Last time...
Oh, the jeopardy's building.
..we began with cakes.
Illiyin got this year's first Hollywood handshake.
Stop it! Lovely jubbly.
And whilst Georgie and Sumayah got off to a flying start...
Exceptional. Thank you.
..John was the perfect fit...
That's a really well executed cake.
..for the Star Baker crown.
How you doing? How you doing?
But with Jeff falling ill before the Technical challenge...
I've never made a Battenberg before.
..and despite Christiaan, Mike and Hazel struggling...
Are you enjoying yourself? No.
..everyone made it through.
It's OK, Mike, no-one's going home.
This week... Let's go in the zone.
..we're baking biscuits...
It's such a tight one, man.
..with a Signature...
Far too many things happening at once.
..that sends everyone into a whirl.
Oh, my God.
A mint top Technical...
You haven't got a clue what you're making, have you? No.
..and the most theatrical Showstopper ever staged.
That's one of the best things I've ever seen in the tent.
But whose biscuits will be cracking?
If you could eliminate one person.
And whose Bake Off...
Right now, I'm just going to eliminate you, if you could...
..is about to crumble.
They're dropping like bloody flies.
Have we got a medic?
For the first time ever,
we still have a full batch of bakers for Biscuit Week.
Well, let's see what today brings.
As Jeff has returned.
I'm a little bit under the weather, but it's great to be back
and have another go at it.
Good luck, everybody. Yeah, good luck.
Biscuit week is not my favourite week.
I could literally go from the top right to the bottom.
So I'm really just hoping for a calm week.
Touch wood.
I definitely know how to eat a biscuit. Just maybe not make them.
Please help me.
Two people might be leaving, so I'm really scared.
I'm ready. I'm ready for everything.
Hello, bakers.
Welcome back to the tent.
You won't believe it. It's biscuit week.
Crumbs!
For your Signature challenge, the lovely judges would like you
to make 12 Viennese sandwich biscuits.
Your biscuits can be any shape,
and the flavours and the feelings are entirely up to you.
You have two hours. On your marks. Get set. Bake.
Who doesn't like a Viennese biscuit?
They melt in your mouth. They're just lovely.
I never heard of a Viennese Whirl until I came to Britain.
A Viennese biscuit is all about that buttery coating
on the outside, beautifully crumbly and rich on the inside.
And of course, the sandwich filling must be unctuous too.
Viennese biscuits sound terribly easy to make,
but it's really important to get the texture right
so that you can pipe it.
If the butter gets too soft, the biscuits will not
hold their definition in the oven because they'll begin to melt.
If you overbake them, it makes the coating on the outside too thick
and difficult to eat.
If you under bake it, literally, it will fall apart in your mouth.
I bet you some of these bakers will come up with flavours
one would never dream of putting together.
And of course, I want them to taste like all of heaven.
Hello, John. Good morning, are you OK?
So tell us about your Signature.
I am making an Irish coffee Viennese biscuit
with an Irish cream ganache
with a coffee praline centre.
Wow. I like the idea of it.
OK, and how does it feel being Star Baker?
The pressure's on now.
John and his cockapoo Stanley live a few doors from his dad Kevin
and mum Linda, who still does his washing in return
for some home baking.
Washing, and I've baked you a loaf of bread.
Next time, thank you very much, we'll have a nice cake.
He's hoping his Irish coffee Viennese whirls
will help him retain the Star Baker crown.
Have you ever heard of the curse of the Star Baker?
Paul, why would you do this to me?
Yes, I'll probably go today.
No, no, I'm not... You're not going today.
Tomorrow... Tomorrow, maybe.
He will leave a Star Baker.
In need of a pick me up after cake week,
Jeff is also hitting the caffeine.
These are coffee and hazelnut.
I drink a lot of coffee.
You don't drink a lot of tea in the Bronx. No.
67-year-old Jeff tries to stay in shape at his local pool,
his local gym and his back garden.
Timber!
He's packed out his dark chocolate dipped rolls
with a strong coffee American buttercream.
How are you? I'm very well, thank you.
Feeling better? Better today, yeah. I was a bit rough the other day.
Is this something you make at home?
Yeah. I turned all my family into coffee addicts.
You guys like tea here. Tea is nothing, is it, compared to coffee.
In the States, what they say if you ask for tea, they say,
"You don't feel so well?"
Because it's not something you drink. You OK?
Yeah. You OK?
Should I get a doctor? That's it, yeah, yeah.
I also don't drink tea, so I don't have a biscuit and tea.
I'm making orange and pistachio Viennese whirls.
And everyone at my house was like, what are these?
Illiyin road tests her new recipes at family gatherings.
And on the school run.
It's all finished.
There's no more.
The family made short work of her Viennese whirls
filled with pistachio cream and a fresh orange gel.
So I'm going to keep the orange sharp, so that it kind of goes,
"Oh, hello." That's what I like.
I like to sort of crop up on people, hello.
Viennese biscuit dough is uniquely fickle.
I was till midnight practising.
The dough needs to be just soft enough to pipe.
So it's going to be a lot of whipping time for me today.
But whip too soft and they'll lose their piped shape
in the heat of the oven.
What are you actually doing?
In Dutch, you call this a rubbing down.
You rub the butter together on your work surface with the sugar
so it becomes like fluffy.
When I do it like this, the texture of it is nicer.
Dutch-born Christiaan always tries to bake with ingredients
from the garden he's planted with his partner, Nick.
Lovely. Very nice. Isn't it? Yeah.
His hand mixed tarragon biscuits will be filled
with a blueberry and lavender jam.
Tarragon and lavender, I grow them together in like a veg trug at home.
I can't say that I'm convinced the flavours will work,
but I'm keen to try.
OK, well, that's a good thing.
I like that.
Christiaan's not the only baker who's raided the garden.
I've got the two separate flavours cos I've got rhubarb and custard.
I dehydrated my own rhubarb and then ground it down to a dust.
Georgie works in Carmarthenshire at the local hospital's
special care baby unit.
Big bubble.
She'll inject dehydrated rhubarb into one of her biscuit doughs
and add custard powder to the other
for a biscuit that's as unique as she is.
When do you get your first tattoo?
Bang on 18. As soon as I was legal, straight there.
Bet your parents were pleased.
They might not even know.
They might not even know? Well, they do now.
Oh, my God.
Now I'm going to go straight on the piping.
I need to concentrate.
The judges have demanded 12 identical Viennese sandwiches...
Oh, my God!
..made from 24 flawlessly piped biscuits.
You need arms like Arnold Schwarzenegger,
which I'm not far off.
Can you see me? I'm literally shaking.
But some of the bakers...
Oh, yi-yi-yi!
This is so painful.
..are going beyond piping identical whirls.
What's happening here? Are these Ewoks?
They look like little doggies.
They are! Yeah! Oh, I'm so pleased.
Is it your dog? Yes. What's he called?
Carolco. Caroco?
Carolco?
Carol...
I can't roll my Rs.
Slovakian-born Nelly began baking at 14
with a batch of gingerbread men.
She's starting her sons Samir and Idris a little younger.
Daddy going to eat it?
No. I'm eating.
Filled with a hazelnut chocolate ganache and raspberry jam,
her piped faces should resemble her dog from back home.
Where are you from again?
You forgot. I'm the love of your life and you forgot where I'm from?
Unbelievable.
This is a disaster.
Lithuania, no?
I'm joking, I'm joking!
I'm doing swans, though I'm scared of swans.
But I think they look cool.
Let's put them in the oven.
As well as baking, Sumayah feeds her creative urge with photography,
making her own clothes and designing jewellery.
Oh, my God, the meringues.
