01x01 - Cakes

[bunniefuu]

We're with ten of the country's
top amateur bakers,

and over the next six weeks

we're going to be putting
them through their paces.

We'll be taking
our Bake Off tent around Britain,

and testing their baking prowess.
So welcome...

[both] ...to The Great British Bake Off.

[narrator] Ten baking enthusiasts

are about to take part
in a very special contest. It's the first ever
Great British Bake Off.

[Ruth] I wanted to do this competition
because baking's like

another member of the family.
It's a big part of my life.

[narrator] Thousands came forward,

but only ten of the most passionate
and skilled home bakers

have made it through to battle it out
in locations across the country.

[Lea] I don't know what I would do
if I couldn't bake, I'd be lost.

[narrator] They'll be baking
cakes in the Cotswolds,

biscuits in Scotland,

bread in Kent,

puddings in Bakewell
and pastries in Cornwall.

[Mark] It's not fussy,
it's not fancy, it's just me.

What you see is what you get.

[narrator] Every aspect
of their baking skills will be tested

and each week, those that fall short
will have to leave the Bake Off...

There's no way that I'm giving up.
No way. I want it too much.

[narrator] ...until in a final that
celebrates the British tea party,

one of them will be crowned

the victor of
The Great British Bake Off.

Every one of us here,

we're all capable of winning.
It's just how we bake on the day.

[theme music plays]

[narrator] The Bake Off begins
in what was recently voted

England's favourite village.

We're in Kingham, heart of the Cotswolds.

And this week,
hallelujah, it's all about cake.

[both] Yes!

[narrator] None of these home bakers
have ever made cakes

in such a pressurised environment before,

but over the next two days,

they'll face increasingly
complex challenges.

And the least successful two
will leave the Bake Off.

We're going to start off bakers,
with your signature cake.

This is something maybe you've been given,

handed down by
your grandparents or your mum,

or something you just found
in a restaurant and like the look of.

And it's something that means
something special to you,

something that maybe says something
about you as individuals.

You've got your ovens at the ready.

Beautiful bakers, we wish you good luck.

On your marks, get set, bake. [narrator] All the Bake Off
challenges have been devised

by judges Mary Berry, cookery writer,
and Paul Hollywood, master baker.

[Paul] The type of person
that's going to win this

is someone who technically
is superb, has the passion,

and has the innovative skills
to bring out a product

and make it look absolutely fantastic.

Baking can be fickle.

I've written hundreds of recipes,
and I know that several people

making the same recipe
can get totally different results.

Ovens vary, their techniques vary,

and it's jolly difficult
when you're competing against

nine other contestants.

[narrator] The first challenge
is the Signature Bake.

It tests the home bakers'
creativity and individual style.

They can bake any cake they like,

and have three hours to produce
a cake that looks good,

tastes better, is evenly risen,
evenly baked and moist.

[Annetha] It was scary, stepping in here,

not knowing where everything is
and trying to familiarise myself

in a short space of time.

It seems to have come together quite okay.

I'm happy that everything is here.

[narrator] Annetha Mills lives in Essex,

and is a full-time single mum
to Kyra and Abigail. She began baking 12 years ago
when a friend asked her to make

a West Indian black cake
for an engagement party.

For her Signature Bake,
she's adding strawberries and cream.

[Annetha] This is most definitely
a fusion of both my British culture

and my West Indian culture,
bringing them together.

[narrator] The home bakers have access
to identical base ingredients,

but beyond that, they're free
to add whatever they wish

to their Signature cakes.

Annetha's West Indian
black cake gets its name

from the high proportion
of brown sugar in the mixture,

as well as her home-made
secret ingredient.

These are all different fruits
in here. I can see some cherries.

[Mary] What is the moisture in here?

Well, that's the rum and the wines.
It's part of how you'd make the--

-[Sue] Woo!
-My, come on!

-She's getting happy!
-[Sue] Happy days!

[Sue] Look, Mary's pupils are dilated!

I've never seen her so bonny.

[Sue] Obviously, baking
unites all these people.

I wonder if it's something about
the solitude and about the peace

and the calm and the contemplation.

Maybe that's why they're all here,

they've all had those moments
captured in the kitchen,

when the kids are at school,
when friends and family are out,

when they can just commune
with themselves and a bit of icing.

[Edd] Baking's my obsession.
It's what I think about all the time.

It's my hobby, it's my love,
it's everything to me, really.

I adore it.

Now, there's something, I guess
marmalade-y going on in the pan.

It is marmalade-y.
It's part of my orange cream

for the top of my carrot cake
that I'm making.

I come from a family which has a
big baking tradition on both sides.

Both my grandmothers,
my mother-in-law, my mother,

they're like this kind of army
of really strong baking women.

I think baking's making a
bit of a comeback, actually.

The first lot of eggs, they were bad,

because I left them on
the heat too long so they curdled.

It's what happens when you try
to do too many things at once.

[narrator] 25-year-old
research analyst Jonathan Shepherd

lives in St Albans
with his girlfriend, Jenny.

Baking is in his blood.

His grandfather owned
a successful bakery in Bristol.

His Signature Bake is a triple
layered classic carrot cake,

with a lime and cream cheese icing
and hand-made carrot decorations.

You've got three cake tins there.
Why did you choose to do it in three?

I am really bad at slicing cakes in half,

so I feel more comfortable
putting them in three separate tins.

[Mary] And also, if you bake them

in three separate tins,
it's rather easier,

because they take shorter time.

-[Jonathan] Exactly.
-And they cook all the way through.

And they're cooked all the way
through, a deep one is different.

It only takes 20, 25
minutes instead of 50 minutes.

Sometimes it takes an hour
if I have got it really thick.

-Okay. Feeling confident?
-I'm just having fun, I think.

-Yeah, I just want to have some fun.
-I can tell from the floor!

[Jas giggles] Paul was just watching me.

You're thinking, "I wonder if they're
looking at the way I'm doing it,

if it's the wrong technique."

What you normally do
at home is probably dire,

they'll look at it and go,
"Oh my God, look what they're doing!"

[narrator] Assistant credit control
manager Jas Randhawa from Birmingham

regularly bakes for her colleagues.

She's making
a hummingbird cake with a twist.

The classic is made
with banana and pineapple.

Jas is loading hers with
mango and passion fruit.

[Mel] There'll be an element
of crunch in there.

[Jas] Yes, a little bit of a seed
coming in, to give it more texture.

