A Date With The Bake

It’s been a fantastic season of The Great British Baking Show, but now let the true hand wringing, oven watching and sweat mixed with tears BEGIN! It’s the grand finale and it all comes down to these final bakes for Chigs, Crystelle and Giuseppe! The final showstopper is the Mad Hatter’s tea party, will any of the bakers lose their heads? No that’s just Kimberly, Katie and Jake trying to keep their cool as the seconds tick down to the cake plate of glory! So until next time… on your mark… get set… AND OH MY GOD REMEMBER TO SHUT THAT OVEN DOOR CORRECTLY… Whew… BAKE!

It’s almost the end and the final four bakers file into a near empty Bake Off tent to bake for their lives. Not really their lives, but with the stress levels of Kimberly, Katie and Jake watching this week you would feel like it is. It’s a notoriously complicated and finicky theme that will stretch the bakers in multiple areas. Its multi layers, multi textures and all about the flavor. And these finalists are more than competent in all the aforementioned. Paul and Prue have to make a controversial decision and one of these bakers’ place in the finale balances on a cake knife’s edge. Get out your hankies and prepare to bid auf Wiedersehen to one of the competition’s most memorable bakers… ever. On your mark… Get Set… A Date with the Bake: Seminal Finale.

It’s the quarter finals in the Great British Bake Off tent and the bakers certainly aren’t free from much. There’s enough stress, tears, hopes and fears to go around. And that goes double for Kimberly, Katie and Jake. It’s a dairy free signature challenge, a meat free technical, a gluten free showstopper and a those lead to a determinedly Hollywood Handshake free episode. But is all fair in love, baking and judging? A favorite baker leaves the tent after their best bake of the series and one frontrunner baker drops the ball. And by ball we mean multiple meat free sausage rolls… Hold on to your biscuit sheets and On your mark! Get Set! A Date with the Bake: Free From Logic!

Caramel is sticky sweet/ Jurgin and ‘Seppe will be hard to beat! This rhyme might be bad but not as bad caramel that just refuses to cooperate. The bakers have dwindled to half their original number and the pressure is on as this sugary ingredient is notoriously hard to work with. The signature is all about consistency. The technical challenge is a familiar pairing beTWIXT shortbread and the sticky substance. And finally the showstopper incorporates one particularly difficult baking element that will have the bakers spinning in circles. Kimberly, Katie and Jake have a lot on their plates for this discussion. So on your mark… get set… A DATE WITH THE BAKE: Caramelancholy Blues.

The bakers return to the tent and Kimberly, Katie and Jake return to their microphones for the dreaded pastry week of The Great British Bake Off. It’s known to be complicated, finicky, temperature sensitive and no we aren’t talking about Paul Hollywood’s mood swings. But this week brings some surprises with its challenges and a surprise handshake means there might be a new frontrunner in the competition. Who’s going to flake out and who gives a multi-layered performance worthy of that Bake Off top spot? We donut know what the future folds but On Your Mark… Get Set… A DATE WITH THE BAKE: Baklava Not a Fighter.

Yes, Fraulein it is ze German Week and the bakers are shaking and quaking in their das boots. Well, except for one. Jurgin’s homeland is on the table and the pressure is on to see who can beat the resident Deutsche. It’s fanciful biscuits, cakes with names that no mortal can properly pronounce and a multi tier showstopper that is decidedly not very German at all. Kimberly, Katie and Jake take this opportunity to work on their accents, impressions and try to figure out how in the wide world these bakers are going to bake intricate chocolate desserts in a sweltering tent.  Another baker says Auf Wiedersehen and the contestants get ever closer to that precious cake plate of glory! So grab a schnitzel and on your mark… get set…. A Date with the BACKEN!

It’s all desserts all the time! It is a baking show after all so wouldn’t that mean every week is dessert week? Not here folks.  In the tent desserts are fussy and complicated and have sauces and collars and require short/long setting times. Its cracking eggs, cracking meringues and some downright good craic as bakers edge ever closer to that precious Best Baker title!  And while this week sees its second Hollywood Handshake, Kimberly, Katie and Jake have no time to celebrate because a favorite contestant has to say Adieu (to yu and yu and yuhuu). Get ready for some particularly persnikity bakes and on your mark… get set… A DATE WITH THE BAKE!

