The Great British Bake Off / Baking Show Recap Episode 6 – Pastry Week

Jane, Darcie, and I are back for another recap of what happened under the tent during pastry week. Before I begin with my thoughts on pastry week, I would like to address the attack on Prue Leith for saying a bite of something was “worth every calorie”.

Without thinking, I say that type of thing all the time and am not directing it at anyone other than myself – i.e., that was worth every calorie for me or as a compliment to the chef. Yes, there are words/statements/gestures that are totally unacceptable but I do not believe Prue meant to cause harm. I say this as someone who has battled an eating disorder for most of her life.

That being said, I messaged with Darcie last night and she swayed me a bit on my thinking. It drives me mad when “friends” comment on my food posts that they would “weigh 300 pounds if they lived with me”. Then, I remember back when my issues with food began, I was 18 working for a doctor who said, “Great haircut, now if you could lose a few pounds.” (For the record I was about 15 pounds overweight.) So I can see where words can be triggers. I believe Prue did not mean to state that calories were bad and that people should deprive themselves of anything in life. Darcie said it perfectly, it was one of those things that a grandma would say and you’d cringe and let us remember that Prue is in her 80s.

Every week, all types of sexual innuendos are made by Paul, Noel and Matt. (This week, it seemed like the whole show had comments of this sort: George’s sausage, Paris Brest and Prue’s unfortunate description of piping a chouxnut filling.) Do I roll my eyes at all this nonsense? Yes, but am I offended? Only to the point that they think this is comedy – I am offended as someone who has a sense of humor.

Now to the important stuff – the baking! Lizzie had me in stitches for most of the episode. She needs to be a permanent host on An Extra Slice and that show needs to be brought to the rest of the world post haste. Her best lines, in my opinion, were:

• “Never heard of a chouxnutter.”
• “If I went to hell, this is what my hell would be… The devil’s doughnuts.”
• “Even my elbows are sweaty.”

George’s battle with the tongs and Paul’s eye roll did me in as well – because I have had to help my son unlock the tongs before.

Signature: Two batches of decorated chouxnuts: 6 filled, 6 glazed in 2 hours

While judging George’s underfilled chouxnuts, Prue said: “Quite often, I need two holes so that I can squirt,”….. “You squeeze the bag, then when you meet that little bit of resistance… it usually means it’s full.” Paul was unable to control himself after this statement.

Lizzie, of the sweaty elbows while making the chouxnuts, had pastries you could buy in a shop. Prue stated that she was ruining her theory that you can’t cook if you don’t love it.

Darcie: I always enjoy challenges with choux because I have so many fond memories of making choux with my mom, who makes it look easy. Chouxnuts are called crullers in most of the US and are my favorite kind of doughnut unless I can get my hands on a Krispy Kreme when the Hot Now sign is on (alas no Krispy Kreme locations here in MN). When Lizzie was stressing out and feeling that her chouxnuts were terrible, I really wanted to tell her it would be okay. Jürgen’s psychedelic purple ube filling intrigued me, because I haven’t tasted ube before. (Jenny’s note to Darcie: come visit me in Colorado. Krispy Kreme a few miles away.)

Jane: Chigs did a Paris-Brest inspired chouxnut. Let’s ignore Matt’s juvenile sniggering at the word Brest and focus on the origins of the cake. This French cake was developed in 1910 to commemorate the Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle race. Its circular shape evokes the bicycle wheel.

Lizzie said “You had me shook” to Paul meaning “You startled me”.

Recipes:

• Guiseppe’s caramel chouxnuts
• Jürgen yuzu chouxnuts
• Paris-Brest recipes
• Online cruller recipes

Link to products:

• Deep fry themometer

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Technical: A large baklava with homemade phyllo dough in a star design in 2 hours and 45 minutes. Set by Paul.

Most of the bakers were of the opinion that phyllo should be bought and not made. Lizzie was slamming her dough because “everyone else was doing it.” Judging had Lizzie in last place followed by the two Greeks George and Amanda. Crystelle took second and the self-pronounced “Jürgenator” took first.

Darcie: I feel like what the bakers made isn’t really phyllo dough because it had egg in it and it looked a lot more doughy than any phyllo I have seen. I started to get anxious for Lizzie when she placed last in this technical, although she did have an excellent signature bake so I was comforted in that. If she does need to leave the tent she should be allowed to do running commentary. Is it just me or did Jürgen seem a big smug after the technical? That said, I enjoy watching both him and Giuseppe bake because they are both so neat and precise. Every time I am finished with a baking project it looks like a tornado ripped though my kitchen.

Recipes:

• Paul Hollywood’s baklava
• Templates on cutting baklava
• Online baklava recipes

Links to products:

• 12 inch round tin (no removable bottom)
• 11 inch Springform pan

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Showstopper: An intricate terrine pie with ornate pastry and a pattern inside in 4 1/2 hours.

Recipes:

• Crystelle’s curried chicken and potato terrine pie
• Online terrine recipes
• Online meat pie recipes
• Hot water crust online recipes

Links to products:

• Terrine molds (I have both a LeCreuset and metal terrine – I prefer the metal terrine mold).

The bakers really impressed with all the bakes this week. Lizzie made a “Heston Blumenthal-ish” Neptune pie with a potato fish in the center. Giuseppe’s owl design with cauliflower, cheese, beef and spinach was gorgeous. There were cracks and leaks in many pies but poor Amanda’s pie fell apart. As Chig’s helped her try to salvage the terrine, Lizzie commented it was like “watching open heart surgery” and most of the bakers really felt awful for Amanda, as did I.

Darcie: I feel like I might be a bit psychic as last week I said Crystelle might be poised to have a star turn, and here she is star baker with a rare showstopper handshake. Maybe it’s time to pick some lottery numbers. It was cruelly clever for Paul to summon her up to the table by making her think that something was wrong with her bake. I agree with the other contestants (and Jenny) it was heart-wrenching to watch Amanda’s baking disaster unfold.

Jane: Chigs said “No lard before Marbs” as he chucked the pastry lard into the bowl. A paraphrase of “No carbs before Marbs”, a quote from the TV reality show The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE to fans) when Ellie Redman wanted to make sure she was bikini-ready before the cast went to Marbella.

Star Baker: Crystelle
Sent Home: Amanda