14x01 - Cake Week

[bunniefuu]

Don Paul-eone.

Is it done?

I put a loaf of bread in his bed.

Good, he won't sleep for weeks.

Crumbs in the bed are a nightmare.

I have news.
A new addition to the family.

Breadfather.

It's day one of series 14.

Why has it taken so long
to come to see me?

I don't mean to brag, Breadfather,

but I've been very busy.

Daytime TV, hosting the Baftas

and I was in a Stormzy video.

He's a Grime artist. Ah!

The Breadfather often says
that joining this family

is like making
the perfect loaf of bread.

In order to rise, you first have
to prove.

Someone call?

No, no, I said prove, not Prue.

My mistake.

What do you say, Breadfather,
is she in?

Welcome to the family. Yes!

Do you want to do the honours?

Welcome to The Great British Bake
Off.

Thank you.

Are you eating dough balls again?

They're stuck
to the inside of my cheeks!

I don't really know how
I got here?

Feel like I'm a bit lost.

You know you can do experience days?

It feels like I'm on one of them.

Oh, I'm really terrified.

Thousands of amateur bakers
from across Britain applied.

I had success at my village show.

And that made me think,
"Give it a sh*t".

You know, what's
the worst that can happen?!


to the Bake Off tent.

Is this really happening?

My little tum is going
like a washing machine.

Over the next ten weeks, they'll
face 30 brand-new challenges.

I'm thinking one week at a time,
one bake at a time.

If it goes wrong,
we'll just key Paul's car.

Every aspect of their baking skill
will be tested.

I was not expecting my
first technical to go like this!

And everything they bake
will be judged by Prue Leith...

That is the cutest little cake.

..and Paul Hollywood.

It looks like it's been run over!

I feel like I'll just get lost
in Paul's eyes, to be honest.

We'll have to keep
it PG, unfortunately.

I can't see.

Each week,

those that rise
will be crowned Star Baker.

Can you believe it?! Yes.
This is huge!

Stop ramping up the pressure!

Those that crumble...

Baking for my life.

..will leave the tent.

Ah, it's lovely out there.

But who will go on to win?

Why this is doing to me?

It's gonna take you ages
to wash that off.

You're putting me off my stride!

The Great British Bake Off.

So, Nicky, tell us
about your beaver.

It's cake week, and,
after three challenges,

we'll crown our first Star Baker

but one baker will
have to leave the tent.

Hello, bakers. Welcome,
lovely to see you all.

Welcome to the tent.

Now, before we start,
I know what you're thinking.

Things look a little bit
different this year.

That's right - Paul's
had his beard reshaped.

I think it's a triumph, personally.

Also, we have a new host,

so let's welcome
to the tent Alison.

Ah, thanks, Noel. Hi, everyone!

I am so excited
to be joining the show and,

I'm just thrilled to meet you
bakers. It's lovely to see you all.

Also, can I introduce you to Daryl,

a BSL interpreter
for one of the bakers?

Welcome to the tent.
Thank you.

It's time for your first-ever
Signature Challenge.

The judges would like you
to make a vertical layer cake.

Now, the judges are looking
for perfectly baked sponge

which will be rolled with
a filling so that, when sliced,

it will reveal neat,
vertical layers.

You've got two hours.

This is the bit you're most looking
forward to, isn't it?

I can't wait. Let me get ready.

Shall we hold hands?
OK, let's do it together.

You wanna kick it off? Yeah.

On your marks...

..Get set...

..Bake!

That was amazing.

Hoo-hoo!

It's actually happening!

Just trying to process it all
at the moment, to be honest.

It's just a mad experience.

I am baking for my life. Ha-ha!

How long have we got left?

I've only just started
but I'm already panicking.

Vertical layered cake.

It's a bit like
a Swiss roll standing up.

So, you cut into it, you
see these very strong lines.

We want cleanly defined
vertical layers of cake,

filling, cake, filling, cake.

We expect a bit of height
to these cakes.

Colour, plenty of flavours.

Now if the bakers say
"I've got apple in here,

"I've got pineapple in there,

"I've got lemon in there,"
I wanna taste it.

If the bakers don't
get their cakes

into the oven in time, get them out,
get them cool before they fill them

and decorate them, then
they're going to be too warm.

They will lose shape,
they'll slump

or we'll have
a complete disaster.

Morning, Rowan.
How are you doing?

Oh, my gosh! It's real. Hello.

What are you gonna be making?

I am making chocolate
and raspberry vertical cake.

It's inspired by a birthday cake
I made for my 21st

which was actually a wedding cake.


from West Yorkshire

is this year's youngest baker

and is studying English
at university.

Put it back in the right place
or the librarian'll k*ll you.

His vertical wedding cake will see
dark chocolate sponge wrap around

a raspberry Swiss buttercream.

You had a wedding cake for your


It's because you're worth it,
isn't it, babes?

That's the thing. Self-love.

Whilst Rowan plans to tie
the knot with himself...

Nervous as anything.

..Nicky's aiming to marry
two classic flavours.

It's a orange and lemon cake

because myself and my sister
used to play a skipping game to

"Oranges and lemons
sing the bells of St Clement's."

Nicky grew up in Dundee

and after a career in the skies,
she's landed in the West Midlands,

close to her granddaughters
Edie and Matilda.

En garde! Hai!

She hopes to take off
in the competition with

a blood orange Swiss roll sponge,

lemon curd and an orange
and rosemary syrup.

Cabin crew.

Does that mean you're gonna present
all your bakes

on a little rectangle tray?!

There you go, Paul.
Drop it down.

Paul, put your seat belt
on and try this!

Dan's also hoping to land
a British classic.

I'm doing a rhubarb
and custard cake today,

with rhubarb out of my garden.

Dan is a resources planner
and lives in Cheshire

with his wife Natalie
and sons Sam and Rory.

Oh, Rory.

As well as growing rhubarb

he's recently begun
brewing his own beer.

Tastes absolutely awful.

He'll add fresh rhubarb compote
to his filling

and cover his cake
in cream cheese icing.

What about decoration?

I've poached some rhubarb slices

and they're just gonna go round
the outside,

so it's very pink and very me.

Good luck, mate.
Thank you very much.

I just wanna tell you
one little thing.

I don't like rhubarb,

so please don't take offence
if I don't eat it.

I'm gonna win you over.
Honestly, I'll win you over!

It derives from Jaffa Cake

which I used to have all the time
as a kid.

So the main stars are the dark
chocolate and the blood orange.

Amos is a delicatessen manager
from Nottingham

and still bakes
with his mum, Antoinette.

His vertical Jaffa Cake features
blood orange and dark chocolate

in two contrasting decorative drips.

There's blood orange flavour in
the actual sponge, as well.

I think I'm going
a bit ahead of myself

so I need to slow down, maybe.

That's what my mum always says -
"Slow down."

The judges are expecting
a light, fluffy sponge

but it still needs
to be flexible enough to roll.

I've gone for a classic Swiss roll
recipe, really. Nothing fancy!

