What week is it? This should give you a clue. My first is pudding
but never in flan. My second in Battenberg, also in jam.
No, I meant, you're the clue. You're a pastry.
You don't have to get involved in some sort of elaborate riddle.
Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, well, we'll talk about it later.
Welcome to the Great... BOTH: British Bake Off.
You doing? That's Pat, he's a character actor!
Put him back!
Last time it was Caramel Week.
Ah.
Georgie stuck it out over the three challenges.
Joking. Oh, you're so mean!
..to win her first Star Baker crown.
Yes! Shut up.
Uh-oh.
And while Sumayah found herself in a sticky situation...
I see a problem. ..it was Mike who came unstuck...
It's really bad. ..and became the fourth baker to leave the tent.
Mike. Sorry.
This time... You look like a proper pizza chef.
..it's Pastry Week. If only we were making pizza!
The bakers take on tarts in the Signature...
Nelly's got a blowtorch! Tssh!
..tackle filo in the Technical...
Big sausage roll, think big sausage roll.
..and then a choux-stopping Showstopper. Stinks of burning.
Who will stand tall? This is where usually things go wrong.
And who will fall down? So fragile.
Oi.
Straight in the bin.
I started so well.
It's going to be a good week.
I think some nerves is good, I was getting a bit too relaxed.
Week five - pastry.
I'm a northern girl, you know, there'll not be a week goes by
that I don't make some form of pastry.
INDISTINCT CHATTER
I'm good in pastry. I says about biscuits as well I'm good
and I wasn't. So I'm going to be quiet.
I want to, like, show Paul and Prue
that I deserve to be in the competition.
I mean, they obviously saw something in me and gave me another chance.
Pastry on a short timescale is very tricky.
So I'll have to cut a few corners.
Hopefully it just comes out banging.
Hello, bakers, welcome back to the tent. It's Pastry Week.
Now, Alison, you've been with us for a while. I'm going to give you
a little test now. See if you've learnt anything. OK.
Can you name the five main pastries?
Uh, you've got yummy, scrummy, you've got gorgeous,
lovely and delicious.
Boom. You nailed it.
So for your Pastry Week Signature
the judges would like you to make 12 frangipane tarts.
You can opt for the classic Bakewell tart flavours
or you can come up with your own creation.
Now, the judges are looking for buttery shortcrust pastry,
beautifully baked frangipane with at least one added filling.
You've got two hours to get your tart on.
On your marks. Get set. Bake!
Frangi-peen. Frangi-pain. Is it a pain?
Bakewell tarts, I've made quite a few. Not within two hours but.
Just need to get it all done ASAP. So, straight in with the pastry. Ah!
When you think of a classic frangipane tart you think of those
classic Bakewell flavours which are shortcrust,
you've got raspberry and then almond.
Before I moved here I'd never had one.
So I started getting them on my lunch break.
And at first I got, like, a two-pack
and then it was a 6-pack and then it was a 12-pack.
And then literally... And do you smash 'em all yourself?
Oh, honestly. Like, literally two, three a day.
Important thing about shortcrust pastry is that it should be short.
That it'll crumble and break really easily. That it won't be tough.
So rub this into a breadcrumb. Then the egg yolks,
give it a bit of a rub, knead. And then chill.
I want the flavour, the crispness, the frangipane coming through
but I also want them to look great. And thin pastry, please.
And that can go in the fridge now.
Morning, Andy. Good morning, Paul. Hello, Andy. Good morning, Prue.
Hello, Noel. Right, what are you doing for your frangipane tart?
This is based on nan's sweets, very close to my nan.
And when I used to go round there she'd always have a bowl of sweets
and I'd always go for the lime chocolates. Yes. Used to love them.
ALISON: Andy will combine his favourite childhood favours
of lime and chocolate with an almond and pistachio frangipane.
Are you baking the frangipane and the pastry together?
I'm going to blind bake for ten minutes
then come out and then frangipane'll go in, 20 minutes, 22 minutes.
That comes out. The curd should go on top. That goes in the fridge.
You have practised this. A few times.
Your pencil fell out from behind your ear.
You want to see the sharpener!
LAUGHTER
While Andy's paying tribute to his nan with his tarts,
Gill is also keeping family in mind.
The only nuts that my husband likes is pistachio
so to be able to persuade him to try this I've had to use pistachios.
Gill's bitesize pistachio tarts
will be topped with a blueberry compote
and piped delicately with creme diplomat.
And tart shells, what are you using? Tart rings. Oh, they are diddy.
Well, I keep getting told off for the big ones
so we're going delicate. They're really diddy.
No Northern portions today. You can have two.
So you're going for real finesse now, aren't you? Yeah, pretty.
Gill is reimagining the classic Bakewell flavours
with her dinky tarts.
But Georgie is taking a more traditional approach.
I am making raspberry and almond frangipane tarts.
Classic flavours, again nowhere to hide with it.
Georgie's almond frangipane tarts will be topped with mascarpone
and Chantilly cream and raspberry gel.
Has anything changed since you've been Star Baker?
What do you mean? Have you snubbed all the rest of the bakers? Oh!
"Have you won Star Baker? Don't talk to me unless you've won Star Baker.
"Dylan, you can talk to me. Everyone else, sh. Star Baker.
"Just getting some rest."
Georgie is relying on classic flavours
to retain her Star Baker status.
Oh. Blood is everywhere.
But Nelly is adding a cheeky twist.
It's bloody oranges. Because I can say it, can I?
Nelly's blood orange tarts will be filled with hazelnut
and almond frangipane and topped with Italian meringue.
How good does she look today? I know. I love it.
You look like someone off the Guess Who board.
I take it as a compliment. Who chose this lovely outfit, then?
My sunshine. Ah... Your sunshine.
