The Great British Baking Show
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What is Sussex pond pudding?
you may be thinking, to which I say: exactly.
Its sort of surprising, reflects Prue contemplatively, because theres a whole lemon inside.
It is an act of pastry and an act of patriotism.
Puddings like this go back so far in British history, says Paul.
Steamed puddings are what we were known for.
His eyes, they are so blue.
This might be true.
I do not care.
The Sussex pond pudding is British stodge at its very best I read that intheGuardian!
It likes its bakes neat and its layers well-defined and its cake-busts lifelike.
But Sussex pond pudding is not attractive.
It defies the laws of Instagram.
This is true escapism.
When else are we allowed to aspire to this kind of boggy mess?
It isthe anti-kawaii cake.
And it is Prues favorite pudding of them all!
Does anybody even eat this in 2020?
laments Hermine, who clearly has not been keeping up with theGuardians pudding coverage.
Everybody fails, but they are very British failures.
Hermines pastry is almost nice, but her undercooked lemon is bullet hard.
This is what they mean, I think, when they talk about an empire in decline.
It is, if not the ideal challenge, then the ideal challenge for my mood.
Take me to a British lemon bog, I say!
Make me a preindustrial mutton-fat pudding with an entire rindy lemon in the middle of it!
For the Signature, the remaining five bakers attempt 12 minicheesecakes, mostly made with passionfruit.
They are to be very exquisite, Prue explains, insightfully.
They are universally fine.
Peters collapses slightly in the middle, and Marcs spreads too much.
This is the drama I live for.
More staggering: The jelly art cakes are all beautiful.
It seems to involve surgical tools.
Marc, for example, makes two tiers of apple jelly injected with a rose and jasmine garden.
We have a wibble-wobble!
In the brush, a sparrow chirps.
Every cake is stunning, and four out of the five are also attractive.
It is the opposite of Hermines enormous poppy, which is absolutely gorgeous in all possible ways.
As a cake and as a flower, it is a triumph.
