13x04 - Mexican Week

[bunniefuu]

Hello, viewer. Hello, Noel.

Are you excited for Mexican Week?

I'm really excited,

although I don't feel like
we should make Mexican jokes,

cos people'll get upset.

Oh, no Mexican jokes at all?
I don't think so.

What, not even Juan?

Not even Juan.

Welcome to
The Great British Bake Off.

Last time, Bread Week saw
two empty spaces in the tent...

Both Rebs and Abdul
are a bit under the weather.

...Carole and Dawn
hit a bad patch...

Surprisingly bland.

OK.

They're the wrong shape,
underproved and underbaked.

...and Sandro was in the running
for Star Baker...

Wowzers!

...but Janusz's creativity...

It's ingenious.

...saw him take the crown
for the second time.

When it came down to
who was in for the chop,

the judges gave the bakers a break.

Nobody's going home.

This time...

Nerves, man, nerves.

...we're back to full strength...

I think that all eyes
are going to be on me

and Abdul after missing last week.

...for a Bake Off first.

It's Mexican Week.

The bakers will do battle
with an enriched Signature...

Oh, no, they're burnt.

...get into a Mexican stand-off
with a street food Technical...

Don't go mad, Carole.

...and try to pull off
a dairy rich extravaganza

in a mucho challenging Showstopper.

Just don't want it to collapse.

Are you worried about your cr*ck?

All the best, my darling.

I don't really know
much about Mexican cuisine,

so this is an absolute adventure.

See you in a bit. Good luck.

When someone says Mexican food,
my mind goes only to fajitas.

That's where my knowledge stops.

Yeah, Mexican food's fun,

but Mexican baking -
what do the Mexicans bake?

I did have to research it,
cos, you know,

you just do the savoury, really.

I love Mexican food,

so I'm looking forward
to bake it in a tent.

Bakers, welcome back to the tent
for Mexican Week.

Now, today, Paul and Prue
would like you each to bake



Pan dulce or sweet bread
is the collective term

for a whole array
of Mexican sweet treats.

Now, your pan dulces should be made
using one of the yeasted varieties,

and you should present the judges
with 12 identical tasty buns.

Which is also Paul's nickname.

You have two and a half hours.

On your marks.
Get set.

Bake.

Pan dulce, it means sweet bread.

It's not a cake, it's not a bread.

I've never had them before,

so I don't know how they're
supposed to be like.

Now, what is a pan dulce?

Well, basically, it's an
enriched bread, an enriched roll.

There are dozens and dozens
of varieties of this,

and they change
from region to region.

Because it's an enriched dough,

it's going to be
a little bit slower proving.

They've got to get that dough rising
as quickly as possible.

Oh, my God.

Mexico is full of vibrancy,
colour, wonderful food,

great flavours, and that's what
we expect this week from the bakers.

Nerves, man, nerves.

Hello, Janusz. Hello.

Tell us about your pan dulce.

So I've decided to make conchas,

and I've decided to decorate them
as little cactuses.

Cacti.
Cacti, yes.

Cacti.
That is correct.

Janusz is making one of the most
popular of pan dulces,

known as concha.

It's a sweet enriched roll with
a crunchy craquelin topping.

His coconut-flavoured bread will be
contrasted with a limey crunch.

I'm using plain flour for this ones,

because they were more cakey,
which I liked.

So less pan dulce, more cake?

It's going to be... mix.

You look a little perturbed, Paul.

OK, interesting.

I look forward to this one.
Thank you. Thank you. Good luck.

Janusz is not the only baker
creating conchas

in the form of a Mexican icon.

I'm making corn on the cob
pan dulce.

Corn is very popular in Mexico,

and if I read correctly, they say
it's more than 60 varieties.

Hello, Syabira. Hello.

So are you happy about Mexican Week?

Yeah. Have you been to Mexico?

Yes, I have.
Did you do a tequila sh*t?

I like tequila, yeah.
Do you like tequila?

Yeah.
In the morning, yeah?

Mexican Week... I do tequila
just to get through this show.

Slam a couple of those down.

Me and Prue do, yeah.

Celebrating a vital component
of Mexican cuisine,

Syabira's conchas will have a corn
and coconut custard filling,

and be decorated
to resemble corn on the cob.

And are you going to cut each piece
to create the corn look?

Yeah. I'm using this one. Yeah.

All right, OK. Interesting.

OK, well, I trust you on the
artistic side. Look forward to it.

Thank you.
Thank you.

With limited time,
today's challenge is all about

how the bakers ensure their dough
gets enough of a prove.

I'm making sure that my ingredients
are already quite warm

just to kick-start
that proving process.

I've combated my proving time
with time saver yeast.

That really saves time.
A new discovery.

The recipe that I've got,

it actually uses
a tiny bit of baking powder.

Think it helps to make it a bit
more like a cake than a bread.

Another baker who has opted for the
most popular of pan dulces is James.

It's going to be
a wee concha number.

It's vanilla and cinnamon
and coffee.

So I've tried to keep it
a bit traditional,

there's some chocolate in the top
crunchy bit as well.

James' soft cinnamon and coffee
concha buns will have a chocolate

and coffee crunchy top, and he'll
create delicate caramel oysters,

complete with edible pearls.

Cos it's based on a shell, I thought
I'd kind of stick with that theme.

Lovely. Thank you James.
Cheers. See you soon.

That's looking spot on now.

Once the dough is made...

Soft and stretchy.
That's my aim, soft and stretchy.

...it is essential the bakers
develop the gluten,

or their pan dulces
will be dense and tough.

I have to knead this by hand now.

Feel like it could have
a bit more liquid.

Feels a bit too tackyish.

No Mexican way of kneading bread
that I know of.

When Paul's around,
I'll knead it his way.

There are over 1,000 types
of pan dulces baked in Mexico,

including besos,
a romantic little number.

With besos, it refers to as kisses,

where two buns are basically
just kissing each other.

It's been chosen by Abdul.

In Spanish,
besos literally means kisses.

Abdul's buns will come
rolled in coconut,

dyed the colours of
the Mexican flag,

and stuck together with jam
and buttercream.

I searched online to see, you know,
what the texture really is

and it's usually a bit more denser.
It's not very soft bread.

Really?
That's what, at least...

I've just come back from Mexico.

Oh, yeah. Did you have the besos?

I did.
Oh, OK!

Unfortunately he knows all about it.
Uh-oh! Yes.

Good luck. Flavours sound lovely.
Thank you so much.

Thank you. Thank you.
Good luck.

Dough's smoothish,
so now I'm going to get it proving

for about 30 minutes.

Dough is looking good,
lovely and stretchy.

About 25 minutes.

At home, I'd leave it for an hour.

With dough stashed in
the proving drawers...

So my dough is proving now.
I'm making the topping.

...for those making conchas,

the buns must be topped with
a simple cookie dough.

So it's like a biscuit
and a bread combined, I guess.

Like craquelin,
a sugar, butter and flour mix

must be rolled wafer-thin
before cutting out.

So these are just for
the tops of the conchas.

They'll just kind of sit on top
as like a wee hat.

Sandro's not only making
a concha topping,

but also planning a tasty base.

Mine's going to be quite sweet cos
I'm mostly dipping it in caramel,

and having some hazelnuts
for crunch.