He love Paris. And he says, "Mum, you have to wear my hat."
Aw. That's his hat. That's his hat? Yeah, so that's my lucky hat.
So cool. So I'd better go through, yeah?
You know I'm half French, don't you? Are you? Yeah.
When we going on holiday? Let's all go together. Yeah.
Why don't we all set up a life for ourselves in France?
Can I get a bike? Yeah.
While all the other bakers are going for fruity fillings,
Dylan is taking another route. Mine is coffee and chocolate.
This is going to be a welcome, like, break, though, having chocolate
cos this is the only one I've seen with chocolate. Really?
None of them are chocolate. Yeah. But mine's a fruity chocolate
so that chocolate tastes like berries.
Dylan's fruity chocolate ganache will be paired with coffee gel
sitting on top of a blackberry frangipane.
Can I try it? Yeah.
What do you think? Delicious. Killed it.
Can you just judge us? Honestly, like... No, I'll be the worst judge.
I just like everything.
Right, frangipane.
To make perfect frangipane the bakers need to mix nuts,
butter, eggs and sugar into a spreadable paste.
It's almost like a sponge with nuts in.
It looks weird and then it gets weirder and then it gets better.
And Illiyin is adding a tropical twist to her frangipane.
I am making a toasted coconut frangipane.
I want it to taste like sunshine
and to hopefully look like sunshine as well.
Illiyin's ambitious coconut frangipane tarts will be topped
with a passion fruit mousse dome,
mango gel and decorated with Chantilly cream.
Sounds absolutely wonderful. Good. But have you got enough time? I do.
You've practised it? Yeah. And you finished in time? I have.
And they were delicious? And they looked perfect?
Yes, actually. Yes, they did. OK. Well, just do it all again. OK, OK.
Just like that.
With their frangipane finished...
Hopefully comes through nice and light.
..the bakers can focus on their pastry.
The star of the show.
For the perfect ratio of frangipane and filling,
the judges are looking for thin tart cases.
My bases are a bit thicker than I would like
but I'm not going to spend time thinning them out.
It's quite fiddly. It takes a while.
It's very delicate touch, yeah.
That's gone a bit skewwhiff. Paul said I needed more finesse
so I'm just trimming them up a little bit.
Tarts going in. Goodbye.
They need to be in the oven for about 13 minutes to blind bake them.
Easy peasy.
Even though the bake's only just begun... Illiyin. What?
..there are already some problems.
Don't freak, but your tarts in the oven, the wall's coming off.
BLEEP.
Yeah, this is not good.
I'm going home. Oh, this is supposed to be my week.
Bakers, you are halfway through. You've got one hour left.
I'm just remaking the pastry. They were falling
where they start to sink because I've overstretched it
and it's like, nah. And I started so well.
But Illiyin isn't the only one to have a problem...
Yeah, these aren't right. ..with their blind baking.
They're awful. They're like cake. Why has this happened?
I've literally had to do mine again. How are you going to have time?
I don't know, like, I'm just going to try.
This is so bad.
They've puffed up a lot, which is not right at all.
I think I had the wrong flour.
I just need to remake my things real quick.
While Dylan and Illiyin need to start their pastries from scratch...
Oh! ..the others are ready to bake their frangipanes.
So we're just going to get these out.
So you can see they are quite pre-baked. Perfect.
So, frangipanes going in.
So this is the pistachio. Green is beautiful, isn't it?
Obviously the proof is going to be in the frangipane.
They're in.
This is my coconut frangipane. The texture is slightly different
than a regular frangipane, it's really nice.
It's less, like, fine, though, cos of the coconut
but it's still yummy, I hope.
Topping her tarts with coconut creme patisserie,
meringue and raspberry gel, Sumayah is hoping to make up
for last week's disappointing performance.
You've made it halfway through.
That must have been such a relief for you. Yeah.
Is it quite stressful doing this show?
It's stressful when you guys come. Who do you prefer, me or Noel?
SHE LAUGHS He's going to kill me!
He's going to kill me. He knows that.
Just making the curd now.
To balance their frangipane, the bakers have been asked
to make at least one additional element.
This is going to be the gel and the jam. It's quite sharp.
But if the flavour's too strong... There you go, wallop. We're in.
..it will overpower the frangipane.
Jam, jam, jam. This is going to be my apricot jam.
And Christiaan is balancing sweet and savoury.
My frangipane tartlets are a cashew and black sesame frangipane.
Christiaan's cashew and black sesame frangipane tarts
will be topped with apricot jam and apricot royal icing.
Congratulations on getting to the halfway mark.
I'm just happy that I've made it this far.
Well, most people have got a Star Baker
so I'm feeling this week is your week.
Let's manifest it together, like, you know, send these positive waves.
Let's do it. BOTH: Star Baker, Star Baker, Star Baker, Star Baker.
I'm going mad now. We're putting it out there. I think it's done.
It's out there. I think it's done now. It's done. I can chill now.
Bakers, you have half an hour left.
I need to bake these. That's going to take ten minutes,
then bake them again with the frangipane. I assume it's good
but, I mean, honestly, it looks the same as last time.
Dylan and Illiyin are playing catch up.
Yeah, like, 30 seconds.
But it's crunch time for the other bakers' tarts.
On the frangipane you want to get a nice rise to it to make it airy.
Three minutes, just in case. I'm going to come out.
Oh, hello! Oh, they are very delicate, aren't they?
Are you happy with those? I think so. They're looking a nice colour.
They are going to be slightly more golden
because of the toasted coconut.
Oh...did I?
Oh, fudge. It's overbaked.
No!
Don't hear the bloody alarm again. You're going to taste that.
How long we got left? Tell me.
Bakers, you have 15 minutes left.
Ah. Except for you, Nelly, cos you're wearing a beret.
You've got an hour. I want an hour.
