Dessert week begins with co-hosts Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond sitting at a table with a red-checkered tablecloth. Though they’re excited for Dessert Week, they’re not allowed to have it until Fielding has finished his supper; the one singular pea left on his plate.
There are only six bakers left: Dylan, Sumayah, Illiyin, Gill, Georgie, and Christiaan.
“It’s this really weird feeling because you don’t know what’s gonna happen,” Christiaan said. “It is quite fierce competition. Everyone is so good.”
“‘Desserts’ spelled backwards is ‘stressed,’” Illiyin said with a giggle. “But there’ll be none of that today.”
Hammond says this could also be called Pudding Week.
Signature Bake: Eight Meringue Nests
“Your baked meringue can be any style you choose,” Hammond said, explaining the signature dessert the bakers were required to create. “But it must have at least two fillings.”
“Meringue’s one of my favorites,” Gill said at the beginning of this dessert challenge. “It’s practically 100% sugar.”
Dessert week, the best week of the year, according to judge Prue Leith, will see piped meringue that forms a basket or a nest shape. The two fillings can be anything but the balance of the flavors is critical, according to judge Paul Hollywood.
French meringue is the classic way to complete this Dessert Week challenge — but “it’s about getting air into the egg. You whip it up to a stiff peak so it’s beautiful and smooth,” Hollywood added. Leith said that the perfect meringue nest needs to be baked low and slow to evaporate the moisture from the meringues. Only then will the dessert be stable enough for the nest shape. The bakers also need to be careful with how much flavoring is added to the meringue so as not to overwhelm it or create any extra unnecessary moisture.
While piping their nests, the bakers need to be very careful. “Any imperfections now could cause cracks and weaknesses later,” Fielding said.
After slowly cooling their meringues, so as not to allow any cracks, the bakers then rushed to plate and decorate their nests.
In this stage, the judges are also looking for the bakers to show off.
Illiyin decided to go for a piña colada meringue nest, a decision warranting a handshake from Hollywood. Her meringues were filled with pineapple curd, made from rum cream and rum-caramalized pineapples, and lime gel. Her meringues included desiccated coconut, a coconut powder. Unfortunately, her meringues cracked a lot, which was the first thing Hollywood noticed. But he called it delicious and “like having a piña colada.”
Christiaan used rose water for his meringue base, what he calls, “a risky flavor,” adding, “I’ve done it at home, so why would it not work here?” famous last words for any Bake-Off baker. His rosewater meringues are filled with walnut praline and sour morello cherry jam and Chantilly cream. Luckily, none of his meringues cracked. His “absolutely exquisite” nests unfortunately didn’t work well because his rose flavoring was too dominant for this dessert.
Dylan, hoping for something even more uniform, used a mold for his meringues, though the mold always leads to a crack. His nests took the form of coconut shells, dipped in dark chocolate, filled with coconut bavarois and passion fruit, and topped with rum-soaked Génoise sponge. His coconuts turned out looking just like a coconut. The judges enjoyed the texture, look, and flavor, and Hollywood, as he calls this unique, put out his hand for a handshake.
Georgie, after being unhappy with how her meringues turned out the first time, she began to remake them. Her almond-flavored dessert is filled with orange curd, mascarpone, amaretto cream, and plum compôte. This is based on her Aunt’s recipe. “The curd works really well with the plums,” Hollywood said. Leith said she had “nice original flavors, beautifully balanced.”
Gill created peachy custard, as an homage to an ice cream shop near her aunt’s house. Her nests are filled with raspberry coulis and Chantily cream paired with a peach crémeux, topped with fresh raspberries and roses made of peaches. Leith and Hollywood loved how “clean” Gill’s nests looked. However, neither really liked the flavorings she used, calling it too sweet and artificial for the dessert she was trying to create.
Sumayah, inside her meringues, made with toasted rice powder and cardamon, is walnut praline with pomegranate cream and apricots, poached in honey, tarragon, crème légère with pomegranate molasses, and cloves. As always, Sumayah’s dessert turned out to be a true work of art. Leith loved that it wasn’t very sweet, that it was savory instead, though Hollywood didn’t seem to like how many flavors she used in her dessert.
Technical Challenge: Spotted Dick
Dessert Week’s technical challenge has been set by Leith, who says, “There is a common pitfall to this technique. Don’t fall into the trap.” The challenge dessert? Spotted Dick, the British classic. It must include a moist, steamed suet (little granules of fat) sponge, studded with currants, accompanied with a silky smooth crème anglaise.
