GBBO 2022 – Bread Week (S13-E03)

Two of our bakers are missing! Rebs and Abdul are ill but the show must go on.

You can watch The Great British Bake Off 2022 on Channel 4

Signature - 2 Sharing sized Pizzas (2 hours)

I have mixed feelings about choosing pizza as a Signature challenge. On the one hand it seems too basic and on the other Bake Off needs to stay relevant for the wider audience. Pizza is mainly defined by its topping so I don’t rate this as a bread challenge. It’s really about flavour combinations. The majority of viewers rarely bake but maybe this will inspire them to try.

Paul’s tip, in case you missed it, was that pizza dough is slightly wetter than normal (bread dough).

Both judges are looking for good strong flavours but not too many fillings. Pineapple is acceptable, apparently. I can hear my Italian neighbours screaming. I wonder if they’re watching this. They might just be screaming. They’re Italian.

The first slap down goes to James, who is using 14% spelt flour. I’m assuming he means spelt with 14% protein, which is very high but similar to strong white (wheat) flour. Paul doesn’t seem to think it’s a good idea.

This year we are again treated to a slightly different kneading technique. Last year you might remember Jurgen slapping the dough on the table very noisily. Four of this years bakers are using a yoga method to push the dough diagonally. It makes a change from cat kneading.

On to another top tip – you can use a shower cap to cover the bowl when the dough is rising. I’m pretty sure Nigella told us that a couple of years ago but it’s still a good idea.

The flavour combos are, erm, unconventional.

“Who ordered the Sambal & stinky bean?”

“…and the Full English Pizza?”

Carole is pushing the boundaries this week .. with her west country bumpkin routine. She’s making a cheese and cheese pizza (Gruyere and Rebluchon)

And in case you’re not already in love with Sandro, his pizzas are shaped like love-hearts.

Hmm, looks like they’re rolling the dough out on polenta. Ooh, next top tip – you can remove the excess oil by dabbing with some paper towel. (me: “why?”)

Hmm, I guess from that huge cloud which blew out of the oven that someone found a steam assist setting … but why would you use that with pizza?

The judging is as peculiar as the pizzas.

“Good base on it (Syabira), crispy”

“Your dough (Kevin) looks a bit dead”

Technical - Pain au raisin (2 hours 45 minutes)

TBH I thought this was an overnight recipe so I’m surprised at the time limit. I guess I have something to learn here.

“Should you activate the yeast or chill it?” Well, given the time limit the answer is a bit obvious.

Maxy demonstrates another different kneading technique, which I think of as Italian because it’s a pasta kneading method. You pin down the edge of the dough with one hand and stretch it out with the other.

Sandro shows off his muscles

“The butter is torn under the pastry”. This is a very familiar problem for anyone who makes puff pastry. It’s a sign that the butter is too cold.

What do we want? “Lamination for the nation”

Crème Pât – is what normal people call custard! Dawn’s advice is to “treat it with absolute contempt”, which Kevin does… to his cost. His very thin custard weeps out during the bake.

I’m impressed with how these turned out, despite the variation in size. I might give this a go. Let’s have a look at the recipe…

Show-stopper - Smörgåstårta (4 hours 30 minutes)

Smorgestorte/smargertarte/smorgers-daughter/smaller tortoise

I tried to make notes while I was watching but genuinely it didn’t grab me. So here is what I wrote:

This is just a big sandwich made to look like a cake.

“Using an ancient wheat that my son grows” – Oh p-lease!

Coriander – yuck!

Fish and chip butty

Syabira has some interesting flavours and keeps the Malaysian theme. Its a lot more appealing than people contriving something new

Milk bread. Didn’t we have that last year?

The learning opportunity is with making mayo. It’s surprisingly easy to do.

“You need the fats of the oil to emulsify with the fats of the egg yolks” – erm no, actually. You need lecithin in the egg yolk to emulsify with the oil.

Oh! Maxy has built a compost heap!

Have you noticed how friendly Sandro and Janusz are with each other? “Lets do this babe” – “This hand has been ‘specially moisturised”

Siyabira has created a nasty lemon smaller tortoise and thrown dice on top.

Round Up

Not one of my favourite episodes, although I am tempted to try pain-aux-raisins. Star baker was not a surprise, and nor was the decision about the baker to leave the tent. Once again we’ve seen Sandro, Janusz and Syabira up at the top and Kevin, Carole and James near the bottom. I love Syabira’s authentic Malaysian flavours, assuming that’s what they are. I’m increasingly irritated by James’ laugh.

Spoilers below...

Janusz picked up a second star, which already puts him in the running to be a finalist. In Series 9, Episode 3 Terry was ill and nobody left the tent that week. So, it wasn’t a surprise that nobody left this week. S9E04 saw 2 bakers evicted so we can expect a double elimination next week.

Das grosse Backen S10-E04

Yes, It’s still cake week! It’s always cake week in Germany!

Das große Backen is available on SAT1.de and snippets can be seen on Youtube

Aufgabe 1: Schokoriegel zum Jubilaum – Anniversary chocolate bar (2.5 hours)

Present 8 chocolate bars, 4 wrapped and 4 unwrapped. One component must be baked.

An identical challenge was done in LMP S9-E04 with some variable results. The most common mistake was to make the bars way too big. Let’s see what happens here…

Stefanie – Aussie power – Macadamia nuts and white chocolate

Nina – Layover – Peanut, nougat and shortbread and milk chocolate

Dorte – Aztec bar – toffee, pomegranate jelly

Christian – Frankenriechl – Apricot wine jelly, cheesecake, almond crunch & dark chocolate.

Christa – Saure Ruby – Shortbread, almonds, strawberries and pink chocolate

Caterina – Jogubee – yogurt, wild berries, pistachio crunch and milk chocolate

Raheem – Protein pumper – protein base?, peanut butter, crunch & milk chocolate

There’s not much for the viewer to appreciate in this challenge. One bar looks pretty much like another. There’s not much baking either, with typically only a small amount of shortbread or crunch included in the bars. Plus any mistakes will be hidden under cream, caramel and chocolate. The challenge is to find good flavour combinations and show off sugar and chocolate skills.

Dorte seems to be making Italian meringue but the has the whisk set to “helicopter take-off” speed and she’s adding the sugar syrup one tablespoon at a time. The result is that the syrup has been splattered on the sides of the bowl and not mixed into the meringue. Christian steps in for this week’s helpful tip. First, turn down the speed and then pour the syrup directly from the saucepan onto the edge of the bowl near the eggwhites. This is quicker and less of a splatterfest.

The presentations are nothing special but there is a big variation in the size and quality of bars. Those who used molds for their chocolate bars achieved better results. Pouring cholocate over a bar is very difficult and judging the size is also tricky. Dorte and Nina demonstrate this for us…

Aufgabe 2: Technische Prufung Kaiserschmarren-Kasekuchen – Pancake cheesecake (2.5 hours)

OK, I had never heard of Kaiserschmarrn before. Apparently its an Austrian scrambled pancake. Christian combines this with a classic German cheesecake to create a curious Technical challenge, that I doubt I’ll be trying. Not least because it seems to require ruining a spoon so you can compact the cheesecake base!

