Heel Holland Bakt-talk #7
It’s that time again: every Sunday, we get to watch bumbling and flourishing home bakers on Heel Holland Bakt. From over-the-top signature bakes to the complicated technical challenge, I’m glued to the screen from the very first minute. What exactly goes through my head during an episode like that? I write it down for you every week.
In two weeks, it’s already the final, so there are only a few of us left. This week’s theme is a big fat middle finger to blue Monday: worry-free Sunday. I’m not entirely sure what I’m supposed to make of that, but the signature challenge is a sticky toffee cake. Mmmm, so delicious, still warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Sunk
Cas makes his without dates, very daring, while Maroeska’s is gluten- and lactose-free. Pecans instead of flour? It seems like it would become very heavy, but okay. Aaaah, that sunken cake of Cas’s—I can’t take it. Just don’t let him leave, please. Hanneke’s coffee cake looks absolutely delicious, but why is she putting her vanilla sauce in a milk bottle? Very inconvenient, right? She does end up taking all the glory because she has the tastiest cake of them all.
Who Is the Mole?
For the technical challenge, the bakers make mosaic biscuits—I’ve genuinely never heard of them. I also don’t really understand what the biscuits have to do with the Sunday theme. And am I watching Heel Holland Bakt or Wie is de Mol? Robèrt is in both programmes too, so confusing. In any case, Maroeska suddenly starts sabotaging things like crazy: “Weighing your dough takes time; you’re really better off doing it by feel, Hanneke.” It worked, because Hanneke finishes in last place. Maroeska herself finishes just one place higher, but anything is better than last place, right?
Gluten-free?
The challenge for the showstopper: make something that makes you happy. I find this a very puzzling theme, honestly—what’s wrong with just cakes or bread or custard? Maroeska has interpreted the theme as gluten-free, at least, because she’s once again baking a cake with nuts instead of flour. Hanneke’s long-playing record with those grooves in it is seriously cool! Even though she serves it with red wine, which doesn’t seem to go with it at all. Yuck.
Huh, where’s Cas? Oh, he was just putting on his circus hat. Sorry, but it really doesn’t get any cuter than this. Oh no, Robèrt finds the filling boring and Cas is eliminated. This is so awful—Cas was genuinely the funniest, and tears are streaming down his cheeks. You’ll be in my heart forever, Cas, what a star. Next week is already the semi-final, so things are going to get really exciting. See you then!
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