S10.E05: The Roaring Twenties

[Athena]

Quote

The challenges inspired by the roaring twenties include a slapstick Signature and a tiered Showstopper special

Channel 4 Air Date: September 24, 2019.

Netflix USA Air Date: September 27, 2019.

[halopub]

The 1920s theme was a bit tenuous.

The editors didn't do a great job of telegraphing Helena and Michelle's departures, though they themselves didn't seem surprised to leave over Priya.  I also didn't care for the excessive reliance on Henry for so many reaction shots, assuming of course, that they actually correspond to the times they were cut in. The nervous crossed fingers on behalf of another baker was lovely to see the first time....

I need to look up the Tom Hovey illustration of David's cake because I'm not sure I got his artistic direction.

Great choice on Steph's part to use canned pineapple.

I'm sorry Brits are not familiar with beignet, though I would have thought pillow-shaped ones would be acceptable.

Note to competitors: add pâte à choux and sabayon to your pre-tent practice. Choux comes up nearly every season.

 

Edited September 25, 2019 by halopub

[Aulty]

Who is editing these episodes? I was sure that Pryia was the one to leave and never would have thought Helena and Michelle were in serious trouble. Helena was ahead of Pryia in the technical and surely boiling your custard in a custard tart challenge is a bigger mistake then misjudging the amount of lavender?

I finally came round on Elena and her goofy Halloween themed backes - the Kraken tarts were fun! The other contestants are starting to grow on me too. There was a story in the papers this week that two contestants started dating and I was looking for clues of romance in this episode 🙂

The challenges were ok. The flapper girl tarts that earned the baker a handshake were the best thing this week, but none of the cocktails cakes looked very appetizing - they all looked dry.

Edited September 25, 2019 by Aulty

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ooh, custard pies. What's not to like?

Helena's Halloween obsession can be a bit much, but I liked that she found a fun way to incorporate it into her lemon and lavender pies. The kraken coming out of the pies was fun. Like rose, I prefer a very light touch with lavender flavored desserts. I'm all for the lovely color it added to the custard but I'm pretty sure I would have hated the taste.

Henry's Kool-aid inspired lemon lime custard pies with raspberry curd had really thick pastry. Heh, I go back and forth on Henry but I had to laugh when he said the best part of the challenge was when he got to swipe the top of the molds to level them out. I don't feel quite as strongly about that as he does, but I totally get it.

Rosie's blackberry custard pies with elderflower jelly domes sounded delicious. I felt so bad when she dropped one. Henry was so sweet to run over and pick up her pie and see if she was okay. Such a shame that the jelly domes melted too. At least she had one extra to show them so they could see how lovely they were. Ha  and I cracked up when she said that rabbits are the worst animals to deal with.

Michelle's blueberry and white chocolate crème brûlée pies were so pretty. I loved all the colorful dried flowers she used to decorate them. Coincidentally, I had a mini custard tart with a layer of blueberry at the bottom just like Michelle's and I could barely taste the blueberry at all.

Steph's lemon, lime, and orange custard pies looked nice. I liked that the decoration looked like geometric abstract art. The pastry and custard both looked like they were baked beautifully.

Alice's chocolate orange custard pies looked very neat and I liked the minimal decoration. I'm all for chocolate crust, but EVERY time someone makes one, Paul gets skeptical about whether they will know when it's baked properly. As soon as she said she was using orange extract to make sure there was a lot of orange flavor, I knew she was in trouble.

I like bone marrow and I like fruit, but I'm not sure how I would feel about eating a custard pie with bone marrow and fruit. But I appreciate David's research into authentic custard pies from the 20s! It made me laugh because all I could think of was Joey eating Rachel's trifle:

David's flapper girl biscuits were SO cute. I liked that he decorated each pie with a different color scheme and fruit. I was fine with him making a plain vanilla custard. When Paul cut one in half, the cross section looked perfect. The crust was thin, flat, and symmetric, the custard went all the way to the top, and it looked perfectly baked. I loved how excited everyone was when David got a handshake from Paul.

Michael's mango and lime custard pies with ginger crust were decorated a little haphazadly. Not everything has to be placed with tweezers but there was something about his that looked a bit messy. I know I shouldn't judge, but what kind of person likes a shallow tart? Come on, Michael! I want my filling all the way up to the top!

Priya's lemon raspberry custard pies were really sloppy looking. At least it tasted good though!