But not everyone's gone
for a classic.

I'm making a genoise sponge

because I always see genoise
on Bake Off.

It's just a Swiss roll on its end.

And I can't help but think...

..why?

Tasha lives in London

and, before working for
a children's charity,

she was a ski instructor in Japan.

She'll attempt to roll her black
sesame genoise sponge around

a sharp lime and yuzu curd.

Are you happy?

No. I'm looking round

and everyone else has gone
for a more robust sponge.

Just don't look into
Paul's eyes, that's all.

He's tried standing there, like,
several times now

and I've just been a bit like...

What was his face like?
I don't wanna do an impression,

but I kind of do. Yeah, go on -
do an impression of Paul.

That's it! That's it! It's perfect.

The thin sponge for
a vertical layer cake

bakes in a matter of minutes.
Wish me luck.

A fraction too long in the oven

and it will cr*ck
as soon as it's rolled.

But for his giant
wedding cake... Ugh!

..Rowan will need to perfectly bake
three sponges at the same time.

We'll make it work.

Do you think that'll work?

And Cristy is aiming just as high.

Try and get 'em all in
at the same time.

I'm making a lemon meringue, like,
vertical cake

so sort of based on my mum's
lemon meringue recipe.

Cristy grew up in East London with
her dad Rod and her mum Michelle.

She now has four children
of her own and works as a PA.

Her sponge,
curd and buttercream will feature

three different types of lemon.

Limoncello, lemon juice, lemon zest.

If they don't taste the lemons

then I don't know what
the hell I've done wrong.

Saku is also planning
a family favourite.

I am making lemon
and blueberry vertical layer cake.

Have you made it before?

Several times. This is
my husband's favourite cake.

Saku is an intelligence analyst
and lives in Hereford

where she plays for
a local cricket team

started by her daughter, Therindi.

sh*t.
sh*t.

Her cake will feature
a sharp lemon cream cheese icing

and blueberry buttercream.

Blueberry often
has very pale flavour.

Are you adding essence or anything
to boost it up a bit?

I made a blueberry reduction

so I am using that
to the buttercream.

I love the idea of the flavours.
They do sound very good.

Are you a little bit nervous?

Lot nervous!
Awww!

Here you are, come here, come here.

Ah, thank you very much.

Is that better? Is that better?
That's really better. Yes.

Yeah? Much better. OK.

You'll be fine, then. Ah. Thank you,
Paul. Thank you very much. Aww!

Good luck.
Thank you!

Can you believe it?!

Yes! Made my day.

I am making chocolate orange cake

in honour of my father, really.

He served in the Second World w*r

and he was a prisoner of w*r.

Because he was on starvation rations

I think he became
quite indulgent after that

so he'd be stocking up
on Christmas chocolates

from about October onwards.

Keith is a chartered accountant
and lives in Hampshire

with his partner Sue
and their poodle, Maisie.

Maisie, give us the ball.

He's making a ganache by melting
his dad's favourite chocolate

and he's adding a little extra touch

to his whipped cream filling
for someone else.

I've put some orange liqueur
in there.

And, normally, you put a bit less
than the recipe suggests. Ah!

But I'm not sure
that dialling down the booze

is gonna float Prue's boat, is it?

Should've gone way over!

It's time for your first-ever
time call.

Oh, can I do it? Is that all right?
Yes, of course.

You don't mind? I'll just support
you while you do it. Thank you.

Bakers, you're halfway through.
You have one hour left.

I don't even need to be here
any more. You got this.

No, don't! Come back, come back!

Cake out time, no going back.

Time and heat are now
the bakers' two biggest worries.

Can't see a thing!

I can't see.

The sooner they can begin
cooling their sponges...

I think that's done.

..the less chance
their vertical layer cakes

will collapse when filled.

OK, my top one's gonna come out.
My other two aren't.

Really happy. So far!

Think my sponges aren't done.

One of them's done really well and
then the bottom one has just sunk.

Tasha's gamble on a genoise sponge
doesn't seem to be paying off.

It's all tipped over the...

Oh, I know why.

Tasha, you're an idiot. OK.

Mm. I used the wrong rack,

so it's tilted all
the mixture to one side.

It means that some of the layers
won't be the same thickness.

But I'm not gonna tell them that!

So now I'm just rolling up my sponge

then I'm gonna quickly
get it chilled,

so that whilst they're cooling
they've got a nice rolled-up shape.

Result! Ha-ha! Get in.

So wonky. I can work around it.

I think.

The bakers need to use every minute

that their rolled sponges
are cooling

to perfect the fillings that will
sandwich their vertical layers.

Mm.

Blueberry buttercream.

Yes, lovely!

In with rhubarb creme pat, just
putting some custard powder in it

to give it that proper, authentic
retro rhubarb and custard flavour

cos we didn't really have creme
pat when I was a kid. Sorry, Mum!

For their filling,
one baker has gone

a little further
than their back garden.

I'm using as much, like,
foraged stuff as I can

so they're wild blackcurrants
and wild poppy seeds.

Wild poppy seeds are unusual.

When Abbi isn't working at
an organic farm in Cumbria

she forages for ingredients
to add to her home baking.

Oh, and a little slug. Just give it
a little wash before we use it.

As well as the poppy seeds
and blackcurrants for her sponge

and buttercream, Abbi has also
foraged for her decoration.

Those are gorse petals. Did you
forage these as well? I did.

It must feel so nice when you forage
your own fruit and veg.

Yeah, definitely. And then you make
your own cakes.

It's lovely, isn't it?
Absolutely, yeah.

When I hear some of the flavour
combinations, I'm like, wow.

Where have you thought of that?

It's a take on a tiramisu,

so it's a coffee cake
with coffee mascarpone cream.

Sports fanatic Matty is a PE teacher

and lives and works
in Cambridgeshire.

The punchy coffee flavour in his
sponge and mascarpone filling

should be balanced with
a light vanilla buttercream.

The buttercream looks like
someone's sick.

Don't zoom in on that.

Curdled my buttercream.

Matty will have
to restart his buttercream...

But I'm hiding the terror
through the smile.

..and he's not the only one
attempting to balance a coffee kick.

I only drink caramel lattes

so I'm doing a coffee sponge
with salted caramel buttercream.

Dana is a database administrator

and lives in Essex
with her cockapoo, Gracie.

Her salted caramel buttercream
will fill a coffee sponge

soaked with coffee syrup.

Because the caramel's quite sweet

so I wanna balance out
the flavours.

Look at me getting all
Mastercheffy. I love it!

MasterChef?! We don't want that
here. We're on Bake Off now.

Look at me getting all Bake-Offy.

This isn't MasterChef here, all
right? It's all about the Bake Off.

It's all the wrong programme!

Bakers, you have half an hour left.

This is buttercream take two.

Goes quick, don't it?
Tell me about it.

The bakers' time and heat issues
now get even harder.

She's a beauty.

Fill and roll their
sponges too late...

Chill out.