This is taking much longer than it needs to.
Almost done and then I can get them out and cool them.
OK, I'm going to start decorating.
Just getting some glaze on.
There's the lime. I'm just disappointed it's burnt.
These are done.
That pastry just wasn't right.
Some of the tart cases are a bit thick
but hopefully they just pick one that's thin.
Now, the fun will start, yeah.
Nelly with a blowtorch everyone. Nelly's got a blowtorch!
Oh, my God, I've lost my eyebrows. Tssh.
These are the domes on the top.
It's done.
I've just got to put my ganache on.
Oh! Such a shame. I know I've done them way better.
Oh, now look, it's all come out clumsy.
Bakers, your time is up.
Please step away from your frangipane tarts.
What a miracle. Add some more.
Oh, yours are so cute!
Very sexy. They're amazing.
Is what it is. Just glad I got them done.
Lime's there.
Chocolate's there. But burnt.
Aren't they pretty?
It's why it's so sad that the pastry just wasn't right.
The bakers' frangipane tarts will now be judged by Prue and Paul.
Hello, Illiyin. Hello, Illiyin.
I do quite like the decoration, it's quite cute.
But the shells look terrible. Yeah, I needed to make the pastry again.
They all started to collapse. Oh, right.
So it's a shortcrust pastry with a coconut frangipane,
a mango and lime gel topped with a passion fruit mousse dome.
I would've concentrated on one, you know, mango or passion fruit,
because that would've come out stronger.
Pastry's a little underbaked, I think. Yeah.
Pastry's underbaked, quite soggy, actually. Thank you.
They look really scrumptious, nice and shiny.
So, mine are chocolate and coffee,
almond frangipane with some blackberries.
Pastry's nice and short. And it's baked well
but it is chocolate and coffee. I'm not getting much of the frangipane.
And I really want to celebrate a frangipane.
I couldn't taste frangipane at all. No.
They look like you want to eat them. Yes, they do.
The tarts have a raspberry jam,
almond frangipane with Chantilly and mascarpone cream
and raspberry gel.
That's a classic Bakewell tart in its flavour.
And it's really crisp. I think you've done a good job.
It's lovely. Well done. Thank you. Thank you.
Your Italian meringue is slightly all over the place.
It's a Willy Wonka chocolate factory.
But what do they taste like?
I have hazelnuts and almond frangipane with blood oranges.
The blood orange is absolutely beautiful. I like the frangipane.
I did get the blood orange. Sweetness coming from the meringue.
But your pastry's quite thick.
It overwhelms some of the tart, to be honest.
I think they look beautiful. Thank you.
Although...burnt. OK.
It's a vanilla pat brisse with a toasted coconut frangipane.
A coconut milk creme pat,
a raspberry jelly, a toasted meringue.
You've managed to get the coconut to come through really well.
Your textures are good, it's just that it's overbaked. Yeah.
I think they look all very even and I like the design.
But the frangipane top, honestly, it looks like fried mushrooms
or something.
But let's have a look. The frangipane is filled with
a little layer of apricot jam and then on top of that we've got
a black sesame and cashew frangipane.
The sesame's sort of not really bringing anything to the party.
The cashew's sort of lost but, I mean, the flavour's OK.
And the pasty is nice and crisp.
I just think it looks a bit like sardine pate.
Yeah, no, fair enough.
When you're piping like this, you have to be really precise.
They're definitely wiggly.
I thought that sort of might give my personality across,
a bit wonky and a bit like sort of... I've heard some waffle, mate.
But let's have a look. So, my tarts are a pistachio frangipane
with a lime curd and a chocolate ganache.
Mm. Lime curd is delicious. Isn't it?
The pistachio frangipane, delicious. Your pastry's burnt.
It is overbaked. But I love the flavour
and I could definitely eat a whole one. Thank you, thanks, guys.
I think they look great.
They're very dinky. I love that.
Could just pop one of those in your mouth in once.
Just do it in a oner, yeah.
So they are a pistachio frangipane, a blueberry compo
with a creme diplomat and a pistachio crumb.
It's really good. The first thing you taste is the fruit.
The frangipane nutty taste comes in. They're delicious.
The pastry's good, frangipane's good, blueberry's good.
I think you've done a great job with that. They taste amazing.
Thank you.
I'm feeling really happy, smiley and big cheesy grins.
But my husband said that's the best bake that I do for this tent,
so just to warn you, it's all downhill from here.
It kind of hurt.
Cos normally I can always fall back on my flavours.
To have let myself down in that pastry is just like, dammit.
Lesson learned, I just have to try and move on now.
Technical, who knows? Yeah, I hope it's not filo
cos I've never made that before.
The bakers could practice their frangipane tarts
but their Technical Challenge is a mystery, shrouded in gingham.
Hello there, bakers. Now, for your Technical Challenge
this has been set by the prince of pastry, Mr Paul Hollywood.
Hello, prince of pastry, have you got any words of wisdom?
Don't underestimate the resting time.
The wrestling time? The resting time. Ha!
Now, as always, this challenge is judged blind - so, judges,
I'm going to ask you to leave the tent now, thank you so much.
Do you know where they're going? I've no idea.
Prue's going to teach Paul how to do joined up handwriting.
Paul would like you to bake his take on the classic Greek pie.
A spanakopita. He would like you to make a spiral-shaped pie
with home-made filo pastry,
packed with fragrant filling consisting of feta and spinach.
You have 2 hours and 30 minutes.
On your marks. Get set. Bake!
Never made one, never eaten one, no idea.
Spanakopita... Sounds like something you go to the doctors for.
So, Paul. Spanakopita.
It's basically spinach and feta in a filo parcel.
Filo's all about being thin. It's about the layers.
The longer they rest it, the easier it is to work with.