I was excited about the technical challenge because I love beignets, and adding raspberry jam just makes them even better. I felt bad for the bakers though because it can be hard to fry something well. Even if you're comfortable with frying, it can still take trial and error to fry something new, especially with an unfamiliar fryer. Some of the bakers made some pretty ugly beignets, but Priya and Helena did so well!

Hahaha, I love when the bakers poke fun at themselves. Michael's suggestion to get #realmencry and #mantears to trend after his meltdown with the technical challenge.

The showstopper challenge sounded interesting - cocktail themed cakes! I always feel bad when it gets so hot in the tent that the bakers' buttercream starts melting.

Michael's bramble inspired ombré cake with crème de mûre buttercream sounded interesting (but I like anything with blackberry so I'm biased). It could have looked a little neater but I liked his concept.

Helena's red velvet Dracula cake with raspberry vodka, cream cheese icing, and vanilla buttercream was another one that was an interesting idea but wasn't executed as well as it could have been, mostly because the piping was a little messy.

David's amaretto sour cake was too busy for my taste. Between the naked cake, the flowers, the butterflies, the bright red maraschino cherries, the buttercream flowers, the real flowers, and the white sand dollar/doily looking things, there was just too much.

Four piña colada cakes and not one person on the show pronounced it correctly!

Michelle's piña colada cake with coconut sponge and pineapple filling was a lot visually. I'm also not a fan of the faultline trend so that part was just eh for me.

Alice's art deco piña colada cake with pineapple and rum sponges, coconut buttercream, and caramelized rum pineapple filling was a good idea for 20s week but it looked too messy. I'm okay with big chunks of pineapple though.

Steph's Caribbean inspired sour lime and piña colada cake with lime and coconut sponges and Swiss meringue buttercream was so bright and vibrant. I liked the bright yellow and white together.

Priya's alcohol-free piña colada cake with passionfruit sponges, coconut buttercream, and pineapple curd was pretty. I liked her stained glass decoration idea.

Henry's white Russian cake with coffee sponge, coffee buttercream, coffee liqueur, and hazelnut praline did look dramatic due to the height, so making his cake three layers paid. I am not a fan of the naked cake look (aka cakes that look like someone put on a crumb coat and then ran out of frosting), but I liked the different sized chocolate shards.

Rosie's white Russian cake with coffee liqueur sponge, chocolate ganache, and vodka Swiss meringue buttercream was kind of messy looking but it really worked because of all the gold. I'm fine with a really thick ganache. If people accept fondant, then a thick layer of chocolate should be too! At least ganache tastes better than fondant.

Yay for Steph winning star baker!

I'm glad that we finally got the double elimination out of the way. Michelle and Helena both took it well.

Edited September 25, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes

Signature challenge
David's flapper custard pies
Michael's mango, lime, and ginger custard pies

Technical challenge
Prue's beignets

Showstopper challenge
Henry's white Russian cake
Steph's sour lime piña colada cake
 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Helena's exit interview
Michelle's exit interview

[Danny Franks]

I haven't really thought about this before, but they made a big point of showing Paul Hollywood patrolling the tent during the signature bake. I actually really like that he shows an active interest in what everyone is doing, and while I imagine it's intimidating, it probably also gives the bakers a sense of satisfaction.

I guess those custard pies were pretty much the same as custard tarts/egg custards, which means I'd be happy to try any of them. David and Alice's looked really good, Priya's did not.

Alright, so that's the first time I've liked Rosie - "Rabbits. They just wanna die." The weary tone was perfect. And I did feel bad for her when she dropped her custard pie. 

I've finally figured out who Alice reminds me of, with her prim but manic and gritted teeth energy - Annie Edison, particularly from the first couple of seasons of Community.

Beignets are completely unknown in the UK. I've seen them on various TV shows, but I was also flummoxed by the souffle bit.  I did like the experimental approach a few of them took - dropping in a bit of dough to see how it would fry, cutting it open to see inside, tasting it.

I'm not particularly sorry to see the back of Helena and her spooky obsession, although it seems an odd choice given the mild criticisms she got. Compare her week to David's and they both won a challenge, then were similarly mediocre on the showstopper. Seems like she did better than Priya too.

Also, if  Helena wanted to do a sea monster for the 1920s theme, why didn't she just say it was H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu? Missed opportunity. More ambivalent on Michelle. She never made more of an impression me than "is Welsh."

