The Great British Bake Off Series 15, Episode 2 Recap

3 months ago

Here's how the bakers fared in week 2

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It’s Biscuit Week in the Bake Off tent – but who will crumble first? That’s right: it’s time for the second episode of Britain’s favourite baking show – and we still have a full batch of 12 fresh-faced bakers in the tent due to Jeff’s sickness last week. With the classic Signature, Technical and Showstopper challenges, here’s a recap of everything that happened in Series 15, Episode 2 of The Great British Bake Off. (If you haven’t caught up on episode one yet, you can find our recap of the action here.)

What Happened In The Great British Bake Off Series 15, Episode 2?

Nelly, Jeff, Gill, Sumayah, Illiyin, Georgie, Hazel, Mike, Dylan, Andy, Christiaan, John

What Was The Theme This Week?

As is tradition, The Great British Bake Off starts each season with Cake Week, followed in week 2 by Biscuit Week. ‘The bakers face the challenges of biscuit week, making Viennese sandwich biscuits in the signature challenge before making their own biscuit puppet theatre in the showstopper,’ Channel 4 summarises. First up, the Signature…

Signature Bake: Viennese Whirl

The second Signature Bake of Series 15 was a Viennese Whirl, which Prue warned sounds easier than it is. Texture is everything here: the dough needs to be soft enough to pipe, but firm enough not to crumble. And Prue wants unexpected flavours, but of course the biscuits must still taste ‘like all of heaven’. Easy peasy? Here’s how the bakers got on:

John, Irish Cream & Coffee Biscuits: Was it curse of the Star Bake for John? Nope, ‘it’s lovely,’ says Prue. That said, Paul was left with a dry mouth. Not ideal.
Jeff, ‘What’s the Matter, Are You Not Feeling Well?’ Biscuits: ‘Proper New York coffee’ from the New Yorker, says Paul. Jeff’s biscuits packed a punch and went down well with the judges.
Illyin, Pistachio & White Chocolate Viennese Biscuits: Illyin feared her pistachio flavour would get lost amid all the orange, and she was right to worry. ‘The pistachio is difficult to identify,’ Prue comments, with Paul agreeing. The swirly definition also disappeared, with Paul describing the creations as ‘more traditional biscuit than Viennese.’
Christiaan, Floral Viennese Biscuits: ‘They look really good,’ Prue declares: a good start to a great round of comments for Christiaan. ‘I think you’re quite an alchemist, it’s very interesting,’ Prue continues, while Paul notes the biscuits are ‘a bit tough’ but still ‘taste amazing’.
Georgie, Rhubarb & Custard Viennese Biscuits: ‘I don’t think they look tremendously appetizing,’ says Prue. Never a good start. With Georgie’s Rhubarb & Custard sandwiches only tasting good in one mouthful, Prue feeds back that less filling is needed to balance the flavours – and so you can enjoy it all in one big bite.
Nelly, ‘My First Dog’ Biscuits: It’s always tough when someone tries to make a biscuit look like a beloved pet, and while Prue called Nelly’s dog-face biscuits ‘cute’, Paul called them ‘messy’. That said: ‘the dough is really good,’ Prue said. ‘Melt in the mouth.’ Looks aren’t everything, eh?
Sumayah, Cheese & Blackberry Viennese Biscuits: Sumayah’s pretty swans went down a treat, with the intriguing-sounding goat’s cheese butter cream giving her whirls ‘a nice bit of sourness’ according to Paul. ‘They are so cute,’ says Prue. ‘A little triumph.’
Mike, Malted Brown Butter & Raspberry Viennese Biscuits: Featuring malt from his very own farm, it was good news for Mike’s Viennese Biscuits, too, with Prue calling them ‘melt in the mouth’ and Paul agreeing the biscuit ‘crumbles beautifully’.
Andy, ‘PB & J’ Viennese Biscuits: Gold star for Andy who was in handshake territory with his PB&J inspired biscuits. ‘Delicious,’ says Paul. ‘One of the best Vienneses I’ve had in a long time.’ Prue added that she enjoyed the treats even though she doesn’t like peanut butter – glowing feedback, indeed.
Dylan, ‘Campfire Cookie’ Viennese Biscuits: Opting for a finger rather than a whirl and involving real fire, Dylan’s Campfire inspired biscuits went down a treat. Paul described the filling as ‘silky smooth’ and the whole biscuit as ‘really good’.
Gill, ‘Two Desserts’ Viennese Biscuits: Gill’s combo of biscuits has a ‘great flavour’ according to Prue, but Paul wasn’t sold, describing the biscuits as ‘lacking in curd’.
Hazel, Coffee & Hazelnut Viennese Biscuits: It was a rocky road for Hazel, whose biscuits lost their shape in the oven – and then she ended up losing one of the 12 along the way. In the end, the biscuits turned out ‘chewy’, according to Paul. ‘There’s something missing,’ he mused. As it turns out, Hazel forgot to add the icing sugar. Oopsie daisy.

