Warning! This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of The Great British Bake Off.
Fans of the Great British Bake Off had a lot to say after this week’s “car crash” of a Technical Challenge, which saw every contestant serve undercooked bakes.
During Tuesday’s (7 November) episode, bakers were tasked with creating six orange and ginger treacle puddings with creme anglaise as part of dessert week.
The punchy technical challenge saw all seven remaining contestants run out of time, forcing them to serve semi-raw desserts to judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood.
Bakers were snorting with laughter at the state of the steamed puddings they presented, before Paul took one look at the table and jokingly walked away. “That is disgusting,” he said.
They were left to judge from “worst to least worst”, with Tasha winning for her “not as terrible but still pretty terrible” dessert.
Prue went so far as to declare the challenge “the worst thing I’ve ever judged on Bake Off”.
While it was good for a few laughs, others viewers have argued that bakers simply did not have enough time to give the challenge their best shot.
“They needed to give them more baking time for this one,” one X (formerly Twitter) user insisted. “Deliberately set up to fail by not giving them enough time,” another added. “Maybe you should have actually given them the time they need!? This was awful,” a third shared.
However others saw the humour in the chaos of it all. “The contestants were like naughty school children trying not to giggle,” one social user said. “This was the best challenge ever,” another shared.
They needed to give them the baking time for this one 😭 not one of them were old enough to have known steamed cake takes longer 😭😭😭 https://t.co/519ZHh8ABh
— Ayesha ⁷ 𖧵 (@jeonpayesha) November 7, 2023
The technical was a cock-up in more ways than one 😉 #GBBOhttps://t.co/EHrSST3z1j
— Jamie 🏳️🌈 (@JamieMelling92) November 7, 2023
Maybe you should have actually given them the time they need!? This was awful #GBBOhttps://t.co/GbcKmZypKl
— Michael Dean (@Michael_JDean) November 7, 2023
If no contestant got the bake done in time then the challenge was definitely too short. Give them a chance of success #GBBO
— Ceri (@Frawli1978) November 7, 2023
I don’t think I’ve laughed this hard over an episode of #gbbo in years. That technical was suck a car crash, I can’t breathe, bless them all.
— Sarah (@everlarky) November 7, 2023
They need to stop giving impossible challenges. It’s getting boring now
— Balbira (@balbira) November 7, 2023
It’s the fault of the judges. They did not give them enough time. What a waste if everyone’s time.
— Angela hall (@angelafrenchhen) November 7, 2023
I feel that if not one of the bakers can pull it off in the time frame, it’s the fault of the person who set the challenge, not the bakers.
— Hollie Louise Joy (@hollielouisejoy) November 7, 2023
Last nights @BritishBakeOff had the worst performance in a technical challenge across the board. To me, that signifies that the time for the challenge or the instructions wasn't sufficient. #bakeoff#TechnicalChallenge#BritishBakeOff
— Joe (@Just_Joe903) November 8, 2023
Nobody's fault but the judges who set the timings.
— RRR 💙💛 (@BBoof63) November 8, 2023
#GBBO This technical is an absolute car crash and I’m here for it pic.twitter.com/nNUn2FE95d
— Ell 🎃🕷 (@Ellrose95) November 7, 2023
Now I’m getting cross at the ridiculously tight times on that’s bakes. 15 minutes more would still separate the bakers skills – but be less of a disaster. I bet even many professionals would struggle.
— Carol Shea (@BrightYangThing) November 7, 2023
Sososo ridiculous. I'm SO cross for all those lovely people. Shame on those who set the timings on this bake. 🤬🤬🤬
— Pollydot (@Pollydotted) November 7, 2023
Ultimately, it was Saku who became the latest contestant to leave the tent in Dessert Week, with five bakers now left in the competition.
Meanwhile, an episode last month left viewers in shock after two contestants were eliminated at once. It came after no bakers were sent home the previous week due to Tasha falling ill.
Before next week’s episode, you can explore 20-behind-the-scenes secrets about GBBO that you didn’t know.
The Great British Bake Off continues on Tuesday at 8pm on Channel 4.