Brace yourself for Soggy Bottom Bingo – it’s Pastry Week!

Hands down, this is my favourite week! Pastry is the king of beige foods. And for one very good reason: life is better wrapped in pastry.

So what did the pastry-themed week have in store for the remaining seven bakers? Would it be all puff and nonsense? Would the bakers crack and flake under the time pressures?

Let’s find out!

**** SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the outcomes of each of the challenges, this week’s star baker and the sixth of The Class of 2025 to go home. Please don’t read on if you have yet to watch the Pastry Week episode and don’t want to know the outcome! ****

THE SIGN OF A GOOD BAKER

According to Prue, pastry week is one of the most important weeks in Bake Off because if you can’t make pastry then ‘frankly, you’re not much of a baker.’

Phew, that’s me flying under the radar for a little while longer then

Aside from my love of all things pastry, I think that’s why it’s my favourite week. This week (and bread week) are the two that I feel really show more of the bakers’ technical talents rather than their creativity and artistic flair as some of the other weeks tend to major on.

THE SIGNATURE: SAVOURY PASTRY PLAITS

For the first of the pastry challenges, the judges were expecting the bakers to produce crisp, flaky, laminated pastry with a savoury filling, shaped into a beautifully plaited design.

They were given two and a half hours to complete this task, which for once seemed like a decent amount of time! Even though the pastry making process is quite protracted (laminated doughs require chill time in between each roll and fold), the fillings typically go into the oven uncooked, so this takes away the time that would otherwise be needed to make and cool the filling.

Hopefully the bakers remembered that and didn’t try to make their lives harder by choosing a pre-cooked filling…

AMAZINGLY BRAVE

As we learnt what each of the bakers had chosen to create for the pastry signature, Lesley told us that she was using a Paul Hollywood recipe for her filling. But she had decided to pimp it up a little bit to improve it. Bold.

And then there was Toby. Who decided he was going to do a full puff pastry, even though it wasn’t required for the challenge (rough puff pastry is a lot quicker to make and is still a laminated dough). Amazingly brave is how Prue described him. Paul looked slightly incredulous and told him he wouldn’t have enough time to make it.

I must admit that I feared Toby may become a victim of his own ambitions on this one. I’ve seen [more than] enough TV reality food programmes in my time to know that, for those contestants who decide to go over and above the brief, it usually doesn’t end well. It’s so much better – and safer – to knock it out of the park with what is expected than to go rogue and not quite pull it off.

But then Toby has shown us time and again that he’s a risk taker. And I kinda like that about him.

FORTUNE FLAVOURS THE BRAVE

Anyone who works a lot with pastry knows that you need really punchy flavours for your fillings. For them to cut through the pastry, they need to be a bit, well, extra.

So what did the bakers opt for in an attempt to wow the judges?

Tom used his time living in Hong Kong as inspiration for a fermented soy and chilli oil infused sausagemeat filling, wrapped in red pastry shaped like the severed tail of a dragon. Lesley’s take on Paul’s sausage plait had a layer of homemade gooseberry compote through the middle. And Jasmine added leek, apple, thyme and smoked paprika to her sausagemeat.

Toby and Nataliia both picked chicken as their main meat content, with Toby adding bacon, leek and cheese and Nataliia wrapping her chicken and bacon around garlic butter sticks in a nod to her Ukranian roots and its national dish, chicken Kiev.

Aaron chose beef as his meat filling, which he flavoured with vibrant Jamaican curry spices and Scotch bonnet chilli.

And Iain’s meat-free savoury plait was created from tofu, broccoli and potato (see earlier note about pastry needing punchy flavours )

PLAIT’S THE WAY I LIKE IT

So what did the judges make of their flavour combinations? And their plaiting skills? Did they live up to Paul’s expectations of neat, precise and incredible tasting savoury pastry plaits?

Lesley’s take on a Hollywood classic was a hit, with Paul admiring the colour, structure and overall look of it but saying that it could have been improved with slightly thicker pastry to give it more flake. Prue thought the addition of the gooseberry compote was a little bit of genius.

Tom, Nataliia and Aaron were all told that their pastry was slightly underbaked. Paul found Toby’s flavours boring and Iain’s needing more punch. And Prue said if sausage rolls all tasted like Jasmine’s, she’d eat a lot more of them.

Despite his pastry being ‘a few minutes under’, Aaron received some incredible feedback for his Jamaican beef plaity – none more so than both judges taking a chunk away to eat for their lunch! Nice one, Aaron.

So did Toby pull off the full puff? Kinda. It wasn’t a disaster, but neither was it brilliant. Paul said it had some lamination but with full puff pastry you would expect double what he had achieved. So you probably put yourself through the extra stress for no additional gain there, Toby,

THE TECHNICAL: gala pie

Set by Paul, the technical challenge was a gala pie, described as a spectacular rectangular pork pie made with hot water crust pastry and a line of eggs running through the middle. They had three hours to make it, which would need to be split into roughly two equal parts of making and baking time.

As always, the technical challenge is presented to the bakers with scant instructions. Paul did tell them that they needed to be neat and precise for the recipe to work. And out of their earshot, he told us that it was vitally important they create a steam hole in the lid of the pie. Without it, the chances of pastry blowouts and soggy bottoms are waaaaaay higher.

This was shortly followed by:

Iain: “I don’t think it needs an air hole, but maybe it does?”. Yes, Iain. It does.

And Aaron: “I didn’t put a steam hole in it but I think it’s going to be OK.” No Aaron. It is not.

KNOWING WHICH WAY IS UP

Something I was surprised we didn’t see discussed or highlighted during this week’s technical was which way up your eggs need to go in the tin when you’re making a gala pie.

As a gala pie is sliced through once baked, you need to lay your eggs down horizontally in the tin so that each slice has a full ‘O’ of yolk. If you put them in vertically, you’ll end up with a line of yolk.

I’m not entirely convinced there wasn’t some ‘selective’ footage during both the baking and the judging on this one

Call me a cynic, if you will.

If you’re going for the full aesthetic with a gala pie, you also need to trim the egg white ends off before placing them in the tin. This means that you won’t end up with a slice that is all white with no yolk. The beady-eyed amongst y’all would have spotted during the judging that Lesley didn’t know this

LEAF IT OUT, PAUL

So what did the judges make of the seven gala pies waiting for them on the gingham altar?

Well first off, Paul seemed to have a little bit of an obsession with the number of leaves the bakers had (or, more accurately, had not) decorated their pies with. I mean, in the grand scheme of things and considering it wasn’t specified exactly in the instructions…

Both Nataliia and Toby received those dreaded words that should never be said in the same sentence – soggy and pastry – in their feedback. Prue said she thought Iain’s pie looked like it had been crimped by two different people! Aaron’s was underbaked, Lesley’s was well-baked, Tom’s was a bit of a mess and Jasmine’s was robust with good flavour.

So this week’s baker at the bottom of the technical was Aaron. He did have a great signature, so slightly less worrying for him than if he’d also had a bad first round. Tom was sixth, Nataliia fifth, Toby fourth, Lesley third, Iain second and Jasmine first.

THE SHOWSTOPPER: SCULPTED TARTS

After probably two of his worst rounds in the competition so far, Tom was going to need something pretty special in the pastry showstopper to dig himself out of danger. I was also a little nervous for Toby as I can’t help thinking he’s a little under-marked and over-harshly criticised for his baking.

Anyhoo, onto the pastry week showstopper, which this year was to be visually stunning sculpted tarts. The judges were looking for great textures and flavours and beautifully sculpted tarts that showcased their engineering, design and baking skills and also told a bit of a story.

To make the task trickier, the bakers’ structures needed to be at least a foot tall and could not be made from anything other than the pastry used for their tarts. They had just four hours.

A ROLLERCOASTER OF EMOTIONS

Paul told us that this year’s pastry showstopper was an opportunity for us to be a bit nosey and dig around in the lives of the bakers.

Aaron had other ideas, however, as he told us that he didn’t really want to say on camera what his sculpture was because he would then be admitting to something that had been a secret for years. Relenting eventually, he let out to millions of viewers that his ‘Nobody Gnomes’ tart was based on his antics with a friend and the period of time where they used to move his friend’s mum’s gnome around the garden without her knowing [until now!]

Toby told us that he used to work at a theme park and spent some considerable time trying to tame a goat called Milly that lived underneath a rollercoaster there. He thought he had achieved it – only to be rammed by her

MASTERING THE [T]ART OF PASTRY SCULPTURES IN JUST FOUR HOURS

Yes Toby, that’s four hours and not the four and a half hours you thought you were getting. Kudos for pulling it back, though!