I just didn't take them out of the oven.
Her swans will be filled with a creative combination
of a blackberry and rosemary jam with a goat's cheese
and honey buttercream.
But the heads snap really easily,
so I need to make quite a few extra ones.
Otherwise we'll have headless swans.
Freezer! Do you not chill them first?
No. I always chill mine for half an hour. Do you?
Oh, I will then.
Anyway, never mind. It's got to go in.
They're in the freezer chilling.
If it goes into the oven too warm, it'll just...
Write that down. That's advice.
Hasn't even got them in the oven yet.
No, it's all right. I knew that anyway. Did you? Yeah.
When he isn't working on the family farm,
Mike treads the boards at his local theatre group.
You mustn't do that in the pool!
He's hoping for rave reviews for his raspberry jam
and buttercream- filled Viennese whirls made with malted biscuit.
So the malted barley does come from our farm, so this just gives
that nice earthy flavour to the biscuit.
I like the flavours. Flavours sound really great.
If you've got any trouble, just give Prue a little bit of a shout.
Yeah, if you could give me some more tips, Prue, that'd be great.
Bakers, you are halfway through.
I mean, how long does it take to bake a biscuit? Four minutes.
So they've had quite a bit of time to chill now, so I'm really hoping
that they hold their shape when they're in the oven.
So now let's pray.
Please don't melt. Bismillah.
We're in, bosh.
The bakers now have a narrow window...
Just far too many things happening at once.
..to prepare the fillings that will sandwich their Viennese biscuits.
So this is just the Irish cream white chocolate ganache.
So I've just tasted it, and I wanted a bit more Irish cream in there,
you know, for Prue's tastes.
I absolutely love pistachio, but if you're not careful
it can get lost in the orange.
But I feel like pistachio's king.
It'll be fine.
What's life if you don't take chances?
And Illiyin is not the only one taking a chance with feelings.
So I'm just making the blueberry and lavender jam.
So I'm just mixing the lavender and the sugar together.
The smell of it is really intense.
I mean, I quite like it when you get a bit of a hit of it as well.
I hope the judges do as well.
So now I'm going to start making my goat's cheese buttercream.
I hate goat's cheese.
It's a really gamey flavour that I absolutely hate.
I just trust my parents because they tasted it and they liked it.
So I was like, OK.
I'd rub myself in this stuff.
Andy's making a filling he actually likes.
I've done a little stint in Kosovo with the Army,
with the American soldiers.
In them ration packs, they had little peanut butters and jelly.
I didn't look back.
I don't like peanut butter.
Oh, don't you? I'm not a peanut butter person.
Do you like peanut butter? Not a lot.
Andy joined the Army at 17 and served in the Balkan War
with the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment,
but whilst he borrowed his flavour combination from the US soldiers
he served with, it seems the Americans
have borrowed something in return.
What's happening there? He's got the same cap on as you.
I know. It's on backwards as well.
And he's gone green as well.
I reckon he's gone in my room,
had a look at my clobber and he's gone,
"I'm going to jack that," and he's jacked my style.
He's actually come as you!
Can't wait till he comes as me in this outfit.
This is now Stiff Peaks.
The inspiration for Dylan's fillings is a lot closer to home.
When we were kids, my mum set up a tent in our garden, and me
and my brother and my sister went out and ate Viennese biscuits.
Since he was a boy, Dylan's grandmother, Prafulla,
has taught him the recipes
for the family's favourite treats.
He's developed a unique method for giving his Viennese fingers' filling
a campfire flavour.
I'm going to light it on fire.
So I'm going to toast the meringue,
so it's like toasted marshmallow-y taste. Woo!
Whilst Dylan aims for the smoky taste of a smore,
Gill's taking another American classic even further.
I'm terrible. If I go out for a meal, I want all the puddings.
And I have a very accommodating husband who'll usually pick another
one that I want, and we'll share.
So this came from having a key lime pie and a passion fruit pavlova
on the same plate.
In Lancashire, three generations of Gill's family have rung the bells
at her local church.
Tricky part's when your rope breaks. Have had that happen.
She's hoping her lime curd and passion fruit
buttercream combination will ring true with the judges.
Tell me about bell ringing.
Is it true that it can lift you up?
Oh, God, yeah. It could lift you up?
There's a hole about that big Alison, which I will not fit
through, that the rope goes through. So if I go up, you're going to get
a very nasty bump on the head.
What is more stressful - bell ringing or this?
This.
45 minutes remaining.
Yeah, they're done.
All in shape. I'm happy.
BLEEP
Oh, God.
Georgie's custard biscuits seem to have gone better than the rhubarb.
It's just the colour they come out.
It's really weird. It's the rhubarb powder.
Really weird.
And she's not the only one struggling.
Oh, my God, they've just gone flat.
Never, ever done that before.
Family trips to the local beach always feature tea
and a few of Hazel's biscuits.
Get your bikini on!
But her latest batch of coffee and hazelnut Viennese whirls
aren't exactly beach ready.
I've put all my butter in there. Two packs.
I only needed 250, I put 500g in.
That's why it's not holding its shape. No, no.
Start again.
Cos it'll never work.
No. Oh... Ever.
I need some butter.
Yay! They're just golden around the edges.
I will take that as a win.
I'm just going to throw that lot.
I'm just throwing them. I'm not even going to try.
They lost a little bit shape, but what can I do?
Whilst Hazel starts her biscuit dough again...
Biscuits aren't.
..she's not the only one who's not quite done with the oven.
These are my swan heads.
These are a lot quicker to bake because they're really thin.
You OK?
Oh, this is a nightmare.
How long have we got?
Bakers, you have half an hour left.
I'm just going to put them straight in.
Quite excited for them.
Happy.
I think they're looking all right.
But then you look around and you're like,
oh, other people's have more detail.
I'm going to dip half of it in chocolate. Yeah, they look good.
My goat's cheese buttercream.
The cheese I'm using is a really, really mild one.
So it is palatable, slightly.
So I put a tablespoon and a half of lavender in the jam.
Hazelnut praline adds to the toasty flavours.
A touch of orange gel. Zesty.
Smooth. Peanut butter and jam,
it's just like heaven.
Like Jeff, nice and smooth.
This is coffee buttercream.
But balancing filling to biscuit...
Hopefully Paul going to actually taste the raspberries.
I think I'd better take these out now.
..is yet to be an issue for Hazel.
I'll have to get them straight in the fridge. How long have we got?
We've got ten minutes left.
No-one else knows that. Only you.
Oh, my gosh, I love that you share secrets with me.
Shall I tell everyone?
No. Do you want to tell them? Yeah. Go on, then.
Bakers, you have ten minutes left.
I'll get my cream in my bag.
Forget it. I'm not baking any more.
No. It's easier than it looks.
That's all there is to it.
Simple. Hold on a minute.
What is going on here?
Is she trying to get my job?
Out, go on. Get out! Out!
Younger, better looking.
Good at baking. I'm not happy about this.
I am having a mare.
I'm painting my beaks and eyes.
I'm nearly done, and then I'm going to find a bed and go to sleep.
The standard this year is so high.
People are getting better at baking.
I reckon it's because of this show.
I think it's because of me. You are a baking inspiration.
My advice, it really is. You really are.
Stuff like, "What are you doing now, decorating?
"It's that ganache." Those sort of key questions.
Why aren't you finished yet? Yeah.
I don't know why they're still soft.
The buttercream is starting to melt.
I feel I might have played it a little simple.
Look at his! Unbelievable.
And I have dogs.
That's off the chart.
Oh! I'll get out of your way.
One minute left.
They've only got one minute left. Where have you been? I don't know.