“I’ve never seen a spotted dick,” Dylan says. “I don’t even know what they look like. I’ve never eaten one.”
“I feel like everyone knows what it is, but no one wants to try it, unless you’re above the age of 50,” Sumayah added.
Leith chose this dessert because it reminds her of childhood and is looking for “perfectly steamed sponge, a nice, golden syrup, and smooth silky custard.” The familiar trap she mentioned earlier is that bakers on the show in the past have not steamed the pudding for long enough, at least an hour and a half.
“It’s a Sunday roast sort of pudding,” Hollywood said.
“And a good sleep,” Leith added.
“You end up face flat down on the table,” Hollywood replied.
As always, the technical challenge is judged blind. Here are the results:
- Dylan
- Georgie
- Christiaan
- Gill
- Illiyin
- Sumayah (who could barely get her dessert out of her bowl)
Showstopper Challenge: Tiramisu
Dessert Week’s showstopping challenge is tiramisu, an Italian classic. Though their bakes needed to include coffee, mascarpone, and lady’s fingers, required to be the Italian classic, bakers can add any additional elements.
The personal elements need to go naturally with the coffee, like chocolate, hazelnut, and ginger. “Coffee is going to be a king in this,” Hollywood explained. “We want to taste the coffee but we don’t want something too strong because it overwhelms the whole thing.”
“We want tiramisu taken to a whole new level by our six amazing bakers,” Hollywood added.
The bakers needed to make sure they had enough time to allow for their tiramisu to set in the freezer so that it wouldn’t fall apart when demoulded.
Georgie decided to go very classic as she is half-Italian, making her family’s tiramisu recipe. Her classic will be complemented by hazelnut praline, wrapped in a “flamboyant” chocolate collar, topped with chocolate roses. The chocolate collar turned out “exceptionally,” with lovely layers. The flavors were wonderful and “delicate.”
Dylan, not wanting to “upset Italian,” decided not to change the recipe too much. To the mascarpone cream, he’s adding cured egg yolks, something common in Asia. His tiramisu, using espresso amaretto soak and the cured egg mascarpone, is presented in a handmade chocolate box. Creating the box was a bit of a struggle for him, though, because he needed the chocolate to be perfect. And it did turn out looking pretty perfect. The coffee and sweetness were perfect levels. “Every element of it was beautifully made,” Hollywood said.
Gill, a self-described coffee hater, used her husband as the taste-tester. With her espresso spong and coconut mascarpone mousses, with chocolate curls and espresso buttercream on top, in a Charlotte Russe-style bake, meaning the lady fingers go around the outside of the dessert. Her cake turned out to be elegant and beautiful. And it was delicious — the coconut really works with the coffee. Luckily, Gill’s husband pushed her in the right direction.
Illiyin encased her tiramisu in a spun chocolate box. She used a chocolate and almond biscuit base and a rich fruity layer, made of cherries (with sugar and non-alcoholic amaretto). Unfortunately, her chocolate cage was very delicate. But it ended up looking nice with a fantastic flavor and a perfect level of coffee. The cherries also balanced a nice tartness.
Christiaan, risking the rose flavor again, used it to flavor his strawberry layer. His take includes Marsala wine, mascarpone cream, and a roasted pistachio mousse. It will include a with and dark chocolate collar. The collar turned out well but was unusual and delicious flavorings.
Sumayah, creating a coffee and lemon curd, risked her flavors as well. To her dessert, she’s adding praline and chocolate crémeux. It will be rapped in a Joconde sponge collar decorated with ornate designs, topped by a chocolate lotus flower. The sponge did turn out beautifully though there was a bit of a break in the sponge. The judges, unfortunately, did not like the sharpness of the lemon curd with the coffee, though they didn’t hate it — they said it needed a bit more work.
The baker who got a handshake and won the technical was also awarded Star Baker of Dessert Week: Dylan!
Sadly, Sumayah was sent home.
“I feel like it wasn’t one specific event that let me down,” Sumayah said, with tears in her eyes. “It was just kind of like a series of mistakes here and there,” though Leith complimented her imaginative flavors and her artistry.
“You learn a lot from everyone,” Sumayah also said. “And I feel like I’m going to take away a piece of everyone.”
With just a few episodes left, only Christiaan, Dylan, Illiyin, Gill, and Georgie are still standing. Next week, they’re going back to the 70s!
What's Your Reaction?