And with Tom’s two biggest fears being structural pastry and Paul Hollywood, how did he – and the rest of the bakers get on?

Lesley delighted the judges with her ‘exquisite’ pastry bees and the depth of flavour of her honey-glazed pecan tart. Aaron divided the judges with his use of jasmine extract – which Paul didn’t like but Prue said was nice although she couldn’t eat much of it.

Ian’s retelling of the story of how the Giant’s Causeway came to be was a hit, described as detailed, clever and a great work of art. Although Prue did say that she thought he’d gone a bit OTT with the whiskey (and we all know that Prue likes her boozy bakes!)

Despite having half an hour less than he thought, Toby managed to pull off his pastry rollercoaster showstopper. His pastry was considered ‘exceptional’, although his structure was a little on the wonky side.

Nataliia’s sculpted swans were a visual triumph but the judges thought her pastry was too thick, overworked and a bit on the tough side. Jasmine’s sculpted tree looked like something you’d seen in a professional patisserie shop window according to Paul, although her tart was missing a texture (like a curd or jam) and was a little on the dry side.

And Tom needn’t have worried about either Paul or the structural pastry as he got a ‘Tom’s back in the tent’ for his Connect Four pastry sculpture.

FAREWELL TO THE SIXTH BAKER OF THE CLASS OF 2025

I thought this was a pretty tough one to predict this week as nobody had a total car crash week and while there were some issues in the signature and technical, everybody put up a great pastry showstopper.

I feared for Toby a little because, as I mentioned earlier, I think he’s judged a little harshly sometimes. Thankfully, those fears were baseless

The judges’ discussions with Alison and Noel centred around Nataliia and Aaron at the bottom. Tom saved himself from joining them with his great showstopper. Jasmine and Lesley were both in line for star baker after having three great rounds each.

Sadness for Nataliia as she became the sixth baker to leave the tent.

And a third star baker crown for Jasmine this week. Unquestionably well-deserved as she’s exceptionally talented, but I so very much wanted Lesley to get it this week. Let meringue week be yours, Lesley!

Until next week!

The post THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF 2025: WEEK SIX – PASTRY WEEK appeared first on The Little Bakery of Happiness.

Ten bakers, three challenges and one judge who knows *everything* about bread.

I love bread week as it is [in my opinion] one of the most technical of baking disciplines and really starts to show those bakers who shine beyond the design capabilities that cake and biscuit week demand of them.

It was all to play for Pui Man and Aaron this week, who didn’t have the best of results during Biscuit Week and flirted near the bottom come elimination time.

Could Toby hold on to his title of Technical Toby after winning the challenge two weeks on the bounce? And how would Tom cope with the pressure of going into Bread Week as reigning star baker?

Are you ready to dive in? On your marks. Get set. BAKE!

**** SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the outcomes of each of the challenges, this week’s star baker and the third of The Class of 2025 to go home. Please don’t read on if you have yet to watch the bread week episode and don’t want to know the outcome! ****

TIME TO RISE TO THE CHALLENGE

Unless you are making quick breads (unleavened or chemically-leavened breads like flatbreads and wraps), then you need to set aside quite a few hours if you plan to make bread. Successfully.

But this is Bake Off, where sensible timescales are so last year.

So shall we see how many times ‘under-proofed’ features in the feedback during this week’s judging?…

THE SIGNATURE: SAVOURY MONKEY BREAD

We just can’t seem to get away from challenges that have a strong focus on design in this year’s Bake Off, and tonight seems to be no different.

For the signature, the bakers were asked to make a ‘well-flavoured’ savoury pull-apart monkey bread, which needed to be ‘visually striking’ through the use of coloured, flavoured doughs, glazes, coatings or toppings.

This type of brief usually catches at least one of the bakers out, who can’t resist the urge to throw everything but the kitchen sink at their bake.

MONKEY BUSINESS

The bakers were given three hours to complete Bread Week’s signature challenge. Paul said that the proofing was what would make or break this challenge. I’m fairly sure that’s true of any bake involving a yeasted dough, but hey ho!

Some really interesting flavour combinations from the contestants in this challenge. I really loved the sound of Toby’s umami-fest of Parmesan, porcini and pesto. Yes please! Blue cheese featured in quite a few of the bakes, which is not surprising as it packs a fair old punch. Tom’s croque monsieur and steak with peppercorn dough balls sounded delicious but his French onion soup, not so much (a bit too sweet for my taste).

GO APE FOR THE FLAVOURS

So what did the judges make of their flavour combinations? And was three hours enough to turn out a well-proved, well-baked monkey bread?

Nadia’s bread was deemed ‘rough and ready’ for its appearance but spot on for its flavours. Tom, Jessika and Iain also impressed with their flavour combinations, but Toby split the judges with Paul finding his flavours lacking while Prue found them absolutely delicious.

Nataliia’s bread was too sweet, Lesley’s needed more Stilton (even after she bumped up the cheese content from 120g to 160g after Paul questioned her on whether 120g was enough during his early tour around the tent) and Jasmine’s needed more olives.

Pui Man forgot to glaze her monkey bread, which resulted in the judges describing her bake as dull to look at. They said it also lacked salt. Aaron’s dough balls didn’t rise, which led to some pretty damning feedback. The texture of his bread was ‘so awful that you couldn’t eat it.’ Fair play to Aaron, though, who conceded that the judges’ words were a lot kinder than his bake deserved.

A few of the bakers were told that their bread could have done with proving for a little longer, but overall nothing catastrophic (with the exception of Aaron), so the time set for the challenge seemed to be about right this time.

THE TECHNICAL: GLAZED RING DOUGHNUTS

Mmmmmm, doughnuts. I must admit I’m more of a filled, jammy doughnut gal than a glazed ring doughnut one, but I’d fight you for it if that was the only one on offer

The technical was introduced as a ‘fast food classic’. Now, as a baker of many years, I have to interject here and say that there is nothing fast about making a yeasted doughnut! It’s a time-consuming process and is a bake that needs eating within a few hours of completion, which is why I don’t sell them – even though they’re one of the things coeliacs miss the most.

Two hours and forty-five minutes, a deep fat fryer and minimal instructions to make 12 glazed doughnuts – six with a simple vanilla glaze and six with a strawberry glaze. Let’s do this!

A HOLE LOTTA LOVE

Yeasty, pillowy-soft, sugary-sweet rings of deep fried deliciousness. Hoo yes.

The secret to the signature pale band around the middle of the doughnut is in the proofing time. But of course the instructions for the technical bake didn’t include details of how long to proof the doughnuts for

The bakers also had multiple round cutters on their workbenches, so it was left to them to decide which to use. As we saw from Prue and Paul’s chat about the challenge, this was clearly designed to test whether they knew that picking a ‘hole’ cutter too small would result in the doughnut hole closing up.

Some of the bakers looked a little daunted by the deep fat fryer on their benches. Jasmine, for one, said she had never used one before.

DOUGHNUT JUDGE ME

Unfortunately for the contestants, the walk of shame to the gingham altar for judging is a necessary part of the technical challenge! So how did they get on?

Arriving at the altar, both Prue and Paul exclaimed ‘that’s a lot of doughnuts.’ Umm, you set the challenge…do the maths….10 bakers x 12 doughnuts is 120 doughnuts. Yup, that’s a lot of doughnuts

I always think that the judges must not look at the bakers when blind judging the technical because it’s so obvious from their reactions who has baked what!

This week was far less of a disaster than the technicals of cake and biscuit week. Nataliia, Iain, Nadia and Jasmine all received positive comments. Damning with faint praise (‘acceptable’) for Tom and not good at all for both Lesley and Pui Man.

At the start of the technical, Pui Man told us that she’s made doughnuts many times and so should be OK. If you’ve ever seen The Apprentice, you’ll know that when candidates who go for the project manager job because the task is ‘their thing’, it never ends well. Clearly the same is true on Bake Off

THE SHOWSTOPPER: TIERED SWEET BREADS

Heading into the showstopper, Pui Man, Nataliia and Aaron were in the minds and on the lips of the judges as bakers who’d not had a good day and therefore needed to up their game in the final challenge of bread week. And It was Nadia and Jasmine who seemed at this stage to be in the mix for star baker.

The tiered sweet bread challenge was going to need to be pretty special in both looks and taste for some of the Class of 2025 then!

SAY IT WITH BREAD

This year’s Bread Week showstopper challenge was a celebratory sweet bread with at least three tiers, made from an enriched bread dough with a design to represent a celebration that had meaning to the bakers – in five hours.

Prue described it as like a wedding cake – but made out of bread. And Paul said he wanted to see beautifully flavoured and well-baked loaves that really showed off the bakers’ skills.

