Great British Bake Off: East Sussex baker creates dessert compared to tanning lotion

We’re down to eight bakers now so the pressure is on. The East Sussex baker Janusz has had two weeks of star baker, but that means nothing in Bake Off.

Previous weeks for Janusz

This week the bakers had to take on desserts which started with steamed puddings for the signature challenge. Janusz chose one of my favourite cocktails here - pina colada. He made a coconut sponge and included pineapple and coconut rum in a pipet. Judge Paul revealed him and host Noel have enjoyed many pina coladas together so Janusz had a lot of live up to. As always he kept his cool and produced perfect looking sponges topped with mini umbrellas. However, when it came to judging Paul said it tasted like tanning lotion…not the best feedback.

Next up was lemon meringue pie. The bakers laughed as they turned over the recipe to find one single line: “Make a lemon meringue pie.” Despite the lack of instructions, all bakers managed to produce a pie and Janusz actually came first with a chorus of ‘wows’ from the judges. Prue said: “That is a very good lemon meringue pie.”

Finally it was the showstopper - mousse cake. The issue with this for many bakers was the balance of how much gelatin to use. Too much and the dessert would have the texture of a rubber tyre, not enough and it would be a sloppy mess. Many bakers slipped up with using too much, but not Janusz. He created a brilliant rainbow creation with a hidden cupcake running through the whole dessert. The comments were great and I thought star baker was his, but unfortunately Sandro just snatched it from him with a dessert that looked like a globe.

Next up is Halloween week.

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