“Lard pies? “Nobody has baked a beautiful cake… since the war,” joked Noel Fielding, one of this year’s three finalists. Great British Bake Off Josh, Matty and Dan all looked equally stunned. Yet, as the final technical test of the year, Lardy Cakes was entirely in keeping with the back-to-basics spirit of the 2023 series.
“A nice nostalgic casserole to finish,” purred Prue Leith. “A British classic,” agreed Paul Hollywood. None of your foreign nonsense, he added. What’s striking, however, is that this year, instead of previously tried-and-true European delicacies such as Smörgåstårta, Joconde Imprime and Torta Setteveli, bakers have created local specialties such as custards, chocolate fondant cakes and Devonshire splits. It has Bake Have you had a Brexit moment?
It was the first all-male final in a decade after crowd favorite Tasha and her trusty British sign language interpreter were axed in the semi-finals. And since it was the finale, we got a glimpse into the bakers’ backstory.
It turned out that Mattie’s fiancée Lara applied for him. “He would never have applied,” she said in the excerpt. “He’s not boastful, it’s not in his nature.” The equally modest sports teacher has repeatedly admitted that he suffers from impostor syndrome.
Josh then revealed that his beloved grandmother Frieda first encouraged him to apply in 2019. Frida died in 2021 and therefore, unfortunately, was not able to see her grandson’s progress. Meanwhile, Dan revealed that when he finally told his young children he would appear on the show, “it went down like a lead balloon.” I think he meant they weren’t impressed.
It was an even final, with both two-time star bakers receiving the coveted Hollywood handshake (although Dan’s joke in the semi-final that “I personally would like a fist bump from Prue” started the Hollywood battle).
The first task was to bake eclairs, and then the already mentioned technical cake. As a thunderstorm rumbled outside the tent, Dan and Matty presented this British classic. Matty was considered “dense, raw and unlaminated” and Dance was considered burnt – or, as Hollywood put it, “little King Alfred.” Another variety of Anglo-Saxon classics.
This gave Josh a head start on the final show, “an elegant layer cake inspired by your first bake.” While Matty applied colorful frosting and tried to remember the art lesson he received from Lara, and Josh built a garden-themed cookie house on his cookie sheet, Dan seemed increasingly despondent. “A dog’s dinner,” he explained despairingly, looking at the cracked icing and raw pasta.
As they carried their layer cakes to the judges’ tables, with Matty leaning over like some tower in Italy and Dan sadly presenting his “dog’s dinner”, Josh seemed the clear winner. But then came the tasting, and perhaps it was a surprise because Josh’s taste was considered inadequate. “Boring is too strong a word, but it’s coming,” Hollywood said. This year he was unusually gentle, but in the end the game fell below the belt.
It was the best Bake series for a long time, thanks to dedicated contestants, less complex recipes and the warm, sunny presence of newcomer Alison Hammond. She definitely brought a new energy to the tent.
“Can I announce the winner?” Hammond pleaded before walking out onto the lawn where friends, families and former bakers had gathered. “And the winner is…” she announced before the inevitable dramatic pause. “Mati!”
The affable sports teacher from Cambridgeshire has had the longest ‘journey’ of any baker this year, and as a competitor who has always struggled with self-esteem, it was doubly gratifying to see him triumph.
Source: I News
I am Harvey Rodriguez, an experienced news reporter and author with 24 News Reporters. My main areas of expertise are in entertainment and media. I have a passion for uncovering stories about the people behind the scenes that bring the entertainment world to life. I take pride in providing my readers with timely and accurate information on all aspects of the entertainment industry.