Where are you up to
on the actual state of making it?

I'm just chopping up the fruit, and
then once I've chopped up the fruit,

trying to mash it as much as I can,

then I'll add the oil and eggs,
mix it, and it'll go in the oven.

[narrator] By using so much fresh fruit,

Jas may have already given
herself an advantage.

What you'll get is a normal cake
with lots of bits in there. When you cut it open, it will
probably be quite an open structure

because of the moisture in the fruit,
as it expands in the oven,

will leave bigger holes, so it
should be a very, very moist cake.

What I don't want to see
on that is a dry cake.

[narrator] The most crucial stage
in making a cake is the mixing.

Over-mixing the ingredients could
cause the cake to peak in the centre

or have a tight, compact texture.

Under-mixing means the ingredients
aren't properly blended

and the cake will be lumpy and not rise.

Gradually, it'll make
a rather delicious cake mix

that'll cook and taste absolutely
stunning when it's finished.

[narrator] Mark Withers
is a bus driver in South Wales.

His cakes are the talk of the depot.

He also makes his own marmalade,

for his Signature,
sticky marmalade tea loaf.

There's only so much marmalade
on toast you can eat,

so it's nice to have something
different to do with it.

Superb.

It's quite a straightforward
recipe, and it's quite forgiving.

So, there's not a huge amount that
can go wrong with it, hopefully.

It never has done yet.

[narrator] The mixing and the folding
is finished, and the first creations

in The Great British Bake Off
are in the oven.

-Can I offer you some cake?
-Do we look like we need it?

Yes, you do. Everyone needs more cake.

I think cakes are special.
I think cake's a treat.

Oh, very naughty, but very, very nice.

Cake. It's such a tiny word and
yet it conjures up this universe

of enjoyment and expansiveness and luxury.

And yet we bite into one,

we are suddenly completely
suffused with a sense of guilt.

Naughty but nice. Where does it come from?

Is it all about the calories?

Or is there a more historical reason
that we shy away from a second slice?

[Sue] Pagans baked the very first cakes

at locations like
the Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire.

Professor Ronald Hutton
has unearthed cake's sacred function

in marking the most important
celebrations of the year.

Is this the first cake, the Beltane?

Yeah, this is probably new stone age.

When did they bring it out
of the oven, when is it served?

At Beltane, which is the
Gaelic name for May Day.

It's a time of year that's important
for people in the Highlands

because it's when you open up
your summer pastures,

you drive the cattle and sheep
up the mountain.

And there was a custom
of lighting a sacred fire

which you'd use to purify your
cattle and sheep to protect them.

And in that fire, the herds people
would bake a bannock.

Back ‘round about 2,000 years ago,
bread is the staple diet for people.

-Cake is bread plus.
-It's blingy bread, isn't it?

Yes, it's bread with sugar or honey.
It's sexy bread.

Cake-baking and religious festivities
went hand in hand in Britain

for centuries.

When the Romans invaded,
they brought with them the custom

of baking small cakes which
would then be offered to the gods.

In medieval Britain,
the Roman Catholic church

encouraged baking cakes for Saints' Days

which were incredible times
of feasting and festivity.

But in the 17th century,
things became very different.

Cakes became a problem.

[Sue] In 1649 Oliver Cromwell
and the Puritans seized power.

The devout new regime championed
hard work and solemn worship.

Historian, Dr Diane Purkiss
believes they were also determined

to permanently sever
the link between religion

and the sensual pleasures of cake.

Why on earth did the Puritans
have such a problem with cakes?

Well, they associated cakes
with Saints' Days

in the pre-Reformation
Catholic Church of the Middle Ages.

That was when you mainly got to eat cake.

Every time a Saint's Day came along,
the village women would make cakes

and they would sell them for
the benefit of the church.

The Puritans thought of all that as pagan

because it was all about
sensual pleasure and indulgence

and festivity, and that was the kind
of thing they wanted to close down.

So, did Puritans actually
go as far as banning cakes?

Yes, there was a Parliamentary
sub-committee that tried to ban

festive cakes
and all kinds of festivities.

So, what did they have,
a sort of Ten Most Wanted cake list?

Or you know, what were the real
problem pastries for them?

Most unwanted,
because each cake is associated

with a particular festivity

and it's that link with religion
that Puritans disliked.

Cakes like the Twelfth Night cake,

that was a particular
problem for Puritans.

The Twelfth Night cake in the
Middle Ages and the Renaissance

was enriched bread dough
with lots of fruit and nuts in it,

and scented with orange.

Mince pies, ditto. The spices
in them were thought to have

significance and to represent the
spices the wise men gave to Jesus.

This also goes with the
health wisdom of the day,

that if you're eating
a lot of very powerful spices,

they regarded that
as an incitement to lust.

Sugar was understood
as a spice as well.

-It heats the blood.
-Yes, it heats the blood

and we all know what happens
when the blood gets heated.

You need to take a cold bath
or else trouble's coming.

Are you saying it was
the Puritans who gifted us

our sense of guilt when we eat cake?

Definitely. Definitely because it's
Puritans that gave people real guilt

about gastronomic indulgence.

Finally, a diagnosis!
It turns out that all these years,

I've been suffering from simple,
puritanical cake guilt.

Easy as that. And the remedy? That.
Amen.

[narrator] 90 minutes to go before
the Signature cakes face the judges.

Most of the bakers
have their cakes in the oven

and are concentrating
on preparing any fillings and icing.

[Mary] This looks like lemon curd.

It is. I'm making my own lemon curd there.

They used to do it always in a bowl
above simmering water

and you're bravely
doing it over a low heat.

That's much quicker but you've got
to keep your eye on it, haven't you?

You have but I'm a firm believer in,

you know, I'll whizz my butter
in the microwave to soften it up.

With three children, you take short cuts.

That's it.

[narrator] Ruth Clemens lives
in Cheshire with her husband, Damian,

and three sons, Ashley, Dylan and Finn.

Her Signature cake is a twist
on a lemon drizzle cake,

with cream and freshly made lemon curd.

She's treated it quite differently.
She's done it in three layers

and she's going to layer it up
with that lemon curd,

which is a far cry
from lemon drizzle cake.

She's methodical,
she's enjoying what she's doing.

And I notice
she's being very sensible,

she can't get the three cake tins
in at once so she did two,

saw they were perfect
and put the next one in.

[Miranda] I'm just trying to make
the cream a bit thicker

so it holds together
more like a thicker layer

rather than running out of the cake.