The Dr Oetker placement is also curious but maybe worth trying… A gourmet vanilla grinder.

Making pancakes is pretty strightforward but these are huge monsters. Tossing them is a challenge in itself and while some bakers find clever ways to flip them Christian turns his into a burnt omelette. “Oh! my holy ****!”

Oh! the beauty of the English language!

You would learn a whole new vocabulary if you heard my reaction to the judging! After all of that mess, how on Earth did Christian get 2nd place???

Full marks for Christa!

Aufgabe 3: Deko Surprise:Motto-Party (5 hours!)

Guest Baker is Rebecca Mir, Next Top Model and Promibackerin

And now Dr Oetker is really spoiling us! Did they sponsor this by any chance? Bakers can choose anything from a table full of sparkly, glittery things, molds, colours, icing nozzles and who knows what else.

This is a decoration challenge but my interest is piqued by the inclusion of Advocaat in 2 recipes. I don’t think ever ever seen it in one before. Is there a new trend I don’t know about?

Christa is making an enormous bucket full of cement and Enie reminds her it’s a Bake Off and not a Build Off. Even when baked the colour is very industrial.

After an hour and a half we’re seeing cakes going into the oven. That doesn’t seem like a lot of progress. Yes, it’s a 5 hour challenge so in theory there’s plenty of time but the point of this is to create amazing decorations for which you surely need a cake.

As they take the sponges out of the oven and start to assemble we can see all of these cakes are enormous!

Interesting as the assembly and finishing stage is I’m going to have to skip to the presentation because there’s a lot to get through.

Dorte’s 20th Golden looks classy, a bit like a chocolate French Legionaires cap with a dead fish sticking out. The details are a bit lacking and I’m disappointed that the feathers are made from paper. The cake inside looks lovely, although I’m not a great fan of jelly.

Stefanie’s rainbow cake is exactly the kind of thing you see in YouTube for a children’s party show-stopper cake. It’s great fun and well presented. It mixes some of the popular themes of unicorns, rainbows and drip cake decorations.

Caterina’s Gender Reveal is also very much a classic children’s (surprise) cake but the decorations miss the mark. There’s a bear and huge lump of white fondant on top and I’m not sure what it’s meant to be. It lacks finesse. The surprise inside turns out to be blue slug pellets. This is definitely a childrens cake.

Christian’s flower power cake is a little bit lop-sided. The palette knife decorations and the CND symbol look a bit crude. Using real flowers to decorate has definitely helped the presentation but I would like to see some more skill. The slices look rather dry. The guest judge, Rebecca, thinks there is too muh alcohol. What does she know!

Christa’s Engagement Party cake looks the business. Very classy! Gold lace decorating a black base cake and a beautiful 2nd tier made of marble. On top she presents a genuine engagement ring which she got from a Christmas cracker. The cake filling also looks like layers of black, white and gold. I really love the look of this one. It definitely goes on my to-do list.

Maybe it’s just the contrast with what came before but I’m not that wowed by Raheem’s Beach party cake. It seems a bit plane. That said, the sand, seashells and sea horses are very good. The judges don’t seem impressed with the flavours.

Nina’s Pretty in Pink cake looks good and it shows off a few technical skills, such as isomalt crystals and drips on the side of the cake. But if you took those 2 things away the outside would be nothing special. (Maybe I was too harsh with Raheem.) Inside looks like a much more balanced cake. Actually, it looks delicious. The judges absolutely love it.

Round Up

Not one of my favourite episodes because the Signature and Technical challenges dind’t really grab me. The show-stopper had some great bakes and I’m really impressed Christa’s engagement cake. There were a few recipes I’d be tempted to try out and also a couple of the extras such as the unicorn decoration or gold lace.

As I commented last week, we can see the limits of the baker’s abilities now. Dorte, Stefanie and Christa look like possible finalists. Raheem seems to have peaked. Christian has been on the ropes for a while. Nina could rise or fall to the challenge.

Spoilers below…

Star Baker this week goes to Christa, which was no suprise. She totally deserved it after a perfect Technical and spectacular Show-stopper. Congratulations! At the other end of the scale I was a bit surprised that Christian was the baker leaving the tent. Although he has been in danger for a couple of weeks I thought he did just enough to survive this time . Actually, I had to delve into the scores and rewatch the judging to make any sense of it. He was harshly judged in the Signature, getting only 12 points. Surely Nina’s absurdly large and ill-tempered chocolate bricks deserved fewer points but apparently not. He was (somehow) 2nd in Technical, so no problems there. Then in the show-stopper, he gained only 8.5 points. The next lowest was Raheem with 15. I don’t think there was such a large difference between the two. Honestly, I think he was robbed.

GBBO 2022 – Biscuit Week (S13-E02)

Biscuit week

You can watch GBBO on Channel 4

Signature – Illusion Macaron (2 hours)

18 identical filled macarons, shaped or decorated to look likes something else

Burrgurrs (Burgers), Burgers and chips Init, Watermelons, Carrots, Racoons, Cats, Yo-yos, Peanuts, Icecreams

I distinctly remember, last year Paul told us that macarons have to be rested (to form a skin) but nobody has done that. Maybe because they only have 2 hours or possibly becasue it would be wasted with these curious designs. When I make macarons I prefer to use Italian meringue and I don’t rest them before baking.

There are some good ideas here. It didnt even occur to me that you dont have to make a macaron round.

Wow! Dawn used a lot of strawberry powder! I like the string for the yo-yos. Siyabira’s peanuts look great but the cream looked a bit curdled when she mixed it. Sandro’s buns are surprisingly pale but I’m sure they’re delicious. Maisam’s Carrots are a bit dumpy. Maxy’s Daisies look amazing.

A couple of clear winners there!

Technical Challange – 12 Garibaldi (1 hour 45 mins)

An absolute classic – stick to the recipe

Who has ever seen Garibaldi biscuits with chocolate??? At least Prue admits to Paul that it’s not an absolute classic.

If you haven’t seen a Garibaldi biscuit before then you might struggle with this but I don’t think there’s anything particularly difficult with the challenge until you ask for a chocolate decoration. Not for the first time some bakers take the instruction to make feather decorations a bit too literally. The results are in some ways an improvement on the original design. Too bad it’s not what Prue was looking for.

Show-stopper – 3-D Biscuit mask (4 hours)

Must be presented standing upright on a stand

Gingerbread is the obvious choice for anything structural and it’s no surprise that many of the bakers chose this. I’m more interested in the other bakes. James has opted for brandy snaps which I think is a pretty good alternative and could be lighter and prettier than gingerbread. He has also included Italian meringue buttercream and fortune cookies so there’s quite a bit of extra skill on show.