Steph is a bit of a dark horse, isn't she? She's quiet and relatively unassuming, but she seems very well rounded and very calm. I can't think of anything she's done badly on.

[TVbitch]

I don't get how most of the tart decorations spoke to a 20's theme. 

I'm sure I have seen Monica make beignets as a skills challenge on Masterchef UK! 

For me this week (and to be honest it happens a lot), the illustrations of the bakes were so much prettier than the bakes! 

[oldCJ]

I’m not finding series 10 very much fun to watch. I don’t understand how several of the bakers made it onto the show, let alone make it past elimination after elimination. I don’t mind the occasional misstep, but watching these disasters and middling bakes is not entertaining. Thank goodness bake offs from Canada and shortly Australia are here for my bake off fix.

[CatLover74]

3 hours ago, oldCJ said:

I’m not finding series 10 very much fun to watch. I don’t understand how several of the bakers made it onto the show, let alone make it past elimination after elimination. I don’t mind the occasional misstep, but watching these disasters and middling bakes is not entertaining. Thank goodness bake offs from Canada and shortly Australia are here for my bake off fix.

It is a bit underwhelming at the moment - although living in Australia, I've only seen the first episode so far and part of the second.  After about 18 months, I can't wait for the new Australian season to get underway.  Hopefully that will be a bit more interesting.

[PaulaO]

On 9/25/2019 at 11:37 PM, oldCJ said:

I’m not finding series 10 very much fun to watch. I don’t understand how several of the bakers made it onto the show, let alone make it past elimination after elimination. I don’t mind the occasional misstep, but watching these disasters and middling bakes is not entertaining. Thank goodness bake offs from Canada and shortly Australia are here for my bake off fix.

I'm with you.  I'm in the U.S. and watch via Netflix.  I was going to cancel my subscription after the finale, but why wait?  It's an uninspiring season.

[peeayebee]

On 9/25/2019 at 1:13 AM, Aulty said:

There was a story in the papers this week that two contestants started dating and I was looking for clues of romance in this episode

David and Michael seemed pretty chummy, though of course that could just be friendliness.

I'm glad David got a handshake for his tarts. They looked perfect. Those cookies were beautifully decorated. I also liked that he mentioned Bugsy Malone. I love that movie.

What was David doing wrong with his choux pastry? Was he not cooking it enough? Did he forget the eggs?

I generally like Noel, but he really irritated me when he kept talking to and joking around with Rosie as she was trying to fry her beignets.

And didn't Noel do that throwing-the-sack joke in an earlier ep?

I thought the decorations on all of the showstopper cakes were messy. My favorite was probably Priya's. The stained-glass look was cool.

I'm not a big fan of the naked cake look, but it can be fine just so long as the decorations are perfect. Otherwise the whole thing looks like the decorator was rushing.

On 9/25/2019 at 1:59 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I'm fine with a really thick ganache. If people accept fondant, then a thick layer of chocolate should be too!

I'm a huge chocolate fan, but if it's too thick (like this one was), that's hard to bite into. A chocolate bar, as Paul said.

[dleighg]

I was chuckling when Henry said what sounded for all the world like "F*ck" (I don't know what the rules are here) and sure enough that's exactly what the closed captioning said. Even Bravo bleeps both the words and the captions!

28 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

David and Michael seemed pretty chummy, though of course that could just be friendliness.

In his intro I'm pretty sure they showed David with his boyfriend, so I hope that isn't the blossoming romance!

[3 is enough]

40 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

There was a story in the papers this week that two contestants started dating and I was looking for clues of romance in this episode

I know who it is: 

Spoiler

Henry and Alice

Just in case someone wants to figure it out for themselves.

But I have seen other articles saying it isn't true, so who knows?

I was surprised Michelle went home.  I thought Priya was in more danger. 

[krankydoodle]

1 hour ago, peeayebee said:

And didn't Noel do that throwing-the-sack joke in an earlier ep?

I definitely remember seeing that before.

I'll miss kooky Helena and seeing how she could twist the week's theme so her bakes could include monsters, blood, or whatnot. Noel's enjoyment of her was also fun to watch.

Others have noted that some of the bakers don't seem to have watched the show before, or at least not very attentively, but I was still surprised when Michelle said something to the effect that she was just expecting to show up the day of and bake.

