The Great British Baking Show
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All season, we have complained about the many shortcomings of the latest offering ofThe Great British Bake Off.
The challenges were too desperate.
The bakers were too bland.
The global pandemic continued, and nobody knew how to make brownies.
Paul Hollywood was not the ideal emissary of the culinary traditions of Japan.
Every week was Hot Week.
The president did not concede his election, and the days got very short.
But there are powers greater than despair; one of them is Prue Leith.
The finale is a celebration of perseverance.
No,of coursethis wasnt theBake Offthat we wanted.
The signature challenge is to make custard slices, which are slices of custard.
I just cant afford to have it not set today, whispers an anxious Laura.
The one thing you have to know about a custard slice is that the custard must be set.
The one thing you have to know about Laura is that her custard did not set.
Its still pretty delicious, asserts Prue, again.
Laura presents a yuzu-custard puddle.
Also, her puff pastry is bad.
Youve had a bad morning, soothes Prue, but you could still have a great afternoon!
But Laura does not have a great afternoon.
Still, how can you not root for her, after all this time?
She is an underdog, up against two glossy-coated Afghan hounds.
Laura, she embodies the struggle and the joy ofreallife.
It is so hot.
It is 34 degrees in the tent, which is European for 93.2 degrees.
Everybodys walnut whirls are too soft, and two of three are melted, but Lauras is the worst.
In the morning, it is raining but dont worry, its still hot.
Is there any chance, at this point, that Laura, populist hero, could still win?
Weve seen stranger things in the tent before, offers Paul, half-heartedly.
In the background, thunder claps.
It can be choux pastry or pudding or overfldighedshorn, for all Paul cares!
All I want, he offers humbly, is the perfect of whatever they choose to do.
This, he explains, will represent uncertainty but also joy.
A fraisier cake base.
A layer of new and improved chocolate babkas.
Raspberry profiteroles, to make up for his lackluster eclairs.
Revamped brownies, to compensate for his other brownies.
It is perhaps profoundly ill-advised.
I love everything about it.
And they have done it.
It is exactly at this moment that I realize I will cry.
Peters blackberry choux buns are exquisite, but his Victoria sponge is drier than Prue would prefer.
Peters Battenberg-inspired biscuits are adorable, but his friands are stodgy.
Daves brownies are elegantly gooey, but his profiteroles are flat.
It is anyones game at this point except Lauras.
Maks son got married!
Rowan has assumed his rightful hobby, which is making his own waistcoats!
