Custard Week Firms Up 'The Great British Baking Show's Top Five

Since moving to BBC One with Season 5 (and hitting American shores on PBS with it renamed Season 1), The Great British Baking Show has always attempted to add in one theme week that's a little on the conceptual side as the show narrows it down to their best bakers. From "Advanced Dough" to "Batter Week," having an offbeat theme to throw the contestants a curveball has been part of the competition. Since transferring to Channel 4 and Netflix those themes have ranged from "Spice Week" to "Festivals," and now for the last episode before the finals of Season 13/Collection 10, "Custard Week."

Initially, custard, as we know it was a famous pie filling in the Middle ages; the word "custard" comes from the French 'croustade' referring to the crust of the creamy tart. Formed from the coagulation of egg yolks, custards were typically shades of cream or yellow. (Elizabethans added marigolds to make them yellower.) Though today they're mainly thought of as a sweet dessert filling, the savory custard is a thing — think French quiche or Japanese chawanmushi.

However, nowadays, sweet custards, especially in the U.S. and the U.K., are made at home as the base for one of the most popular Western desserts: ice cream. Though GBBO is thankfully not filming in July and August this year, global warming and hotter summers almost guarantee that everyone's favorite frosty dessert will make an appearance in some form in the tent this episode.