The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – Week 5 – Pastry 2024

It's Pastry Week! Nelly sauntered in looking like she just stepped out of a French café—beret on her head, oversized shades covering her eyes, and enough gold bling to make even the late Joan Rivers proud. She’s definitely my kind of person. ---
--- The Signature Challenge this week was to craft 12 frangipane tarts, each with its own pastry base, frangipane filling, and an extra special touch. We’ve got over 670 recipes for different kinds of frangipane tarts in our library. Both Illiyin and Dylan had to redo their pastry shells. Judging was no walk in the park—most of the shells were either burnt to a crisp or too thick. A few managed to impress: Gill, Dylan (though his frangipane was hard to detect), and Georgie made the grade. The rest? Not so much. Christiaan’s topping reminded the judges of fried mushrooms, and the filling tasted like sardine pâté. Others had shells that were either overcooked or lopsided. ---

Darcie: Two hours might sound like plenty of time to whip up a simple tart, but things can easily go south. Gill summed up frangipane perfectly: "It looks weird, gets weirder, and then it gets better." Georgie did okay, but alas, no handshake for her. Christiaan went bold with his black sesame flavor, but the judges weren’t fans. Maybe if he’d hidden the frangipane better, it wouldn’t have looked so unappealing.

--- The Technical Challenge was set by Paul: make spanakopita and tzatziki in two hours. I didn’t hear them mention tzatziki specifically, but the official Great British Bake Off website includes it in the recipe, and the bakers had little bowls of what I assume was tzatziki next to their creations. Many struggled with rolling out the phyllo dough, resulting in tiny spirals. Gill came in last, Andy landed in seventh place, and Georgie was sixth. The top three were Nelly, Christiaan, and Dylan in first. ---

Darcie: This is why I stick to buying phyllo dough. Making something like strudel, which requires stretching and thinning dough, is always a challenge. Doing it in just 2 1/2 hours? Insane! Everyone struggled, but Andy and Gill really had a rough time. Only a couple of the spanakopita turned out both flaky and the right size. Gill joked she went from hero to zero, while Christiaan lamented his pattern of coming in second in the technicals—he’s already done it three times now.

--- For the Showstopper, the bakers were tasked with creating a Paris-Brest dessert with a custard filling and an edible stand. We have 45 recipes for Paris-Brest in our library. Three bakers—Christiaan, Georgie, and Sumayah—had to remake their choux pastry. Andy kept calling his mousseline "Mussolini," and his toffee structure gave him endless headaches. Poor guy—I felt so bad for him. Gill received a standing ovation from Paul. Several bakers earned praise. Nelly’s Paris-Brest was elegant but slightly short. The flavors were spot-on, but her choux was undercooked in the center. Christiaan’s stand was praised for its elegance, and his flavors were fantastic. Sumayah’s was stunning, though her choux was overbaked. Andy, naturally, got dinged for his incomplete stand, even though his bake was solid. Georgie’s stand was exceptional, but her choux was dry. Dylan’s was too small and lacked enough choux to balance it out. Illiyin had issues with her stand cracking and had to bring it up in two pieces. Her flavors were beautiful, and her choux was perfectly baked. ---

Darcie: Creating a Paris-Brest is hard enough; adding an edible stand takes it to another level. I’m not a fan of these structural challenges. Dylan’s choux seemed too wet, which might explain why it collapsed. Many bakers had issues with the choux—it spread out as soon as they piped it, which isn’t ideal. I wish I knew the temperature and humidity inside the tent, as that could have influenced the results. Gill seems to be improving every week, and it was fun seeing Nelly shine again. Andy joked that he didn’t have enough money to bribe the judges, so he knew his position was shaky.

--- I chuckled when Andy called his mousseline "Mussolini," but I’ll never judge someone for mispronouncing foreign words. Growing up with German-speaking relatives means I can say "ausgezeichnet," but Romance languages are another story. The different custard fillings confuse me too—not just pronunciation, but remembering the differences between crème diplomat, crème mousseline, crème chiboust, and chantilly cream. So many creams! Here’s a quick guide:
  • Crème Anglaise: Custard made with eggs and dairy, thickened only with yolks.
  • Crème pâtissière: Custard thickened with flour or cornstarch.
  • Crème mousseline: Crème pâtissière mixed with whipped butter.
  • Crème chiboust: Lightened crème pâtissière with Italian meringue.
  • Crème légère: Lightened crème pâtissière with whipped cream.
  • Crème diplomat: Crème pâtissière set with gelatin and lightened with whipped cream.
  • Bavarois (Bavarian cream): Crème Anglaise set with gelatin and lightened with whipped cream.
  • Cremeux: Thickened crème Anglaise with butter, gelatin, or chocolate.
  • Chantilly cream: Sweetened whipped cream.
Star baker this week went to Gill, and unfortunately, Andy was sent home. It wasn’t his best effort, but he brought a lot of humor and charm to the tent. Noel joked that Nelly looked like a character from the "Guess Who?" game, and he mentioned possibly joining the cast of "Taskmaster," a British TV show where contestants face off in quirky challenges. --- I can’t wait to see what the next week holds. Pastry Week has been nothing short of entertaining!

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