Injuries.
It is what it is.
Just going all over, I wasn't going to.
Bakers, your time is up.
I've got 11.
It's gone. I haven't got one.
I'm going to go for a nap.
See you guys later.
Oh, they look so cute.
Oh, look at Dylan. They're Amazing.
It looks so cool.
After you have my biscuits, you go, "Woof, woof."
Cos in my country, they do, "Ho, ho."
And here they don't do, "Ho, ho."
Or it's going to be "Home, home!"
It's judgment time for the Viennese sandwich biscuits.
Hi, John. Hello.
They've got good definition.
They're very neat. They're small.
They're cute. A bit like me.
Let's have a look, shall we?
So it's a chocolate biscuit with an Irish cream ganache.
Oh, God. Is that good or bad?
It's lovely. Thank you.
The ganache is quite sweet, but the biscuit has a little bit
of bitterness to it because it's coffee, so it works really well.
I think they're probably slightly overdone.
So it gives you quite a dry mouth rather than luxurious, you know.
They're a little bit clumsy.
You've lost a lot of the definition because it's gone too flat.
Let's see what they taste like.
Mm.
That is serious coffee.
Proper New York coffee, though.
I love it. Biscuit for me, it's slightly underbaked.
They look pretty uniform.
So you've got some good definition there as well. OK.
Great flavour. I love the texture.
It's melt in the mouth, but it still has a crunch to it.
It's very sweet. I think the curd brings it back.
Just need to put a bit more curd in.
Yeah, I think so. Yeah.
I wouldn't have drizzled all over it.
Got a bit too vigorous.
With your drizzle? I got too vigorous with the drizzle.
And it's really melt in the mouth biscuit.
They do crumble beautifully.
You kept it quite basic when it comes to the flavour,
but the subtlety is the king in this.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
It's clever, but not very neat.
But you can see it's a dog and it looks cute.
It's chocolate ganache with raspberry jam.
Oh, dear. It's coming now.
Can you feel the jam?
Feel the jam? Yeah.
No, taste it. Oh.
Like, feel it. Pecans come through, chocolate comes through,
jam comes through. Oh, hallelujah.
The biscuit dough is really good.
It's melt in the mouth, but crisp on the outside.
That's how they make it in Vienna.
Lived there seven years. It's original. I was there recently.
Which shop would you say these were in? Oh, in any shop.
You just missed it. You're going to the posh ones?
I'm going to the normal ones.
You managed to get an amazing definition out of it.
It's a neat design and the dipping is good.
Very tender. Lovely biscuit.
Thank you. I love the praline in there
and the buttercream because it's silky smooth.
And with the Viennese biscuits being so crumbly,
it blends beautifully together.
That's really good, Dylan.
Thank you.
It's multi-layered and delicious.
Thank you.
Mm. That must have been close to a handshake.
I don't think they look tremendously appetising.
The rhubarb makes this speckled effect with the powder inside.
That's how they turned out.
Because the rhubarb is sharp in that biscuit and you need
the other biscuit together.
Which means you really need to have less filling,
because otherwise you just cannot get it into your mouth.
Yeah. OK, yeah.
I think a mouthful of dried lavender is not going to be pleasant.
Yeah, that's fair enough. Yeah.
But that looks really good.
I think you're quite an alchemist, you know? It's really interesting.
And it's delicious.
Oh, thank you.
And I wasn't expecting that. No, you weren't, were you?
I think the biscuit is a little bit tough.
But having said that, they taste amazing.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Alchemist.
I'm going to put that in my title now.
They are a little bit flat.
You've lost a little bit of definition in them as well.
It's very odd because there's so much pistachio there,
but I'm not really tasting it.
The sharpness coming from the orange is delicious.
Difficult to identify the pistachio.
Interesting. Funny. You know, it's nice. It tastes good.
Although it feels more traditional biscuit than Viennese.
I think you've done a really good job.
There's good definition. They're all the same size,
they're all the same colour, and they look pretty neat.
That cherry with the peanut is delicious.
I mean, really good.
Really? And that Viennese is one of the best Vienneses
I've had for a long time.
No way. Yeah. I mean, if you go like that,
that's what you're looking for.
It's perfect. Yeah.
I don't even like peanut butter and I think they're wonderful.
Really? Oh. Thank you, sir. Cheers.
That's a handshake, wasn't it?
Cor, blimey. It's hard.
It's probably cos I've got sweaty hands.
They went wrong,
so I had to start again.
And they've lost all their definition.
Let's see how it tastes.
That biscuit isn't baked.
It isn't. It's soft. It's quite chewy.
And there's something missing from that recipe.
There's no sweetness to it at all.
Maybe the icing sugar.
Maybe I forgot to put that in.
You're missing the sugar. Yeah.
I won't say anything else about the rest. No, don't.
Oh, I love them.
Thank you. Oh, they're so cute.
And the definition is all there.
This one's very nervous.
There was a bit of an accident.
So they're a rosemary and lemon biscuit
with a blackberry and rosemary jam
and a goat's cheese and honey buttercream.
Beautiful.
The blackberry really works with it.
The cheese gives it a nice bit of sourness to it as well
to balance it out.
I really think it's a little triumph and they're funny as well.
That's good.
So we've had ducks and we've had swans.
We're going to get flamingos at some point?
Who knows? Well done.
Thank you so much.
I'm really happy with how it went.
I feel surprised that they found it really nice,
because I hated the flavour.
For Prue to say that I was a bit of an alchemist, I thought
that was quite a good compliment.
That wasn't very good.
I didn't think I panicked, but I obviously did
because I left the icing out.
I knew that biscuits were a challenge for me
and to fulfil the prophecy.
It's a bit gutting.
Getting them comments is just fantastic.
It's not like taking a biscuit round to your mum for a cup of tea.
Sorry.
Flipping hell, what's come over me?
Oh, I'm just dreading the Technical.
I dare say I'll be awful at that.
Oh, don't.
I mean, let's hope they give us a recipe this time.
Jeff didn't feel well enough to take part
in last week's Technical challenge.
He's been to see the medical team once again.
You know, I'm still feeling a bit funny.
I'm a bit light-headed, so I'm not feeling 100% myself.
I'll do the best I can and work from there.
CHEERING
Watch out!
The star of the day is coming!
The diva has arrived.
You're going to smash it.
I'm telling you that. I'm watching you. I'm just going to watch you.
Just don't!
Neither Jeff nor any of his fellow bakers have any idea what biscuits
they'll be asked to make next.
Hi, guys. Your Technical challenge has been set by the one and only
Baroness of Biscuits, Prue Leith.
Prue Leith, have you got any crumbs of wisdom to sprinkle into the eyes
of our tiny bakers?
In your drawer is a temperature probe.
It's there for a reason.
Well, this challenge is judged blind,
so, Paul and Prue, you can pop off to your sleeping bags
and dream of sweet biscuity dreams.
OK, our judges would love you to make a batch
of 12 mint cream biscuits.
Ooh. Your mint cream should consist of a buttery biscuit
topped with a smooth peppermint cream and then coated
in a tempered dark chocolate.
Good tempered, not bad-tempered.
You have two hours.
On your marks.
Get set. Bake.
Everyone has the same ingredients...
OK, OK, OK, OK.
..and a very basic recipe,
from Prue.
Jokers.
Peppermint cream biscuit.
I know what all of those words mean.
I absolutely detest mint chocolate.
It tastes like toothpaste.
They're great dunked in a coffee.
They just melt in your mouth, don't they? They're lush.
Mint cream biscuit.
My nan used to have these in her house
and they're a real treat if we got a chance to have one.
And they had that shiny green foil on them. Do you remember?
