The Great British Bake Off review: The technical challenge was an apple tart. Wasn’t that a bit like MasterChef asking contestants to make a soft-boiled egg? writes ROLAND WHITE

The Great British Bake Off

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Presenter Alison Hammond was off sick for the semi-final of The Great British Bake Off (Ch4), which meant Noel Fielding was left to shoulder the terrible burden of being the show’s comic turn. 

Actually, it went so smoothly that viewers might wonder why it needs two people to chivvy the contestants and crack terrible jokes.

The technical challenge was an apple tart. Wasn’t that a bit like MasterChef asking contestants to make a soft-boiled egg?

You can’t go wrong with the flavour, advised Prue Leith, so the key thing is presentation. That turned out to be bad news for Tasha, whose crust collapsed.

That followed a poor showing in the earlier round, when she, Dan, Matty and Josh were ordered to make financiers.

Noel Fielding was left to shoulder the terrible burden of being the show’s comic turn

You can’t go wrong with the flavour, advised Prue Leith, so the key thing is presentation

Just to be clear, that’s ‘financiers’ with a French accent. They are sponge cakes, not hedge fund managers. Not only did Tasha’s buttercream curdle, but Prue’s verdict was: ‘You look as if you’ve dropped one or two of them.’

With Matty and Josh at the top of their game, and Dan always capable of a good performance, Tasha had to really shine in the showstopper round. She didn’t, and won’t be appearing in next week’s final.

The challenge was to make millefoglie, which is Italian for millefeuille, highly decorated puff pastry. 

When Tasha needed a triumph, she chose such a complicated method of making pastry that even Dame Prue hadn’t attempted it.

Her pastry wasn’t square enough for the judges, and her curd was grainy. Poor Tasha looked like a little girl who’s just had her sweets confiscated.

Josh was the star baker, and will be the one to beat in an all-male final.

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