..they won't have time
to perfect their decoration.

It's pretty much there.
I think it's at room temperature.

But fill and roll a warm sponge...

If anything is remotely warm,
it's game over.

..and their vertical layer cake
will collapse.

What's the best thing to do?

It's a waiting game now, isn't it?

Let's try a bit of your ganache.

Oh, it's fab.

Oh, my gosh I need a drink.

I could do with a caramel latte,
not gonna lie.

Quick slug of coffee.

Can I have a cup of tea, please?

All right, yeah. Do or die now.

I think my sponges are
sufficiently cooled

that I can put the filling in now.

Unless the ratio of filling
to sponge is completely even...

I've got my black sesame cream

and now I'm gonna add
the yuzu curd.

..the bakers won't achieve
the perfect vertical stripes

that the judges have demanded.

Blueberry reduction goes first,

then the blueberry buttercream.

It does come up lovely. I like it.

I can't give that to anyone.

Matty's second attempt
at the buttercream

has gone about as well as his first.

I've just not been patient enough
with making this warm enough.

How's it going?

I keep curdling my buttercream.

Just a baking competition,
don't worry about it.

Cheers.

If it goes wrong we'll just
key Paul's car.

Right, moment of truth.

The slightest cr*ck in
the sponge at this stage...

Oh, we've got a bit
of naughtiness here.

..and once stood on its end,
gravity will force it open...

I'm almost there.

..making the cake lean...

Behave.

..or worse.

Look at that. So clever.

I didn't realise it was like
a roll like that.

Like a Russian doll.

I'm going to put them
all in each other,

so it's gonna be huge and tall.

And whilst some are going
for scale...

Just gonna wrap
the other two sponges round that.

Have I got one more to do?
Oh, yeah.

..Josh has focused on design.

So there's the two different
coloured sponges.

And they should hopefully
sort of alternate.

Josh is a chemical biology researcher
living in Leicestershire.

He tests his bakes at
his local rugby club.

No soggy bottoms here Josh!

He'll roll his alternating coloured
sponges around passion fruit curd

and coconut buttercream.

Baking rugby player. Yeah.

Once a month, usually, I take them
into the changing rooms...

Basically, 20 or 30 naked men
try out your food.

Yeah! In the changing rooms,
whilst covered in mud.

I'm in trouble.
It's just all sticking to the paper.

This is the first time it's happened
like this. Oh, how cliche.

And Amos isn't the only
one struggling.

This is cracking.

I don't really know why
I did a genoise.

Ah, don't do this for me.

Why this is doing to me?

Why? See it's sticking.

Oh, my god.

Look at that precious little... fella.

Very stressful.

The thing is, everyone wants
a handshake from Paul

and you've already had a hug.
Oh, exactly.

So you don't need a handshake now,
do you? Yes!

Where can you go from a hug?

Home.



Time's against us a wee bit now.

I'm no longer using buttercream.

I never want to see it again.

And we're gonna use more coffee
mascarpone cream.

I think we have enough.

It's not a circle
so I'm piping tactically.

Thickest crumb coat
you've ever seen in your life

to try and disguise
what's going on.

I've got shaky hands.

Rhubarb slices,
like trimming my hedge.

Try and make it look attractive.

So I've got some light pink,
some dark pinks.

Oh, it's so messy.

I don't want to overdo it.

I wish I liked rhubarb.
I'd be all over that, babes.

I've tried to raise my prettiness
game in the last year or so.

Is it not your forte, prettiness?
So I'm rather hoping...

No. It's one of the reasons
it's taken me 14 years to apply.

It's a bit lopsided.

I think it's fair to say there's
prettier drip cakes on display.

My chocolate drip is splitting.

One minute.

Oh, my God.

Just to make it look
a little bit civilised.

It's not quite as I envisaged.

Oh, my God.

Bakers, your time is up.

Please step away from your
vertical layer cakes.

Well done.

I feel like I've run a marathon.

That looks so good.

I could put my face in that.

Do you think I'll get
away with that?

It's leaning.

The bakers will now face
the judgement of Paul and Prue

for the very first time.

Hello, Rowan. Hello. Hi, Rowan.

It's tall, isn't it?

I don't go in halves.

I'm not quite sure
I'm going to get it all out.

Oh, there you go.
Oh, no! Oh, OK.

Now that is a perfect example
of a vertical cake.

I like it. Do you? Yeah. Oh!

It's delicate. Yeah!

But the flavours are there.

Buttercream's terrific.
Well done, Rowan. Thank you.

Just be aware of the strength of
flavours that you're putting in.

Well, the colours work.

Vibrant, I think the
cake looks amazing.

But I actually think you've
overbaked your sponges.

But the flavour is sensational.

Obviously there's been issues
with the drip effect.

Look at that.

The layers just aren't even enough.

The chocolate dominates.
There's not a lot of orange.

OK.

I think it looks lovely.

It's good height to it as well. Wow.

Beautiful lines. Oh, thank you.

I think it's delicious.

Oh, do you?

I think, your flavour,
you are 60% there,

don't be afraid to really punch us
in the teeth with citrus flavours.

Looks like a barrel.

Bit like me actually.

But I don't think it's terrible.
Well, that's good!

He's dabbing with faint praise.

He doesn't think it's terrible.

I quite like the layers,
they're pretty even.

Yes, the layers are good.

The flavour is very subtle
and it is delicious.

It's just not punchy enough.

Maybe it's one of these that
kind of just grows on you.

Like a fungus.

Paul!

Doing well. Barrel, fungus...
Like a beautiful fungus.

Can't take him anywhere.

I like that informal
cornucopia look.

Very nice vertical stripes.

This is the wild poppy, isn't it?

Yeah, wild poppyseeds.

It's delicious.

I think the flavour's come through,
they're nice and punchy.

The balance of the
texture of the cake

and the buttercream is beautiful.

Thank you.

It's a bit messy. Yes.

The piping's not particularly good.

Well, those are pretty good stripes.

I must say, the flavour's lovely.

Not too salty.

Don't make a face like that.
It is a bit wobbly.

I like the colours,
I think it's stark.

Let's have a look at this
wobbly tower. Wow.

Well, the stripes are there.

Ooh. What's happened?

I got the sharpness from
the outside... Ah.

Ah, creme pattiss... ..which brings
that sour and the sweet together.

Love the flavours.

Well, I think the real
achievement is to get real flavour

out of blueberries, which
are really not the easiest fruit

to make taste great.

It's coffee cake and a mascarpone
cream that ended up being on

the outside as well as the inside

due to my inability
to make a buttercream.

OK.

That'd wake you up in the morning.

It certainly is strong.

That coffee level is perfect.

It's a muscular cake.

Yeah.

It's very nice.

You've made a hefty, muscular,
powerful cake.

Dan, that is the cutest little cake.

Looks like a circus tent.
Yeah, it does doesn't it? Yeah.

Beautiful stripes, Dan.
Look at those lines.

Well done. Thank you.

