James Hillery was the fifth person to be sent home from The Great British Bake Off 2017 tonight after Kate Lyon managed to save herself from a pudding week exit.
Following last week’s caramel-themed episode, there were more sweets on the menu as the bakers conquered puddings.
First, judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith asked them to make a Signature steamed ‘school’ pudding, served with an accompaniment, such as a compote or custard.
It was a highly successful challenge, with Steven, Yan and Stacey each earning a coveted Hollywood Handshake.
However, last week’s Star Baker, Kate, got off to an unexpectedly disastrous start with her ‘Mr. Darcy Steamy Lake Scene’.
Prue blasted her custard as “a big mistake”, and Paul complained about her flavours: “If you’ve got earl grey fighting against lemon, it’s going to lose.”
Next, the Technical round featured Paul’s recipe for molten chocolate puddings with peanut butter – but it came with a twist.
As the puddings are meant to be eaten straight out the oven, the bakers’ start times were staggered. As usual, the finished products were judged blind.
Sophie came first in Paul and Prue’s ranking, followed by Liam in second, and Julia in third.
But it was another catastrophe for Kate, who limped in last with “quite solid, massively overbaked” puddings. She set aside 35 minutes of cooking time, unaware that just 10 minutes were required.
Only slightly ahead of Kate was James, who suffered the opposite problem, with Prue noting that his puddings were “absolutely raw”.
Finally, the Showstopper round involved ornamental trifle terrines, which had to contain a baked element, a set custard or mousse, and a jelly.
When cut, each slice had to “look as good as the whole”.
Sophie excelled with her “very high-class” terrine, and Paul said that Stacey’s lime, mint and chilli flavour combination was “truly unique”.
Crucially, Kate appeared to save herself, with both judges praising her “absolutely delicious” and “quite elegant” effort.
This meant bad news for James, who was ultimately eliminated after his ‘Missed Silver Jubilee’ pudding failed to impress.
Paul liked its prosecco jelly, but added: “Every other element was wrong.”
Reacting to his departure, James said: “My time has come, it’s gutting. I wanted to do this to put myself against other good bakers. To be part of that is really humbling.”
Meanwhile, Sophie was crowned the latest Star Baker. “I will try to enjoy the moment before thinking about next week,” she exclaimed. “Really chuffed!”
Tune in to Channel 4 again next Tuesday at 8.00pm to see how pastry week unfolds.
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