The dreaded bread week is upon us and the Series 9 bakers are ready to bust their buns! Some rise to the occasion and some just aren’t loafing it as much as they hoped. But Date with Bake Jake is back after feeling pretty crumby so Kimberly and Katie are ready for his take on the action. This episode is filled with watery dough x2 , cheeky winks x100 and let’s raise a very special toast to the absolute weirdest bread sculpture to date. Oh baby… this is a Showstopper for the books. It’s A Date with the Bake: A Very Grain Area.

It’s Season 9 of THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF and a dozen bakers enter the tent of triumph and trifles to compete for the ultimate conversation starter. A giant cake plate which means they are the best amateur baker in Britain. But before the glory of the cake plate can even be considered the bakers have to endure the many challenges of cake week and biscuit week. Will the brandy snaps have the right snap? Will the cakes be stodgy? Will the dreaded “tent stress” cause bakers to make foolish mistakes? And will Paul, Prue, Noel and Matt ever live down a very heart achey opener that could be considered a parody-saster? Kimberly and Katie introduce the new baker’s dozen and discuss all the fruitless tries and fruitful loafs during the first two weeks of the best reality competition show of all time! So wipe off that dripping ganache, have a seat and enjoy a double slice of A DATE WITH THE BAKE!

Hold on to your cookies for some seriously good craic as the cast of the hilarious series DERRY GIRLS are taking over the tent for the New Years Bake Off!  Paul and Prue have every right to be worried about testing the offerings from these inexperienced bakers, but the only stomach aches caused from these challenges will be from laughter. But it’s no trifling matter to compete in the bake off tent, and with Sister Michael ( Siobhan McSweeney)  against three of her wean’s its bound to be an episode to remember. Is someone the clear front runner or is one of the cast about rock the boat? Kimberly, Katie and Jake are ready to dish in a very special episode of The Great Festive Baking Show- Derry Girls Edition!

It’s that time of year when cheer and joy fills the air… but this is 2020. So this year we need more than cheer, we need a good dose of Christmas Bake Off hilarity and hijinks and most importantly Paul Hollywood and Prue scale models dancing wildly next to a gingerbread tower! Four past year’s bakers enter the tent for a chance at redemption and to just have a jolly good time. Kimberly and Katie are excited to introduce past favorites like Briony, Yan, Terry and Tom to new co-host Jake and Jake is excited to finally witness the comedy stylings of Noel and Sandy. It’s cake pops, blood sausage, toppling structures and a frosting filled fight to the finish in this years festive challenge! So Happy Holidays to all and to all a good bake!

The time has come. The three bakers that have made it through the ganache gauntlet to reach the finale of The Great British Bake Off have entered the tent for the last time. Dave, Laura and Peter are baking their hearts out to try to win the elusive Bake Off Trophy and the official love of the nation ( well many nations). Kimberly, Katie and Jake are trying to keep their cool as tensions and temperatures are are steadily rising and Mr. Spoon keeps popping up at inopportune moments. Another Bake Off season comes to a close and this year the winner was a host favorite from the word Bake. So hold on to your apron strings because this competition is coming down to a butter knifes edge choice!

It’s the SEMI FINAL of the Great British Bake Off Season 8 and the last 4 bakers have to compete in some of the toughest challenges yet. It’s the always delicate and difficult Patisserie week where the bakes are likely to be dainty, detailed and often French (so you know its going to be hard). And as it’s Thanksgiving in the states, Kimberly, Katie and Jake are mostly grateful that they are not forced to create a cornucopia of filled almond pastry under incredible time restraints under the watchful eye of Paul and Prue. Yet another beloved baker is sent home at this bitter end and a controversial judging has K,K & J in a tither. It’s almost time for a flavor-filled finale and looks like along with delicious desserts, at least 2 of our hosts will be eating a hefty dose of crow as the Blink 182 baker appears to have gone the distance… Please enjoy this very special semi-final coverage from A Date with the Bake!

In the grand tradition of the Great British Bake Off it’s the return of the frighteningly general Dessert Week! Wherein the bakes can be downright confusing or very familiar or sometimes a little bit scary all in the same week. Kimberly and Jake are on their own this week, which may be a good thing as Katie is highly suspicious of cakes that wobble unnaturally. Who will they root for now that Lottie is gone? Will another  favorite leave the tent forever? Will Paul be wearing a denim shirt and Prue a large, slightly dangerous looking necklace? Is this dessert week a Noel affair or more Matt’s speed? Enjoy this episode of A Date with the Bake to find out!

