Bake Off’s best bites
Our fondant farewell to show
IT’S the moment millions of Great British Bake Off fans have both looked forward to and dreaded.
The excitement around who will be crowned winner in Wednesday night’s final is matched only by the anger that this will be the last “proper” series before the show moves to Channel 4 – minus Mel, Sue and Mary.
So it’s fair to say the contestants s won’t be the only ones shedding a tear this week.
Looking back at all the baking triumphs and teary disasters, here’s our baker’s dozen – the highlights from GBBO’s seven heavenly years.
“Poor Howard” trended worldwide on Twitter in series four after a mix-up saw bespectacled Howard left with dodgy custard. His perfect Crème Anglaise had been accidentally usedd by rival baker Deborah, whose trifle looked infinitely better as a result. Nice guy Howard didn’t bear a grudge. .
Never before has a Baked Alaska caused such a stooshie. It appeared as if baker Diana had left fellow contest- ant Iain’s Baked Alaska out the freezerr in series five, turning it into a soggyy mess. That was far from the full story – but Iain binned the cake and stormed out in the biggest huff ever.
Mel and Sue are reassuring and d comforting but a helping hand by y Mel in series four had a disastrous effect. She toppled Frances’s signature bake, the biscuit tower crashing and crumbling. The contestant proved she was made of stern stuff, though, going on to win the series.
Tears are as much of a part of the Bake Off recipe as flour and eggs. Every series has seen sobbing, with series four student Ruby just one who was regularly a soggy mess. Dorrit shed bucketloads last year and poor Benjamina was in floods after missing out on this year’s semi- final but it was Nadiya who really did it when she won in 2015. Her emotional speech had the nation, and even Mary Berry, blubbing.
John Waite may have won series three but not without two major mishaps. He accidentally put salt rather than sugar in his rum babas,
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EVERY year, Bake Off has risen to the challenge.
From laughing at Mel and Sue’s incredible innuendos to crying with the contestants as they’re forced to ditch disastrous desserts, I’ve again found myself drawn in to the cutesy
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leaving an aghast Paul warning Mary against eating any. And it looked like his days were numbered when he sliced his finger open and couldn’t finish his bakes – but it was decided to send no one home.
Stormin’ Norman Calder, from Buckie, may not have been as successful as James Morton or Flora Shedden but he delighted viewers. Whether admitting he thought pesto was exotic while defending his simple style or teaching Sue semaphore, the former merchant seaman was always great telly.
Luis Troyano bowled over baking superstar Mar y Berry in series five with his rum- infused cocktail doughnuts, ranging from raspberr y mojitos to chocolate mudslides.
“Why are we bothering with the doughnuts?” jo k e d Ma r y as she sipped on the Baileys filling through a straw. world of bunting and baking.
And the current series has proved the icing on the cake.
The showstoppers are some of the best we’ve ever seen, the entrants a little more endearing and Mary’s blazers a little more bizarre.
Whatever happens next, it’s clear why viewers keep coming back for an extra slice.
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Burly firefighter Mat Riley got his fingers burnt in series six, when he somehow accidentally put his icing in the ov e n instead of into the freezer. His Tennis Cake technical bake trauma spelled an end to his time on the show – but not before it caused much amusement, especially coming from a man who should have known the difference between hot and cold.
Viewers went nuts when a talented squirrel and his remarkably large bits sent the internet into a meltdown. Sue warned viewers they were in for an eyeful before the 2011 final, tweeting: “. Trust me, they are anatomically DAZZLING. Enjoy.”
Mary’s jazzy jackets saw her
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become the talk of Twitter. From floral fancies to perfect pastels, by series three Ms Berry had swapped her characterless cardigans for beautiful bombers. Fans fell in love with the fabulous fashionista.
It would take something special to beat Paul Jagger’s roaring success - a lion head made entirely of bread from last year’s series. Even Paul Hollywood said he wouldn’t have attempted it. Paul’s King of the Jungle got a special commendation – but failed to see him crowned star baker.