Warning: there are spoilers in this blog - who won star baker, who left the show, who received a handshake from Paul, what necklace was Prue wearing, things along those lines.
First of all, can I apologise for Xing out Tom, but I couldn’t think of a better way to do it. But unfortunately this will befall all our bakers, except for one of them of course!
Signature Dish: 24 Brandy Snaps
Perfectly baked lace biscuits, identical and have to have a good snap! Any shape but have to be coated, dipped or filled – two hour baking time.
Lizzie’s dog, Pru, has her own Instagram account and seemingly doing quite well with 1,779 followers. When Matt asked Lizzie if she had practiced in the tent yesterday, she admitted that she didn’t but watched Harry Potter instead!
Baking, I wouldn’t say it was rocket science, but…
Freya’s “Brandy Snapuccinos”:
Scrumptious, look quite dark, nice lace and a good snap, too strong coffee flavour. Overall a decent job.
Amanda’s “Open Sesame” Brandy Snaps: Very thin so falling apart. Delicious flavour,
Jairzeno’s “Chocolate, Passion Fruit & Pineapple Brandy Snaps:
Messy. Flavours too strong. Not well executed.
Rochica’s Coffee Brandy Snaps:
Massive variety in size, delicious flavour.
George’s Cypriot Brandy Snaps:
Irregular in size, flavours work well together, but looks a mess. Original and sensational.
Crystelle’s “Apple of my P-eye” Brandy Snaps:
Lovely snap, beautiful flavour combination, done well with the textures.
Lizzie’s, Fast-Food Apple Pie Brandy Snaps:
Very little lace, delicious, nice creme diplomat, lovely mouthful.
Guiseppe’s Gianduja Snaps:
Really pretty, elegant and uniform in colour, nice lace, delicious, crisp, nicely flavoured. Chocolate doesn’t come through very much.
Chigs’ “Espresso Martini” Brandy Snaps:
Nice and lacey, chocolate comes through well, nice snap, right amount of sweetness, coffee flavour a bit weak.
Maggie’s Blackcurrant Brandy Snaps:
Very small and could have a bit more colour, not quite baked enough so are really chewy, but delicious.
Jürgen’s “A Cup of Chai” Brandy Snaps:
Overall look pretty good, nice and even, lovely and thin, blend of spices work beautifully well. Texture-wise done well. Creme pat perfect.
Jürgen received a handshake from Matt Lucas, which Matt admitted that it meant nothing getting a handshake from him.
Technical Challenge set by Paul – Sandwiched Jammie Biscuit
Words of advice from Paul: “This is pretty straight forward, but read your recipe, we want perfection.”
I wonder how many takes they had to redo when Jammie Dodgers was said instead of Jammie Biscuits!
Position in Technical Challenge:
1st – Jürgen
2nd – Guiseppe
3rd – Freya
4th – Amanda
5th – Maggie
6th – Lizzie
7th – Chig
8th – George
9th – Jairzeno
10th – Crystelle
11th – Rochica
Jürgen, the Baking Terminator as named by Guiseppe! Hasta La Biscuit baby!
Picture pinched from Twitter!
Those in trouble before going into the Showstopper Round:
Jairzeno
Maggie
Those in line for Star Baker:
Jürgen
Guiseppe
Chig
Showstopper Challenge – 3D Biscuit Replica of Favourite Childhood Toy
It has to be delicious but also have an interactive element.
George’s “Paul and Prue Airlines”:
Interactive: airplane flies around in a circle
Great design. Not too hard, but very crisp. Well done.
Rochica’s Gingerbread Pinball Game:
Interactive: moving parts
Delicate and thin, texture spot on.
Guiseppe’s Reversi Board Game:
Interactive: you can play the game
Classic gingerbread. Properly engineered. Beautiful.
Chigs’ Snooker Table:
Interactive: you can play snooker
Very clever, a little bit cakey, but if it’s thick you don’t want it to be too hard. Perfect.
Lizzie’s “Paint a Truck”:
Interactive: you can paint the car
Interesting concept. Gingerbread and chocolate together – too strong. Tones down with icing and is delicious.
Jürgen’s “Grandpa’s Windmill”:
Interactive: sails go around
Very good, looks beautiful. Lovely flavour in the mouth, great job again.
Crystelle’s Vanity Playset:
Interactive: you can play with jewellery
Lovely flavour, beautiful, very clever design, flavours spot on.
Freya’s “Winne”:
Interactive: rocking horse
Beautiful, structurally sound.
Amanda’s Carousel Rocking Horse:
Interactive: structure had broken
Wouldn’t have chosen that type of biscuit to use as it’s so delicate.
Maggie’s Beach Playset:
Interactive: you can play with it
Basic, needs to be more elaborate. Should be a bit thinner. School report would say, “Needs to try harder.”
Jairzeno’s Tall Ship:
Interactive: Not sure
Rough and ready. Lovely blend, tastes delicious.
Star Baker and Who Is Going Home…
Jürgen is Star Baker again… 
and Jairzeno is going home.
Jürgen was able to tell his family this week!
Thoughts:
I think Jairzeno was the right choice to go home this week, personally I think he should have gone last week. Maggie didn’t have such a good week as she did last week, but I thought Lizzie and George had much better weeks.
Next week is Bread Week – who will rise to the top and who will knead to improve their baking skills? #sorrynotsorry
This always makes me smile because I used to have a small cake business called A Piece Of Cake and I would make celebration cakes. I stopped about two years ago, very occasionally making cakes for friends. Last year I was asked to make a wedding cake for one of my daughter’s best friends and this is happening in the next couple of days. Look out for my blog of how I got on…
The signature bake was four individual highly decorated open topped custard pies. I’m guessing custard pies as they were used as great slapstick humour in the 20s? Would anyone be brave enough to pick one up and plant it in Paul Hollywood’s face? No, probably not….
Michael has a tough time with this technical, he tries to make the batter a couple of times, but it doesn’t work, he’s nearly in tears when Noel comes over and suggests he has a little quick walk for five minutes and then come back, to which Michael replies that if he did, he might not come back. Who hasn’t felt like that during a tough day at the office?
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