And I'm putting in more raspberries
because it's not quite sharp enough.

I'm quite used to baking
with a constrained time

because I have little children.

So, it's quite nice not having
someone trying to sit up

on the worktop with me, thinking
they'd quite like to join in.

It's kind of odd to have actually a
period of time when I can just cook.

[narrator] Miranda Gore-Brown
lives in West Sussex

with her husband, Edward,
and children, Thomas and Eleanor.

Her Signature triple layered brownie
meringue cake with raspberry cream

is a family favourite.

It's going to be piled up.
I'm going to do it

not just as a tray bake, I'm doing it
like a Victoria sandwich style.

[Mary] Cut it in half?

-No, I'm going to do it in two tins.
-[Mary] Oh, right.

Each tin's going to have a thin layer
of brownie, have meringue on top...

-Will that be baked with it?
-[Miranda] Yes.

Right.

[Miranda] One of them
is going to have peaks.

[narrator] Miranda's Signature
cake has to be baked twice.

Once for the brownie bottom
and once for the layer of meringue.

[Mary] It's going to be a surprise,
I haven't seen it before.

A brownie, you've got to get that
just at the right moment.

It's got a crust on top but is a
little bit soggy in the middle.

Then she's going to put
the meringue on top.

It'll take away the crispness but if
she does it at just the right time,

I can see that it's going to work.

[narrator] Mark's plain
and simple marmalade tea loaf

has hit a complication.

I've done it so many times
and it's always come out spot on,

I've never had a problem with it.
Suddenly today, it's not held up.

Not the best start to the day really.

But that's baking for you.
It's not an exact science sometimes.

[narrator] 30 minutes to go.

[Annetha] When you're baking
the West Indian black cake,

you know by the smell
that it's almost time to come out

and it's just smelling
so yummy at the moment!

Ooh!

Oh, smell that, just smell that.

I thought it would be simpler.
But time constraints,

it's a little bit different
when you're working under pressure.

The moment of truth.

Oh! Ooh!

Whoops. Okay.

Don't panic, Harris.

Brilliant. We're okay.

[narrator] Lea Harris lives in
Scotland with her husband, Simon.

She's baking a cranberry
and pistachio cake,

topped with orange flower water icing.

There's no point in panicking. If
it gets squashed, it gets squashed.

I just hope it tastes all right.
We shall see.

[Mel] Bake Off bakers, I should tell
you've got five minutes left.

Five-minute countdown, g*ng.

I'm not sure if I've got enough
icing to go all the way round.

You've got to be staging. You've
got to keep things in the right...

in the zone as you're doing it.
Don't let anybody else bother you.

I'm bursting for the loo.

I want to go, I want to go now!
What am I going to do?

[Paul] It was Mark that kept opening
the oven every five minutes,

so the cake's dropped in
the middle, so it's simple things.

[Mark] I don't know if I can do
a great deal to rectify it

but we'll try and put some
extra orange pieces in the centre.

I think everybody's had some
form of disaster or other,

which I was expecting, to be honest.

Okay, everyone, last lick of
the spatula. Time is up.

-Move away from your cakes, please.
-Step away.

[Sue] It's too late
to change what you've done.

[narrator] It's judgement time
for the Signature cakes.

These bakers are more accustomed to
their cakes being judged by family

and friends than by two of the
country's leading professionals.

-Hello, Jas.
-Hello.

-[Mel] Wow.
-[Paul] Hi Jas.

[Mary] Ooh, careful.

[Mary] Very, very moist.

You can taste them going in layers.
Mango, passion fruit, walnut.

It's fascinating.

And then they haven't been
all made into a paste

so you can't recognise them. You can
recognise the flavours as you eat.

[Paul] That cake is fantastic.

The textures going on
in that cake are beautiful.

[Paul] It does look as it says on the tin,

i.e. brownie meringue
with raspberry cream.

[Paul] It's the raspberry cream
I have an issue with. The colour.

If it was folded in with raspberries,
you freeze the raspberries

and fold that into freshly whipped cream

so as it defrosts, you get the
whole lots of raspberry in there.

With the thick layer on the top,
you can really get that extra texture.

[Paul] I like the texture because
what I'm getting is the nuts as well.

For me, it's just the
colour of that cream.

-[Paul] That really shocked me.
-[Mary] It works.

That with a cup of tea, fantastic.

-[Paul] Is this...
-[Mary] It looks very, very moist.

[Mary] I just wonder whether
it's done underneath.

It's immediately turned into
a paste or a mixture in my mouth.

Just could've done with
a bit more in the oven.

[Mary] Now, that is a perfect texture.
Absolutely even all the way down.

The balance of the cake and the
icing to me is absolutely perfect.

That is really rather too bright.

Okay.

[Paul] It reminds me of the sixties
Fanny Craddock cakes.

I think once you get a slice
out of it and then you look at it,

you're going to have
the browns and the oranges,

and there are some layers in there.

Now, I think that takes
a lot of the orange out of it

and it's balancing a lot better.

-The cake is dry.
-Okay.

[narrator] 31-year-old
entrepreneur David Chambers

lives near Milton Keynes
with his girlfriend, Ellie.

He takes all of his hobbies extremely
seriously, especially his baking.

So, David, you come across
as a very smooth operator.

I sense in you
an element of perfectionism.

Does it bother you
when you get criticisms?

I wasn't expecting them
to pick up on the colour.

Yeah, I want to get things
as good as I can, really.

If you're going to spend the time
and the effort then,

-you try and get as good a result.
-Perfectionist.

So, Annetha, tell us what
your Signature cake is.

[Annetha] A West Indian light black cake.

[Paul] Alcohol.

-[Paul] The rum.
-Yeah.

-[Paul] Really nice.
-[Mary] Lovely! [Paul] You've got the fruit.
you can taste the molasses,

the softness of the cream
is there, and then bang!

[Mary] That's absolutely delicious.

Too dry, unfortunately.
And I'm not getting enough flavour.

-[Paul] What went wrong?
-[Mark] I don't know.

[Mary] Did that go down
when it came out?

It was down when it came out,
it was already down, it sunk.

[Paul] Something's happened to it
in the oven, it's been knocked,

the door's been opened,
the oven's been banged.

[Mary] It's absolutely delicious but
we always say it's got to look good.

-For me it's a little bit bitter.
-Right.

[Paul] And the ginger is starting
to overwhelm everything.

