Now, before we get on with Pastry Week, I just wanted
to say how this show has inspired me to bake for myself. Look at that. That's incredible, Alison.
Oh, it's nothing - it's just a beautifully decorated mouth-wateringly moist fruit cake.
It's so good, it looks like one of Prue's cakes. Oh, thanks.
Hi, guys, couldn't do us a favour, could you?
I'm looking for Prue's cake - it's a beautifully decorated,
mouth-wateringly moist fruit cake.
No, no, not seen anything like that at all,
not at all. Shall we crack on with the show? Yeah.
Welcome to the Great British Bake Off!
Hang on. I think I see Prue's cake.
Last time...
..things got messy in Chocolate Week.
I want everyone
to clean after themselves - it's an absolute disgrace.
And whilst Nicky's torte made her a contender...
I think it's a little work of art.
..she was out-boxed by Matty...
I think your box is beautifully engineered.
..who took the Star Baker title.
It's got no real flavour.
And while Cristy and Saku struggled...
Melting! ..Tasha fell ill.
Go and rest, come on. I'll walk you back.
And they were spared.
You're all staying.
Phew, such a relief!
This time... I've got cramp in my hands.
..the bakers face Pastry Week.
I'm nervous.
And double jeopardy.
Two people are going home this week. Oh, I know.
They'll need to keep their cool... Oh, sugar!
..with a steamy signature...
Oh, no!
..avoid a faux pas...
I think that's done. ..while creating a French classic.
I know what dauphinoise is. What's the other word?
Pith-th-thivier.
And demonstrate pie-making artistry.
Argh!
So they're not among the two bakers...
There's a bit of a plumbing issue happening.
..who'll be leaving the competition.
Then we lift. Oh, no, it's just... Look, it's broken.
Oh, God. Oh, no, what do I do?
They're letting you go. Shall I lead the way?
I actually like pastry.
I find it quite therapeutic.
I love walking in. Do you? I do.
I never feel confident about anything in my life,
and pastry's no exception.
So I'm just kind of going to roll with it, as I do every week.
There's a lot that can go wrong with pastry.
It will be interesting, especially
with two people going home this week.
I would love to, like, blow their minds
and to get Star Baker would obviously be a dream.
I just don't know if it'll happen.
Bakers, you have made it
to Pastry Week, which means you lot are the upper crust.
Now, for your Signature Challenge,
the judges would love you
to make 12 individual savoury picnic pies.
The fillings and flavours are entirely your choice,
but your pies must be made from hot-water-crust pastry
and be attractive and tempting to eat, just like me.
There's plenty of hot water, so don't worry about that,
even though someone here had a 90-minute shower this morning.
Paul! You have two hours.
Which is what Paul says when he gets in the shower.
On your marks. Get set. Bake!
I know that I need to get off to a rapid start.
This is the hot-water-crust pastry.
Hot-water-crust pastry is traditionally made with lard.
Good for the hips, lard.
The other element is butter, and that brings flavour.
You make it by pouring almost boiling water
and melted fat into the flour.
I'm hot potato-ing right now.
This is my onion and spring onions.
Got to put stuff inside that's, A,
going to be moist to the mouth and, B,
going to carry a lot of punchy flavours.
Oh, I love a sausage.
The last thing is, you want a beautiful bit of crimping on
the lid as well, which seals in whatever
the bakers are going to put inside.
You need to drop the lid into the pie.
The lid gets trapped in there and it won't rise up and fall off.
As long as it's consistent
and seals the lid to the side, that's good.
No pressure!
Morning, Star Baker.
Morning! Hello, Matty.
Hello. Morning.
So, Matty, tell us about your hot-water-crust little pies.
So it's got ricotta and feta, uh, a bit of garlic, some...
Spanakopita? Yeah, I'm glad you said it.
I-I-I couldn't... I can never pronounce it.
Pronounce what?
Don't be cruel, Paul!
Span-a-di-kopa-da? What?
Matty's take on Greek spanakopita will be filled
with spinach, soft cheeses, red peppers and herbs.
Well, good luck, look forward to this one.
I feel like this is your week, babes. It's your week.
You don't want to fall off your throne.
Absolutely not. Yeah.
Yeah. You don't. That would hurt.
Looking good.
And Matty's not the only baker uniting
a continental filling
with this quintessentially British pastry.
So this is my potato dauphinoise.
Dauphinoise, I think, is a bit classy,
a bit elegant, it's a bit like myself.
That I think I am!
I'll bake that for a good half an hour, just
so it gets nice and crispy with all the cheese.
Dana's creamy dauphinoise will sandwich fried onions
and melted Comte cheese, sealed in rosemary-infused pastry,
a recipe which echoes a popular French bake.
Sounds like a pithivier.
What's that?
Oh, interesting. Never mind. Have you tested it?
I have tested it and it has worked. In the time?
I'm literally, like, ten seconds taking it out of the oven.
While Dana needs to accommodate the baking
and cooling of her dauphinoise filling...
So we've got sausage meat and we've got some strong cheese.
..Josh and Tasha...
This is not pleasant.
..are making a traditional raw pork filling that'll cook while
the rest of the pie bakes.
These are the same filling as my Christmas stuffing.
Tasha's pies will get their Christmassy flavour from
the chopped sage in the sausage and nutmeg in the pastry.
The double Star Baker will be hoping to make it
a hat-trick after being unable to complete Chocolate Week.
I felt weird not being here, to be honest.
Did you? Yeah, I had bad FOMO.
I bet you couldn't relax, could you? You were thinking, what are they up to now?
I know, it was weird. It was like, what's it called, Stockholm syndrome?
It's exactly that - Stockholm syndrome.
And at the end of the series, if you win you will get kidnapped by Paul.
He'll lock you in his basement.
But you'll like it, so it'll be fine.
And while pork is a popular choice...
These are Cumberland. From a very reputable shop as well.
Right, how hot are these chillies?
..two bakers are planning to spice things up.
Chuck it all in.
So I made these for my kids when they were young
to go into their lunchboxes. Not so much spice for me.
But I hope it will be good enough for you.
Saku is making a milder version
of her Sri Lankan spiced tuna pies, which will see
a spicy potato and tuna filling surround a whole quail's egg.
Have you worked with, uh, hot-water-crust pastry before?
