Bexhill’s Great British Bake Off star pays tribute to daughter who died aged 18

Bexhill’s star baker paid tribute to her disabled daughter who died at the age of 18 as she once again impressed the judges on this week’s Great British Bake Off.
Linda from Bexhill is appearing on this year's series of Great British Bake OffLinda from Bexhill is appearing on this year's series of Great British Bake Off
Linda from Bexhill is appearing on this year's series of Great British Bake Off

For the second week running, the 61-year-old retirement-living team leader won the technical challenge and is now among the final eight bakers left on the show heading into the fourth week.

The theme of this week’s episode was chocolate. In the third ‘showstopper’ challenge, the bakers were tasked with making a tiered white chocolate celebration cake with something special in mind.

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Linda’s English rose cake was a tribute to her daughter Melissa who had special needs and died at the age of 18. On the show, Linda described Melissa as her ‘English rose’.

Linda from Bexhill is appearing on this year's series of Great British Bake OffLinda from Bexhill is appearing on this year's series of Great British Bake Off
Linda from Bexhill is appearing on this year's series of Great British Bake Off

Her sponge cake was filled with amaretto, raspberry jam and mascarpone cream and was a hit with judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith who both complimented the taste of her bake.

Linda had entered the final task on a high after winning the technical challenge for the second time in as many weeks.

This week, the bakers were tasked with making a chocolate babka, a braided cake which originated in the Jewish communities of Poland.

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Linda’s efforts were praised by both judges, with Prue Leith describing it as ‘excellent’ and Paul Hollywood said he could not find a fault with it.

Linda, centreLinda, centre
Linda, centre

Afterwards, Linda, who admitted this was the first babka she had ever made, said: “I know. I’m so shocked by myself. I just followed my instincts and there you go.”

In the first challenge on this week’s show, the bakers were given just 90 minutes to bake 18 chocolate brownies.

Despite Paul Hollywood describing this as one of the easiest things to bake, many of the contestants struggled to achieve the ‘gooey centre and crackly top’ the judges were hoping for.

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Linda decided to fill her brownies with dates and also created a layer of chopped nuts, white chocolate and Turkish delight on top.

Linda from Bexhill is appearing on this year's series of Great British Bake OffLinda from Bexhill is appearing on this year's series of Great British Bake Off
Linda from Bexhill is appearing on this year's series of Great British Bake Off

The judges were impressed by the flavour but said Linda’s brownies were more of a sponge.

After her second strong week in a row, Linda advanced to the fourth week of the show, and the final eight bakers, as Sura was sent home.