I've got it sitting on my palate now.
The texture of it is fantastic.

[Mary] It's got that look about it,
hasn't it?

It looks as though you just want
to get straight into it.

[Mary] It's such a difficult thing,
the technique of getting that cream

that it's not running down the side.

The whole thing together
looks visually stunning.

[Mary] This is a lovely texture, isn't it?

It's really delicious.

Wow, superb. That you could
put in front of royalty.

Thank you!

[Mary] Next time you're cooking
for the Queen, take it along will you?

-[Paul laughs]
-Yeah, can I come with you?

[narrator] With their Signature cakes,

Jas, Annetha, Ruth, Louise and Edd
have all impressed the judges.

But Miranda, David, Lea,
Jonathan and Mark

have to improve
in the remaining two challenges.

The goal for me is to win, ultimately.

That's what I'm after doing,
I'm after winning.

I'm not normally very competitive,

but I must admit this has made me
very competitive.

I didn't know if I was good enough,
and I think I need to have

just that little bit
more confidence in myself.

[Sue] You put your heart
and soul into this.

-[Mark] Yes, absolutely.
-It really means something to you.

And what I love about you is your
emotion shows on your face, you know.

It's all right, it's all right.

-Tell us why you're upset.
-It's just...

I wanted it to be spot on,
it's a simple recipe.

Paul and Mary are judging
by very professional standards,

and from this, which you're not
happy with but they're still giving

good comments,
you've got the whole weekend.

-It's alright.
-You've got a perfect tie.

-Perk it up, stand up straight.
-Thank you!

-And it's all to play for, isn't it?
-I'm good!

Yes, it is, definitely. And I'm
ready for the next challenge.

Absolutely, which I think
probably will be a saltwater cake

unless you dry those peepers.

[Sue] I think this process, you know,
part of it does have to be rigorous.

The structure of it is a competition,
and there will be a winner,

but along the way
I think it's important to remember

that making something
for somebody is an act of love,

it's an act of committing
their time, energy and passion,

and it's incredibly painful
when someone rejects that.

I've never been in a competitive
baking element like this,

but if I made a cake
and someone left some,

I'd just feel there'd be a part of me
still left on that plate going,

"Please, please, just take it,
because I made it", you know.

[narrator] After the flamboyance
of the Signature Bake,

the second challenge in the Bake Off
is a controlled technical bake,

allowing the judges to directly
compare the bakers' ability.

The Technical Challenge for me is
probably the most important,

because for me it's not
just about passion and flair,

it's about their ability
and what they're capable of doing,

and that, in this environment
is going to be a corker.

So, Bake Off bakers,
challenge two is now to come.

It's the Victoria sandwich challenge.

[Sue] Now what we're looking for here
is a perfect technical rendering

of an exquisite classic.

We need a bit of focus,
to add a little bit of pressure,

it is Lady Mary Berry's own recipe,
so be on guard.

[narrator] In this Technical
Challenge, each home baker

has been given exactly
the same list of ingredients,

but no instructions
on how to combine them.

They must use their experience
and skills to work it out.

They can use the all-in-one method,

mixing all the ingredients
together at once.

It's quick, but runs the risk
of an uneven mix,

and therefore, an uneven bake.

Alternatively, they can cream
the butter and sugar together,

and then add the eggs and flour.

This may seem more thorough, but
the risk of over-beating is greater,

creating a mixture that results
in a heavier sponge.

[Lea] Don't fall on the floor,
please don't fall on the floor.

I have made an awful lot
of Victoria sponges in my time.

Different methods, this time was
a mixture of all sorts of methods,

and it seems to have worked.

[Lea] It's a nice creamy batter.
Last time wasn't my best.

This time I think it might be.

Five minutes left before
they go in the oven, okay?

[narrator] To keep
the bakers on their toes,

each stage of the recipe
has strict time limits.

-Hiya.
-How's it going, Edd?

I made your recipe of this very recently.

-Have you?
-So good luck, yes.

And I remembered the ratio as well,
it came out wonderfully.

[narrator] Edd Kimber
is a litigation clerk

for a bank in Leeds, but dreams
of becoming a professional baker.

He's recently proved his ability
to achieve his ambitions,

losing ten stone in just over two years.

Have you chucked everything in,
or did you do the butter and sugar?

No, I creamed the butter, and then the...

...and I forgot the sugar.

I think we'll leave you in peace!

-Thank you very much!
-[Paul] You're lucky we came!

[narrator] Edd's one of only
four men in the Bake Off.

The majority of home bakers
these days are female,

but it hasn't always been that way.

Historically a male-dominated world,
the marriage between women and baking

only came about in the 17th century.

Four hundred years ago in English
manor houses like this,

women were to enter for the first
time the sacred male-dominated world

of the kitchen,
and they were to create a revolution.

[Mel] I've come to Sulgrave Manor
in the Cotswolds

to track the moment that women first
donned an apron to make a cake.

So, women in the kitchen at this
time was something quite new.

It's a new thing. What's happening
is people have got money,

they're moving out of the cities
and they're building manor houses.

And part of that lifestyle
was to have the woman of the house

run the house,
that's what she was used to,

and she was used to having a female cook,

so female cooks
started to appear in big houses.

[Mel] The first cookbook written
for these women was from 1615,

a collection of recipes
called The English Huswife.

It includes one of the earliest
written recipes for cake.

We think all the early
cakes are bread,

so scone-like buns and things,
the big thing is it's got yeast in,

same as any bread,
to make it rise up.

This cake recipe from 1615 has no
yeast in, so it's genuinely a cake.

-[Mel] It's the fab four, isn't it?
-[Marc] It is.

[Mel] The butter, the egg,
the flour and the sugar.

And then our main flavour on top
of the sugar is some aniseeds.

[Mel] The recipe produces a cake
big enough to feed all the members

of the household and its staff.

Twelve eggs, a pound
of sugar, a pound of flour,

and no raising agent
except elbow grease.

We now have to combine these two,
continuously stirring for one hour.

Oh right, okay.

[Marc] So I thought what we'd do is,
I'll do the first 5 minutes

and you'll do the next 55,
that sounds good?

Right, now I see why women
were employed in the kitchen Marc!

-[Marc] Now, that's a nice paste.
-[Mel] Come on.

How on earth you mix that
for an hour is beyond me.

-I'll show you how it's done now.
-Okay then.

Actually, that's incredibly stiff.
That is...Yeah.

That's actually quite difficult.

