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TV review: A song and dance over an opera cake

By The Sentinel  |  Posted: October 16, 2013

PRESENTERS: Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc.

PRESENTERS: Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc.

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The Great British Bake Off BBC2

"COULD there be anything more grand then an opera cake?" wondered Mary Berry, a woman who's clearly never had a jam tart from Lidl.

"It's one of the hardest things to do properly," agreed Paul Hollywood. Only the chocolate Rice Crispie cake comes near.

The opera cake has seven layers of sponge, filled with butter cream, ganache, syrup, and glaze, representing the four acts of the opera. It's not to be mistaken with the out-of-date Battenberg, which represents an am-dram version of South Pacific.

It was invented, we heard, for the opening of Paris's Palais Garnier opera house in 1875, the most expensive building in the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte III. It reminded me of the opening of the Wolverhampton Grand theatre when the mayor was allowed to lick the bowl.

The opera cake was the final challenge in one of the toughest semi-finals since Stoke-Arsenal in 1972.

"You're just three bakes away from the Great British Bake-Off final," Sue Perkins told the last four. One good tray of flapjack and they were there.

"It's going to be a fight to the finish," declared contestant Kimberley. The first recorded murder with an icing pipette was a real possibility.

The opening challenge saw the competitors tasked with making three different types of canapé.

"They should be tantalising to the tastebuds," explained Mel Giedroyc, "and visually very enticing."

So similar to the ones they sell at Iceland.

Certainly, it wouldn't be easy. As Berry noted, "there's so much that can go wrong with canapés." Botulism, for instance.

"You want to pack a big punch in a small amount of space," declared Hollywood. When preparing a canapé, think of it as a child breaking wind in a lift.

Pressures of time were, as always, pressing. As someone who routinely has 15 minutes to prepare super noodles, waffles, and beans for four, I could empathise.

"To complete three different kinds of canapé in just two-and-a-half hours," we were told, "every minute has to be used effectively." Don't go off having a fag and watching Loose Women.

Beca, for one, was having difficulties.

"The judges said they weren't memorable," she moped, "which is frustrating because at this stage you need to be smacking them with flavours between their eyes." If that doesn't work, use a rolling pin.

The only other chance to impress was the Charlotte Royale – slices of Swiss roll forming a dome around a set fruit custard. "It's the perfect technical challenge for a semi-final," claimed Berry. That and the garlic baguette from frozen.

Next week: Gingerbread men.

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