Gag me with a spoon full of cookie dough- It’s 80’s week for the Great British Bake off! As our original bakers dozen gets smaller and smaller the remaining bakers are livin’ on a prayer as they attempt to pour some extra sugar on their donuty confections. Temperatures soar in the tent and in the heat of the moment one baker makes a doozy of a mistake while the other bakers fight against all odds to complete a chilly showstopper. And like always Bake Off is bringing on the heartbreak for Kimberly, Katie and Jake when another of their favorites bites the dust. Are you hungry like the wolf? Hope so, cause its time for 80’s Week on the GBBO! (bonus points if you can count all the 80’s song references in this description).

This week the bakers head back to the Great British Bake off tent for what will prove to be a somewhat difficult but HIGHLY controversial Japanese week! Will it be Kowai or Kawaii? Is the theme a matcha made in heaven? Which of the bakers has the steamiest buns? Kimberly, Katie and Jake will be the judge. One of their most favoritist competitors winds up at the bottom of the heap and somebody’s personal fav proves to be a real star. But, will the win be overshadowed by questionable challenges? Safe to say maybe Bake Off “should’ve known batter…”

Other than the Great British Bake Off’s infamous bread week, which always seems to separate the wheat from the chaff, the week that seems to show which bakers are really the crème (de pat) of the crème is PASTRY WEEK. Kimberly and Katie introduce Jake to the world of rough puff, short crust, soggy bottoms and curdled custard fillings. This year a few of the bakers are touting Pastry week as “their” week which never bodes well for success with such a finnicky category. International flavors abound! More floral decorations than you can wave a cookie sheet at! Laughter! Tears! Geography lessons! Get that butter chilling ’cause… it’s A Date with the Bake!

The bakers are facing a daunting task this week in the Great British Bake off tent… no its not croquembouche time yet, no 60 perfectly equal macarons, no creme brulee with a perfect crack…. its BROWNIES. Who would have thought the seemingly simple tray bake would be the downfall of all the talented contestants this year. Kimberly, Katie and Jake have their own daunting task of trying to come to terms with the fact that one particular baker, who was definitely a favorite to win will not be returning to the back. Chocolate is always a particularly tricky Bake Off week, but this is 2020 so that means it may just be a sticky semi-sweet disaster! It’s time to inch a little close to finding out which Becker has got the right temper-ment to be named Great Britians Best Baker!

Bake Off Bread Week is a grainular tour de force and the bakers are coming into the tent with buns a blazin! Kimberly, Katie and Jake are discussing the nitty and the sometimes unintentionally gritty details of the challenges. Surprises abound as two as yet unsung bakers shoot to the top of the food pyramid as the wheat starts to separate from the chaff. Paul Hollywood is giving out another famous handshake and Prue tries to get in there with the “Prue Pat”. Jury is out on if that is taking off really yet. Dough you want to hear more? Then please enjoy this Bread Week episode of A DATE WITH THE BAKE!

Week 2 of The Great British Bake Off season 8 is upon us and its Biscuit Week! Also known in the US as Cookie Time! The bakers lost a great flavor-filled competitor from the tent last week and a tiny fly during the technical challenge managed to turn the whole competition pineapple upside down. But the scandals are minimal for the three biscuit challenges, unless you count bendy over nutted florentines, over-worked bland shortbread or the number of “o’s” in the word macaroooon a scandal. Kimberly and Jake are discovering new delightful factoids about favorites, Lottie and Peter, while Katie tries her hand at a new career as a Tom DeLonge cover artist. Who will come out on top of the cookie jar this week and who sadly watches their Bake Off dream crumble? Well… it just may be a scandal after all! Grease those cookie sheets, make sure you have a firm grasp on what the term “golden brown” means to you and enjoy this episode of A Date with the Bake!