That is rhubarb and custard.

It's a beautiful cake,
it's very light.

And with the creme pat and the
rhubarb, the slice is quite moreish.

Think you've done a good job.
Oh, thanks, Paul. Cheers.

Tiny circus tent. I know, yeah.
Loved it. Brilliant.

I think it looks so dramatic

and the colours are
so strong contrasting,

and they look so wonderful.

Is this just cream, then?

It's whipped cream

with that orange liqueur
I mentioned.

It's delicious.

Oh, my God.
Absolutely delicious.

The cream is so light against
the density of the chocolate

and then that orange liqueur...
It is absolutely delicious.

I could happily eat all of that.

Well done, Keith. Thank you.
Thank you, Keith.

Nailed it.

Boozy Prue.

Dear me.

Did you sit on it?

There were some problems.

But, you know what?
Its flavour might save it.

Well you've certainly got
the stripes.

I think you've got too much filling
to cake, though.

That is very unusual.

And rather delicious.

Thank you.

But, if you'd used less of the
filling and more of the sponge,

that would've been
absolutely brilliant.

I think it looks terrible...

..but I love the flavours
and the textures of it.

Well done. Thank you.

Hope you softened some
of Paul's rudeness.

It was such a mixed bag

but it was definitely leaning on
the side of bad.

I've learnt a lot today
which I will bring

week after week
after week, hopefully.

I'm flabbergasted.

I was worried that I wouldn't
measure up.

The only way is probably that way
now, isn't it, to be fair?

Each week, the bakers
will face a second challenge

that's a gingham-clad mystery.

It's time for your technical
challenge, which today has been set

for you by the big boss man,
Paul Hollywood.

Bakers, this is the most iconic
Bake Off cake.

It has to look amazing on
the outside,

and inside it's got to taste
and look good too.

Phew. As ever, the technical
challenge will be judged blind

so we're gonna have to ask these two
lovelies to pop outside the tent.

Bye. Paul's gonna go and
look at some denim samples.

So, Paul would like you to make

the Great British Bake Off
chocolate cake.

You know, the one with
the famous missing raspberry.

Whatever happened to that raspberry?

I've got it right here
in this golden box.

That's my pension.

I'll be selling that on eBay.

The judges are looking
for two layers of moist... Moist.

..choc...

..chocolate sponge,

covered and filled with a silky
smooth chocolate ganache...

Ganache.
..topped with the fresh raspberries.

You have two hours. On your marks.

Get set. Bake!

The bakers have all been given
the same ingredients

and a pared-down recipe.

Straight away,
I know what this cake looks like.

I mean, I've been watching
the show since such a young age,

and that dreaded raspberry,
so I can finally rectify it.

To be honest, I've never
really clocked anything

other than the raspberry, so it's
news to me that it was a cake.

It feels quite strange to be doing
the iconic Bake Off cake

on Bake Off. It's very meta.

I recognise this cake.

It's probably one of
the most famous cakes in the UK.

It is actually
a chocolate fudge cake,

but it comes down to the ganache.

Got to cool your ganache down
to a point, but not cold,

because it'll be solid.

When it comes into contact
with the sponge,

if it's warm,
it's just gonna run out.

They can use the fridges.

The issue when you use the
fridge with ganache,

you can matte the chocolate.

And we want shiny.

Let's take a slice of this, Prue.

Straight away you see
the ganache smack in the middle.

It's beautifully set,
and it's soft and luscious,

but not pouring out like a volcano.

This is a chocoholic's dream.

Don't have any more, Prue.
I can't help it.

We've gotta go in
and have 12 of these in a minute.

Well, you've more discipline
than I have.

"Melt and combine the chocolate,
butter and hot water."

While that's going,
I'm gonna make a start

on putting together all the
wet ingredients.

We've got sour cream,
vegetable oil, eggs and butter.

This is the iconic cake.

You see this cake every single time
you watch Bake Off.

This is huge.
Stop ramping up the pressure!

"Incorporate the melted
chocolate mixture

"before combining with
the dry ingredients."

Just using the spatula
to fold it through.

Um, I feel like I've made a mistake.

I might have used twice as much
chocolate for the actual cake,

but I'm just kind
of hoping that it's fine.

Everyone loves a good
chocolate cake, so...

In the oven.

You're going in, mate.
Goodbye. See you laters.

It just says, "Bake,"
so it's very helpful.

Love that Paul, don't you?

I'll be baking the cakes
for 35 minutes.

This is already set to 35.
Do you think that's a sign?

I'll try 30 first.

Or 35?



"Make the ganache
filling slash icing."

Not much to say
about ganache. really.

It's not afraid to be itself.

I feel like I'm slightly at
an unfair advantage

as I made ganache this morning.

Feels like cheating.

That's why everyone was
staring at you, Keith. Is it?

It's looking good,
looking silky smooth.

That's lovely and glossy. Could have
a bath in that, couldn't you?

I'm hesitant to put it in
the fridge.

I want to keep it as
shiny as possible,

but I think if I stick it
in the fridge,

it might not be shiny anymore.

Pop that there for a sec.

I think it's gonna take
a really long time to cool.

I'll be utilising the fridge.

Probably gonna go all wrong,
but I'm chilling.

I've put the ganache in
the freezer.

Otherwise all the ganache is
gonna get a bit splodgy.

Bakers, you have one hour.

There's a good chocolate whiff
in this area.

How many times have you checked?
I'm up to 450 now.

How do you feel about things,

probably been up since about four,
haven't you?

Yeah. Half three, I woke up.

Do you lie in bed sometimes thinking
about what you're gonna do?

I'm like, "Oh, my God
I can't switch off now," but...

Does it go better when you're
imagining it? Yes, every time.

Paul starts crying.

Yeah, yeah. Prue faints.

Worship me! I know.

I think I'll give the top one
a little poke.

Well, you want it, like,
quite light and airy.

There was an emphasis on
the word "moist."

It should come out with
a few crumbs attached.

Aye-aye.

Coming out clean...

..and aye-aye.

Gonna get them out. I'm doing it.

Reasonably happy with them.

They're looking OK.

They look OK. I mean, they're baked.

It wouldn't be Bake Off without
somebody wafting one of these.

The most important thing is
to get chilled as quick as possible

so the ganache doesn't
just run all out of it.

Come on wind. Now, yes. This way.

I just put it in the fridge.

The amount of time I have is
very disconcerting.

I was not expecting my first
technical to go like this.

Just sitting about, looking at
bumblebees out the side of the tent.

Ah, it's lovely out there.

Alison, would you like a sign name?

I would love a sign name.

Like, Alison?

Alison? Yeah?

I love it.

Have you got a sign name
for Paul Hollywood?

You have, haven't you?

What is it?

I have problems getting my words
out sometimes. Yeah.

I tried to say, "Paul Hollywood,"
and I came out with, "Pollywood."

Pollywood? Ha!

So now I call him Polly,

so, like, it's Polly like a parrot.

Polly.

This is Paul?

