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The Great British Bake Off has it's winner for 2018

Updated / Wednesday, 31 Oct 2018 10:12
And with that, our Tuesdays become a little less sweet.
And with that, our Tuesdays become a little less sweet.

In a hotly contested bake off that saw Vegan bakes, toppling cakes and the usual level of controversy, the 2018 winner of The Great British Bake Off has been named, and for many it won't come as a surprise. 

The final, of an ambitious scale never seen before, tested the bakers on everything from inventive flavour combinations, perfect pastries and ... camping skills?

With each of the three contestants - Rahul Mandal, Ruby Bhogal and Kim-Joy Hewlett - carrying two Star Baker accolades each, it was an evenly matched final. Add to this spontaneous exploding jars and open fire pits, it was also some of the best TV we've seen in months. 

In the end, it was Rahul - the bizarrely controversial, beloved, pessimistic darling of viewers worldwide - who walked away with the prize, and made a beeline directly to call him mum. 

The man who gave us phrases like "very dooming" and asked the real questions - "why people are laughing about hump?" - was a worthy winner, a timid, adorable, conscientious and immensely talented baker who persevered through even his own self doubt, garnering the love and support of countless viewers. 

The signature bake was a deceptively difficult doughnut challenge, and each baker excelled at their dozen doughnuts, half ring and half filled. Kim-Joy prepared an amaretto diplomat filling and tiny bee decorations, Ruby were decorated with chocolate rainbows and dulce de leche while Rahul (who, somehow, had never had a doughnut) whipped up a mango crème patisserie filling, persevering over a burst piping bag fiasco. 

For the technical, the bakers headed outside to prepare six pita breads over an open fire, as well as three dips. A challenging and unexpected task, Kim-Joy won her first technical of the series. 

As always, it came down to the Showstopper bakes, which were destined to be ambitious and awe-inspiring. With just four-and-a-half hours, the bakers were asked to make a landscape dessert, using cake, pastry and biscuits. 

Disaster struck Rahul and his Victorian rock garden confection when one of his glass storage containers burst from the 32-degree heat, but he was allotted some extra time. Kim-Joy created the Lost city of Atlantis in glorious technicolour, while Ruby presented a fairy-dusted magical wonderland. 

It was Rahul's lush and delicious bake that won him the title, however. Host Paul Hollywood articulated what many people love the most about Rahul when he said "He is one of those characters that you will miss when you are not with him. I don't think he realises still how good he actually is and I think that's what's magic about Rahul".

While we'll miss Bake Off Tuesdays, Paul Hollywood's steely gaze and Noel Fielding's extraordinary shirts, we'll always have the Twitter memories to look back on... 

The patron saint of stress

 

 Relationship goals

 

Manon's revenge

 

 

Wholesome content

 

 What a burn

 

 Risky

 

 Rahul "Relatable" Mandal

 

 

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