Who left The Great British Bake Off last night? Seventh baker eliminated as they crumble in Meringue Week
It was a series-first as the bakers were challenged to a week dedicated to meringues - but which baker crumbled under pressure?
The Great British Bake Off returned to screens last night as the six remaining contestants were put through their paces with Meringue Week. Judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood set a number of tricky challenges around the French dessert.
The six bakers were challenged to create a tray of meringue pies for their signature bake, while a sticky technical lay ahead. In the technical challenge, they were instructed to make an infamously difficult soufflé - but would they be able to rise to the challenge? The showstopper challenge saw the remaining bakers tasked with creating a vacherin glacé, which is a ice-cream meringue dessert.
Find out how Meringue Week went for our bakers below.
Who left The Great British Bake Off last night?
Unfortunately, it was time to say goodbye to Lesley at the end of Meringue Week. The 59-year-old struggled throughout the three challenges, landing bottom place in the technical and coming up against disaster in the showstopper after she made the recipe the wrong way around.
Upon leaving the show, Lesley said: “Do you know what – I knew it was coming. It’s like ripping the plaster off! Thanks so much for the experience, it has been amazing.
“I knew I would be leaving as I couldn’t get my meringue right and had resigned myself that I would be going. But I was proud that I had made it to week seven. The other bakers gave me a massive cuddle.”
Lesley, who has been baking since she was 10 years old, added that her proudest moment on the show was winning the technical challenge during Chocolate Week. She added: “I think I have grown as a person and I feel more confident in myself and my abilities.
“I have learned a lot of new skills, learned to trust my gut feeling, new skills and tips from other bakers, learned that you need to step through fear and take yourself out of your comfort zone as it allows you to grow. I had the time of my life!”
Judge Dame Prue Leith said: “I am really sorry to see Lesley go. She’s a remarkable woman, in a way she’s my ideal baker – she’s just really having a good time. That’s what Bake Off is all about.”
Who won Star Baker on The Great British Bake Off last night?
Jasmine came into Meringue Week having picked up her third Star Baker award last week, putting herself out in front of the pack. Could she be crowned star baker for a fourth week?
Not quite, as meringues didn’t seem to be her forte to excel. While she did a pleasant enough job with the French desserts, it was Toby who impressed the judges most this week.
Toby went above and beyond in his attempts to impress the judges, and even went one step further in the showstopper and made his creation lactose free after being intolerant as a child. He also placed a respectable third in the technical challenge and impressed the judges with his ‘apple lattice’ meringue pies in the signature bake.
He joins the list of star bakers so far this series:
- Week 1 (Cake Week) - Nataliia
- Week 2 (Biscuit Week) - Tom
- Week 3 - (Bread Week) - Jasmine
- Week 4 (Back To School Week) - Jasmine
- Week 5 (Chocolate Week) - Aaron
- Week 6 (Pastry Week) - Jasmine
- Week 7 (Meringue Week) - Toby
The competition is hurtling towards the finish line now, with the remaining five bakers set to face each other again in the quarter-final next week.
The Great British Bake Off airs at 8pm on Tuesdays on Channel 4. You can catch up on the series so far, including last night’s episode, on the Channel 4 streaming service.