Steven makes Bake Off rivals crumble... again
TALENTED Steven Carter Bailey is the clear favourite to win The Great British Bake Off after he was crowned star baker for the second week running.
While other contestants were left with crumbs of praise in biscuit week, judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith found little to criticise in his three creations.
Steven, 34, now leads the pack after a signature test which saw him produce 24 Amoretti-infused dark chocolate and coffee cream biscuits, described as “perfect”.
Although he stumbled trying to serve up a dozen fortune cookies in the technical challenge, viewers last night saw him deliver a dazzling showstopper to leave him streets ahead in the race for the Bake Off crown.
Exceptional
Steven’s chocolate and gingerbread chess set called Check Bake, featuring a Union Jack coloured spiced-orange biscuit base and 32 3D biscuit pieces, each with a different fondant top, was a triumph and described as “exquisite” by Paul.
He added: “That’s exceptional. The work that you have on top is sublime. It’s very delicate. You have a great bake. You have a great tasting gingerbread. It’s very clever.” Prue labelled it a “little masterpiece”.
Marketing executive Steven, from Hertfordshire, followed up last week’s triumph with another powerhouse display to leave his rivals quaking in their boots.
Meanwhile, cancer survivor Chris Geiger said eviction from the tent was a price worth paying after he became the second to go from the Channel 4 show.
He beat non-Hodgkin lymphoma in his 20s and the brave Bristolian has become an inspiration to thousands of people who have been struck down.
The software developer’s book of morale-boosting stories about battling the disease has earned him high praise from sufferers.
Putting disappointment into perspective, Chris, 50, said: “It has been lovely to receive so many messages from cancer patients. The letters are so moving that when we read them my wife and I are sobbing away like a couple of babies.”
Chris slumped to bottom of the class after three bakes.
His chocolate, chia seed biscuits with whisky caramel were described as “too much”, while judge Prue could predict the future before she had even tasted his fortune cookies.
Of Chris’s claggy offerings, she said: “I don’t think they ever got to the oven, did they? Raw batter is not much fun.”