It allows it to be rolled out very, very thin.
I imagine they have to get the moisture levels right inside.
You need to pat dry the spinach
just to take out some of that excess water.
If you don't, then the whole thing'll be soggy underneath.
And the bake is critical.
Now, 45 minutes minimum till it's nice and brown.
Look at all those layers. Isn't that wonderful?
Feta, spinach, it's just beautiful. Mmm.
Now, although that goes beautifully together,
the crispiness that comes from the filo is the real test.
We don't want a soggy bottom. No, we do not.
I mean, the instructions are quite detailed.
"Make the pastry dough and knead."
Making filo's like a lost art. Nobody does it any more.
Have you ever made filo pastry before? No, never.
God, Andy, we're in trouble, ain't we? I know.
Taxi for one! Taxi. All right, I'll sling myself out.
You want to kind of, like, build up the gluten a little bit.
So I am giving it a good knead.
If you don't, you're not going to get it to stretch, it'll just tear.
Don't, uh, underestimate the wrestling time. Resting time. Sorry!
It's only a filo pastry. What can go wrong?
"While the dough is resting make the filling. Seasoning to taste."
So, what, I'm just sauteing the, uh, onions, the garlic.
I mean, I would put in four cloves but it says two.
And I don't want, like, Noel to kind of, like, fly away
because it's too garlicky.
900g of spinach leaf? Are they mad?
It's like a Cypress Hill video over here.
LAUGHTER
I assume they obviously want it wilted cos they want
as little moisture in the dough as possible.
So I've blanched mine first.
So much water. It'll just soak the pie.
Yeah, that's actually really dry now cos it's starting to crisp up.
I going to add the feta cheese.
What do you feel like in that beret? A bit sexy? Is it? I don't know.
Strong? No, no, no. Powerful? Oui, oui, oui. Oui, oui, oui.
Very French, you know. I'm trying to but that's just a game, you know,
that's just a cover. Are you working undercover?
You're not even in this competition, are you? No, I'm not.
I'm just, you know. An undercover cop. I'm watching you.
I'm watching you. They're getting close again,
I'm going to have to go to a new show.
They nearly got me in Taskmaster.
Bakers, you are halfway through.
Oh, God. If I push it,
doesn't come back so it's rested for long enough.
I'm just going to divide it into five equal amounts.
"Take one ball and flatten it into a rough rectangle
"using the rolling pin."
"Pass the pastry through the pasta machine to give a long,
"thin length of pastry."
I'm so scared.
Oh, wait, it's actually really fun.
It's pretty cool. I want this.
But I already says to my husband I want ice cream maker.
My birthday going to be expensive for him this year.
I'm not sure if this is right, you know. It's really thin.
Careful handling of this super-thin pastry is key.
It says it wants to be 90 by 18. So I'm just stretching it.
Too many holes... Whoops-a-daisy. ..and the filling will leak out.
I have never done this before. Are you joking?
You look like a proper pizza chef. If only we were making pizza!
I'm going to start that again. Oh, no.
If the bakers spend too long rolling and rerolling...
I'm not happy with that. ..they risk running out of baking time.
What is going on? It's cos you're rushing the process. Right.
While Andy and Gill struggle with layering up their filo...
It's just very thin and fiddly and it doesn't like me.
..the rest of the bakers can move on to adding their filling.
It's the right length but it's not the right width.
Gently bring all of the pastry over.
Don't know what I'm doing so I'm completely winging this.
You look so tense. I am, I haven't got a clue what I'm doing, Noel!
I think the secret is nobody knows what's going on. No. Nobody.
Correction. Nobody apart from Paul knows what's going on. Yeah, yeah.
As you roll, you pull.
Slide it in, but I think you just go like this.
Just sprinkle it with the sesame seeds.
Probably bake it for, I think, half an hour to 45 minutes.
So it says bake at 180 but I put the oven on 190.
I'm a daredevil like that.
I'm just all fingers and arms, ain't I?
I can't afford to do this again.
Ooh, and I've just done that wrong.
We'll get it through and then we'll do it again.
Bakers, you've got half an hour left.
Oh, my gee. Half an hour.
Big sausage roll, think big sausage roll.
I feel for him.
If he can get in there, it won't be nearly as bad... He'll be fine,
he'll be fine. He just needs to actually do it.
I am proper pooping this.
I hate ya.
It'll come out at the very last minute, I think. I'll keep an eye
on it. But I think it's going to need every minute it's got
and probably a few more that it hasn't.
It's lost a bit of definition.
You can see it but it's kind of, like, moulded into one.
Mine is, like, really small, like, it should be wider.
I'm a bit concerned about some people.
Cos they just put it in.
I have it 20 minutes and it's white. It's not even gold yet.
Oh! I love it!
We're ready.
Are you two re-enacting Barbie?
# I am Barbie Girl in a Barbie world
# Na na nah. #
Only people in pink over here. Yeah.
I don't think I've got enough time
so I've just cranked up the oven a little bit.
Banging it up just to get a bit of colour on there.
That definitely needs to go higher. Turned the oven up again
because I just want it to be nice and crisp on the top.
So I really don't want it to be wet. 210.
Ah! It's going in till the end.
It's coming out with 30 seconds left. I mean...
How long do we have left? Bakers, you've got one minute left.
Ah! Let's do this.
Ah.
Well, it's got more colour than I thought it would have.
It looks nice. I just want to see the bottom. Voila.
Not golden enough, not cooked enough.
Oh, mate, that bottom looks scrump-diddily-umptious.
Bakers, your time is...up.
Please bring your spanakopitas down to the table
and place them behind your photographs.
It looks amazing. Cheers, thanks.
Love for it to get a tiny bit more colour.
I didn't get it in quick enough.
Paul and Prue are looking for crisp, golden filo pastry
and a perfectly seasoned spinach and feta filling.
