The Great British Bake Off spoilers follow for the latest episode to air on Channel 4.
It’s Dessert Week on The Great British Bake Off this week, which is great because well, who doesn’t love dessert? But it’s extra special in that it’s the quarter-finals, with the final five competing for a spot in the semi-finals.
Unfortunately for Iain, he didn’t make it to the top four, meaning Jasmine, Tom, Aaron and Toby have made it to next week’s semi-final. What went wrong for Iain, and why were fans so annoyed?
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The Signature tasked the bakers with making a decorated basque style cheesecake, based on the Spanish favourite that originated in the 1990s.
Jasmine and Aaron were both worried that their cheesecakes weren’t browning, while Toby was having major issues with his whipped ganache, and Iain’s split as he tried to take it off the paper.
However, it was Tom who received the harshest critique. His design was praised, but judge Paul Hollywood noted that it had “very little flavour”.
Love Productions//Channel 4
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For the Technical, the contestants had to make six gluten-free orange upside down puddings. Making things even trickier was the fact that although the bakers had instructions, those instructions didn’t come with bake times.
Tom redeemed himself by placing first — the first time he had done that in a Technical — with his “faultless” puddings. Jasmine and Aaron came fourth and fifth with their “damp” and “underbaked” attempts.
However, Paul and Prue noted that Iain and Toby hadn’t done well enough to be guaranteed for the semis, so it was all to play for.
Love Productions//Channel 4
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The Showstopper tasked the bakers with each creating a celebratory free-standing trifle, with multiple layers, consisting of jelly, custard and baked elements.
Paul noted to Prue that too much gelatine would make their trifle essentially turn to rubber, and the show then cut to multiple bakers admitting that they had put a lot of gelatine in.
Jasmine impressed with trifle that was almost a cake. Aaron had strong flavours but his textures went wrong. Toby’s jelly went “awry” with a “rock hard” sponge, but still tasted good.
Tom’s bake that was “too big” was “pretty bland” with almond being the only flavour. Iain’s design impressed but his jelly topper had “no flavour” and his other flavours were weak.
Love Productions//Channel 4
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Jasmine was named Star Baker in the end, while Iain’s time in the tent was up.
“I’m proud of making it this far,” Iain said. “To make it to the quarter-finals is something I could have never thought of.”
While Iain was okay with the result, fans on social media were not.
“Tom should have gone, bake off is all about flavour and he had none!!” one viewer wrote, while another said: “Bastards no way Iain should of gone”.
“Who knew you could have two flavourless bakes and survive elimination?” a third fan said, while a similarly-annoyed viewer said: “So yet again producing bakes with poor flavour doesn’t really matter because they looked good…..”
“I’m already missing mullet man,” read another post. “Cruel decision as surely Tom should have gone….”
Next week it’s the semi-finals, and it’s also Patisserie Week. Who will be our final three?
The Great British Bake Off and its spin-off Bake Off: An Extra Slice both air on Channel 4 in the UK. In the US, it’s known as The Great British Baking Show, and streams on Netflix.
Read more Great British Bake Off news on our dedicated homepage
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he’s covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I’m a Fish.