Syabira and Maxy went for sugar biscuit which is another good solid base for a sculpture and their designs are strong.

Maisam finished very early and I think she’s done a fairly basic design so could be in trouble. Carole did a goodish mask but the stand is a very bad choice. Instead of supporting the mask it pokes through and with just a few minutes remaining the mask collapses. She’s nearly in tears.

Janusz used a modern art theme for his mask. It’s flat and that it makes it a lot simpler to assemble. Some strange camera work with Kevin’s bake so we don’t get a good view of it. I think it looks basic and overbaked. I love Dawn’s design but I agree with Prue that there should be holes for the eyes.

There are lots of spectacular bakes on show. This is one of my favourites…

Round Up

Biscuit week is not always the most interesting but we got to see some good designs and unusual recipe ideas. Although I thought the macaron challenge was a bit contrived there was enough there to test our bakers and give them an opportunity to shine. The Hollywood Handshake isn’t what it used to be. The Technical, a bit like the chocolate on the Garibaldis, was a bit dull. The show-stopper was up there with the best callenges and some of the results were spectacular.

I saw after the programme that newspapers were reporting criticism of Rebs because she asked other bakers for help. There was also some criticism of James for not helping other bakers in the Technical when he saw they were not feathering right. Of course the papers want to have their cake and eat it! They seem to take an unnatural joy out of stirring up hate. It is perfectly normal for bakers to ask for help during the show and in other bake offs there is far more cooperation than in the British version, and I love it when they work together. During the Technical challenge bakers are told not to help. It’s written in red bold capitals on top of the instructions “PLEASE DO NOT CONFER WITH ANY OTHER BAKERS”. So there’s really no story here at all.

Maybe if Dawn had done better in the Technical she would have been a contender for Star Baker. The yo-yos and Baroque mask were very good. Maxy did well throughout but I thought Sandro was equally impressive. Kevin, Abdul and Maisam were the bottom three for me this week.

Spoilers below…

Janusz and Carole are still up there with Sandro, despite mistakes this week. Dawn is looking quite strong too. James showed a huge improvement so there may be more to come from him. Maxy also excelled and obviously Star Baker is a big feather in her cap. Although Rebs won the Technical I would still place her with Kevin and Maisam in the bottom three. It was not a surprise that Maisam left the tent. The show-stopper, although impressive, was just a little too simple in comparison with the others.

Das Grosse Backen S10-E03

Welcome back Betty! Our hobby bakers must be pleased to see Betty is back. Enie was a very tough judge!

Intro this week shows quite a lot of mess-ups and then a few amazing creations so it’s going to be a good one.

And the guest judge is Tim Rauer, 2-star chef and coach on “The Taste” (like The Voice but for food). He has set this week’s Signature challenge…

DGB S10-E03 is available onSAT1.de and you can find tasty morsels on YouTube

Aufgabe 1: Taste of Tomorrow (2 hours)

It must contain lemon grass, jalapino chillis and pears.

It’s a real challenge to come up with something original and edible with these 3 ingredients. The most interesting in the intros is the chorizo muffin but not everyone has gone for savoury. Christian opted for something sweet although it also seems to contain under-ripe avocado. And who would have known there are so many ways to chop up lemon grass? In another super-helpful tip Tim shows Christian by cutting lemon grass in half and then chopping both together you can do the job in half the time.

Nina is creating a brutal contrast between a sweet lemon grass dip and savoury chilli bread.

Raiko provides the first real mishap of the series when he crazily waves a saucepan to cool down the dough and gets choux on his shoes. I know some people freak out about hygiene in kitchens and they might not appreciate him reheating the choux to make it safe. To be doubly sure he also massively over-baked it. All the bugs are dead. “It’s a bit dark”.

Looks like Stefanie has made perfect dough. She is clearly one of the best bakers this year. I love the bread wreath design. Dorte is also making a wreath but at the moment its not quite as pretty. There’s a lot of Bake and hope!

Christa – something else to eat. Yeast dough with pear,lemon grass filling and Goats cheese-jalapenos dip and honey. Spelt flour. Looks a little heavy and I mistook it for filo at first. 2 hours is really not enough time for this to work.

Raheem – Cupcakes on fire. This looks really simple and I’m really not a fan of any type of cupcake. Betty and Christian seem to have no trouble finding positives about the presentation. There’s an odd piece of camerawork here. You see Tim cut the cupcake but did he actually eat any of it? Check the table!

Nina’s Dinner ring looks very flat. She used spelt, which is very difficult to work… as I found out last weekend! It looks very stodgy and unappetising to me. I’m sure she wanted more of a rise. Tim gives a very generous critique.

Raiko’s crown of pears is a great idea but the execution kills it. The choux is overbaked and the cream is squished in the middle when it required something a little more sophisticated. The judges are not impressed.

Dorte seems to get a very serious appraisal and then right at the end it transforms to something special. Im not sure what to think.

Stefanies wreath looks a little bit cremated but in essence its a beautiful design. This is seriously good. I’m definitely gonna do this one!

It has that perfect Sweet and salty flavour we all love! 😉

Katarina’s muffins. They’re boring muffins! Schone backfaber. OK. If that’s the extent of the praise. But it isn’t! As a muffin this is nothing but the choice of flavours is a total winner. Even before she started I knew this was going to be a great choice… and so did you! Come on! It’s awesome! Tim can’t stuff enough of it into his gob and even scrapes it off his smock to get the last pieces. Winner! This is what it’s meant to be like… food for the soul. Tim has time for seconds. So, so delicious.

Aufgabe 2: Technische Prufung – Sarawak Layer’s cake (2.5 hours)

Something got lost in translation – Layers, not layer’s or lawyers although maybe I’m going to need one. Returning to the tent, Betty seems a bit stricter than before and now she chooses this as a design for a cake?…

The layer cakes are thin layers of coloured cake cut and arranged to look like a Swastika.

You can find the recipe on the official website: Rezept

or on GBBO’s website

Seriously, I’m less interested in this challenge. It was done in GBBO S10-E07. Aside from the novelty of making a layer cake (thin layer of batter, bake, add another layer, bake, add another layer, bake, yawn!) it’s also a bit like making Indian sweets, which are mostly condensed milk, cardamom and nuts. It’s too sweet for my palette so I’d never eat it. It’s also quite difficult to get the layers equal and the consistency right. Why make life so difficult? Here is the condensed comment…

I dont envy the judges taste-testing raw cake. There’s some really aweful bakes. A few have managed something which at least looks edible. Dorte does a god job, Nina very definitely doesn’t.

Aufgabe 3: Täuschend echt! Illusion cake (5 hours)

Illusion cakes have featured in several Bake Offs. The joy is in the imaginative design but often they are encased in a thick layer of fondant icing. I’d like to be presented with something a lot less sweet. Here’s hoping…

Handbags ready!

