We've got some time to make up. Hope you've got an empty stomach, because we're about to barrel through terrine pies, caramel tarts, and gluten-free cakes. Strap in!

Episode 6: Pastry Week

Pastry week tends to be mid-series. It is a kind of elementary skill that the bakers need to show some level of mastery over, but pastry can mean so many things; a lot of people enter the tent totally prepared to make a great pie but completely new to choux or filo. It requires the bakers to both know the basics and have some level of flexibility, and that's why it's perfect mid-season, when we need to start trimming bakers who are very good but are never making it to the final.

Series Episode Signature Technical Showstopper
Series 1 Episode 5 Savoury Pies Cornish Pasties Tarts and Canapés
Series 4 Episode 7 Suet Pudding 8 Religieuses 36 Sweet Puff Pastries
Series 5 Episode 7 12 Savoury Parcels Kouign-Amann 24 Éclairs
Series 6 Episode 6 Frangipane Tart 12 Flaounes 24 Vol-au-vents
Series 7 Episode 5 24 Breakfast Pastries Bakewell Tart 48 Filo Amuse-Bouche
Series 8 Episode 6 4 Shortcrust Savoury Pies 12 Pastéis de Nata Family-Sized Hand-Raised Pie
Series 9 Episode 8 12 Samosas 6 Puits D'amour Shaped Banquet Pie
Series 10 Episode 8 Savoury Tarte Tatin Moroccan Pie Vertical Pie
Series 11 Episode 5 8 Pasties 6 Éclairs Caged Tart
Series 12 Episode 6 Chouxnuts Large Baklava Terrine Pie
Series 2 and 3 each had both a Tart Week early in the series, and a Pie week mid-series, but no straight-up Pastry Week. Weirdly, Series 4 had a "Pies and Tarts" week in addition to Pastry.

The Challenges:

Signature: Chouxnuts

Technical: Large Baklava

Showstopper: Terrine Pie

The Signature was chouxnuts, which aren't really a thing. I mean, you can find them and buy them and whatever, but they don't even have a Wikipedia page, and besides, they're just French crullers. Technical was a large baklava, which marks the first time that bakers have needed to make filo pastry without advance warning--surprisingly few issues, considering. Showstopper was a terrine pie—I guess terrine is like a sausage? But it doesn't need to be meat? Idunno.

Beyond the baking, this episode was mostly Paul, Noel, and Matt giggling at almost-innuendos.

The Results

Crystelle took Star Baker on the strength of her Showstopper--she had texture issues on Signature, but she got second place in Technical and received the second-ever Showstopper handshake. Bakers seem to do well when their bake is inspired by family, and it seems like Crystelle pops one of those out every week, so it's no surprise to see her finally take Star Baker.

Amanda was voted off the island, another victim of rose-flavored bakes--her Signature was compared by Paul to an "artificial cordial". She was also fifth in Technical, and she was one of the last bakers to get her Showstopper in the oven, resulting in an underbaked pie that tore badly when it was untinned without being allowed to cool. For all that, though, I'm surprised it wasn't George, who did even worse in Technical, filled his chouxnuts poorly, and had all the same issues Amanda had in Showstopper with the addition of a raw-seeming sausage.

Episode 7: Caramel Week

I was actually surprised at how infrequently we've had a Caramel Week on this show. Really, we've only had it once before, but I tend to group it together with Chocolate Week in my mind.

Series Episode Signature Technical Showstopper
Series 6 Episode 9 Chocolate Tart Chocolate Soufflé Chocolate Centerpieces
Series 8 Episode 4 18 Millionaire Shortbreads 12 Stroopwafels Caramel Cake
Series 11 Episode 4 18 Chocolate Brownies Chocolate Babka White Chocolate Celebration Cake
Series 12 Episode 7 Caramel Tart 10 Twix bars Domed/Sphered Caramel Dessert
Chocolate Weeks are the ones with the word "chocolate" in every challenge.

Caramel (and chocolate) is an ingredient and a flavor used in many desserts, but it also has the potential to be used for very intricate decorations. Using it can be as simple as whipping it into your buttercream, or as complex as making isomalt domes and spun-sugar nests. As a result, it can find a home in either half of the series. This series, it's episode seven, which means that the asks are more complex and the expectations are higher. The judges are less forgiving of overdone caramel in week 7 than they would be in week 4.