Sandro's salted caramel
and coffee conchas

will have a praline custard filling.

They'll be finished off with
a caramel and hazelnut base.

The idea is to do like a salted
caramel cappuccino b*mb thing.

I'm behind schedule!

Having missed bread week,

Rebs is determined
to make every second count.

I have everything broken down

to literally the minute
of what I've got to do,

because today I'm managing my time.

Rebs plans vanilla concha buns
topped with lemon craquelin

and served with whipped cream
lemon curd on the side.

Have you ever done
Mexican food before?

I love a nachos night.
Love a nacho.

There's something amazing about
Mexico. Magical.

I want to go to the Mexican
Day Of The Dead festival.

SHE GASPS
Yes!

The one place that I'll fit in.

SHE LAUGHS

This is aniseed and ground anise.

With her pan dulces, Carole's
embracing Mexican flavours...

Used typically in Mexican cooking.

...finding the language
rather trickier.

I am making anise and orange de pan.

You're making what, sorry?

Pan de Denise.

Denise? Is that someone you know,
or...?

Carole's the only baker
making a pan de anis pan dulces.

Her light fluffy Chelsea bun-style
bake will be filled

with a zesty orange
and aniseed curd.

I think it sounds delicious.
And does it have a name?

Oh, it's just your anis de...
de pan, I think.

There's more than one baker
opting for a tongue-twisting title.

I'll be naming my bake snap mella.

Bella la n... Bella naranja,

which translates to "pretty orange."

Maxy's Bella naranja conchas
will be packed with orange

and cinnamon flavour,
have a crispy topping,

and be served with cinnamon
Chantilly on the side.

Who won Star Baker last week?

Janusz.

Oh, yeah.
Yeah, he got his second Star Baker.

Is he your main competition,
do you think?

He's my best mate.

There's going to be a point where
you're going to have destroy him.

You know that?
I know, I know, I know!

Across the tent...

SHE SIGHS

...is one more baker who's making
the most popular of pan dulces.

I'm doing conchas,
and they're conchas with a kick.

Dawn's classic Mexican combo
of chocolate- and chilli-flavoured

conchas will come with a green
and red craquelin topping.

The flavours sound good. I like the
idea of the chilli in the chocolate.

Yes.
What chilli?

Er, these ones, birds' eyes.

How many are you using?

Quite a few.

Right.
Good.

Kevin's also on a quest
for big flavour...

So I'm making the rum butter,
so equal parts butter

and soft dark brown sugar.

...but rather than go spicy,
he's gone boozy.

Once it's baked,
I'll soak it in a rum syrup.

Kevin's the only baker
making Mexican borrachitos.

Translated as "little drunkards,"

the alcohol-soaked bake will rest
on a desiccated coconut base.

I just quite liked
the image of these buns

kind of tottering around
like little drunk people.

So is Mexico a real place?

I think so.

What?
I think it's like Xanadu.

Like Oz?
Yeah, like Cleethorpes.

Hmm, OK.

Bakers, you are halfway through.

Has your dough proved... good?

Er, not really, not as good
as it used to at home.

Hmm.

After the first prove...

Soft.

...for those making conchas,
shaping is key.

Just sort of roll it out, then you
kind of just fold it in on itself.

Fold it over.

And then I like grab them into,
like, a wee ball like this,

and then voila.

Just kind of fondling the balls,
you know.

They're not the best.

Bit small, some of them.

But I can't find my ruler,
so it's a bit of a guessing game.

The addition of filling
ups flavour...

We put ganache in the middle,
chocolate and chilli, in that order.

...but runs the risk
of slowing the second prove...

I'm putting the sweetcorn in
to just give, like,

the celebration of Mexican flavour.

...as does the trademark
concha topping, if not paper thin.

I'm cutting my cookie crust.
It goes on top.

And then you kind of, like,
hug it around the dough.

And then we're going to cut them
so it resembles sort of cacti.

Scoring the craquelin topping...

Crucial step.

...allows the creation of elaborate
patterns as the dough grows.

Just doing four lines.

Each of these should
sort of pop apart,

and you get, like,
a grid effect on it.

Right, I'm going to put them in
the proving drawer.

There is some big ones
and there's some small ones.

With second prove under way...

OK, babies, grow for me nicely.

...the bakers turn their attentions
to decorative touches.

Besos itself are usually covered
with desiccated coconut,

and I thought, "Hey, you know what?
Why not I mix in the red,

"green, white and kind of make,
like, a Mexican flag?"

Right, how's it all going?
Er, I'm all good so far.

Did you desiccate the coconut
yourself?

No, it was desiccated for me.

Cheat! We have a cheat in the tent.

I'm going to try and make
my caramel oysters.

All I'm going to do
is spoon a wee bit in,

and just kind of work it
up the sides effectively,

and that should give us
a wee hemisphere,

and we'll join the two of them
together later,

and we'll have an oyster.

These are just little fondant
daisies. Very spring time vibes.

With proving time at a premium...

They're not as proved as
I wish they were,

but I need to get them in.

...the bakers must decide
when to draw the line...

I'm going to give them
an extra five minutes.

...on when their bakes are ready
to hit the oven.

Off you go.
They're a bit flat.

I think I might be Mexican
in my soul.

Maybe you should join us and bake.

I'm not sure about baking.
Never been sure about baking.

Always seems like
a waste of time to me.

To be fair, yeah.

I'm joking, I love baking.

All right,
I'm going to put 'em in now.

So now it's just baking.

Some of them
are better than others.

Bakers, you have half an hour left.

Prue's earrings.

I'll give them back to her.
Yeah, please do.

I don't want them overcooked,
cos they'll be dry.

And then I don't want them
undercooked and they'll be raw.

Is that your own mortar and pestle?

No. That's a big boy,
that is, innit?

When people say they like baking
and they have one of those,

I go, "Wow, yeah.
You're the real deal."

I've got one at home.

For those who got bakes in early,
their pan dulce time is up.

They're done, they're done,
they're done.

They're like little brains.

Could say I done some
Mexican brains.

It's come up pretty well, er,
there are a couple of cracks.

I mean, the sizes are
roughly the same.

The pattern I wish was more
consistent across them.

It does look like corn.
That's what I'm happy with.

The remaining bakers face
an anxious wait...

Do you think they're nearly ready?

Ooh!

Ooh, a couple of them
have burst out the top.

...while their rivals cr*ck on...

Now these bad boys
are ready to soak.

...with assembly...

I'm just putting in my white
chocolate buttercream,

and then there you go,
they're smooching,

so, like, mwah, mwah, mwah.

...glazes...

Generous portions.
Like a generous portion, I do.

...and decoration.

Oyster. Clam, I don't know.
I don't know sea shells, do I?

How we doing for time?

Bakers, you have
five minutes remaining.

Right they're going to come out.

Grand.

For those with buns
still in the oven...

Very nice, very good. Now it needs
to cool down so I can decorate it.

...it's now or never.

They are looking baked.

Oh, no, they're burnt.

They're burnt!

Oh, crap. Right.

Oh!

They're a bit hot.
Are you worried about your cr*ck?

No, I'm going to cover it.

Better when it's covered,
the cr*ck, isn't it?