[Mel] Oh, that's beautiful,
it's so shiny!

Right, bake that off
and see what we get.

Groovy. To the oven, Marc.

[Mel] So the original British cake came

not from a professional male kitchen,
but from a domestic female one.

[Mel] Marc, I'm scared.

-So, we think we have...
-Whip off the cloth.

[Mel gasps]

-[Mel] Wow!
-[Marc] An early cake.

[Marc] Will it come out?

Hey, 17th-century cake
in a 17th-century kitchen.

Cooked in a 17th-century manner,
and it tastes...?

-Yeah, not bad, Marc.
-Not bad.

Quite chewy!

[Mel] Soon cake baking made its way
from manor house kitchens

to more humble abodes.

From the 1830s, ovens were more affordable

and people in villages
and towns began cake-baking.

According to historian Jane Pettigrew,

it even became a way of making a living.

In the first half of the 19th century,

the accessibility of the steam train

and the fact that people
had more money to spend

as the middle classes grew meant
that people were jumping on trains

and coming out into the country
to places like this in the Cotswolds

to get away from the town,
and so, they needed refreshment.

And the refreshment, of course, was
the home-baked cakes made by women,

-originally in their homes.
-Yes.

-Selling them to the tea rooms?
-Yes, opening up their gardens.

-Opening up their own gardens?
-Yes, putting tables and chairs out.

[Jane] If you didn't have a garden,
you maybe opened your parlour,

and you set your dining table and
you fed people with tea and cakes.

This was really women well on the way
to being able to do what they wanted.

So, tea and cakes, baking, serving tea

gave them some kind of power,
some liberation.

Cakes have been part of British life
for hundreds and hundreds of years.

And it's women, all types of women,

ladies of the manor, housewives,
working women, women running tearooms

who've shaped the evolution of the cake

and given it its flavour and identity.

[narrator] The bakers face
the most difficult decision

of the Technical Challenge,

when to take their sponges
out of the oven. I'm about a minute to go, maybe.

[narrator] They've been given no guidance

except a time limit of 30 minutes.

I think we're okay.
I think so far, so good.

[narrator]
And it's a crucial decision.

[David] You can't take your eye
off the ball for a minute really,

That can undo all your baking.

[narrator] Opening the oven door too often

to check if their sponge
is ready could prove disastrous.

All cakes require constant heat to rise.

Any dip in temperature when the
heat escapes through the oven door

will stop the rise in its tracks.

I'm trying not to keep opening it,
because every time I open it

I think it's going to sink
just a tiny little bit.

[narrator] A disaster which,
as Mark discovered this morning,

cannot be rescued.

Mum-of-two Louise was one of the first

to get the sponges in the oven.

My two aunts, who were 89 and 91--

-What were they called?
-Sheila and Imelda.

Sheila and Imelda!

They taught me how to make
Victoria sandwiches.

I used to stay with them most weekends,

and they made one every weekend.

-Oh, love that, with the old tea.
-Absolutely.

[narrator] Greater Manchester
Police Sergeant Louise Brimlow

lives in Prestwich with husband Neil,
daughter Stephanie and son Adam.

She's always prided herself
on her no-nonsense home baking.

-[Louise] Right, second tier.
-[Mel] Oh, hello.

[Mel] Sheila and Imelda.

When I turn them out I'll make
that the bottom of the bottom,

-if you understand what I mean.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So, we've got the jam going on
the flat bottom in here

and I'll make this one the top one.

[Mel] So Sheila's going on the bottom
and Imelda's going to go on the top?

[Louise] I think so.

[Sue] Lovely even colour.

[Mark] That's a lovely golden colour,
so that'll be fine for the top.

And the bottom, well,
the jam will hide a few sins.

Exactly.

[whispers] Don't tell anyone,
I think they're a bit over-browned.

[Mel] You look worried.

I opened the oven a bit too soon,
and they've sunk in the middle.

Jonathan, you claim you've got
a couple of Yorkshire puddings.

Yeah, we need to get some sausages
and some gravy over here because--

-I don't believe it. Show me.
-They rose beautifully, and then...

-[Sue] They are Yorkshire-esque.
-[Jonathan] Yeah.

But they're cooked,
and they'd be great with gravy.

I'm quite embarrassed.

This whole thing was about technique
and you need technique here

to get the air in and to get it rising.

You seem quite jolly about it, though.

-If you don't laugh then you'll cry.
-[Sue] Mm-hm.

-I'm just going to laugh about it.
-[Sue] All right.

[narrator] Now that
their sponges are cool,

the bakers have just 10 minutes

to prepare their
Victoria sandwiches for the judges.

A classic Victoria sandwich
has just two finishing ingredients -

jam and sugar.

The lack of any decoration means
there's no place to hide any flaws.

The judging for the Technical Bake
is unique.

Paul and Mary will have no idea
whose cake is whose.

Wow, look at that.

Considering they're all the same recipe,

it's incredible how
different they all can be.

[narrator] By identifying the three best

and three worst Victoria sandwiches,

the Technical Challenge will reveal
who has a future in the Bake Off,

and who'll have to up their game
in tomorrow's final challenge.

[Mary] We're going to start
by cutting them all in half.

[narrator] By splitting the cakes,
Paul and Mary will be able

to discover who's attempted to
hide a sunken or burnt sponge.

The colour and texture will also reveal

if their method of combining
the ingredients has paid off.

[Mary] The eggs were all the same colour.

Some slightly darker ones. Run your
finger along the sponges on each.

[Mary] Amazing, the different textures.

Let's start with this one.

[Mary] This one has a slight dip.
It's quite an open texture isn't it?

[Paul] It is. It's moist, it's done,
and it's literally only just.

And I think that's what has caused it.

[Mary] Beaten quite a lot, I'd say.

-[Mary] This one has sunk a little.
-[Paul] Yes.

That is definitely more butter
or eggs inside that one.

-[Mary] Let's have a look at this one.
-This one actually looks quite nice.

[Paul] I like the way it's come up.
The colour is good.

[Mary] That's a lovely, even texture here.

That's missing something.

[Mary] I think it's slightly
less sweet than the others?

Yes. Just a little bit light
on the weighing.

[Mary] This is a nice example.
Beautifully even all round.

[Mary] Perfect shape.
Perfect baking. Lovely flavour.

[Mary] It's a very good example.
It's a perfect shape,

and it's very good flavour.

[Paul] Yes, it's got no marks on it.
It's got a couple, I think, there.

