A Total Eclipse of The Tart - The Final Count Down Bake Off 25

[GetSetFake]

Just realised we need a new thread......

I thought Tom might have got it based on tonight but Jasmine was clearly the most consistent.

What a breath of fresh air she is. Love her

Love jasmine and so glad she won. Felt very sorry for Aaron- I didn’t think Paul needed to be quite so harsh for his final ever feedback.

I was a bit disappointed with the brief for the showstoppers. Just a giant long cake which seems quite boring compared to other showstoppers.

however, am delighted for jasmine- such a consistently brilliant baker

Clever and detailed as Tom’s decoration was, as a table centrepiece I thought the height of Jasmine’s design worked better for the brief. So elegant and also dramatic.

She is a true star.

And very beautiful- she rocks it but it must take a lot to overcome all the factors that would make it hard for many of us to feel confident to go on national TV with alopecia.

It’s lovely that they all got on so well and went to Greece together!

I honestly don't know what got into Paul tonight. He was like someone who'd pranged their car on the way to work. In the finals the judges are generally positive to all contestants and are tactful about mistakes. Instead he complained across the board about the signature bakes and was really cutting about Aaron's showstopper even though Aaron looked visibly upset. He didn't come across at all well.

Jasmine was a deserving winner but for me a dull one. The bakes were well done, on time, but not that inspirational or memorable. I notice she was called up first with the showstopper and that meant they could say it looked good, which would have been a lot harder to do after seeing Tom's. But it wouldn't have been fair for Tom to win given his ups and downs. The edit seemed designed to distract us from the predictable outcome. I did enjoy the series though and as ever the 'since the show ended' sequence was lovely.

I think Jasmine was the obvious choice for the win as she's been consistently good, even coming last in the technical challenge wasnt a complete disaster (like Toby last week)

I felt really sorry for Aaron, this week didnt go well, and like pp said Paul was especially uncharitable. I also felt that Jasmine and Tom had a rapport and a bit of friendly chat etc whereas Aaron was more in the zone just trying to mitigate being behind on the showstopper - incidentally I misunderstood and thought they were being asked to make a 1.2 metre high cake!! 🤣

I think often "posh" or middle class people can often come across as more confident and assured, (even if its put on)and at ease with talking to to people - I dont always warm to them but I think thats a me problem, because actually im envious of that confidence (or the ability to fake it that well!)

I love seeing the updates of what they've been up to since filming

How did Tom get away with nobody spotting that one side of his cake was undecorated? Even some of his sponge crumb would have done the trick. I was itching for the judges to say something, but they appeared not to notice

Yes, even my dd, who hasn't watched any of it until today, said when they were gushing about how great it was and we thought he might win, 'I wonder what they'll think when they watch this back and realise he'd completely missed decorating one side?' 🤣

I thought that too.

Such a fab series and I know it is a cliche but Tim, Aaron and Jasmine were all winners to me … to make the final is incredible. I am bereft now the series has ended. Thank you to all the Mumsnetters on here for the thoughtful and entertaining comments.

I’m in awe of the talented bakers on Bake Off.
I wouldn’t know a Swiss Meringue Buttercream from a Creme Pat but enjoy seeing the creations.
What brand of food mixer was Aaron using when the bowl cracked ?
Poor Aaron. Catastrophic for him in the final.
Jasmine is amazing.
Studying and Passing her Medical exams while being in Bake Off and winning it !

Tom had a well-presented showstopper (if you ignore the undecorated side) but the base cake was weighed down by all the toppings. Add the citric acid mistake and he wasn’t going to win.
I thought that missing a basic ingredient from bread was at least as grave an error as Toby’s frangipane soup error, and he lost out for that despite a good showstopper.

Can't wait for junior bake off now. I actually prefer it.

Oh when's that on? I love it, the kids are always so funny and kind, and Liam and Rav are great.

What would you use citric acid for? Ive never come across it first baking (probably shows how basic my baking is!)

@deeahgwitch
My teen DD spent ages making a Swiss meringue buttercream for a cake, but then forgot about it and left it on the table and the cats ate it! 🤣

I've got two recipes that use it but they are both from "cheffy" cookbooks rather than home baking. One adds it to lemon curd to intensify the flavour. I've tried that but wouldn't bother again. The other uses it to make lemon milk crumbs to add interest to a layered frosted cake. That does work and they aren't the same with just lemon zest.

But it did seem very Tom to be using a cheffy ingredient and then cock it up! I wonder whether he'll pursue a career in food now. It's not always the winners who make a career out of bake off and he was very driven.

It's usually January

What brand of kitchen mixer bowl broke ?

They use KitchenAid, I think.

Jasmine was a worthy winner based in the whole series but it made for a dull finale. I didn’t actually like the caramel shards on her cake though.

I warmed to Tom more in the final than previously.

I have a soft spot for Aaron, but it was all over for him when he broke his bowl. He was never going to compete with half an hour less gah. The others.

So do I. The kids are so much more resilient. And kinder to each other.

I wonder if it was over for him when he broke his toe! He must have had a shit week and it would get in the way of practicing and totally mess with your head.

I very much enjoyed watching alongside all of you. I haven't seen the Junior version but Liam is one of my favourite contestants ever (admittedly more for his personality than his bakes). Maybe I'll see some of you again then.

Liam is great on Junior Bake Off, much more relaxed than he is on The Professionals where he's still a bit wooden.

So shall we have a JBO thread to see in the New Year?

I'm up for that @GetSetFake.

I'm glad Jasmine won. I'd have loved to see Aaron snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, but not surprised at the result. I'm sure Tom is very lovely IRL but it used to grind my gears that from the outset he addressed Paul and Prue as "you guys". Just a personal thing, but it annoys me - like a massive chocolate bees' nest floating in a sea of feathery meringues. They were a nice lot overall this year, and I'm still enjoying the Noel and Alison presenting partnership.

Have a ] lovely weekend. x