Week Seven – Caramel Week.
It’s caramel week, or as Giuseppe claims, “the week where anything could go wrong”, temperamental sugar domes, breakable biscuit bars and tricky caramel tarts, what could Giuseppe be worried about? Nearly all of our contestants have received star baker, it’s a tight race, but who will emerge victorious in caramel week?
Signature Challenge – Highly Decorative Sharing Size Caramel Tart
This week Paul and Prue have asked our six remaining bakers to bake a highly decorative sharing size caramel tart where “caramel must be the star of the show”. Deciding to dedicate her bake to Celine Dion, Lizzie will bake ‘My Tart Will Go On’, a caramel tart with baked caramel custard, chantilly cream and caramelised pineapple; will Lizzie’s caramel tart go down a treat with the judges, or will Lizzie be left needing a life jacket? Taking a nutty approach, Jürgen will bake a triple nut caramel delight with walnuts, pistachios and pecans with a kumquat chiboust. If you’re sitting there trying to figure out what chiboust is, you’re not the only one. A chiboust is similar to crème pâtissière but it is lightened using Italian meringue. Crystelle is putting a twist on her caramel by flavouring it with miso, her apple, pecan and miso caramel tart will be decorated with roasted pecans, apple cubes and filled with miso flavoured caramel and pecan crunch. Crystelle keeps a watchful eye on her caramel for the correct colour, she declares that “Amber means get ready to rumble” but I’ve watched Jurassic Park one too many times to trust anything amber.
It’s judgement time in the tent and the judges start with Lizzie. Praised for her delicious flavours, Lizzie impressed Paul and Prue with her ‘substance’ but not so much with her style as her bake looked ‘rough and ready’. Jürgen’s caramel fell more on the side of toffee as Paul and Prue feared that the caramel would rip out their teeth. Despite the bake requiring a follow up dentist appointment, the judges praised Jürgen for his great flavours. Thinking ahead to the COP26 Climate Change Conference, George’s bake is described as looking like “global warming in the Antarctic” with its curdled custard. Although Lizzie named her bake after the famous Celine Dion song, it is George who was left needing a life jacket.
Technical Challenge – Ten Identical Caramel Biscuit Bars.
It’s time for the technical challenge and this time Paul has asked the bakers to make ten identical Twix bars…I mean… caramel biscuit bars… Paul tells us that the caramel should sit neatly on top of the biscuit without any of it running down the side and warns that the bake is simple, but easy to make a mess of. All of the bakers struggled with the heat as they had to pour their caramel onto freshly baked biscuits as well as melted chocolate. Will any of our bakers be able to keep their cool?
It’s time for the judges to test the caramel biscuit bars and it’s George who unfortunately found himself in sixth place. Like ’s signature bake, George’s caramel threatened to take dental casualties with its toffee-like consistency. Lizzie closely followed George in fifth place as Prue told her that her biscuits were like bubblegum, Crystelle came fourth, Chigs came third. It was Jürgen and Giuseppe who placed second and first; Jürgen was praised for his neat aesthetic and Giuseppe received the semi-compliment that his bake ticked the most boxes but that the bakers shouldn’t clap.
Showstopper Challenge – Visually Spectacular Caramel Flavoured Dessert Complete with an Exquisite Sugar work Dome or Sphere.
Paul and Prue asked our bakers to make a visually spectacular caramel flavoured dessert complete with an exquisite sugar work dome or sphere – obviously not asking for much. In an attempt to redeem himself from his toffee-like caramel, Jürgen’s bake consists of a whopping 107 steps to impress the judges with his ‘Caramel Contrasts’ a shortcrust pastry base, passionfruit and mango bavarian, hazelnut praline, chocolate genoise and caramel bavarian. Lizzie has been told by the judges that although her bakes are delicious, they lack aesthetic finesse. Trying to convince the judges that she can do style and substance, Lizzie’s ‘Roses Really Smell Like Caramel’ bake will contain sage caramel, honeycomb and pecan brittle. Dedicating her bake to her late Grandfather, Crystelle will make ‘Grandad Greg’s Cactus Garden’ with miso caramel rocks, peanut brittle, caramel mousse, caramel sauce and a chocolate mirror glaze. Crisis struck when Crystelle’s sugar work domes were falling apart but Lizzie came to the rescue and helped Crystelle to form her dome around a balloon as the tent collectively had a heart attack on her behalf.
The bakers return to the tent to hear from the judges and to bring an end to another stressful week. Jürgen’s 107 steps paid off as Paul and Prue declare his bake as a ‘triumph’ and tell him that ‘the whole thing’s beautiful’. In her attempt to achieve finesse, Lizzie succeeded! Despite her bake’s amazing aesthetic, the judges found Lizzie’s bake stodgy and very sweet. Crystelle’s caramel crisis may have had us in a panic but the judge’s loved the flavours that she used and complimented her for the beautiful glaze.
Results.
It’s a close one this week as the judges consider who is in line for star baker and who will be packing their bags. Paul and Prue decide that George and Lizzie are in danger of elimination whilst Crystelle, Giuseppe, Chigs and Jürgen are all contenders for star baker. The star baker of the week is Jürgen for the third time! Ultimately it was George who left the Bake Off tent this week, or as he calls it in his departing letter, ‘the tent of dreams’. Although disappointed to be leaving the tent of dreams, George expresses in his letter that he is glad to have made lifelong friends. George will certainly be missed in the Bake Off tent, but he has done himself proud.
Bake Off Kitchen Appliances.
You may have noticed the beautiful appliances in the Bake Off tent, with hidden oven doors and pastel fridges, the tent was designed for beauty and ease. If you are wondering where to purchase these items, you can read more about the appliances here.
Previous Bake Off Posts:
If you have enjoyed reading about Caramel Week, you can catch up on what happened in Pastry Week, German Week, Bread Week, Dessert Week, Biscuit Week and Cake Week by clicking on the links.