There's a shortbread biscuit, mint cream,
and then tempered chocolate.
All of that's difficult.
They can overwork the biscuit dough
and then they'll have a tough biscuit.
And of course tempering chocolate, that's tricky.
Because obviously if it's too thick, it's going to be a right mess.
It really is important that it is neat
because it's a very elegant treat
and they need to get the proportions right.
It's just the right level of mint cream to biscuit
and not too much chocolate.
That's what I remember as a kid.
It's one of those things that you got the biscuit barrel,
took the lid off, looked inside, you went, aha!
And you see that foil wrapped biscuit
and you think that's the one for me.
And they didn't last.
No, they didn't last.
So the first method, make the biscuit dough.
Lots of detail in that, isn't there?
Because they're shortbreads, quite crumbly.
I'm going to just use my hands without overworking the dough.
They need a little bit longer.
I just feel like the number one criticism they're going to have
of the biscuits is that they're overworked.
Last week I came last in Technical.
I suppose, actually, there were only 11 of us last week,
whereas now there are 12,
so I could be 12th.
So it could get worse.
It stresses me out, you know.
I thought you had a good Signature?
But it doesn't mean anything, does it? Of course it does.
No, but then you go into your Technical and it's like
everything could go wrong again.
Have you ever eaten one of these before?
Like an After Eight? No, there's no biscuit in an After Eight.
You haven't got a clue what you're making, have you? No.
Roll out and chill.
Um, I don't know how thick they want these.
I'm thinking they want them beautifully thin.
Perfect!
So you have a tidy kitchen.
Tidy kitchen, tidy mind.
Oh, dirty mind, no.
Kitchen is screened from outside, inside is all woo-ooh!
Woo-ooh!
Number two, make the peppermint cream.
That's it. OK.
The peppermint cream. I'm just trying to think of the texture.
It's really silky and really smooth.
It's got white chocolate and butter, so it's like a ganache.
A minty ganache.
You see, I don't know what I'm doing.
If they're happy with the texture of their cream filling,
the bakers need to add just enough peppermint extract...
I am literally scared to death of this.
..to deliver the classic taste of a mint cream biscuit.
Oh, I can smell that from here, that mint.
In the recipe, it's just to taste.
To taste, but you know my taste and theirs is a big difference.
I feel like it has to be at least a quarter of a teaspoon,
because I can't measure less than that.
I don't think I've got enough.
In for a penny, in for a pound.
That was enough flavour without being overpowering.
Trouble is, with peppermint, it starts off and then it goes.
I'm going to add a little bit more. Ahh!
Disaster.
I don't like this. Oh, you don't like it? Let me try.
Oh, yeah. Just have a little, like...
Oh, it's delicious. Do you think? No. Absolutely hate it.
Are you OK, though? Anything mint chocolate.
So you don't like to try it because it's not your thing.
I almost gagged.
So now I'm going to use a five centimetre round cutter...
And stamp out 12 rounds from the biscuit dough.
But one baker has yet to make any dough.
Jeff, you all right, mate? Not really, no.
What's the matter? A bit wobbly.
You light headed? Yeah, this again. But, I mean, I'll try.
See how you get on.
It just says bake.
I'm not doing great.
I've been trying to talk to him,
but he don't seem to be in a happy place.
I got some tea here. I'll be fine.
You've nailed it. Look, you've nailed it.
No, I don't know yet. I've never made them before
and I'm left-handed as well.
I'm left-handed. Really? Yeah.
You know the word sinister means left-handed?
Yeah, well, they used to think... Yeah, they used to kill us.
..you were in league with the devil. I know.
They had a point, didn't they?
Are you left-handed?
They look anaemic,
so they're definitely going to need more than ten minutes.
I've gone with eight.
Eight. Just to check.
I'll keep an eye. I reckon ten to 12.
So you're going to get a paler shortbread, which is what you want.
I mean, not that I'm saying Prue Leith is wrong or anything.
No, don't you dare.
I think I'm going to start at 13 minutes.
Could be 12, 15. It could be 20.
Probably going to need more like 20.
Do 20 minutes.
I've had enough.
I just can't do it.
Oh!
Has Jeff gone?
You all right, Jeff? Yeah. I'm done. Are you done? Yeah.
He's gone gone? Oh, bless him.
You've tried, man. You tried. That's all.
All right? Yeah. Do you want me to come with you? No, I'm fine.
You sure?
I know he's been struggling today,
which is really sad because he's a great baker.
This time around, it just wasn't right for me.
Take care. Take care. Yeah. Very good. See you later.
I really enjoyed it.
Everybody's been wonderful, you got a great group of bakers in there.
All right, I didn't make it very far, but there you go.
But it was wonderful, so thank you very much.
Bakers, you are halfway through your Technical challenge.
I'm scared now.
I have no clue if they're done or not.
They just don't seem to be browning.
Oh, that's definitely done.
Step six is for the chocolate coating, temper the chocolate.
This bit is the crucial bit, to temper that chocolate
to get that shine.
It's a way of heating and then bringing back down the temperature
of the chocolate, so the cocoa butter crystals arrange themselves
in the right structures.
It puts them back together again, so when you get the snap.
It would have been nice to know the tempered chocolate temperatures,
cos I have no clue. I can't remember the temperature.
I'm doing really interesting things with this probe
because Prue said so. Just kind of winging it.
I've got to get up to 42.
One of them is close to body temperature, which is about 37.
So I'm going to go with that.
I think it's 32.
What's it got to get to?
Between about 50 and 55, really.
You know when you're doing stuff like this, what are you thinking of?
I want to be down the pub.
Bit of a faff. Yeah. Huge faff.
Baking, bit of a faff. Massive faff.
It's at 41 degrees, now I need to reduce that.
And bring it back down.
I've done it so often.
I'm going to drop it down to 35, 36.
You need to get it down to 36.
So if you actually put cold chocolate in,
it should help do that.
That is tempered all over now. That's amazing.
If you touch it, it should be like hard and not leave a fingerprint.
My chocolate is tempered.
It's just not tempered.
Oh, BLEEP.
It has a little bit of a sheen on it. It's nice.
No, it's not tempered.
If at first you do not succeed, try, try again,
my gran used to tell me.
And that's it, really.
Oh, my God, can I...
Can I hug you?
No. Bye-bye!
Come on, I love you!
They're so naughty.
You have 15 minutes left.
Aagh!
So many numbers. Like 32, 35, 29, 28, 33.
This is the archives of a mad man.
Dip the base of the cold biscuits in the tempered chocolate.
It's all about the base.
I don't care, I'm just going to start putting biscuits in.
And place chocolate side up on a baking sheet.
Chocolate side... Oh, you melt.
Place a disc of peppermint cream onto the centre of each biscuit,
then coat in the tempered chocolate.
I don't know how to put it on. Do I spoon it on?
Chocolate side up. Wallop.
Oh, this isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be.
What I've learned about this tent is that everyone can have a good day,
or a not so good day, regardless of how good a baker you are.
I am trying to coat them without making it too thick.
In my head, I thought this would work much better.
If you could eliminate one person in this tent?
Right now I'm just going to eliminate you.
If you could, if you could...
Oh, no! BLEEP!
Oh, no, no, no, no, I've left my bloody pan of water on there.
I've took it past its temper point.
So now you've got to start again.
It ain't going to cool in time.
You have five minutes left.
Oh, you...
My hands are shaking now.
Oh, this poxy thing.
Breathe. Cheers, babe.
You're going to be fine.
Yeah, I'm just tempering more. I didn't have enough.
Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.
This is absolute carnage.
It's such a tight one here, man.
I don't know if I've got enough chocolate.
