Great British Bake Off

Except for the lady who lives in France are they all England based ???

After over nine months of living in my new house without a cooker, my darling dad has treated me to a new one and so I might have one installed in time for the first programme of the new series next Wednesday. New bake ware to order too then, lovely.

Any excuse?

Well I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode although Sue and is it Mel get on my nerves, but otherwise it is such easy viewing.

Mary was a bit croaky poor thing, Paul looked porky but those blue eyes are enough to melt a girl's heart.

SPOILER for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. Desperately sorry for the contestant with with the melted cake, glad she wasn't voted off.

I virtually wailed out loud when that poor girl took the silicone sleeve off the cake and it just collapsed in a mess. So sorry for her and yes, so pleased it didn't cost her her place.

I really felt for her, but at least she didn't chuck it in the bin like the guy with the baked Alaska in the last series! I think they voted the right one off. He was out of his depth from the start. And his hat was very annoying!

Glad to know the 'crack' on my Madeira is meant to be there!

That's reality TV for you - they let you see the failures as well as the successes. My jaw dropped a mile when that poor woman's cake spilled over the side of the tin. I thought Sue came into her own when she consoled her and persuaded her to carry on.

DH was over the moon when (his words) the T**t with the Hat was the first to go

All bets are off as there has been a suspected leak in the Ipswich area.

The innuendo was fabulous last night though!

My DH was also very pleased to see him go. I don't know whether he found the hat or the attoos more annoying

Last year's winner, Nancy Birtwhistle, is writing a column commenting on the current series of GBBO in the DT. She said something about the girl whose cake collapsed having used gelatine in her mousse, and if you put anything gelatine based in a fridge, it has the opposite effect to setting it, which is why it collapsed. We live and learn!

Not heard that before Greyduster. I'm sure I have used gelatine and put things in the fridge. A common or garden packet of jelly has gelatine in it and that is always put in the fridge and sets perfectly well.

I'm afraid Nancy has made a mistake here. Of course you can put gelatine based things in the fridge. The mistake was that the temperature of the gelatine liquid was too high. You have to careful about that. Then things will not set.
You can see that baking cakes does not always qualify you for writing a column on baking, better take somebody who has studied it.

Nancy actually said in her breakdown of this years first episode that you can't put gelatine in the freezer. Would that make sense Margaret ?

AS to the show. I couldn't watch it. Living in Germany near to the Black Forest where every BlackForest cake is baked to the old traditional recipie, both in Cafés and in private homes, I watched as they made various chocolate messes and was glad I did not have to eat a piece out of any of them. A BF cherry cake is always decorated after 24 hours. and has NO icing on it-only cream and shredded chocolate. And of course black cherries which ripen late in summer.
What they baked were gooey English chocolate cakes.
The man with the hat could not bake it was obvious from the beginning.

A cake that has been made with gently heated gelatine can be put in the freezer after it has set, for instance the left overs-if any! But it is never the same. I still think the gelatine was too hot. I have made this mistake myself and on the packet it always warns you.
I think that the heavy mess of chocolate was too heavy for the amount of gelatine she used. You don't need gelatine for a Black Forest chocolate cake.
I could give you the oringinal recipie but it would take half a page and takes a long time to make. DD1 makes a wonderful one and I wish for it every year for my birthday.

My mistake. Having read it again she did say it looked as if she had put it in the freezer, not the fridge. I've never used gelatine so can't comment.

Does anyone actually eat Black Forest gateau anymore? It seems to be one of those desserts that people seem to swerve as it is a bit, er, seventies? (Dons tin helmet and retreats behind sofa!)

Very retro, Greyduster. Now does that mean it's out of fashion or in fashion? Same goes for prawn cocktail and such delicacies as chicken in the basket. The very thought of BFG puts a couple of pounds on me instantly.

I thought it was a strange choice as I assume a couple of the contestants probably do not use or drink alchohol, and surely one of the main ingredients is Kirsch.I suppose Cherry juice would do but not really traditional. Then again when they bake traditional stuff they seem to get told it is boring.
Wondering wether to watch now as the cat seems to have been let out of the bag regarding the winner perhaps ???

Although I do not make BFG I would occasionally like to have a piece! But not a bought frozen one! We still like many things which could be called old fashioned - lemon meringue , crumbles of all varieties and things like bread and butter pudding. The older recipes tend to have ingredients which are easily available in most places. As to the comment about alcohol - we drink very little but I use a good bit in cooking - great flavours and the alcohol content goes during the cooking process leaving just the flavour - except for Christmas cakes when dosed regularly from the brandy bottle after cooking!!

I think that I must be a bit GBBO 'd out as was slightly bored last night which surprised me as I have always so enjoyed the programme?

Those who do not drink alchohol sometimes do not even want to touch it, I worked with an excellent chef who would ask someone else to measure it into sauces etc, and ask another chef to taste it.
I did find it a bit strange when first working with him to hear, 'F' can you get that bottle of Red and put half of it into that pot.
I learned a lot from him, perhaps by tasting for him.

I suppose when we bake a cake we want something to put in front of our families. It doesn't have to be an experince. or a non-experience which is then called boring.
This attitude fostered by the BBC to make everything from cooking a bit of salmon to baking a cake into a competition with others is flawed. It would be better if the whole bunch of them would set up a buffet together and see how good that was and then invite some asylum seekers in to enjoy it. Then it would not be the waste of time and money that GBBO is.