Let's start with this one.
Looks a bit soggy. You know you really have to squeeze the spinach
to get all the moisture out of it otherwise it'll sog up the pastry.
The length of that's not bad.
It's lost a little bit of definition on it.
It is quite wet inside there. Yeah, and the trouble is
the bottom pastry doesn't cook then. Yeah.
Mm, but it's very delicious. Mm. It's not bad, that, for a filling.
It's just the pastry is very, very wet. It tastes lovely.
Moving on to this one, you've got some definition here
which is good but it's not quite long enough.
It's got a good colour on it, though. Yeah, and it's crunchy.
That is delicious. Nicely balanced seasoning.
It's good, that, cos it's got a nice flake on it and it's not wet.
I like that one.
This one's a bit pale, it needed longer in the oven.
The definition is there. See it's still wet inside.
But that is delicious.
Moving on, this is very small.
Colour's very uneven.
Needed longer in the oven, this. That is really soggy, isn't it? Hmm.
And the trouble is that the layers then all stick together.
It actually tastes quite nice but it's not what we're looking for.
OK, moving on. It's just started colouring.
And I think they've ran out of time, just pulled it out the oven.
Rolling wasn't very good.
That's a big fat bit, that's a very thin bit.
Needs much longer in the oven. It's still wet inside.
The lemon levels are quite high. Moving on.
This isn't too bad, there's a bit of definition here.
Yeah, a little bit longer in the oven. Nice flakes. Mm.
The flavour's not bad.
It's a nice colour, that one. Yeah, that's a good colour.
Little bit wet. It could be down to the spinach.
Nice flavour. Yeah, lovely. Excellent flavour.
Needed to be another loop on the outside of that, really.
Struggled with the length of that one. The colour's not bad.
It has got a nice flavour. Bit soggy underneath but very nice.
Right. The judges will now rank the spanakopitas...
I think we both loved the flavour. ..from worst to best.
So, in eighth place, we have this one. Who is this?
Gill, it's underbaked so it's pretty wet underneath.
In seventh spot, we have this one. Andy, too small.
It needed to be much bigger.
In sixth place is Georgie,
fifth place is Illiyin,
Sumayah is fourth
and Nelly is third.
And then in second place...
..who is that?
Christiaan. It could've stayed in the oven a little longer
but the pie, delicious. Thank you.
And in first place, we have this one.
Dylan, not exactly perfect
but you did have great flavours and great textures, so well done.
Well done.
When Prue ate it and was just like, "That's delicious,"
that was the best reaction in the world for me
when people eat my food. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
This is my third time coming second.
That didn't go well, did it? From hero to zero.
I think tomorrow I'm going to have to bribe 'em with a lot of money.
Although, looking at Paul's cars, I don't think he needs it.
Here we go!
OK, so, we've had the Signature and we've had the Technical.
But I'm no clearer as to who's doing well and who's doing badly.
I know it's really extraordinary, isn't it?
You've got Gill who did really well in the Signature
and didn't do so well in the Tech. She was last.
You have Dylan that did OK-ish on the Signature,
but won the Technical, so there's a bit of that going on.
Right. Yeah. And then you have Andy and Illiyin,
they're the ones who are in trouble.
I mean, you've got Christiaan, as well, who didn't do too well in
the Signature, and yet, came second in the Technical.
So what we've ended up is a big pool of people in the middle.
What you're trying to say is it's all down to the Showstopper again.
It's all down to the Showstopper.
It's exciting, but we say this every week!
Why do we bother with the Signature and Technical any more?
ALL LAUGH
Hello, bakers, welcome back to the tent.
It's time for your Showstopper Challenge.
The judges would like you to produce
a Paris-Brest centrepiece complete with edible stand.
Paul and Prue would love you to make a highly decorated gateau
consisting of large choux pastry ring
and at least one custard-based filling.
This will be a challenge of all of us.
For you guys, it'll be to make the thing.
And for Noel and I, it will be not to giggle
every time we hear the word "Brest".
I don't think Paul's gonna make it.
We've lost.
You have four hours.
On your marks.
Get set.
Bake!
I have made Paris-Brest quite a few times before this actually,
which is surprising.
I've made choux pastry, I've made eclairs and I've made profiteroles
and things like that, but I've never made the big choux rings.
The Paris-Brest is a choux pastry ring filled
with praline creme mousseline...
Just about the Brests.
..and was created in 1910 to celebrate
a famous cycle race between Paris and Brest.
So, what I can make out is, at the end of it
the bakers would bring out this Paris-Brest
and depict it to look like a cycle wheel.
I know I could be quite easily mistaken for a French geezer, but...
..I don't speak the lingo.
The choux itself is all about that crispiness on the outside.
And you want that slight fluffiness on the inside, but not too soft,
because you're gonna fill that with a mousseline,
a praline, a cream.
It must be a very light creamy filling inside
because what you don't want is a stodgy creme patisserie.
They have to make a stand which is also edible.
Now, they could use a biscuit,
so it'd be nice and strong.
They could use chocolate. They can use anything they want,
but it's about celebrating the Paris-Brest.
The last thing we want are these stands to collapse
and the Paris-Brest to just fall all over the floor.
That would be a disaster.
Hello, Gill. Hello, there. Hello.
So, Gill, tell us all about your Paris-Brest.
This one is finally for my dad.
So, he made a fantastic lemon meringue pie.
It's one of the first things I remember baking with him,
so this one's for him. I love the idea,
cos I'm a big fan of lemon meringue pie.
Choux pastry with cream and lemon!
I mean, what more could you want?
Gill's Paris-Brest will be filled
with lemon creme mousseline and lemon curd
and topped with Italian meringue.
All sitting on an orange biscuit stand.