Bakers, you've got one minute left.
This has turned horrible.
One minute.
This is decorated with milk chocolate,
so let's get artistic.
I'm sorry to the carpet.
There's nowhere to hide in this one, is there?
Oh!
Damn!
Bakers, your time is up.
Oh, my God.
Please bring your mint cream biscuits and place them
behind your photograph.
Mine are awful, though.
They're really bad.
Ah, BLEEP!
Everybody cuddle Andy.
Listen, after, what, got them on the plate, OK?
Prue and Paul are expecting crumbly shortbread, silky peppermint cream,
and an elegant, shiny tempered chocolate finish,
and they'll have no idea whose is whose.
Should we start over here?
Looks nicely tempered chocolate.
It does. It's got a great shine,
and the spinning chocolate looks pretty good as well.
Quite neat.
Delicious. It does taste good.
You know, that's a lovely thin chocolate, isn't it?
And that biscuit's really tender.
I love the flavour of the mint.
Yeah. Good start. OK, moving on.
The chocolate looks dull. Yeah, it's very dull.
Either not been tempered or it didn't work properly.
Yeah, they are pretty neat.
It tastes good, though. Mm.
Moving on to number three, this is a disaster.
Obviously, the chocolate was too thick and it was cooling
too much when it went on.
I've got it, yeah, got it. Wow!
That's about half inch tempered chocolate.
If you was nine years old, that'd be the dream.
It is smooth. Yeah, but... look at it.
I know. There's a little bit of a shine to this.
Mm.
That is really good shortbread.
Melt in the mouth, it's tender.
These look neat. There's a lot of mint.
The flavour's nice. The blend together with the chocolate,
the mint and the biscuit is good.
I like the proportions of this, the mint to the base.
Yeah.
The mint bit is a bit grainy.
Mm, it is. The biscuit's a bit tough. Moving on.
Not much shine on these. They're a bit of a mess, aren't they?
Spinning not very good. Well, they've been manhandled,
which is why it's lost its shine as well.
It's a nice thin coating of chocolate.
A lot of mint going on.
Not much shine on these, is there?
I really like that mint, though.
The flavours are OK. It's just the look of it I don't like.
And a bit clumsy on the spinning of the chocolate.
It's too thick.
They're nice, though. That's really nice looking, though.
Thin, bit of a shine to it.
All the same size.
Proportions look quite good.
I love the textures of those.
The textures are nice.
That's a bit messy, isn't it?
I mean, they look like top hats.
I like the flavour of that, though.
All the textures are good.
It just looks a mess.
It's a pity.
All right, moving on to this...
This looks like it was assembled in a bit of a hurry. ..disaster.
Just a bit.
Got one.
Crumbly biscuit on that one.
And very smooth mint cream.
Mm. It's a bit of a mess, that one.
Prue and Paul will now rank the mint cream biscuits.
In 11th place, we have this one.
That's me. Dylan. Looks a mess, isn't it?
In 10th spot, we have this one.
Andy.
Georgie is ninth,
Illiyin eighth.
Nelly seventh,
Christiaan sixth,
Hazel is fifth
and Jill is fourth.
And in third spot we have this one.
Sumayah. It's neatly done and it tastes great.
And in second place we have...
..these. John, these are pretty good.
Very neat. Good shine on them. Just weren't as good as first.
And that means that this is the winner.
Mike.
John and yours were so close.
Took a while to agree, but honestly, this is really good.
I'm absolutely gobsmacked.
I think you're right. I think we need to change them around.
I mean, I really, really love mint chocolate now.
I don't think I ever could have imagined myself putting
something out that bad, but I did.
Yes. Kicked me right in the guts, really.
No hiding tomorrow.
Yeah, it's got to go off without a hitch.
I'm not safe at all.
ALISON: One challenge remains before we discover
who will be Biscuit Week's Star Baker,
and who will be leaving the Bake Off tent.
Let's do this, Gill. Good luck. Good luck.
So, we lost Jeff again.
There's a lot of pressure in the tent, I think.
If you're not feeling 100%...
That Brooklyn energy will be missed.
Do you know what I mean? I really liked him.
We really wish him well.
Let's talk about the competition, though.
PAUL: Sumayah has done well in both.
She's a frontrunner for Star Baker.
PRUE: The one to watch is John.
PAUL: Hazel's in a bit of trouble.
Georgie's down there as well. Illiyin.
Illiyin is not doing particularly well.
And Illiyin got a handshake.
ALISON: Exactly.
PRUE: This often happens - but, this year, more so -
is this business of people doing amazingly well and very badly.
The ping pong brigade.
PRUE: Look at Dylan.
He's sitting up at the top
and last in Technical.
PAUL: You could say that about Andy as well.
I walked past him - this is a true story -
and I saw him go, "Hello, mate," to a spoon.
And so I was...sort of going,
"Are the spoons your friends?
"What's happening?"
Welcome back, bakers.
For your Showstopper,
Paul and Prue would love you to create
an edible puppet theatre.
It's the perfect challenge for anyone who's ever been watching
The Muppet Show
and thought that they'd like to eat Kermit the Frog.
ALISON LAUGHS
Your theatre should consist of a biscuit scene,
complete with edible puppets.
You have four hours.
On your marks... ..get set...
..bake.
A whole puppet show.
Construction, that's where the issues are.
I've performed onstage loads of times
and I've built a real stage
but not a biscuit one.
The Muppets, the Fraggles -
back in the '70s and '80s, that was your entertainment, wasn't it?
As a child, my favourite puppet was Andy Pandy.
There's a lot of engineering in this,
so what I would use is more of a robust biscuit,
like a gingerbread.
Oh, that smells good.
You also need to have a good glue.
People might use royal icing,
or melted chocolate,
but I would recommend caramel.
I used to paint theatre scenes when I was in art college.
It's all about flare.
So, when you're sitting down,
your senses are hit by all the colours.
I expect that in a biscuit form.
Hi, Andy.
So, we need to know all about your Showstopper.
My Showstopper is a day in the life of me at my work.
Once upon a time, I was en route to a breakdown,
confronted with a lot of traffic.
All of a sudden, this pig dives out of the back of this van...
HE SNORTS Like, pig.
It was on its trotters, up the A12,
and he's thought, "I'm going. I'm making a run for it."
We've stopped... Prison Break! "Bang!" Yeah.
And are you. Calling it "Pork-shank Redemption"?
Yeah. I've missed a trick there.
Who's voicing the pig?
Morgan Freeman? Yeah. Yeah.
ALISON: Andy's escape puppet pig
will be made from a lemon ice Shrewsbury biscuit
and will bid for freedom
across a gingerbread stage
that tells yet another story.
What flavours are you going for?
Ginger, but I hit it with sumac.
Quite a few years ago, we were on a family holiday to Tel Aviv.
Hang on, let me get a chair. A Dagenham boy...
Well, you did ask.
Yeah, I know but... He did ask.
..we've moved from that to a holiday you went to.
So that's got sumac in there - lovely Middle Eastern flavours.
Going to have some nice brandy snap curtains and Shrewsbury biscuits.
Good luck, Andy. Sounds amazing.
Thank you. Thank you, sir.
NOEL: Absolutely out of his mind. PRUE: He's mad.
NOEL: Andy isn't the only storytelling mechanic in the tent.
I'm going to have a moving background.
There's going to be four scenes.
It's loosely based on myself.
It's about a little biscuit boy who doesn't really fit in
and then, one night, he decides, together with his teddy bear,
to go on the move and, the next morning, they wake up
and there is this big white tent.
Funny that. I know!
Inside, it's, like, this biscuit wonderland
and he fits right in.
