It has been a while since I have posted and as a result I am behind in my Bake Off updates. I apologise for that. I have been studying. My course started earlier than I thought and so I have been catching up as well as working full time. I am now caught up and back into studying again.
I had planned on doing what I did when I got behind with my sewing bee updates which was do them all in one post. I decided against it though and instead I am just going to go over who we said goodbye to. Week 5 was pastry week and we said goodbye to Val. She didn't have a very good week at all. While I felt that she was skating a little throughout the programme I did actually like her personality. I think she livened things up a bit and it was surprisingly a little sad when it was her turn to say goodbye.
In week 6 it was botanical week and we said goodbye to Ravi. A little unsurprising as Ravi was probably the least able to be visually creative. Something which he admitted to himself. Again, I liked Ravi but he wasn't the best baker in there. On another note, botanical week was new and to be honest it wasn't quite as impressive as you would hope it would be. I think the last few years the bakers have been better at the aesthetics than this year. But as Paul Hollywood is forever reminding people you need to get the flavours right too.
Week 7 was dessert week. We said goodbye to Tom. Tom was one of the bakers I thought might have made it through to the end. He was adventurous with flavours and he liked to try new things. His choices with his desserts though were poor ones and the flavours didn't quite work.
Last week was the quarter final and we had another theme new to the Bake Off. It was Tudor week and it involved all of the things that I like least in baking.
First off we have the Tudor pies. The baker had to make Tudor pies and display them in some sort of pattern. Some chose traditional Tudor style designs (the Tudor rose was a favourite). While I don't like pies and I dislike the pastry used I can still be impressed with he bakes. Andrew was last weeks star baker and he defeated the star baker curse. I was impressed with his DaVinci style pie display.
For the technical challenge the bakers had to make Jumbles which are a Tudor style biscuit. They had to get the Celtic knots down perfectly as well as the bake. I think this would be an interesting one to try as the biscuit doe uses lots of spices. Poor Jane came bottom of the pile for the first time ever and Candace won this one. If you want to have a go yourself you will find the recipe on the Bake Off website. Sadly, I haven't kept up with the baking as I had to make study my priority.
For the technical challenge the bakers had to create a centre piece with a Tudor favourite (and something I can't stand). They had to make marzipan. The Tudor style is crisper than what we are used to as it doesn't use eggs. Some bakers chose to use both styles. The winner was Candace who created this impressive peacock. However, I kind of feel that a display like this has been done before and it won that person star baker too (you can see Nadiya's peacock here).
Jane's Swans were actually my favourite. It's a little more subtle than the peacock but it's so delicate and pretty. Maybe not thought impressive enough as a centrepiece but I liked it.
Candace done well again this week and I think this is the third time she won star baker. Well done since she did poorly with her pies at the start.
Sadly we said goodbye to my favourite baker Benjamina. It was a tie between herself and Selasi as to who was going to go. I personally would have chosen Benjamina to stay. However, I think her place in the technical challenge was the clincher.
This week we will be down to our last four bakers. I think that it's between Candace and Jane. I would like to see Jane win but I have a feeling it will be Candace.
The next few posts will be my last ever Bake Off posts. With the move to channel 4 I was dubious about whether I will continue. Sadly Mel, Sue and Mary Berry will not be moving with the show and therefore I have decided to end my viewing of my favourite show on a high. It just won't be the same with only Paul Hollywood continuing on and I am actually disappointed that he is. I'm not sure the show will survive without them.
As always, none of these images belong to me but infact belong to the Bake Off website.
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