Little Polly. Polly, Paul.

I love it!
But you can't tell him!

I won't tell him, I promise.

Bakers, you have half an hour left.

"Assemble the cake,
sandwich in the sponges,

"and icing the cake with
a smooth coating of ganache."

The thing with ganache is that if
you put it on a warm cake...

..it will melt.

They're a little,
tiniest little bit warm.

If I was at home,
I'd have left them for an hour.

But I haven't got an hour, so gonna
have to roll with them, I think.

Wait till it's cold.

Five more minutes.

It would just be too warm.

This is the ganache
to sandwich the cake.

The ganache has set
a bit too much in the fridge.

Feel like I might even put my
ganache in the microwave.

It's curdling all of a sudden
and I don't know why.

It was fine and now it's split,
and I've been putting in

and out of the fridge
and maybe it's just not liked it.

I'm getting really impatient.

Especially when everyone else is,
like, cracking on as well.

Guys, time is ticking.
You've got 15 minutes.

Can you hear that plane circling?
That's Paul Hollywood.

They're, like, room temperature.

Just going for it.

Silky smooth.

My beautiful ganache, which has
been perfect, has slightly split,

so I'm just gonna add in
a little bit of butter

and that should bring it back
into emulsion.

I can't remember if the
finish is straight-edged

or if it's got, like,
a full ripple to it.

It needs to be really,
really good because it's so iconic.

Yeah, you've gotta do the
cake justice, haven't you?

So determined for it not
to look like someone's sat on it.

OK, you've got
five minutes left, bakers.

Five minutes left? OK...

Onto the iconic raspberry.

Am I adding the missing raspberry?

It doesn't say whether
to include the raspberry or not.

Raspberry, on or off? On. Yeah.

You're gonna replace the missing
raspberry? It needs to be done.

How many sleepless nights I've
had over that missing raspberry...

Really? Terrible.
Like, "Why did they do that?"

I know it's got one missing,
so I've left the perfect gap.

Got my one raspberry missing as well
in the middle.

I can't let myself
miss out a raspberry.

I've watched it for so many years.

Why? Where's that missing raspberry?

It's here.

It's here, you can put
it on if you want.

I'm not gonna do it for you.

OK bakers, one minute.

I've got wobbles.

Finito.

Quite pleased with it.
It's like on t'picture.

Oh, God.

Quick, shove it off.

It's broken.

I am happy with it,
but it's just my ganache.

Quick, we can do this. Mend it.

Bakers, your time is up.

We're good. We're good. We're done.

Please bring your cakes
down to the front

and place them behind your
own photograph.

God, they look grand.
God, everyone's is beautiful.

Did you do a missing raspberry?

Yeah, did you? Yeah!

This is looking good, isn't it?

Yeah, they're good, aren't they?
So good.

How dare they be this good
this quickly? I know!

Time to welcome the judges back in.

We've missed you, Prue. We have.

Paul and Prue are looking for
moist and light chocolate sponges,

coated in a perfectly set,
smooth and shiny ganache.

And they have no idea
whose is whose.

It's going to be difficult,
I'm telling you now.

We will be nit picking.

Right, we'll start with this one.

Straight off, no shine.

It's messy round there as well.

But let's have a look inside.

Wow.

I can't believe we're
going to have to taste



That's a nice flavour.
It's a shame about the colour.

Moving on to number two.
Now, I like this.

The sharpness across the top.

That ganache, it has got a shine
and it is neat on the bottom.

It's a good-looking cake.
It's very clean. Let's have a look.

It's really good
chocolate fudge cake.

Wrong colour ganache.

The colour's too milky.

And messy.

Mm. Yeah, nicely made.

Moving on, they've taken
the wrong raspberry out.

That's the one. The missing
raspberry's at the edge. It is.

It's really beautiful cake.

Moving on to the next one,
you can see the crease.

It shouldn't look as if there are
two cakes in there. Should be one.

That ganache inside
is still very liquid.

This is a bit messy.

It's not bad, though,
cos it's a nice shine.

Nice sponge again.

The ganache is nearly there.

It's beautifully neat.
It has got a shine to it. Yeah.

That's a beautiful cake. It is.

This is the right colour.

But it's a bit matte, isn't it?

Mm, it's not as shiny as some.

Still a bit warm, that ganache.
Still liquid. Mm.

OK, moving on to this one.

You can definitely see
it's two cakes stacked.

It's got a waistband round it.

The ganache inside is still liquid.

I like the neatness of this.

Yeah, very clean, the sides
are absolutely straight.

Oh, hello. Ah, that looks good.

Good amount of ganache, and
it's solid as well. And it's set.

Moving on to the next one,

it's a little bit light,
a little bit matte.

Not quite set.

No, timing again.
Great taste though.

Doesn't look totally smooth,
the ganache. It's not light enough.

Looks a bit dense, doesn't it?

I know it is a fudge cake
but it's too fudgy.

Paul and Prue will now rank
the cakes from 12th to 1st place.

You can all obviously make
a good, big chocolate cake.

It's going to be tight.

In 12th place, we have this one.

Who is this?

It's me. Dana, the texture's
a little bit dense.

In 11th spot, we have this one.

Tasha, the fat rim of chocolate
running around the middle

is the big problem.

And then in 10th place,
we have this one.

Nicky, it's a nice cake
but the colour's not right.

Rowan is 9th,
Josh 8th, Matty is 7th,

Cristy 6th, Saku is 5th,
Keith is 4th and Abbi takes 3rd.

And then runner-up,
in second place...

..is this one. Who's that?

Amos, it's nice and shiny,
the cake is light,

ganache is set.

Don't have any complaints
about it at all.

The winner is Dan.

That's a great looking cake.
Well done. Thank you very much.

Nice. Amazing. Really good.

I am pretty much on cloud nine,
to be honest.

So, so happy. I really am, yeah.

I don't really compare,
you know, having babies

to, uh, baking a good cake...

It's not disastrous.
I'll take better than last.

Coming last is not the nicest.

Oh, it's silly getting
emotional over it.

It's just cake,
at the end of the day.

My signature looked
like someone sat on it

and, coming 11th in
the technical, I'm not safe.

Just one challenge remains
before we learn who will be

our first Star Baker and
who will be leaving the tent.

Class of 2023

are brilliant, aren't they?

Paul giving people hugs - what
the hell? What's happened? I know.

What's happened to you?
I don't know.

Did you have a breakdown?

Bit worrying, isn't it?

There's quite a few of them
in line for Star Baker.

Especially the lads.
Keith. Dan. Dan. They're strong.

Abbi's in that realm as well.
Cristy.

To be honest it's difficult
to rate them

because those technicals
were all beautiful.

Is that the closest technical
we've ever had?

There's almost nothing
to choose between them.

Dana, who was last in technical,
is always in a precarious position.

Tasha struggled a little bit
as well in both challenges.

I don't think Amos did massively
well in the signature.

But there's a huge bunch
that could possibly leave

after the Showstopper. I'm really...