ALISON: A biscuit Young Christiaan will tread coconut macaroon boards,
past bitter cookie stars,
in an ambitious Dutch speculaas
mechanical theatre,
complete with grapefruit and saffron spritz curtains.
I kind of made it for, like, my nieces and nephews,
because it's kind of based about
that it's OK to be yourself, basically. Incredible.
So, have you got a timing plan?
Yes, I do, actually. You do.
It's all planned out. Look at that.
You need 167 hours to get this done.
Isn't that what we've got?
ALISON: With less than four hours to win over the toughest of critics...
It's time to behave, become serious.
NOEL: ..the showstopping puppet theatres will require
multiple batches of multiple biscuits.
That's a side.
No, that's the back.
Wait, what?
It's putting, chilling, baking, cooling -
lots and lots of times.
Is four hours enough?
No, four days would be OK.
We ain't got four days, bab.
Don't worry about it. It's just Paul Hollywood.
It's only Paul and Prue.
He's not even real.
He's a figment of everyone's imagination.
He's like the logo for baking.
He doesn't really exist.
ALISON: But as well as the judges,
Georgie's also seeking critical acclaim
from an entire country.
My puppet theatre is based on
a Welsh festival that is held every year.
NOEL: Georgie's place in the competition
could rest on a gingerbread theatre
decorated with leeks and daffodils,
featuring spotlights shining on
chocolate and date folk dancers.
So I'm really hoping to do Wales proud on this one.
I'm getting emotional about it.
I don't know why.
It's just... Yeah.
I think it's like, I'm missing the kids
and, like, this is something they do.
It's something that means a lot to everyone in Wales.
My family have had a holiday home on the mid-Wales coast
for 40-plus years.
It's my happy place.
Me and my dog, Stanley, go on lovely long walks.
NOEL: John hopes to retain the Star Baker crown
by recreating his favourite walk
with an orange and cinnamon Stanley
in a honey and chilli gingerbread theatre.
Don't you love going out on a good little walk?
Yeah. I put my earphones in and listen to a bit of Beyonce.
Live the life that way.
Do you wish you had your headphones here in the tent? Oh, my God, yes.
I could literally just zone out... Would you like to?
..and pretend like everyone is not here.
If you want, I'll remove them.
Guys, can you get out?
NOEL: Baking gingerbread to build with requires perfect timing.
Do it a bit more, because that piece
is going to support the weight
of the entire stage.
ALISON: Not baked for long enough
and the puppet theatres could collapse...
These have to be slightly overbaked
because it's a structure, it has to be strong.
Maybe the judge is going to complain
but, you know, you can't do miracles, can you?
..but too long in the oven and it will be too tough to eat.
Are there gingerbread gods? Can I pray to them?
I'm a freelance gingerbread god.
You can summon me.
NOEL: But one baker won't be building with gingerbread.
Shortbread's quite an unusual choice
based on the fact that it's going to be quite a structural...
I find it OK.
NOEL: Orange and chocolate shortbread
will form Hazel's
traditional Punch & Judy show,
pitched on a cherry and almond
shortbread beach.
We used to take our children down to Margate to watch it.
AS MR PUNCH: "That's the way to do it."
That's right. Yes.
Who's Mr Punch based on?
Cos obviously, if it's Punch and Prue-dy,
Paul's the crocodile...
ALISON: Dylan's inspiration hails from
a little further away than Margate.
So, I'm doing it based off a Japanese fable
my dad used to tell me.
The moon goddess came down to earth in the form of a beggar,
and asked these three animals for food,
and the rabbit couldn't get anything
so, instead, it threw itself on the fire.
The moon goddess was like,
"Oh, you're so nice," and took the rabbit up to the moon.
ALISON: Hoping to shine after a disastrous Technical challenge,
Dylan will hang his moon
alongside Hokusai-inspired macarons
filled with yuzu and mint,
and whisky and miso caramel,
and his sugar biscuit puppet cast,
made with roasted soybean flour,
could be getting a new member.
Who's this little guy? Look.
What's that?
Don't know. Who is that guy?
What you lot don't realise is there's an insect version
of the Bake Off going on
and I'm hosting both shows.
Are you good at tempering chocolate?
ALISON: The cast of Gill's production
should be familiar to almost everyone.
"Run, run, as fast as you can,
"You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man."
As a child, I went through more than a dozen copies
of that Ladybird book.
NOEL: Gill will present her favourite childhood story
on a rotating stage,
with a supporting cast
made from vanilla biscuits.
I'm sure this will come as a shock to you,
but I have no idea what the story is.
It's a little old lady and a little old man who don't have any children
so they bake a gingerbread man
who comes to life,
and then he runs away, and he finally comes to a river,
and the fox says, "I'll carry you across the river."
And as he's carry him across,
he basically eats the gingerbread man -
so it's not a very happy ending.
They were weird stories, weren't they?
Oh, definitely. Yeah.
This is why we are how we are.
This is why we...
NOEL: The fox would not be welcome at Mike's Showstopper.
My puppets are all of the different livestock that we have on the farm.
This chicken, we've got a video of her rounding up a herd of goats.
She's a sheep chicken.
THEY LAUGH A sheep chicken?
ALISON: Mike will control his herd
using biscotti and puppet strings,
and his theatre will have an authentic dramatic touch.
My dramatic society have beautiful red curtains,
so I'm doing red curtains with the Florentines.
These are the spritz biscuits.
Hopefully they're ruffled like actual theatre curtains.
NOEL: But it could be curtains...
Oh, BLEEP.
..for Dylan's Japanese fable.
When I was taking it out, it just slipped off the thing,
which is pretty annoying.
He'll have to remake the front of his theatre -
and that's not all.
Oh, those are burnt.
They're all burnt as well.
These are front and centre,
they're my characters, so I don't want them burnt.
The main thing I'm worried about is time.
It's a bit terrifying.
Bakers, you are now halfway through.
That's not good.
I really need to move fast.
ALISON: Whilst Dylan's understudies hit the oven...
I shouldn't be spending more time on this.
..most of the bakers are ready for a dress rehearsal.
I'm just going to put some clothes on Punch and Judy
but I'm not very artistic.
So, I'm just trying to decorate Stanley, my dog.
So, I've got myself and my husband, and some strawberries.
Before me and my husband had kids,
we went strawberry-picking
on, like, a little date.
Those don't happen any more
so this is the closest thing I'm going to get
to a date with my husband.
NOEL: Illiyin's date with her husband, Umar,
will be recreated in strawberry shortbread,
a rooibos and orange sugar biscuit
and chocolate soil.
I met my husband in Spain.
He was 11 and I was ten.
Yeah. And when we were 18 and 19,
he told me, "I've known since I was 15 I was going to marry you."
Stop it. So, he was like, "So, what are you saying?"
And I was like, "I'm not going to marry you."
Did you not want to do something really romantic
and go, "I knew too"?
No, cos I definitely didn't know.
But it will be ten years in August.
I love that.
NOEL: Illiyin's Showstopper will be part of a romantic double bill.
I'm doing a forest.
It represents my life before.
And then you meet your Prince Charming,
which was my husband,
and he guide me in the light and make me happy.
And then there are going to be my children.
This is very emotional for me.
I want to cry.
ALISON: As they walk towards the light,
Nelly's family will be silhouetted
against a lemon ice forest backdrop,
and five stained glass biscuits
will complete a very personal tribute.
So, these stars represent my five unborn children.
This was twins...
..and they belong there.
Even if you don't born them,
you carry them in you...
..all your life. You've got their genes in.
So I can't miss them on my show, can I?