Edited September 27, 2019 by krankydoodle

[Deskisamess]

I think Alice looks like Rosamund Pike.

I agree that this season seems tired and uninspiring. I was not sad to see Helena go home, the goth schtick got old quickly for me. That octopus/kraken thing was hideous.

How did these contestants not know they would need to make choux pastry at some point?

Did Henry drop the "f" bomb? I could have sworn I heard that.

[dleighg]

4 minutes ago, Deskisamess said:

Did Henry drop the "f" bomb? I could have sworn I heard that.

oh yeah he did. And the captioning agreed!

[zibnchy]

It seemed like several of the bakers were fairly unfamiliar with making choux pastry which is completely absurd. Did they really never watch a season of this show? Every season, I think, has a choux pastry challenge. Why would you, in season 10, not practice all the basics. I don't know how much time they have between finding out they're on the show and actual filming, but I would be re-watching and practicing (I know they ahve jobs and stuff but ffs it's GBBO, why half ass it?) I would at least practice many different varieties of dough.

GBBO taught me what choux pastry is. I've never made it but I'll bet I could have done a better job than whatever that was that Michael was trying to fry.

I think this is what's annoying me - the bakers don't really seem particularly qualified. They've been quite shitty at the technical bakes this year. I just don't know if this group really has the chops to compete.

They have the opportunity to practice their bakes in advance so I find the fact that so many of the bakes are underwhelming to be quite a head scratcher.

For the record, I'm the worst baker. I can't even make a box cake. But I'm obviously very good at judging other bakers. 😀

I'm the biggest GBBO fan I know and I'm starting to think the show maybe needs to end. (Oh who am I kidding? I'll watch no matter what.)

[Rinaldo]

56 minutes ago, zibnchy said:

GBBO taught me what choux pastry is. I've never made it but I'll bet I could have done a better job than whatever that was that Michael was trying to fry.

I'm a very elementary baker myself, but choux pastry is honestly one of the easiest procedures, way easier than any of the pastries for tarts etc. But it does need the experience of putting it together it a time or two, so that you know what it's supposed to look like at each stage of mixing and how to know how much egg to add and all that. There's no excuse for not preparing oneself on this technique.

[MisterGlass]

It's interesting that they picked this for the double elimination, and went for middling performers rather than the more severe technical failures.  When Helena won the technical I thought she had probably eked out another week.

I'm glad Rosie stayed.  I liked her gel flowers, and I will happily eat a chocolate bar off the side of a cake.  Her assertion that rabbits just want to die reminded me of the Book of Bunny Suicides.

Henry's white Russian cake was the closest I've come to liking a naked cake, but it still didn't quite work for me.

On 9/24/2019 at 8:44 PM, halopub said:

The 1920s theme was a bit tenuous.

^This.  I thought the idea of all period recipes was interesting, but the show stopper in particular could have been in most episodes short of bread or biscuit week.  The cocktail theme seems familiar.  Perhaps it's just that individual contestants have done it, and not the show as a whole.

[bugsmum]

It’s always so interesting when the technical is something I’m more familiar with than the bakers.  I’ve never made beignets but lucky for me I’ve eaten them, and how in the world were so many of them lost making choux?  Surely that’s something you’d make damn sure you practiced before you went into a baking competition.  

Did not see Michelle going tonight.  Really thought Priya and Rosie were toast.  Helena’s goth was getting mighty old and I’m not sorry to see her go.  

Really thought the 1920s bit was a stretch.

Edited September 28, 2019 by bugsmum

[Spunkygal]

I learned choux pastry in my dinkie home ec class in the mid 70s. In TEXAS! My darling dad always requested my cream puffs instead of a birthday cake. So I sneer at anyone on this show who doesn’t know choux.

[Eliza422]

I’m shocked at how many of the bakers didn’t know choux or sabayon. These are not obscure things. This really does seem like an unqualified group this year. This would seem to support my thought they were cast for their youth and looks, not Baking skill! 

[Danny Franks]

14 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I generally like Noel, but he really irritated me when he kept talking to and joking around with Rosie as she was trying to fry her beignets.

It looks like (in the edit, at least) Noel is having to try a lot harder to interact with some of the bakers this year. Last year, he had Ruby, Manon, Briony and Rahul who really seemed to vibe well with him and it all seemed effortless. This year, the bakers seem a little less comfortable with his style of humour. 

