The world may currently feel burnt, dry, and soggy-bottomed, but bakers, the tent is open.
The Great British Baking Show has returned for another season and we in the U.S. only have to wait three days after episodes premiere in the U.K. before we get to watch them on Netflix. It's excellent news for us all, because sometimes there is nothing in the world more comforting than watching a bunch of frazzled bakers compete for a handshake from a man with the real name of Paul Hollywood.
A couple things had to change for 2020, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of going home during the week in between filming each episode, the bakers lived in a "Bake Off Bubble" for seven weeks, adding a whole extra element to the competition since they're isolated from their families. Matt Lucas also joined the show as a new co-host, replacing Sandi Toksvig, and so far he's fitting right in.
Even with a few changes, the show remains the same comforting slice of happiness it's always been...except for one thing.
The first two challenges of the season premiere were fairly typical. Bakers had to make a patterned cake covered in marzipan, and then perfect a batch of mini pineapple upside down cakes in the technical challenge. Things got dramatic when four of Dave's cakes ended up on the floor while Sura was trying to swat a fly, but the judges were perfectly understanding.
Then, they announced the showstopper challenge.
Matt and Noel informed the bakers that they had to make a "cake bust" of their personal celebrity hero. The bust had to have a head and had to be mostly made of cake with other edible details, and there was nothing about this that did not promise absolute joy. While the choices of celebrities were mostly VERY British, the challenge delivered.
The end result even proved that maybe the bakers on Nailed It aren't quite as bad as we were led to believe, because even some of the best bakers in the UK couldn't pull off cake versions of famous people. It was just a wonderful time, and it's time to take a look at the best, the worst, and just the absolute funniest attempts from the episode.
New episodes of The Great British Baking Show arrive every Friday on Netflix.