Witches hat

Cinema popcorn

Coffee Cup

Oooh!, this is interesting…Christa is making an axe in a block of wood.

Oh dear! Raheem’s cakes aren’t cooked. He might be doing another speed-bake.

And Stefanie is having a nightmare with the cream filling. Raiko is also in trouble. His gelatine has not set but luckily Betty is on hand to tell him to chill it!

With an hour to go they’re all deep into the illusion phase. Dorte’s fish looks very impressive although she’s having difficulty fitting the pecker? … at least I think that’s what she said. Raiko understands her frustration. [Schwanz can mean tail or cock or pecker.]

I’m really impressed with the results and it’s a good challenge. We can really begin to see the difference in ability and imagination. I’m curious to know how I would do. I really want to try an illusion cake!

Christian has very fat ankles. Christa’s axe is amazing. Caterina made a wizard’s hat. Raheem’s cup of coffee is surprisingly good. I say that because it looked a bit basic when he was putting it together. The final presentation has a lot of details such as grain in the marble and a scattering of coffee beans on the plate. Nina’s popcorn illusion looks good but if you took away the actual popcorn it would be a very simple box cake. I’m not convinced this is good enough. The judges like it though.

OK, Raiko’s handbag looks a bit odd, slumped on baking paper. Some of the textures and decoration look pretty good but what happened here? The cream and compote is too soft and it collapses when cut. He’s in trouble with this one!

Dorte’s fish is stunning. This is one of the best illusion cakes I have ever seen. The details are amazing. Marks on the gills, sheen on the skin, beautiful colours and even a fake pot of caviar. Provided it doesn’t taste salty she will be star baker this week. Ah, but the judges didn’t like the flavours.

Stefanie’s cosmetic bag is a step up from what Raiko presented. There is a lot more work on show. Not all of it is great but the lipstick, perfume bottle and foundation powder give it an extra level.

Round Up

It was a mixed week. The Signature taste challenge was interesting because it introduced ingredients which our bakers would not normally use, so they had to be inventive. The Technical was difficult but for me not particularly inspiring. TBH I wouldn’t try either of these challenges. The show-stopper had some real Wow! moments. I was really impressed and would love to try baking some of these. We’re really beginning to see the limits of some bakers’ capabilities. Dorte and Stefanie are still right up there!

spoilers below…

No surprises at all in the results. Dorte’s show-stopper was too good to ignore. I suspect the judges gave a mixed critique on the flavours to make it seem like a close contest. Congratulations to Dorte. She definitely deserves Star Baker. Sadly, Raiko is the one leaving. He was the weakest this week. I noticed in the Signature challenge he was clowning around which made me think he had relaxed too much. Dropping food on the floor has got bakers eliminated before! Maybe he realised just how good some of the others are and accepted his fate. It’s a shame to lose him.

The Great British Bake Off 2022 (S13-E01)

The opening sequence of GBBO 2022 (S13) gives us some tantelising glimpses of amazing bakes to come – some real Wow! moments. But first we have to get through the sticky mess of the first episode and this one starts with another parody/comedy sequence that, inevitably, I hate. I also don’t particularly like the new batch of bakers, but that’s perfectly normal. It takes a while to get used to the interlopers. After a few weeks I’ll like them and by the end of the series I’ll love ’em …. I hope!

You can watch GBBO on More 4

Last season was affected by covid restrictions which meant, among other things, that all of the bakers were from England and rather a lot were from the home counties. I’m expecting a better geographical spread this time.

It’s cake week. Oooh! New ovens!!!

Signature – 12 Identical mini-sandwich cakes (2 hours)

The final for Series 5 featured 12 identical mini-Victoria sandwiches so this is not entirely new territory. Prue and Paul are looking for originality, flavour and personality.

Rebs from Northern Ireland is making Hazelnut mocha latte. Abdul also opts for hazelnut and chocolate. I’m fully on board with these choices but then Janusz goes one better with pistachio & cherry vodka. As mama always told me “Get ’em drunk and they won’t care what it looks or tastes like!”

Dawn goes tropical with lime, coconut and Tamarind. Hmmm. Sandro is more conventional with chocolate orange. There’s a somewhat naughty “love is in the air” link from Sandro to Kevin who is making pears and love cakes because there’s a large pearsan community in his church… Oh Persian! Ok. Pistachio, almond and cardamom sponge with rosewater buttercream. Good luck!

Maisam, from Libya, is also using pistachio.

Swedish Maxy forgot to add eggs and Will, who forgot to start his timer proudly declares that he’s making the technically difficult version of buttercream (Italian). If you find it more technically difficult then why make it in week 1? I actually prefer to make Italian rather than Swiss but everyone has their quirks.

Compost Carole lays an early claim to be the traditional baker this year… just before Dawn who is “trad” … but with a few modern twists, such as tamarind!

Malaysian Syabira adds pandan to our growing list of unusual ingredients.

And already its pretty clear that my expectations of a more balanced bake-off are not going to be met. There are actually more Londoners this year (5, up from 4). The inclusion of 2 Scots and 1 Northern Irish is very welcome but there’s no Welsh. Instead we have representation from Malaysia, Libya, Sweden and Saudi Arabia. You’re all welcome … if you are truly Britain’s best amateur bakers!

Maisam’s Swiss buttercream curdles but she knows how to recover it. Will’s buttercream splits … twice. “I dont know why! ” he quips, but the over-riding impression is that he doesn’t know how to make it, or recover it.

Assemply is rushed and the results are varied.

Maxy gets a tough critique…Huge and dry. James’ sticky toffee pudding tastes great but needs detail. Carol has cute detail. “Whats not to like?” Kevin’s rose is perfect but the cake is heavy and very dry. Maisam’s buttercream is a total mess but there’s nothing wrong with the flavours.

Sandro’s plant pots look good. The flavours are punchy and the ganache works well. I’d be interested in trying this.

Dawn – looks delightful. Abdul – Looks delicious. Syabira – “Could be neater. Delicious flavours.”

Rebs was ambitious with her design and I liked the idea. It’s a shame the caramel ran, exposing an unimpressive naked sponge to the world.

Will gets a devastating critique but takes it with good humour.

Janusz – looks amazing. Very light sponge. Boozy. Perfect or too much booze depending on whether you are training to be an alcoholic.

Technical challenge – Red velvet cake 6 sponges cream cheese (2 hours)

“It’s a classic. Concentrate on your sponge”

I always thought red velvet had beetroot but apparently it needs food colouring.

I find it a bit worrying that some of the “best bakers in Britain” don’t know how bicarb works. They express the usual concerns about the lack of instructions but I’m feeling somewhat unsympathetic. Bake for as long as it takes. No instructions for making cream cheese. Really!

Rebs takes the sponges out way too early and they sink rapidly. Janusz is going for a semi-naked look! Will seems to have made a pyramid. At least Sandro knows what he’s doing.