You know you're going, in your life, through so many obstacles,
and the forest represents all these horrible obstacles,
which we have to do in our lives.
And it's dark and it's painful.
But in every tunnel,
in every forest, is a light.
Maybe it's small, teeny weeny,
but you will get there
and then it's going to be a big one.
So they're going to hang, they'll be above us like they are.
Because they are.
Yeah.
Bakers, you only have one hour left!
Oh, my God.
The bitter cookies are coming out
and then I might leave the macaroons in a little bit longer.
There is just so much to do.
NOEL: Whilst producing countless fillings and biscuits...
I need to breathe into a bag, I think.
..is putting Christiaan and Dylan behind...
I don't even know what I'm doing any more.
I'm kind of just on autopilot.
..there are still huge theatre backdrops to create.
We just got to be creative now.
Let's go in the zone.
I'm just using some gel food colour and a bit of water.
It's like an impressionist painting.
Sumayah's impressionist backdrop
will be framed by even more swans
at the centre of her lemon and poppy seed moving theatre,
where cardamom and cinnamon wheels
will transport her leading lady
to a fairy-tale world.
She's having a fondant dress.
Everything that you do is so intricate.
Who taught you how to do this?
I've just practised it myself. Really?
Oh, this is going to be so beautiful.
So, now, I'm doing the painting
but I'm moving quick
because I know I need to build a whole theatre.
NOEL: But building a biscuit theatre...
Tech is alive and well with the baked bean tins.
ALISON: ..can't really be rushed.
This is a weird thing to do, isn't it?
It's a bit bizarre, isn't it?
Do you need me to put all the clocks back?
Yes. Especially Paul and Prue's.
I'm using white chocolate.
I'm using caramel
because it solidifies really quickly.
Ideally, I would like to put these in the fridge,
but I can't get this lump of wood in there.
Oh!
I'll just have to hold them.
Everyone, step really lightly.
Don't breathe.
NELLY GASPS I said, "Don't breathe."
It's too thin. It's not going to work. Oh.
Argh!
Oh, BLEEP, it snapped.
ALISON: Bakers, you've got half an hour left.
EXHALES
This is tense.
So tense.
NELLY GASPS
That, falling like that, just didn't do me no favours
so I've just got to patch it up.
The chocolate isn't setting,
so I need to try my backup plan.
That's better.
I need to assemble the wheels.
They're going to rotate, hopefully.
My caramel just crystallised
so I'm behind time.
Just getting the roof on.
Oh, no.
It's just a nightmare.
I'm just going to spin it on.
He likes caramel, don't he, Paul?
He gets jet-washed with caramel every day.
Just his blue eyes shining through
that deep orangey-brown colour.
EXHALING: Let's get it together.
I'm just going full-on now on construction.
I think I can get it up in ten
so that leaves me enough time to paint my macarons.
Thank God it moves.
I feel like I'm in Ikea.
It's all slotting together.
I did Airfix as a child.
Is it showing? I think so.
I've had so many issues when it comes to sticking the sides,
so I'm going to trim the top off.
Paul's going to be like, "That's a mess."
This is just a joke.
Let me get the icing on and cover it.
I'm just decorating all the floor parts.
So, you've done all this and you're here?
Yeah. We're nearly there.
Don't... Don't say... You're stressing me out.
Where's the bit where we go to the pub?
That's, like, this little white bit at the end. Is that that bit?
Yeah. OK.
Bakers, you have ten minutes remaining.
Oh, OK.
The most nerve-racking bit is done.
I just need to stick the front piece on,
then just add the embellishments.
I'm putting lights in the back,
but the little fiddly bits take up your time.
This is a dowel that's going in the cookie
so it can only be used as a puppet.
Yay!
I'm just painting my macarons.
It's inspired by The Great Wave, by Hokusai,
a pretty famous painting.
I'm doing a little bit of
Vincent van Gogh-inspired decoration,
so let's hope that that resonates.
I'm just so annoyed I didn't put it in the fridge.
It's collapsing.
I think I could have baked it a bit longer.
Yeah, I can see some of the bake there.
Never, in a million years, am I going to finish this.
Do you need any help?
I'm giving up. Don't give up.
Your royal icing's a bit runny. Use mine.
Oh, BLEEP.
It's got a big crack in it.
Right in the middle, where it's weakest.
Can maybe stick it together with caramel.
Bakers, you've got five minutes left.
Oh! You cut it and I'll stick it up.
How many stripes are you doing? Four? Yes.
All right, we're going to have Paul Hollywood's motor.
Well, that's... That's not done
but I'm just going to put black on these.
EXHALES This is ugly.
This is taking me out this week.
I'm not going to touch that bit any more in case it breaks.
At least they're on there.
Thank you.
You only have one minute left.
It is like how I practised it.
Those people are absolutely horrendous.
I'd rather they don't see them.
Sorry, husband.
This is the baby
but I had plans to do sausages on here.
Just rubbish.
Bakers, your time is up.
ILLIYIN EXHALES
Oh, my God.
You did fantastic.
Lovely.
Christ, look at that.
I just feel a bit dizzy.
Come quick.
Can we get a medic to Illiyin, please?
Have we got a medic?
Oh, no.
Yeah. Medic here.
She needs some privacy.
Illiyin, can you hear me?
I just feel dizzy.
You're all right. Just give yourself a minute, all right?
I hope she's OK.
Handshake first episode,
fainting the second.
ALISON: After fainting,
Illiyin is still recovering with the medical team.
OK, bakers, unfortunately, Illiyin's still feeling a little bit woozy,
but we will be judging her Showstopper.
Gill, it's time for your biscuit Showstopper.
He starts in the kitchen,
then he runs past the cow
and to the river -
where, unfortunately, he gets eaten by the fox.
The design is exceptional.
You've been so clever to just use piping
because you're good at it.
It's neat as a pin.
Tell us about the biscuit.
It's just a traditional gingerbread.
That is perfectly baked.
Thank you.
The characters are made out of a vanilla biscuit.
That's a bit tougher.
Good flavour, though. Thank you.
The puppets are animals
from our farm and you can make them dance.
Oh! That's clever.
They taste lovely. It's lovely.
The sweetness comes through that ginger...
Really good ginger. ..really, really nicely.
The curtains are Florentine.
It's a bit chewy, that.
The flavour's all right, though.
The story is - you in the van,
pig runs out of van down the A12.
This side looks as if you dropped it.
The cracking's to represent an old theatre.
It's awkward, but all the elements are there.
So, I've got a gingernut and sumac theatre.
The sumac should give you that citrus, but a little heat as well.
It does give you the citrus...
Yeah. ..which, actually, I quite like.
And I love the Shrewsbury biscuit.
Well done, Andy. Cheers. It's excellent.
Collapsed a little bit at the front.
Yeah. That comes down to the bakes. It's quite soft.
I love the little daffodils.
Where is the leeks?
There's a few pieces missing.
The Welsh dancers
are a cinnamon, date and chocolate biscuit.
The dates come through,
but they're slightly underbaked.
OK. Let me try this.
This is the ginger?
That is really delicious.
It's all slightly underbaked,
but the flavours are spot on, on all of it.
This is Johnny and Stanley's Welsh adventure.
You could have gone into a little bit more detail on the figures.
The puppets, and the trees at the front, are an orange and cinnamon.
That orange comes through lovely.
But quite tough.
The main theatre is a honey and chilli gingerbread.
That's beautiful.
It is tenderer and crunchier.
The chilli level is perfect.
You're very artistic.
The colours on the backdrop are beautiful.
And it's a mobile theatre.
It's just amazing.
And the flavours...?
Cardamom and cinnamon, and a lemon and poppy seed.