Last week Kimberly and Katie discussed in detail the latest competitors to come into the baking tent and this week its time to talk Technical and Showstopper challenges of the premiere! And this year GBBO isn’t the only one to switch up delightful hosts. K & K are hoping to up their own delightful factor by bringing Bake Off newbie Jake into the dough fold! He is quickly learning the ropes of what it takes to become Great Britain’s best baker and what kind of celebrity should be avoided if he one day has to make a cake bust under incredible time restraints. The premiere week technical is sticky as ever and the first showstopper of the season is really going to put these bakers through their paces. But with all this going on, it’s one pesky fly who really get this years competition off to a jaw dropping (and cake dropping) start. So set those timers and stay glued to that oven door – you won’t want to miss a moment of this conclusion to the Great British Bake Off Season 8 Cake Week!

2020 may have changed a lot of things in our lives. But the one thing, the one thing that still brings pure joy and happiness to us all from across the pond is The Great British Bake Off!  And friends, it could not be more kneaded! Its time to pre-heat those ovens, strap on those aprons and start fanning those hot buns because the GBBO has 12 new bakers entering the tent and ready to compete (in the nicest way possible) for the title of Great Britain’s Best Baker. And though the bakers competition is slightly modified due to the pandemic all the sugary sweetness of the competitors, the sometimes salty judging and the spicy banter of the hosts is proving to rise to a delicious start the the season.

In this episode Kimberly and Katie discuss the new Baker’s Dozen and the Cake Week Signature Challenge- ye olde Battenberg. They also talk about marzipan and a new invention… pistachipan.

On your mark…get set… A Date with the Bake: 2020 Edition!

Back to the tent for the first time in…2019? Oh, well. Seems we are getting this episode a little after the fact, but it’s well worth the wait as four favorites return to show off their baking skills in a New Yearstravaganza of sugar! Kate, Tamal, Steven and former Bake Off winner Candice (Candeece?) are ready to tackle stollen recipes (gasp! how dare they), a tricky meringue filled technical and a mildly personal showstopper. Will the stollen have the proper level of stodge? Will the caramel cages set in time? Will Kimberly and Katie ever figure why Noel pronounces Candice’s name like that? Also an oven timer rings for the last time for one key member of the GBBO team. Feelings. Many, many feelings. So, pipe that marzipan, roll that fondant and on your mark-get set- A Date with the Bake!

Happy Holidays and Happy Christmas to us all. The Great British Bake Off is back with it’s Holiday episodes. Returning to the tent are 4 past competitors who will attempt to win over Paul and Prue one last time as they create baking Christmasterpieces! K & K are ready for a walk down memory lane with a few favorite bakers and a few that take some remembering. It’s all butter and biscuits, jumpers and ginger(s) and partridges and pear trees for this lot. Not to mention, one of the most unusual cakes to grace the Bake Off Tent. So, get your rolling pins floured, your chestnuts roasted and on your mark… get set… A DATE WITH THE BAKE (HOLIDAY STYLE)

It’s time to finally untie the aprons and switch those ovens to off. We have reached the end of another season of The Great British Bake Off. As usual it was filled with laughs- provided chiefly by Noel and Sandy (and many dirty winks for us at home), tears – provided most by Kimberly as she watched the loves of her young life slowly leave the tent, and lots of cake, puns, buns and patisserie goods that K & K can’t correctly pronounce. We learned about baps and beignets,  Saint Honore and the sanctity of all cheeses, the difference between “sweets” and “dessert” (still unsure) and that Dan left the tent far, far too early. #Dandeservedbetter. This double layer episode encompasses the Semi Final and Final rounds for the brave bakers. There is heartache and victory as always, but most importantly frosty Paul Hollywood shows the world that he really might have a heart after all. (Also, Noel’s finale boots are the greatest things to grace on British soil and not to be missed). Thank you for coming on this scrumptious journey with us and without further adough….on your mark… get set…A DATE WITH THE BAKE!

This episode may be late, but unfortunately there has been a tragedy…One of the personal sort, and the other of the international scandalous sort. Yes. Henry has left the tent. K & K have lots of feelings about rough puff and full puff and what actually constitutes a US vs. UK pie.  But what this episode is really about, besides the quest for good, good, good lamination is the very real lamentations of a lad we have all been rooting for since we saw him rollerblading down the block and playing the organ for the clergy. But pressing on through the darkness to the glorious light of the tent, there is only one real question that K & K need to answer… Who the bl**dy h*ll is going to win this thing? Butter chilled, meats minced and on your mark- get set- A DATE WITH THE BAKE!

