter & sugar, or "fold in" flour.  Considering how little some of them knew, they did all  right!

[TVbitch]

Finally finished slogging my way through this Bake Off. I came to look upon it as a chore I must complete. 

The bakers were not the most interesting bunch, which is fine, but the bakes were not particularly show-stopping. The finale was disappointing. And what is what Trev suddenly turning into Mr. Personality and having to hug everyone every 5 minutes? And by everyone I mostly mean Naomi, who completely tanked the final and didn't seem to care one whit because Trev is such a good man. So good, she had to cry about it. 

But of course, the main reason this show is so laborious is the god awful hosts who I actively despise with the fury of 1000 suns. Do people in NZ actually find these two comedic, entertaining or remotely pleasant in any way?

I have a phone date with my friend who lives in NZ Saturday and I am going to ask her. I will also ask her about jelly cake @rhys. It looked awful to me.  

Gonna move to South African Bake Off now, hope it's better! 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

15 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Gonna move to South African Bake Off now, hope it's better! 

It's been a while since I watched the South African Bake Off but I remember the first or second season had some very basic/low level showstoppers from just about everyone which was disappointing. But I love that they sometimes use ingredients that I'm not familiar with!

15 hours ago, TVbitch said:

the main reason this show is so laborious is the god awful hosts who I actively despise with the fury of 1000 suns. Do people in NZ actually find these two comedic, entertaining or remotely pleasant in any way?

I couldn't stand them 99% of the time either. I hated the way they would get really close to one of the bakers and then shriek right in their face or ear "FIVE MINUTES LEFT!" Seriously, GTFO with that.

There were one or two moments (in the entirety of two seasons, mind you) where I liked them but I'm pretty sure one of those times was when someone's creation was falling apart and they immediately reached out their hands to try to stop it from happening and the other time was when they were laughing uncontrollably at a phallus shaped cake. Other than that, they annoyed me just about every time they were on my screen. Hell, sometimes even when they weren't visible on my screen but I could hear them, they still annoyed me.

I can't wait to hear what your friend has to say about whether Kiwis find these two funny or not!

[TVbitch]

Well I watched first episode of The Great Kenyan Bake Off. It is Season 1 show and not sure if it replaced SA Bake Off or what. It IS very novice. A couple of them have promise for sure, and there were some unusual flavors that I found interesting. It is almost charming in that it is super genuine. The host, contestants and judges are just normal people who do not try to be entertaining for the camera. 

Do we have a thread for that one? 

 

 

[Aulty]

5 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Well I watched first episode of The Great Kenyan Bake Off. It is Season 1 show and not sure if it replaced SA Bake Off or what.

Thanks for letting us know about the Kenyan version. I checked it out and while, unfortunately, it is another two challenge version - which I always have troubles warming too - the presenters and contestants are a really pleasant and lovely bunch. Love the colourful aprons!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 12/31/2019 at 4:10 PM, rhys said:

Did anyone watch the celebrity episode? I don't know any of them but it was ok to watch for a bit especially as it was just one episode. I was surprised at the winner.

 

On 12/31/2019 at 7:57 PM, akr said:

It was amusing in  the technical when some where confounded by instructions to "cream" butter & sugar, or "fold in" flour.  Considering how little some of them knew, they did all  right!

I was surprised by how little all but Jackie seemed to know about baking during the technical challenge. I'm not anywhere near a professional baker and even I know how to cream butter and sugar, which is the basis of making most cookies.

But more than one of these brain trusts couldn't figure out that they had to pipe 24 pieces to make 12 cookies, which made me think it's not just baking they're bad at (reading comprehension, simple math, etc). They also showed terrible judgment when decorating their plates for the technical challenge. Artichokes? An entire potted plant? Come on, people. There's trying to add a little something to decorate your plate and then there's ridiculously stupid.

As usual, the two hosts were driving me crazy. The overtalking and the interrupting are the fucking worst under normal circumstances but it's so rude to do when the celebrities are talking about the charities that they're trying to raise awareness and money for. The redeeming moment in this episode was when disaster was about to happen (first when someone's biscuit fell apart and one of the hosts very calmly said it was okay because she could repair it with icing and later when she ran to get plates to put into the liquid jello).

The germaphobe in me was grossed out when that guy took the magic bag that had been sitting on the floor and then he put it on top of his work surface. Seriously, you're just going to put floor cooties on the same place where you're putting your biscuits?

They had three hours for the showstopper and Art's jello never got even close to setting, so was the refrigerator not cold enough or did he screw up when he made it?

The judges were pretty generous when they described Paula's beach scene as a masterpiece. I did like that they had a lot of different elements, colors, and details but honestly it looked like a mess.

