I have in my hand four beautiful bakers but only three of them are in the running to becoming Britain’s next Bake Off champion (with apologies to Tyra Banks). Ah yes – the Radio Times cover heralding next week’s finale has, for four years now, featured our final quartet with the bittersweet knowledge that only three will actually make it all the way. Andrew beams, Jane looks relieved, Candice smiles inscrutably and Selasi just looks cool – their expressions are not giving anything away.
Mel and Sue produce a beautiful French-flavoured cinematic pastiche to herald la semaine de pâtisserie and we settle down to a puff pastry signature of twenty-four savoury palmiers.
Selasi says he’s never made palmiers before, which is a slightly odd admission for a signature challenge. He goes on to say ‘it should be alright’. Well, he’s been right so far. Candice says she’s not worried – ‘they’ve been alright at home’ – but we all know that’s no guarantee; the tent does strange things, as Andrew demonstrates, bravely attempting to restore order to his unruly puff.
It’s one of those dreadful moments in what’s known in TV parlance as ‘the royal tour’ – Paul and Mary swoop in on Andrew’s bench just as his butter chooses that very minute to lewdly expose itself. Admitting he’s losing confidence by the second, an hour into the challenge he decides to remake his pastry.
Jane tells us she hasn’t been sleeping – ‘I lie awake worrying about my bakes’. Selasi dreamed that he made it to the final but had to bake in a dress.