It's strong, it's stable,
it's worked every time I've practised it.
While Gill is going for a traditional biscuit base stand,
Sumayah is going for a more intricate design.
So, my stand's gonna be made out of krokan
and it's gonna be inspired by like the tree of life
and like Art Nouveau.
This is gonna be fascinating.
Sumayah's almond biscuit stand
will hold a Paris-Brest
filled with passion fruit mousseline,
topped with dark chocolate ganache.
I've got a bone to pick with you.
All right. I don't know what you're saying.
Alison, basically, said to me
that you said to her she was your favourite.
Yeah, I did.
Urgh! Really? Yeah.
Why what's Alison do? I thought it was obvious. Brutal!
It's fine cos Dylan's my favourite, so... OK.
We've all got our favourites, haven't we? Yeah.
But we have to learn to get on with each other. If you want.
HE LAUGHS
Previously, in favour for his flavours...
That looks really grim at the moment. Just looks like a swamp.
Dylan might have his work cut out to impress the judges today...
So mine has like got tea in it.
So, it's got matcha.
Paul's favourite thing, yeah.
What don't you actually like about matcha?
It's quite dry on the mouth. Cos they make grades of matcha, as well.
So there's ceremonial grade and then the...
Are you using the ceremonial grade? Yeah, I am using ceremonial grade.
OK. I like your extra-ness.
Thank you.
Dylan will serve a matcha creme diplomat
and a roasted green tea mousseline
and will construct a black sesame nougatine stand.
Right, can I just tell you something?
Sumayah reckons that she likes Alison better than me, yeah? Yeah.
And I said, yeah, but Dylan likes me better than Alison. Yeah.
Is that true? Uh... I feel like... That was too long, that pause.
Well, the thing is... That was too long, that pause. Oh, was it?
While Dylan is going high-end with his flavours...
So, I'm doing a pecan mousseline.
..Christiaan has got grand ambitions for the humble pecan nut.
I wanna be the next Nigella and you know
how she says "mic-roh-wah-vey",
so I've got "pecaan".
HE LAUGHS
Christiaan's pecan and orange Paris-Brest
will sit on an almond nougatine stand
and be filled with orange creme mousseline
and pecan praline mousseline.
The pecan praline.
The PP. Oh, no that sounds weird.
No, let's not say that. Let's stop what I'm doing. Sorry.
Now I gonna do the choux pastry for the Brest.
The first stage of making choux pastry
is to combine milk, water, butter and flour.
Should come together as like a smooth paste.
It's like mashed potato.
This means that this is good. That means it's good.
Yeah, the film. Yeah, do you want some?
OK.
Hmm, tasty.
If the bakers are happy that their choux batter has been cooked out...
There we go.
..it's critical that they add the right amount of eggs.
Basically, when it's done, it will hang in like a V shape.
I'm the only one doing it by hand.
Prefer it, cos I know the texture.
If it's too dry, it'll crack when baked.
"Do I?" or "Don't I?" sort of moment.
If it's too wet, it won't rise.
That's pretty good, actually.
So, maybe it's a bit thinner than I'd like,
but there's nothing I can do now, so it's fine.
There's three rings. One'll go just inside and then, one on top.
And we're gonna dust it with some nuts.
Now it's in.
Ah! Oh!
It's about to go in the oven.
I've just got to cover it with my hazelnuts and almonds.
Illiyin's going for a regal look with her nut-packed Paris-Brest.
The idea is that it's quite a like a chaotic crown.
Illiyin's Paris-Brest crown will be filled
with hazelnut creme diplomat
and a dark chocolate ganache and hazelnut praline.
Sitting upon a golden chocolate stand, the design is
a nod to her favourite TV series.
It's like a crown of nuttiness,
like it's supposed to be for the mad queen from...
WHISPERS: ..Game Of Thrones. Ohhh. Yeah.
Are you not allowed to say that? Well, I don't know. There we go.
I've said it loads of times.
Watch this. Game Of Thrones.
Nothing happens. Nothing happens. Nothing. Oh, my God!
My beautiful bakers, you are halfway through.
Aaaaaah...!
It's risen, it's risen lovely.
All I'm doing is just drying this out now,
to allow the steam to come out of it.
If the bakers take their choux out of the oven too quickly
it will cause it to collapse.
It had a lot of rise and then something's happened. Oh, dear.
Just have to go with it. The thing is, they won't notice
the rise too much on that cos it's gonna be filled with cream. Yeah.
But leaving it in too long...
I think it's slightly catching.
..will cause the Paris-Brest to overbake.
Stinks of burning. I'm gonna have to do another one.
Yeah, I'm definitely gonna do that again.
I don't know what happened but it's not a circle.
But Christiaan's Paris-Brest has given him a unique problem.
I don't think I'm gonna be using this.
Gonna get rid of this.
Straight in the bin.
I'm gonna do two choux rings and I'll pick the best one.
Three of the bakers
need to pipe their Paris-Brest mixture again.
It's a bit thicker this time. Not doing anything to it.
Get in. Goodbye.
But Nelly has got more choux pastry to pipe than anyone else.
Now we gonna do it for this tent.
Just a little dot.
And she's taking inspiration
for her choux stand from not so far away.
I'm inspired by the day, how I feel and what I feel.
So, I'm inspired by this tree.
So, it's gonna be look like a tree trunk
with flowers around.
I never put it together, you know.
So it's the first time. Look forward to it. Me too! Me too!
If Nelly can work it all out her Paris-Brest will be filled
with pistachio praline cream and raspberry jam.
And her entire stand will be made of profiteroles
packed with coconut cream.
Look, this scale is cuckoolala.
Cuckoolala? Look. What's cuckoolala mean?
Is that a Slovakian...? Me! Whoo!
..a Slovakian thing? No, it's what I made up, you know?
