Wow what a week! Shaky hands, tears over creme pat and pasty and a giant carrot. This years final was a little tense and incredibly emotional throughout, and not just from the bakers!

Signature – 16 x iced buns (two flavours)
One of Pauls favourites and one that featured a few series’ back.  He likes a batch bake on these classics and messing with what Paul thinks is a classic could be dangerous, especially at this stage in the game!

Key Points

1. Icing needs to be crisp on the outside, but once you bit into it nice and soft.
2. Best to do a batch bake to help guarantee continuity
3. The Buns need to have good colour, and a slight crispness, but light and fluffy in the middle.

You can tell it’s the final just buy the shear amount that each baker is pushing themselves.  Each one had at least 2 fillings to their two flavours.  

Ian pushed himself a little too far with  two doughs, and ended up leaving out his sugar from his spiced buns.  Having said that his elderflower and lemon curd buns were inspired and loved by Mary.  
Tamal again managed to get his flavours spot on. His apple and whipped cream filling sound yummy and so did the citrus lemon with creme patisserie, it’s just a shame that this element let him down.  His icing was a disappointment, as yet again timing became his nemesis.
Nadiya certainly gave herself a little more to be fearful about when Paul hinted about his preferred baking style for these buns.  Choosing to make round buns rather than fingers was risky, but it certainly paid off for her. Cardamon buns with an almond flavoured creme pat, sounded sublime and they looked beautiful. I thought the finger buns looked a little amateur for her but the flavour of Nutmeg with a sour cherry jam won the judges over

Technical – 6 x Millefeuille
This was certainly a challenge aimed the key weakness of these three bakers. Mean, but a clever idea from the judges.  I wonder else they had up their sleeve for this one though

Key Points

1. The butter needs to be grated to guarantee a fast distribution and less folding for the layers
2. The sugar syrup is used on the top layer to help bond the icing to the pastry
3. The pastry needs to be crispy, flaky, delicate and buttery

Oh lord, armed with the shear basic of recipes this was really going to test the bakers.  Tamal decided to go off piste and interpret the instructions of grating the buttiner in his own way, by keeping it in a block! His end result was messy, with loose layers, that looked more like ruffles, which meant he came 3rd. Nadiya managed to snatch 1st place from Ian’s under baked pastry.  Nadiya’s was the most neat and the only one to have bonded her icing to the top layer of pastry.  For Nadiya to come first in the technical at this stage, the final, can only mean good things for her.

Showstopper – 3 tiered classic british cake
Not much a of brief this week, but I have got used to this and almost embrace it, almost.  I’ve learnt that everything in the showstoppers are open to interpretation, and this week is the perfect example of this

Key Points

1. All the cakes need to have the same taste, consistency and texture. Tricky when you’re baking them in different sizes.

Ian went this the classic of carrot and orange cake. He gave himself the extra challenge of making not 3 tiers (the minimum) but 5 tiers of sandwiched cakes, which meant he have to bake 10! His choice of icing decoration was simple but effective, and a waterfall of carrot, Iangenius!  He pushed himself this week and most of it worked, but some for the stress did get to him this week,  He forgot the sugar in his spiced buns and some of his bakes in this challenge needed repeating. Having said that he has been consistent, even if cakes aren’t his strongest and sometimes his decorations are simple he has been steady strong and a calming force throughout.

Tamal decided his bring his own special spin to the Sticky toffee pudding.  He turned a classic british pudding into a cake, by adding fruit and using a chocolate style ganache as the filling.  He pushed the boat out with his sugar work which was certainly risky considering the weather that day! But the biggest challenge for him had to be timings, and with this challenge, the last, he managed to conquer it!  Tamal has been one of my favourites throughout, his bravery with flavours and turning things on their heads.  He’s made things work, and made the judges question their tastebuds for the better.

Nadiya, stronger than ever after two great bakes behind her, went into this challenge calmer and determined.  She knew what she wanted, and created her version of the wedding cake she would have had, had she got married in the UK.  Marshmallow icing certainly threw Mary, but she ended up being awestruck. Paul gave a teasing shake of the head before congratulating her on a simply stunning cake. Her lemon cake had a great distribution of flavour and by using lemon butter cream and lemon curd kept the zestiness but not making it too wet. Simple, smart and sophisticated.