In the appraisal we learn that the cream cheese should be almost as thick as the cake and a lot of the cakes are not tall enough. I’m not sure I would have known that. On the official website you can see what they should look like…

…oh, so not anywhere near as thick as the cake layers!

The recipe is available on the official Great British Bake Off website: recipe

There’s a pretty clear winner of this challenge. The comments for the others include “claggy”, “undercooked” and “all over the place”.

And there were a few tips hidden in this round … too well hidden. Buttermilk and vinegar are acidic. They react with sodium bicarbonate to give carbon dioxide which gives the cake its rise. Next, if you overwhip cream cheese it will go liquid. This tip is curiously missing from cheesecake recipes and I always wondered why the pictures showed a lovely thick creamy mix when mine was pourable. Pretty much everyone knows that if you take a cake out of the oven too early it will collapse, so no prizes for that one.

Show stopper – replica of your home (4 hours)

This is one of the less inspiring challenges we’ve seen on Bake Off. The Australian final (#GABO) asked for “your dream home” which invites endless possibilities for imagination. But “your home”? Most British (and NI) houses are uninteresting boxes so my expectations are low.

Dawn is recreating nan’s pebble-dash with praline and German buttercream. Mmmm! 😄 Genoise. That’s brave.

Sandro – Strawberry sponge and more booze.

Janusz is building a high rise flat from chocolate and spice. I like the sound of those Christmas spices. It’s not long now ’til I start baking lebkuchen. Can’t wait.

We get the briefest glance of Sandro’s cake mix. It looks curdled. But quickly we’re back to Janusz and he’s adding dark soy sauce to his mix. Erm, ok.

Will is making a North London flat out of Madeira cake. There are quite a lot of real Madeirans in North London and real Madeira cake is actually a heavy ginger cake but what Will is talking about is a basic butter cake with a little bit of flavouring. It perfectly captures the essence of a north London flat. Boring.

Kevin will bake banana and pecan cake. That’s a good solid choice. Carole’s bungalow is a traditional coffee and walnut cake because she’s a traditional baker… with a twist! She’s replacing the coffee with chicory (yuck!) It will be interesting to see what Prue and Paul think of this.

Maxy makes a block of flats from apple and berry crumble between layers of cinnamon sponge.

And there’s always one. This year its Abdul who forgot to put his oven on … for 40 minutes! Really? I mean, REALLY? He has to pray!

Milk tea and matcha – NO! When will these people learn?

Rebs Pina Colada – The sponges look good to me but she says they’re not fully cooked and starts on a cake transplant operation.

James’ cottage looks a bit solid. He didn’t do well in the technical so he really needs a good result today. Could be in trouble.

Maisam’s lemon tree looks suspiciously like a fig. And Siyabira’s coconut tree looks like… well, make up your own mind…

It’s not what you think it is!

As they start to bring together their constructions you can’t help but notice the piping work and icing is very slapdash. where is the real detail?

BREAKING NEWS – Will’s buttercream has split again!

Let’s skip to the judging and find out what Prue and Paul thought of Carole’s traditional coffee cake, without coffee… “The coffee is burning.”

James, a true scotsman, has good piping but he’s claggy again.

Maxy’s piping is clumsy.

Dawn’s Genoise looks like one to try. It’s described as “Charming”, “Fantastic cake” and of course light. I like it, despite the look.

Sya – Both judges saying nice detail but I dont think so. “No hero flavour.” “The tea isnt strong enough.” – that’s because you shouldn’t put tea in a cake!

Will “Overbaked every one” but manages to laugh it off. It looks seriously dull inside … just like a north London flat.

Maisam is dense and puddingy. Her textures are all wrong.

Sandro – I though it looked too simple but cutting through the cake … Wow! He knows how to bake. Even Prue thinks there is too much alcohol.

Janusz has made an “utterly delicious” and “very chocolatey” dalek

TBH, I’m not wowed by any of these!

Round Up

It’s not a classic start for the season. I’m genuinely disappointed with the selection of bakers and I think the choice of show-stopper was aweful. Without the tantelising snippets of next week’s bakes I might well switch my attention to DGB or LMP. From what we’ve seen so far I would pick out Sandro, Janusz and Carole among the best. Will, Rebs, James and Maxy were all in the mix for leaving first.

Spoilers below…

I thought Sandro had the best Signature and was 2nd in the technical so a good show-stopper would have won him “star baker”. He over-did the alcohol and under-did the design. Still, he must have been close. Janusz didn’t shine in Signature or Technical but was top in (a fairly weak) Show-stopper. I think “Star Baker” is deserved but everyone needs to up their game. Well, everyone except Will. He really should have known how to make Italian meringue buttercream AND how to rescue it. He took defeat with good humour and all credit to him for making it into the great tent.

Das grosse Backen S10-E02

DGB S10-E02 is available on SAT1.de and you can find tasty morsels on YouTube

Opening credits this week promise lots of ganache and a few surprises. Let’s see!

Signature – The Bake Off cake! (2 hours)

Our bakers can choose any flavours but the end result needs to look like the cake in the credits.

To save you some time I’m only going to pick out the recipes that catch my eye…

Anje – Chocolate sponge with fresh goat cream cheese, fig jam, walnut crunch. This looks interesting, at least until she takes it out of the oven. It’s a little sunken and removing the top half shows us why. Anje describes it as a bit fluid but I’d say its’ raw! What a disaster! She opts to cut out the middle and uses the off-cuts from the top as landfill. The sponge has large air pockets and it must have taken a whole herd of goats to supply the cream that sandwiches this together. The end effect is something like a giant Oreo.

Raheem – chocolate (vertical) roulade with pistachio buttercream and raspberry puree. We saw this in the intro… As he unrolls the tea-towel we see the cake has cracked up, and then in assembly the sponge totally falls apart. He decides to bake again but “Take 2” goes in with just over half an hour left on the clock. Surely not enough time … and soon he’s panicking. Disaster looms! ChristianH suggests a change of design and suddenly Raheem is speed-baking a different cake.

Stefanie – Nut Brownie and raspberry jelly

ChristianS – Death by chocolate

Christa – Choco-almond cake with chocolate molding, raspberries and isomalt sculpture.

Dorte – Coffee biscuit with hazelnut biscuit base, coffee mousse and raspberry compot. Comes together nicely. She says it’s “perfekt”

Raiko – Chocolate with raspberry mascarpone cream and raspberry pistachio crunch. I like the way Raiko’s construction is coming together. The crunch looks delicious.

Nina – Sachertorte with raspberry jam, raspberry mirror, pistachio croquant. This is an ambitious choice in a 2 hour challenge.

Caterina – Chocolate sponge with raspberry cassis filling bitter-sweet ganache and almond croquant.

In the final stages of assembly Stefanie, Caterina, Christa and Raiko have everything under control. Christa has enough time to make a bullet proof plate out of isomalt. I think it’s going to crush the raspberries. Raheem is still rushing but he’s not the only one in trouble. Dorte struggles with her glaze, Nina’s Sachertorte is disintegrating and Christian’s glaze comes off on the plastic wrap.