He's going to tell me
they're overdone,

cos I know they're overdone.

And also the top bit didn't
go so well. C'est la vie.

Final touches.

So I'm going to pipe
some rum butter on.

I'm using a star tip nozzle,

so that it doesn't look like
a little poo.

Bakers, you have one minute left.

What?!

That's not long enough.

Really?

They're just going to have to
go on here warm. Oh, my!

That one burst.

Quite a few of them have.

I'm going to pipe some icing
on them.

I'm using this curd
just to stick the daisies on.

Oh, hot, oh, hot, oh, hot.

They turned out better than what
I practised.

They look more expensive.

Oh, I need to arrange like a corn
that is coming up from the field.

Oh, my God.

Trying to compete is impossible.
Those are absurd.

Bakers, your time is up.

And breathe.

Please step away from your bakes.

I'm quite proud of these wee things.

Well, they're a bit overbaked.

I'm happy with the bread,
to be fair, but they look shocking.

The bakers' pan dulces will now
face the judgment of Paul and Prue.

Hello, Janusz. Hello.

They look very even, nicely brown.

Quite like the craquelin on the top,
and the way it's been cut.

The roll is pretty equal colour
as well.

Let's see what it's like.

Now, this was done
with plain flour, wasn't it?

It was, yes.

I think you need more lime,

and the bun is quite dry.

The texture's all right.

I'd just like to have seen it
a little bit more open,

and that's because you used
plain flour.

But the problem is for me, it's just
not punching any flavours at all.

I like the look of them, though.

Well, you know what? I think
they look really interesting.

They look attractive, they make your
mouth water, I want to eat a bit.

Let's have a look inside.

I like the look of this.
It's got lots of filling.

Love the flavour.

It's underproved.
Hugely underproved.

It's so dense.
It's almost dough-like.

Do you know?
I think the flavour is fantastic.

It is a bit tight and stiff.

The overall look look awful.
Craquelin's not good.

Looks like you sat on them.

Oh, all right, just k*ll me, OK?

It's sort of split, hasn't it?

Yeah, I mean, the roll is OK.

It needed a bit more of a dome
on it.

But the colour looks nice.

The lemon in there's good.

The craquelin I think was too heavy.
Yeah. Too thick,

and then it's weighted it down
so that the bread couldn't bloom.

But it's created
quite a stretchy dough.

It's nicely made bread. Just the
craquelin is the problem. Yeah.

Well, you're certainly showing off
your sugar craft skills.

I love the top.
That top is fantastic.

Craquelin's definitely too thick.

It's really dry because of it.

Very dense.

Not a huge amount of flavour either.

There's a bit of kick
in the craquelin.

If it's going to be as plain
as that, it needs a filling.

They're not totally even
in shape, are they? No.

They're not really Chelsea bun shape.

I don't think it would matter what
shape they were as long as

they were all the same.

Lovely flavour.

I think the orange
and the anise comes through.

They're just underproved.

It's quite dense,
but the taste is great.

The bread dough is a little heavy,
but the whole thing is delicious.

Thank you.

I think they look quite impressive.
They look quite nice.

They're glue.
They are cake-like.

Mm-hm.
Do you want a taste?

Sure.

The flavours are quite delicate,
you know,

the raspberry and the coconut.
I think it sort of works.

I just think it's too dense,
and that for me is not right.

It's not quite right. OK.

I think they look
absolutely beautiful.

They definitely look like corn.

They're clever.

Yeah, they do look pretty good.
What's inside it?

It's corn custard filling.

That looks really good.

I love the flavour.

It's quite dry,
but it's very interesting.

You added the filling
before it went in the oven...

Yes.
...so it couldn't grow.

Then you had a craquelin on the top
which prevents growth,

so it stays solid, so you end up
with... going back to dough.

Like the idea, though.

So I've made conchas.

The flavours I've used are cinnamon
and orange.

They look very even.
Yeah, I do like the look of them.

And very big.
Yeah, I like the size.

They could've done with
a little bit more of a dome.

You've got some,
so you've got a bit of height there.

The craquelin's sitting quite nicely
on it as well.

The craquelin's really good.

It's a little bit crisper,
so you get that contrast.

Yeah, it's good bread.
I think your flavour's nice.

It's really nice.
I like the look of them.

You've got a real instinct
for what goes with what,

and I think those are
all beautiful flavours.

They're overbaked. Well, you can
see by the colour underneath. Yeah.

Size-wise, I think they're OK.

I'd like to have seen more of
a dome. OK.

You've lost that because of the
filling. The design's a bit messy.

It's all over the place and that's
because it's cracked coming through,

and you've lost the definition.

Yeah. I didn't want it to be
a case of hunt the ganache.

But now are we going to get the
promised chilli? That's the thing.

Not immediately.

You do get the chilli.
And you're right, it comes later.

The chilli content
and the chocolate is perfect.

That's just the right amount.
OK. Good.

It's just messy for me.
It's all over the place.

It's not tidy enough. Yeah.
It's not accurate enough.

I agree. I think it tastes good,
textures are good.

Doesn't look too good. No.

I think they look great.
I like the look of them.

They do look like
little drunk fellas.

Could do with being
a little bit more open.

Another five, ten minutes proving.
Yeah. OK.

I really do like the flavour.
The dough is nearly there.

To be honest, this is one of
the best we've tasted.

It's all good.

Ten more minutes proving,
and you'd have had perfection.

Yeah, it went pretty well.

Almost got a handshake. Stingy git.

I was so happy about the chilli.

And I was sort of watching
their faces, and all of a sudden,

they were like, "Yes, the chilli
is now creeping up."

Do you know? If I'm just not bottom
two or three, then I'd be happy.

I don't want to say disastrous,
but borderline.

While the bakers practised
their Signatures,

they haven't a clue what
they'll be asked to make

in today's Mexican Technical.

Bakers, it's time for your
Technical Challenge,

which today has been set by...

...Paul Hollywood. Ring any bells?

Never heard of him.

So, er, Paul, any words of advice?

You've got to get your flavour
combinations right

and your textures.

As ever, the Technical Challenge
will be judged blind,

so we're going to have to ask
these two to vacate the tent.

Off you go.

They're going to a soft play area.

Oh, what, to go in the pit of balls?
Yeah, Paul in the balls. Yeah!

For your Technical Challenge,

Paul would like you to make
eight Mexican tacos.

Your tacos should be made from
yellow field corn

and then hand pressed.
On top of each should be steak,

spicy refried beans, guacamole,
and pico de gallo.

You have two hours.

On your marks.
Get set.

Bake.

Well, this is going to
be interesting.

Tacos - new one on me.

I've never made 'em from scratch before.

Oh, no.

This is my first time doing tacos.

I bet it's the same, like,
you make tortillas.

I never make tortillas either.

Paul, tacos for a Technical.

It's Mexican week, Prue.
It has to be tacos.

Tell me about the fillings, then.

You've got a pico de gallo,
which is basically a salsa,

a guacamole,
then you have the steak,

and a little bit of cheese,
and also refried beans.

I must say, it does look good.

And the big thing is
getting the taco right.

Thickness of the tortilla - is it
going to be too thick or too thin?

And then the actual stage
on the pan.

