Patisserie week
This is the ninth week of Season 14 of The Great British Baking Show ™ and focuses on 'patisserie week'. This is also the semi-finals.
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This page is all about the food that the show brings to our screens. The goal is to have a lasting memory of some of the flavors and taste combinations, to bring some creativity and ideas to your own cooking. I hope you find it fun and useful.
Signature Dish
In episode 9 of Season 14 of The Great British Baking Show ™, the 4 remaining contestants were required to create two batches, each of twelve financiers. The bakers were given two hours and each batch could be any flavor.
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Prue Leith: "A classic financier is a little sponge cake that looks like a little gold bar. They always have ground nuts, most often ground almonds and the usually involve brown butter, which is just butter heated until it is right on the point of burning. This gives the financier a really rich and nutty flavor."
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Paul Hollywood: "Financiers should be quite moist inside but light at the the same time. It's quite tricky to get them absolutely spot on. Also, we're asking the bakers to decorate - elevate - the financiers to a really high standard. It's the semi-finals, so we're looking for perfection, elegance and a beautiful flavor."
About the Financier
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Wikipedia states that the financier is a small French almond cake, flavored with "beurre noisette" (brown butter) and usually baked in a small shallow mold.
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Light and moist with a crisp, eggshell-like exterior, the traditional financier also contains egg whites, flour and powdered sugar.
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Fancy Fruit and Nut Financiers
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Batch 1: Tasha delivered pistachio sponges, decorated with raspberry Swiss meringue buttercream and fresh raspberries.
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Judging of Batch 1: The financier was overbaked and the raspberry meringue split.
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Batch 2: Hazelnut and coffee financiers topped with coffee chocolate ganache and caramelized hazelnuts.
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Judging of Batch 2: Paul Hollywood said "The flavors are spot on and the bake is perfect". Prue Leith added "Absolutely delicious. The sponge melts in the mouth and the ganache is luxurious and decadent."
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"Pick Me Up" Financiers
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Batch 1 : Running through the center of Matty's coffee-flavored financiers was a generous channel of chocolate ganache topped with vanilla mascarpone cream.
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Judging of Batch 1: Good flavors - verging on being too strong. The financiers were overbaked.
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Batch 2: Mango, lime and coconut financiers were decorated with mango puree and a white chocolate coconut ganache.
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Judging of Batch 2: Really great flavors. Again, the sponge was just a little overcooked and the judges suspected that the issue was that Matty used deep molds instead of the shallow ones that were recommended.
Fancy Financiers
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Batch 1: Delicately flavored with matcha green tea powder, these financiers were decorated with yuzu gel and tonka bean mousse.
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Judging of Batch 1: Paul Hollywood, who had expressed his displeasure with matcha said "it's beautiful".
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Batch 2: Orange and vanilla financiers topped with macerated peach and fresh raspberries.
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Judging of Batch 2: Hollywood Handshake! Prue Leith said "this is a triumph".
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Perfect Pudding Financiers
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Batch 1:Josh embellished his bakewell-inspired financiers with a vanilla custard buttercream, fresh raspberries and flaked almonds.
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Judging of Batch 1: The judges felt that there was a little too much almond extract, giving an artificial taste. Also, since Josh, like Matty, opted out of the silicon molds and used deeper molds, the ratio of sponge to frosting was off.
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Batch 2: Josh's chocolate and orange offering was topped with a rich chocolate buttercream and a wafer thin chocolate shard.
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Judging of Batch 2: The sponge was judged to be too dry.
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