BAKED WITH LOVE

Aaron chose a ‘celebration of life’ sweet bread in memory of two friends he had lost in recent years, which he made from a four-tier couronne filled with pistachio, marzipan, cherries and apricots. Keeping to the French bread theme, Nadia baked a brioche tiered wedding cake with a raspberry crème pâtissière.

Iain hoped to spook the judges with his celebration of the Irish precursor to Halloween – Samhain. Sticking with an autumn theme, Tom’s tiered bread was a three-tiered cinnamon bun tower with chocolate decorations to celebrate his boyfriend’s favourite time of year.

Toby was surely onto a winner with his Christmas-themed stollen-flavoured tiered bread – I mean, who doesn’t love Christmas and stollen (don’t even look at me, marzipan haters ).

A FULL ON FIVE HOURS

This was quite an intense five hours for the bakers as they first had to make their doughs ready for bulk fermentation, then shape them ready for the second proof before baking them and allowing them to cool for long enough before stacking and finishing off with their chosen decorations.

There were buttercream roses, sugarpaste flowers, dough skulls, chocolate trees, sugar lace and more all being created in the tent, ready to adorn their doughy tiered creations.

Clearly there was enough time for the showstopper challenge this week as Jasmine even had time to spare to fire sugarpaste octopus (left over sugarpaste daisies!) at an unsuspecting Tom who was huddled over his modelling chocolate, desperately trying to make it look less phalic and more like a tree

WHO CRUMBLED UNDER THE PRESSURE OF BREAD WEEK?

Time for the final judging of Bread Week. Eep, a hard one to predict!

Jasmine’s midsummer flower crown was such a pretty bake! Beautiful, delicate and spot on were some of the comments from Paul and Prue. A bit wonky but looks very good was how Paul described Toby’s Christmas-themed sweet bread. Even though the bread was a little stodgy and under-baked, Prue said it was the best tasting stollen she had ever had.

Tom’s nod to autumn was both dramatic and bold and the judges loved his orange, cinnamon and pecan flavours. Jasmine’s design and presentation was a little clumsy but her bake was lovely, although Paul thought she could have done more with the flavours.

Prue loved the look of Lesley’s bread and both judges thought she did a good job on both the look and the bake. Nataliia’s showstopper was highly decorated but clumsy and the dough was claggy because it was, you’ve guessed it, under-proved. And both judges loved Nadia’s bread wedding cake. But the excessive use of red colouring – not so much

FAREWELL TO THE THIRD BAKER OF THE CLASS OF 2025

Heading into the showstopper, it looked like Pui Man was on the ropes, but she seemed to pull it back with her coconut cocktail wedding cake sweet bread and Prue even described her as the comeback kid.

During discussions between the judges and Alison and Noel, both Iain and Nataliia looked vulnerable as neither had a particularly great showstopper and had not faired brilliantly in previous rounds (Iain 6th and Nataliia 8th in the technical).

But it wasn’t to be for Pui Man and she became the third baker to be sent home from the tent in series 16 of The Great British Bake Off.

Congratulations to Jasmine for becoming Bread Week 2025’s star baker, you should justifiably be happy that you got star baker this week, your bakes were outstanding

Until next week!

The post THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF 2025: WEEK THREE – BREAD WEEK appeared first on The Little Bakery of Happiness.

Leighton had it all to play for this week after serving up a Cake Week showstopper that was on the wonk with a sponge that was described by Prue as ‘very tough’. Not a good look.

Iain gained the title of Comeback King in Cake Week after salvaging what pretty much everyone thought was going to result in BinGate 2.0 and producing what Paul described as an ‘incredible’ showstopper.

A calmer week than last week for these two, then?

Roll the titles

**** SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the outcomes of each of the challenges, this week’s star baker and the second of The Class of 2025 to go home. Please don’t read on if you have yet to watch the biscuit week episode and don’t want to know the outcome! ****

WHO WILL CRUMBLE UNDER THE PRESSURE OF BISCUIT WEEK?

In theory, biscuit baking is a relatively simple process made from relatively simple ingredients. But this is Bake Off, so Biscuit Week 2025 was unlikely to pass off without at least a modicum of drama.

Surely, though, it couldn’t be as dramatic as last year, which saw Jeff quit the show, Illiyan faint and Dylan fall off his stool.

Let’s dive in…

THE SIGNATURE: SLICE AND BAKE DESIGN-INSIDE BISCUITS

Continuing the arty theme we saw with the Swiss rolls in Cake Week, the eleven bakers left in the tent were tasked with making slice and bake biscuits with a picture or design running through the middle (Blackpool rock, anybody?)

It goes without saying that they weren’t given a realistic timeframe for completing this fiddly and labour intensive process! They had just two hours to make, flavour and colour their biscuit dough, craft their design out of the dough, chill it, slice it, bake their masterpieces and present them ready for judging.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

Knowing that Bake Off is notorious for not giving the bakers long enough to achieve the task at hand, you’d think they might opt for a simple-design-done-well over an intricate-design-done-badly/rushed/not finished.

Jasmine, yes. Pui Man not so much. When asked by Prue if she had ever got her intricate design done in time during practice (they get the signature and showstopper challenges ahead of time so that they can practice at home), she answered: “No. Never.” Oh.

DESIGN SPOTLIGHT

So what did they create and how did they fare?

Nadia’s avocado matcha biscuits got a thumbs up for the design but were criticised for not being bold enough with the flavour. Toby’s flavours of cinnamon, honey, banana, cream cheese and peanut were a little OTT and a lesson in what happens when you throw too much at the problem. Iain’s winter-spiced biscuits filled with mincemeat ganache had me eyeing up the spice drawer and checking my dried fruit stash! And I completely disagreed with Paul’s comment on Nataliia’s biscuits not really looking like a rose. Has he never seen the white rose of Yorkshire emblem?!

All but one of the bakers presented under-baked biscuits, which probably tells us everything we need to know about whether two hours is enough time to make slice and bake biscuits with a design inside

THE TECHNICAL: CHOCOLATE & CARAMEL HOBNOBS

There were no one-dip wonders in the Biscuit Week technical as the bakers were tasked with making the marine of all biscuits – the hobnob. No taste-testing to determine the ingredients this week, but a return to the suitably vague recipe and instructions (The first step: make 12 biscuits. The second step: bake. That’s it). Baker’s instinct it is, then.

Unlike the conventional hobnob, Prue’s technical challenge for the bakers was to top the oaty classic with a thin layer of caramel before finishing with two different types of feathered chocolate design.

If you’re wondering what the caramel coloured-chocolate used by the bakers is, by the way, it’s Callebaut Gold. It’s a slightly salted, caramelised white chocolate. And it’s delicious. Which is why I use it in my black and gold chocolate cookie baking kit.

HOW HARD CAN IT BE?

Seemingly, very. Hobnobs are a crumbly biscuit but some of the bakers took this to a whole new level. Eyes, on you, Pui Man.

I was quite surprised that so few of the bakers managed to feather their chocolate neatly. Or at all in some cases – looking at you, Tom, Leighton, Jasmine, Aaron. It really isn’t difficult (says she, free from the pressure of the GBBO tent!)

Not everyone had a hard time with the challenge, though. Toby played a blinder, taking the technical win for the second week in a row.

His hobnobs were neat, uniform, evenly proportioned and well baked. Prue even said she thought Toby’s biscuit was the perfect hobnob. And the male judge?* “It’s nice.” Knock yourself out with the praise levels, Paul.

* We still love you for this, Nancy Birtwhistle!

THE SHOWSTOPPER: BISCUIT TIME CAPSULE

And finally, for the showstopper, a highly decorated biscuit time capsule filled with at least five edible mementos. In just four hours.

Pui Man didn’t have a great signature bake as she ran out of time to complete her intricate ‘year of the ox’ design. And she came last in the technical. So she was going to need something pretty special to survive Biscuit Week. Or, as Prue said, would need someone else to do really badly!

The biggest question at the start of a biscuit structure challenge like this one is always whether the bakers will have remembered that choosing melt-in-the-mouth shortbread for their time capsule is only marginally less foolhardy than serving up a chocolate fondant on Masterchef.

TO THE FUTURE, MARTY!

The pressure was clearly on for this challenge with plenty of confidence-boosting self-talk from many of the bakers. “I can do this” (Pui Man), “Move fast but think a lot” (Tom), “I just want to do OK. Middle of the road is absolutely fine.” (Aaron).

And it’s not hard to see why when we were told by Paul that the bakers would need engineering skills, architectural skills and artistic skills to make the time capsule look amazing. And then Prue piled on the pressure by adding that the mementos inside the capsules needed to be really exquisitely decorated. Phyoosh!

FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BRAVE

Tom’s reconstruction of his Granny’s cottage promised to be an absolute knockout if it was as amazing in biscuit form as it looked in the doodle form we get to see whenever the bakers describe the bake they are about to make.

Pui Man’s four-tiered gingerbread floating restaurant design looked like exactly what she needed to save herself from being jettisoned from the tent this week. If she could pull it off.

And both Toby and Nadia made us nervous as they announced they were shunning the trusted, sturdy, construction-friendly gingerbread for their time capsules. Nadia even fessed up that she was worried her biscuit choice wouldn’t be strong enough so had chosen to make it a bit thicker. Did you clock Prue’s face? Gulp.

So with Prue looking for the bakers to be brave, the biscuits to be tasty and the design to be witty, how did they get on?

JUDGEMENT TIME

Jessica’s stained glass time capsule was a representation of places she has been and places she has lived. Prue said that she was worried Jessica had bitten off more than she would be able to chew but that she’d done a great job. The judges weren’t in love with her biscuits (quite chewy and hard work to eat) but loved the biscuit selfie with moveable parts (until Paul broke it, that is).

The judges thought Lesley’s happy memories time capsule was a very clever design, that her gingerbread flavours were good and her melt-in-the-mouth Viennese biscuits were delicious.

Leighton’s piano lacked finesse (to which he agreed) and some of his biscuits were underbaked. And Toby’s treasure chest was dry and didn’t taste nice either – described as a classic case of style over substance. Ouch!

Aaron was close to tears as he was told by Paul that he was happy with his baking but everything else, not so much.

And then there was Tom. Prue described his showstopper as absolutely perfect and Paul thought the textures, flavours and design were pretty much untouchable. Wow!

Such glowing feedback could only mean one thing. Yup, we saw our first Hollywood Handshake of series 16! It turns out that Tom’s biscuit version of his granny’s cottage was indeed every inch as good as the doodle of it.  

FAREWELL TO THE SECOND BAKER OF THE CLASS OF 2025

Oh Leighton. I love how we learned that you got a Blue Peter badge as a child by collecting used tinfoil from all of your neighbours and sending it off to the programme. And that you raised money for Help The Aged in the process. But it was never going to sway the judges when you served them underbaked, ‘wet’ biscuits, was it

Well done to Pui Man for absolutely delivering when she needed to and keeping her place in the tent based on her outstanding showstopper and not because someone else had a bad bake.

Congratulations to Tom for becoming Biscuit Week 2025’s star baker *and* the first recipient of a Hollywood Handshake this year. Let us know how that conversation with your boyfriend goes, eh?*

 * See my memorable moments from this week, below.

Until next week!

The post THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF 2025: WEEK TWO – BISCUIT WEEK appeared first on The Little Bakery of Happiness.

BAKE OFF IS BACK!…

Squeeeeeeee! It’s back again for 2025! Now in its sixteenth series I’m every inch as excited about it as I was all those years ago when Edd Kimber won the very first series.

Every year I start off thinking I will do a little foodie chatter post about the Bake Off each week, throwing in some baking tips and recipes where I can. But every year I realise that I just don’t have the time and my posts fall by the wayside a few weeks in.

Will this year be any different? Only time will tell but in the meantime, let’s get down to a reflection on week one: CAKE WEEK.

**** SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the outcomes of each of the challenges, this week’s star baker and the first of The Class of 2025 to go home. Please don’t read on if you have yet to watch the cake week episode and don’t want to know the outcome! ****

THAT OPENING SEQUENCE, THOUGH

Before I get down to this week’s baking challenges, I think we just need to take a moment to admire how utterly magnificent Prue looked as David Attenborough in the opening skit. I mean, props to the make-up and wardrobe teams, right?!

LET THE BAKING COMMENCE

With the japes of the Jurassic Park-esque opening sequence over, we got our first look at The Class of 2025. Six lads and six lasses from all over the UK and spanning a range of professions from hairdressing to fitness coaching and software engineering to wedding dress design.

One to catch my eye when reading the biographies that were released ahead of the new series was Hassan. As a chemistry graduate, I thought his scientific background would be a massive strength – much like it was for Rahul back in series nine (yes, it really was all that time ago!)

I also wondered if Pui Man (a wedding dress designer) might treat us to some of the creative masterpieces produced by Frances Quinn (a clothes designer), the winner of series four.

Anyhoo, on to the baking and the first of this week’s cake challenges: the signature…

THE SIGNATURE BAKE: SWISS ROLL

The signature bake is the one where the bakers get to show us their favourite flavour profiles, their creative flair and their style of baking – their baking personality, if you will.

The cake set by the judges for CAKE WEEK 2025 was a classic teatime treat (well it was in my household while growing up) – the Swiss roll. Bake Off Geeks (hi!) will recall that the contestants in series five (the year that Nancy Birtwhistle won) also had to bake Swiss rolls for the signature challenge in cake week.

This year, the bakers were asked to create an inlay design on the outside of their Swiss roll, with filling flavours of their own choosing.

THe swiss roll flavours and designs

There was some incredible creativity on show with the inlay designs. Iain’s recreation of Queen’s University Belfast was mind-blowingly good and Jessica’s hand and flowers design was very pretty.

The flavours chosen included lemon and raspberry (Jasmine), rhubarb and custard (Toby), cherry and almond (Nadia) and chocolate, coffee and caramel (Hassan).

It didn’t take long for the drama to unfold. Toby’s crème pâtissière filling was lumpy and Hassan’s caramel seized, so both decided to start again, piling more pressure on themselves as time ticked on. And with the fillings needing to be cold before being added to the sponge, many of us could see where this was heading…

ROLL UP! ROLL UP! ROLL UP FOR THE JUDGING

This very first judging session must surely be the most nerve-wracking of all for the bakers. So how did they fare?

Iain’s Queen’s University inlay design was a huge hit with the judges (“a mighty impressive looking Swiss roll.”) Prue had been nervous that his filling would be too sweet (it was based on the Northern Irish ‘fifteens’ no-bake fridge cake) but thankfully for Iain, she concluded that it was not.

Pui Man was criticised for using too much matcha and over-filling her sponge, Toby was told the texture of his sponge was wrong – not helped by his crème pât. filling being warm still and Leighton’s sponge was deemed claggy and tough. Ouch!

FLAVOUR HITS

Putting aside the negative comments about claggy, stodgy, over-baked and cracked sponges, many of the bakers received some glowing comments for their flavour combinations.

Aaron was praised for his beautiful, balanced flavours, Jasmine got a thumbs up for the tartness of the lemon in her filling, the judges thought Nataliia’s flavours of mango and passionfruit were stunning and they loved Hassan’s coffee, caramel and chocolate fusion.

But Hassan. Oh, Hassan It’s never going to end well when the judges’ opening gambit is “…Not your best morning.”

“Flavour wise it’s stunning. But it looks like it has been dropped out of a tree.”

Double ouch!

THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGE: fondant fancies

Not something I’ve ever managed to muster up much enthusiasm for, I have to say. Which is probably just as well as you’re not exactly tripping over yourself with choice of gluten-free fondant fancies!

Anyhoo, for this year’s cake week technical challenge, the contestants were instructed to bake nine identical fondant fancies in just two hours and fifteen minutes. The twist came (of course there was a twist!) when the bakers were told that their benches contained one fondant fancy already baked, all the ingredients to make theirs…and a few more ingredients besides.

Their first task was to taste the fondant fancy and work out which of the ingredients on their bench were needed to produce nine of them. I love this twist on the technical!

WELL FANCY THAT!

It came out during the programme that Jasmine had said, while discussing what the technical challenge might be with the other contestants, that the one thing she hoped it wouldn’t be was fondant fancies. Oh

Heaven only knows what she must have thought when she discovered it was. And that she was going to have to guess both the method and the ingredients!

It turns out that the flavour of the fondant fancy was raspberry and almond, which most of the bakers identified (ahem, rosewater, Pui Man. Really?!) One of the red herrings on their benches was a pot of ground almonds – because the almond flavour came solely from the almond extract also on the bench.

THE WALK OF SHAME

Judging time again and the bakers walked up to the gingham altar (many with a pained expression on their face) to present their efforts to the judges.

Interestingly, most of the bakers were criticised for using the ground almonds to make their fondant fancies. They were told that they shouldn’t have and that their inclusion inhibited the rise.

Why interesting? Because Prue’s recipe for fondant fancies on the GBBO website contains…you guessed it – ground almonds!

This wasn’t a great first technical for any of the bakers and even though it was won by Toby, Paul told the other bakers not to clap for him because his were the best of a bad bunch. Harsh. But fair, I’d say!