Alice looked like she genuinely didn't know how to talk to him, a couple of episodes ago, and Rosie wasn't overly comfortable with his style of banter either.

Obviously he got on well with Helena, and seems to have a laugh with Michael too.

I do wonder why there seems to be less Sandi than in the last two years, and figure it might be because the editors are thinking 'people like Noel joshing around with the bakers, let's have more of that'.

Edited September 28, 2019 by Danny Franks

[PaulaO]

I caved and watched the episode because I was really bored.  Aside from David’s flapper girl biscuits, there was nothing remotely 1920s about any other bakes.  Beignets have been around forever.  I admired Priya’s vague attempt at Tiffany stained glass decorations but Tiffany isn’t 1920s.  I won’t miss Helena and her horror themes, but I don’t think anyone was obviously going home.  Everyone just did middling bakes.  I knew there would be multiple pina colada cakes because that’s a flavo(u)r combo commonly done.  Why did no one do bathtub gin?

[Deskisamess]

I didn't get the reference to Kool-Aid being used in 1920's baking either. Kool-Aid wasn't sold until late 1927 into 1928, and I can't find any references to it being used in baking.

[libgirl2]

7 hours ago, Eliza422 said:

I’m shocked at how many of the bakers didn’t know choux or sabayon. These are not obscure things. This really does seem like an unqualified group this year. This would seem to support my thought they were cast for their youth and looks, not Baking skill! 

On the kid's Halloween bake off, I saw a kid making choux. A little kid! And its not the first time either.  I'm very underwhelmed this season.

[Adiba]

1 hour ago, PaulaO said:

I caved and watched the episode because I was really bored.  Aside from David’s flapper girl biscuits, there was nothing remotely 1920s about any other bakes.  Beignets have been around forever.  I admired Priya’s vague attempt at Tiffany stained glass decorations but Tiffany isn’t 1920s.  I won’t miss Helena and her horror themes, but I don’t think anyone was obviously going home.  Everyone just did middling bakes.  I knew there would be multiple pina colada cakes because that’s a flavo(u)r combo commonly done.  Why did no one do bathtub gin?

Thought the same thing--and pina coladas are an invention of the '50s--why not have them do cakes based on cocktails that were around during the 1920s, or at least inspired by them (for Priya and her no -booze cake).

I still like the show, but the themes and editing in the las two episodes left much to be desired, imo.

[AZChristian]

3 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

. . . Rosie wasn't overly comfortable with his style of banter either.

I thought the whole "bunnies just want to die" interaction was hysterical.  It seemed obvious that Noel did NOT expect that response from Rosie . . . who was so "matter of fact" in the statement and never stopped working while chatting with him.

[dleighg]

47 minutes ago, Adiba said:

why not have them do cakes based on cocktails that were around during the 1920s

I thought the same thing-- my favorite cocktail, the Aviation, is from that era.

[J-Man]

On 9/25/2019 at 1:13 AM, Aulty said:

There was a story in the papers this week that two contestants started dating and I was looking for clues of romance in this episode

How many couples can you see?

(From Alice's Instagram.)

[snarktini]

4 hours ago, Adiba said:

Thought the same thing--and pina coladas are an invention of the '50s--why not have them do cakes based on cocktails that were around during the 1920s, or at least inspired by them (for Priya and her no -booze cake).

20s cocktails would have been much better! If you're at the point where it can be "any cocktail" (and finding yourself debating if a Vampire's Kiss is a real drink), it seems like a missed opportunity. 

On 9/25/2019 at 6:11 PM, TVbitch said:

I don't get how most of the tart decorations spoke to a 20's theme. 

With a few exceptions, there was a sad lack of 20s style in the bakes across both Signature and Show Stopper. The tarts were a total disappointment to me, as a bit of a deco design nut. David got it. Alice was getting there -- her four lines and bits had a bit of a vibe. But, flavor wise there was almost nothing to tie to the era aside from Henry's tortured Kool Aid reference. In terms of decoration I expected more awesome geometric deco things, but maybe the problem was time on the tarts . They barely had enough time to bake their tarts, much less pipe on elaborate decorations*. In Showstopper, they don't get the time excuse and at least there were some deco elements but still underwhelming. I kind of hoped someone would use the tiered layers to evoke a skyscraper, new to that era. 

