Great British Bake Off, who will win??!

[honeybeeridiculous]

Are we still loving GBBO?? Who is your favourite to win? I change my mind every week, love Mel and Sue tho!!

The Food Standards Agency has this to say on the matter

"‘Dairy free’ was the most widely used and understood term. It was understood to refer to the absence of both milk and products derived from milk, such as butter, yoghurt and cheese, although some mistakenly thought that such products were also free from eggs."

While there is no EU wide legislation on the matter the FSA seems to consider that eggs are not dairy.

But mignonette I am no sophisticate. I prefer my puddings spongy, which unfortunately means my waistline follows suit .

I do think it paid lip service to the broad, interesting and creatively challenging task of baking these products. I'm surprised they didn't end up with five carrot cakes! Whether it was the editing or drip feeding i do not know but it was a muddled episode for me and I am increasingly scpetical (and cynical) about this series.

Nigella has a lovely recipe for Courgette Cake in 'How to be a Domestic Goddess'. There is a book on vegetable baking by Harry Eastwood that is contemporary and good.

I love Pumpkin and other squash in cakes and the American cake blogs are stuffed with recipes for bakes with these at this time of year.

I'm not a fan of those overly decorated 'theme' cakes anyway. All that 'Planet Cake' type decor with ten tons of fondant on it and a very ordinary cake underneath. That is style over substance.

Lazy Me too. I like sponge puddings. I made an apple sponge with Calvados and Toffee sauce last night. Yum. It is basically a Madeira sponge with apple in and the sauce over the top.

Doesn't vegan mean no animal derived rennet too? I think if you are vegan gelatin etc is also not allowed.
I don't think enough professional chefs/cooks etc understand this.
I have a coeliac friend and he is frequently told that vegetable dishes are fine for him when in many places they bulk up mashed potato with flour.
[this is all very off topic].

Back on the topic, I think Ruby will win but I'm not enjoying this series very much. I really disliked Kimberley at first then started getting very suspicious of the editing. I also thoroughly disliked Mary being told to bitch it up by the producers in the last episode. It didn't suit her at all and felt fake and weird.

Regardless of how people used to use the term, it was a silly thing for a chef to say. He should know that eggs are not dairy.

Echo Yes it does. And no they certainly don't. Actually - I think mainly they don't care.

Krispy Kremes are made with potato flour apparently Echo.

I was told that Red Bull is not Vegetarian and have three veggie stepchildren who drink it!

I wouldn't dream of drinking Red Bull - but why isn't it vegetarian? Does it contain rennet? I don't see how - isn't it just a fizzy drink? I don't actually even know what it is really - but now I'm intrigued...

According to their website Red Bull is not only vegetarian but also vegan being made completely from chemicals.

I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole though!

Thanks for that- I did wonder.
I too think it is poison but I know a lot of YA's have it in these alcoholic concoctions

I did hear that it originally contained meat products.

Apparently it originally contained Taurine synthesised from Bull Bile. tjis is now synthetically produced. Neither options make me think 'Yum' though!

Re the debate about why people are judging on women's looks and this isn't done with the men.

Erm it is. I remember the thread last year which had loads of lusting after James, comments about his clothes etc. All equally irrelevant.

Ruby seems like the best baker. I've enjoyed watching all of them, but for me, this series hasn't had enough Mel n Sue. Love love LOVE Mel n Sue.

Last year I was mainly interested in The One Who Looked Like Charles Widmore (or Jim Robinson if you're more of a Neighbours person).

GBBO does seem to be good at casting bakers who are lookylikeys for minor celebrity actors who have appeared in the Dr Who universe (Charles Widmore/Jim Robinson was in an episode of Torchwood).

Didn't Alan Dale play Jim Robinson?

Ignore! was that his character in LOST

Becca did a special cake for SSAFA. I made it but it didn't look like hers www.ssafa.org.uk/news/2013/09/24/beca-bake-off-big-brew-up I want her to win she is luffly

mignonette your apple pudding and sauce sounds divine. Any chance of a recipe? .

Russians so who is this year's baker-who-looks-like-a-minor-celebrity-actor-from-DrWho-or-Torchwood?!

I'm uncertain now who will win as there seems to be an editing bias towards Ruby, but I do wish she would grow a pair about her food! Are they doing this to throw us off the scent though? (I have been giving this too much thought I fear.)

I think it might go in the order of the last technical bake which was Ruby, Kimberly, Francis, Becca, Christine. Pleased to see a ladies final - though I did like Howard (& Glenn grew on me though I did think he & Becca thought they were hi-larious when they really weren't!)

Lazy I kind of made it up but I'll have a go at explaining. It is basically an Eve's Pudding-

125g / 4oz butter
125g / 4oz sugar
2 eggs
125g / 4oz self-raising flour
500g /1lb apples (cookers are best)
50g-100g sugar (to taste and according to sweetness of apples)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy
Add the eggs and flour and mix together thoroughly
Grease the baking dish you are using with a little butter
Peel and slice the apples after you have made the sponge because this stops them sitting about and getting brown
Arrange the apples in the bottom of the baking dish and sprinkle them with a tablespoon of Calvados, Brandy or even Rum if you like.
Sprinkle with sugar
Spoon the sponge mixture over the top of the apples
Bake in the oven until for 40 minutes or until the sponge is set and golden brown on top

I made a basic Caramel/Toffee sauce from this recipe that I use all the time. I am sure you know from GBBO not to stir the sugar and water mix once you have placed them in the pan.

Serve with poured over caramel.

Another way also if you have an apple glut is to cook down sliced apples with sugar to taste, a spoon of Vanilla Paste and the Calvados. When they are soft and starting to fall apart cool them. I then make a sponge or Madeira and the caramel sauce and serve these three together. They are also gorgeous with slices of French toast or Rice Pudding. The apple puree freezes for three months too.

Lazy It was the plasmavore (Christine - an Ann Reid lookylikey). See earlier in the thread (or possibly the other thread).

mignonette thank you, sounds wonderful. I may have a go at the weekend.

Russians I don't watch Dr Who so will have to google that. I definitely thought she looked like Anne Reid. In fact I'm sure she was a walking Victoria Wood character played by Anne Reid. And Howard was created by Alan Bennett.

I hope it works well for you Lazy. Am bit nervous now . Recipe writing is so much more difficult than it appears.

I think it'll work. Have just knocked up some chocolate muffins so I really should lay off more baked goods this weekend but it sounds too delicious to resist. Why can't I be like DH - you offer him a cake and he'll say "No thanks, I'm not hungry". Gah, I don't have to be hungry to eat cake and that's why I'm bursting out of my jeans and he's not.