Jackie referring to her technique as naive was a funny spin on "this looks like a child made it." And good job for coming up with an answer as to why the children were bigger than the tents.

Bree's cricket presentation looked like a gingerbread crime scene.

Dave's umu presentation did crack me up. It was a fun idea to make pig biscuits.

Toni's was by far my favorite showstopper. I loved the lights on her Christmas tree and the little polar bears she made were cute. And from a baking standpoint, she made a lot of cookies, decorated them tastefully, and created a solid structure so she satisfied all the elements of the challenge. Hers was the only one that didn't look like a total mess.

I was surprised that Jackie won, but I know it didn't really matter who the judges picked.

[Aulty]

The new series has a likeable bunch of bakers and the challenges are not as overwrought as some of the GBBO ones.
Why on earth the editors insist on having the Bake Off jingles CD on random shuffle all throughout the episodes is beyond me - its like watching an hour of the Sims. So annoying.

[TVbitch]

Could not get through this latest season of Kiwi Bake Off. The episodes were so long at over an hour each, and I can't stand these hosts. And the judges really bug me with their soft spoken judgery that reminds me of the "low talker" on Seinfeld. Maybe after GBBO and Canadian Baking Show, I am just burned out. I will regroup for Australian Bake Off! 

[Mellowyellow]

Really dislike the hosts on this show. I just couldn't get past how nasty they were too watch the entire season! Made it through 3 eps.

[Mellowyellow]

On 1/26/2022 at 1:01 PM, TVbitch said:

Could not get through this latest season of Kiwi Bake Off. The episodes were so long at over an hour each, and I can't stand these hosts. And the judges really bug me with their soft spoken judgery that reminds me of the "low talker" on Seinfeld. Maybe after GBBO and Canadian Baking Show, I am just burned out. I will regroup for Australian Bake Off! 

I feel so vindicated that I'm not the only person who thought the hosts were nasty!!!!

Neil and Matt can be over the top and just plain weird but I never got a malicious vibe from them. The NZ pair came off as two nasty witches. So many mean little comments peppered in the eps I did watch.

Didn't like the judges either. I found them passive aggressive. Paul Hollywood puts on a show and I don't like it but I find it more tolerable than the passive aggressive behaviour of the kiwi judges. Such a shame because the contestants did seem lovely and inoffensive!

 

 

[TVbitch]

Yeah, the judges criticism was weird, cuz they would throw out a lame compliment and then really go in on some of the bakes, and the soft, whispery tone of there voices just made it seem all the more sinister. The poor bakers faces would look either crushed or pissed! 

I did pop into the finale to see who won. It was baker I like the best, so I was happy. The winning showstopper was really amazing looking. 

[RealityCheck]

The new season of THE GREAT KIWI BAKE OFF began airing last night, Thursday August 25th.

Quote

Peter Gordon and Jordan Rondel replace judges Sue Fleischl and Dean Brettschneider and comedian Pax Assadi joins Hayley Sproull as a host.

I hope the new judges exude more energy than Sue and Dean did.

[dewelar]

Well, they certainly brought different energy. Peter Gordon felt stuffy, and Jordan Rondel gave off a very self-important vibe. They reminded me of the stereotypical view of art critics, right down to their sartorial choices. I will remind myself that this is just one episode, and my view is being colored by being a big fan of Sue and Dean (they were my favorite judging pair of all the iterations of this that I watch -- i.e. British/Australian/Canadian/Kiwi), but so far not a fan.

[Aulty]

Do they still have the Bake Off jingle collection on shuffle repeat for the whole episode? That's what has spoiled every Kiwi season for me so far.

[Aulty]

I watched the first few episodes and imho the show is vastly improved. It was already a step up when they switched to the proper 3 challenges format last (?) year. The new presenter is very likable and the duo already feels like a better match. The comedy bits feel less exaggerated. And they've finally added more Maori expressions to the standard Bake Off platitude catalogue. The new judges are alright and give good feedback - they feel a lot warmer, much more like the Canadian duo.

[Charlita]

Spoiler

I think you’re right dewelar. I miss the old judges and although Gordon is ok for me Rondel is dripping with pretension to the degree I’m having trouble listening to anything she says. I miss judges with more experience than “the caker” who seems 100% style over substance.

Edited September 23, 2022 by Charlita

[dewelar]

Yes, five episodes in now and Peter has grown on me a bit since the first episode, but Jordan hasn't really. Also, is it me, or does it feel like the show is focused more on the judges and presenters and less on the bakers than it has in past seasons? Again, five episodes in, and I don't really find myself connecting with any of the bakers the way I did with, say, season 2's Trev or last season's Pera.