You only need less than a minute
on both sides.

If you do any more than that,
it will dry out,

and when you try and roll it up
into a taco, it will cr*ck.

It's got to be pliable.

And they are very thin.

They are very thin,
and if it is thin, it will work.

One of the big things in Mexico
when you're having a taco

is it's lovely to have
a lot of filling on it,

but it has to be practical as well.

So you should be able to encase it
and then eat it. Yeah.

If it's too much,
it's going to go everywhere.

OK, Prue, choose your taco. OK.

Mm. Wow. The corn flavour
coming from the taco is perfect,

blended with all the ingredients
on the top.

Overall, it's a delicious eat.

I mean, for me,
this is Mexican cooking on a plate.

Can I have it for my lunch?

The instructions aren't really
that detailed.

For each of the elements, it just
says, "Make the pico de gallo.

"Make the refried beans.
Make the guacamole."

It's quite scant.

Have you made, er, tacos...?

No. No.

Hang on a minute, you don't know
what the question was going to be.

So the first bit is,
"For the tortillas,

"blend the drained corn until
you have a smooth thick paste.

"Tip the processed corn out onto
a work surface and add masa harina,

"then mix to form a dough."

Masa harina.
I think it's like cornflour.

I'm not really sure how this dough's
meant to look.

If it's corn, then I don't suppose
it needs a lot of kneading.

Think it's going to be sort of like
a thick bread like dough texture.

"Cover and leave to stand."

And let it rest. Don't touch it.
They want to be rested.

"Marinade the steak."

Nice steaks.

Would you eat that like that?
Never.

I'm not really a raw
bloody meat person.

No.
I cry when I eat a leaf.

So the ingredients tell you
what spices and herbs to use,

but they don't say how much.

Oh, my God, they don't give you
any teaspoonfuls or anything.

Ground cumin,
smoked paprika, dried oregano.

Like a mad professor, I am flinging
things into a bowl with gay abandon.

Ancho chilli powder.

So ancho chilli powder is dangerous,
so we will be going easy.

I just hope my, er,
chilli is not too hot.

Something missing.

I'm going to sneeze in a sec.

You can't really taste this.

Blah! It's burning my mouth.

Well, it's meant to be hot anyway.
It's meant to be Mexican, innit?

Beef marinated.

Excuse me.

What's pico de gallo?

"Picko de gallio."

Interesting, pico de gallo. This is
the first time I've heard them.

I think pico means small, maybe.

It's like a salsa,
just reading the ingredients.

White onion, very big white onion.

"Deseed and finely chop tomatoes."

Deseed a tomato.
How do you deseed a tomato?

Chilli went in,
coriander, juice, salt.

I could eat a tub of coriander
by itself. I think it's gorgeous.

I love coriander and cilantro.
I know people hate it.

Apparently there's a gene that
makes you taste coriander like soap.

It tastes like soap.

Everybody's got their own tastes.
I'm doing this to my taste,

but it might not be
to Paul's taste.

Spicy, soapy, salty, and sour. Great.

Hey, Noel, do you want to hear
my Mexican accent? Yes, please.

All right, here we go.

Ariba.
You are halfway through.

What do you reckon?
It's really good. Thank you.

So to make the refried beans,
the instructions said,

"Make the refried beans."

I make kidney beans at home
with coconut milk,

so same method without coconut.

So I think we just fry them
with everything that's here.

I'm going to fry onion with garlic.

I'm going to add chilli powder,
salt, black beans.

Let's go half. Don't go mad, Carole.

This is really, really hot. I don't
think it's supposed to be hot.

And then this one just straight up
won't turn on.

You look like you're sort of
typing out an essay.

What are you trying to do?
I'm trying to make it turn on.

Is this the future champion
of Bake Off?

Oh, my days,
everything's happening at once.

You're having a breakdown.

That's not even happening.
That's inside your head.

It's not that cooked,

so I'm just going to simmer
and it will get soft.

We'll let that thicken a bit.

I have honestly never made this, never.

I'm going to start making
my guacamole now.

"Step six, make guacamole."

Now how many avocados do we put
in there? Oh, God.

Chopped tomatoes are going in.
Red onions. Jalapenos.

Juice of lime.

I like to have a little bit
of chunk,

cos Paul said it's about flavour
and texture.

I, like, blitz the avocado
till it's smooth and creamy.

Oh, you're looking for smooth
and chunky, that's the best way.

This is perfect for me.

So my beans finished.

I think that's what refried beans
looks like.

Let me actually taste this.

It's the right amount of chilli,
in my opinion.

It tastes OK.

I might put some more salt.

Don't know if this is right.

Oh, spicy.

Not bad.

Noel, I absolutely insist that
you do this time call.

We've been down this road before.

No, no, I insist.

I've got your back here.
OK, off you go.

Promise?
Promise.

Bakers...

Bakers, you have half an hour left.

Oh, my God.

Here we go. "Make the tortillas."

"Divide the rest of the dough
into eight equal balls."

"Flatten using the lid
of a casserole dish."

No tortilla press.

Think we just kind of go...

Looks like what I'd imagine
you would get, doesn't it?

My tortilla dance.

I'm too small. I'm on tiptoes.

Slam!

I'm just going to get it
as flat as I can get it.

This is the hardest part.

You don't know how thick
or how thin it should be.

They don't seem to turn out
that big.

Just try and get it
a wee bit flatter.

They are small, but I guess
tacos are supposed to be small.

Ta-da! "Bitesize" I think is
the correct term.

What next? "Cook the tortillas."

Tortillas, traditionally, I think
are meant to be cooked

on a hot stone.
You just kind of go...

So I'm going in.

Boop.

I'm thinking two minutes
on each side.

One minute on each side.
Should be done.

Put it in a very high heat
so it puff. Puff, puff.

Oh, we have some puffing. Yes!

They're puffing now.
Is that meant to happen?

I don't want to overcook 'em.

Why don't you just
put that under there,

and I'll go, as if I leant on it, and...

You know like in
the Chuckle Brothers?

Shall we try?

No? I need them.
You need them, don't you?

I need these, yeah.

Two done.

I don't know how they're
meant to look exactly,

but do want some brown on there.

You don't want your tortilla
to be too dry.

Not bad.

They've started cracking.
That's a problem.

Oh, no, this one's burnt.
This one's burnt.

Ah! And it's not puffing up.

Do they look like a tortilla?
Haven't got a clue.

They're very small, though,
aren't they?

Last one. They look cooked.

There's so many things to go wrong.
Ugh!

OK, Matt, let's turn the tables
a little bit, yeah? OK.

Why don't you do a time call... OK.

...and I won't interrupt you
or anything? OK.

You just do it, yeah?
You sure? Yeah.

OK. Bakers, you have 15 minutes left.

Weren't you supposed to interrupt
me? Yeah. Yeah.

That's all my tacos done.
Just need to make steak now.

The plan is to fry the steak.
Medium rare.

Straight in. Nice and sizzly.

That looks expensive meat, actually.

Which is weird,
cos we found that in a skip.

I'm joking.

I don't know how to cook steak.

I would cook it, like,
about five minutes each side.

Couple of minutes on each side,
if I've got time.

Everyone's got an opinion on steak,

and everyone thinks
you've done it wrong.

