The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – Meringue Week 7 – 2025

Another week in the tent – and another brand new theme: meringue. I have been setting up the posts and link to the technical recipe but Darcie has been working hard on completing the details the last few weeks as I have been buried in the 2026 Preview Post. Thank you Darcie!

Signature challenge: 12 meringue pies

The bakers were tasked with making 12 mini meringue pies with a shortcrust pastry. They could choose whatever type of meringue and filling they wanted. Most opted for Italian meringue, although two used a Swiss meringue. No one attempted a French meringue, much to Prue’s dismay. We learned that she does not like unbaked meringue.

Darcie: I am kind of the opposite of Prue, I prefer a soft meringue over a baked one, which is usually to dry for my taste. While most bakers opted for a curd or other fruit filling, Iain decided to go with a frangipane and rhubarb, which he says is lucky. He said that no baker was ever sent home during a week when they used rhubarb. It may have worked because Paul and Prue thought his pies were good. The judges were not impressed with any elements of Lesley’s pies: they found the crust overworked and underbaked and the lemon curd to be too thick. Tom’s meringue was far too soft for Prue’s liking – she even turned away in disgust. Jasmine got a never-before-seen left-handed handshake from Paul for her passionfruit curd pies. Aaron’s pies were also praised, but weren’t handshake worthy. Toby, on the other hand, received a warm Hollywood handshake for his apple pies featuring a novel latticework meringue that look just like a lattice crust.

Technical challenge: Set by Paul Hollywood: Raspberry soufflé with tuiles

This challenge had a staggered start so the judges could taste the souffles fresh out of the oven. The tuiles ended up being an issue for Lesley, who had to make hers over and they still were not correct. The judges really only liked two of the souffles – Aaron’s (2nd) and Iain’s (1st). Lesley was at the bottom, followed by Tom, then Jasmine, and Toby in third.

Darcie: Maybe Iain is right, rhubarb seemed lucky for him. Most of the bakers did not do well and for once I am glad that I did not get to taste the bakes. Lesley’s was severely underbaked, Tom’s was likewise gloopy and did not get much rise. Most of the tuiles looked bad too. I should not have praised Lesley last week; I think I jinxed her.

Showstopper challenge: Vacherin glacé in 4.5 hours.

A vacherin glacé is similar to what we know in the US as Baked Alaska, consisting of ice cream (and often a contrasting element such as sorbet) surrounded by a dome of meringue, but the meringue is baked separately instead of being piped on and torched.

Darcie: Yep, I jinxed Lesley. She inverted the proportions of her meringue and had to redo it twice, which meant that it did not have enough time to bake. However, the judges like her ice cream flavors a lot. Iain, however, did not impress with his flavors, which were based on “Bingate” from the Irish Iain GBBO contestant of several seasons ago. Jasmine did well (as always) and Tom redeemed himself mightily with his towering mushroom featuring banana flavors. Aaron’s monochrome Japanese fox was well received, and Paul and Prue loved Toby’s pastel tree with piña colada flavors.

There is a group on Facebook – that posts about The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show. This post has photos of all the showstoppers.

Toby was named star baker and Lesley was informed that she would be going home.