Tag Archives: Great british Bake Off

Week 4 Star Baker Kate

Episode 4 of the Great British Bake Off on Channel 4 contained a naughty centre last night.

The brand new Caramel Week.

Frilly Keane tucked in:

Caramel week is a Bake Off first, but throwing in a different theme among the standard fixtures; Cake, Patisserie, Bread etc is not. So I was looking forward to it myself, in particular the voyeur’ing over the making of 40 shades of Caramel from scratch; sur’ the rest of us just take it out’ve a can.

But here, I was all but gagging on the buttery molten sugar before they even got to the Show-Stopper. I could feel the fumes from that dark muscovado smouldering up my own nostrils.

For a Bread, Pie and Pud man The Hollywood has some sweet tooth and obviously a gut that can cope with a plantation of sugar.

What I did appreciate in particular last night was that the makings of the Signature, Millionaires Shortbread, is pretty much in every home baker’s kit and skill level. There are loadsa of ways to get started with Millionaires Shortbread. So give them a go. All the kit you need is a bowl, a whisk, a tray, a pot and a can opener.

Interestingly, the Technical brought its own first as well, they all made a Mickie of it. Actually, this is a good spot to get the stickie bits out’ve the way.

It must be an’ Irish thing but Prue’s “Go Low & Slow” over that very segment got a knowing sur is there any other way Girl, yet it didn’t feature in the on-line post-mortems hash tagging around. Lots of “Dip me Nuts” and Stacey’s “not as much as an erection as I would like” tho.

Again, with Stacey, and her Show-stopper; forget the erection section, sur it’ll only wilt anyway, her Chocolate & Coffee Carmel Cake is definitely one for me so I’ll be looking for that recipe. All the hoo-haa was for Kate’s Sticky Toffee Apple Cake and deservedly so.

But tis all that buttercream lads, not a fan meself and its messy enough over the day or two after (if you manage to get that out’ve it) and there’s loads of ingredients involved, and some you may not be able to pick up on the way home.

Whereas a good coffee sponge does do well in a tin – add in Chocolate & Caramel and you’ll be winning everything from Tinahely to Tullamore.

Shurt watching now appears to be a thing on Bake Off. And it all started here on the Late Late Broadsheet on the Telly show.

Finally, despite the Twitter meltdown about Star Baker, Kate who can now longer be snuck in as my ‘Dahk Hoarse’ was worthy and has served her time being there and thereabouts consistently.

While Liam did get the only Hollywood handshake last night, readers and watchers need to be reminded he barely survived Bread Week. I also sensed some sense of entitlement off him in the final stages of last night’s show; and its put me right off.

Next week is Pud week. They’re a bit like biscuits for me, too much hassle for a short-lived experience; despite the steamy atmosphere. And I’m a bit funny about suet; I even make my own Mince-Meat at Christmas without it. But looking forward to it anyway.

Pic: Channel 4

Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith and presenter Sandi Toksvig chat to Stacey Hart about her bakes

Frilly Keane continues her analysis of the new season of the Great British Bake Off

Week 2; Bikkie Week; a few crumbs for ye

This is one of those weeks ye could normally have missed in previous seasons; simply because most bakers won’t do biscuits.

I’ll do shortbread and the odd tray bake, and that’s about the height of it for stuff you’d carry in your mouth on route from the Kitchen to the Front room.

Biscuits are quick but can mess up too easily; and, well the main reason for me anyway, and I suspect many others might recognise this, is they use up too much kit and take over the place – there’s too much faffing about with baking trays and timers and 8 minute bakes; and you never have enough cooling trays.

And they’re can be an’awful lot of piping if like me you’ve no patience for sizing and straight lines. And they’re gone before bedtime.

So last night was a pleasant surprise. If you are one of those that would have given Biscuit week a miss, make sure you pick it up. The Technical was something I never would have expected on GBBO, and it introduced us to a technique we never would have put our own thoughts to.

The Recipe of the week to follow up on is Stacy’s Signature Bake especially the Marshmallow Fluff filling which could be handy for a load of stuff.

I’m not afraid of saying now that I don’t miss Mary Berry, yet I don’t feel disloyal or that I’ve cheated on her because she hasn’t actually been replaced. Prue Leith has established her own role in the Bake-Off tent and with the Bake Off itself.

Instead of replacing Mary Berry, Prue now has her own individual partnership and relationship with the Hollywood and the viewers that is totally independent of Mary.

I’m actually really looking forward to seeing how she accompanies Paul on Bread week (next week btw) Mary had a tendency to let Paul be her teacher on Bread and Pie stuff; so will Prue be as willing to let Paul lecture her and the remaining Bakers?

If anyone still had any doubts about Sandi and Noel; they must be well steamed off by now. They own that gig. In fact, I think the process of developing a whole new audience and market for themselves outside their usual genres is well underway.

Because they are so unique themselves they are creating a string of new dynamics for Bake Off. With the Bakers, with the Viewers, with Paul and Prue, with themselves; whereas Mel and Sue were, despite being a Double Act, one blonde one brunette etc, one straight one not, were actually just a single and same role to cast; same lines, same wardrobe, same gags.

Totally unlike what Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig are filling the tent up with.

Finally, no dispute about who went home; but I would have challenged Star Baker meself. Having said that the Liverbirds won’t have worried anyone last night; but then again it was just bikkies; however, the Scouse Girls are still the ones to watch.

Previously: And How Was It For You?

Meanwhile…