Great British Bake Off 2016: episode seven recap

Jane’s chocolate and hazelnut liqueur sponge is controversially rolled across its length, producing more slices but little spiral. The judges aren’t convinced by the radical roll, but Mary finds some solace – ‘perhaps it’s the tipple in there I like’. Benjamina’s piña colada roulade includes a coconut sponge and pineapple soaked in coconut rum. It brings another smile to Mary’s face and the texture is ‘spot on’.

Tom’s roulade takes its flavour inspiration from millionaire’s shortbread, with a filling of salted caramel and biscuit crumbs. He’s unhappy with his first nutmeg-scented sponge so he makes it again, then smothers his cake in chocolate ganache. Paul thinks it doesn’t look good and Mary calls it ‘a bit cloying’.

Selasi makes lemon curd to fill his Genoese sponge, putting leftovers in a jar for later. He decorates his roulade with whipped cream and pistachios and inexplicably presents the finished cake on a concave photo frame. The sponge is judged to be ‘delicious’ but the filling needed more of the curd destined for Selasi’s toast.

For the showstopper, our bakers’ half-dozen must make two dozen mini mousse cakes (absolutely nothing like the twenty-four entremets of series five). Candice is shaking up the glamour with beautiful fruity cake cocktails, perching lemon thyme sponges in champagne glasses of Prosecco jelly and topping them with a Kir Royale-flavoured mousse. Her after dinner chocolate mint cakes look lovely too. Unfortunately, our resident cocktail queen, Mary, decides they’re not mixed properly and Candice’s mousse is ‘more of a cream’.

Benjamina discovers the rising tent temperature is playing havoc with her chocolate and coffee cakes and apple crumble mousses, as they slide sloppily out of shape. The judges agree they taste amazing though.

Jane is adding to the pressure by making no less than five different mousses. Drowning in mixing bowls, she has a horrible feeling she’s left gelatine out of something. Fortunately, she’s wrong – her blackcurrant and vanilla ombré cakes are ‘beautifully set’ and Mary admires the ‘moussiness’ of her cappuccino-flavoured jocondes. Jane’s delicate fleur-de-lis decorations are quite a contrast to Selasi’s hefty chocolate and mint mousse cakes, which are ‘just too big’. However, his lemon, passion fruit and raspberry mousses are judged to be ‘a lovely combination’.