It’ll be a free for all
QUARTER-FINALISTS PUT THEIR SUBSTITUTION SKILLS TO THE TEST
Channel 4, 8pm
IT’S the quarter-final of this year’s competition and it’s “Free-from” week.
That means bakers Chigs, Crystelle, Giuseppe, Jürgen and Lizzie – must master delicacies incorporating special dietary requirements, from vegan delights to gluten-free bakes. But they should taste just as delicious as the original versions.
Tonight’s signature challenge demands that each baker creates a batch of eight identical dairy-free ice cream sandwiches, making the ice cream from scratch and serving it between two perfectly baked biscuits.
They’re cheating a bit, as Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith are allowing them to use eggs, but no cream, butter or cow’s milk is allowed, meaning the bakers will have to rely on alternatives like oat milk.
So, they’ll be making biscuits, while simultaneously churning and freezing their ice cream – it’s a big ask, but there
is a sought-after place in the semi-final at stake.
After a testing technical challenge, Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding then reveal this week’s
showstopper. Paul and Prue ask for a spectacular, glutenfree two-tiered celebration cake, with intricate decoration, that must taste as good as it looks.
Gluten is found in a lot of flour, including plain flour traditionally used for sponges.
The bakers will therefore need to be imaginative when they decide which flour to use (e.g. coconut flour or rice flour), and will need to compensate for the gluten with more eggs and butter.
Paul doesn’t only insist on the cake tasting great, but he also wants the texture to be identical to a cake with gluten – no mean feat. Who will rise to the occasion?