A clear favourite from the start and a baker I can sympathise with in more ways than one.  At the start for the series although clearly accomplished she always questioned her ability, but she stuck with her instincts.  She never succumbed to the pressure of the Hollywood stare and his questioning. She has had bad weeks, and has been so close to leaving, but she showed her determination and continued stronger the following week. Well done Nadiya x.

One liner of the week, could only come from Nadiya, the winner: “I don’t need fingers after this week, so it’s ok!”

Ahh hello again you divine flavoursome ingredient, but the arch nemesis of a tidy bake day. This week more than anything other I wish I was doing the signature or the technical bake and not the show stopper. Oh well onward we go…

Signature – Chocolate tart 
It’s semi final week and in the word of Paul and Mary the bakes’ need to be immaculate with superb flavour and it has to be brilliant.  There is no room for error this week either

Key Points

1. Adding cocoa to the pastry can make it brittle and bitter so just enough liquid needs to be added to make it to counteract this dryness.
2. Blind bake to ensure a non-soggy bottom, although this can be tricky with a chocolate pastry, you have to be careful not to burn it

My favourite offering this week from the bakers is tough to call.  As usual Flora spent a lot of her time making the tart look good with all the additional extras, but you could see that Paul was a little exasperated by this, when he tasted the macarons.  However having said that the colours and flavours looked impressive.  Ian’s offering was a little simplistic in design and the flavour of his caramel let him down, but he had a nice shine on his mirror glaze. Tamal is still my favourite, he is solid on his flavours (even though I can’t taste them) and he doesn’t over fuss things.  Nadiya is beautifully experimental with her flavours but kept the design simple, and this week she was awarded the golden Hollywood handshake!

Technical – Chocolate soufflé

A staggered start, basic recipe and a creme pat melt down from Ian.  Another first for the bake off and a nice change for the set up of the semi finals.  The judges were looking for a flat top, with a mousse like centre and a good rise but no one was able to deliver all three

Key Points

1. Both elements need to be made simultaneously in order to combine at the right consistency
2. To thin a creme pat will mean the soufflé won’t rise and too thick it will sink to the bottom
3. The egg whites need to be stiff enough to trap the air and then gently folded with into the creme pat
4. Over fold the creme pat and the egg white’s too much the soufflé won’t rise, Under fold and you’ll be left with lumps of egg whites throughout 

Flora managed to pull of first place even if it was a little under mixed. Ian had an almost prolific creme pat meltdown and had the utter fear for his bake, however he did manage to pull off  3rd place.  Tamal had a good rise, but a few cracks but it was beautifully light. Poor Nadiya is bake to a poor technical result, and the only words for her reaction is heart wrenching. I couldn’t help but feel for her this week, especially considering the weekend of baking hell I had last week!  What does make me laugh is that they say each one has good flavour. Surely it’s not that surprising, especially when they wall have the same ingredients, and asked to make the same thing.

Showstopper – Chocolate centrepiece
How vague a brief do you need for the semi final?  I know it’s open to interpretation, but a little more help would have been useful. I guess I should just be grateful that I’m not being judged by Mary and Paul or sticking to a time

Key Points for the brief

1. Contain a biscuit element
2. Contain white chocolate
3. All moulds, cutters etc must be homemade.
4. It must show detail, precision and artistry….no pressure then!

All I can say is wow! Everyone interpreted the brief differently whether it was a baked biscuit or a rice krispie biscuit (which I had never thought of).  Tamal’s tower looked impressive, but not as tidy as he usually would be. However he did demonstrate a number of skills with the chocolate, and had a good shine on his chocolate.  Ian’s was a contemporary design, and showed ingenuity but he didn’t show off many advanced chocolate skills.  He was really close to being out this week and to be honest I’m not sure the right decision was made.  Flora had a better signature and came first in technical.  She may not have delivered on flavour on the showstopper but she did show off a bit more skill.

And so to the final we are left with Tamal, Nadiya and Ian. Personally I feel that the fight for first place will be between Tamal and Nadiya. Ian is solid but the other too seem to push the boat out more. Oh well, onto planning my chocolate mess of a centrepiece!

Quotes of the week: More than once this week as there were some real beauties

“ I would sooner have another baby” Nadiya

“If it makes a souffle, I’ll eat my hat!” Ian

“Will you remind be to breathe?” Flora

“Everyone needs a sprinkle of Mary” Sue

Telling off of the week: Paul to Flora, “If you’re going to do a macaron, do it properly!”

