The Great British Bake Off: Botanicals Week
November 3, 2023 1:56 PM - Season 14, Episode 6 - Subscribe
In a Bake Off first it's Botanical Week. The bakers tackle a spice-filled Signature, a herby Technical and a showstopping floral dessert. Who will blossom, and whose thyme is up?
Far too much hibiscus in my opinion. I was expecting rose syrup to make an appearance, and was really surprised how rare the flavor turned out to be.
Saku just keeps chugging along toward the back of the pack, doesn't she? Like running from a bear, I guess -- as long as someone else does worse she's onto the next round.
I liked Dana but I wasn't surprised to see her go. It's been brewing for a few episodes I feel. She has similar mannerisms to Rowan, being flippant at times and definitely not a perfectionist.
And my opinion of Christy has gone down; I guess she's put a lot of stress on herself and that's part of the competition, but so should be composure in my opinion. Still it was a happy ending that she tried again and made a cake that I would still devour ravenously, whatever the judges might have thought of it.
posted by dbx at 7:02 PM on November 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
Saku just keeps chugging along toward the back of the pack, doesn't she? Like running from a bear, I guess -- as long as someone else does worse she's onto the next round.
I liked Dana but I wasn't surprised to see her go. It's been brewing for a few episodes I feel. She has similar mannerisms to Rowan, being flippant at times and definitely not a perfectionist.
And my opinion of Christy has gone down; I guess she's put a lot of stress on herself and that's part of the competition, but so should be composure in my opinion. Still it was a happy ending that she tried again and made a cake that I would still devour ravenously, whatever the judges might have thought of it.
posted by dbx at 7:02 PM on November 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
I was expecting rose syrup to make an appearance, and was really surprised how rare the flavor turned out to be.
Rose has gone wrong so many times on the Bake Off that I'd be gun-shy too!
posted by babelfish at 8:25 PM on November 3, 2023 [6 favorites]
Rose has gone wrong so many times on the Bake Off that I'd be gun-shy too!
posted by babelfish at 8:25 PM on November 3, 2023 [6 favorites]
We were just happy that Matty didn't get sent home. He doesn't seem like he'll be the winner, but out of all of them left he's the most fun to watch.
I was also fascinated to see Tasha deciding not to speak for the most part. I know she said it was because of the pronunciation of some of her elements, but she kept it up in other spots where that wouldn't have been an issue. Feels like an interesting introduction to some part of Deaf culture that I did not know about before. (To be clear, I mean this in a non-ablelist way: good for her for doing what is best for her.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 9:05 PM on November 3, 2023 [5 favorites]
I was also fascinated to see Tasha deciding not to speak for the most part. I know she said it was because of the pronunciation of some of her elements, but she kept it up in other spots where that wouldn't have been an issue. Feels like an interesting introduction to some part of Deaf culture that I did not know about before. (To be clear, I mean this in a non-ablelist way: good for her for doing what is best for her.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 9:05 PM on November 3, 2023 [5 favorites]
I'd really like to try that lemon thyme drizzle cake.
I think the difference between Dana going home and when Saku goes home will ultimately be negligible, but they're each really funny, and I hate losing one of them.
Allison and Matty have a delightful rapport.
posted by gladly at 9:20 PM on November 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
I think the difference between Dana going home and when Saku goes home will ultimately be negligible, but they're each really funny, and I hate losing one of them.
Allison and Matty have a delightful rapport.
posted by gladly at 9:20 PM on November 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
Some of those bakes were stunning! I'm not trading them of course, but the cakes topped with jelly were so cool.
posted by Carillon at 11:30 PM on November 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Carillon at 11:30 PM on November 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
I’m going to put in a word on behalf of meadowsweet: tastes much better than cat pee!
posted by rongorongo at 8:33 AM on November 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by rongorongo at 8:33 AM on November 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
I absolutely love Saku, and the way she booted that lemon had me choking with laughter. I hope she stays a few more weeks, although I suspect her time is rapidly running out.
posted by essexjan at 8:43 AM on November 4, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by essexjan at 8:43 AM on November 4, 2023 [7 favorites]
I would have been happier about botanicals week if I hadn't watched the judges bitch about rose flavored bakes for years. The spiced buns looked fantastic though and I definitely want to try to make a few of those recipes. But I knew the "floral based" showstoppers was going to result in a lot of grumbles from the judges. Elderflower is such a light flavor that it's easy to overwhelm. Hibiscus, however, is pretty punchy. Serendipitea used to make a hibiscus and strawberry tea that was absolutely delightful and my favorite on very cold winter days. A lot of those showstoppers would have gone nicely with a cup of that. I've never had one of those jelly cakes. I'd like to try one.
I also want to try that lemon and thyme cake though!
posted by miss-lapin at 1:25 PM on November 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
I also want to try that lemon and thyme cake though!
posted by miss-lapin at 1:25 PM on November 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
I thought Saku's hibiscus and earl grey plan was so clever for the challenge, but was worried her execution wouldn't be neat enough. And then it looked lovely but apparently wasn't flavorful, which is usually her strength! So sad. I love her though, and am still hoping she'll pull off an excellent week before she goes.
Josh finally won star baker! Well deserved.
Tasha "no commenting" Paul when he tried to freak her out about her mulled wine plans in the signature was excellent. Her yuletide buns and Dan's Greek buns with figs on were the two bakes I'd most like to try from this episode.
I was so impressed Cristy managed to basically redo her whole bake and have it come out as well as it did.
I was surprised the judges were so dismissive of the appearance of Matty's showstopper. I guess it was simple compared to most of the others and the piped flowers could have been executed better, but I still thought it looked very impressive.
