Follow the quarter-finalists as they bake their way through the free-from week. 

Last week was caramel week, and it saw the six remaining bakers in a sticky situation as they battled to make it to the quarterfinals. As Jurgen claimed his third-star baker crown, it was George that went home sweet home.

This week is free-from week, and the bakers will have to impress the judges with bakes free from dairy, wheat and gluten.

To reach the semi-finals, the bakers need to be a free-from disaster within their signature, technical and showstopper bakes.

“Week eight quarterfinals. How am I still here!” Said Crystelle.

“Free-From week, I’m excited.” Said Jurgen.

“I’ve never made anything gluten or dairy-free.” Said Chigs.

Dairy-Free Signature:

For the first free-from Bake of this week, the quarterfinals were asked to bake a batch of eight dairy-free ice cream sandwiches.

“Remember they have to be dairy-free!” Said Matt Lucas.

Having to make sure their ice-cream sandwiches are dairy-free, the bakers are allowed to use eggs. However, they are not to use milk or cream and think of a dairy-free alternative, such as coconut milk.

“I don’t think people do dairy-free ice cream daily.” Said Jurgen.

Not being a fan favourite of free-from baking, Paul Hollywood still wants the baker’s ice cream to be smooth and the biscuit to have a nice crunch, even if it is made with dairy alternatives.

To be well prepared for the week ahead, the bakers must have researched their alternatives and to know how they are likely to affect their bakes”.

How to make a dairy-free orange ice cream – Giuseppe style:

For his dairy-free ice-cream sandwich, Giuseppe used the flavour of ginger and orange. 

He will place his ice cream between ginger and maple syrup cookies. What could be more delicious than the taste of sunshine?

Ingredients:

• 1 orange

• 100g caster sugar, plus extra to coat the peel strips

• 240g silken tofu, drained

• 240ml soya milk

• 140g maple syrup 

• ¼ tsp ground ginger 

• 1 tsp vanilla paste

• juice and zest of 2 oranges

• ¼ tsp orange essence

Method:

• First, candy the orange peel. Peel the orange using a peeler or paring knife, making sure to remove just the peel, not the pith. Finely slice the peel lengthways into strips. 

• Place the peel strips, caster sugar and 100ml of water in a small saucepan set over medium heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 12-15 minutes until the peel is soft. Strain the peel through and sieve. Toss these in caster sugar and set them aside to air-dry.

• Place all the remaining ice-cream ingredients (Like the dairy-free alternative, soya milk) in a strand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk to combine. 

• Remove the bowl from the strand mixer and with a hand-held mixer until completely smooth. Stir through the finely chopped orange.

• Tip the mixture into your ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instruction to set.

• To make an ice-cream sandwich, use an ice-cream scoop to spoon ice cream onto each upturned cookie. 

“I have a horrible feeling ice missed something,” said Giuseppe.

“Maybe the dairy!” Joked Lucas

A vegan technical:

For this week’s technical challenge, Leith wanted the bakers to make eight identical vegan sausage rolls.

The judges were looking for eight crisp laminated pastry’s filled with mushrooms and walnuts.

Leith’s top tip: “Flavour always matters. In this recipe, it is key!”.

“It is the quarterfinals, and this is a very challenging challenge,” Said Hollywood.

How to make Prue Leith’s vegan sausage rolls filling:

Packed with a rich flavour of mushrooms, lentils, nuts and seeds, these vegan sausage rolls are warming and filling. Vegan or not- everyone will love them.

Ingredients:

• 7g dried porcini mushrooms

• 100ml just-boiled water

• 200g chestnut mushrooms

• 70g walnuts

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 x 400g tin of lentils, drained

• 2 tbsp brown miso paste

• 1 tbsp ground flaxseeds

• juice of ½ lemon

• large handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves picked and finely chopped

• 3 sage sprigs, leaves picked and chopped

• 3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked and chopped

• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

• Place the dried porcini in a heatproof bowl, pour over boiling water, then set aside for ten minutes till softened.

• Drain the soaking liquid and then finely chop the porcini.

• Tip chestnut, mushrooms and walnuts into a food processor until they are finely chopped. Try not to over-process.

• Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for five minutes until they soften. Add the walnut and mushroom mixture and cook for five minutes until mushrooms start to release liquid.