I could go a bit longer, but I'm
just a bit scared to overcook it.

I'll give it another 30 seconds.

Yeah, it's a nice pink
in the middle.

That's still mooing.

It's all right.

Oh, Maxy, your steak's cooked perfectly.

My steak's going to be hot.

I wouldn't eat it.

SHE LAUGHS

How long do we have?

Bakers, you have five minutes left.

Do we? OK.

Just going to start assembling.

What goes first? Hmm. Bit of steak.

And then the fried beans.

Just don't know how much
of each thing to use.

I won't put that much in there.

Just a wee forkful of each.

Holy guacamole.

Where do you put the "glockymolo"?

Salsa?

My pico de gallo's
a bit spicy.

Bakers, you have one minute left.

Oh, my gosh.

This is going to be so tight.

Oh, now I'm in panic mode.
Cheesy stuff, throw it on.

Don't forget the cheese.

I have one more to go.

These look quite stuffed.

I wish that we'd had, like,
quantities. Oh, well.

Just trying to make the board
look pretty. It's a bit fiddly.

It's the best way I can think
to use an avocado.

Well, that's, erm, small.

Bakers, your time is up.

Bring your tacos down to the table

and place them in front
of your photograph.

Wow.

I wish I could try one.

I go there,
and then thingy can go there.

Paul and Prue are looking for
eight thin tortillas

topped with perfectly marinated
steak, spicy refried beans,

pico de gallo,
and a tangy guacamole.

There's a bit of a difference in
thickness, isn't there, and size?

It's so tempting to put too much
filling, isn't it? Yes. It is.

Right, let's start over here.

These are actually quite neat.

They look very nice, don't they?

It's a nice fill, that one, as well.
It's just about right.

Have to have a big gob, you know.

I know.

Cos you really want to get it all in
at once, don't you?

Hmm.

That's pretty good, actually.
It's balanced well.

The heating is about right.

And I love the fact that the meat
is nice and rare. Yeah, and the...

There's a bit of colour on this.
There's no need for colour.

There is a bit of darkness
in some of these,

but the majority of them
are all right.

Yeah, I think it's lovely.

OK, moving on to number two.

These look a bit dry. See the cr*ck?

They look a bit crisp.

It's been overcooked, or there isn't
enough water in there.

Let's taste it.

Mm, that is good.

The steak is spot on.
The filling's OK.

I would say there's slightly
too much onion

and slightly too much chilli, but...
Mm. ..Everything else is wonderful.

OK, moving on. Now, these...

That's a little too full, isn't it?

Yeah. For the size of them.

They're a little bit thick as well,
actually. They're very small.

I'm getting slightly over-seasoned.
Bit salty.

I'll tell you where there's too much
salt. It's actually in the taco.

They're a little bit dry.

You wouldn't expect them
to be that dry.

Moving on, you see the feathering
round the outside?

They should be beautifully round,
but they're all over the place.

This is quite a dry one as well.

That cow's still mooing.

I like the flavour.
Yeah, I like the flavour.

Right. These look quite pale,
don't they? Almost underdone.

It's also got too much filling,
I think.

I think there is.

Again, quite salty again, isn't it?

It's very well seasoned.
It... Even too much.

I think too much.

Now, these are too small.

That's ridiculously thick!

There isn't as much seasoning
in that one,

but the meat's cooked well.

Moving on...
They look quite thin.

I think they've been cooked
quite nicely.

And I quite like the fact that
that's... But that fits nicely.

Yeah, and there's not too much
in it. Yeah. So...

Taco's good. Meat, tick. Guac, tick.

And the pico's nice as well.
I think it works as a taco. Mm.

Oh, dear. Far too thick.
Far, far too thick.

Too much chilli.

It's too thick. The meat needs to
be cut up much smaller

on something so dainty and small.

OK, this is the right size.

Now, these here are cracked.
See them all cracked there?

Yeah.
They've overdone 'em.

The guacamole's very nice.
The beef's nice and rare.

The flavour's OK, but again,
the taco's overcooked.

Last one.

Now, these are quite little
delicate tortillas.

Yeah, and they're thin.

I think that's a good one.
The guacamole's excellent.

I really like that.
The tacos are nice.

I'm not getting too much chilli.
No. OK.

Prue and Paul will now rank
the tacos from worst to first.

In 10th place,
we have this one.

Carole, not very good.
Very thick, too small.

Ninth spot, we have this one.
Whose is this?

Rebs. Basically over-seasoned,
massively over-seasoned,

and you had too much filling
in there.

In eighth place, we've got this one.

James.
The tacos are just slightly small.

Janusz is seventh,

Abdul is sixth,

Dawn is fifth,

and Kevin is fourth.

So in third spot, we have this one.
Whose is this?

Sandro, actually,
these were pretty good.

Could've done with being
a little bit neater.

This is number two over here.

Syabira, these were really
delicious, except that they were

a little bit difficult to manage
because they were breaking up.

So in first spot, we have this one.

Beautifully filled,
taco was really good,

seasoning was very good as well.
Well done.

Thank you.

I feel over the moon, honestly,
I feel over the moon.

I didn't expect it.

Second for the taco. Yes!

I'm pretty chuffed with myself
for my performance today.

So I came in eighth
in the Technical,

which is better than I thought,
but worse than I would hope.

I'm a little bit disappointed
in the result.

The pressure is on for tomorrow now.

If I don't do well tomorrow,
I'll be packing my suitcase.

Only the Showstopper Challenge remains

before Paul and Prue decide
who will be leaving the tent

and who has scooped Star Baker.

Hello, bakers.
Welcome back to the tent.

Now, for your Mexican
Showstopper Challenge,

the judges would like you to create
your own take on the popular

tres leches cake.

Now, tres leches obviously refers to
the three milks

that are traditionally used to soak
the sponge once it's baked.

You can use any combination
of flavours you like,

but your cake must consist of
at least four layers

of milk-soaked sponge.

Your tres leches cake
need to be bold, delicious,

and inspired by Mexico.

You have four hours.

On your marks.
Get set.

Bake.

I love a tres leches.

My favourite thing about it is that
it's full of moisture.

A tres leches cake basically means
three milk cake.

Evaporated milk,
condensed milk, and double cream.

I never try tres leches
cake before.

Put all these milks together,
make a syrup of it,

make lots of holes in the cake,
and pour the syrup all over.

And that soaks in and allows the
cake to really moisten up.

What it mustn't do is to
so sog up the cake

that the milks are running
out of the bottom.

So it's going to have to be layers
of moist cake one on top of another.

This is tricky.

The difficulty we're all
going to face is the soak.

Because the cakes are so moist,
when they lift the cake,

it could fall apart.

If it's too soaked structurally,
it might break,

and if it's not enough soak,
then is it really tres leches?

It's a fine balance over there.

Obviously we want high decoration,
it's a Showstopper,

and they do have four hours
to complete it.

I mean, a Mexican cake above all
looks fantastic.

It's one of my favourite cakes.
It's beautiful.

Sandro, good morning. Good morning.
Good morning, Sandro.

Tell us about your tres leches cake.

It's a fiesta kind of cake.

So I'm going to have
a big moustache in the middle,

and at the bottom going around,
you have iced biscuits.