How many are you
going to get rid of, Paul?

You know we're only
allowed to send one. Ten.

Morning, bakers. This is your
first Showstopper Challenge.

Prue and Paul would like you to
create an incredible cake,

shaped and decorated in the form
of an animal of your choosing.

Now, it could be anything from
a cat-tenberg to a...

Snake-well tart.

Now, you've got four hours for this.

On your marks. Get set. Bake!

I am so nervous.
I can't even cope right now.

So many elements going on here.
So many.

I'm concerned that
the cake itself could collapse.

I need to get this right.
I don't want to go home.

Now the bakers get
their first chance

to show off, to make a cake
that resembles an animal.

Because the animals are going to be
probably quite big,

they can use puffed rice
to create certain elements

but the main body has to be sponge.

I think there's a real danger
the bakers get so obsessed

with how their animal looks
that they'll forget

that it has to taste amazing.

If I was going to do
an animal cake...

Silverback gorilla.

Hello, Keith. Hello, Keith.
Morning, Paul. Morning, Prue.

How you doing, you all right?
Morning, Noel.

Tell us about your animal cake.

My animal cake is

a small poodle that
I'm a kind of step-father to.

ALISON: Keith's 13-year-old
poodle, Maisie,

will be built from lemon
and orange sponges

and her ageing coat will be made

with charcoal coloured
orange buttercream.

She's not a thing of rare beauty.

Are you trying to tell us
if your cake looks terrible,

it's just because she's old?
Get out clause.

You've seen straight
through me, Prue. Yes.

I am baking my dog, Gracie.

My little angel.

And it's going to be made
out of her favourite flavours -

banana and peanut butter.

I tell a lie - her favourite
flavours is chicken and beef

but I can't really
put that in a cake.

After a difficult first day,
Dana is hoping to avoid

the doghouse by adding
a cinnamon crumble

to her Gracie banana cake

filled with peanut buttercream.

I've practised this.

Let's just say it's a good thing
dogs love you unconditionally

cos she did not look herself.

Dana and Keith aren't the only ones
putting their faith

in a four-legged friend.

Is that your dog? Well, it was.
He went to sleep last month.

Aw. He was nearly 18, so he's 17,
so... Oh, wow. He did really well.

This is actually quite a lot of
pressure, really, to get this right.

It is a bit, yeah, yeah.

Dan's planning to
immortalise his dog, Bruno,

by decorating rich chocolate
sponges, layered with ganache

in a two-tone chocolate
French buttercream.

And his family have no idea.

So I practised the first one at home
and I put him in the fridge,

cos obviously I was trying to
hide it from everybody.

Unbeknown to my mum, she opened
the fridge door and went,

"What's Bruno doing in the fridge?"

So obviously my eldest then's
like, "What you on about?"

Charged over to the fridge,

obviously the dog's sat
in the fridge, isn't he?

Whilst the judges will
expect animal cakes

that are light and delicious...

Whoo. Ah.

..to avoid collapse, the bakers will

need to create sponge
that's just robust enough

to survive being carved
into a lifelike shape.

This is my very dense sponge

which is great for carving.

Dense sponge?

Yes.

Dense sponge is
not really appetising.

But with the caramel,
that changes everything.

Amos aims to carve this
sturdy caramel sponges,

sandwiched with apple buttercream,

into a k*ller whale.

Have you ever seen one in real life?

Yes, I went to go and see one

and the weather was too bad
so it got cancelled.

No. So I've still yet to see them.

We're going to see one today though.
You're going to see one today.

Cristy's making a sponge
for an aquatic species

that's a little easier to spot.

I'm making a duck because,
when my eldest daughter, Ava,

was younger, that's something
we used to do,

always go to the pond
to feed the ducks.

Cristy's sponges, made with
fresh and frozen raspberries,

will be sandwiched with raspberry

and almond liqueur jam

and then carved and decorated

to look like a mallard.

Who's tasted this at home?
Oh, all of them.

And what did they say? All the kids?

Yeah, they... Did they love it?
It's my daughter's favourite sponge

so they like it anyway but
they've seen the duck, yeah,

I think they think I'm
losing my mind, to be honest.

Cristy's duck won't be
alone on the river.

My animal cake is a beaver.

A beaver?! A beaver.

Why did you choose a beaver?

I dressed up once as a beaver.

I'm not even sure I know
what a beaver looks like so...

Stop it!

Quite sort of shapely.

Nicky's future in the competition
rests on a chocolate and rum sponge

sandwiched with a blackberry jam.

And she's even given
her beaver a name.

The lovely Norman.

Norman the beaver?
Norman the beaver.

You've won already.

Congratulations. Well done.

You got the shake.

Thank you!

Right they're going in.

With multiple sponges
needed to create

the building blocks
for their animals...

Get in there. ..the bakers will
need to juggle batch baking...

Bake well, little cakes.

..as well as varying oven times.

I'm baking them for... 30 minutes.

But Tasha has more
to juggle than anyone else.

Six sponges.
Just a lot to deal with.

They'll have to be OK -
I haven't got time to remake them.

Tasha's six-sponge giant robin

will have a dark chocolate
and ginger filling

featuring another of
her unusual ingredients.

Tahini?

Tahini. Tahini. Love tahini.

Tahini in a cake -
I've never had that.

How big is it? Is it going to be
bigger than a robin, I presume?

It's about that tall.

Oh, big. Standing up or flying?

It'll only be flying if it falls.

To prevent their animal cakes
from falling,

the bakers will need a filling

that not only holds their
construction together...

Got quite a thick ganache
so I can sort of set it

and it stays quite rigid
when I carve it.

..but that also complements
the flavours in their sponge.


my peanut butter frosting.

Well, in my opinion, I think
it's quite subtle, the taste.

This is my filling, buttercream.

But it's just not tasting right
so I keep adding more tahini.

Norman's coming to life
with a vanilla buttercream

with some vanilla rum thrown in.

A boozy beaver! That is the best.

And Nicky's not the only one
hitting the bottle.

I'm making a lobster.

Flavours are inspired
by my favourite cocktail.

Rowan's memories of seaside trips
when he was a boy

will be recreated with a lobster

that has the grown-up taste

of a Cosmopolitan,

with Valencian orange sponge,

sharp lime curd

and a cherry coulis.

Paul and Prue yesterday
said my flavours were good,

but intensify them, don't be scared.

So I'm not.

This just makes me want to
put vodka in it, to be honest.

Bakers, you are halfway through.
You have two hours left.

Hey, I'm happy.

Boom.

Oh, not ready.

While some sponges are ready
to cool and then carve...

They're browning
in spots on the top

which is not what
they've ever done before.

..Nicky and Amos
could be falling behind.

And they're not alone.

Tad bit under. Hurry up, cake.

Saku needs to bake two huge orange
and poppy seed sponges

for a sea turtle
that she's given a Sri Lankan name.

Tikiri the turtle.
Tikiri is "little" in my language,

as well as it is my husband
and my son's middle name.