The whole theme could have been better designed.

* ETA: For the tarts, it wouldn't have been that hard. They were already making little bits and bobs to throw on top at the last minute. The little bits and bobs could easily have been repeated patterns -- geometric (chevrons / circles / triangles) or curvilinear (fans, peacock, sun rays) -- instead of random flowers and meringues, and that would have been easy deco.

Edited September 28, 2019 by snarktini

[theatremouse]

On 9/28/2019 at 5:45 AM, Deskisamess said:

I didn't get the reference to Kool-Aid being used in 1920's baking either. Kool-Aid wasn't sold until late 1927 into 1928, and I can't find any references to it being used in baking.

I don't think he said anything about people baking with Kool-Aid in the 20s. He just said it was invented in the 20s so that's why he chose it as his theme. I think? Too many of them seemed to - instead of picking something genuinely 20s - pick something they wanted to do and then googled a way they could claim it to fit the theme, I suspect.

I was not suprised most of them weren't familiar with sabayon. I was surprised at how many not only had problems with the choux but straight up admitted to not really knowing how to do it/having done it/having only done it once years ago etc.

[lovinbob]

On 9/25/2019 at 4:13 AM, Aulty said:

Who is editing these episodes? I was sure that Pryia was the one to leave and never would have thought Helena and Michelle were in serious trouble. Helena was ahead of Pryia in the technical and surely boiling your custard in a custard tart challenge is a bigger mistake then misjudging the amount of lavender?

I finally came round on Elena and her goofy Halloween themed backes - the Kraken tarts were fun! The other contestants are starting to grow on me too. There was a story in the papers this week that two contestants started dating and I was looking for clues of romance in this episode 🙂

The challenges were ok. The flapper girl tarts that earned the baker a handshake were the best thing this week, but none of the cocktails cakes looked very appetizing - they all looked dry.

This did not seem like the episode to lose two bakers. Maybe Helena, because she has not been impressive throughout the season, but this didn't seem like her worse performance. Same with Michelle. I also thought it was odd that Michelle said she got "roasted" (I think that was the word she used) during the judging, but that isn't what I saw! 

On 9/26/2019 at 12:37 AM, oldCJ said:

I’m not finding series 10 very much fun to watch. I don’t understand how several of the bakers made it onto the show, let alone make it past elimination after elimination. I don’t mind the occasional misstep, but watching these disasters and middling bakes is not entertaining. 

The choux thing was ridiculous. Couldn't Michael just have added flour? (Admittedly I'm not an experienced baker but I feel like I learned that just from watching previous seasons.)

Regarding a couple, I thought I saw Michael and David chemistry. 

Noel looks so scruffy this weekend--not my favorite look for him. I do think it's funny that he and Sandi have a very similar style, this week anyway--blousy top and pants. 🙂

[PBnJay]

1 hour ago, snarktini said:

With a few exceptions, there was a sad lack of 20s style in the bakes across both Signature and Show Stopper.

I agree. There were so many things I could think of that would have fit the category. I also was surprised by no one knowing beignets. They are just (delicious!) fried dough with a French name. 

31 minutes ago, lovinbob said:

Noel looks so scruffy this weekend--not my favorite look for him. I do think it's funny that he and Sandi have a very similar style, this week anyway--blousy top and pants.

That was so funny! Maybe they are the "couple" and are sharing wardrobe.

[Writing Wrongs]

I always wonder: If they get a technical where they claim to have never seen or heard of an item, how do they know what it's supposed to look like when they are done? Is it in the instructions? Do they get a photo? At the end, they all seem to bake almost exactly what is required. I couldn't believe they couldn't figure out how to make a ball or that the pastry shouldn't be runny when they put it in oil.

[hendersonrocks]

Michelle?!

When they said in judging that two bakers had fallen off the pace (or something thereabouts), I was 100% sure it was Helena and Priya going. Michelle had been one of the stronger bakers up to this point, and I really didn't think it seemed like she was struggling as much as Priya - AGAIN - this week. I was truly surprised.

Other misc. thoughts:

- David's signature was absolutely gorgeous and looked/sounded like a truly deserved handshake.

- Alternatively, David's technical looked like the poo emojis dusted in sugar.

- Michael, there is no crying in baking. 

[Athena]

3 hours ago, lovinbob said:

The choux thing was ridiculous. Couldn't Michael just have added flour? (Admittedly I'm not an experienced baker but I feel like I learned that just from watching previous seasons.)