Enveloped in a decorative
white chocolate collar,

Sandro's cakes include a chilli
chocolate coffee sponge

with Irish cream soak,

and a spiced chocolate sponge
with coffee and cherry brandy soak.

That sounds amazing.

It did taste nice. Yeah.

It was very adult type.

Yeah, well, chocolate, coffee, chilli.

Yeah. It's got like, four, teaspoons
of chilli flakes, so...

Interesting. Thank you very much.
Thanks, Sandro.

I did get a bit of a face when I
said, "There's four teaspoons

"of chilli," so I'm hoping that's
not going to be overpowering.

Sandro's not the only baker
in the party mood.

Morning, Maxy.
Good morning.

Tell us all about your
tres leches cake.

Cake is called coco flower fiesta,

so I'm making a chocolate tres
leches cake

filled with strawberries and cream,

and the outside will be decorated
with flowers.

Maxy's chocolate sponge will have
a tres leches vanilla soak,

layers of strawberries,
Italian meringue buttercream,

and cinnamon vanilla cream.

Going to be so rich.
Very rich.

It's going to be SO rich!

Is it still nice and light, though?

Er, I hope so.

Well, good luck, Maxy.

Abdul is also opting
for a celebration,

one with a uniquely Mexican vibe.

The theme is Day Of The Dead,

so I'm making
white chocolate skulls.

Love Day Of The Dead.

Glad someone's doing
Day Of The Dead.

Abdul's cake will be soaked
in passion fruit and coconut

tres leches, have lime curd filling,

and be adorned with
white chocolate sugar skulls.

It's Day Of The Dead - do you want
me to get you some poison?

I think on the Day Of The Dead,
you actually honour the people

who have passed away,
rather than make more people.

Make them pass. Yes.

Oh, OK all right.
I think that's the concept, yeah.

Noted. Noted. Yeah.

The bakers may use
any sponge they choose...

Angel cake. It's a fatless cake.

I'm doing a whisked sponge.

...and Syabira's opted for
the unconventional.

I am making sweetcorn sponge.

Explain. It's a sponge that I
put a little bit of sweetcorn in.

Why would you want that in a cake?

I like the idea of it.

Well, it's very Mexican,
and it might work.

Syabira's sweetcorn sponge will be
soaked with a sweetcorn tres leches,

filled with creamed corn

and cinnamon flavoured
cream cheese icing.

Certainly want to celebrate
the taste of sweetcorn,

which is actually quite difficult
to bring through considering

it's going to be fighting with
other flavours as well.

I love sweetcorn, by the way.

Don't look so stressed.
This sounds good.

Thanks, Syabira.
I hope it works.

You're off your maracas.

I tried to hit the brief, getting in
as much Mexican flavour as I can.

Going to bring good vibes,
good energy.

Going to go OK today.
I'm not going home.

After another set
of poor performances,

Rebs is determined
to deliver a winner.

So I am doing a tiramisu
tres leches wedding cake.

So it's a wedding cake
to symbolise the marriage

between an Italian classic
and Mexican flavours.

OK.
OK.

Swapping Italian masala wine
for Mexican,

Rebs' cake will get
a coffee tres leches soak

and a trio of fillings, including
a chilli chocolate ganache.

It's all about marketing,
you see, branding.

If I say, "It's a wedding cake,"
then it's allowed to be more simple.

The judges have asked for
a minimum of four layers of sponge.

I think it was quite mean,

cos, like, tres leches sponge
is not for stacking.

Despite this, Kevin is undertaking
a vast geometric construction.

My tres leches sponge will be soaked
in coffee milk,

and I'll be building it
in four square tins

to make an Aztec pyramid temple.

Mayan or Aztec?

Well, there's a bit of overlap,
really, isn't there?

Kevin's central American style pyramid

will have a coffee tres leches soak,

be filled with hazelnut
praline cream,

and coated with a chocolate ganache
that comes with a kick.

Got some chilli in the ganache.

Hopefully not too much.

I don't want the judges to feel like
they're eating electricity.

I'd like you to take
their heads off.

I would like to not go home.

OK, well, let's meet in the middle.

To make a four-tier cake
requires vast amounts

of smooth well-mixed batter...

I think the batter actually looks
quite good.

Like, it looks quite light
and fluffy.

...and multiple tins that somehow
need to be squeezed in the oven.

I'm trying to get them all in
at the same time.

There you go, sponge is going in.


and hopefully they will be baked.

Bake beautifully.

So these are going in now. Lovely.

Just making the milk soak now.

The bakers can now create

what is the key to
a good tres leches cake.

Whipping cream, evaporated milk, coconut.

I'm using 300ml of double cream.

Same for the evaporated milk
and condensed milk.

I'm putting some
Mexican coffee liqueur.

And now some tequila.

Determined to celebrate
Mexican flavours...

Chocolate, coffee, little bit of
chilli in it, orange, lime.

...Carole's cake will include
more than a few.

Bit of a mixture, really.

Carole's chocolate cake will get
a coffee liqueur soak,

lemon and orange buttercreams,
be surrounded by a chocolate collar,

and come topped with chocolate
flowers and hazelnut caramel spikes.

Are we playing into your strengths
here, Carole?

I do like decorating cakes.

So the idea of the collar
sounds good.

Yeah. Hope you get it all finished
on time. Yeah.

The coffee and chocolate combo
is proving popular.

I've got coffee in here,

and I've got a dark chocolate
feuilletine layer

and that just gives it, a bit of
crunch in this very wet thing.

Dawn's sponges will be soaked
with vanilla flavoured tres leches,

filled with a coffee creme
mousseline, and topped with

a bunch of choux buns
filled with an amaretto creme pat.

So there's some booze in
the profiteroles if you want it.

I've decided to celebrate,
er, fruits of Mexico.

Rather than booze, Janusz
is choosing the healthy option.

I'm going to use a tiny bit of
lemon, dragon fruit,

passion fruit, guava,
and I've got mango in the freezer.

I knew I'm missing one.

His dragon fruit cake will have
a guava and coconut milk soak,

mango cream and dragon fruit,
and passion fruit curd.

I think your whole idea
of this cake sounds amazing.

It's challenging for yourself,
which is good.

I mean, you've been Star Baker
a couple of times now.

Love the idea.
Thank you so much.

Always something interesting
going on with you.

Soak completed.

In addition to their soak,

the bakers must create fillings that
balance the sweet rich sponge...

Coconut dacquoise.

...and a number of them are risking
a powerful Mexican flavour.

I've already put one teaspoon
of chilli powder

and one teaspoon of
the chilli fakes.

Need to add the chilli in.

I don't want the judges
to be choking on it,

but I don't want them to say,
"Oh, can't really get the" chilli.

Some bird's eye chillies.

Oh, flipping hell, that's strong.

Also embracing chilli...

Doesn't this look delightful?

...after a poor showing in
the challenges so far,

James aims to make up ground
with multiple elements.

It's a chocolate chilli
and lime tres leches cake,

and the top tier is going to be
a fraisier tart.

And then to neaten up
around the outside,

I have a white chocolate collar.

Going all out, James' lemon
and lime sponges

will have a vanilla
tres leches soak,

dulce de leche lime curd,
and creme diplomat fillings.