THE SHOWSTOPPER: landscape cakes

This is the cake challenge that really plays to the strengths of the super creative bakers and I had high hopes for Pui Man with the showstopper (she came 11th in the technical challenge so really needed to pull something out of the bag).

And with Hassan’s fondant fancies being ranked 10th in the technical, he was going to need something pretty special to save himself from eviction from the tent.

Jessika, Nataliia and Aaron all looked in pretty good shape for a return in week two, but anything can [and usually does] happen during the showstopper challenge.

HOLD ON TO YOUR BAKES!

As the showstopper challenge approached its crescendo, it became pretty clear that Iain was going to need nothing short of a miracle to save his creation. We had to watch in horror as it slipped, slopped and fell apart all over his bench after he had sculpted it.

And so it would seem that the cake gods were shining down on him! He somehow managed not to have a complete meltdown but instead pull on his deal-with-it-pants and crack out an absolutely belting ‘It’s all downhill from here’ landscape cake.

Fair play to ye, Iain. But let’s just hope the naming of your cake wasn’t prophetic, eh?

FAREWELL TO THE FIRST OF THE CLASS OF 2025

Ah Hassan, cake week was not your week, was it?

Two pretty disastrous bakes in the first two rounds meant that his showstopper really had to be next level. But sadly it wasn’t and he became the first baker to leave the tent in 2025. So much for my high hopes of him being as brilliant as fellow scientist Rahul!

And Pui Man didn’t deliver the visually stunning bakes I had thought she might this week. Perhaps biscuit week will spark her creativity?

A big well done to Nataliia for becoming The GBBO Class of 2025’s first star baker! I loved the personal memories and meaning you injected into your baking and the beautiful way in which you executed them

Until next week!

The post THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF 2025: WEEK ONE – CAKE WEEK appeared first on The Little Bakery of Happiness.

ALL RISE FOR BREAD WEEK!…

Ten bakers, three challenges and one judge who knows *everything* about bread . On your marks. Get set. BAKE!

**** SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the outcomes of each of the challenges, this week’s star baker and the third of The Class of 2023 to go home. Please don’t read on if you have yet to watch the bread week episode and don’t want to know the outcome! ****

With the bakers acutely aware of Paul’s expertise when it comes to baking bread, there was a new level of jitteriness in the tent this week – neatly summed up by Rowan:

“I don’t know if it’s the nerves or the dodgy prawn I had last night but summat’s churnin’!

THE SIGNATURE BAKE

First up this week was a cottage loaf challenge. Two loaves – sweet or savoury – in two hours and 45 minutes. Paul looking for height, Prue seeking perfection. Picking up on the jitteriness among the bakers, Alison explained to their anxious-looking faces that it didn’t have to be an *actual* cottage. Much relief all round, not least when Noel clarified that he was not going to take a mini break inside their loaves. I love the partnership of these two so much!

With Paul prowling the tent, stopping at the bakers’ benches to ask them technical questions set to undermine their confidence, Cristy became his first victim: “Do you think adding too much flavour hinders the growth of the dough?” he grilled her. “Yes. No. I don’t know” came the panicked reply.  And in parachuted Alison like the baking fairy of reassurance, grabbed both of Cristy’s hands and said “It’s not a test, babe. It’s not an exam.” “I’m just nervous because he knows *everything* about bread” fretted Cristy.

There you go, told you they were jittery!

So what did the bakers choose to flavour their cottage loaves with? Garlic was a very popular ingredient with Abbi adding smoked garlic and rosemary to her loaf, Dan opting for wild garlic, rosemary and smoked bacon with garlic pesto and Nicky going with roasted garlic, rosemary and Scottish sea salt. 

While Matty decided to let the KitchenAid take the strain when it came to kneading his dough (why have a dog and bark yourself eh, Matty?), Dana’s use of the mixer was somewhat less successful as she shattered the glass bowl that her dough was in and had to start again

WHERE ROWAN FINDS INSPIRATION FOR HIS BAKES

In another gem from Rowan as he explained the inspiration behind his Mediterranean flavoured olive and tomato loaf. “I went to Amalfi. It were expensive. I mean, a sorbet, you had to take out a mortgage. So it’s a place I would never go back tuh.” 

He speaks as he finds. And he must *never* leave the tent.

Lest we think that bread puns were taking priority over baking innuendos this week, Paul treated us to a bit of innuendo bingo during a conversation with Matty…

“Tell us about the proportion of your ball size” he asked Matty, who could barely suppress a giggle. Deep breaths, Matty! “Three quarters bottom, one quarter on top” “Ah so you’ve got a little one on top and <pauses> a big ball underneath?” He was definitely trying to break Matty here. “They’re in proportion, though” wheezed out Matty while gulping down laughter. “They seem slightly out of proportion to me” shot back Paul.

Lads, lads

With fifteen minutes to go until “Paul Hollywood comes in with his mahogany fists and smashes your dreams” (ah Noel, you’ve such an accurate way with words!), the tension kicked up a notch with Saku plonking herself down on the floor in front of her oven exclaiming, “I’m just going to sit here and watch and pray.”

Onto the judging and happily the bakers had done nowhere near as disastrously as they seemed to think they had. With the exception of Abbi whose cottage loaf sank somewhat, which resulted in her naming it Janice and introducing ‘her’ to Prue and Paul as “flat Janice – her cottage is a bungalow.”

THE TECHNICAL

Devonshire splits. No, me either. Soft, light, enriched dough buns split and filled with jam and cream. Since you asked.

A double-proof for these buns meant more sitting around drinking tea and playing noughts and crosses in piles of flour for the bakers. As Noel and Alison roamed the tent checking in on the bakers, we discovered that Dan had forgotten to add the sugar to his dough, Nicky’s balls were wrinkly and Abbi had clearly read my blog post from cake week as she was talking about hiding her mistakes with icing sugar! 

TOP TIME-SAVING TIPS FROM SAKU
” What’s your favourite jam?” (Noel)
“Blueberry.” (Saku)
“That’s quite a bold statement. How often do you make blueberry jam?” (Noel)
“I don’t. I buy it from the shop.” (Saku)

It felt a little like the walk of doom to the gingham altar this week with Dan describing his Devonshire splits as “…the garish A&E look”, Rowan declaring the technical challenge “…monstrous to another level” and Abbi simply placing her tray of buns down with a sigh and an “oh dear.”

Back in to the tent with the judges and on to some pretty brutal comments. Almost all of the bakes were underproofed. Which begs the question (if I may be so bold): did the bakers actually have enough time to complete the challenge successfully? Dana’s were underproofed and irregular in shape, Abbi’s were way too small, like golf balls (better than hockey pucks, eh?!) and really dense, Matty’s were underproofed and quite dense and Dan’s were flat, undermixed, crumbly, dry and a bit tough. Ouch!

Unsurprisingly from that feedback, Dan came last in the technical, then Rowan and Abbi. Tasha was second and this week’s technical bake winner was Saku.

THE SHOWSTOPPER

The bakers were given four hours to make a visually stunning plaited bread centrepiece, either sweet or savoury (or both), with two types of flour and bread plaiting skills evident. Anyone else wondering if we were going to be treated to something to rival Paul Jagger’s bread lion from series six? Well maybe, as Josh was making a tiger. Otherwise we were getting trees from both Abbi and Rowan, a picnic basket from Dana, a peacock from Saku, and a highland cow from Nicky.

Oh my giddy godmother, a bready moo coo

As the bakers got their heads down to the challenge, Alison discovered that Josh’s tiger mascot, which he takes to all the Leicester Tigers matches, had no name. So she took it upon herself to christen it (Paul, in case you were wondering) with a sprinkling of water.  Why has it taken so many years for her to be on the programme?!

Some of the completed plaited showstoppers looked better (Tasha) than others (Dan) but as we know, looks are just half the challenge (raw bread, anyone?). So onto the judging…

• Paul thought Josh’s tiger looked amazing, nay ingenious. And Prue thought it tasted absolutely delicious. No Cecil the Lion, though. 
• Prue found Saku’s creation to be impressive bread art but disappointing to eat, thought Cristy’s was beautiful, said Dana’s flavours were spot on and described Rowan’s as simply hideous. Wow.
• Paul described the design of Abbi’s centrepiece as ‘rudimentary’, Saku’s as underproofed but great looking, Dana’s as a bit soggy and Cristy’s as very good bread.
• Of Matty’s West Ham badge plaited bread centrepiece, Paul said: “I hope you’re allowed back in the ground after this, mate.” To which Prue exclaimed: “That’s a bit unkind” followed by “It’s bone dry.”
• Dan had a shocker, presenting raw bread to the judges and being told what a great pity it was as it had the makings of a great loaf.
• Tasha, on the other hand, had a belter of a showstopper challenge. Paul said her Medusa bread was a work of art and described her as one hell of a baker.  He went on to say: “You really understand bread. And I like that.” Go Tasha!