• Add garlic and the chopped porcini, and the soaking liquid. Season this with salt and pepper and reduce to low heat. Cook the filling for five to ten minutes until the liquid has boiled and bubbled away.

• Add lentils and miso paste, flaxseeds, lemon juice, parsley, sage, and thyme and simmer until dry for two to three minutes. Set aside to cool.

• Once the mixture has cooled, return this to the food processor and pulse it to sausage meat texture. Divide this mixture into eight equal portions and shape it into a cylinder shape.

• Heat the oven to 222c/200c fan/Gas 7. And Bake for 20 to 30 minutes once wrapped in pastry.

When judgement time came for the bakers, the judges had to pick who was worst to first.

In worst was Crystelle; the judges felt her vegan sausage rolls lacked good shape and good glaze, and her chutney was so hot it blew Hollywood’s head off.

Next was Jurgen. Hollywood felt Jurgens vegan sausage roll was a bit of a mess and was too thick and untidy.

Lizzie was in third. The judges felt her technical was borderline good, but it was overbaked.

Falling short of the first position was Giuseppe, as Hollywood felt his sausage rolls were too flat.

Chig’s shone through within this technical challenge. “It looks good. Tastes good, and the chutney tastes nice,” Said Hollywood.

“And the winner gets to taste Chrystelle’s chutney”, joked Fielding.

Gluten-Free Showstopper:

Being the last free-from Bake in the quarterfinals, the judges expected this showstopper to be visually spectacular, gluten-free and represent a celebration cake.

“The baker’s showstopper cakes need to be decorated beautifully, and we want two tiers,” Said Leith.

“I expect the cake to be as good as any normal cake, it is the semi-finals next week, so the bakers need to bring their A-game,” Said Hollywood.

Most bakers will opt for a gluten-free alternative for their cakes and use xanthan to get the fluffy texture. However, Giuseppe uses another method altogether that doesn’t use any flour but whipping egg whites to achieve the fluffy texture. Giuseppe hopes he can get his gluten black forest just right with his flour-free cake being a risk, even if he is baking something that isn’t a fan favourite of Leith’s.

Another baker that is choosing a classic cake recipe is Chigs. Baking a gluten alternative of a red velvet cake, he is still sceptical about free-from baking and mentions that he will stick to the full-fat baking after this week.

Jurgen wants to impress the judges one step further by baking a three-tiered chocolate cake to celebrate being his wife’s favourite cake. On the other side of the tent was Lizzie’s rainbow cake which she had designed to represent her dyslexia.

How to make Lizzie’s gluten-free sponge:

Lizzie’s Gluten-Free ‘Extraordinary’ Celebration Cake. #GBBO pic.twitter.com/oRXfzzdNcq

— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) November 9, 2021

Ingredients:

• 180g coconut flour

• 2 tbsp gluten-free baking powder

• 360g golden caster sugar

• 1 tsp salt

• 15 eggs

• 285ml vegetable oil

• 1 tbsp vanilla paste

• 1 tsp coconut extract

Method:

• Heat the oven to 180c/160c fan/Gas 4. Place the coconut flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix well with a spoon for the sponges.

• In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, vegetable pasta and coconut extract together. Pour the mixture and, using a whisk, whisk to a smooth batter.

• Divide the batter equally between three sponge tins and level with a palette knife.

• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until slightly risen and check with a skewer into the centres to see it comes out clean.

• Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool in the tins for five minutes. After turning them out, the tins and let them cool fully.

With all the bakers sponges complete, it is down to the bakers to choose what fillings and how to decorate. And now it’s judgement time…

“Done… Drop mike,” Said Giuseppe.

The quarterfinalists now find out who will make it to the semi-finals and who will be going home.

With his red velvet gluten alternative, star baker went to Chigs, who wowed the judges with his showstopper bake.

Sadly, Lizzie felt short of making it to the semi-finals, and even though she was the baker going home, she still managed to impress the judges with her showstopper challenge as she finally showed finesse in her Bake.

Next Week: It’s the semi-finals. The bakers will Indulge within patisserie week and who will make It to the final of GBBO!

You can read last week’s round-up here: The Great British Bake-Off: Week Seven: Caramel week’s top ten moments