Guys, I've got an announcement to make.
Nelly is cuckooolala.
SHE CHUCKLES
They already knew. They knew!
Lemon pastry cream next.
Paul and Prue have asked for the Paris-Brests
to be filled with at least one custard-based filling.
I'm making a passion fruit creme mousseline.
So, I'm just whipping some cream,
and then I'll add the matcha to this.
This is the pistachio butter.
It's just going into the creme diplomat. Lush.
Georgie's drawing inspiration from her Italian heritage.
When I was in Italy once, I had a pistachio cannoli.
Obsessed.
Just the creaminess of the pistachio.
Absolutely love it.
Georgie's pistachio and raspberry Paris-Brest
will be filled with creme diplomat
and sit on stacked sponge cakes
wrapped with a chocolate collar.
So this is the sponge.
Need to get it in, get it cooled.
Let's get going!
This is gold, this stuff.
This is the governor.
So I'm just adding in my pecan paste.
Andy's pecan-flavoured Paris-Brest is a tribute to his glory days.
My Paris-Brest is based on
a bar of chocolate my partner Nicky used to get me
when we first started going out.
And then we're gonna have a pecan mousselini inside.
A what? Mousseline.
Pecan mousseli... Mousseline. Mousseline.
I thought he was a dictator!
You know what I mean.
With a Lenin cream!
Andy's pecan and date mousseline Paris-Brest
will sit on a stand made of toffee.
So, one sheet of this'll be wrapped round
and we'll be moulding it by hand. Right. With toffee?
Sounds precarious, but if it's thick enough it'll be all right.
I'm gonna make it to one side,
and no-one's allowed to look at it, touch it,
poke it, cos it is so brittle.
Bakers, you only have one hour left.
Don't wanna know! Don't wanna know!
I mean, if not amazing,
this is more what I'd look like at home, as well.
That one looks a lot better.
I don't know. This shape is probably better.
I'll just see which one, I've got options.
Now I'm just literally making my stand.
So, that's nice toffee. Gotta work so quick
with it, cos it can get quite brittle.
More choux, then?
Yeah, more choux, more choux, and more is coming.
Oh, you've got more choux here. Yeah.
Oh, it's very precarious. I'm gonna do another one.
I'm doing another one.
Right, the cake needs to be stacked now.
So, I have to work really fast here.
So it's supposed to look like a flower.
These need to be straight.
Please...stay.
Does it look like a tree trunk? Not yet.
It's great, but it's not structurally strong enough.
And then, it's moment of truth for me.
Mould on.
I don't think this is gonna work.
Just gotta wait and see.
So fragile.
Just get it on.
This is where usually things go wrong.
Way...
Ah, I've put too much chocolate on it.
CRACKING Ah, fudge!
Oh...
I've had it. I'm done.
You just need to take a breath.
No, that ain't gonna work.
How long have we got?
Bakers, you have ten minutes left.
HE EXHALES I need to just go-go-go-go-go.
Right, forget about that. We've gotta get this done. Don't give up.
So, I just need to assemble my Paris-Brest.
It looked all right at one point in the oven
and now it's out and it just looks awful.
Just gonna pipe this up with pistachio cream.
And between gonna go raspberries.
Gonna try and get as much as possible
to look like it has a lot of height.
This isn't as set as I wanted it.
It's gonna just splodge down.
QUIETLY: Please, God, stay.
Done.
Bakers, you've got one minute left.
Finish with style, right.
Seriously concerned that these are gonna break,
as soon as I put this on.
How are you?
This is not a good time to be speaking. Please move.
OK, that's gonna last like all of ten seconds.
I'm not gonna move it now.
Can't put any touches on it.
It's just gonna go bang.
Bakers, your time is up.
It's definitely gonna snap the legs
and it's gonna squish the things underneath.
It's all right, come on.
Yeah, I'm all right, pet.
Well done.
Slightly precariously placed.
Paul and Prue have asked for a choux pastry ring
with a creamy filling
and an edible stand which must support the Paris-Brest.
Illiyin, would you like to bring up your Showstopper?
Only if you help me.
No pressure.
I'm taking this off. OK.
Hello, what you should have is like that
but between all of the standing,
and the time, I've got like a crack there, you can see.
Oh, yeah. So I'll put it directly on there for you.
I think it looks country baking shop
and very sophisticated at the same time. Thank you.
It's a shame it didn't hold up
but let's have a look inside, shall we?
You've got a choux pastry
filled with a hazelnut creme diplomat,
white chocolate and vanilla praline,
and then, just a little bit of dark chocolate ganache.
Beautiful.
Oh... Oh.
And when you get a bit of praline in there, it's wonderful.
And that with, actually, a well-baked choux ring,
it is very, very good. Well done, thank you. Thank you.
That stand looks amazing, doesn't it?!
The stand is amazing from a construction point of view.
The actual Paris-Brest looks quite small
for the amount of filling it's got. Did it rise properly?
It was a pain with the rise.
I wish it'd risen better.
Will this take a little bit of weight, will it, if I cut onto it?
HE WHIMPERS
Look at him panicking.
Have the matcha creme diplomat and some pecan praline.
It's not strong. No.
Even though I'm not a huge fan of matcha, it works for me.
I just think there needs to be more choux to balance it.
The stand is exceptional. The detail on it is incredible.
I do think it looks lovely,
and I saw it before it had begun to...
Yeah, it has leaked out, yeah. Yeah.
The Paris-Brest is creme diplomat with pistachio,
raspberry gel, white chocolate ganache with pistachio.
I like the pistachio in there, it blends well with the raspberry.
Your choux is slightly overbaked. It's just a little bit dry.
I want to taste the cake.
There's raspberry cream inside, as well.
Wow, that's better than the top!