The cake will be coated in
chilli chocolate ganache

and be topped with a strawberry
fraisier tart and cookies.

James, you have got a lot to do.
It's a lot of work.

There is quite a lot
for four hours.

That's a huge task,
but if you pull it off...

I think I need to this week.
It's not been my week so far.

Bakers, you're halfway through.

I reckon that's cooked.

We're looking all right.

With sponges out the oven...

...getting the soak in is critical.

As usual, I'm going to
cut the tops off.

I'm the queen of cutting the tops
off from the cakes.

Going to prick the tops of them
and get some lovely milk into them.

To ensure each bite is decadently
moist needs liberal soaking.

You need to get it wet enough
that it's, like, soaked,

but not wet enough that
it's going to, like, ooze.

But overdo it...

That's a lot of soak gone in there.

...and the sponges will be
impossible to assemble...

What you don't want is it
to be really saturated,

or the whole cake'll collapse.

...while scrimping on the soak

means the sponge will be dry
and unpleasant.

I've used 500ml for my one.

It was actually
more than enough now,

because they are drinking
quite quickly.

Trouble is, with an angel cake,
it's not brilliant at soaking in.

I'm just going to pop it in
the fridge for a little while.

As soaked sponges go in to set,

the bakers turn their attention
to coating their cakes.

Lime butter icing.

Sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar. 392.

It's 392, isn't it? You daft cow.

And now I'm making
an Italian meringue buttercream.

Just putting the custard into my
German buttercream.

It's really delicious.
Not as sweet as normal buttercream.

Oh, wait. Oh, that'll be burnt.

My Italian buttercream meringue,
it looks a bit split,

so I'm trying to whisk it
to see if it helps. We'll see.

Just missed my, uh,
caramel burning quite severely.

I saw it and I smelt it.

As ever the judges are expecting
the cakes

to not only be delicious
but visually spectacular.

Going to melt down some chocolate
and that's going to be

a medallion on top of the temple.

It's a temple to chocolate,
made out of chocolate.

They're tiny baby choux.

Trouble is if they're too small,
you can't fill them very easily.

My cake itself is called
Day of the Dead.

I'm now melting my white
chocolate to make my skulls.

It's over-rated being dead,
I'll tell you that much.

I've been dead for 13 years now.

Paul has to break me out
the cemetery before every show.

Prue puts clothes on me.
Prue puts clothes on you?

Prue dresses me like a dolly.

I'm going to get my curd from
the fridge. All right.

I won't be here when you come back.
I'll be back in the graveyard.

All right. I love you.
I love you as well.

OK, so let me get this straight,
Mexico IS a real place. Yeah.

How would one get there?

Oh, it's easy, you just go
like this.

Well, that's all well and good
for him but I can't do that.

Bakers, you have
one hour left.

One...

We are going to construct.

It's now the bakers find out
if they have one

of two very different problems.

Oh, this is the stressful part.

If their sponge is too wet,
it's at risk of collapse.

Cake. Soaked the full way through.
Kind of what I, I hoped for.

Too dry and it could fail to deliver

the sumptuous tres leche
eating experience.

I don't think it's soaked at all.

And soak. Yeah.

Ah, it's not centred! Ah!
Knew this would happen,

but do you know what?
Go hard or go home.

Oh! I just don't want it
to collapse.

I doubt this is how the Aztecs
originally built it.

Um, I think a lot more engineering
would've gone into it.

The cake itself, it didn't soak
well. Oh, it's dry.

Yeah, I'm going to cry.

It's gonna be all right.
It's gonna be all right, OK?

You're going to pull this off. Your
flavours are going to be amazing.

Building a multi-layered cake
with soaked sponges is

a construction conundrum.

I'm using supporting dowels.

I think it would be absolute folly
not to dowel and board it.

Yeah, going to play it safe.

Make good decisions, Kevin.
Make good choices.

Oh, dear. Oh BLEEP.

What's wrong?
I'm trying to deflower.

I ain't going to get these off
in time.

If you really concentrate,
you can slow time down.

OK. All right. This is stressing you
out, this talk, isn't it?

Oh, look at that.

I feel like my presence is making
this much, much worse, isn't it?

My chocolate cake's split at
the bottom

and now it's leaking everywhere.

I just don't understand why it's
turned out like this.

I'm going to try and cover it up
with icing.

It's very difficult to, like,
get it... Like it's,

it's, it's not working out
that well.

Why is it so bulged this side?
Oh, my goodness, I'm going to cry.

Just got to get the cream on
and then I'll tidy it up.

It's a mess. Not good.

I'm so fricking stressed out
right now.

I love a good drip
because it hides all

the sides that are ugly.
You can hide everything.

The cake is not right. The... Argh!

OK. OK. Chill out.

Oh, my goodness, this is so BLEEP.

It's cracked!
This ain't even frickin' working.

It's holding up well but,
uh, it's a mess.

This is not how this was supposed
to go. I don't want to go home.

Bakers...

...you have... ...15...

...minutes left.

Pew! Pew!

Need to get a wriggle on.

Oh, uh, did not think this through.

I mean, a wee bit of piping
will cover up the flaws.

We're all in a bleeding rush.

You can do one flick. Go on.
Swap? I'll spin it, yeah. Go on.

I'm just trying to make it look half
presentable at least.

Oh, urgh!

There's not one bit of milk left in
the bottom of this cake.

How long more do we have?

Bakers, you have five minutes left.

Oh, God!

I just want something out now.

Oh!

Right, let's do the tache.

And make it look like
a natural look.

Bakers, your time is up.

Please, step away from your
tres leche cakes.

I'm stepping away.

It's four hours' bake, you're not
going to make it perfect, will you?

It's so messy.
I'm literally about to cry.

BLEEP.

The bakers' tres leches cakes
will now face the judgment of Paul

and Prue.

Your decoration is so accurate and
beautiful, and piping is so good.

Thank you.
Let's have a look.

I think the soak's a bit
dry on a couple of them.

The top two seem to be wetter than
the bottom. I agree.

Mm.

It's such a surprise.
It tastes like sweetcorn.

It does, yeah.

I mean, we asked you to be
imaginative. Well, that is

imaginative. It's not for me.

My only quarrel is I think it would
have been better not

to have the lumps of corn in the
cake, because it spoils the texture,

but it's a really good,
original cake.

Well done, Syabira. Thank you.
Thank you.

I think overall you attempted too
much. None of it's neat enough.

The Fraser cake needs to be much
neater than that, the collar

has lost all its shine, the pipework
isn't particularly good.

I have a few issues with this.

It is a bit untidy but let's see
what it tastes like.

It does look good.

Mm!

The cake layer is
absolutely delicious.

I like the flavour of the
Fraser tart, the creaminess,

the lightness, the sort of vanilla.

The top sponge is
a little bit tough.

Much drier than the bottom one.
The bottom layer is the chilli one?

So I've got like a lime curd
and a creme pat in it.

The sponge is good but it is
unevenly soaked.

I like the lime curd and I like the
sponge, but it is messy.

Thank you.

Well, I must say, I love the idea.

I think it's a little rough
and ready.

Some of the milky syrup
is running out,

which must mean it's quite
well soaked.

Maybe oversoaked.