Yes, when I was practising. Right, OK.
Was that the first time you ever made it? Never? Yes, yeah.
Crimping on the top?
Crimpling? Crimpling!
Crimpling. Crimpling, yes. Crimping.
But don't know how, uh, beautiful it will be.
All right, good luck. Good luck, Saku. Thank you very much, Saku. Thank you.
Bakers, unbelievably, you are halfway through already.
Oh, God!
I just looked at my watch and there was nothing there.
I literally went...
That's cos I stole it. Oh, someone stole it off me.
With fillings made,
attention turns to the lining in the pie tins.
I'm eye-balling the pastry thickness.
Too thin and they could split in the oven,
but going too thick also carries risk.
Because hot-water-pastry,
it's a bit thick as well, it can be a bit stodgy, can't it, so...
Dan's added turmeric
and cumin to his pastry to augment
a lamb keema filling flavoured with his home-made spice mix.
Quite excited about this.
Yeah, fingers crossed, it's a bit greasy, but...
You're not going to say that to them, are you? No, no, no!
Little bit greasy! Yeah. It's not that good.
I don't mind a little bit of grease. I don't either.
Well, good luck. Nice one, Noel. Greasy Dan.
Ah, do you know what? I just forgot to put the mustard in.
We're off to a really good start.
Filling also needs to be tackled with care.
I am just filling up to sort of around this mark here.
Too little and the pies will form an air pocket. Egg?
Too much and the filling could ooze out during baking.
They look really good.
I just want to make sure I've got them in.
They're going to take about 40 minutes or so.
But Nicky's nowhere near ready to bake.
It's cooked the egg a little bit.
I don't know whether to do it again.
Her hot water mix has scrambled the egg she added
to enrich her first dough.
I'd rather just start again and just
be done with it. It's fine, it's fine, we've got this.
Nicky's blending sausage,
ham and saucisson
with five different cheeses including Cheddar
and Reblochon, packed into a classic pie tin.
I love that shape. It's old school.
It's really lovely, that.
Just like me!
And me. And have you practised this, Nicky?
I've practised them.
I've got pies coming out the front door.
Have ya? Yeah. Have you been selling them?
Oh. It's just too many pies.
OK, we'll leave you to it, Nicky. It sounds great.
Fingers crossed.
I've got to get these in the oven tout de suite.
While Nicky lines her tins...
Pop the lids on, bang 'em in the oven.
..everyone else has moved on to the lids.
Easy as pie. I'm here all week.
But two bakers are planning something that requires
a more refined touch.
This is the latticing of the pie top.
Providing the execution is good,
it can make the world of difference.
It is fiddly.
I've just got to relax cos I feel so stressed.
I just don't want to let myself down.
Cristy's lattice lids will conceal a filling of cream,
leek and garlic mushroom.
I think this should be such a good flavour.
You struggled a little last week with flavour, didn't you?
We were complaining there wasn't enough. Yeah.
And you know what? It's amazing how much garlic mushrooms can take.
OK, that's good, then.
Good luck, thank you, Cristy. OK. Thank you. Good luck, darling.
To hold the fillings inside...
Hopefully, it will all go right.
I learned the right word today - crimping.
..Paul is expecting the bakers to form a neat seal.
Maybe not that.
It's always that.
I've got a little tool in my pocket. Aye-aye!
Think pig in blanket - that was the vibe.
I'm quietly confident.
I think as soon as I say I'm confident, it goes wrong,
so I don't want to say that.
Before crimping his lids in place, Rowan's adding
an extra topping of smoked streaky bacon
to his Cumberland sausage and sweet potato filling.
Have you got a hole in the lid? No, there's no hole in the lid.
When it steams, where's it going to go?
On the bacon, the bacon's raw inside,
so that steam is there to help poach.
Oh, right, OK. Got you. Good luck. Thank you. Thank you.
Good luck, mate.
Do you think that's a bit of a clue, maybe put
a hole in it, do you think? I feel like that's a clue.
I might do little pricks around it.
Get a little prick in there. I will. Sorted. Thanks, love.
Once suitably ventilated...
I'm just egg-washing the top to give it a lovely colour.
..applying an egg wash should brown up the pies when baked.
Is it a bit thick?
Are you asking me? Yeah.
Whatever. In.
Oh, I didn't do egg wash.
OK, bakers, you've got half an hour left.
This is speed-pie-making. Come on, Nicky!
Oven's not on.
Not conventional.
Should've gone in ages ago, shouldn't they?
What? No, what you saying?
I didn't realise you were the baker.
How dare you? Oh, that's hot. Do you think that's too hot?
Possibly, but I don't have the time now.
They're in.
How are you? I'm all right-ish.
Why, what's happened? Oh, time.
Time.
Time. I can be up two hours before we've got to be anywhere,
and I'm still never ready.
What you talking about? We're talking about what time we get up in the morning.
Yeah, what time do you get up? I go to bed quite late. Get up really early.
It's weird. I texted you last night at 11. I know.
You texted me back, so you were quite late.
That's right, kids, we're texting each other at night.
Just stop sending me them pictures - I don't like it.
That's not what you said last night!
While some bakers have time to wait and watch...
Cranberry sauce.
..others are making their condiments.
I'll probably just pipe it on right at the end.
I call them post-match picnic pies.
They're the flavours I do for my rugby lads after either
a training session or a match day.
Hopefully, in hot-water-crust pastry, they taste as good in those as well.
Josh is hoping the pickle will bring moisture
to his pork and apple pies,
while a layer of Cheddar will be melted on top when
the pies are removed from their tins and returned to the oven to brown.
The pastry is done now so it won't collapse.
Bakers, you've got ten minutes left.
I'm going to have to get these out now, aren't I? They're oozing a bit.
But do you know what it is, did you put the hole in or not?
I did. Three. Oh. And they opened up?
Three pricks. Yeah.
Oh, so overfilled. I don't like the look of 'em.
There's a whole mushroom coming out here.
Look at these.
You're using some special finger protectors.
That is it. To poke the pies out the bottom.
I've got a picture of Paul wearing nothing but those.
On his fingers?
Yeah, on his... OK.
Just glaze them up.
Get all round my sides as crispy as possible now.
Oh, they look bad, Noel. They look good.
No, they're overfilled. I don't know why I'm getting like this.