Unsurprisingly then, star baker for Tasha this week for the second week in a row. More surprisingly, though (as I would question whether she had a worse week than Dan) home for Abbi on the week that Alison described as turning from bread week to dread week.

But to take some positivity from an otherwise not altogether successful week, the last word has to go to Rowan:

“Paul said monstrous yesterday. Prue said hideous today. I’m going to get that tattooed.”

Next week: chocolate.

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DUNK YOURSELF HAPPY – IT’S BISCUIT WEEK!…

I know we are only two weeks into series 14 of The Great British Bake Off, but I’ve got to tell you that I am completely in love with it already. Alison Hammond is a pure joy to have in the tent. I love the return to more traditional bakes. And I have a *huge* girl crush on Saku.

It was slightly odd watching Biscuit Week when it aired last night as I already knew the outcome. I was lucky enough to get tickets to the recording of Bake Off Extra Slice on Sunday just gone. And as part of the process, you watch the full episode before the recording of Extra Slice starts. It was such a good day out. You can find out more about getting involved with Bake Off Extra Slice on the Channel 4 website.

**** SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the outcomes of each of the challenges, this week’s star baker and the second of The Class of 2023 to go home. Please don’t read on if you have yet to watch the biscuit week episode and don’t want to know the outcome! ****

THE SIGNATURE BAKE

First up this week was a marshmallow teacake challenge. More biscuit-ish than biscuit, I’d say. I mean, I love a Waggon Wheel but I’m not 100% sure it’s *truly* a biscuit? Perhaps I’m wrong, though. So I listened with interest as Dana explained what a biscuit is to see what I might learn…”A biscuit is different to cake.” Oh. 

Anyhoo, moving on.

Despite not being 100% sure of the biscuity credentials of some of the bakes getting underway in the tent, I knew I could get fully on board with the challenge when Alison told the bakers: “There is nothing stopping you from making your biscuits absolutely massive – like Noel’s head.” In which case, we’re going to need considerably bigger baking trays…

As the cameras roamed the tent tracking the progress of the bakers, we learnt that Saku doesn’t bake biscuits very often. Seemingly once a week is not very often in her world. Can we all move in with Saku, please? 

Keith confessed that delicacy is not really his skillset and Dana gave us a real lesson for life by sharing her secret that it is possible to hide *a lot* of stuff with glitter. Icing sugar works a treat for that, too!

Onto the judging and Paul had clearly adopted the iron fist in velvet glove approach to feedback this week, telling Dana: ”They look amazing…bar these broken ones.”

Then there was a disagreement between Paul and Prue over the spiced flavour of Dana’s marshmallow. Paul said it was too pungent but Prue disagreed, saying the flavour of marshmallow deserves to be overridden.

Alison helpfully translated Paul’s comments on Keith’s Waggon Wheels for us as ‘…ugly but nice, then?” There’s that velvet glove again.

Keith didn’t disagree with them, though, reflecting on his Waggon Wheels thus: “The judges aren’t blind. They could see they were a flippin’ mess.” Oh Keith

Nicky’s fear of overpowering her bakes with too much of her rhubarb and ginger jam were completely unfounded as the judges struggled to detect *any* jam. Nicky offered Paul and Prue an explanation, saying: “I think it ran a wee bit.” To which Paul replied: “It ran out of the tent.” Ahem.

Tasha got a Hollywood handshake for her malted chocolate marshmallow biscuits and was clearly over the moon with it. Eyeing up the handshake-worthy treats, Alison reached onto the bench and said: “I’ll have two of those, thanks.” Form an orderly queue behind Alison, everyone…

So all in all, a dazzling round for some. Not so much for others. 

THE TECHNICAL

This week set by Prue, she told the bakers that the challenge was all about chilling and timing. And that they should use their time wisely. This challenge required the bakers to make a buttercream filling. Time to pray for Matty, everyone.

So, it’s custard creams. Yum!

The biscuits are made using a stamp that has an impression of the intricate custard cream pattern on it.  This is one of the reasons the chilling of the dough is key – too warm/soft and that pattern won’t be neat and clear.

As the bakers lifted the cloths off their ingredients and discovered they would be baking a batch of custard creams, Kristy spoke for the nation by commenting: “I’ve never baked one of these, but I have eaten one.”

Nicky told Matty a terrible joke (which he didn’t get), Kristy accidentally used Rowan’s biscuit dough (which passed by in *the* most mild-mannered and uncontroversial manner) and Abbi admitted that she had looked up a custard cream recipe the night before the challenge (which could go one of two ways!).

Up to the gingham altar with the bakes and it was time for the blind judging. It seemed like a good few of the bakers had underestimated the bake time for a custard cream, with the judges remarking that many of them were underbaked and too soft.

Judging one plateful of biscuits, Paul described the texture as “like rubber” and Prue described the look of them as “a bit of a mess.” They were Keith’s. Oh Keith

And it turns out that Googling biscuit recipes the night before the challenge paid off for Abbi as she won this week’s technical – beating Dan into first place. Keith and Saku were at the bottom.

THE SHOWSTOPPER

In a break from previous years where a challenge to construct some elaborate building or other invariably means *everyone* bakes gingerbread pieces, this year’s biscuit week technical was an illusion biscuit. A what? A biscuit display that must “look good, taste good, but taste like something else” (thanks Paul!) Which meant we were going to see more than just gingerbread being baked. Huzzah!

Charcuterie seemed to be the design of choice among the bakers, with Matty, Kristy and Rowan all opting to make a cheeseboard-esque biscuit illusion. Rowan explained that he’d gone with his design because he often has charcuterie and wine nights with his university mates. I don’t know about you, but I lived off a diet of tinned meatballs and instant mashed potato when I was a student…

Josh was making a burger and chips, Abbi a dim sum brunch inspired by her love of Chinese food complete with bamboo steamer, Keith a ‘meal deal’ lunch of sandwiches, crisps and an ice-cream, Nicky a steak pie, Tasha chicken katsu, Dana a deep dish pizza, Dan a cheese and onion pie with chips and Saku a traditional Sri Lankan breakfast.

And just when we thought we couldn’t love Saku any more, this exchange happened:

Alison: “Saku is that real onion?”
Saku: “Yeah, that’s real onion.”
Alison: “But you’re not supposed to do real onions, babe, you’re supposed to make it *look* like onions.
Saku: “It’s a side dish.”

Keith’s meal deal included one of those snack size Pringle tubes, which he attempted to make from gingerbread pieces baked over a tin tube. The first batch failed. Spectacularly. Oh Keith

Confessing to feeling a little panicky (you’re not alone, Keith) he soothed our jangling nerves by admitting to having prepared plenty of gingerbread in preparation for this disaster happening. Phew!

With Paul looking on from the sidelines, in went Keith’s second batch of gingerbread Pringle tubes. “I’m desperate for this to happen” he said, while carefully shutting the oven door. So are we, Keith. So are we.

Illusions complete and it was on to the judging. Deep breaths, bakers!

There were some pretty amazing creations presented to the judges, but as we all know, the looks are just half the battle. These masterpieces have to taste great, too.

Prue remarked of Dana’s biscuit illusion that she had never seen such a deep pizza. Dana confessed that neither had she – “It’s the dream”. Maybe for you Dana – I’m a thin and crispy gal, me

Rowan faired better on the flavours than the looks of his charcuterie board, Matty’s board got a big well done on both the illusion and the taste and texture of his biscuits and Kristy’s board was described as smart and neat.

The judges loved Abbi’s bamboo biscuit steamer basket and Saku’s biscuit rotis but thought Dan’s chips were a little bit burnt – although the rest of his illusion was a triumph. Nicky’s steak pie dinner was described as ‘a good looking thing’ by Paul but Prue thought her shortbread chips looked more like shortbread fingers than chips.

Having nailed his second attempt at the gingerbread Pringle tube (yay!), the judges were more interested in Keith’s bright red but not very tomato-ey looking tomatoes. “I’m not sure I’ve seen many tomatoes like that” said Paul. To which Keith replied: “They’re from the south coast. We have very good growing conditions and you get that redness.”

On judging Josh’s burger and chips biscuit illusion (presented on a gingerbread chopping board, no less), Prue told him: “I think it’s a triumph.” With Paul kicking the compliment up a notch with “I think it’s a *big* triumph.” Seemingly fixated with tomatoes this week, both judges exclaimed: ‘Look at that tomato, that’s clever!” “You can see through it!” said Prue, holding it up for all to see. Including Keith. Oh Keith

With the bakers all back at their benches, and just as we thought the judging was over, out popped Paul from behind the judging table, walked over to Josh’s bench and gave him the first delayed Hollywood handshake in the programme’s history!