That is delicious.
The lemon... That's not the lemon. The lemon's...
Is that the cardamom? Yeah.
Where's the lemon coming from?
That's definitely lemony.
Yeah. It tastes amazing.
And you do get the cardamom.
I'll take it. I don't know what I did.
The cardamom in there works beautifully well with it.
OK!
So, the only bit with the lemon is the back here. Yeah.
It's a bit too thick.
Having said that,
your design and your artistry
on that is fantastic.
They are exquisite, those ones.
Thank you. Well done.
It is about my relationship with my husband.
We went through a lot of obstacles,
but on the end of the forest is the light.
We have two beautiful children
and there are five stars,
each one represents our babies which are no more with us.
So beautiful.
There's a real thought there.
A depth to it as well.
Wonderful colours.
I want to try this shortbread.
Mm.
Nice and tender.
It does melt in the mouth beautifully.
And the background here...?
It's gingerbread.
In the icing, I used lemons.
It's got a nice flavour
and I love the sharpness that comes from the citrus. Lemon.
And I think the whole design is exceptional.
Ooh!
Ooh. Sorry.
OK, bakers, for all intents and purposes, I'm Illiyin.
You look fabulous.
I know.
NOEL GROANS WITH EFFORT
OK.
THEY LAUGH
Well, this... This is horrible.
I've had nightmares about this.
LAUGHTER
The design idea is good
but I think it's missing the integral part,
which is Illiyin and her husband.
There's no puppet element.
We have an orange sugar biscuit.
It's got a citrus tang to it.
Good flavour.
Got a nice snap to it.
Let's try the strawberry.
It's also very soft.
It's very soft. Underbaked, aren't they? Thank you very much.
Thank you.
GASPS
Are you all right?
I went to grab my water bottle.
THEY LAUGH
What the hell is going on?
NOEL: Are you all right?
No. I'm good, I'm good.
They're dropping like bloody flies.
Oh, it ain't one of them murder mysteries, is it?
A whodunnit.
It was the rolling pin in the tent.
Yeah.
Oh, my God.
Hazel, please bring up your Showstopper.
It's charming. You can see what it is straight away,
but it's a bit wonky.
It's old.
So am I.
You're old and wonky, too.
A little bit wonky.
LAUGHTER
I'm a little disappointed that Punch doesn't look like Punch.
I wanted him to have a big truncheon.
This is...Judy.
That's cherry and almond.
It's a little bit under-baked, those little ones.
And this other biscuit is...?
Chocolate chip and orange.
Actually, that's a very nice biscuit.
But I think you needed a lot more time on that.
About another day. I would say about that.
This is the moon god
who came down to earth as a beggar
and then the rabbit threw itself in the fire and sacrificed himself.
Then it went on the moon.
PAUL CHUCKLES
Oh! It's so good.
I love the sort of Hokusai painting.
Thank you.
There's a little bit of an accident here.
So, the weight just causes it to cave in in the middle.
So, these biscuits are...?
Roasted soybean flour.
Very interesting flavour.
Yeah, I like that. And beautifully painted.
And then there's the two giant macarons.
What's the filling?
Caramel with whisky, and then it has a bit of miso.
Can't really get the miso.
You certainly get the whisky.
That's quite tasty, though.
That's the yuzu curd with mint.
Oh, yeah.
You are so good at flavour.
And a great design and story.
Well done, Dylan. Thank you. Thanks a lot.
We've got a little biscuit boy
who doesn't quite fit in, into the world where he lives in,
so he decides, together with his teddy,
to go on a little journey.
They travel through the night
to then find themselves
in this beautiful flower meadow
where there is, like, a big white tent
and, inside, they find
this biscuit wonderland
where they fit right in.
ALISON: Aww!
I think it's utterly charming.
It's really detailed.
I don't know how you managed to do it in the time.
I've never seen anything like that in the tent.
Very professionally done.
Wonderful.
The main structure is a speculaas biscuit.
The spice level in that is perfect -
and it snaps, there's a crunch to it.
Delicious.
This is the...?
Spritz curtains, which are flavoured
with saffron and grapefruit.
Wow. The saffron is instant, isn't it?
I have to come over to you.
GASPS, CHEERING
Honestly.
Absolutely.
That's one of the best things I've ever seen in the tent.
Ever. Aww!
It's absolutely wonderful. Well done, Christiaan.
Thank you so much. Thank you very, very much.
Wahey!
Oh, my God.
I did not see that coming.
You know, these moments that you want to really kind of,
like, be in the moment -
but I wasn't because I was completely gobsmacked.
That's absolutely insane.
I think it went OK.
They really liked my design,
so I'm happy with that.
I think I'm definitely in the bottom three
and I think I could go home.
I'm expecting them to send me home.
I'd be more surprised if I'm in.
NOEL: It's decision time for Paul and Prue.
Guys, it's been an eventful couple of days, hasn't it?
Jeff left the tent again.
Illiyin fainted.
Dylan fell off his stool.
I think he'd been at the sake.
We've also had some amazing bakes. Yes.
Christiaan - that was special, wasn't it?
Christiaan was fantastic.
That is one of the best bakes I've seen in the tent for 15 years.
I mean, somebody else who did well is Sumayah.
She's so delicate and so exquisite,
everything she does. Yeah.
There's a couple of people we need to talk about.
Georgie lacked slightly in her Showstopper
and she was ninth in the Technical.
Illiyin's Showstopper tasted pretty good.
The problem was, it was slightly underbaked.
It was about her and her husband,
neither of whom featured.
Hazel's Showstopper,
the sort of Punch and Judy characters were a little bit basic.
Was it tasty?
It was. That chocolate chip was delicious.
You did say to Hazel,
"I wanted Mr Punch to have a big truncheon.
THEY LAUGH HYSTERICALLY
Well, I did!
What's the matter with that?
Well, bakers,
luckily, I've got the great job
of announcing this week's Star Baker.
And the Star Baker is...
..Sumayah.
Well done.
You so deserve it.
What the hell?! You deserved it.
Now, unfortunately,
I've got the real sad news.
So, the baker who's leaving the tent today is...
..Hazel.
I knew it would be. I knew it would be. Sweetheart.
I'm sorry.
That's OK. That's OK.
I did expect it.
All my bakes have gone wrong.
Never mind.
ALISON: Oh, I'm so sorry.
Maybe I won't bake puppet theatres any more.
I knew it would be me. I'm going to really miss you.
It's really brought it home very hard now that
that is going to keep happening
and someone is going to be going.
Now, don't tell me Mike's crying.
Mike always cries.
Oh, he always cries.
They're all crying. They're making me cry.
Well done, Sumayah. Well done.
Thank you so much. Thank you.
I literally cannot believe
I got Star Baker.
I was like, "What?!"
It was a total surprise.
I'm so happy.
One million percent, I thought it was going to be Christiaan.
You did so well this week. Thank you.
I've got a Showstopper handshake in the bag and I cannot believe it.
I'm like...blown away.
I'll have a gin and tonic, I think,
catch up on the snooker
and then just try and get my head round bread.
So I'm looking forward to bread week...
..to charm Mr Paul Hollywood.
Charm him with my buns!
ALISON: Next time... Woohoo!
..the bakers Battle Bread...
Oh, dear.
..with a savoury Signature...
They are most beautiful buns I've ever seen.
..a Technical with a twist... What is that?!
No way! That is sick!
..and a super-sized Showstopper...
It's massive!
..in a week that will push them...
YELLS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
Oh, I hate Bread Week!
..to their limit.
We shall see if it's going to work or not.
If it isn't going to work, I know where is the exit.
NOEL: Are you a Star Baker in the making?
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