The lemon thyme drizzle cake is genius, and I will be adding an abundance of thyme to my next lemon loaf, but skipping the stupid pan.
posted by the primroses were over at 1:53 PM on November 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
Josh finally won star baker! Well deserved.
Tasha "no commenting" Paul when he tried to freak her out about her mulled wine plans in the signature was excellent. Her yuletide buns and Dan's Greek buns with figs on were the two bakes I'd most like to try from this episode.
I was so impressed Cristy managed to basically redo her whole bake and have it come out as well as it did.
I was surprised the judges were so dismissive of the appearance of Matty's showstopper. I guess it was simple compared to most of the others and the piped flowers could have been executed better, but I still thought it looked very impressive.
The lemon thyme drizzle cake is genius, and I will be adding an abundance of thyme to my next lemon loaf, but skipping the stupid pan.
posted by the primroses were over at 1:53 PM on November 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
I was surprised the judges were so dismissive of the appearance of Matty's showstopper. I guess it was simple compared to most of the others and the piped flowers could have been executed better, but I still thought it looked very impressive.
It was more work than Christy's "unmold and add a few daisies" so I didn't understand why a mirror glaze and piped roses was somehow worthy of comment and hers was not.
I agree that there was too much hibisicus. No jasmine, no orange flower, no lavender, no violet. Also surprised at the small number of spices used for the spiced buns- way too much reliance on cinnamon. Very few people went out on a limb for any of these. I was pleased the technical was something generally achievable by everyone- I think the technicals with mostly good efforts and tiny differences are more interesting than ones where everyone crashes and burns.
Not surprised Dana went home even though I liked her cheerfulness. She was always saying "I'm going to put a lot of this flavor in!" and then having the judges say she didn't have enough.
Overall a good episode with a lot more successes than failures.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:47 PM on November 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
It was more work than Christy's "unmold and add a few daisies" so I didn't understand why a mirror glaze and piped roses was somehow worthy of comment and hers was not.
I agree that there was too much hibisicus. No jasmine, no orange flower, no lavender, no violet. Also surprised at the small number of spices used for the spiced buns- way too much reliance on cinnamon. Very few people went out on a limb for any of these. I was pleased the technical was something generally achievable by everyone- I think the technicals with mostly good efforts and tiny differences are more interesting than ones where everyone crashes and burns.
Not surprised Dana went home even though I liked her cheerfulness. She was always saying "I'm going to put a lot of this flavor in!" and then having the judges say she didn't have enough.
Overall a good episode with a lot more successes than failures.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:47 PM on November 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
I always wonder if those pretty blossom toppers actually taste like anything, or if it's just agar agar and food dye, so it's just a fancy raindrop cake.
And yeah, I was sort of surprised about how narrow the selection of botanicals was once they got past the spiced breads in the Signature. I'm kind of curious what the Lemon and Thyme cake tastes like, though. Maybe enough to make one - do the full recipes get posted anywhere after the show, or is it only ever scraped out from what was shown on screen plus educated guesses from what the bakers were doing?
posted by Kyol at 6:47 AM on November 6, 2023
And yeah, I was sort of surprised about how narrow the selection of botanicals was once they got past the spiced breads in the Signature. I'm kind of curious what the Lemon and Thyme cake tastes like, though. Maybe enough to make one - do the full recipes get posted anywhere after the show, or is it only ever scraped out from what was shown on screen plus educated guesses from what the bakers were doing?
posted by Kyol at 6:47 AM on November 6, 2023
Prue Leith's Lemon & Thyme Bundt
posted by the primroses were over at 7:22 AM on November 6, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by the primroses were over at 7:22 AM on November 6, 2023 [4 favorites]
I was really mad that they dismissed the appearance of Matty's showstopper while praising Christy's. Sometimes the favoritism they have for specific bakers is very apparent, and this felt like one of those times.
posted by maryellenreads at 7:54 AM on November 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by maryellenreads at 7:54 AM on November 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Botanicals Week isn't a first, they did it back in 2016.
posted by dlugoczaj at 2:06 PM on November 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by dlugoczaj at 2:06 PM on November 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Botanicals Week isn't a first, they did it back in 2016.
Copied that episode description directly from Channel4.com, how did they forget?!
posted by ellieBOA at 11:02 PM on November 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Copied that episode description directly from Channel4.com, how did they forget?!
posted by ellieBOA at 11:02 PM on November 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
First botanical week on Channel 4? It was a BBC One Botanical week last time, if I'm reading the wiki article right.
I mean, it's all more or less the same on this side of the pond unless if there's a persistent channel banner that didn't get changed for the local broadcast.
posted by Kyol at 7:36 AM on November 7, 2023
I mean, it's all more or less the same on this side of the pond unless if there's a persistent channel banner that didn't get changed for the local broadcast.
posted by Kyol at 7:36 AM on November 7, 2023
The Not-So-Great Defector Bake Off Wastes Time, Thyme in Botanical Week: Yeah weirdly I’m almost proud of Prue? Like the ingredients call for plenty of lemon and thyme but then her note to “be bold” invites us to follow our instincts out to crazy town. That’s a blast, to me.
Archive, if needed.
Although this went more or less well for the bloggers, it affirmed my "fuck a bundt pan" feelings, and I will simply be adding a lot of thyme to my next normal loaf pan lemon bread.
posted by the primroses were over at 5:21 PM on November 7, 2023
Archive, if needed.
Although this went more or less well for the bloggers, it affirmed my "fuck a bundt pan" feelings, and I will simply be adding a lot of thyme to my next normal loaf pan lemon bread.
posted by the primroses were over at 5:21 PM on November 7, 2023
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posted by ellieBOA at 1:57 PM on November 3, 2023 [1 favorite]