Contains Spoilers for this episode!!

Crisis averted! If you read my reaction to last week’s episode, you know that, when I choose a contestant as my favorite, it typically dooms that contestant to an early failure. My husband says I’m like a sniper in the trees outside of the tent, choosing my favorites. I was really afraid, in the first two challenges, that my curse was going to work its cruel magic again. It was not looking good for Pui Man! What the heck even happened to her caramel in the technical?! (Paul taking one look at her poor disintegrating hobnobs and just going “whot??!”, lmao.) But wow, did she ever pull it back in the Showstopper. That recreation of the floating restaurant in Hong Kong was incredible, flawless, and the judges raved about the “beautifully spiced” gingerbread and the way that it snapped. (Personally, I don’t care for cookies that “snap,” but, whatever.) I was so pleased to see her finally earn such stellar feedback.

Speaking of the showstopper, what kind of a crazy challenge was that? A 3D, functioning time “capshoole” box containing five mementos to represent a time in their life: who comes up with this stuff?!

This was the kind of challenge that makes me think about what I would make if I were on the show (if I had any sort of baking talent whatsoever). Do you ever do that? For a “time capsule” challenge, I’d probably try to build a gingerbread model of my house, which is a super cute brick split-level with a gambrel roof, and then for the mementos I’d make one each to represent my husband and kids: a teapot for my tea-loving husband, a copy of Charlotte’s Web for my five-year-old, a toy hedgehog for my four-year-old, a MagnaTile for my two-year-old, and maybe like a onesie for my youngest, who is two months old and doesn’t have any particular hobbies or interests yet. What would you guys make??

It was a tough challenge, but everyone did really well, I mean even the ones who got poor feedback (Toby, Aaron) did pretty well. Aaron’s cherry blossom decorations looked beautiful, with that sakura cherry buttercream, how clever. Although, I lol’d when Paul opened it and pulled out the “memento” cookies, which were, hm, not so beautifully decorated, and Paul goes “whot the hell is that?!” “that ain’t no scroll!” Ahh, I’m so sorry Aaron, but that was hilarious.

Toby didn’t do great this challenge either, but they did say that his chocolate-orange treasure chest looked amazing. It was a lot of ups and downs for Toby this episode. Toby, who’s my husband’s favorite because he has what my husband describes as a likeably “redneck” or “trailer park” vibe (husband’s words, not mine; don’t @ me), is one of my favorites as well, because I like his flavor ideas thus far. As you know, his cake in last week’s episode was my choice of “Dessert I’d most like to eat,” and this week I very nearly awarded him that honor again for his banana peanut slice & bake cookies with honey and cinnamon – unfortunately, both judges commented that the flavors didn’t really work out.

And speaking of the signature challenge: slice and bake! This was a good choice of challenge, and fun to watch, although I wished Pui Man’s had worked out. When Noel was chatting with her and asked her if she had ever managed to finish it in time while practicing at home, and she was just like “no” – lol. The way Noel completely didn’t know what to say to that, for once, and just decided to stop the joke there and walk away.

Aaron’s was the cutest this challenge, with the little baby face! He nailed it. And I was lol’ing again at Alison and Paul’s little back-and-forth about Aaron’s cookies here: her observation about the chocolate mishap on the bottom, and the absolute disgusted “wtf” look that Paul gave her. Bewildered Paul was like a theme this episode, and I’m here for it. The whole joke about the one-eyed “Noel” cookie had me dying, too, especially the way they just kept showing it again and again. And Leighton’s orange slices with chocolate ganache dip looked and sounded amazing, and got great reviews from the judges!

Which, I was completely confused when they sent Leighton home!?! Why?? He didn’t do so badly in the showstopper; it seemed like the judges gave him, like, I’d say approximately a B- for his gingerbread piano, which was underbaked but they said was delicious. Yeah, he was tenth in the technical (“did you pipe through a hose??”), but his signature was one of the best. So I really don’t see why he got sent home rather than Aaron, who was eighth in technical and did badly in the showstopper, or Toby, who although he won the technical, did mediocre in the signature and received probably the worst feedback in the showstopper. I don’t know, something’s not adding up for me, here. I really like Aaron and Toby – Aaron’s probably one of my favorites after Pui Man, and Toby did make “the perfect hobnob” in the technical, which, maybe that carried him through – but it seemed like Leighton deserved to stay.

