Who Left Bake Off Last Night? Episode 5 Recap

4 weeks ago

Whose dreams will flake away?

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Another week, another episode of The Great British Bake Off. Now with four bakers sadly sent home from the famous white tent, it’s time for Pastry Week, another Paul Hollywood special. Here’s everything you might have missed in episode 5 of Bake Off series 15.

Getting ahead of yourself? Find our recap of episode four here, episode three here, episode two here and episode one here.

What Happened In The Great British Bake Off Series 15, Episode 5?

Alison, Noel, Paul and Prue (Channel 4)

What Was The Theme This Week?

Like Bread Week, Pastry Week is favoured by long-time judge Paul Hollywood, who is an expert in all things short crust, flaky pastry and pillowy choux buns – and despises the infamous soggy bottom.

‘It’s Pastry Week and the bakers tackle a frangipane tart and Paris-Brest, complete with a freestanding podium,’ Channel 4 teases. ‘Who’ll be put on a pedestal, and whose dreams will flake away?’ Let’s find out…

Signature Bake: Frangipane Tart

The bakers are first challenged to whip up a frangipane tart, the most famous being the Bakewell Tart. It doesn’t have to be a Bakewell Tart, though: the bakers are invited to experiment with their flavours. As always, there was varying success, with Christiaan’s black sesame flavours not leaving an impact and Gill’s creations putting her in the lead.

Technical Challenge: Spanakopita

Paul set this week’s challenge: a Spanakopita. This Greek pie is a classic, consisting of paper-thin filo pastry packed with spinach and feta and arranged in a spiral.

It was clear a filo challenge was on the way when Cockney baker Andy shared, ‘I hope it’s not filo’ – having never made the infamously delicate pastry before. So how did the bakers fare? It was a mixed bag with a few soggy bottoms thrown in there. Here are the technical rankings:

Dylan
Christiaan
Nelly
Sumayah
Illiyin
Georgie
Andy
Gill

Showstopper: Paris-Brest

The judges love to test their bakers’ construction skills in the Showstopper challenge, and this week was no different. ‘What even is a Paris-Brest?’, you may ask. We hadn’t the foggiest until tuning in last night.

A Paris-Brest is a French dessert consisting of a circle of choux pastry filled with cream and topped with decorations, typically toasted almonds – but the bakers were, as always, invited to present a twist on the flavours. If that’s not tricky enough, the bakers were also tasked with building a stand to hold their choux pastry creation in the air – naturally causing some collapses.

Andy’s construction tumbled and Illyin couldn’t present hers fully constructed, putting both at the bottom of the rankings, while more miraculous creations included Dylan’s impressive feat of engineering, Sumayah’s ever beautiful design skills with flavours, and Gill’s simple but effective bake. The latter even received a standing ovation from Paul. We’ve had the Hollywood Handshake and the Hollywood Pat – is the Hollywood Ovation the latest top-tier compliment in the Bake Off tent? Let’s see if it catches on…

Gill won star baker in The Great British Bake Off Series 15 Episode 5

Gill wins Star Baker (Channel 4)

Who Got Star Baker?

Gill bagged Star Baker for the first time this week, narrowly beating Sumayah to the crown. The northern baker outperformed the pack in both the Signature and Showstopper rounds – so luckily coming last in the Technical didn’t stop her bagging the coveted title.

Who Went Home?

Andy sadly left the tent this week after a series of unfortunate events left him bottom of the pile. The cherry on the cake? His Paris-Brest collapsed, putting him right in the line of fire. Illyin’s Paris-Brest also collapsed and was considered for the chopping block, but just made it out alive.

‘I’ve had such a fun time,’ Andy said upon the news. ‘I’ve had so many laughs, but that’s the standard. C’est la vie.’

What’s Happening Next Week?

It’s Autumn Week next week – we’re assuming in place of Halloween festivities.

‘It’s Autumn Week and the bakers make sweet autumn-inspired pies and transform veg into showstopping cakes,’ Channel 4 teases. ‘Who’s got their eyes on the pies, and who’ll be leaf-ing the tent?’