The Great British Bake Off season 16 episode 7 recap: Sticky Signatures and melting Showstoppers define the chaos of Meringue Week

Meringue Week introduced a new set of challenges in The Great British Bake Off season 16, episode 7, replacing the usual Dessert Week with a focus on the precision of egg whites and sugar.

The episode featured sticky Signatures, collapsing soufflés, and melting Showstoppers, pushing contestants to navigate one of the season’s most technical themes.

Throughout the episode, bakers worked through three tasks: mini meringue tarts, raspberry soufflés, and vacherin glacé, with varying results that determined who earned Star Baker status and who left the tent by the end of the week.

Episode 7 highlights on The Great British Bake Off season 16

Mini meringue tart signatures

The first challenge required contestants to create mini meringue tarts. Prue Leith described the bake as “tiny” yet technically difficult.

Bakers were allowed to choose between Swiss, French, or Italian meringue, paired with a fruit-based filling to balance the sweetness.

Jasmine and Lesley selected raspberry, while Tom and Iain chose rhubarb. Toby presented “apple lattice” style tarts, which earned him a handshake from Paul Hollywood.

Most contestants executed the task successfully, though slight variations in meringue texture and fruit balance set some apart.

Jasmine admitted to learning about the three meringue types only days before the challenge, emphasizing the week’s unfamiliar territory for several bakers.

Technical challenge: Raspberry soufflés

The Technical featured raspberry soufflés, completed under a staggered start so the judges could sample each dessert immediately after baking.

Bakers followed a partially detailed recipe, testing their understanding of technique and timing.

Iain miscalculated the sugar ratio, using double the intended amount, while Lesley and Toby overwhipped their egg whites, resulting in a denser mixture.

Paul Hollywood emphasized that precision was critical, stating, “You’ve got one shot at this. You make a mistake on that, that’s it.”

Despite the sugar issue, Iain’s soufflé achieved the best rise and consistency, earning first place in the Technical.

Lesley’s undercooked dessert placed her at the bottom of the ranking, narrowing her margin for error heading into the final challenge.

Showstopper: Vacherin glacé

The Showstopper tasked bakers with producing a vacherin glacé, a French ice cream cake constructed from layers of meringue, ice cream, sorbet, and whipped cream.

Each contestant created three types of ice cream or sorbet, with freedom in design and flavor themes.

Lesley made a wedding-inspired creation celebrating her daughter’s engagement, while Aaron designed a Japanese folklore-themed dessert featuring a seven-tailed fox.

Iain recreated a “bin-shaped” vacherin glacé referencing a notable moment from a previous Bake Off season.

Toby produced a pineapple and coconut ice cream cake that received positive feedback for structure and execution.

Iain’s flavor combination was noted as overly rich, and Lesley’s meringue structure required reworking after an incorrect egg-to-sugar ratio caused underbaking.

Her final dessert was completed, but inconsistencies in texture affected her overall result.

Results and elimination

Lesley was eliminated at the end of Meringue Week following her difficulties in both the Technical and Showstopper rounds.

Her departure marked the tent’s reduction to five remaining bakers: Toby, Iain, Aaron, Jasmine, and Tom.

Toby earned the title of Star Baker for the second time this season, following his earlier win in Biscuit Week.

His consistent performance across all three challenges, including the handshake in the Signature and a strong Technical placement, secured his lead.

Stay tuned for more updates.