"Pastry Week" Seeks Perfect Brests on Season 15 of 'The Great British Baking Show'

It's Pastry Week in the tent as The Great British Baking Show returns on a rainy day, with the bakers bundled up against the chill. This is notably the second time in a row the series has put Pastry Week smack dab in the middle of the season. One might chalk that up to an accident of decision-making, but Chocolate Week and Caramel Week are basically the same beasts, and they both were Week 4, and now Week 5 is Pastries again. We won't be able to say with certainty until at least next year that this is a sign that, having removed National Theme Weeks, the show is trying to set the schedule so that it's the same order of challenges every time. However, twice in a row does feel a touch deliberate, and it's a pattern we will be keeping an eye on.

Pastry Week is easier than some themes, but only because it encompasses such a wide swath of sweet and savory bakes. It's really up to the judges how difficult the week turns out to be. More than once, the decision has been to make "Pastry Week" a euphemism for "Pie Week" or "Tart Week," and that's not just Channel 4; it happened multiple times during the BBC years as well, especially because those were the seasons that did have actual Pie Week and Tart Week, only to see them turn out dreadfully. 

While this week will have tarts, it will thankfully be the only tart or pie-based challenge. That means Season 15 is setting its Pastry Week on the more complex end of the baking spectrum, but as viewers, we get to see the contestants make something new.

The Signature Challenge is to make a dozen identical Frangipane Tarts, which in the U.K. are sold in stores under the Bakewell name (sort of like America's Little Debbie). Hosts Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond note that the bakers can make homemade Bakewell tarts if they like, but as long as there's a shortcrust shell, frangipane, and one added filling, that will fulfill the brief. The bakers have two hours to get their tarts on. Don't worry, Nelly is prepared. She's not just wearing a giant gold ball necklace that feels like a 1950s housewife's pearls; she also donned a black(berry) beret, the kind you find in the second-hand store. But it's the highlight of the round when she breaks out the blow torch and threatens Noel with it while cackling wildly. No wonder everyone loves her this season. 

Let's see who got tarted up and who will be tarting down. As always, the Signature Challenge is judged on a Pass/Fail Metric.

• Illiyin ‘Taste of the Tropics’ (Fail): She had to make her shells twice, and you can tell. She also split her focus between the mango and the passion fruit, doing neither well.
• Dylan ‘Coffee & Dark Chocolate Tarts’ (Fail): His pastry is perfect, but there's too much chocolate and coffee and no frangipane flavor.
• Georgie  ‘Almond Bakewell’ (Pass): They look beautiful, and she nailed the Bakewell flavor.
• Nelly ‘Icebergs’ (Pass): Paul tries to dis her shells as too thick, so she tells him they are from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.
• Sumayah ‘Raspberry & Coconut Tarts’ (Pass): They're super dark on the bottom., but otherwise passable.
• Christiaan ‘Cashew & Black Sesame Tarts’ (Pass): Prue thinks they look like mushroom tarts or sardine pate, but at least they taste good.
• Andy ‘Nan’s Sweets’ (Pass): They are wrinkled looking and dark on bottom, but super tasty.
• Gill ‘Pistachio & Blueberry Tarts’ (Pass): They look gorgeous and they taste amazing. 

Gill and Georgie are the only ones who truly passed this round; everyone else passed with qualifiers or outright failed. And now you know why Pie Week and Tart Week don't work.

The Technical Challenge comes from "Prince of Pastry Paul Hollywood," who warns the bakers not to underestimate how long this bake has to rest before Noel and Alison kick him and Prue Leith out of the tent so they don't know who makes what. His warning is due to the fact they are making Spanakopita, which is technically a pie, but, much like cheesecake is also pie, it's really in a category by itself. Paul's Spanakopita recipe isn't classic either; it requires making a spiral shape of the filo before putting in the classic spinach and feta flavors. We should note this is the second time the show has asked the bakers to make spanakopita; it came up only once before as "Filo Pies" in "Pies & Tarts Week" in Season 4 (which Netflix still insists on calling "Collection 2" for reasons most people don't even remember anymore).

Let's see who got perfect flaky filo and who was roughed by their puff.

8. Gill: She ran out of time and pulled it out before it was fully baked.
7. Andy: Super soggy, totally underbaked.
6. Georgie: The spinach is too wet, and it didn't bake right.
5. Illiyin: Too pale, underbaked and damp.
4. Sumayah: Not big enough; it's needed to be a longer swirl.
3. Nelly: Slightly underbaked but otherwise fine.
2. Christiaan: A little wet but baked properly.
1. Dylan: Not perfect, but the best of the lot, with crunch and flavor.

