Selasi Gbormittah appeared to know his baking journey had come to an end when, presenting his fondant fancies to the judges, he said: “Maybe don’t try the icing.”
The lovable Londoner got the boot in Great British Bake Off’s penultimate show after he failed to impress the judges in all three of the patisserie challenges.
The semi-final round of the BBC1 show required Selasi, 30, and fellow contestants Jane Beedle, Candice Brown and Andrew Smyth to make palmiers, a savarin and 36 fondant fancies.
Selasi came unstuck in the first round after his palmiers came out soggy, leading them to lose their definition. Mary Berry was unimpressed by his efforts, pointing out that he had underbaked them so much that some were still raw in the middle.
However, the bank worker continued his charm offensive on the nation as he finished the host Mel Giedroyc’s sentences and delivered Sue Perkins’ announcements.
Worse was to come for him though after his savarin, a yeast-rich cake with a chocolate and fruit topping, was criticised by Paul Hollywood. The judge told him off for his lacklustre mixing, uneven distribution of orange liqueur and sloppy presentation.
It didn’t get much better for Selasi in the showstopper final as the bakers were tasked with producing 36 fondant fancies in two different varieties. When Mary pointed out that he needed to sieve his flour if he was to avoid air pockets developing in his genoise sponge, he decided to start all over again and fell behind his competitors.
He ended up opting for a pink velvet and white chocolate flavour for his first variation, which was praised by the judges for having a lovely shineand texture. Indeed, his genoise sponge was so good that Paul described it as being “baked to perfection”.
However, upon receiving the compliment and presenting his second set of fondant fancies – a lime and ginger combination – he suggested the judges gave his icing a miss.
Selasi’s departure did not come as a surprise to regular viewers. He was in the weakest position going into the final, having never won star baker in a previous round. After making the decision to send him home, Mary paid tribute: “What a character, what a baker.”
Jane, Candice and Andrew are now all through to next week’s final, the last time the show will be broadcast on the BBC before moving to Channel 4, with Andrew having the best round of the trio after being named star baker for the second time. The aerospace engineer, 25, from Derby was praised for his “stunningly presented” fondant fancies and impressive savarin.
The penultimate show of the programme’s seven-year run on the Beeb also saw co-host Perkins winding up Hollywood, something for which she has form. Speaking to the contestants, the judge said: “Remember, it’s the semi-finals. So it’s not only got to taste good, it’s got to look good, too.”
Perkins quipped: “And Paul, I think you have an appointment at Banalities R Us, just over there. Mary, we’ll see you later.”
Hollywood is the only member of Bake Off’s presenting team to have agreed to join Channel 4 after the show’s producers, Love Productions, signed a deal to leave the BBC, which had reportedly balked at the proposed £25m a series deal.
