The Great British Bake Off 2014 - Episode 6
By Mark Savile
Week six of The Great British Bake Off, and after having been deeply saddened by Norman's exit last week it was down to European Cakes to pick us up again. This thrilling episode had it all: alien autopsies, the curse of the star baker, piles cushions and a bitter taste of disappointment at the end.
The halfway mark had come and gone and the tent was now down to the last six bakers. Helped by Mel and Sue's rather impressive assortment of cheesy Dutch, Lithuanian and German accents to introduce and narrate the show, an exotic wave of European cakes had surged over.
The signature challenge required the competitors to bake a European-inspired cake leavened with yeast, with the choice of design and filling entirely up to the creator. There were two similar Teutonic cakes, an Austrian kugelhopf and a German guglhupf, and a variety of savarins. Nancy, who might have missed the hype about the theme of the week, brought a more tropical element through her Caribbean rum lunch savarin, and there was a Middle Eastern touch from Kate who protested that her Israeli babka was entirely valid as Israel competes in the Eurovision Song Contest!
The technical challenge mixed royalty, Scandinavia and one of Mary Berry's recipes; the result being a Swedish Princess Torte. 26 ingredients and 14 stages made up the green-topped marzipan delight, certainly one of the toughest tests yet for the brave bakers with Paul describing the cake as 'difficult' and Mary who had chosen it as 'cruel'.
The typically vague instructions stumped everyone, nevertheless all did prevail. Most bakers received a combination of constructive positive and negative feedback. Kate slumped into last place, the curse of the star baker seemingly taking a solid grip on her, and Nancy took all the plaudits, finishing in first place for her attempt.
The showstopper round brought a Hungarian twist, and the pressure was firmly on Richard and Kate to up their games. Making a Hungarian Dobos torte with at least two tiers and as much sugar and caramel in five hours was the order of the day, and beautiful presentation was critical. The final pieces did not disappoint, being of epic design and proportions and truly stunning to behold.
Nancy and Chetna won the most acclaim and Luis, as we have become accustomed to, was not far behind. However, it was immensely close between Richard and Kate whose showstoppers exhibited different skill but also each had its own drawbacks. Chetna was awarded star baker, but choosing who would leave the show proved to be the hardest decision on the Bake Off so far.
After much debate and a long explanation of their strengths and faults, the final call came. Whilst not edge of your seat viewing, it was still very tense inside the marquee as seconds turned into hours for the bottom two bakers. The impasse triumphed and as two contestants had left in week four it was called a draw and both Kate and Richard were allowed back next week.
The slightly predictable and anticlimactic ending left viewers feeling a tad cheated, as if the judges had copped out. The episode felt underbaked and lacking purpose, which was a bitter shame considering the nature of the three tough challenges that everyone had gone though. I'm not a proponent of voting people off left, right and centre but it is a competition and for maximum viewing pleasure it must remain so.
Next time expect it to be even closer as missing out on a place in the quarter finals is only one burnt piece of pastry away. And will the curse of the star baker strike once again next week?
{{user.name}}