Where There's Cake, There's Hope...Bake Off 25

[GetSetFake]

The new series starts on Tuesday 2nd September and the bakers have been named. A few weeks earlier than recent seasons, so taking us nicely from late summer through to the cosiness of autumn.

No change to the team of Paul, Prue, Noel and Alison, which I thought worked well last year - it was a warmer and kinder programme than it has been for a few years.

The usual eclectic mix of contestants, but less of an age spread than some years - a lot of 30 somethings, no-one under 20 or over 60.

Anyone else excited for this season?

The Great British Bake Off confirms return date for season 16 and reveals cast | Radio Times

Oooh Aaron - I want to eat that.

Awww that was a genuinely lovely moment with Aaron

Right decisions 😊

Congrats Jasmine !

Right decision.

Oh it probably was the right decision but I liked Pui Man. I think Aaron is going to go quite soon - despite his good showstopper this week

I fell asleep , who got kicked off?

Pui Man

So sorry to see Pui Man go. And agree they seem to be going on cumulative performance rather than just this episode. They had no criticisms of her showstopper, while others were under baked and claggy.

Tom took criticism well, I thought, he's clearly very ambitious and that was a disappointing result for him. His signature seemed ridiculously complicated but I guess they had all the time of the first prove to make the fillings so he really made the most of that.

I thought a lot of the decorations were really unappetising. That edible lace looked rank and didn't look right on the breads. And Lesley is using a lot of pre made cutters in her designs.

Not baking related but I think the tent decor is really in need of a refresh , the whole shabby chic pastels and bunting is a bit done now, it could still be a traditional style.
Also you’d think they would have air conditioning in there.
I did enjoy Tom Allen’s comment about Tom on Extra Slice when he was giving his thoughts on them all ‘yes we all know you are better than us Tom’
No hate he just very much gives the impression he has sailed through his charming life being exceptional at everything.

I’m not enjoying this series to be honest. They all seem quite mediocre.

It's always interesting to see how the ones that are strong at the start cope if they have a bad week. I think we British love an underdog and have a tendency to slightly resent the ones where it seems to come easy. I couldn't warm to Dylan last year as he was so obviously ambitious, then liked him much more when he struggled a bit later in the series. I think Jasmine and Jessika also have a similar very confident vibe, but basically it's all gone well for them so far, so it will be interesting to see how their personalities develop over the series.

Seriously? Paul is saying they are a very talented bunch. I bake along with a lot of the challenges and I am quite intimidated by the level of skill and creativity this lot are showing. Honestly, what they achieve in the time limits is incredible sometimes.

I don't think their personalities are showing as much in the past few years as they were in earlier series.

I still remember James the trainee Scottish doctor from the 3rd series. And Brenden from series 2. They're bakes were amazing but so were their personalities.

The past few years I'm hard pressed to remember any of the bakers.

Still love it for it's calmness and niceness (bit like Wimbledon).

Pui Man looked surprised to be going.

To be honest, so was I – I thought it was Nataliia and will miss her. I'm pleased that Nataliia stayed though and just hope she raises her game. Aaron is a real sweetheart and I hope he improves enough to stay for a few more weeks at least.
I thought all the monkey breads looked and sounded delicious. Most of the doughnuts were a bit of a disaster though but then who on earth would bother making their own doughnuts?
Jasmine's showstopper was truly beautiful. She's a bit of an artist. I wasn't really wowed by anybody else this week though.

Am finding Trust-fund Tom really annoying with his endless Danish granny who by the sounds of it actually owned Iceland and his annoyingly good bakes meaning he'll make it long into the competition.

The rest of them seem nice enough at least

@NormalAuntFanny😆 exactly!

Evening all! I’m not sure the family recipe for flapjacks which are done in the microwave would cut it for this. It’s a firm favourite from a recipe book of my DM’s from a microwave cookbook published when microwaves were a new fangled thing and a bit of a novelty back in the 70s.

Evening. I plan to do these flapjacks with my 5 year old. I think she will love them and kinda forgot about flapjacks

Can you share the recipe please

Would have to refer to it myself and the book is at my parents but it’s something like
250g rolled oats
50g brown sugar
50g butter
2tbsps golden syrup

add all to a bowl and put in a microwave till it’s all melted. Squish mixture into a shallow pie dish. Now I can’t remember if you bung in microwave again or you just leave to cool and set

it’s really easy and was mum’s go to for school
bake sales

Thank you

I could eat that school cake right now 😋

No worries, will confirm later in the week

@GetSetFake will you make school cake with homemade sprinkles? 😆

I like the theme this week.