It's good that Gill did well in the Signature because that'll help her after failing the Technical. Paul acknowledged that Dylan's is less a win than a "failed least," but he'll take it.

As for the Showstopper, this is where we finally get away from anything pie or tart-like as the bakers are required to make a Paris-Brest, which is technically a gateau (err.. cake) in France, but here is just a weird and wacky pastry that's really a Pâte à Choux with Praline Crème Mousseline. It was invented in the Edwardian era, celebrating a bake race from Paris to Brest, and looks a bit like a bike tire. It's a sizeable choux pastry ring sliced into a top and bottom and then filled with decorative piped custard. Flavors are up to them; they don't have to do the classic praline flavors, but there has to be at least one kind of custard, if not more. Also, the stand it sits on must be edible and not collapse.

Sumayah is psyched because she's done this several times before, and she doesn't mean from the practice sessions at home; she means for consumption at family parties. Gill is also deeply familiar with Choux pastry, though she admits she's never done a large ring like this, instead sticking to profiteroles and eclairs. Everyone else seems less prepared, though Nelly is just happy to giggle over saying "Brest."

Let's see which bakers made mousseline and which made Mussolini.

Illiyin's 'Crown of Nuttiness': Her stand does fine; it's her Paris-Brest that doesn't make it, having cracked from gravity while seated on the stand. Prue says it looks like it belongs in a small town's baking shop as an ultra-sophisticated bake. Paul is sad it couldn't arrive assembled because her choux ring is spot on, and the flavors are beautiful.

Dylan’s ‘Contrasts of Tea’: His stand is excellent. It even stays whole when Paul presses against it to cut a slice of cake. However, it’s too big for the pastry, which sits awkwardly on top, looking rather small. The flavors are incredible, though, and Paul even likes the matcha, which is the first time ever.

Georgie’s Pistachio & Raspberry Paris Brest: It’s very neatly designed, and the stand is well-made and smartly engineered. However, the Paris-Brest on top was too warm when she piped on the custard, which melted out the sides. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the cake stand tastes far better than the actual pastry she was supposed to make.

Nelly’s Pistachio Paris Brest: She did a croquembouche stand, which was honestly slightly ingenious, and the pastry on top looks divine. Paul tries to complain that the stand is short and the cake is small, but Nelly tells him it’s just a small mushroom. She nailed the challenge and then went above and beyond making profiteroles and choux buns for decor. Prue notes there are some underbaked layers, but overall, the flavor is delicious.

Christiaan’s Orange & Pecan Paris Brest: This is the best stand by a country mile. It’s wrought ironwork made out of dough, and the pastry on top is beautiful as well. However, the flavors are a problem; as Paul says, the orange mousseline he used doesn’t work at all; it’s overpowering and way too thick.

Sumayah’s ‘Tree of Life’: It’s an intricate creation, with a tree sprouting out of the Paris Brest and a curly-que tree trunk stand. Prue says making a tree was a clever concept, and her fillings are perfect in both taste and texture. She focused on the passion fruit, which worked out well for her, even if her choux is slightly overbaked.

Andy’s ‘All You Need Is Love’: Andy’s stand fell to bits just as time was called, so he had no choice but to serve his cake and his stand pieces as a trio of desserts. On the one hand, the judges are okay with this because he turned it in instead of giving up, but the flavor is weak, and his mousselin(i) is too soft. 

Gill’s ‘Lemon & Thyme Meringue’: This is the whole package; the stand is neatly elegant and stands firm; her pastry is legit the best Paris-Brest in the tent today, which blessedly Paul actually points out in case someone at home wasn’t paying attention. He loves how simply she went to make a perfect Showstopper; it was an intelligent choice.

It’s pretty obvious Gill aced this challenge. She’s been a quiet Dark Horse candidate up until now, but this week, she was put front and center as someone worthy of the Top Five, if not the finale. There is no question that she absolutely deserves Star Baker this week. As for who goes home, this was probably between Illiyin and Andy since they were the two who had Showstopper failures, but Andy’s was the only one where the stand collapsed. It feels like that was the deciding factor in sending him home from the tent.

The Great British Baking Show continues on Netflix with new episodes every Tuesday in the U.K. and Friday in the U.S. through the end of November.