Why the delay? Apparently he was so full of biscuits that everything was numb! And then it hit him that Josh deserved a handshake for his illusion biscuits and off he went, saying: “You know what mate, I’ll come to you.” Definitely a Bake Off first!

And with that, there was the end of all the biscuit baking and it was time for the dreaded fate-learning stools scene. This week’s star baker went to Tasha. And Keith went home. Oh Keith

KEITH, ON LEAVING THE TENT…

“I feel fine.”
“There’s nothing sad about this moment.”
“I don’t know how many hours for the rest of my life I am going to spend banging on about this.”

You crack on, Keith

After another joyous episode, thoughts now turn to week three: bread week. This is one of my favourite weeks, which is odd for a coeliac whose life is devoid of all such wheaty deliciousness. But there we are.

The trailer at the end of this week’s programme suggests they will be making cottage loaves, a bread bun of some description and a plaited showstopper. And chuffin’ ‘eck doesn’t Rowan just want an easy life. Don’t we all, Rowan, don’t we all

Until next week…

P.S. If a bit of biscuit geekery is your thing, you might enjoy my article The Great Biscuit Debate.

The post THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF 2023: WEEK TWO – BISCUIT WEEK appeared first on The Little Bakery of Happiness.

BAKE OFF KLAXON! GBBO SERIES 14 IS UPON US…

It’s here! The date the nation’s Bake Off super fans have been waiting [not so] patiently for…series 14 of The Great British Bake Off. Woot!

It kicks off tonight at 8pm on Ch4 and, in keeping with tradition, starts with cake week. I love a bit of cake, me

WEEK ONE: CAKE WEEK

So what’s in store for us at the start of the new series? There are rumours of…

The signature bake: vertical cakes (think precision and, may I wager, tedium).

The technical bake: chocolate cakes (think decadence and timeless classics).

The showstopper: sponge cakes and sugarpaste animals (think flashbacks to art classes at school and the trauma of being utterly rubbish at clay modelling).

I was on Radio Northampton this morning chatting to Annabel about the new series.

They quite often have baking challenges among the breakfast team throughout the year. And their last Bake Off challenge was to recreate the coronation quiche back in the spring. So they started off this morning’s piece with a recap of that challenge…

On assessing the bakes, one of the judges remarked: “The coronation quiche is just not doing it for me.” To which came back, as quick as a flash, “Take it up with The King.”

If you’d like to hear that, and me talking about fish bits and mini sicks (I know, classy, right?), you can listen on BBC Sounds (scroll to 1hr:40mins in for the start of the piece).

See you on the sofa tonight at 8pm, cake forks at the ready

The post OVER-EXCITED BAKER ALERT: BAKE OFF IS [FINALLY] BACK! appeared first on The Little Bakery of Happiness.

BAKE OFF THROUGH THE AGES…

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that I am a huge Great British Bake Off (GBBO) fan. I have watched every single series (there have been thirteen so far) and I have many a fond memory from each of them.

I was a little unsure whether I would follow the programme over to Channel 4 when it moved across in 2017 as I just loved Mary Berry, Mel and Sue and couldn’t imagine the programme without them. But FOMO was too much for me to deal with and off I cantered with the programme to its new home and new presenters. And I’m still here, six years later, counting down the days to series fourteen

The 2023 series of GBBO brings with it a new presenter in the shape of Alison Hammond. She is replacing Matt Lucas, who bowed out at the end of series 13 in 2022. This won’t be Alison’s first time in the tent. Those of us who also watch The Great Celebrity Bake Off (for Stand Up 2 Cancer) will remember her from series three in 2020. Possibly the most memorable moment from her appearance was when she thought she had lost the oven door on her bake station. Turns out she just hadn’t realised that the ovens in the Bake Off tent have retractable doors

As I write this, the date for the 2023 series of The Great British Bake Off (series 14) has yet to be confirmed and we don’t yet know who this year’s contestants are. So I thought I would manage my impatience and excitement for the start of the new series by having a look back at the history of GBBO, its past winners and some of the most memorable moments (thinking BinGate anyone?)

THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF: A POTTED HISTORY

The Great British Bake Off first appeared on our screens in the summer of 2010. On BBC2 (imagine!) Two presenters (Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins) got ready to simultaneously distract, cajole, encourage and boost the confidence of ten contestants lined up in a tent to face three challenges on which they would be judged (by Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood). These challenges were a signature challenge, a technical challenge and a final challenge (later to become known as the ‘showstopper challenge’).

THE SIGNATURE CHALLENGE

The first of the three bakes on GBBO has always been the signature challenge. The judges choose a particular bake for the contestants to put their own stamp on. It’s a way for us to see their personality, baking style and creativity and the kind of flavours they like to work with. The bakers are told in advance of the programme what these signature challenges are, giving them time to develop and test them at home.

Signature bakes over the years have included everything from cakes and biscuits to pasties and quiches.

THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGE

The second of the three challenges – and arguably the toughest – is the technical challenge. Set by either Mary or Paul each week (and since 2017, Prue, who replaced Mary when the show moved to Ch4), it is presented to the bakers with minimal instructions and they have no advance knowledge of what it will be. The finished bakes are placed behind a picture of each contestant (which we can see but the judges can’t) on the infamous ‘gingham altar’ and are judged blind. The bakes are ranked from worst to best as the bakers sit on stools facing the judges, awaiting their fate.

Technical bakes over the years having included varying degrees of success in baking pork pies, Victoria sandwich cake, jammy doughnuts, baguettes, soufflés, eclairs, malt loaf and more.

THE SHOWSTOPPER

The final challenge each week is always the showstopper, where the contestants really get to go to town in showing off their creative flair, their baking prowess and their ability to bake under pressure!

We have seen some absolutely magnificent showstopper bakes through the years, which have been based on themes including anti-gravity cakes, bread art, wedding cakes, pie sculptures and 3D biscuit creations.

THE STAR BAKER

Introduced in series two, every week a star baker is chosen by the judges from all the contestants. If you have a strong performance in the technical challenge, the chances are your name will be in the mix for star baker that week.

The bakers sit nervously on their stools in front of the judges and the presenters awaiting their fate. The star baker is announced by one of the presenters while the other one has the unenviable task of announcing which baker is going home that week.

THE HOLLYWOOD HANDSHAKE

The Hollywood Handshake first came about in series three (2012) and is arguably as sought-after by the bakers as the star baker accolade! At the end of each round, the contestants’ bakes are subjected to ruthless inspection from the judges who prod, poke, taste and analyse the bakes. If Paul is super impressed with your bake, out comes his right hand offering the handshake of success. Much to the delight of the baker on the receiving end of it.

If it was me on the receiving end of that, I would seriously have to fight the urge to stick my hand out then quickly withdraw it, put it up to my nose, waggle my fingers and poke my tongue out at him.

But that’s just me

In that first year, we watched on each week as the contestants handled (or otherwise) the pressure of baking under the watchful gaze of a TV production crew and had their bakes judged by Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood. And each week a baker was sent home (often in tears) until we reached the nail-biting final and the first ever winner of The Great British Bake Off was crowned. And after just nine weeks of hour-long baking jeopardy, the nation was hooked

MY FAVOURITE BAKE OFF MOMENTS

I utterly love Bake Off and so trying to choose a favourite GBBO moment is a bit like being asked to choose a favourite child. Or pet.

That said, there are some standout moments. There are the obvious ones like BinGate and CustardGate, the collapsing cake and the accidental cake swat (instead of a fly). But while I get that these are some of the most talked about moments of the show and part of what keeps people tuning in, I don’t terribly enjoy watching the bakers in distress – probably because I am a baker myself and know all-too-well how that feels!

For me, it’s the moments that make me laugh out loud, or have my jaw on the floor at the bake that one of the contestants has baked that resonate most.

NANCY AND ‘THE MALE JUDGE’

Nancy Birtwhistle was a contestant in series five and was crowned Great British Bake Off Winner of 2014. By far my favourite moment in this series was when Nancy referred to Paul as ‘The Male Judge.’ Ego check, much? Although she did confess in the final to having a secret crush on him.

VAL STONES, A KINDRED SPIRIT

Val dances while she bakes and says her cakes sing to her. I mean, hello soul sister! Val was in series eight (2017, the first one on Channel 4).