[Mary] Beautifully even crust.
This is a lovely texture.

-[Mary] I think it tastes very good.
-[Paul] It does taste very good.

This one has sunk a little bit.
It's a little bit dry,

and it's had a bit too much
beating that one.

Hard call, I know, but I'm going
to need your top three in order.

-[Sue] Whose was the best one?
-[Paul] This one.

-[Mel] Edd, well done.
-[Sue] Congratulations.

-[applause]
-[Mel] Well done Edd.

-[Mel] Brilliant work.
-Okay, number two?

-[Paul] This one.
-[Sue] Annetha.

-[applause]
-[Mel] Annetha, well done.

This one.

-David.
-[Sue] Well done, David. -[applause]
-[Mel] Well done David.

Good result. Now we're going to
ask you to choose the bottom three.

-We've already decided that.
-Wow. Okay.

The bottom two and the end one.

[Paul] And I'm so sorry,
but that's what it is.

[Sue] Well done, everyone.
It's been a really long, hard day.

[applause]

To have Mary Berry and Paul

say that was the best Victoria,
I was really, really happy.

Came second. Can't complain, can I?

Woo! I've done really well.
I've done really well today.

I'm very proud of myself.

[narrator] David's third place
has improved his prospects

of staying in the Bake Off.

I've got to be, sort of, middle ground.
I need to hold things together tomorrow.

[narrator] Mark has given
himself a fighting chance.

I wasn't the best.
I wasn't the worst either.

So, I'm kind of probably
in the middle somewhere.

I'm really happy about that.

That's as much as I could expect
today and I'm absolutely delighted.

[narrator] Miranda and Lea
will have one final opportunity

in tomorrow's challenge.

[Lea] I'm not the only
passionate person here.

Every single person that you can see
is just as passionate as I am.

And they just had
a better day than me.

But there is always tomorrow.

I was pleased, but clearly that wasn't

the outcome that I'd expected,
so onwards and upwards tomorrow.

[narrator] It's the second
and final day in the first round

of The Great British Bake Off.

There's just one challenge remaining
before Paul and Mary have to decide

which two bakers will be going home.

In terms of who's at risk now?

I think Lea has got to come up with
something extremely special today.

[Paul] I think Mark's in a bit
of trouble. He's got to...

knuckle down,
come up with something a bit special.

I think it's going to be difficult
for Amanda, Jonathan, David, Louise,

they've all got it all to play for.

It all hangs on this
chocolate creation today.

[Mel] Okay, bakers, this is your
biggest challenge so far -

it's the chocolate celebration cake.

Now, what we're looking for here
is perfect execution,

and more importantly,
a touch of originality:

your own, personal flair.

So, please, on your marks,
get set, bake.

[narrator] The final challenge
is the toughest of all.

The bakers have been asked to develop
and bring their own original recipe.

The cake must be decorated,
fit for a special occasion,

and be based on the one ingredient

that even professional
bakers fear... chocolate.

Every type of chocolate
has its own challenge.

Use a low cocoa content, and the cake
could lack any depth of flavour.

Too high a cocoa content

and the cake may have an uneven structure.

All chocolate has to be melted
carefully over hot water.

If it goes beyond body temperature,

it will collect into a ball and go hard.

This is the low-fat diet cake,
as you can see!

[narrator] Miranda's future
in the Bake Off

rests on a three-tiered
chocolate fudge cake, with hand-made
chocolate button decorations.

I've got quite a lot going on,
I'm going to stack the cake

and make it tiered,
so it will look like a wedding cake.

The trickiest part, to be honest
with you, is it's quite a liquid mix,

and it's getting it out of the tins,

and having it cool enough so
that I then can ice it and stack it.

[narrator] Louise has already
finished her sponge mix.

I'm hoping that once they get in
the oven, if it doesn't work out,

if possible, I'll have time
just to whack another two in! [narrator] She's taking no risks
in the final challenge,

with her never-fail chocolate sponge,
with a simple fresh fruit decoration.

It's not the most complex, and I'm
now very worried, watching people

weighing copious amounts
of different ingredients

and liqueurs into their dishes.

I work with the "KISS" method,
which is, "Keep It Simple, Stupid."

So that'd be me!

[David] An hour in, three to go!

[narrator] David's yet to begin
making his cake mix,

concentrating instead on his decoration.

[David] I've got quite a lot
of component parts,

three different chocolates
to make, tempering, cherry compote.

[narrator] David plans
to create a Black Forest gateau

that looks like a forest floor,

complete with chocolate leaves,
fallen fruit and mushrooms.

[David] The plan is, wrap them
in clingfilm, and then while

the chocolate's still liquid,
dip a little bit of the egg in,

put that in the fridge, let that set,
take the egg out of the clingfilm,

take the chocolate off the clingfilm
and you've got a mushroom shape.

Is the plan. I don't make
life easy for myself, really.

[Mark] I had a bad morning yesterday,
but I had a much better afternoon.

And that's given me confidence.

[narrator] Mark's hoping to maintain
his momentum in the Bake Off

by impressing with what's inside
his celebration cake.

[Mark] I'm making a chocolate beetroot
cake, which is extremely rich,

very moist, real deep flavour,
deep chocolate flavour to it.

Because we're using beetroot in this
cake, we don't need too much flour.

The beetroot will actually add
the depth of flavours and body to it.

[Ruth] I like doing a lot
of cake decorating,

so I'm really interested in
what you can make a cake look like.

If we're going to a party
or someone's barbecue or a do,

you know, I'll make a grand cake
if I can and take it along.

[narrator] Ruth is planning
a classic chocolate sponge,

wrapped in a chocolate collar

and topped with hand-made white
and dark chocolate truffles.

This looks fine with the dark
chocolate, it's set up quite nicely,

the white chocolate one isn't setting,

so I might just
have to go with dark chocolate.

We'll see. Wing and a prayer.

[Ruth] If I can pull it off, I've
definitely chosen the right thing.

However, at the moment,
it hangs in the balance!

[Mel] The ultimate celebration cake
is the wedding cake,

and despite the many
modern interpretations,

the classic version is still
a three-tiered white concoction.

But where does this
archetypal image come from?

I have a family heirloom,
and it's in this box.

It's a piece of cake history.

In here is a tiny fragment of what
probably was one of the most formal,

elaborate, exquisite
wedding cakes ever made...

Queen Victoria's wedding cake.
Oh, yes.