Choux pastry is mostly cooked before baking (or frying in this case) so by adding the flour after the eggs, Michael would be adding raw flour. While some recipes say this can fix it in a pinch, others find this very wrong. Jane on the Bakedown feels this way and I agree because if you add raw flour at this stage, it changes the texture of the pastry. Michael simply added too much egg. Simple mistake.

I'm a home baker and I've made choux pastry. It really is quite simple and the fact that so many of them had trouble with it irked me as well.

[jcbrown]

1 hour ago, Athena said:

I'm a home baker and I've made choux pastry. It really is quite simple and the fact that so many of them had trouble with it irked me as well.

Another home baker here. I couldn't believe the number of them who said they had not made choux dough before and did not know what was in it. I was yelling the recipe at them. They could not hear me, evidently. It really is not that tough and I can't believe none of them practiced such a basic thing, as others have noted. And to have made neither choux pastry nor a sabayon? I watch this show to see people who can bake better than me and this challenge let me down in that regard, for sure.

[Sew Sumi]

The number of split sabayons made me cringe. They looked so gross in the clear bowls.

[Nidratime]

Alice reminds me of a beauty contestant. More Miss America than Miss Universe. I see her as a Miss Texas or from some other southern state.

Oh ... and I was utterly shocked they sent Michelle home. She had been one of their better bakers for weeks now.

Edited September 29, 2019 by Nidratime

[magdalene]

None of them knew what a beignet was - that shocked me.  I am not a skilled baker by any means but I know what they are, what they should look like and I have eaten some delicious ones.

To quote Noel - "what is happening here?"  I question that this was the week to send 2 bakers home. And Michelle going instead of Priya is rather dubious. As to Helena going I suspect both judges were tired of her Halloween schtick.

Edited September 29, 2019 by magdalene

[krankydoodle]

On 9/25/2019 at 11:30 AM, Danny Franks said:

I haven't really thought about this before, but they made a big point of showing Paul Hollywood patrolling the tent during the signature bake. I actually really like that he shows an active interest in what everyone is doing, and while I imagine it's intimidating, it probably also gives the bakers a sense of satisfaction.

I've been watching old episodes at random and this is something they've done before. That Paul admitted he's never seen Michael in meltdown mode suggests he's not spending all that much time in the tent.

6 hours ago, magdalene said:

As to Helena going I suspect both judges were tired of her Halloween schtick.

Paul at least made a face when leaving Helena's table after she described what she was going to make for the showstopper I think. I have to admit I laughed when he apologized to Noel at the end for sending his sister home.

[AZChristian]

6 hours ago, magdalene said:

As to Helena going I suspect both judges were tired of her Halloween schtick.

Helena:  I'm making the inside of my cake blood red.

Prue:  Of course you are.

Yeah . . . the theme had run its course with Prue.

[carolibra]

Carolibrason: Let's organize a conversation between Rosie and Ben Shapiro. 

Me: Speed-talking Death Match?

Carolibrason: I bet Ben would be in awe.

Edited September 29, 2019 by carolibra

[MartyQui]

I don’t understand why they don’t use dowels when they do multi-tier cakes...that’s the proper way. But I guess that would compromise the “drama” of watching a cake fall over!

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

I don’t understand why they don’t use dowels when they do multi-tier cakes...that’s the proper way. But I guess that would compromise the “drama” of watching a cake fall over!

There have been many challenges in the past where dowels have been used for multi-tier cakes, so my hunch is they didn't allow it this time or some of them did use dowels and we just didn't see it.

[Danny Franks]

7 hours ago, krankydoodle said:

I've been watching old episodes at random and this is something they've done before. That Paul admitted he's never seen Michael in meltdown mode suggests he's not spending all that much time in the tent.

Michael melted down in the technical, didn't he? So Paul wouldn't have been there for that.

[krankydoodle]

1 minute ago, Danny Franks said:

Michael melted down in the technical, didn't he? So Paul wouldn't have been there for that.

It was kind of a joke about how Michael has freaked out so often this season to the point where Noel asked another baker if Michael was doing ok. I feel for Michael, but it's hard to enjoy the show when someone is having such a difficult time handling it.

[magdalene]

I miss the days when Selasi was on. He was too cool for melt-downs, ha!