The chocolate tastes delicious with it, too. Really good.
It is neat. There's elegance to that,
but I do think it looks quite short.
It's just a small mushroom.
The small profiteroles are with coconut cream
and the Paris-Brest is with pistachio praline cream,
raspberry jam and cream.
And that is a very lovely collection of fillings,
but the underside of your choux is perfectly baked,
and inside there's a whole layer of doughy underbaked.
Coconut choux buns are delicious.
Your flavours are great. The choux is not so great. OK.
I think the stand is so elegant.
You know, it looks like Baroque wrought iron.
Thank you. Let's have a look, shall we?
So, inside, we've got a little layer of pecan praline,
uh, orange liqueur for our mousseline,
the praline cream mousseline.
I think the flavours are fantastic. The choux's OK,
but that main orange mousseline running through it,
it's just not right. It's too thick,
But that one is absolutely perfect.
The praline's nice, yeah. Thank you.
I think it looks amazing.
I mean, the detail on there is incredible.
That's a very clever idea.
It's a passion fruit mousseline and a dark chocolate ganache.
That filling is just absolutely perfect. Thank you.
And it's very, very strong passion fruit, I love it.
I do think the choux is overbaked... Yeah.
..but because of that, it's managed to keep
its rigidity, as well. Yeah.
Overall, I think you've done a great job with the design
and the flavours are great. OK. Thank you.
What happened with the base?
My first batch went.
It just shattered.
It was always gonna be a little bit tricky with, essentially, sugar.
So my Paris-Brest is date caramel,
a pecan mousselini...mousseline,
and it's toffee with pecans and chocolate.
The bake on that ring is very good. Really?
I'm not getting enough punch from the flavour. I like the flavour.
I do think the mousseli-ni is a little too soft. Right, yeah.
I love the simplicity of this. Yeah.
Cos you're celebrating what's on the top,
and, actually, what is on the top
is one of the best-looking Paris Brests in here.
Yeah, beautiful.
So, now, it just has to taste great.
Mmm!
The Paris-Brest has a lemon creme mousseline,
a lemon and thyme curd
and topped with an Italian meringue.
APPLAUSE
It tastes absolutely divine.
The filling is very lemony and sharp.
Of course, the meringue whirls on top are very sweet.
Combination is lovely. Think the biscuits look great.
Can I...?
SHE CRUNCHES
Lovely? Well done.
The choux is delicious, filling's delicious.
Love the piping on the top.
Think you've done a great job. Well done. Thank you.
Thank you, Gill.
I'm pleased with the choux,
but using toffee wasn't the best of ideas.
I don't what to do.
Can't bribe 'em any more. Run out of money.
I felt I was kind of precariously placed pre-Showstopper.
And now, there's a chance that you kind
of could've clawed it all the way back.
I didn't get the handshake in the Signature,
but I've got a Paul clap.
I feel pretty safe. I don't take it for granted any more.
I remember, at the start, I was like,
"Oh, I didn't get Star Baker!"
Now, I'm like, "I just wanna stay!"
Well, it looked to me
that you two thoroughly enjoyed those Showstoppers.
I loved this challenge
and I thought they did really, really well.
For me, Gill, I rated her one of the top ones
in the Showstopper today and, obviously, she was, for me,
the top one in the Signature,
although she came last in the Technical,
for me she's dominated two of the three.
And that naturally puts her in line for Star Baker.
And what is so interesting is, Sumayah,
who, last week, was so close to going home,
is now in line for Star Baker. Isn't that wonderful?
It's unbelievable. I mean, that's the glory of Bake Off.
It looked incredible. As always, her flavours were fantastic.
Yeah. Let's talk about Andy,
because when it came to you, it was incomplete.
It was a bad design.
And you can actually say the same about Illiyin,
because she couldn't actually bring us with the Paris-Brest on the top.
Both of the people whose stands fell apart,
Illiyin and Andy, are both in line for going home, yeah.
Oh, dear. All I'm gonna say, guys, is I'm so glad
that none of us were laughing at
the word "Brest" throughout the whole of that.
Well done, bakers, you survived Pastry Week,
and I've got the great job this week of announcing
which one of you will be Star Baker.
And the person who's Star Baker this week is...
..Gill.
APPLAUSE
Nice one!
ALL LAUGH AND APPLAUD
Well done.
Now, unfortunately, I've got the terrible job
of announcing who's going to be leaving the tent today, so...
..the baker leaving the tent today is...
..Andy.
Sorry.
It wasn't your day, mate.
Sorry, buddy.
Just sad, you know? I've had such a fantastic time.
I've had so many laughs,
but that's the standard.
Come to Mama!
ALL LAUGH Come to Mama!
C'est la vie.
So proud of you. Are you proud of yourself?
You should be.
Oh, it's so sad to see Andy go.
I mean, I adore the guy,
but he just didn't have a good week.
Well done, Gill. Thank you.
Gill's always remained in a very safe position the last few weeks,
and today, she sort of stepped out from the pack
and I expect better things from her going forward.
Star Baker!
SHE MOUTHS
I'm going to have to phone Steve.
Hello! # Sta-a-a-ar Ba-a-a-ake-e-er! #
Absolute legend!
SHE GIGGLES
Oh, I'm so proud of you!
ALL CHATTER Ah, giddy.
"Giddy Kipper", as my mother would say right now.
Next week... Damn...
..it's autumn-time in the tent...
That's how we're going to do it.
I don't know what to say.
..with a warming Signature...
Whoa! It's all steamy.
..an obscure Technical... Do people like this, Gill?
Yes, the people do like this, Dylan.
..and a stunning Showstopper...
One hell of a baker.
APPLAUSE That's amazing.
..will have them all fearing the fall.
Whoa! Oh, good God. Are you OK?
Are you a Star Baker in the making?
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