The Challenges:

Signature: Caramel Tart

Technical: Twix

Showstopper: Domed or Sphered Caramel Dessert

Signature was caramel tart, which is like a tart, but with caramel. Technical was 10 Caramel Biscuit Bars Twix. They made a bunch of "jokes" about how they weren't allowed to say the word Twix, and I'd be curious to learn the details of the legal issues with that, though it's probably more of a safer-not-to situation. On a similar note, did you know that it's called the Great British Baking Show in the US because Pillsbury owns the trademark for "Bake Off"? Dumb. The Showstopper was a domed or sphered caramel dessert, nicely open-ended in terms of execution but with a required visual element that helps make all the bakes feel like part of a set.

The Results

Jürgen won Star Baker for Caramel Week, which was surprising to me; his tart was not decorated and had the consistency of toffee. But he got second in Technical and they really liked his Showstopper, so, sure. On that note, when they judged his Showstopper as "The whole thing's beautiful", they followed that up with "It's nice to have you back in the tent." Can we stop? Can we just let Jürgen be less than absolutely perfect, for a second, without implying that he's completely lost his touch?

George went out. Curdled custard in his tart and sixth in Technical were not sufficiently redeemed by a good Showstopper. I am happy for the bakers who go out to do really well on Showstopper; it's nice for people to go out on a high note. Ultimately, he was the right call for this week, and based on past weeks, he wouldn't have made it much further either way.

On that note, referring to my predictions from Week One, looks like I was right on three of five. (I thought that was pretty good, but then I ran the numbers and I had a one-in-three chance of guessing that well. Still better than chance!)

Episode 8: Free-From Week

We have a free-from week just about every three years. Free-from, as in, bakes that are free-from something. Apparently it's the name of a supermarket aisle in the UK? The same idea was called Alternative Ingredients in series 4 and 6--maybe they thought that was clunky? (Series 9 was Vegan week, but that's in the same boat.) As for me, I can't stop reading this as free-form. I thought it was going to be all hand-raised pies and non-tinned loaves.

Series Episode Signature Technical Showstopper
Series 4 Episode 8 Wheat-Free Loaf Hazelnut Dacquoise Dairy-Free Vegetable Cake
Series 6 Episode 5 Sugar-Free Cake 12 Gluten-Free Pitas Dairy-Free Ice Cream Roll
Series 9 Episode 7 8 Savoury Vegan Tartlets Vegan Tropical Fruit Pavlova Vegan Celebration Cake
Series 12 Episode 8 8 Dairy Free Ice Cream Sandwiches 8 Vegan Sausage Rolls Gluten Free Celebration Cake
If you didn't read the last paragraph, but you're reading this caption for some reason, can you guess which of these weeks was technically Vegan Week?

The Challenges:

Signature: Dairy-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches

Technical: Vegan Sausage Rolls

Showstopper: Gluten-Free Celebration Cake

Signature was dairy-free ice cream sandwiches. Ice cream sandwiches, just so there is some baked element on this baking show. Technical was vegan sausage rolls--actually a mushroom filling, in a vegan rough puff. Showstopper was a gluten-free celebration cake.

I have nothing against vegan food--Kendall and I make sure we've at least got a few vegetarian meals planned for every grocery trip. But there's no such thing as dairy-free ice cream (in the US, anyway, the UK doesn't have the same laws), and the Technical could have just been mushroom rolls. Why pretend like it's sausage? Anyway.

The Results

Chigs was Star Baker, and thank god. I say that not because he almost didn't get it, but because Jürgen was even in consideration. Jürgen screwed up his Signature biscuit, badly--he didn't rest his macarons, so the texture was not only off, but they looked terrible. On this show they've trashed nice-looking macarons for not being properly textured, so for them to tell him he "may have invented something very suitable" just seemed like abject favoritism. Then he got 4th in Technical, and his Showstopper--while delicious, and generally nice-looking, was certainly the least spectacular of the bakes. I thought he should be in contention for leaving, so I was incredulous when they said he was in line for Star Baker.

Going instead was Lizzie, another baker who left after proving themselves in the Showstopper. Her final act on the show was something visually stunning and inventive, displaying the finesse the judges had insisted all along she was capable of. Her Signature had good flavors and consistency, but was messy--like Jürgen's--and she came 3rd in Technical. Jürgen should have gone, is what I'm saying, in case the subtlety was too much.

Next Time

Double-header: Patisserie and Final! Heck of a ride, looking forward to discussing it. See y'all then!

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