51 Thoughts I Had Watching GBBO - Series 7 Episode 7

1. This week, it's dessert week. When I think of desserts, I think mousses. I think black forest gateau (to this I say "bleuuugh" but it's apparently a British favourite). I think pavlovas..

   

   *swoons*

2. Sue Perkins announces the first challenge of the week with a cheeky eyebrow movement: a filled, sweet, spongy roulade.
3. The bakers all sound like they know what they're talking about when it comes to roulade-making... we'll see.
4. Did the BBC just...edit to make it look like Selasi was smiling over at Benjamina?
5. Selasi is delivering us (ok, the judges) a strawberry and lemon roulade with a cream filling and lemon curd. Deeee-licious.
6. "I'm hoping there'll be no crack whatsoever" - Mary Berry 2k16
   
7. Nutmeg is going into Tom's Millionaire Shortbread roulade. He's reacted to Sue's subsequent marriage proposal with an awkward, terrified smile. Doesn't seem promising, Sue.
8. Ay-ay-ay! A Pina Colada roulade from Benjamina. It's going to be filled with a pineapple and rum puree and have coconut and cherries on top with a cutesie teeny umbrella on the top.
9. oh yes THERE IT IS. The Mary Berry wink, back to delight us all. Of course this happened after alcohol was mentioned.
   
10. Banana and a passionfruit curd for Andrew's bake. Paul approves. 
11. Tom's using a hand-powered tiny pink fan to cool something. Selasi is amused.
12. Classic white chocolate and raspberry combination for Candice's bake, mmmmm. Some passionfruit curd in there too.
13. Oooh Tom's sponge is a bit flat, he says. He's re-making it! Praying he has enough time for this.
14. Oi oi, I hear a Mary Berry lurking. Jane's putting hazelnut liqueur into her chocolate sponge roulade.
15. Can Selasi have his own show please?
16. Even Mel's getting flustered (at him "spreading cream") and she's meant to be a composed professional...or so I thought.
17. Rollin' time. Candice's roulade is looking mighty fine...
    
    ...whilst Tom is trying to dress up his "informal" a.k.a. "messy" roll with a mass of chocolate spread.
18. tense music tense music tense musiiiic
19. spooky results musiiiiic
20. ...Ok, Jane's up first in the judging for this first challenge. Paul's being fussy about the number of rolls (there's only one) as well as the heaviness of the alcohol. Mary, of course, loves it.
21. Benjamina has been told she aced the textures but P-dawg ain't sure about the pineapple flavour. She did well though, I'd say.
22. Anytime Paul starts a sentence with "Interesting that you..." I feel an overwhelming sense of dread. He's worked out that Tom is trying to hide his hellish roll with the choc spread. Tasted great but its looks weren't a hit.
23. Candice's bake, while it looks perfect, isn't. "Quite dense" "a bit rubbery" oh sacre bleu
24. Mary and Paul like Andrew's bake quite a bit. Selasi's 'Summer Picnic Roulade' delighted them too.
25. Now:
    
    The bakers have to make four layers of something...with praline buttercream and ganache "and the whole thing covered in nuts". A 'marjolaine' cake.
26. I'm not sure what's going on. Everyone's making and spreading this white meringue type thing around in a tin and I don't know what it is, it sounds French
27. Praline-making is now occurring. Ah oui oui le history lesson de Mel and Sue, they're in France meeting a confectioner. What a job - not only do they get to commentate in the Bake Off Tent but they get to go around the world interviewing people about tasty foods..and then tasting them.

    

    Benjamina making epic progress

28. Bless Andrew, he's never seen a marjolaine before (who has) and so he's basically just hoping and praying that he's making something that looks remotely like what Paul and Mary want.
29. The bakers are now filling in the stripes with green (probably pistachio) and pale nuts.
    
30. Selasi: dacroise a little bit chewy, looked great though. Andrew: very good. Tom: a bit chewy. Candice: "fairly neat".
31. Selasi last. Third: Benjamina. Second: Candice. First: Andrew!
32. Paul reckons Tom, Jane, Selasi, and maybe even Candice could be in trouble. So Andrew and Benjamina have got the thumbs up so far.
33. 24 mini mousse cakes = Challenge Numero 3. So one of the desserts I thought of before this episode came up! Sort of. Gosh how are we not going to get another series of Mel and Sue being this hilarious
34. Jane is making mousses in an insane amount of flavours. All you need to know is coffee and fruit are involved and they sound scrummy. She's got the fighting attitude too, g'wan Jane.
35. OMG so I have to stress one of Benjamina's: Apple Crumble Mousse Cake. DO YOU READ
36. ok ok ok hold the phone. Selasi has taken the lead in the recipe race: Lemon, Raspberry and Passionfruit / Chocolate and Mint mini mousse cakes. Does anyone know if it's legal to marry food yet
    
37. Oh bl**dy hell of course Tom's making a 'Hipster Picnic'. He is 'hipster' personified. Carrot for one batch and apple pie flavours for the other.
38. Candice sounds very stressed. She's making a raspberry liqueur batch and a chocolate and mint batch. If she pulls this off they'll look and taste wunderbar.
    
39. Tom's got his teeny pink wind-up fan out again. He can't resist.
40. Andrew's mini mousse cakes sound gorgeous! Inspired by ice cream, one batch will be mint choc chip and one will be forest fruit. "Ambitious" says Mary. Well, that's how you impress at this stage in the game.
41. Jane is looking round the tent like a frightened deer. She reckons she's left gelatine out of something...that could come back to haunt her very shortly.
42. Tom is also not having a great time. Oh Selasi oh nooooo his mousses haven't set at all. I think the resident Bake Off hunk could be leaving today. Even if the flavours are good, that won't be good enough for M & P surely.
43. Now it's time for the judging of this week's showstopper. Jane is up first and she's smashed it. I'm happy for her.
    
44. Selasi's chocolate and mint mousses didn't go down well, but his fruity ones were a hit with the judges.
45. Candice has done super well on her presentation but her mousse wasn't soft enough.
46. As for Benjamina's, Mary and Paul are already having seconds. Delicious, apparently, but quite messy. Her apple crumble mousses are lovely too, surely she's safe this week.
47. Seems like Tom is dreading this particular judging. Too much nutmeg and a "stodgy" mousse. Not so good.
48. Andrew now - both judges love it and are impressed. So am I as he's presented them on little fairground wheels.
    
49. Oooh potentially Benjamina could steal Star Baker title because her bakes tasted so good. I reckon Andrew will win SB and Tom will leave.
50. Time to find out. Sue's announcing SB and this week it's... Andrew! For the first time of the series. Yaaaay
51. And leaving us is Tom.
    
    As predicted. Buh-bye, Vampire Weekend's honorary member.

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