I think the design is fantastic,

and to make it a tres leches cake
is tricky.

I think you pulled it off all right.
What's that in the bottom?

Is that just where the milks
haven't soaked in?

I reckon there's probably a few
parts where it's not soaked in.

I love the flavour.
It's got a little bit of a kick.

Quite a kick, it's strong chilli.

It's quite pungent and the biggest
issue I have is the texture.

I think you've got flour
lumps in there.

That's a real pity
because flavour's good.

We asked for vibrant colour
and we've got it,

and I love the look of it.

I think the cake is quite effective,
the colours are strong,

I like the declaration on the top

but let's see what it looks like inside.

Ooh. Wow.

The bit of cake I've just got
doesn't seem

to have been soaked at all.

Have you got chilli in there?
Yeah, in the ganache.

Is it too strong?

Yes! When I first put it in
my mouth I was going, what is that?

What you've done is added a punch
and a punch and a punch and a punch

and then destroyed
what it actually was.

I think your criticism is
too strong.

I think it's a really
well-made cake.

I think you've done a good
job with the look,

just thought your flavours
are just too much.

I think it looks lovely. It's quite
cartoonlike but highly effective.

The drips are perfect. I think
it's beautifully ex*cuted.

It's as neat as a pin
and it's very modern looking.

How about that for colour?

The cake is quite dense. I think
the sponge is a little bit too dry.

You could have got more
soak in there,

but your saving grace is the guava
and the passion fruit.

I would agree, I think
it looks absolutely wonderful,

the flavour's fantastic.

I just think that the cake is
a little too firm.

I think the skulls work,
day of the dead celebration.

It's a little bit wonky.

I agree it's on the lean
but I think it's an attractive,

unusual looking cake.
Very even layers.

The soak has gone through
quite nicely on each.

The passion fruit and the lime
work really nicely together.

I think you've done a decent job.

Sandro, I absolutely love the look
of it. It is a bit wonky.

It is wonky on the top which
winds me up a little bit

but I love the colours.
It looks very good.

The bottom tier
is a chocolate coffee cake.

The top is a sliced chocolate cake
with spiced chocolate ganache

and cherry compote. It looks like
a black forest gateaux, actually.

I know we are always asking
for good strong flavours

but I think you've
overdone it a bit, Sandro.

There's too much booze,
too much chilli, too much cherry.

It's a bit milder, the bottom one,
so it works nicer.

I think that bottom layer is
absolutely delicious.

I think it's something
of a little triumph.

So I have done a tres leches
wedding cake, a rustic wedding cake.

It is rustic, you're right.

You've got a bit of leakage down
there as well.

That is very boozy.

You've got chilli in that ganache?
Yeah. Wow!

It's supposed to be mellowed
by the cream.

Filling is too much!

A little less tequila
and quite a lot less chilli.

You're getting hit
with big, big flavours.

If you'd held back on that,

you would have had an all-round
nicer cake.

I think the overall look is good.

Your piping work, the way it all
cascades down looks great.

Yes, I like it, I love the colours.
Cuts nice. Oh, that's interesting.

I think the butter cream's
got a nice lightness to it

to go with the richness of the cake.

The chocolate flavour comes
through nicely,

so between the two it's quite stark
but it works.

I think you've done
a good job, Maxy.

I think it looks simple and
effective, it's quite elegant,

let's see what it looks like inside.

Wow, that's soft.

That's heaven.

That flavour is heaven.

I like the crunch,
I like the soft cake.

That's good. The sponge is so soft,
coffee levels are perfect.

Wow. It's really good.
Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

I can't believe that.
Absolutely stunned.

Everything they said was fair,

clumps of flour in your cake batter
just isn't acceptable.

She said it's a triumph.

Triumph, that's a good word.

If you were to put a bet on me
I think I'd give myself 7-1.

My chances ain't very good.

I think I'm definitely in
the f*ring line.

They asked for Mexican and I feel
like it was more of a Mexican't.

Well,
we didn't get the Mexican weather.

It's been pretty cold again. But we
had some good Mexican Showstoppers.

They looked beautiful, didn't
they? They look Mexican.

There were lots of bright colours.

There's two people actually that
pulled themselves up quite a bit,

I think Abdul and Dawn.
Dawn smashed it.

I think both of them
catapulted themselves up.

What she was so clever about was she
wasn't overcomplicating anything.

And then you look at the other
side of the coin, James, I mean,

what was that about?

He stretched himself too much,
that cake was not good,

and the collar was dull, it was
matt. And it was really clumsy.

Too many elements.

Yeah, but I'd say exactly the same
about Carole.

And coming into today,
Carole was near the bottom.

For me, she still is.

I mean, the other person that
was in trouble was Rebs

and I think she still is in trouble.
Those cakes were far too strong.

Everything was too strong.
We could get rid of two today.

There is legitimate reason.

To be honest
we had three pretty poor

performances from Carole, Rebs
and James.

Has Dawn done enough with the Showstopper

to be a consideration for
Star Baker?

Without a shadow of a doubt,
Dawn's pushed herself up.

I don't think quite in line
with Star Baker. Right.

I think Maxy is, I think Sandro is.
Yeah. And Janusz.

I think you have to put Janusz in
in there as well. Janusz is there.

Hello, bakers. Well done again
on that showstopper, it was amazing.

Luckily this week I've got
the fabulous job of announcing

which one of you has won Star Baker.

And the person who's Star
Baker this week is...

Maxy. Yeah!

I have the less fun job of saying
who's leaving us

and, yes,
this week it is two bakers.

So the two bakers who are leaving us
this week are...

James...

...and Rebs.

Honestly, devastated. This
means the world to me. Sorry, Rebs.

It's hard in this tent.
It's only cake. Poor Rebs.

Her flavours were just too strong
and too many of them.

Bake Off's been a fabulous experience.

It's just I didn't want it to be
cut this short.

I'm gutted for James as well.
James is such a fabulous person.

It's been fun though,
so I don't mind.

I'm always sad to see any bakers go,
but particularly James.

If I was to use a fun
metaphor, I think

I was a plant that's
roots are outgrowing its pot.

I'm going to really miss you, mate.

James had a rotten week,

and his Showstopper was a real disappointment.

Oh, I think
I went wrong across the board!

I think Maxi winning Star Baker for
the second time is well-deserved.

She was the most consistent over
the three challenges.

I'm dancing right now!
Just keep going, huh?

This has really given me confidence.

Honestly, I never thought I'd come
to the tent and get two Star Bakers.

It's crazy. Next week, we're
halfway through,

and I think we've got five bakers in
there that are all doing very well.

There's another three of them
that have to step up now

and show us what they really can do.

There's only one way this is going
to go and it's,

like, harder and harder.

Next time...

...the bakers tackle
demanding desserts.

You know "desserts" backwards
is "stressed". And I am.

From steam signature... Oh, my God.

...that has our bakers hot under
the collar.

Oh, what a disaster. A Technical...

Have you seen the method, guys?

...with no recipe. Come on! And
a magnificent mousse Showstopper...

To be able to put that design
together with mousse is impressive.

...that will serve one baker...
Oh! It's moved.

...their just deserts.

Mine looks like a car crash.

Are you a Star Baker in the making?

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