Another first for the series, and one I hope they continue to elaborate on, especially with the savoury side of things

Signature  – Raised Game Pie

Oh if only I was making this this week instead of the show stopper, the fiance would be in heaven.  I really like making the pork pies from previous series technical challenge, but haven’t made them again, even though I promised!

Key Points

1. Hot water crust pastry – the thinner the better, on all sides, but thick enough to hold the filling with out the juices seeping out
2. Start it off on a high temperature to ensure the pastry is crisp and then turn it down for the meat. The Game needs to reach 65 otherwise it can be dry
3. The decoration needs to be ornate, to show of the wealth of the Victorian families.

Comment about Nadiya’s use of spices not being very Victorian, but not nothing about Tamal’s use of Ras al Hanout. Ian was certainly cutting it close with his lack of design, but his flavours saved him, just. Flora’s pie look beautiful with the distinctive layers, but she just crammed too much in, which left her with a over coloured pastry and dry meat.  Nadiya’s was set out beautifully, well decorated and a great bake but her flavours didn’t work so well, which is a surprise for her, as she’s usually so spot on.

Technical – Iced Tennis Fruit Cake

A rich fruit cake decorated with Royal icing which made popular after Queen Victoria’s wedding.  With so much to go wrong it was certainly a challenge against the clock. The cake needs significant time in the oven, but enough time to cool too, to guarantee the icing wouldn’t melt.

Key Points

1. Dense fruit cake needs to be baked for 2 of the 3 hours
2. Royal icing is made with egg white, and kneaded until smooth and non-sticky
3. Fondant icing/sugarpaste magic ingredient is gelatine, heated over a gentle heat and icing sugar added gradually then kneaded until smooth.

Baked icing? What was Matt thinking? Plus what on earth happened to his first fondant? You’ve just got to love Nadiya reaction to it all: 

Matt: This is a joke isn’t it?
Nadiya: what is that, sugarpaste
Matt: Yeah….mines quite different to yours
Nadiya: It is yeah

I’m not sure why Paul didn’t use baking paper for the tin, it would have saved the gouge he lost on the side. Even if a baking tin says it’s non stick, I always use paper. Flora’s was over baked but otherwise good. Tamal’s was a little under baked, as was Matts and Ians. Nadiya was the only person to get everything right, she even had a tennis net that stood up too.

Showstopper – Charlotte Russe

A Traditional victorian Blousy dessert with a set bavarois cream and jelly, all free standing and held within sponge fingers.  So super healthy then!

Key Points

1. The bavarois needs to be set, but still be creamy and not a hard jelly set.
2. Pipe the sponge fingers individually to guarantee uniformity, and over lap them to ensure that there are no leakages

Once again Flora is pushing out the boat on flavours and design, with distinctive layers, but you’re never going to win on bake off with Paul’s nemesis of pomegranate

Nadiya had clear definitive colours, and it was good to see a different technique used for the bavarois. I may even use this for my version of the Russe.

Paul had a good bake on the sponge fingers but  a river of jelly when you cut into it, but balanced it on display of victorian cut fruit.  Personally I think Paul is hanging on by a thread in the competition and I’m not sure how much longer he’ll last.

Tamal managed to wow with his layers, instead of using sponge fingers as at the base, he used jelly top and bottom. It looked beautiful both inside and out. Hats off to him for getting Star baker, he’s been so close and it’s well a deserved win this week.

Oh no Matt, What happened? Last week star baker and this week you’ve left us!  So sad to see this, but he did have the worst week, compared to everyone else, even his antique tin couldn’t save him.  Ian’s not that strong on cakes but his decoration of his Crown Russe was stunning.

I’ve got a busy weekend ahead of me, two things I haven’t tried before sponge fingers and jelly.  But the thing I’m most anxious about is getting my flavours balanced throughout.  I’m thinking of doing a festive mulled wine flavour, using seasonal spiced plums and a bit of zesty orange too. The question is how to, if to and what to do for the layers!!

One Liner of the week, comes from Flora: I have visions that the victorians had dreams about gelatine!

One of the main challenges for this week was trying to decide on the fillings for these retro classics.  Some of the contestants went with traditional retro fillings where as others, like Matt, really brought them up to date with his breakfast version.  Trying to use this as inspiration I decided to do three fillings instead of two. The reason for the third filling was because I was at My mums she couldn’t eat the Mushroom Duxelle filling, and her friend couldn’t have the Salmon Tartare so the third ended up being a whipped goat cheese filling with home grown beetroots.  With the filling finalised it was time to get on with the pastry.

Read More