JANUSZ AND HIS WEEK ONE SPOONERISM

In week one of series thirteen (2022) Janusz Domagala won star baker and expressed his happiness by calling home and exclaiming: “…I won star caker in bake week.” And in that very moment a nation of GBBO fans fell head over heals in love with Janusz. Me included.

CAROLE’S HAIR

Carole’s hair. Oh how I loved Carole’s hair. Is it because it was pink and purple and totally on brand, Vicky? Yes, quite probably! Carole had an infectious energy and enthusiasm, which I adored, and she talked to her cakes through the oven door. What more can I say? Carole was a contestant last year in series 13 (2022).

JURGEN THE GERMAN

Straight-talking, no-nonsense, technical wizard Jurgen. Oh how we loved him. And just when we thought we had no love left to give, he told us that he practised his bread kneading technique on his train commute from Haywards Heath to East Croydon. Baking geeks of the world rejoice!

Jurgen Krauss was in series 12 (2021) and got sent home in semi-finals week. The nation was justifiably outraged.

JAMES AND THE BISCUIT BARN

Sometimes when you’re baking, things don’t go according to plan. And you have to think on your feet. Especially when you have a camera crew breathing down your neck. In the quarter finals of series three (2012), James Morton saw disaster unfold in front of his eyes as his biscuit barn started to collapse. In what I consider to be a moment of creative genius, he decided to change his architecturally sound barn to a derelict one and set to work making sugar cobwebs. Winning at life! But sadly not at Bake Off that year as he was beaten to the title by John Waite.

SELASI. JUST SELASI

Unquestionably the most chilled-out baker ever to have graced out screens. Selasi Gbormittah looking stressed was like pretty much all of the rest of us being the most relaxed we have ever been while baking!

And his ability to blag his way through some of his less than triumphant bakes was second to none! He made it to the semi-finals in 2016 (series seven).

THROUGH COMPETITION, FRIENDSHIPS ARE MADE

One thing I have always loved about GBBO is the warm glow that emanates from the tent – and not just on those stinking hot days! Even though it is a competition, the contestants really do seem to form great friendships and they look out for each other in their moments of need when their bakes aren’t going according to plan.

Remember series eight in 2017 when Henry Bird was sent home on pastry week at the quarter finals stage? And his fellow bakers all started off semi-finals week wearing ties in tribute to his departure?

See, baking brings out the best in people

*THAT* BREAD LION

I have coeliac disease. Bread is my nemesis. And yet bread week is one of my favourite weeks. And just to make sure I never changed my mind on this, along came Paul Jagger and Cecil the Bread Lion in series six (2015). Just wow!

MARY-ANNE’S SPELLING MISTAKE

I loved Mary-Anne Boermans right from the start of series two in 2011. Her laugh was infectious and I loved the way she baked. And she brought a lump to our throats in the final when she inadvertently wrote ‘Sacha’ instead of ‘Sachertorte’ on the top of her technical bake. Sacha is her daughter’s name

AND SAVING THE BEST ‘TIL LAST: MARY BERRY

I love Mary Berry (you’d be hard-pushed to find a baker who doesn’t, I surmise!) She is so very knowledgeable and clearly loves what she does. She is always happy to help people to learn from their mistakes and take their baking to the next level. And she is a master of delivering the ‘sh*t sandwich’ when it comes to feedback on a baking disaster.

I was really sad to learn that she wouldn’t be moving with the show over to Channel 4. And although I still watch – and still very much enjoy the show – I still miss her.

All hail Her Baking Highness: Mary Berry

So over the last thirteen years of GBBO there have been thirteen winners crowned Bake Off Champion and we are now getting ready to watch the 14th winner emerge. It is safe to say that not every year has been without controversy. On occasions, some sure-fire finalists have been sent home earlier than anticipated (think Cat Dresser in series three in 2012 who looked a dead-cert. for the final (if not the crown) but actually went home in quarter finals week).

And let’s be honest, sometimes we were outraged at someone leaving the show not because we hand-on-heart thought they were the best baker, but because we simply loved having them in our living rooms once a week (think Norman Calder of series five (2014) fame.

THE WINNERS*

Series one (2010): Edd Kimber – in the final with Ruth Clemens and Miranda Gore-Browne
Series two (2011): Jo Wheatley – in the final with Holly Bell and Mary-Anne Boermans
Series three (2012): John Waite – in the final with James Morton and Brendan Lynch
Series four (2013): Frances Quinn – in the final with Ruby Tandoh and Kimberley Wilson
Series five (2014): Nancy Birtwhistle – in the final with Luis Troyano and Richard Burr
Series six (2015): Nadiya Hussain – in the final with Tamal Ray and Ian Cumming
Series seven (2016): Candice Brown – in the final with Jane Beedle and Andrew Smyth
Series eight (2017): Sohie Faldo – in the final with Steven Carter-Bailey and Kate Lyon
Series nine (2018): Rahul Mandal – in the final with Kim-Joy Hewlett and Ruby Bhogal
Series ten (2019): David Atherton – in the final with Alice Fevronia and Steph Blackwell
Series eleven (2020): Peter Sawkins – in the final with Dave Friday and Laura Adlington
Series twelve (2021): Giuseppe Dell’Anno – in the final with Chigs Parmar and Crystelle Pereira
Series thirteen (2022): Syabira Yusoff – in the final with Abdul Rehman Sharif and Sandro Farmhouse

* Source: Wikipedia

Many of the Bake Off winners have gone on to further their careers in baking, some with their own books, TV shows, celebrity appearances and more. Nadiya Hussain (winner in 2015), for example, has many books to her name, her own television programmes and her own bakeware collection. She was also commissioned to make the [now late] Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday cake.

But it’s not just the winners who have found further success. Liam Charles who was a contestant in series eight (2017) and went home in quarter finals week, is now the presenter of Bake Off: The Professionals and a judge on Junior Bake Off (amongst other things!)

MY BRUSH(ES) WITH BAKE OFF

Given my obsession with all things GBBO, it is often suggested to me that I should apply for the programme. Thankfully, professional bakers are not allowed to enter the show, which rules me out. And I am more than OK with this as I am quite happy being on the sofa side of Bake Off than the tent side!

I was, however, lucky enough to get tickets to Bake Off Extra Slice during series six (2015).

BAKE OFF EXTRA SLICE

On 9th October 2015 I headed into London with Mr Happiness, my niece Helen and my good pal Heidi to be in the audience for the recording of Extra Slice, hosted by Jo Brand. We had an absolute blast!

While the three of us ‘olds’ were relegated to the cheap seats at the back, Helen, who had been up most of the night before baking for the show, got a seat on the studio floor and we actually got to see her on TV. And her bakes, too! Which was a plateful of hamburgers that were actually biscuits. Squeeee! Proud Aunty moment

The recording of Extra Slice is actually for the week before the one that is broadcast, so you have to sign a form as a condition of entering the studios confirming that you will not discuss the recording with anyone prior to it airing.

MEETING A FORMER GBBO CONTESTANT

In November 2016, I attended the Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2016/7 held at Northamptonshire County Cricket Ground as a finalist in the New Local Product of the Year award.

I was very, very lucky to be seated for dinner next to Deborah Manger, a contestant in series four of GBBO (2013). She was a thoroughly lovely person and a joy to spend the evening with. We laughed. A lot.

And to top it all off, I won my award category and received my trophy from non other than Michel Roux Senior!

BAMBOOZLING THE TEAM AT BBC RADIO NORTHAMPTON

Over the course of the past 13 series of Bake Off, I have chatted with the team at BBC Radio Northampton either over the phone or in person in the studios.

In 2019 (series ten), I went in to the studios during pastry week to talk about the series so far and the contestants left in the show (by this stage it was just Alice, David, Henry, Rosie and Steph).

I completely foxed them by taking in a pie with salad, which was actually a chocolate cake with sugarpaste decorations. I recall Andrew Radd (reading the news that day) saying how his head was really struggling with the fact that his eyes were seeing a pie but his mouth was tasting chocolate.

If you have never had one of those ‘looks-like-one-thing-but-tastes-like-another’ moments, take it from me (and Andrew), it properly makes your head wobble!

So although we still await (some of us more patiently than others) the date when episode one of The Great British Bake Off 2023 will air and the release of the biographies of this year’s contestants, I hope you have enjoyed my little potted history of The Great British Bake Off through the years. I wonder if any of your favourite moments are the same as mine?

SOURCES FOR THIS ARTICLE: While most of the content of this article is based on my own memories and social media posts through the years, Wikipedia has served as a great GBBO memory-jogger for which contestants appeared in which years and when the episodes were. If you’re a GBBO geek hungry for more nostalgia, check out the vast amount of information over on Wikipedia for yourself. Just make sure you have a few hours to spare!

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