Great British Bake Off 2018 – who left Bake Off last night and who was star baker for Spice Week?
THE 2018 series of The Great British Bake Off is underway!
This week was Spice Week and the bakers rose to the challenges and produced some masterpieces. So whose creations weren't quite spicy enough and who claimed the coveted Star Baker title?
What happened during Spice Week?
Nine bakers took on the task of making spicy delights for the judges.
But who impressed Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith in the first ever Spice Week?
Here were the winners and losers of each challenge:
- Signature Bake - The first challenge was to make a family sized ginger cake. They could use any sort of ginger they wanted and they could add additional flavours - but ginger was to be the main flavour. Jon's was a little claggy according to Prue but with good flavour. Karen put too much booze in her creation and Ruby's was more of a rum cake than a ginger cake. Rahul created a cake that merited a Hollywood handshake whereas Briony's was dry with not enough ginger. Terry's cake hadn't had a chance to cool before he iced it so looked a bit of a mess and Kim-Joy make a beautiful and tasty gingerbread house which also won her a handshake. Dan made a leaning "drip" cake after a disaster during the baking and Manon made an elegant meringue ginger cake the judges loved - a third handshake!
- Technical Challenge - Paul requested a challenge he said "was all about delicate baking" - two batches of six maamoul, a delicate middle eastern pastry eaten at the end of Ramadan. They were flavoured with date and walnut and the bakers had varying results. 9th Karen, 8th Terry, 7th Jon, 6th Briony, 5th Manon, 4th Kim-Joy, 3rd Rahul and 2nd Dan, meaning Ruby finished first.
- The Showstopper challenge was to create a spiced biscuit chandelier. Just Paul was judging as Prue wasn't feeling well and didn't make it into the tent. Manon impressed Paul with her creation, right up until the biscuits started falling off, he didn't think the biscuits were spicy enough. Dan made a beautiful butterfly chandelier, Ruby went with a peacock theme. Rahul impressed again with an Indian themed bake - making 150 biscuits which may have left him running out of time, but a delicious taste. Karen's biscuits were described as "chunky" and ended up tasting of ginger. Briony's colourful decoration hid an "unusual" taste. Kim-Joy made a Christmas themed chandelier which Paul described as clever and exquisite - and he loved the taste too. Terry also attempted a Christmas bake which unfortunately he didn't get time to finish, and some of the biscuits, Paul said, were bland and overbaked. Jon's birthday chandelier was messy but Paul loved the flavour.
Where was Terry last week?
Last week Sandi announced at the beginning of the programme: "Now as you all know unfortunately Terry is not with us today because he is poorly, but with the agreement of absolutely everybody he is going to be allowed to come back next week."
Despite the announcement - which explained that the rest of the bakers had unanimously agreed to allow him to proceed to next week - many of those watching at home were confused by why the moustached-favourite Terry was missing from the tent.
This meant that Prue and Paul decided that NO-ONE would be leaving.
"The judges felt it wouldn't be fair to send someone home with Terry not being here," Noel explained.
He added that there was a "strong possibility" that two people would leave next week upon Terry's return.
Who left the tent in episode five of GBBO 2018?
It was confirmed that TWO people would be leaving the tent and after all the tasting and deliberating Paul decided that Karen and Terry's time was over.
Prue was absent during the final decision due to illness.
Karen had tears in her eyes and said it was the biggest personal achievement outside of having children and Terry couldn't speak for crying.
He said that the competition had been a focus for him after the death of his wife.
MORE ON BAKE OFF
Who was the fifth Star Baker?
Kim-Joy's attention to detail impressed the judges and she claimed the coveted title.
Before entering the tent, Kim-Joy said her mixed-heritage background is reflected in her open attitude to all styles of baking.
Her baking passion is bread and she has even turned her hand to every style and type of bread there is.
When is The Great British Bake Off on?
The Great British Bake Off 2018 started on Tuesday, August 28, at 8pm on Channel 4 and it's shown in the same time slot each Tuesday.
If you miss an episode you can catch it on All 4 and Jo Brand will be back with An Extra Slice on Friday at 8pm, also on C4.
The judges and presenters are unchanged from last year - Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood judge, while Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig as hosts.