But they are
very big people for me.

Just take these edges off...

..before Paul sees.

They are what they are.

Lovely.

Just need to start to
build up the body of the dog.

This is my engineering background
hopefully coming into effect today.

Never built many dogs -
that's the problem.

So these need to cool down
the quickest they ever can.

Whilst Amos could
finally be on his way

to constructing a k*ller whale,

Abbi has chosen
to build on dry land.

I'm making a Herdwick sheep.
In fact, here he is.

Herbet the Herdwick sheep
will be carved from ginger sponge,

sandwiched with salted caramel
Italian meringue buttercream,

rhubarb jam and
a hazelnut praline crunch.

It's a very easy template
compared to some of

the other bakers, cos
it's just a fat, round sheep.

I'm just going to cut out some ovals

and then stack them up
on top of each other.

Grazing in the next field will be

something a little
more complicated.

That was just my little plan.

I like precision with all
the weighing everything out.

I said I'd do a cake for my mum.
This year she's 60.

She said she'd like a highland cow
cos it's her favourite animal.

We've got fluffy toys
and cushion covers

and she's got mugs with it on.

Josh's mum's highland cow
will be made with coffee,

date and walnut sponges,

filled with maple syrup caramel

and cream cheese icing.

I've got quite a stiff
filling for it

because the head of
the cow is heavier

and I didn't want to do
any sort of supports in there,

I want to have it
as a free-standing cake.

Amos is also hoping
to build his k*ller whale

without any supports.

But without support,

the taller animal cakes
run the risk of extinction.

We'll start to hold them
together with some dowels.

I think it works.

Today is no time to be scared.

Oh, the buttercream's too soft.

The whole thing
is just moving.

Stay, Bruno.

Never did what he's told.

Amos' k*ller whale cake
is drowning in dense sponge

and melting buttercream.

I'm just trying to prop it up
so it stays stiff in the fridge

so then eventually
I'll be able to carve it.

Otherwise there's no whale.

How's Free Willy going?

It's all going wrong.

If you want, I've got a black
and white sweatshirt -

I'll be your k*ller whale.
Perfect. Please.

I'll just sit cross-legged
on the wave.

We can winch me in.

Some bakers have planned
to build animal cakes

with more than just
carved sponge and buttercream.

I'm just making the head
out of modelling chocolate.

It's a bit soft.

Then I'm going to mix in puffed rice
to sculpt the sheep's head.

This is for the turtle head.
It's very sticky.

It is the stickiest
substance known to man.

It's going to take you ages
to wash that off.

June, I expect.

Making Gracie's tennis ball.

She doesn't know how to do catch,

so I'll throw the ball, she'll
take it, won't bring it back.

She'll just play with it
and then expect me to go get it.

She's high status.

She's a diva.

This is the head and the legs.

Can't you tell?

There's just one hour remaining.

Going to be tight.

I should be assembling by now.

Gee whizz, we'd better get cracking.

I'm going to give it five minutes,

and hopefully it will stiffen up.

This is Herbert's head.

Even if the bakers have completed
their basic animal structures...

Just worried about my cake leaning.

..Prue and Paul will be looking
for impressive decoration.

I don't know if that's going
to freak out the judges.

"Hi, Rowan, what have you made?"
A dead lobster.

He's alive. Norman lives.

This part's pretty difficult.

Milk chocolate and dark
chocolate buttercream.

Looks a bit like
a rogue animal at the moment.

There'll be some tahini
in the buttercream as well,

to pipe the feathers.

But before
he can pipe his finish...

It's bad times, innit? Cos
everyone's already on their way.

..Matty has had another issue
with buttercream.

Oh, let me guess what you're making.

For that colour,
are you making an elephant?

It's supposed to be a black dog.

Oh.

Matty is attempting to recreate

his family's cocker spaniel, Marty,

with lemon sponges filled with
lemon curd and fresh raspberries

and a black coat made from
Swiss meringue buttercream.

What you going to do? It's grey!

We'll pretend he's not black.

Have you got no more food colouring
that's black? Yeah, there is

but, like, I don't want to spend
half an hour trying to get black.

There are grey dogs out there.

Thankfully.

These are legs.
And that will be the head.

I'll have to cover his head
in fondant.

Not very thin, not very thick.

Fondant is heavy.

This is always the nervy bit
for me just because

once it's on you,
you're pretty much committed.

Its weight can press down
on the sponge beneath...

So, come in nice and tight.

..making the cake dense and heavy.

I'm just moulding in with my fingers
just the detail of her eyes.

Something that Amos
is yet to worry about.

Got carving to do
then I've got assembly.

It's not going to be ready.

I've run out of red buttercream...

..which makes the front look messy

and I know that's
going to annoy them.

Come on, Norman. We can do this.

Still got to buttercream
the whole thing.

Painting bit is the hardest part.

These are indentations,
I need to put green.

Bakers, you have half an hour left.

OK.

So many wonderful
creatures out there.

It's like Noel's Ark.

I've got more like that.

So I'm going to do, like,
an isomalt pond.

So I've got a photograph of her
eyes, and then blown it up

and then got it transferred
into edible paper.

I just can't.

Absolutely nothing
that can be done now.

I'll just do some texture.

I just need to keep on going.

Several coats to go.

Oh, God better get a shift on.

Try and get some black on there

but that's probably
going to weigh it down.

Oh, my word.

He does have a little face coming.

I'm not done.
I just need... I need...

I don't know what I need.

I'd like to neaten him up a lot
but we are where we are.

Try and make it look
somewhat pretty.

Oh, he's so cute.

Then the teeth.

I'm now really worried. Time?

Bakers, you have five minutes left.

Got a dog over here.

We're getting there.

White chocolate spaghetti.

Just got to try...
get the head done for her.

One minute left.

Come on, you can do this.

We can give him a tail.

Go on, Norms. Got it.

Your time is up.

This is awesome.

Look at that robin.

Piece of poo.

It's judgment time for
the show-stopping animal cakes.

Cristy, would you like
to bring up your Showstopper?

It's beautifully conceived.

I love the colours of it

and I love that river
the duck's sitting on.

This is isomalt lake.

Oh.

You've broken his lake.

Oh, that's beautiful.

That is a raspberry cake.
Isn't that lovely?

Oh, that's gorgeous, yeah.

And the raspberry's really tart.

It cuts through the sweetness
of the white chocolate.

It hits the side of your... Yeah.

It's lovely.
I must not eat any more of it.

This is Maisie. And she's

bursting with excitement.

Look at her little face.

Rough and ready.

She'd take that.

She's made from lemon and orange
sponge cake with lemon buttercream.

Far more elegant inside
than it is outside.

Yes.

Delicious.

It's a straightforward cake
and you've got the right level

of flavours
running through each layer.

Not oversweet, just full of flavour,
so well done, Keith. Well done.

It looks like it's been run over.

Really nice cake.
I like the flavour of the filling.

I've never seen
a spaniel that colour though.