Belongs to my Auntie Chris.

She keeps it in the special family museum.

I'm quite excited,
I've never seen this before.

It belonged to my great, great
grandfather Joseph,

and it was given to him
by a Miss Cunningham,

who was apparently the daughter

of one of Queen Victoria's
portrait painters.

Look at this!

You can still see, there's bits of
seed in there, a wrinkled old raisin.

That is still vaguely cake-like.

Although it does look slightly like
some rodent has left some droppings.

According to Victorian expert
Kathryn Hughes,

Queen Victoria's cake
revolutionised the wedding cake,

giving it a starring role
for the first time.

It represented both
royal power and true love.

If you think about it,
she's the first reigning queen

to get married for 200 years.

It's a great, great opportunity
to put on a kind of show

that will really cement the monarchy.

So, you'll have all the
bits and pieces we're used to,

the crowns and orbs and sceptres,

but we want something to acknowledge
that this is a romantic occasion.

I mean, it's a love match.

[Mel] Victoria really did love Albert.

She proposed to him, and they
were married when she was 20.

Queen Victoria's wedding cake
was absolutely huge,

was absolutely enormous.
It was 12 feet in circumference.

-That bit was 12 feet?
-[Kathryn] Yeah, yeah, absolutely. That's amazing.

[Mel] It's on the one tier, clearly,
but it's very elaborate, isn't it?

[Kathryn] It is, it's incredibly
detailed work. It's magnificent.

[Mel] Very detailed figures of
Albert and Victoria up here.

[Kathryn] Look at the symbolism,
the bride and groom holding hands,

looking very romantic.

Very un-Victorian! Holding hands?

-I know!
-Pressing flesh?

But just in case they
were going to get too saucy,

Britannia's looking over the top,

just reminding them where
their duty really lies.

So, it's empire and love.

Yeah, and the cake kind of brings
the two realms together nicely.

So, Kathryn, this is pretty close
to what we now think of

as a traditional wedding cake.
It's almost like the top tier.

Would you say that Victoria
had a big hand in what we now think

of as a wedding cake?

She did, but not necessarily
so much with this cake,

but the fact that she
had nine children,

and with each wedding, she got a
chance to perfect the wedding cake.

[Kathryn] So, here's Princess Vicky,
that's her eldest daughter,

-who gets married.
-[Mel] Oh, my... That's the cake?

That's kind of more what we think of
as a wedding cake.

It's absolutely extraordinary.

It looks like a statue,
some kind of building, doesn't it?

Well, it is kind of architecture
in iced sugar.

This is the kind of bragging
rights stuff, which is saying,

"Look! Look how high we can
build our empire."

It's seven feet tall,
believe it or not.

-Seven foot?
-Yeah.

Wowsers! You'd need a ladder to get
up there to cut it, wouldn't you?

So, Queen Victoria
really is the person responsible

for our classic white,
three-tiered wedding cake?

Yes, absolutely.

You've got 15 minutes left, guys,


[narrator] Most of the contestants
are using a classic ganache

as an icing
on their celebration cakes.

Its basic recipe is two parts
carefully melted chocolate

to one-part double cream.

Come on, come on, come on.

[narrator] It should give
a flawless finish

when smoothed over their cakes,

I'm just going
to get the finish now...

[narrator] And with a liqueur
added to the mixture,

can form the basis of chocolate truffles.

[Lea sighs] It's not...

[narrator] But if the proportions
are even slightly wrong it won't set.

[Lea] It's going to be too wet.

[narrator] Fail to correctly
monitor the temperature

of the melted chocolate,
and the finish will be grainy. Or worse, the chocolate and
the cream will separate,

and the mixture will be unusable.

I spilt my first lot of ganache,
so that put me behind. My own fault.

[narrator] As Lea's future
in the Bake Off

rests on her celebration cake,
she's taking no chances,

with an easy-to-prepare
but spectacular-looking

fresh-fruit decoration.

[Mary] She's doing something
within her ability.

It may look stunning... We shall see.

[narrator] Miranda needs
a success in the final challenge.

Much enthusiasm, and passion.

[Mary] And she's thought of
something quite different.

If that works, three tiers of
chocolate fudge...

I can't wait.

[narrator] Mark's gamble
on ingredients needs to pay off.

What should the outcome be with
a chocolate and beetroot cake?

-Moisture.
-Moist and heavy.

[narrator] And will keeping it simple
keep Louise in the Bake Off?

[Lea] That looks stunning.

She's done a basic sponge,
and she's bought chocolate curls.

We're not seeing her skills.

[narrator] David has to prove that he
can reach his own high standards.

[Paul] My concern is...
is to do it in time.

He's got the leaves, he's got
the mushrooms, the truffles...

[Paul] If you side-line everything,
and forget about your main cake,

and do too much chintz on it, you cut
into it and there's nothing there.

Do you think he can pull it off?

[Mary] We may have to eat our words.
It may all work.

-He may speed up.
-I hope we do.

-[David] Time, please.
-Five minutes left.

-[Paul] Five minutes.
-There's no way.

Absolutely no way
I'm going to get this done.

Don't tell me it's dropped off the back...

[Annetha] It has dropped off the back.

This is where the panic... You'll
start seeing their eyes glazing over,

the pupils will open up a bit,
the sweat will start coming again.

[Paul] Some people are finished,
and are just tidying up.

[Louise] We've been given
the opportunity of a long time.

I haven't taken the opportunity
to fully use all of that time.

I'm cross with myself, really.

[Paul] There's a lot of shaking
of heads at the moment.

It's going to be fascinating.

[Lea] Four minutes.

[Annetha] Oh, shucks!

Can you tell me when we've got
two minutes, please?

[Lea] Maybe I was just a bit arrogant
about the fact

that I was going to be good at this.

Seeing the competition, maybe I'm not.

Two minutes. One, two, three,
four, five, six, seven,

eight, nine, ten.

[Annetha] 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,


-[clattering]
-[Annetha] ...21, 22, 24, 25,



All right, guys, that's time.

You've had your time.
Step away from your cakes, please.

I was concerned about a number of things:

getting the layers to go together,

getting the wires
to work with the buttons.

I think it looks spectacular.

[Mark] I'm over the moon
with the way it's finished,

and the way it's going to present.

[David] I'm pleased I got it finished.
I'm pleased with its appearance.

The best I can do, if there are nine
other people who have done

better cakes and performed better,
then that's how it is.