I told myself I don't care. But you really do care, don't you?
Oh, my gosh, I need to get a life.
It is coming out now.
Oh, no!
It's a bit soggy on t'bottom. They've never been soggy before.
Bakers, you only have one minute left.
They've got to come out, haven't they?
That one looks peng, actually.
Not as crispy as I'd like them.
Yeah, really pleased with those.
It was going so well.
They're not great. Gutted!
Oh, I can't wait for his beady eyes to look at these.
Bakers, that is your time up, please step away from your bakes.
One of 'em hasn't got a bottom, they're stuck in the tin. Do they normally stick in the tin?
Never. Never stuck ever.
God! So I'm really upset, actually.
The bakers' hot-water-crust picnic pies will now be judged
by Prue and Paul.
Hello, Matty. Hiya, Matty. Hiya.
Tell us all about your picnic pies.
They are based on spanakopita.
OK. They're based on them.
Bit messy.
It's very tricky to get that lattice looking good on such a small pie.
So there's some feta, ricotta, spinach,
roasted red peppers and some sundried tomatoes.
Good strong flavours. Lovely.
I think your lid is a bit too thick.
OK. Cos that takes up maybe a third of it.
Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Cheers. Well done.
It's a beautiful golden-brown colour.
So we've got sausage meat,
bacon and cranberry with apple
and some cranberry sauce on the side.
Good pastry.
Your mustard bottom, which I'd never have thought of,
and I think it's a little mark of genius, it's beautiful.
I think it's filled beautifully,
it's nice and thin round the outside. Thank you.
Cheers.
The pastry's a little pale on top. Could've been a little browner.
Bit of a soggy bottom.
Really? Yeah.
Heart-breaking. Inside, it's tuna, potatoes,
leeks, carrot and onion, and there is a quail egg as well.
I love the flavours.
And actually the filling inside is quite nice and moist.
The pastry needs to be much, much thinner.
And less soggy.
You can see right down the bottom how wet that is there.
It's a bit ripped
and all over the place at the sides, innit?
Your flavours are beautiful. Your pastry's nice and flaky.
It's nice and thin around the outside and it's well-filled.
It's just a little bit dry on the mouth. Ah, OK.
I love the flavour, but it's going to be hard work to eat that whole pie
because it's very dense.
OK.
I think they look really appetising
and if they were in a shop window I'd buy them.
This is potato dauphinoise
with caramelised onions and Comte cheese.
Your sides are a little bit thick on one side, thin on another.
Your roof is a little bit too thick. Yeah.
But I like the flavour. Thank you very much.
Thank you, guys.
My, um, pies...
I'm sorry but...
No, it's, um, that's good.
Uh, my pies are kind of Christmas stuffing pies
with chestnut, cranberry sauce, sweet potato,
bit of bacon, and a loose top.
Lovely pastry. Thank you.
It's got such a beautiful aroma as well as flavour.
You know what? If it had just looked
a bit better, you'd have had an absolute triumph there. Mm.
It's bled quite a bit.
That's the bleed in there from the interior.
I think they're quite sweet.
So that's sausage meat in there with some strong Cheddar cheese
and thyme and a bit of apple on top.
That's the problem with sausage mix - it'll all shrink
and you get gaps round the edge.
If you'd had time, you could've put a jelly in there or something.
Yeah, OK. But otherwise I think your flavours are good. Thank you.
They're a little pale, but I love the shape.
The mould has worked nicely
and you have got a good colour underneath, just not on
the side. Your pastry's a bit thick.
And you end up with a big hole in it as well.
Yeah, and it's a little undercooked too. Yeah, it is.
So what you've got is quite a gloopy mixture
with your pastry being too thick and it's a difficult thing to eat.
It's a disaster.
It's quite sort of... It's not your best.
No, it's not. No, it's a bit gluey. Yeah.
Thank you very much, Nicky. Thank you.
Don't worry about those people. That's all right.
Not bakers, those people.
They look even. Thank you.
They're nice and brown. They're really tiny. Quite elegant.
I've made creamy leek and mushroom pies.
You know you're so clever. Yeah. You made a creamy sauce
and it just holds the whole thing together.
Aw, thank you.
It's beautifully moist inside and crispy.
Hmm. So what I will do...
You're joking.
APPLAUSE
Well done. Well done.
It's because you've managed to achieve the moistness
and the flavour in a small area
and have that lattice top looking so nice.
I feel like I'm in a dream, thank you.
Well done.
Oh, my God.
It's so easy to feel impostor syndrome of like,
I'm not good enough and stuff,
and then Paul goes and gives you a handshake
and you're just like, "What?"
I'm so happy they like how it tasted
because, you know, looks is one thing,
what's inside is what matters.
Oh, dear. Soggy bottom - why it happened to me today?
Absolute bag of pants.
I've just gotta scoop myself off the floor and get on with it.
For the next challenge the ingredients
and recipe are a gingham-guarded secret.
Hello, bakers, welcome back to the tent.
It's time for your technical challenge.
And this week it's been set
for you by P Hollywood, the pastry king.
Now, as always, this challenge is judged blind
so our judges will be leaving.
But before you go, have you got any words of advice
for our bakers? I'm thinking Mel Gibson in Braveheart.
Yeah. Go for it, Paul.
The textures on the inside and the outside must be perfect.
Not as stirring as I thought. No. If I'm honest with ya.
Maybe he should've done it on a horse. Maybe.
OK, judges, you can go, thank you.
Paul would like you to make a decadent dauphinoise pithivier.
Now, the judges will be looking for a buttery,
crisp rough-puff pastry encasing
creamy potato and caramelised onion.
And alongside that a blue cheese sauce.
You have two hours and 45 minutes.
On your marks.
Get set.
Bake!
Oh, goodness gracious, what is this?
What are the chances that was gonna happen?
I know what dauphinoise is, what's the other word?
Pithivi... Pervivi... Perviv... How do you say it?
So Paul, pithivier?
It's a classic sort of French pie.
Now, this particular one, it's got the dauphinoise potatoes inside.
What we're really testing the bakers on is the pastry itself.
By now, our bakers should know about rough-puff pastry.
Yeah. The key thing when you're making a rough puff is
to add some frozen butter in between each turn.
Dough, butter, dough, butter, creates these flaky layers.