Festival Week for the bakers means more fringe, more exposed buns and more drama than poor Kimberly’s heart can take! We get a Hollywood Handshake for the ages,  a “home-made” Prue put-down that is so very cringe and one of the most difficult showstoppers to grace the tent. K & K learn how to spell and say Kardemulumabullar for an absurdly long time and try to figure out what constitutes an “Essex girl”. If that sounds like your favorite tipple then flip on that broiler, grate those peels and please enjoy this episode of A Date with the Bake!

This episode may be late, but this week, the bakers in the tent are watching their clocks ever carefully, and doing A LOT of maths! Kimberly and Katie may not be ready for all that jelly (insert groan and eye roll here) after last week’s judging upset. However, they are still ready to discuss the all important meaning behind that one burning question… if you “don’t like” sweets, or desserts aren’t “really your thing”… are you allowed to be in the Great British Bake Off? Apparently that question answers itself, but please enjoy the level of emotion it evokes from a mystified K & K. So get your rulers ready for a trifle, pick those seeds out of that jam and get ready for another bombe (yes, groan again) episode of A DATE WITH THE BAKE! On your mark… get set… ah, you know the drill.

The results have left us speechless. Well, not really because when it comes the Bake-off there is always something to discuss. But the Roaring 20’s week have left us feeling like we just got a custard pie of our own right in the face. Who is still baking their way to glory and who is left flapping around the tent trying to find their footing? Couldn’t be more grateful that prohibition is over -we might need for this PruPaul decision. So grab your liquor of choice, figure out what a saboyon is and on your mark… get set… ADATEWITHBAKE!

Like, don’t have a cow, man! The bakers are back in the tent for Week 4 and Kimberly and Katie are here to discuss the best and worst dairy themed bakes of the weekend, as well as the stomach churning final decision that leaves all the bakers in a state of shock. As we reach the halfway point- who seems to be stumbling on the curdles and which bakers will find a whey to milk this opportunity for all that it is worth. Find out who K & K think is the cream of the crop and for the first time, what the twitter world is saying about series 7 of the GBBO. Make sure to listen to the end when Kimberly spills the biggest British tea of the season! So massage that whisking arm, take a double dose of Lactaid and enjoy this 4th installment of  A Date With The Bake!

This weeks episode is carbo-loaded full of all things bread! A few of our bakers are rising to the challenge and a few really go a rye. There are a lot of hot crossed puns and one particularly hot button issue (cheesegate) while Paul Hollywood, the bread king, keeps a particularly watchful eye on the contestants baps and bakes. The bakers really knead to prove themselves in these challenges if they hope to have a chance of scoring a spot in the finale. Who is really on a roll? Find out as Kimberly and Katie discuss this game changing week of the Bake Off. So pull out that proving drawer, flour that rolling pin and on your mark, get set- ADATEWITHBAKE!   (High pun count in this description is on purpose because I am just a gluten for punishment)

Last weeks judging and sudden DAN-parture may have left you with a bad taste in your mouth don’t toss those cookies yet! It’s time for biscuit week and the Bakers are ready to pull out all the stops to keep that crunch, snap, soft, (insert texture adjective of your choice here) that will impress the discerning palettes of Paul and Prue. of A Date with The Bake! Kimberly and Katie are ready to discuss all the important happenings of the week- like the surprising musical machinations of many of our Bakers, the truth behind the TWIX empire and can being too perfect hurt you in this competition filled with personalities?  So grease those cookie sheets, dusk of that mixer and on your mark, get set- ADATEWITHBAKE!

Welcome to the first installment of A Date with The Bake! Kimberly and Katie are ready to delve into the sticky (toffee pudding) underbelly of the UK’s most famous competition baking show. Ok, maybe not so much investigative reporting as gabbing and reviewing the first week of one of our favorite shows- The Great British Bake Off (or Baking Show, depending on your liking). This Series 7 opener introduces the 13 new bakers to the tent, involves fruitcake that isn’t the least bit stale and gives us a good glimpse into Noel Fielding’s aesthetic for the season. So strap into your aprons, preheat those ovens and on your mark, get set- ADATEWITHBAKE!