The judging starts with Raiko, who clearly knows the legend of the missing raspberry. His ganache is a little bit dull and very thick. The light and very pink layers of raspberry mascarpone are pretty and the flavours please Christian.

Dorte, Oh! Dorte! It’s a squished mess sitting under an isolmalt tomb stone. Cutting into the cake we can see the bottom layers look perfect but the top is thick mousse which has slipped down inside the ganache giving the cake a lumpy mushroom shape. Enie loves the coffee flavour.

For some reason Stefanie has pelted her cake with sprinkles. It’s leaning slightly but otherwise looks fairly good. Once cut the slices look more like triffle than cake. The jelly layer is too thick for my liking and Christian says the cream is too soft before launching into a rapidly delivered tip – if you use white chocolate instead of gelatin it will set more quickly and have a firmer texture. Tastewise its a good combination.

Caterinas sweet temptation looks excellent but the judges seem a little underwhelmed by the flavours.

Christian’s Death by Chocolate looks great and whatever he sprayed on it has made it shine. The top layer of chocolate looks very thick. Not for me… but the judges love it.

Anje’s landfill gateau is bulging, leaning and crudely covered. What’s it like inside? Amazingly it looks ok and apparently the flavours are good. I can’t believe she got away with that!

Christa’s Summery Chocolate Bombe looks very professional, although the isomalt could have thinner and I would have preferred the sides of the cake to be covered. Inside it’s a lot less interesting, like a brownie.

Raheem is clearly upset as he introduces his heavenly raspberry cake. He’s been through hell to get something to present here. What he managed to do in 35 minutes is pretty impressive but the chocolate looks dull, the cake is leaning and it’s not fully covered. It’s very soft but looks delicious and Christian enthuses about the flavours. Full respect!

Nina’s Schokoholik has a beautiful Sachertorte glaze. It looks amazing! The slices look super-heavy and the top layer of ganache is rather thick but there is no doubt this is a triumph.

Aufgabe 2: Technische Prufung – Artistic rolls (2 hours)

Once again we have a visiting master baker, this time it’s Axel Schmitt. He gives our hobby bakers a short masterclass in artistic roll making. Oh this is going to be fun! They have to make birds, mini-epis, plaits and snails. I really want to do these mini-epis. Such a great challenge.

You can’t make these in 2 hours … unless the dough is already prepared, risen and delivered in tupperware so that it explodes on opening.

The full recipe is on DGB website: rezept.

It looked so simple when Axel did it but our bakers are struggling to remember the method. They look like they’re simultaneously loving and hating this.

They bake in 2 batches and the first results look pretty good. I can smell the poppy seed! Mmmm! They’re under time pressure for the second batch so we can expect a few to be underbaked. Still, I love the look of these rolls.

Enie and Christian set up Axel for a judging challenge. He has to eat 18 bread rolls. This is an endurance test.

A few bakers have underbaked the second batch (Raiko and Christian) and some of the designs are free-form (Stefanie and Dorte), but generally the rolls are pretty impressive.

Anje looks so worried but the verdict is good. Christa has managed a nearly perfect bake – great colour, good shapes and texture.

Aufgabe 3: In the Jungle (5 hours)

No pre-prepared decorations.

Anje – Tropical cocktail : Passion fruit oil-sponge, passion fruit buttercream and pineapple jelly. Hmmm I have my doubts about the flavour combos and the design doesnt offer much. Nina is cooking with rum which I always find tricky … one for the cake, one for chef?

Dorte is making Kia Ora cake which means “have life” or more simply “hello”. The design is spectacular with tree tops poking out the top of the cake. I wonder how she’s going to do that!

Raheem gets his inspiration from Jungle Book. He’s going bananas for “Bagheera”.

Christa stirs a bathtub full of chocolate sponge mix for her “Kunterbunte Vielfalt” while Caterina flies off to the Amazon to make waterfall and trees from lemon sponge, passion fruit and pistachio.

Raiko – Is making Be(a)st Camp with Kiwano!? What’s that?! Looks interesting!

There’s some lovely work going into the scultpures. I especially like the cute panther. Before long we’re into cake hacking/shaping. Dorte’s pistachio sponges look perfect. Oh! I get it now! The tree canopies are cuts of sponge. What a good idea!

Christa shows us how difficult it is to pipe with the worlds largest piping bag. Smaller bags are easier to control. Raiko uses a spirit level for his cake.

Raheem shows off his painter and decorator skills, using a sponge to dab the buttercream making a wood-chip effect and then an industrial paint spray gun to colour his construction. Christa and Raiko opt for a more delicate air-brush technique. Anje is soooo pleased with the icing effect which makes her cake look like a tree stump.

And so in the blink of an eye we come to the judging…

Christian – Good god what is in the frog cake? Good skills in buttercream, modelling fondant and paperwork. It’s certainly colourful but the mango flavour doesn’t come through.

Caterina – How much of this rock is edible? All of it! Christian is very enthusiastic.

Stephanie – Lovely palette knife decoration and her trademark flower but the over all effect is plain in comparison to the others. Inside looks so delicious! I’m drooling. It’s tip-top!

Dorte – Forest on a cake looks stunning! “Perfekt” Inside, the layers are beautiful and the flavour is a dream.

Raiko’s camp! Well of course he is but he’s a dab hand with an air brush too. The decoration is excellent although there aren’t many trees. It’s a well trimmed forest. The cream layers in the cake look a bit thick but Enie says it’s heavenly and fresh.

Nina’s Lemur has been punched in the face but over all the decoration on the cake is great. Layers maybe look a bit dry and uneven but there’s plenty of filling and Christian syas it tastes phenominal.

Raheem – Looks a bit simple compared with the others although Bagheera is really cute. The thick layers of sponge have good contrast. It’s fruity, mango and banana.Great!

Christa – It’s well-known that elephants can’t jump but they can climb trees. The decoration is good, Christian says “Fenominal”. The layers are a bit messy and there could be more cream.

Anje’s “Tropical cocktail” is neat but a bit simple and there are no trees. A jungle without trees??? What follows seems to be a light-hearted assassination. They home in on the noticeable agar jelly.

Round Up

There are so many great skills on show and it’s only week two. The standard is impressively high. I think the challenges so far have been quite tough but all of the bakers have shown incredible imagination and skill. I would choose between Christa and Nina as the top baker this week. At the other end of the scales it’s a tight contest between Anje, Raheem, Christian, Dorte and Raiko. They all had positives to take away – Raheem’s speed challenge, Anje’s technical, Dorte’s stunning show-stopper and Raiko was really only let down by a poor technical. I would actually have picked Christian for the chop but he didn’t make any serious mistakes.

