The Great British Bake Off: Desserts

August 28, 2014 6:42 AM - Season 5, Episode 4

It's dessert week in the Great British Bake Off tent. A meltdown is in store as the bakers attempt a Baked Alaska on the hottest day of the year.

Temperatures rise as the ice cream cools in the tent... It's desserts and puddings!

Signature Challenge: self-saucing puddings
Technical Challenge: tiramisu
Showstopper Challenge: Baked Alaska

All that plus Sue delves into the history of the Paignton pudding riot.

You can watch the programme on BBC iPlayer, or look at a gallery of the week's bakes here.

Spoilers

Star Baker: Richard Burr
Eliminated: Iain Watters

Bonus

'BakedAlaskagate', or #bingate, has caused quite a lot of controversy, with some claiming that contestant Diana Beard sabotaged Iain Watters's bake by taking his ice cream out of the freezer. The presenters and contestants both say that there was no sabotage, simply a tragic mistake. The Mirror has a live blog dedicated to the incident.

posted by dumdidumdum (10 comments total)

I adore shows like this when they are British. Example; British Masterchef is amazing, I learned how to make all sorts of interesting things, and picked up tips on how to clean fish and make a mousse...I loved that show, whereas the American version is just horrible badness. Which is a long way of saying, I really wish I could watch this. iPlayer only works inside the island's borders.
posted by dejah420 at 7:38 AM on August 28, 2014

Yeah sorry about that dejah420. I'm sure there are *other* ways of seeing the show, but in the meantime you can always youtube past series or just ogle at the picture galleries...
posted by dumdidumdum at 7:44 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

Oh dear, I've fallen down a rabbit hole of puddings. Did you know there was a riot over one of the puddings in this show? A pudding riot. My gods I miss England.
posted by dejah420 at 8:05 AM on August 28, 2014

I still think Diana was pretty shady there... even if the pudding was only out for 40 seconds, she shouldn't have brought it out.

Looks like Norman will be next for the chop? Favourites? For me its Richard, Chetna and Martha, who is ludicrously talented for a 17 year old, and yet remarkably likeable in spite of her precocious nature.
posted by Cannon Fodder at 10:59 AM on August 28, 2014

Yeah, totally uncool Diana; and to react so defensively instead of just apologising, it's sort of childish. Although I think Ian's reaction was even more so, as everyone was obviously having problems related to the heat. The Beeb's party line about 40 seconds seems very suspect, as well.

My favourites are impossible to narrow down, really. I'm not too keen on Diana (who I gather has left due to an accident and won't appear after this?) or Norman, but I like everyone else a lot.
posted by catch as catch can at 4:39 AM on August 29, 2014

He's saying that it was more than 40 seconds now. there seems to have been some sort of problem with 2 of the 5 freezers so space was short.

I wouldn't normally bring the Sun's headline to Metafilter but this morning? Baking Bad!
posted by biffa at 9:12 AM on August 29, 2014

Thing is, she may well have apologised. I agree that Diana was needlessly defensive, but I'd certainly give her the benefit of the doubt.

I tend to not like the weeks when the weather gets in the way. A dozen or so melted puddings don't grab me as much as, say, a dozen incredible biscuit sculptures.

I'm glad Martha won the technical round. She may not be as experienced or instinctual as the others, but her level of knowledge is quite astounding for such a young baker. Hope she doesn't mess up her AS-Levels because she's on the bake off.

Dare I say, I think the producers are happy to have any excuse to keep Norman in for another week or two. He's hovering around the bottom, but he is good value.

My faves are Kate and Luis (as far as anyone can claim a favourite baker when they can't taste their bakes).
posted by dumdidumdum at 7:38 AM on August 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

I have no opinion on bingate, but I am eternally grateful to dumdidumdum for bringing this series to my attention. I spent much of the weekend viewing previous episodes and am planning to increase my baking activities in the future.
posted by mogget at 12:52 PM on September 2, 2014

I shall miss the Belfast lumberjack very much. I'd be dead curious to try his seasame ice cream; he was definitely this year's experimentalist.

My initial favorite was Nancy, although she's been so cocky the past couple episodes she's on the bubble for me and I suspect well past it for others. Shades of the elderly elfin Irishman ---Brendan I think? --- in season three.

Sidebar: I got turned on to bake off b/c of a MeFi thread about last seasons' controversys and have now converted three fellow Americans and am working on a fourth. I <3 sue and Mel and their terrible jokes.
posted by Diablevert at 3:10 PM on September 5, 2014

“A Cake Scandal Hit ‘The Great British Bake Off’ And The British Are Angry,” Scott Bryan, Buzzfeed, 27 August 2014
posted by ob1quixote at 12:04 AM on September 8, 2014