Arts & Culture

The Great British Bake-Off Week 1: Cake Chaos.

20 September 202220 September 2022By
The Great British Bake-Off Week 1: Cake Chaos.

The Great British Bake Off is back – and so is Carrot Magazine to give you a rundown of all the doughy action!

Thousands of the best home-bakers from Britain applied to bake in the legendary bake-off tent, but only 12 made it to battle with their bakes in the 13th series of the Great British Bake Off. 

Over the next 12 weeks, this year’s bakers will face new challenges, designed to put every bit of their baking ability to the test, under the watchful eye of Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. 

This week they will start with the chaos of cakes, making a batch of delicious sandwiches, a classic American-style cake and finishing with a show-stopping home cake. 

After which, one person will be crowned star baker, and one will leave the tent. 

Meet the Bakers:

Abdul

Age: 29 

Abdul’s interest in baking came from his university days when he and his fellow graduates baked for each other. He bakes with precision and likes to add a bit of chemistry when creating his bakes.

Carole

Age: 59

Born in the West Country, Carole loves bringing the artistry she uses in her garden into her bakes. She began baking when she baked her eldest daughter her first birth cake. She often takes to YouTube to teach herself the finer cake decorating techniques. 

Dawn 

Age: 60 

Dawn loves a challenge when it comes to baking and often challenges herself with attempting illusion cakes, incorporating whaling and intricate designs, to express her creative talent. She prides herself on attention to detail and intricacy within her bakes. 

James 

Age: 25 

James loves the technical side of baking but also prides himself in adding his own personal touches. His favourite flavours to bake with are anything autumnal, such as mixed spice, apples and caramel.

Janusz

Age: 34

Born in Poland, Janusz was inspired to bake by his mother. He continues family traditions by baking every Saturday. Janusz describes his baking style as ‘cartoon-like, colourful and camp’ and loves to work with polish ingredients.

Kevin

Age: 33

Kevin began baking at the age of 17. He carries the ethos of baking with the best seasonal ingredients and loves interesting combinations of fruits, herbs, nuts and spices. 

Maisam

Age: 18 

Originally from Libya, Maisam bakes with her favourite flavours inspired by her Mediterranean heritage. She has been baking since the age of 13 and often uses her love for science to help her get recipes just perfect. 

Maxy 

Age: 29

Maxy began baking after the birth of her first daughter five years ago. She uses her strong artistic skills gained from her Master’s degree in architecture to create beautifully decorated celebration cakes.

Rebs

Age: 23

Rebs has been baking from the age of three by helping her mum in the kitchen. More recently, she has returned to baking as a way to unwind from the stress of her busy life and has started to use Middle Eastern ingredients in her baking, inspired by her boyfriend and his Turkish family.

Sandro

Age: 30 

When Sandro’s father passed away, he turned to baking as a form of therapy. Now, he uses his passion for baking to teach children with Autism how to bake. Sandro often bakes with flavours from his Angolan heritage. 

Syabira

Age: 32 

Syabira started baking in 2017 with a red velvet cake. Born in Malaysia, Syabira uses flavours from her heritage to create a twist on British classics. 

Will 

Age: 45 

Will’s passion for baking began at the age of two when he would make jam tarts with his mum. Will enjoys the technical side of baking and is a fan of using yeast. His favourite flavours to use in his bakes are salted caramel and paprika.

Sandwich Signature:

For their first-ever signature bake, the judges wanted the bakers to make a batch of 12 identical sandwich cakes.

Leaving the shaping and flavours down to the bakers, they just had to ensure they were presentable to the judges in two hours. 

“It is quite simple really. All we are looking for is a bit of originality,” said Prue. 

“It is the first time the bakers will be able to show us what they can bake, so this is really important!” added Paul. 

After two tense hours, each baker was able to produce 12 sandwich cakes, whether identical or not…

With some bakers using traditional flavours, some decided to take the more adventurous route to wow the judges further. 

The first baker to receive the judge’s feedback was Maxy and her ‘Mango Magic Mess’, which looked presentably amazing. While the combination of flavours was beautiful, as Prue commented, Paul mentioned the cake was “quite dry. However, there is nothing wrong with passionfruit in a sponge with margarine on top.”

However, a baker that received slightly different feedback was Maisam with her Pistachio cakes with raspberry buttercream. 

“They don’t look wonderful, do they?” asked Prue. 

“They are just falling apart!” replied Hollywood. 

Aside from admitting she had cut her sponge when it was still warm, causing the breakage, both judges praised her on flavour. 

“There is nothing wrong with the flavour. It is just a mess!” said Prue.

All American Technical: 

Each week the bakers will face a mystery challenge under the dreaded gingham. 

For the baker’s first ever technical challenge set by Paul, they were tasked with making a red velvet cake.

“It is a classic. Concentrate on your sponge!” warned Paul, while presenter Matt Lucas chimed, “Your all-big American cake should make an impression on the eyes and on the pallet!” 

In the technical challenge, the bakers are all given the same ingredients and basic recipes to follow. 

As tension grew in the tent, some bakers seemed to have a head start by knowing how to make red velvet, whereas others had never made one before. Towards the end of the two hours, though, all the bakers were collectively “winging it”!

“Well, I can see everyone has gone for a different style. You can’t really tell who has the correct idea,” said Janusz. 

“Do you know want I am really intrigued by? The different heights of everyone’s cakes, ” laughed James. 

With the judges having no idea whose red velvet cake is whose, they rated the cakes from best to worst. 12th place went to James due to not enough of cream in the middle and the decoration wasn’t as top-notch as they wanted. 

On the other hand, 1st place went to Syabira, with Paul commenting that it was “absolutely fantastic.”

The tension only grew as the final bake of the week loomed and 12 would soon go down to 11. 

Home Run Showstopper: 

“Overall, the standards have been pretty good. I think the pressure has got to them. Rebs and Will are in trouble, and Maisam had a pretty difficult signature. In the line of star baker would be Janusz and Sandro,” Paul Hollywood disclosed. 

“Sandro is definitely in line for star baker. He is technically very strong,” said Prue.

For the baker’s first ever showstopper, the judges were after a 3D replica of the baker’s home, entirely out of cake. 

“It needs to be so good, Paul could live in it,” joked Noel Fielding.

Sandro and Dawn opted for their grandparents’ homes while others looked further afield, like Janusz, who recreated a block of flats he was born in, in Poland. 

After four hours, the judges were presented with 12 replicas of the bakers’ homes. 

The first-star baker of the series went to Janusz after he wowed the judges with his decoration and flavours in his showstopper. 

Sadly, Will was the first baker to leave the GBBO tent after he failed to impress the judges in all three challenges. 

“Someone has to go home first. I’m disappointed, but I am extremely proud of myself,” Will said after hearing the news.  

Janusz said: “Winning star baker in cake week means absolutely everything to me. I’ve cried so many times!”

Next Week: Biscuit Buzz.

Read more: What you need to know about coeliac disease