[narrator] For two of these bakers,

this will be the last time
they will face the judges.

[Mel] David, if you'd like
to bring your cake up.

[narrator] Before they discuss
their final decision,

away from the contestants,
Paul and Mary will judge

each chocolate celebration
cake individually.

This is my Black Forest floor cake.

[Mary] It looks splendid, doesn't it?
Just as you said it was going to be.

[Mary] Did you put a little sugar
in the cream in the middle?

Yeah. And a bit of
icing sugar went through that.

I think with the quality of chocolate
that you've used, it needed that.

[Mary] It does look
a real celebration, doesn't it?

[Paul] It does. You made
all the flowers yourself, didn't you?

Yes.

[Mary] Absolutely wonderful.
It's simply delicious.

The outside chocolate is very bitter.
The inside chocolate is very sweet.

And you've got that nice blend
between the two, -[Paul] and it's still moist.
-Delicious.

-[Mary] It looks a very romantic cake.
-[Mark] Yeah.

There's a lot of love gone into it

and it is the sort of thing I would
do for a romantic occasion.

[Paul] Mm.

-You get the beetroot coming through.
-Yes.

-You do.
-I've never had beetroot in a cake,

I don't recognise it, but I know
there's something coming through.

-That is so rich,
-It is.

that you'd only need
a very small piece of that.

-[Paul] This is the three layers...
-[Mel] Oh, look at the colours!

[Mary] Sometimes, for something like
an informal wedding cake,

people want the two colours.

The almond flavour’s very good
with that extract.

[Mary] Well, it certainly
looks exciting.

-[Mel] The noise! Crackling!
-[Mary] The crunch, crunch, crunch.

-[Paul] The truffles are lovely.
-Yeah?

[Mary] It's a very moist
chocolate cake, isn't it?

[Mary] You're always
such a quick worker,

you always get through before
anybody else.

[Mary] You made it quickly,
it's fairly simple.

-Yes.
-The cake is a little... a little dry.

[Paul] That, visually,
looks absolutely stunning.

It's so unusual a flavour.
I'm getting the chocolate.

I'm getting a lot of depth
in there as well.

I've never seen a pineapple like
that on the top of a cake before.

[Paul] Mm.

Raspberries and cream and chocolate.

-Very, very difficult to beat.
-Thank you!

-Thanks Lea.
-[Lea] Very pleased.

[Sue] Okay, that's given us a lot,
a lot to think about.

Why don't you just rest, finally,

and obviously we'll meet
back here when, unfortunately,

we're going to have to lose two
of you. But congratulations,

a thoroughly great day's work,
you should be proud of yourselves.

So, we've had our first Bake Off.

If you had to choose
a few sure-fire winners...

[Mary] Well, Miranda has come through
very strongly. And so has Ruth.

And...

I think Annetha's blown them
all away, to be honest.

-[Sue] Annetha's very strong.
-[Mary] All the way through.

[Sue] He's had a difficult run, Mark,
but, you know, the passion is there.

[Paul] There was issues
I had with that cake.

It did have some nice flavours,

but I was getting savoury
coming from the beetroot.

It wasn't prepared well.

[Mary] Everything of that decoration
was either given or bought.

He isn't showing us that
he has the skill of a good baker.

[Paul] Good old Lea,
her cake today tasted fantastic.

[Sue] I know, she can
really do it, that's the thing.

[Paul] I think it was her cranberry
and pistachio, that was very dry.

It really was quite hard to eat,
wasn't it?

[Paul] And then her sponge
was in the bottom two.

-[Sue] She's at risk, you think?
-[Paul] Another one, yeah.

[Sue] David's chocolate cake,
the forest floor.

Unfortunately, the cake did have the
texture of a forest floor.

For me, it was dry.

He tried to show us
all the skills he's got.

[Sue] So on to Sergeant Louise.

She's always very quick,
she's always very tidy.

-[Sue] Military precision.
-[Mary] Military precision.

She hasn't shown us
much skill in this.

If all she did was make the cake
and that cake was dry,

you know, there's something going wrong.

Obviously, we have to lose two today,
have you come to a decision?

I think we have.

We are off to Scotland
on our next challenge,

and we can only take
eight people with us,

which means we are going to lose two.

The judges have made their final decision.

Sadly, Mark and Lea won't be
coming with us on our next leg

-of the Bake Off to Scotland.
-That's fine.

-And we will miss you greatly.
-Thank you.

[Mel] As I'm sure the other eight
will as well and thank you very much.

[Sue] Feel proud,
you should feel very, very proud,

and we'll see the rest of you in Scotland.

-[Mel] Yeah.
-Thank you for your hard work.

-[applause]
-[Mark] Thank you.

Thank you.

-[Mary] We were in total agreement.
-[Paul] Yeah.

And it's quite obvious

that they really wouldn't
be able to cope with the next stage.

[Paul] Unfortunately,
they haven't got the experience

to take it to the next level
and it was very sad.

But that's the Bake Off.

-[Sue] You did really well.
-Thank you.

-You should be proud of yourself.
-I am, yeah.

-Honestly.
-I am.

[Mark] Cakes generally
aren't my strong suit,

I'm a savoury sort of guy,
bread and pies and pasties any time,

so cakes are a challenge to me,
and it was meant to be a challenge

and it certainly proved that...
it was a challenge for me, personally.

-[Jas] You're going out on a high.
-Yep.

-And you're happy?
-Yep!

[Lea] I've had a blast, absolute ball,
I've loved every minute of it.

These guys are just tremendous.

I wish them... wish them well,
they are some very, very talented people.

I've just spoken to my little boy
on the phone and he said to me,

"Mummy, are you through
to the next round?"

And I said "Yes,"
and he was going, "Hurrah! Hurrah!"

Oh, wow!

Wow.

I'm feeling very, very relieved.
Very lucky.

I was surprised at how...
much fun the whole weekend was.

To be able to do that
another weekend is great.

[narrator] Next time,

the eight remaining
contestants travel to Scotland

to put their biscuit-baking
skills to the test...

I think this is going to be a
fantastic round for you.

-[Sue] I've got a good feeling.
-I jolly hope so.

[narrator] They'll prepare
an elaborate variety

of tea-time treats...

I know that I'm probably behind
because of the detail

that I'm trying to put into these.

[narrator] ...in a bid
to impress the judges.

-They are excellent.
-[Mary] Mm, delicious!

[narrator] But only six can make
it through to the next round

of The Great British Bake Off.