Me either.

Oh, right, yeah.

That's really impressive.
It's really good.

It's orange sponge,

lime curd and a cherry
Swiss meringue buttercream.

It's almost tutti frutti,

where you've got several
flavours all in one

and you can't identify any of them.

Mm, yeah, I know, I was
struggling with what it was.

But it is delicious. It is nice.

It's astonishing to look at.

It's just beautiful.
It's so accurate. It's amazing.

That could be turtle shell.

This is orange and poppy seed cake

with orange buttercream.

It's quite stodgy.

Mm. And it's overbaked
quite dramatically.

I think this is a classic case
of style over substance.

He's totally adorable.

Let's see how he tastes.

Sorry. Oh! Aw!

Cake looks great.

Rich chocolate with milk
chocolate ganache

and milk chocolate
and dark chocolate buttercream.

Buttercream on the outside
goes beautifully with the chocolate,

so the whole thing is very moreish.

Mm, and very, very intense.

I think you've done Bruno
very proud.

Oh, brilliant. Yeah, I think so.
Amazing. Thank you.

It's charming,

and I love the way one of her eyes
is completely gone with the fringe.

The coffee and the date work well

but there's quite
a lot of buttercream in this.

Quite flat here. What happened?

Um, she's quite a flat dog.

She is - she doesn't have
much body to her.

I need to feed her a bit more.

It's banana cake topped
with a cinnamon crumble

and with peanut butter
frosting in between.

That's a strong peanut, that.

The peanut's quite dominant.

I'm not getting any banana.

I think less peanut
would've been better.

Go on, Gracie.

She'll love you!

You can eat that now, Dan.

Straight off, it looks great.

It's got real character to it
in the face.

Paul is now going to
cut his head off I dare say.

I'll go into its rear quarter.

He is a ginger sponge,
salted caramel buttercream,

rhubarb jam, a hazelnut brittle

and then black sesame buttercream.

The rhubarb jam is excellent
and so is the cake.

You've got a sharpness
from that rhubarb,

so the ginger and the rhubarb marry,

and then you have that
hazelnut which is delicious.

With a bit of crunch.
You've done a really good job, Abbi.

Thank you very much.

Amos, would you like to bring up
your Showstopper, please?

You can see what it is.

It's a shame everything's
sort of slipped slightly.

Caramel sponge and then
we have an apple buttercream.

Your cake looks a little doughy,
as if it's become compressed.

It's tough as old boots.

And on top of that, you've got the
weight of everything going round it

so it's concertinaed up.

It's bone dry as well.

Because you've kept it in the oven.

Very stodgy, oversweet.

Not your best day.

Not in the slightest.

Nicky, can you bring your
Showstopper up, please?

Here we go, Norman.

So, Nicky,
tell us about your beaver.

All right, I'll try again.

So, Nicky, tell us about
your Showstopper.

Norman is made out
of chocolate cake.

He's got a blackberry jam

and he's got a chocolate ganache

that's got some rum in it.

Straight out of a cartoon,
isn't he? Yes, it's beautiful.

Very heavy on the fondant on
the outside, really thick.

It's quite a solid cake, Nicky.

Do you think you overbaked it?

A little, but... A lot. A lot.

Texture's all wrong, unfortunately.

It is solid

and it shouldn't be bone dry.
It's a real shame.

Tasha, would you like to bring up
your Showstopper, please?

That is incredible.

Thank you.

It's sensational.

The pipework, the colour,
the stance,

you know instantly what it is.

This robin has personality.

So I've made a tahini sponge

with a chocolate, ginger
and tahini buttercream.

I think of tahini
as a savoury flavour

and this is a cake,

and it's not too savoury
and it's not too sweet -

it's just very delicious.

I don't like that, Tasha.

I love it.

God, what a relief.

I thought I was going to
have my first big battle

with Paul Hollywood on Bake Off

because I would've gone to the wall
to defend you if he meant it.

I love the flavour of the tahini.

And actually, the tahini
with the chocolate,

you've got a nice balance
between the two.

And it's such a big cake.

That's a lot of work in that.

I think you've done
a fantastic job.

Thank you so much.

Wow! That was so much better
than I could've ever imagined.

It's a complete disaster.

Where do I rank?

Bottom?

Literally praying to all
the gods out there,

fingers and toes crossed.

I would be over the moon
if I was here next week.

But it would also be a shock.

So it's been Alison's
first week in the tent.

It's been lovely. Slotted right in.
I love our bakers as well.

I really don't want to see
anyone go today.

Dan's done very well again.

And Cristy.
And I think Abbi has as well.

Abbi's done really well.

But it is going to be tricky
to decide who's going to go home.

For instance, Amos. Yeah.

When you looked at his orca,
the problem was it was so dense.

So I think it automatically puts
Amos in a very difficult position.

I have to put Dana
into that position.

The peanut overwhelmed everything.

There is somebody else who struggled
over the last couple of days.

Which would be Nicky. Was Nicky.

Her beaver looked amazing
but it was bone dry.

Yeah. I don't like dry beavers,
do you?

Hate dry beavers.
Am I in a Carry On film?

Look, stop this.

Congratulations, Bakers -

you've got to the end of Cake Week.

Now, I've got the lovely job of
announcing Star Baker of the week.

The first Star Baker is...

..D to the A to the N,
you know it's Dan!

Congratulations.

Unfortunately, that leaves me
with such a horrible job

cos it's the first week,
and we're just getting to know you,

but sadly someone does have to go.

And that person is...

..Amos. I'm sorry.

Sorry, mate. You did a good job.

It was obviously the Showstopper
that stopped my show.

As soon as I heard my name,
I came out of my body.

Sorry. I'm fine. Sorry.

You were amazing.
Thank you. Thanks very much.

I'm shocked that I'm here

and I'm really, really sad for Amos.

What a warm-hearted,
lovely man he is.

Tomorrow, what you'll remember
is you got into Bake Off.

It's been amazing being in
that group of people, walking in

that tent on that first day and it's
softening the blow a little bit.

Well done, Dan. Oh, thank you
so much. You were so good.

Just surreal. Surreal, honestly.
The dog did us proud.

And he won me Star Baker,
so nice one, Bruno.

I'm really pleased for Dan.

They say that you're going to
be like a family and I was like,

"No," but actually, like, you are.

The thought of losing just one
of these people is devastating.

The thought that we're all
going to, one by one,

drop off is like, oh, my goodness.

Next time...

Oh, hurry up.

..the bakers brace for biscuits.

Very concerned about this.

With a sticky signature...

I don't think it would
be this messy.

..a tricky technical...

I don't know when they're
going to be ready.

..and a mind-bending illusion
biscuit Showstopper...

Chuffing heck. This is so realistic.

..who will take the biscuit..

It's absolutely delicious. It is.

..and whose cookie...
Cristy?

..will finally crumble?

Have you used my biscuit dough?

You have!

Are you a Star Baker in the making?

If you'd like to apply for the
next series of Bake Off, visit...