That's a bit of a feast, isn't it?
Help yourself to the sauce.
Roquefort's such a salty blue cheese, adds a lot of flavour.
It's really heaven.
This is carbs on carbs served with cream.
Can't wait to get back in the tent and have nine versions of this?
It says make the rough-puff pastry.
I'm just gonna add some water, try and get a dough.
It's just to bind the dough together.
And then I can wrap it up and chill it.
You've done one of these before right? Um, no.
Oh. But I've made dauphinoise. And I've made rough puff.
So we're sort of there, aren't we?
There you go, yeah. Put it together and what have you got?
Um... Dauphinoise...
..pithivier. NICKY LAUGHS
I'm just gonna get it rolled out to a rough rectangle.
And then I can put my grated butter in between.
So I'm gonna grate the, uh, frozen butter onto that.
So the butter gives you that puffy rise.
But a few of the bakers...
I'm just kind of incorporating the grated butter.
..are taking a different approach.
Rub the butter in the flour, knead it, roll it out.
If they wanted me to laminate it,
you'd have put it out as a slab of butter
so if it's grated maybe it has to be mixed in.
Now, I'm gonna start to fold. I'm nervous.
So it's fold third down, third up, turn, roll, chill.
You know when you look around and you see what everybody else is doing
and you think, "Oh, have I done the same?"
It's a bit unnerving, isn't it?
I've grated all of my butter in at once
and everyone else is laminating it in.
I think I've worked the butter in too much.
You washed your hand yet? I know, I didn't want to.
Did he lift you off the ground slightly? No.
What was it like, grabbing a big bunch of sausages?
Stop.
I feel like the rule here is cold.
Cos puff pastry does not like heat.
As soon as it gets too warm then it just kind of all melts
and you won't get the layers.
I'm just starting with the filling which is simmering
the potatoes in cream, milk, garlic and seasoning.
I have never made dauphinoise potatoes in my life.
I know someone who has - Dana.
Babes. I feel like there's a bit more pressure now.
I love the fact that you've made it
and you didn't even know what it was. I know!
You want it just to sort of simmer away nicely.
Checking for tenderness. I'm a tender little thing.
That's simmering away, onions are caramelising.
I'm worried about my pastry.
This is the second turn. So I'm doing two turns.
Which I think will be enough.
Just doing another turn.
Try and get as many as I can in the time.
More folds.
I'll give that five minutes.
Argh!
Need another plaster.
Just grated my knuckles.
I got blood in my pastry. So I've had to redo it.
Just need to get a bit of a shimmy on now
and just chuck it all in and go for it.
Bakers, you are halfway through.
# Halfway through
# Halfway through this nightmare. #
Ha, ha, ha!
I'm just getting these potatoes out. Spot on, that.
Still got a bit of bite to it.
I think I overcooked my potatoes in the middle cos I've just tried
them, they're a bit soft. It's so annoying.
Right, so I've finally made my pastry.
Done one turn.
I'll do that again and then I can start assembling
and I'll try and get it baked.
While Dan performs a final turn,
everyone else is starting to shape their pithivier.
I've no idea how thick to get it, to be honest.
Who do you fear in this tent? Do you fear Saku?
Yeah. I fear Saku.
I wouldn't like get on't wrong side of her, would you?
I dunno, shall we go and have a rolling pin fight?
Saku. Yeah. Dan said do you wanna have a rolling pin fight?
Ooh!
You're a Jedi, Saku.
I know, yeah.
Cut a 20 centimetre round using the smaller plate.
Layer the potatoes,
onions with salt and pepper and nutmeg in between each layer.
Well, I've just chucked mine on and now I've seen people do it proper neat.
I'm looking at Cristy's
and it actually looks like a French person has trained
for 70 years at the Cordon Bleu. And then produced that.
Right, so let's move very,
very quickly. I'm just panicking a bit now.
What are you putting in there? This is nutmeg.
When I was a kid, there was a rumour that if you smoked nutmeg you'd go crazy.
Did you try? No.
Oh. It sounded ridiculous to me.
I'm just gonna overload it with all the onions basically.
I think the onions give it such a nice sweetness.
It says scallop the edges. Now, I ain't got a clue what that means.
Is this scalloping, cos I just know it as, like, crimping?
Scalloping? Crimping, scalloping, it's all the same to me.
Knock up the edges and then glaze and chill.
What is this knock up thing?
Different connotations to knock up, isn't there?
Ah, like that?
Well, this is the dirtiest knock up I've ever seen.
I'm just gonna score it now.
Carefully - not going through the pastry. And then bake it.
We're going in.
Don't know how it's gonna take.
How long have we got left?
Bakers, you have half an hour left.
I'd better get a move on as well that'd be nice, wouldn't it?
It's going quick, in't it?
So in the meantime I can make my blue cheese sauce.
Just smelt that cheese and it is absolutely revolting.
It's really pungent.
I don't like blue cheese.
You know what? You've gotta try it though, cos it's gotta taste good.
No. I say it all the time. But look how mouldy it is. Look at it.
Yours is so mouldy there's nearly no cheese there. I know.
It's Roquefort, isn't it? I love Roquefort.
Super cheesy, baby.
Oh, well done, Dan, yours is rising. It's got a nice colour on yours.
Looks all right, don't it? Yeah.
It looks pale so I've upped the temp by ten degrees.
Scared.
Bakers, you've got five minutes.
Didn't use all my potatoes. Look at it,
it's flat like a pancake. Oh, he's gonna hate it.
Oh, it's so bad.
It's not risen, has it? It's like a frisbee.
So gutted, I've just had a crap day.
Hello, Josh, you all right?
Um, OK. Are you worried it's not gonna puff?
Yeah. Do you want me to burn the tent down so that he won't see?
Oh, that'd be good.
I want to give it as long as humanly possible.
I might take it out.
Cornish pasty, anyone?
If you like shortcrust pastry, it's all right.
Bakers, you have one minute left.
OK she's gonna have to come out.
I'm gonna have a little gander.
It's definitely not as puffy as it should be.
I'm happy with that.
Look at it, it's so ugly.
I've seen neater poos, to be honest with you.
Oh, I quite like the look of that.
I don't think that's done.
God, this is revolting.
Bakers, that is your time up. Well done.
Tough, that.