Nataliia was impressive again this episode. Her cake slice cookie box with a functioning drawer was awfully ambitious; it’s unfortunate that the roof caved in. But I’d still eat it. And she came in third in technical, too! I really think she is one to watch.

I still think Tom’s going to be the winner this season, though. He got a handshake for his showstopper – and right after Paul said that his handshake was on holiday. That little cottage did look incredible, with the flickering light inside and everything.

This is starting to get long, so before I go I’ll just mention that I’m starting to really like Lesley and Nadia, as well. Nadia’s tomato macarons in the showstopper sounded so cool! Paired with limoncello cookies: what a bright and unexpected way to represent her Italian culture. And she came in second in the technical. It was too bad she went with matcha in the signature, otherwise I bet that avocado cookie would have been delicious. And Lesley – I don’t know, she just seems like a lovely person, it makes me happy when she’s on the screen. Who are y’all’s favorites so far?

“Claggy” count: 0 (running total: 2)

“Concertina” count: 0 (running total: 1) (I guess it’s kind of hard for a cookie to be claggy or to concertina.)

High point: Pui Man’s comeback!

Low point: Poor Aaron’s showstopper not working out. I feel like Paul was too hard on him for that bridge breaking. It didn’t completely ruin the effect.

The dessert that I would most have liked to eat: Honestly, give me some of those bad hobnobs. Any of them; like, Leighton’s looked good to me. I know they were a technical “failure,” but personally think an extra soft and chewy oat cookie loaded with way too much caramel and chocolate on top sounds a heck of a lot tastier than something thin, dry, and crunchy.

Leave me a comment!

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Caution: SPOILERS ahead for this episode, also for series 12 and 15 of the same show!

The Bake-Off is back! Finally. It feels like it’s been a long wait, doesn’t it? I’ve been craving this show for months, and this premiere hit the spot. I’ve been watching this show since 2017, and it is truly the OG baking competition show, the one that got me started watching all the rest of them.

The sixteenth season: I really feel like this show has aged well. It’s become self-aware without losing any of its authenticity; the 2025isms (“Prue is low-key savage”, all the jokes about Paul’s blue eyes, etc.) don’t feel out of place; the aesthetic hasn’t changed, but also hasn’t become dated; unlike so many shows that do not age well, it has managed to not become a parody of itself.

At the same time, it’s sad to me to see how old the show has gotten. Paul and Noel are both looking older. When Paul eventually retires, the Bake-Off simply won’t continue. How could it? Like him or not (and I do like him; I think the attitude is just a part of his job), he really is GBBO.

But it’s not time to worry about that yet. Another season begins, and I think this is going to be a good one. The editing in this episode was on point; my husband and I were laughing a lot; and, at this stage, there’s no obvious winner right out the gate (looking at you, Giuseppe in series 12), which raises the suspense level.

However, this episode was also tragic for me:

Over the years, my husband and I, while watching this show together, have observed a trend: the contestants that I pick early on as my personal favorites tend to be the ones who end up going home in the first few episodes. It’s become a running joke: my blessing is like a death sentence; my selection of “favorite” is a curse. And I’m afraid that, this episode, my cursing power was stronger than ever.

During the Swiss roll Signature challenge, when they were introducing Hassan and his creation, my stupid little ears perked up. Chocolate, coffee, and caramel: definitely the best flavor choices this challenge. And additionally, for his decorative inlay design, he chose blue roses. “Blue roses,” he said, “are a symbol of achieving the impossible.” If you know me, you know I was cheering for him from this moment, because I have a thing about blue flowers and their symbolism. Plus, Hassan seemed like a really likeable guy. But! I dared not speak aloud that I had chosen him as my favorite, lest I curse him. I kept my mouth shut.

And then!! Holy cow! The disaster that ensued! My husband and I were cry-laughing as poor Hassan tried to like knead the leaking gloppy chocolatey mess into some semblance of a Swiss roll shape. It still tasted amazing, apparently, but it was basically just a pile of broken cake and filling, heartbreakingly topped with some chocolate curls. (“He decorated the corpse,” my husband remarked.) Hassan then came in 10^th in the Technical, and in the Showstopper, Paul said his bamboo scene looked “like a bad dream,” which had me once again cry-laughing, because apparently Paul’s worst nightmares are about landscapes of stumpy, awkward bamboo stalks.