Dylan and Noel Fielding

Technical Challenge: Mint Cream Biscuits

It’s another trip to the medical tent for Jeff who feels lightheaded, but he pulls through to participate in the technical challenge this week. Set by Prue, this week the Technical challenge is to rustle up 12 mint cream biscuits – kind of like an After Eight with a buttery biscuit base. Any crumbs of wisdom? ‘The temperature probe is there for a reason,’ Prue hints. And off they go.

There are lots of moving parts here: the biscuit needs to be thin but sturdy while the chocolate needs to be tempered correctly and not too thick. But for Jeff, his lightheadedness is front of mind. ‘I’ve had enough, I just can’t do it,’ he says, wandering out of the tent with a cup of tea. It’s the end of the road for Jeff. ‘This time around just wasn’t right for me,’ he said.

So, who came out on top? Here’s the ranking:

Mike
John
Sumayah
Jill
Hazel
Christiaan
Nelly
Illiyin
Goergie
Andy
Dylan

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Showstopper: Edible Puppet Theatre

Arts and crafts time for the bakers, who are tasked with creating a biscuit scene complete with edible puppets. ‘There’s a lot of engineeringin this,’ Paul explains, sharing with viewers that gingerbreads is the ideal biscuit to use, while Prue notes caramel should come in handy. Multiple batches of multiple biscuits make this a particularly time-sensitive task. Timing is everything, in fact, to ensure the structures are sturdy and don’t collapse, but also soft enough to eat. So, who stole the show and who got stage fright?

Andy, ‘If Pigs Could Fly’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre: Middle eastern flavours went down a treat for Paul and Prue, with the cracking representing ‘an old theatre’, Andy jests. Paul likes the citrus flavours and calls the bake ‘excellent’, so it seems like Andy is safe for the week.
Christiaan, ‘Finding Home’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre: With a colour coded timed schedule, Christiaan’s time management seriously paid off, earning him a coveted Hollywood handshake. His incredibly detailed puppet theatre featured a whopping four scenes, with Paul declaring ‘that’s one of the best thing’s I’ve seen in the tent. Ever.’
Georgie, ‘Welsh Festival’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre: Hoping to do her entire home nation of Wales proud, / love the look of it, but the biscuits are underbked, says Paul. ginger biscuits are really delicious, Prue. Falvours spot on, Paul
John, ‘Welsh Adventures’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre: Based on happy memories of fresh Welsh walks, / could have done with more detail, comments paul, but the roange flavour ‘comes through lovely’. ‘beautiful,’ prue agrees
Hazel, ‘Punch & Judy’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre: Controversially opting for shortbread over sturdier gingerbread / wonky but charming, Paul / underbaked / one biscuit was’ very nice’ according to prue
Dylan, ‘Rabbit in the Moon’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre: Miso, yuzu, whisky and more Japanese flavours… struggled with time, burning some biscuits and dropping others. but his understudies // after a dramatic fall reaching for his water bottle. // ‘very interesting flavour and beautifully painted, Prue // quite tasty with the whisky, though the yzuz was hard to detect / welldone dylan
Gill, ‘The Gingerbread Man’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre: It’s a classic tale for Gill, who drew inspiration from the classic tale of the gingerbread man trying to cross a river. ‘Neat as a pin,’ says Paul. And ‘perfectly baked’.
Mike, ‘Go Farming’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre: Based on his very own farm animals, the judges were very impressed by the movement in Mike’s puppet theatre. The judges commented there was a ‘good flavour’ from the biscuits, too.
Illyin, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre: Based on a strawberry-themed date with her husband before children entered the picture, Illyin’s theatre was sadly judged in her absence after a faint, with Noel our stand-in Illyin. ‘This is horrible,’ he laughed walking up to the bench. Illyin’s flavours were good, but the judges missed the main puppets, which didn’t make it into her final scene.
Nelly, ‘Forest Dance’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre: Also based on her loving marriage – with her unborn children represented in the stars, no less – Nelly’s colourful, thoughtful theatre was praised for its ‘wonderful colours’ and ‘melt in the mouth’ biscuits. ‘The whole design is exceptional,’ Paul says.
Sumayah, ‘Enchanted Garden’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre: An impressionist painting backdropping a dancer went down a treat with the judges, who complimented Sumayah’s artistic skills. Her flavours were also described as ‘lovely’, too, despite a lemon flavour unexpectedly creeping into her cardamom biscuits.

Christiaan gets a Hollywood Handshake

Who Got Star Baker?

Sumayah got Star Baker this week after three very strong performances, showcasing delicate artistry and delicious flavours across her bakes. Curse of the star baker rings true, with John not quite living up to the standards he set last week. That said, he definitely wasn’t bottom of the pile.

Who Went Home?

Hazel went home this week after a series of rocky challenges. ‘Maybe I won’t bake puppet theatres anymore,’ she said with a smile.

Jeff also departed the tend this week during the Technical Challenge. Because Jeff was also unwell last week, a double elimination was on the cards – but his voluntary departure earlier in the show means only one person had to be picked to leave.

What’s Happening Next Week?

Bread week is back next week – with plenty of drama to boot. Doesn’t look like we will see any faints or falls this week, though. Instead, expect plenty of discussions of prove times and plaited loafs. We can’t wait.