Please bring your pithiviers,
place on the table behind your photos.
Look at the size of Dan's. It's like he's got a body in there.
Don't, yours is right next to the frisbee.
Prue and Paul are looking for
a perfectly domed dauphinoise pithivier with
a flaky laminated rough-puff pastry.
Eclectic mix. Yeah, some of them are domed, some are not.
Yes. And they have no idea whose is whose.
We'll start with this one. That's a recognisable pithivier.
Yes. It's got a dome, the actual design is pretty good. Yeah.
It's nice and crispy. And it's a nice colour.
Yeah, it is a nice colour. It's certainly got a bit of flake.
Hmm, the Roquefort's certainly salty.
And it does make the balance beautiful.
Yeah... Yeah.
Now, moving on to this flat pizza.
This is definitely not domed enough.
It needs to be much higher. It's a bit pale though, isn't it?
Yeah. Bit uneven too.
Needed a stronger colour.
I like the colour, it's nice and strong golden brown.
Yeah, the colour's very good.
Do you know, this pastry is delicious but it's not quite cooked?
No... No, it's not.
It needed a little bit longer, doesn't it?
I love the scallop work on this.
And it's got a dome.
Looks good underneath, it's got a strong colour.
Hmm, pastry's not bad, actually. It's flaky enough.
It's a nice one, that.
OK, moving on, this is a bit flat.
And a bit underbaked I think.
Lamination looks more bread like than flaky.
I think the potato's a bit raw too.
Hmm, potatoes need a little bit longer.
There's an attempt to get a bit of height here.
I'm not mad about the look of it. It's a bit rough. Yeah.
Potato's raw. Yeah, needs longer.
The flake's not bad.
This one, Paul, has a lovely colour.
Bit of height to it as well.
Nice strong bake.
Raw potato. Hmm, it is, isn't it? It's quite raw.
This looks like a very interesting pie but it's not a pithivier.
No...Not a dome in sight.
There's a bit of flake to that.
The pastry's good. But it needed more of a dome,
I'm not quite sure what happened to the rest of the potatoes.
It seems to be a bit uneven on this one. Not very neat.
But it's got flake to it.
Hmm, spuds are all right.
Sauce is very tarragon-y, I love it.
It is. Blended with the blue cheese, it works beautifully.
The pithiviers will now be ranked from last to first.
OK, in ninth spot we have this one, whose is this?
Nicky. It's too flat, there is no crumble in there.
In eighth place we have this one.
Josh, too pale, too flat.
OK.
Matty is seventh, Saku sixth,
Cristy fifth,
Rowan fourth and Tasha is third.
In second place,
we have this one...
Dana, it looks very pretty, the pastry's good,
tastes good, it's a really good pithivier.
Thank you. Well done.
So in first place we have this one, Dan.
Good old Dan.
That's a lovely pithivier. I love the scallop work on there,
you've ended up with something that tastes delicious
and looks very professional. Well done.
Thank you very much. Thanks.
Well done. Well done, Dan.
Great feeling, yeah, pretty good, can't believe it.
Again it's, uh, yeah.
Every time it happens I'm like, "I can't believe it."
First time I've been second.
I'm beyond happy, I'm over the moon.
I'll try and take positives out of today
and just hope I have a really good day tomorrow.
Oh, babes, come here. Aw.
Oh, dearie me.
I'll have to do an awful lot to pull it back from today.
I don't think I've ever seen you both eat as much as what
I've seen in Pastry Week.
Gotta come to my house, every day is exactly the same.
I think, overall, Pastry Week's been a step up from Chocolate Week.
And Cristy got a handshake.
They were great pies.
For Star Baker, I think she's in line. Dan won the technical.
And Tasha's come back with a bang. And Tasha's come back as well.
You haven't forgotten, guys, that we're sending two people home
this week. Oh, yes! Well, I was thinking that.
So who, roughly, is in danger, then? Nicky.
Yeah. Oh. Oh, no.
She is so cheerful. But she is not doing well.
Saku's in trouble as well. Is she?
Oh! I think she struggled in the sig and she was sixth in the technical.
I love Saku. Saku can't go.
Rowan could drop down. Those picnic pies were awful.
Do you know what I think's disappointing? Is Josh.
I can't believe Josh would be in danger. He's been consistent.
Well, not this week.
I'm in love with all of them. I want them all to do well.
They're becoming quite a tight little gang as well.
They are, yeah, they are. They've got a WhatsApp group.
Have they? Yeah, they have. I was just wondering, when are
we gonna have a WhatsApp group? Are we gonna do that?
Oh, we haven't told her. Well, we have one without you, Alison.
Welcome back to the tent for your Showstopper challenge.
Today, the judges would love you to make something out of pastry.
I mean, who would've thought it?
How do they come up with this stuff? Wild.
The judges would like you to make
a stunning display of decorative sweet pies.
Your display should include at least three ornate pies
and be made of a rich sweet pastry case.
You have four hours.
On your marks. Get set.
Bake.
They tasted great in practice but practice took six hours.
I am starting with making the sweet shortcrust pastry.
We're asking the bakers
to produce at least three highly decorated pies made
with a rich sweet pastry.
I'm just using the traditional rub-it-in method.
Ideally, I think it would be nice if at least two
of them had different fillings.
I'm starting with my raspberry jam.
That's the sort of food I grew up on.
We want it highly decorated, so we're expecting
a little bit of lattice work, little bit of plaiting on the top.
I think it's perfectly legitimate to dye some of the pastry.
We wanna see also something that links the three pies together.
I'm making sweet pies based on my favourite
British sitcom, Absolutely Fabulous.
You can't just leave a sweet pie in the mould or
the foil, they need to bring it out,
expose it and show us what they've baked.
I've got cramp in my hands. It's really sore.
It needs to taste amazing...
This is a vanilla pastry.
..hold together
and create that beautiful crumble when you bite into it
with whatever sweet filling is inside.
I've got the vision, it's just whether I can execute it well.
What have I done to this?
Hi, Cristy. Hello, you OK?
Hello. Right Cristy, tell us all about your decorative pies.
So I'm gonna try and do like a woodland sort of display of pies.
I'm gonna do a spiced apple pie
and then I've got a blueberry pie and then a raspberry
and frangipane pie.
Lovely, I love all of those flavours.