What else? There are so many contestants, this early in the game, that it’s hard to talk about how cool everyone is and every noteworthy thing that happened without rambling on for like 3,000 words, so I’ll try to keep it concise.

Nataliia was certainly a highlight of this episode! I did think it was interesting that Nataliia chose to do such an incongruous combination of flavor/decor in her Swiss roll: a traditional Ukrainian design for the inlay, with tropical passion fruit and mango flavors inside?! Hassan did the same thing, a Japanese landscape with a pumpkin spice cake inside! Weird; I feel like, if this were the Food Network Baking Championship, the judges would have dinged them for something like that. But, Prue and Paul didn’t seem to care.

Then Nataliia came in third in the technical, and her chocolate-cherry-rum “map of Ukraine” cake was, according to Paul, “a special cake” and “stunning.” Good for her!

And then she won!? Honestly, I was expecting either Tom or Iain to be star baker this episode. Even though he came in last in the technical, his blueberry mascarpone Tartan-patterned Swiss roll was phenomenal, and his Icelandic waterfall landscape cake in the Showstopper looked and sounded incredible. He’s one to watch for sure. Iain also killed it in both the Signature and Showstopper. That artwork of his university on the inlay of his Swiss roll was insane! Contestants with fine arts skills always go far in this show (thinking about little Sumayah last year). And then, the beach design on that chocolate stout/blackberry cream cheese cake, dang! So, I was sure it would be one of these two dudes. I was surprised when they called out Nataliia. But then I looked back on the episode and yeah, she really was the most consistently good, and then her showstopper was next-level, so, the win was well-deserved! I really like Nataliia and would love to see her win the whole thing.

Two IDK LOL moments that were peak TV: Pui Man randomly putting rosewater in her fondant fancies in the technical, for no reason at all. When Paul asked why she did that, she was just like: “I don’t know,” lol. I can relate. Also, Nataliia telling Noel during their little chat session that she “didn’t know” what her husband was good at, hahaha. Noel Fielding is such a blessing to this show.

I like so many of the contestants this year but I’ll try and wrap this up. A couple final observations. Iain looks like Puck from The Sandman season two. He’s like a sneaky little baker elf (what kind of magic spell did he cast to get that cake to stay together after it collapsed in the showstopper?!), and I think he might win the whole thing. My husband and I both really liked how they did the technical this episode; letting the contestants see and taste the finished fondant fancy, and giving them more ingredients than they needed to use, made it really fun to watch (those ground almonds were a trap!). This episode also taught me what myxomatosis is, as my heart broke for Leighton’s poor little decorative sheep. Also, there was a whole lot of lemon in the Signature, did you notice that? Five out of twelve Swiss rolls were lemon!

And before we go, can we talk about Pui Man? She somehow managed to make matcha taste amazing in the Signature! That takes a crazy amount of skill. And this was right after she said in conversation that she “doesn’t eat sweets” – lolwut?! Ma’am? You don’t like sweets? As a contestant on GBBO? This girl is quickly becoming my favorite, hahaha – no, wait, I take that back!! I never said that. She’s not my favorite. I don’t have a favorite!

“Claggy” count: 2

“Concertina” count: 1

My high point: Everything Pui Man did.

My low point: Drag king? Eww. Poor taste. This show’s supposed to be family-friendly. Surely there’s some other element of her life that they could have chosen to showcase.

The cake that I would most have liked to eat: Toby’s PB&J Showstopper cake, with browned butter sponge, white chocolate, strawberry jam and praline. If you know me, you know I’m all about peanut butter desserts, and I always love when a contestant goes for the PB&J theme on this show, because it’s not exactly a common flavor combo in the UK.

My official prediction for winner: Tom, with runners-up Iain and Nataliia – but, as I observed earlier, it’s hard to say, at this point! Jessika, Lesley, and Aaron also seem like potential champions.

What do you think?? I don’t usually beg for comments (or even allow comments on most of my junk, lol) but leave me a comment!

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