Spoilers below…

I wrote last week that “Dorte and Anje look safe for a few weeks”. Well what do I know! They step forward this week as the bottom two. Dorte was let down by the disastrous Signature bake and the Technical wasn’t much better. Her show-stopper was stunning and for me the best bake. I though Anje had fooled the judges with her land-fill Signature bake but the points (12.5/20) put her equal last. She did very well in the technical but it wasn’t enough to offset the mistakes in the Show-stopper. Star baker went to Christa and that seems fair. Her Signature bake was my favourite, although the points put her second. She was best in the technical and the show-stopper was good.

The Great Australian Bake Off 2022 – Finale (GABO S6-E10)

Ahhh! The Great Australian Bake Off final … or finale

The final three in Series 6 are Doctor-to-be Nurman (the Mad Hatter), Copywriter Ella and teacher Aaron (yes sir!). Each of them comes to the flowery tent with 2 “Star baker” badges. They are all clearly thrilled to be in this “unbelievable” final. I just hope none of them suffers from hayfever. The tent is dripping with flowers. It’s stunning.

Signature Bake – 18 fondant fancies. 3 different flavours, 6 of each (2.5 hours)

…and your tips, if you need them, are … make sure the sponge is cold and the fondant is pourable.

Nurman goes for a herbal remedy featuring basil, rosemary and sage. Well this is already looking interesting. Fans of Le Meilleur Patissier (LMP) will be very familiar with the strawberry & basil combo, but … rosemary & orange? apple & sage? Let me just check these in the flavour thesaurus… rosemary (syrup) & orange gets a mention for fertile brides but apple & sage is best for a stuffing.

Aaron is going for a tea theme. Chamomile & salted honey, Hibiscus & lemon, Earl grey & vanilla. Hmm, not sure about those. Tea is best put in a cup not a cupcake!

Meanwhile Ella is being naughty with a Dirty Chai, Long Black and Hazelnut Latte. Hazelnut praline is a winner every time but whoever thought of mixing tea and coffee in the same drink? Yuck!

In the blink of an eye The Signature is half way through. Nurman informs us that microwave is not a dirty word. It may not be but the correct pronunciation is “me-cro-wah-veh”? Aaron measures up. Ella hacks away. Nurmans sponges look good. He says the apple cake is still warm and he spreads his fondant… It doesn’t pour. What were those tips again?

So we move to the judging and the verdicts for Nurman are surprisingly good. S&B is alive. A&S is delightful combination. Ambitious herbs but subtle.

Ella’s fancies are on a slant but beautifully covered and there’s some perfectly piped lettering too. HL – fabulous! and the Long Black is singing, but marzipan is dominant in the Chai.

Aaron’s are very messy and the judges challenge him with “Erm are you happy with this?” They struggle for positives in the EG&V. You see this is what happens when you put tea in cakes!

The bakers share big hugs and I have to say the friendship looks real. This is one thing I particularly like about GABO.

Technical – Chocolate pear and hazelnut torte

Maggie has set the technical challenge and the advice is – “Good as gold, thin on top, think outside the shed” which pretty much sums me up.

Recipe (Foxtel)

Top marks for Aaron’s baking knowledge. The difference between a cake and a torte is the presence (or lack) of flour. By the time they need lemon myrtle Ella has forgotten Maggie’s advice but she’s curious enough to follow the others into the garden. They wander around nibbling potentially toxic foliage. This looks very staged and I sense producer intervention but I guess they need a break from egg whites to keep it interesting. Instead they could try mixing blueberries and Nightlock and see if anyone can tell the difference.

Maggie shows off her torte to Matt. Honestly this looks so delicious. It’s another one to add the to list. Her insight is that the pears need to be sliced very thinly to help the torte to cook through. (Shaking) Nurman has failed to do this. He has his own insights “There’s no such thing as too much gold … unless someone is going to rob you.” Aaron is last to the oven in this challenge.

When it comes to the judging – Aaron’s torte, despite the cracks, looks great and it’s cooked right. Ella looks tearful. Her torte is a bit burnt on the outside but runny in the middle. Despite the thick pears Nurman’s torte is well cooked and at last he is the fertile bride!

In the show-stopper challenge Maggie conducts an imaginary orchestra as she emplores the finalists to use their strengths and Matt tells them to go big.

Show-stopper “Your dream home” should tell your story (5 hours)

Ella’s 3-tier Gateau Chateau is something straight out of Disney. It has 3 layers with Strawberries&Cream and twice Raspberry&Lemon. This looks like a smart choice. There’s also a blue caramel fountain. And …Good lord she’s got big lemons!

In a late bid for the journalistic scoop of the century Nurman asks “Ella, what are you up to?” but she’s seen his profiterol balls and recognises the danger. She instantly fires back “Just trying to get my cake batter done. What about you?”… “Erm, I’m making my …cake”. This is going to be a close contest!

Nurman is overly emotional and if he wasnt making his cake right now he’d be fanning mascara. His dream home is so unconventional. It’s a builder’s portacabin deposited on a tiny piece of waste ground and protected by the great wall of China. The cabin, or glass house as he prefers to call it, is passionfruit & orange, the wall is red velvet (beetroot) and the topiary is Yuzu profiteroles. Good flavour choices.

Aaron’s dream home is a tree-house. This is also a psychotherapists dream. He’s chosen Orange and Cardamom for the house, enclosed in gingerbread and decorated with dulce de leche (don’t ask!). The tree is brown butter and cinamon decorated with churros.

“Familiar faces” march in to cause maximum disruption. Who are all these people?

Nurman makes craquelin by hand before moving on to make grass out of grass. Aaron does some pretty piping with ganache and dulce de leche which he then hides under a layer of sponge. Ella smooths the icing on one of her cakes and then declares to the world that she is goldening her fountain. If that wasn’t rude enough she then adorns a boob with a gold nipple. The crowd goes wild!

The music gets louder and the countdown begins. I love the details on these dream homes. The churros, which looked a bit of a disaster earlier, blends in perfectly at the root of the tree and icicles clinging to the roof give Aaron’s tree house a good effect. The blue caramel in Ella’s fountain looks like water, there’s a bird on top and the boob has transformed into a pumpkin carriage.

In the final judgement the judges praise Aaron’s flavours and the sponges are good. For me it’s a shame he hid the cake under gingerbread. Nurman’s sponge looks so neat but isn’t it a bit dry? The yuzu buttercream is clearly a big success. Maggie and Matt also love the red velvet cake. Ella’s fantasy castle looks spectacular. Matt cuts through the carriage and it looks perfect. Then he cuts through all three layers of the castle and that’s perfect too. Again the flavours receive high praise.

And so to the conclusion. The winner of The Great Australian Bake Off 2022 is …

If you haven’t seen GABO yet then check it out !

You can watch on More4 and possibly on Foxtel if you can work out their website

Round up

I really enjoyed this series. There’s plenty for serious bakers to get their teeth into and enough entertainment for the masses to ejoy too. It sometimes tries a little too hard to follow the GBBO format and can be a little hammy but there are some noteable differences which make it really fun and enjoyable. And I’m so pleased that Bradford Meade found work after Ugly Betty but rumour is there will be different judges next year.