[TVbitch]

I have watched four episodes and am having to force myself to get through them. I usually only pay attention to the completed bakes.

Maybe it is the editing but I am having trouble warming to any of the bakers. And I don't really understand why they got rid of two boring judges and replaced them with.... two boring judges. They both remind me of the "low-talker" character on Seinfeld the way they quietly mumble their critique. 

[Aulty]

Its funny that I like the updates but everyone else hates it 😄 In my defense, I was in hospital when I watched the first 4.

The judges just aren't very verbose, are they? Peter Gordon is ok, but Jordan in particular doesn't bring much original commentary and that unexcitable, half-asleep expression that I associate with the Billie Eilish generation. The show needs a Maggie Breer (Matt and Maggie will not be back for the next Australian Bake Off btw.)

[TVbitch]

Billie Eilish! Thanks @Aulty, I knew she reminded me of someone. I was paying closer attention to episode five and her favorite professional judging critique is: "It's good." Or, if the other judge speaks first, she'll say: "Totally." ...Not exactly descriptive or informative! 

Also, I am not sure what is going on with language, but professional judges in this and some UK shows have taken to adding "sort of" and "just a bit" into almost every sentence: "There's a sort of bitter flavor from the crust being just a bit overdone." I guess simply saying "Unfortunately, the crust is burnt" is seen as too harsh or a personal attack these days. 

[TVbitch]

Still slogging through this. The bakers are not that great and most are having a hard time finishing the bakes, and the judges are pretty unbearable. I really don't even care who wins. ... ... OMG why I am still watching this! 🤪

[Aulty]

10 hours ago, TVbitch said:

 ... OMG why I am still watching this! 🤪

LOL, I was thinking the same. That female judge and her limited vocabulary are melting my head.
I like the new presenter though.

[Rasta]

Not a fan of Pax as he seems kinda fake to me. Equally the new judges - I think Peter could be good if he didn't have to babysit Jordan all season. She is clearly very successful (in modern parlance this means has lots of social media followers and shifts many units of random stuff) but not an experienced chef, just someone who got famous through da'gram rehashing and tarting up (pardon the pun) her French ancestors' recipes for the benefit of not very knowledgable kids only interested in what things look like.
As for the contestants this year I found a number of them pretty annoying, including the eventual winner, smug, up themselves, and kinda twee - rarely do I wish people are ejected but there were several this season who, despite them producing good bakes I was wishing would get eliminated. The winner, I was delighted, outed the bad attitude I was feeling throughout in the last episode, whining about coming third in the technical and admitting they were 'ropable'.
Hopefully GKBO can get back on track, and maybe the sleb CTI special will let the newbies relax into their roles, ready for a new season of civilians.

[RealityCheck]

Season 5 of THE GREAT KIWI BAKE OFF premiered Thursday January 25, 2024 at 8:30PM with hosts Hayley Sproull and Pax Assadi and judges Peter Gordon and Jordan Rondel.

[Rasta]

2024 its felt from the beginning that production were gonna do everything to promote Devoney coz of her insta-clout - but the semi final where for two of the rounds she didn't really follow the brief and the other, when judged blind, she totes fecked it and came last yet they still kept her, this support was especially obvious.... arrrrrgggggghhhhhh. Also maybe I'm a bit biased coz I find her really smug and irritating and feels like she doesn't support the others or have real camaraderie, which is soooo a part of bake off, to the point that sometimes it seems like she doesn't even have basic empathy. K, enuf bitching, she'll probs win it, innit.

[Rasta]

On 3/8/2024 at 12:35 AM, Rasta said:

2024 its felt from the beginning that production were gonna do everything to promote Devoney coz of her insta-clout - but the semi final where for two of the rounds she didn't really follow the brief and the other, when judged blind, she totes fecked it and came last yet they still kept her, this support was especially obvious.... arrrrrgggggghhhhhh. Also maybe I'm a bit biased coz I find her really smug and irritating and feels like she doesn't support the others or have real camaraderie, which is soooo a part of bake off, to the point that sometimes it seems like she doesn't even have basic empathy. K, enuf bitching, she'll probs win it, innit.

Hopefully production and the judges learn from this final - they put Devoney thru despite her not following the briefs to try to gain some of her followers/online baking clout and in the final she totally ignores the showstopper brief, barely bakes any part of it, and it doesnae taste good. On top of this is, my dislike of her was entirely warranted, as she 'jokes' that she was right and the judges were wrong. Unlikable contestant and they even had to bulk up her side with ex-contestants coz no-one came to support her, which is very revealing.

Edited March 17 by Rasta