After ten weeks of culinary trial and tribulations, seven valiant bakers have fallen by the wayside and with two more set to be sacrificed at the gingham altar on Wednesday night, both tears and tiers are bound to be shed. As the Bake-off draws to a close, the estimated ten-million dedicated viewers are set to be cruelly bereft of their weekly sugar-coated entertainment. No need to grieve just yet however, for there is still time to look back at the highlights Mary Berry and co. provided in the fifth series.
Happy hour:
While better known for her notorious death stare that reduces contestants to quivering children, it was Berry herself rolling back the years when confronted with Luis' Mudslide Cocktail Doughnuts. Sheer delight spread across her face and viewers were afforded a momentary glimpse into Mary Berry’s life outside of the baking world as she gulped down Luis' Irish liqueur. Mary didn’t let the potent creation go to her head however, returning to her scrutinising best to cast looks of disapproval upon Enwezor’s shop-bought fondant.
Mel’s faux pas:
Mel Giedroyc, who is often seen tucking into the best of the baker's treats, made a fatal gaffe during 'Advanced Dough' week. Mel picked up a bottle of what she believed to be fortified wine and the audience at home let out a collective cry of warning from their armchairs before witnessing her squirt cooking oil directly into her mouth. Mel was left spluttering, gagging and generally trying her best not to be sick on national television in one of the more spontaneous moments of the series.
Innuendos:
Like every previous season of The Great British bake-off, this series has had its fair share of greasing, drizzling and kneading puns. Yet this year’s competition came to be known for an escalation in double entendre. It was no surprise when Sue Perkins set the tone in the very first episode, giving the bakers “two hours to pop Mary’s cherry…in the oven and bring it out again”. It was the pause with which Perkins masterfully delivered the line that led to muffled sniggers all round.
Not without its controversy however, the supposed ‘raunchification’ sparked a record number of complaints with many enraged twitter-prudes likening the ‘constant smutty remarks’ to a Carry-on film. But it seemed a shame to sneer upon a British tradition as old as Shakespeare when the competition's oldest ever baker, 69-year-old Diana, announced to the room she was “just ganaching her buns”.
‘The Male Judge’:
Every successful television series needs its villain and Paul’s terrifying physical exterior and accusatory approach make him the perfect candidate for the job. His inscrutable pacing has been a source of constant pressure in a series already riddled with tension. There can be few things more demoralising than a contestant spending almost an hour delicately adorning their cake with finely spun sugar, piped icing and crystallised fruit only to see it destroyed in a matter of seconds without even a compliment for their trouble. Nevertheless, Nancy was able to take Paul down a notch in the most recent episode, icing her doughnuts in his likeness and dismissing him as 'the male judge'.
Half-baked Alaska:
And finally, the scandal that sparked a thousand headlines and brought a nation to its knees earning it the title ‘Bingate’. In a seemingly callous and depraved act of sabotage Iain’s baked Alaska was spoiled by his elderly nemesis Diana Beard, who took it out of the freezer when retrieving her own items. Demoralised, Iain binned his cake and presented it to the judges complete with black bin-liner. Twitter was so outraged by the turn of events that the #justiceforiain campaign shot to the top of the trends list in Great Britain in an attempt to give Diana her just desserts. The competition’s creators ignored the hype, taking the most British approach towards the ‘bincident’ possible, they mentioned Iain just twice in the following episode, kept calm and carried on.
Don't let the end of this year's bake-off spoil your appetite, visit our baking range and prepare for next season:
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Blog by Tom.