Great British Bake Off episode 8 2020 – Dessert Week

Great British Bake Off episode 8 2020 – Dessert Week: Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas present dessert week of the culinary competition. The signature round features a miniature cheesecake, while the technical challenge features a dish that dates back to the 17th century. Finally, for their showstoppers, the bakers must concoct a jelly art dessert cake constructed of delicate sponge. Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith are on hand to sample the results and decide who will be Star Baker and who will be leaving the tent.

It’s the quarter final and dessert week, and it’s brutal. There’s a particularly beastly technical challenge from Prue Leith which involves suet pastry. “Does anyone eat this in 2020?” wails one contestant, as she looks at a beige mess.

Prue notes that she’s 80, and wonders if it’s a generational thing, as the bakers – who, for the first time at this stage, are all Star Bakers – grapple with the mysteries of this key component of what she describes as “not the prettiest pudding in the world.”

The showstopper demands “jelly art creations” from the amateurs after which one laughs, “the good news is, I’ll never have to make one of these again.”

Great British Bake Off episode 8 2020 – Dessert Week

Great British Bake Off episode 8 2020

Bake Off in the time of a global pandemic is very different behind the scenes as the 12 contestants, judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith and presenters Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas leave behind their loved ones to enter their own bubble.

But this sacrifice means that on-screen, fans will be relieved to learn, all is as familiar and comfortable as a well-loved bobble hat. The opening episode is a corker, with a bunch of good-natured, self-deprecating and often brilliant amateurs and the funniest round I can ever recall. It’s the showstopper and it’s hilarious. A fondant Freddie Mercury, anyone?

Paul Hollywood

The elder statesman of Bake Off, Paul is the only member of the team who has been with the show since its very beginning, originally judging alongside Mary Berry until the move to Channel 4 in 2017. Paul also hosts the US version of the programme, The American Baking Competition and has served as head baker at a number of hotels in the UK and abroad, after first beginning his career at his father’s bakery when he was still in his teens.

Although it was Bake Off that really made Paul a household name, he had made some other TV appearances beforehand on shows including The Heaven and Earth Show and This Morning, while since making his name as a judge he has appeared on a number of programmes including his own show Paul Hollywood’s Pies and Puds.

Paul is known for his often harsh comments and for setting frequently challenging tasks in the signature challenge, while his coveted “Hollywood handshakes” reserved for the very best bakes have become a popular feature of the show.