OK, good.
After a handshake-worthy signature,
Cristy will be hoping her autumnal Showstopper featuring raspberry
frangipane and intricate lattice work will earn her
top honours again today.
When you practised, did you time it?
Yeah, it's really hard to practise for four hours around
the children so I've been doing like really late nights and...
Middle of the night.
..middle of... Yeah, literally. Hope I deliver.
Cristy's not the only baker who found practice a little fraught.
In practice, the bottom fell out of my pie.
So it was just a crust around the edge
and then a dropped pie. Which is why I've got parchment.
It might not be as crisp
but I'd rather have a not crisp edge than
a no edge at all, do you know what I mean?
Rowan's pate sablee pies will be filled with lemon
and blueberry and frangipane with flaked almonds and chocolate.
Patsy and Eddie will appear in
pastry relief silhouette leaving Rowan to paint their faces by hand.
Oh, it's Patsy.
And what about timing, have you got a plan?
Um, no.
The thing about you is you just go with the flow, don't ya?
Yeah. It might look rubbish but it tastes great.
No, but this doesn't. It's like... I'm actually quite impressed.
I'm quite surprised.
Rowan's not alone in celebrating the matriarchy.
My nan, she was always pushing me to enter the Bake Off.
I said I would do and then after she was ill
and passed away I wasn't quite ready so I waited another year.
Josh's Showstopper is for his late grandmother, Frieda.
I used to do quite a bit of baking at her house.
Used to go out on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, after school
and I did this from the age of about five or six through to...
I was still doing it when I was doing my PhD.
That's the reason why I know
a lot about all the flowers that are around here,
because she taught me all about flowers.
Josh is making a sunflower with two pineapple
and apricot flower heads and three apple,
blackberry and coconut leaves,
all complete with coloured pastry and syrup glaze.
You seem pretty calm about this challenge. I am.
You weren't very happy yesterday. Are you much calmer now doing this?
Yeah, no, I would've liked to have done a bit better on the technical yesterday but...
You've got high standards for yourself, haven't you?
I put too much pressure on myself, I know.
But hopefully this is all right today. Yes.
Look forward to it. Sounds really good.
Nice and floral. That's all that done.
And Josh's grandmother isn't the only one to get
the Showstopper treatment.
They're all flavours from my gran's garden, cos she had apple trees,
she had a plum tree, there was always rhubarb.
Her baking was like a pair of comfy old slippers.
Nicky's comforting pies will be filled with apple and pear,
plum and frangipane and rhubarb and custard with
a smidge of ginger, while colourful lattice work
and flowers should prove a feast for the eyes.
I know you didn't have a particularly decent day yesterday
but today is your day, Nicky.
And you seem very calm. So it all looks good.
Calm on the surface.
You should see what's going on under here.
Are the little duck legs going?
Let's do it. You can do it. You'll be all right. Good luck, Nicky.
I'm just gonna toast the nuts. I am doing a honey baklava pie.
It's got pistachios and hazelnuts
and walnuts in an orange syrup on the bottom base with
an almond frangipane on top. But, yeah...
Oh, you had me at marzipan.
I didn't say marzipan!
THEY LAUGH
Almonds - close enough.
You had me at almond!
Her frangipane and baklava main pie will be paired with mulled wine
and apple miniature pies
and decorated with a sturdy shortcrust tree.
I like a good chunky pastry so that's what I'm hoping for,
but we shall see if that works.
When the bakers are happy with their pastry...
This looks like it's rested well.
..it's time to roll...
Tell you what, this jumper'll be coming off soon.
About two or three millimetres is what I'm looking for.
..before lining the pie tins to a standard expected by the judges...
Oh! Hello.
Press it in. You've just made a hole.
SHE LAUGHS
Ten minutes in the freezer firms it up, then we can blind bake.
I'm making a pineapple, cherry and rum pie and apple pie.
Apple from Herefordshire, where I live.
And pineapple from my birth country Sri Lanka,
representing a bit of both worlds.
Intelligence analyst Saku is making
an infographic-inspired pie display,
built from
a sweet shortcrust pastry made by
replacing some of
the butter with cream cheese.
I have never made pastry with cream cheese before.
Cream cheese. Very interesting.
It tastes better.
Is it quite a flaky pastry?
It is kind of melt-in-the-mouth kind of pastry.
Oh, OK. Right, I look forward to this one, Saku.
I'm gonna get my pastry in now cos I need to get blind-baking.
It's only gonna go in for about ten minutes,
just so it's like partially baked for the filling.
I'm not blind-baking. Everybody else is.
It's going in, come on.
Ooh, actually it's not going in.
It needs to go on a tray.
Silly sausage that I am.
You will fit in there,
you will fit in there, you won't fit in there.
How long do we have?
I am the genie of the kettle. You have three wishes, my child.
Amazing. First wish -
can you do the time call? I'm a little bit busy.
No problem.
Bakers, you are halfway through!
That's ages, that is.
I'm ready to start getting all the decoration ready.
Prue and Paul are expecting that decoration to be highly detailed.
So I'm just doing the leaves.
But while the bakers prepare these...
I'm now making my chocolate genoise sponge.
..and their other fillings...
For my frangipane I've whizzed some raspberries through there.
..they need to keep a watchful eye on their blind-baked pastry.
Yeah, they're looking good.
Hopefully. Well, we'll see when I lift these off.
The pastry just doesn't look right. I can't do nothing now. OK.
I just need it partially baked
cos it's gonna go back in with all the fillings,
so I don't want to get it too kind of golden and burnt.
ALISON: Baked too long and the pastry might become too dry
and crumbly to attach the decorative lid to later on.
Dan, what an absolute mess. I know, I'm really sorry.
What's going on? What's the matter? What happened?
It's just... Well, it's a good sign, to be fair.
It means that my pastry is extremely crumbly and yummy.
Inspired by his travels in South America
Dan's making a pie for his favourite destinations.
Cherry for Peru, grape for Argentina
and tropical fruits for Brazil.
So I've just started my decorations now.
How many elements have you got going on?
About 14,600 at the moment.
It's really intricate, isn't it? It's still a bit of a mess but go on.
I know it is but I'll hoover up when I'm done.
And Dan is not the only baker taking the judges on their travels.
The theme is like my two favourite places, cos I like skiing
and I also like... I just like the...the sea.
