Yahoo News Great British Bake Off 2023: Who made the final?
It's the end of the road for Tasha
What did you miss?
Tasha became the latest contestant to leave The Great British Bake Off, falling at the semi-final stage.
The writing was on the wall early in the semi-final for the show's first deaf contest as she had a disaster of a technical with her tarte aux pommes coming out raw and fell apart in front of the judges.
Despite some heroic help from Dan, Tasha did not fair any better in the showstopper which the judges were unable to cut and had a grainy curd.
Noel delivered the bad news (on her birthday no less) which she was likely expecting given the high standard at this stage of the competition.
What, how, and why?
Tasha has been a fan favourite this year and was star baker on two consecutive occasions and even made a cake that looked a bit like Noel Fielding but one very bad week cost her near the finish line.
Visibly emotional after being told she was leaving the competition, Tasha said: "It's changed me. I can do so much more than I realised I was capable of. It's a special place. I'm very lucky to be a part of it."
On competing on Bake Off on her birthday, she also said: "I've never had a birthday like it and probably never will again."
What else happened on Great British Bake Off?
We started off on a downbeat note with Alison Hammond missing this episode because Noel Fielding says she is "poorly" without offering any further explination.
For the signature challenge, the remaining contestants are asked to come up with two batches of financier patisserie which according to Paul Hollywood, have to be light and moist at the same time.
The bakers come across more than a few issues during their signature bake: Tasha has to use curdled buttercream and Dan thinks he has lumpy mousse.
Despite his low expectations, Dan blows the judges away with his macha flavoured bake and even gets a much coveted Hollywood handshake. Even after the fact, he's still shocked given how badly he thought he'd messed up. For bonus points, he signs a thank you to Tasha.
The technical challenge is even more French than the signature with the bakers tasked with a tarte aux pommes which according to Prue Leith, you can't mess up the flavour of.
Tarte aux pommes look as difficult to make as they are to pronounce with Tasha in particular running into trouble as her bake falls apart and is still raw. Dan too, fails to follow up his excellent signature with Josh being judged to have won the technical – his first of the series.
For the showstopper, the judges want the bakers to come up with a millefoglie with Dan basing his on Sam Fender after missing out on seeing the Geordie rocker due to still being in the competition.
They have just four hours to come up with something and Josh forgtting to turn his oven on is not an auspicious start for him but that doesn't stop him from creating a "thing of beauty" according to Prue.
His remarkable showstopper also earns Josh the title of star baker giving him momentum going into the final.
Will we be back for more?
If you've come this far, then the chances are you will be tuning in for week 10 aka the final. Josh, Dan and Matty are the final three with Josh looking to be the favourite heading into the last week which also features a live audience. Hammond is also back for the final.
The Great British Bake Off final airs on Channel 4 next Tuesday at 8pm.