Spoiler below…

A final is always difficult to judge. The difference between first and last is usually down to personal taste. My preference was between Ella and Nurman. Aaron didn’t quite hit the mark with his bakes. Nurman did well in the Signature and Technical bakes but his show-stopper was not special enough. Ella had a bit of a disaster in the Technical bake but what an amazing show-stopper. Ella fully justified the win. Congratulations champ!

Das grosse Backen S10-E01

I’m really excited to see Das große Backen is back! This is GBBO’s German cousin and to my palette it’s a better combination of baking and entertainment than the British version. For the last couple of years it has been my top choice for Bake Off fans. Not only is the programme better balanced with good bakers (diverse but without going overboard!), helpful hosts and a more subtle comedy element but it also has a 10,000 euro prize, a book deal and a trophy for the winner. You get more cake on Das große Backen!

Series 10 kicks off with the usual intros and a tearful message from Betty who has Covid and is unable to join them in the tent. The moderator, Enie, joins Christian for judging duties and we’re promised a guest appearance by Paul Hollywood.

Aufgabe 1: Lieblingsrezept (2 hours)

What would you bake for your favourite recipe? It’s a bit like choosing your favourite child … except I’m allergic to children!

The bakers introduce their favourite recipes and for me Rahim’s choice stands-out. He is straight in there making ricotta and “angel hair”. Dorte’s Marzipan cake also looks interesting. I really want to try these recipes! Caterina opts for a Rhubarb crumble cake and Christa makes Black forest gateau both of which I love. They’re always popular.

Christian.S, who is making a strawberry vertical cake ruins a spoon so he can press down the wholemeal biscuit base. Then shows off his linguistic abilities as he burns a sponge. It turns out he can swear perfectly in both German and English. His trials continue as he builds the layers of the vertical cake in free-form. It looks “informal”. Isn’t it easier to do this in the cake tin and start from the outside? He’ll need some magic in the presentation.

Nina needs some advice on how to cool her chocolate more quickly and Christian suggests putting it in the fridge. I told you the hosts were helpful !

Raheem continues doing stuff I have never seen before and my to-do list is getting longer by the minute. Stefanie’s sugar-coated blueberries look great. I never thought of doing that. The decoration of Dorte’s isomalt bowl is beautiful. I’ll definitely try that.

In the final presentation of the Lieblingsrezept my favourite was Stefanie’s Cranberry-Apple Christmas Dream for the optics, narrowly edging out Dorte’s Marzipan cake. Anja’s Peach & Raspberry loveheart looks light and fruity – a pure piece of summer heaven. But I would choose Rahim’s as the most interesting and the one I would most like to try myself.

Christian.S fooled me with the optics by covering his cake with strawberries and tuiles but I dont think he convinced Christian.H. Although the stalks look great for contrast I’d be a bit annoyed to have to remove so many while I’m stuffing my face with cake.

Aufgabe 2: Technische Prufung – Arlettes (3 hours)

The holy Paul makes his divine presence felt via a pre-recorded video which includes a rather random clip from GBBO series 3 with the Blessed Mary standing next to him. We’re teased into thinking a Hollywood handshake might be coming up but then the big reveal is that he’s not there at all. I’m a bit disappointed. The video continues and Paul congratulates DGB on its 10 year anniversary and tells the bakers to take their time making Arlettes.

Arlettes need to be very thin, gold-brown and crispy from the caramelisation.

It becomes clear pretty quickly that most of the bakers have never made puff pastry. I only started making it a few years ago and there are a few tricks to learn. I’ll say straight away that it’s far easier if you make it in a big batch and our hobby-bakers have to triumph with only 170g flour in total. Caterina’s dough is too wet, Anja’s butter is too firm and Dorte’s & Raiko’s is too soft. The dimensions are wrong and the butter doesn’t fit over the dough. Anje rolls too heavily. This is a tough challenge! I want to make Arlettes right now! But first the bakers roll out their dough into implausibly thin 16cm circles and there’s a lovely piece of cooperation here where they share the secret of the scales. They have to make six identical Arlettes. The results are …erm… variable.

The voting goes on for weeks but in the end 8 points at the bottom and 17 to the top fairly reflects the difference. No, of course I’m not going to say who got top points but a theme is starting to emerge.

Aufgabe 3: Meine gebackene Visitenkarte – My Signature Bake (4 hours)

The “showstopper” can be the make or break for a baker and because they had the chance to plan in advance it is extra-interesting to see what comes out.

Christian’s boat is a bit unprofessional in the presentation but the layers look good and apparently the flavours are spot on.

Caterina’s Multi-national peanut crunch cake looks good from a distance but up close the cracks are showing. The judges comment that the flavour contrasts might not be to everyone’s liking but who doesn’t like salty-sweet?

Stephanie’s box looks great! It has her signature flower on top with crafted vegetables and there’s an enormous snail hunting nearby.

Dorte has made a miniature coffin out of sponge, lemon frosting, lemon curd and strawberry jelly. It looks to die for!

Raiko builds a swimming pool filled with blue curacao. The effect works well and there are some nice details. I’ll drink to that! … actually I’ll drink to anything!

Nina presents a “Go Girl” cake decorated with a flamingo and a shoe on top. It’s a great idea but this girl has big feet and the weight has bowed the cake in the middle! Still it looks delicious.

Anja created a carousel with Madeira sponge and lebkuchen Swiss buttercream and decorated with gilded horses. It looks great and I love the flavour idea! The judges find fault with the construction and only try the bottom layer. Apparently the flavours aren’t all there.

The knives will be out for Raheem! His chef’s jacket looks very smart but it’s not overly adventurous, but wait … is that a real knife? Really? He MADE that? Wow!

Also worth trumpeting is Christa’s musical themed gateau. If you like cream you’ll love this cake. Enie says its perfect and Christian says it is a dream.

Anje goes for a sea theme. On the outside it is a little underwhelming but on the inside the layers look perfect and enticing. The verdict on the flavours is very positive.

Round up

I’m loving it! I think it’s going to be another fantastic season for DGB. Our hobby bakers have plenty of scope for improvement and that’s where the story lies but they are all clearly very talented.

My picks for the top would be Stefanie and Raheem but it’s early days. Dorte and Anje look safe for a few weeks. There’s always a dark horse and it could be any of these great bakers.

I can’t wait for the next episode!

You can find some of the recipes here: Alle Rezepte

And this is how my Arlettes turned out…

Spoilers below:

Maybe something got lost in translation but I didn’t think the result was really justified. Certainly the star baker was Stefanie with the others some way behind. At the other end of the scale I thought Christian and Caterina were in real trouble so it was a surprise to see Anja pushed out of the tent. She did ok in “favourite recipe” and the technical challenge and her show-stopper looked the picture and showed off a lot of skills.