Um, so the central pie is like
a signpost going to those two places.
Tasha's sea pie will contain a filling of apricot
and ricotta,
the mountains, chestnut and blueberries,
while her pecan pie signpost
will spell out her favourite places in British sign language.
It's almost like a teaching moment for
a little bit of finger spelling.
It's really difficult to do in pastry.
It's a bit thinner than I wanted.
I made a bit of a mistake but it's OK.
And Matty's also heading to the slopes.
I've been Andorra, Sestriere and Leger in France.
Yeah, I love it there, it's quality.
Matty's pies will make
the ideal apres-ski comfort food, filled with rhubarb
and custard, apple and cinnamon and plums.
How are you using your plums in the, uh, pie?
So I'm gonna stew these down slightly.
THEY LAUGH Stew down your plums?
Indeed. Um...
With the stem ginger, some of the orange juice as well.
I love ginger and plums. It works...
THEY LAUGH
SHE SIGHS Stop it, boys.
Sorry, Prue. Enough!
With pastry cases prepared...
So this is the lemon and blueberry kind of curd.
..it's time to assemble.
Today is two years to the day since she passed away.
I hope I can do these flavours justice today.
It's fine, isn't it? Yeah.
Come on, Nick. Stick everything else on.
I just want to get this one in ASAP Rocky.
I'm gonna have to, like, move like no-one's business.
What you doing there, egg wash?
Yeah, bit more egg wash. I used to egg-wash my legs.
Did ya? Yeah. They come up nice actually. Quite glossy.
You have great skin, though,
I must say. We always talk about it.
Like a dolphin.
They will go in for about 30 minutes, I think.
Everything's in the oven. Just see what happens.
I'm feeling so confident.
Watch it all crumble at the last second.
How long's left?
Bakers, you have half an hour left.
Oh, you're joking. Just running out of time, aren't I?
Dan, you OK?
Running late like usual.
It's all right, don't worry.
Cheerio.
I've got one flan in. I am elated, let me tell you.
There's a lot of spillage.
There's a bit of a PLUMBING issue happening.
And Dana's not the only one who's sprung a leak.
I'm having a spillage. Spillage.
The top's kind of separated from the bottom on that one. Oh.
It's quite severe. It's getting more severe every time I look at it.
There's been a spillage in the village.
Come on, you can do this, Nick.
Crank it up again, 200.
Look at it.
How the hell is that gonna come out?
I've just put the BSL finger spelling on,
so it's going back in the oven.
I'm just hoping it doesn't melt completely.
Bakers, you have 15 minutes left.
Come on, you can do this. Just shove that in as it is.
As Nicky gets her final pie in the oven,
the other bakers are beginning to take theirs out.
I'm happy with that.
That's a nice really golden brown colour.
Where have the mountains gone?
This is genuinely traumatising. I need another pair of hands.
It's a bit stuck.
No soggy bottom. Yes!
What do we need to do? Could you grab these two ends? Yeah.
And I grab this and we lift. Oh, it's just cracked.
What's the matter? It just broke. No, it hasn't.
It's just snapped, yeah. Try one more time.
We'll see what happens. Really carefully.
Three, two, one. That's gone,
Yeah, no, that's split.
Oh, no, what do I do?
Oh, serve it in the tin. There's nothing else you can do. Shall I?
Yeah, and if they say anything just say that Noel said to serve it in a tin.
THEY LAUGH
Oh, this is not happening today.
Bakers, you have one minute left.
Argh! Disaster.
Oh, wow, I've got a bit of a leak.
Ooh!
Why has this never happened?
Bakers, that is your time up.
Flipping heck.
Please step away from your pastry Showstoppers.
Do you know what, guys? I've tried my best.
This is terrible.
Do you want a hug? Hug.
A nice, sweaty hug. THEY LAUGH
Oh, Nicky.
The bakers' sweet decorative pie Showstoppers
will now be judged by Paul and Prue.
It's a sensational display and I love the way
you've decorated them. Thank you.
Let's try the bottom one first.
This is apple, cinnamon...
And sultanas.
That's held together.
The flavour of that is spot on.
SHE SIGHS OK.
Um, it's beautifully cooked. It's soft. This is the...
Raspberry and frangipane.
I've never had frangipane with raspberry in it before.
But that's amazing, I love that. This is blueberry.
Yeah.
I like the blueberry. It's intense, very American.
I think they're three very good pies.
OK, great. Well done, Cristy. Thank you. Well done, Cristy.
I would be tempted to put a glaze on this, you know.
Just looks a bit rough and ready. Especially this one.
This is the pecan pie.
There's a bit of, uh, whisky in there as well so
a bit like an American pecan pie.
I really like that. It's beautifully crispy.
Hmm.
The mountain pie has
a blueberry sweet pastry with a chestnut layer.
Goodness.
Wow, that's, uh, vibrant.
It's quite wet inside. The pastry is like cake.
Hmm. OK.
The sunburst pie is an apricot and ricotta pie
with a sweet pastry.
It's a lovely texture. Tastes delicious.
Mm, I love the tartness from the apricot.
Thank you.
The bottom pie is a cherry and kirsch
with a chocolate sweet shortcrust.
I quite like the compote inside there.
But I don't think the chocolate crust really works
with it. It's a bit sandy and dry.
Next one.
Grape and strawberry.
But grapes on their own are very subtle in flavour, so it's lost.
And the top pie is mango,
papaya and pineapple with a lemon and lime sweet shortcrust.
The textures on the base are lovely.
I'm not quite sure of the textures of some of the fruit,
cos they're not quite right. OK. They needed a little bit more cooking.
Just not hitting my heights.
So this is my tree. You've got a baklava pie, so we've got pistachios,
hazelnuts and walnuts mixed with an orange syrup
and there's a frangipane filling on top.
That is delicious but it's very rich.
Mm-hm. And it's very sweet.
I think the frangipane's too thick. Means now it's underbaked.
So what is this one?
This is my mulled wine apple pie.
It's got some blackcurrants as well running through it.
Too sour. It hits you right there.
I think it is perhaps too powerful. Mm-hm.
They're a little bit... Broken. Just a little bit rustic.
Apple and blackberry with some cinnamon.
Some of the top is actually raw. OK.
