The Great British Bake Off: German Week

October 20, 2021 12:16 AM - Season 12, Episode 5

It's a Bake Off first, as the bakers make traditional German biscuits and a torte fit for a Prince, before rising to the challenge with a showstopping tiered cake using yeast.
posted by ellieBOA (20 comments total)

I liked this one - all doable, nothing too arcane. I am interested in mulled wine jam as a cookie filling, for sure.
posted by janell at 10:16 AM on October 20, 2021 [7 favorites]

I was really hoping for a German buttercream since I just made a cream cheese rendition of it this week. My favorite buttercream to make by a mile, though come to think of it, I don't know if it's even actually German.

Agree-- tough week since it seems like everyone did pretty well. I was a little surprised by the outcome between the two on the block.

Less surprised by the outcome between the top two. Looking like a tough pair to beat though Crystelle and Chigs are rising.
posted by supercres at 1:54 PM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

I actually looked up that middle cake but when I read the directions I elected not to. Not entirely sure how the first set was particularly German, but the cookies looked so good and would be into several of them. I'm with Jurgen that a tiered yeasted cake is weird. (Also, can you really do that in 4.5 hours? How is that enough rising time?)

Would love an Italian week, though my heart is still set on American week.
posted by jeather at 5:20 PM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

Oh I had forgotten that, jeather, that lovely swipe from Jurgen about the gratuitous tiers requirement. Go Jurgen!
posted by janell at 9:23 PM on October 20, 2021 [5 favorites]

This was a generally a good week- I'd much rather see most everyone do well than nearly everyone fail. A bit surprised Freya was the one to leave- I was expecting George to go.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:57 PM on October 21, 2021

Heh, I liked how this episode rightfully positioned Jürgen as the expert, between his disapproval of a tiered yeasted cake challenge and Lizzie deciding that she trusted Jürgen over Paul on the proper baking time for her cookies. Replace Paul with Jürgen - it's what the people want.

Giuseppe deserved that win though, his linzer cookies looked and sounded amazing - although I also want Amanda's glühwein jam recipe.

I also thought George was for sure getting eliminated, based on the judge's comments we'd seen.
posted by the primroses were over at 8:52 AM on October 22, 2021 [4 favorites]

I would totally love Mr Smug to be replaced by Jurgen. So many bakes this week I wanted to EAT and a showstopper that sounded delicious instead of being an insane engineering challenge.

I found a gluwhein jam recipe that I plan to try out in december because of this episode!
posted by miss-lapin at 7:57 PM on October 22, 2021 [4 favorites]

What were they parodying with their intro? My partner guessed Devo but I think they're American
posted by Carillon at 8:25 PM on October 22, 2021

Kraftwerk, I think.
posted by Cash4Lead at 8:34 PM on October 22, 2021 [7 favorites]

I wonder if Noel is really unwell or if he was being such a dick the producers told him to take a knee. He’s done so much complaining about being there, which always hits me weird as this is an exciting accomplishment for the contestants and he’s consistently shitting on it.

All of those cookies looked delicious. Better than English biscuits IMO.
posted by jeoc at 5:43 AM on October 23, 2021 [3 favorites]

Definitely Kraftwerk
posted by jeweled accumulation at 9:11 AM on October 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

I wonder if Noel is really unwell or if he was being such a dick the producers told him to take a knee. He’s done so much complaining about being there, which always hits me weird as this is an exciting accomplishment for the contestants and he’s consistently shitting on it.

Huh, and here I was just thinking that he seems less intrusive and creepy this season, as if someone told him to dial it down.
posted by jeremias at 9:24 AM on October 23, 2021 [4 favorites]

I had to go back and check, but Noel introduced the showstopper, and appeared in a few chats with the bakers. It's very odd that he just kinda disappeared like that. Seems that he may be back already in week 6, but that's a very sudden illness to have taken him out mid-challenge.

I agree with jeoc that he's been quite an arsehole with lots of digs about how much he doesn't like his job. I'm getting quite tired of him (and Matt by association). I think I could like Matt if he were paired with a kinder sidehost. I've gone back to watching old episodes with Mel and Sue - they don't have a stupid skit at the beginning of the show, nor do they try to hog the spotlight.

Yes, I really need to make some of that mulled wine jam!
posted by hydra77 at 10:04 AM on October 27, 2021

And how many times can they play on the trope that it's German week and we have a German contestant? It must have been pointed out at least 10 times. For crying out loud, we get it!
posted by hydra77 at 10:13 AM on October 27, 2021

To me Noel being gone felt more like the way live now in Covid times -- like, if he just felt a bit unwell, rather than working through it as basically we all used to do, he stepped out as a precaution. Maybe spent a day or two checking for fever, having a rapid test, having the regular test, etc. and then he's back?
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:14 AM on October 27, 2021 [6 favorites]

The number of semi-improvised bits that each host does throughout the show doesn't seem to have dramatically increased, but instead of being 5-8 seconds, they seem to be more like 12-15 seconds and it is fucking killing me. Noel's humor is just a tad too dark for the show, so it often clashes with the overall tone, and Matt's is . . . a niche brand of humor. I honestly don't find Mel and Sue especially funny either, they're just such swell people.

Anyway, I really like George but based on the show we saw I don't understand why he stays over Freya. I'm surprised she made it through the show with her veganism not being really much commented on more than once or twice.

Great recipes this week, I was also tempted by that mirror-glaze cake in the technical, it looked delicious, but too demanding for my skill-level.
posted by skewed at 11:27 AM on October 27, 2021

The thing that gets to me about Noel is that he doesn't seem to like food, or even be interested in it at all. That's a terrible fit for a sincere food show. It might not be out of place on a surreal or snarky or grimdark food show, but that's not why I come to Bake Off.
posted by expialidocious at 2:58 PM on October 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

Can we just watch them bake, and struggle, and decorate and triumph?

I don't get these attempts at "host humor" -- in fact, many of the contestants have a lovely sense of humor when they are not putting up with inanities from the hosts, and sometimes even when they are!

Also German week -- was this specifically because Jurgen was on the show? Or was it random? And have they ever played to a contestant's nationality before -- for a whole show -- because I thought this was strange. And really put Jurgen on the spot, and detracted from the other contestants IMO.
posted by alwayson_slightlyoff at 7:32 PM on October 27, 2021

They usually have some sort of national-themed or time-period-themed week, like Japanese week or Victorian week or Italian week or Tudor week.

How and when they come up with their week themes and select bakers, and how those interact, is left unexplained.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 8:31 AM on October 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

German week was similar to the other theme weeks in that the Signature and Showstoppers wouldn't have seemed out of place in any other week.`
posted by skewed at 9:17 AM on October 28, 2021