The flavour is not bad. Rhubarb and custard.
Yeah.
The rhubarb comes through well there. Mm.
It's a very good pie.
Reticent to try this one.
It's collapsed a bit.
Plum and some ginger.
The fruit is undercooked.
Best one there is the rhubarb and custard by quite a margin. Yeah.
Thank you.
Saku, what I really love about this is it looks so simple and fresh.
The big pie is pineapple, cherry and rum.
Um, the fruit's quite raw.
I wouldn't go back for a second piece.
Let's have a look at the apple and...
Apple and cinnamon.
I really like the apple. Thank you.
Cinnamon level's just about right.
The pastry's nice and delicate and buttery.
I think that's delicious. Well done.
Thank you very much.
I mean, that is a work of art.
You've got a very simple theme, but it pulls all
the pies together most excellently.
It's a pineapple and apricot pie, spiced with cinnamon stick,
star anise and it's got some vanilla in there.
That's really good. It's tart, it's sweet,
it's crunchy,
it's got depth to it. It's delicious.
Well, I can't fault that.
Thank you. The leaves are made with a coconut,
apple and blackberry pie.
That's delicious.
And the right texture. Yeah.
It holds together, but it's moist.
This is what we've been looking for.
It's wonderful. Well done, Josh. Well done, Josh. Thank you. Yes, Josh!
You've got Patsy pretty well perfectly.
Eddie's less successful, I think.
Eddie is filled with cherry and vanilla.
I can't really... It's so difficult.
THEY SNIGGER
This didn't happen at home, believe me.
It's just pouring out. It's not... Nothing's set.
The pastry's very good. Thank you.
Crisp, very short,
but it looks awful.
It's very clumsy. Yeah.
You can't get it out of the tin.
No. Patsy is filled with lemon and blueberry.
Very clumsy. And you say they were all right at home?
Honestly, lovely, yeah.
Well, this one has got the opposite problem.
So this is a chocolate frangipane
and just a standard almond frangipane with flaked almonds.
It's very solid. Too dry.
Besides that... LAUGHTER
..it's pretty good. Success.
I think they're all very pretty.
You've made a real effort
to jolly it up and I love that, of course.
The first one is an apple, pear and hazelnut pie.
I've never had a dry apple pie before.
Oh, don't! Oh, well, there's a first for everything, isn't there?
I think partially it's because it's so exposed.
All the moisture that was in that pie... Gone, tssh!
..has just evaporated off.
The second one is rhubarb,
custard and a wee bit of ginger in there.
The custard works really well.
It's pretty thick but it's absolutely set.
The pastry's too thick for the filling
so there's hardly any filling in there.
Deeper pie.
Yeah. And then the third one is frangipane and plum.
It's a punchy flavour and it's thin, so you've got that,
and then the sort of plum on top, it's about right as well.
So actually it's quite a nice flavour. That is delicious. Yeah.
Thank you.
Oh, I've got take a positive that it was sort of really short
and nice pastry,
and actually she did say that the flavours were good.
I was just trying to hold it all back,
I was like, "Oh, my goodness, this is incredible."
Oh, they loved it. I'm so pleased.
If Josh got Star Baker, I'd be over the moon for him.
But to even be in the mix for Star Baker's, like, amazing.
I thought their comments were probably quite polite
for what they could've said. What a disaster!
Do you know what? I am nervous for today.
Are ya? A double whammy. I know.
Who's it gonna be? Painful. We know them all so well now.
I thought Rowan's pies were so awful.
I thought it looked a little bit like soup as well.
To be honest, we needed a straw.
I was a bit surprised with Dana's efforts.
I think she lost her edge a little bit on the Showstopper.
There's an argument for Saku to be there as well
but has she done enough on her Showstopper
to save herself?
And Nicky's down there as well.
I feel bad for Nicky. Yeah.
But I think she's had a tough week, hasn't she?
I think Star Baker's between a couple of people as well.
I think Cristy, Josh.
I think Josh's sunflower was as perfect
a piece of pastry as you could hope for.
And Cristy, I think she's had... Yeah, yeah.
Yeah. ..A much better week generally. Yeah, she has.
What happens now? You go and eat all of the rest of the pies? I'm not eating any more.
If I expand any more
I'm gonna take someone's eye out with that button.
THEY LAUGH
Prue and Paul have decided who will be this week's Star Baker,
and which two bakers will be leaving the competition.
Now, I've got the great job of announcing
this week's Star Baker,
and this is someone who the judges thought
was consistent throughout.
So, this week's Star Baker is...
..Cristy.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Well done!
Thank you, thank you.
I knew that was coming.
Oh, that means I've got the horrible job
of announcing who's leaving us.
And, as you know, two people
will be going this week.
And the people that are leaving us this week are...
..Nicky and Rowan.
Come here. Come here!
It's been a blast.
That wasn't your week, was it?
What did I say? It was like a bag of pants this week.
So...
I shall miss you so much. I had a lovely time.
I can't stay in after a bag of pants.
There's no way!
Can I have a hug?
Aww. I'm absolutely gutted.
Everyone has just been fab.
I mean, saying goodbye is the worst part about this,
not the absolute roast I got at the Showstopper.
I promise I can bake. Oh, come here, Paul!
I think Rowan went because of that Showstopper.
Oh, we've had a blast, haven't we? We've had an absolutely...
And the other person who's had a really bad week is Nicky.
It's been really sad to let two of them go.
Another one? Thank you so much.
I've got this boost, which I've probably needed,
cos I think sometimes, when you're a mum,
everything's for everyone else
and you sort of put your dreams on hold.
Star Baker and a handshake. That's more than most people get.
And it means than Paul and Prue maybe even could imagine.
Next week...
I'm very pleased that I can come back.
Having said that, I need to up my game...
..to survive.
Next time...
Go, girl!
..it's Botanicals Week...
It's recognisable. Like cat pee.
..and things get spicy in the Signature...
In life I'd say I'm quite spicy. Probably not in baking.
There's a race against time in the Technical.
What the hell is this? I've got no recipe.
..and the bakers take on a blooming marvellous Showstopper.
Dandelion syrup.
This is crazy.
Who will come up smelling of roses?
Absolutely heavenly.
And who will be weeded out of the competition?
It's broken!
That was the wrong thing to do, wasn't it?
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