We started with 12.
She's going to get rid of me, I can see it.
No, I can't choose, but I do love him.
Oh, my God. It's the worst day of my life.
Now...
It's the final.
Ah, you stupid oven.
..just three remain.
But there can only be one winner.
I need to get my hat sorted.
Oh, God.
Definitely overbaked.
Ow! Ah!
Good luck, guys. Hello.
It's time. For the finalists,
the Bake Off title is within touching distance, but three
challenges stand in their way.
Oh, good luck, Dylan.
At just 20 years of age, Dylan's flair with flavour
has set him apart.
You're the flavour king this year.
An ambitious baker, he's not afraid to take risks.
I've never had anything like it.
And when they work, he's unstoppable...
My goodness. ..as his three Hollywood Handshakes...
I'm sick of giving them to you now.
..and two Star Baker wins prove.
I don't think I'll ever come to terms with the fact
that I'm in the final. Yeah, it's really cool.
And I've like, obviously I'd love to win, but if I feel nerves,
that's when things go wrong.
Despite a rocky start...
Mine is melted to hell.
..Georgie's been the most consistent of our three finalists.
Yes, Georgie. That's delicious.
Although she's never had a Hollywood Handshake...
I tell you what I will do, I'll give you a pat. I'll take that.
..her traditional home baking style...
Just delicious, really classic flavours.
..and beautiful decoration...
Could be sitting in front of any bakery window.
..have seen her crowned Star Baker twice.
Georgie.
I would love to win. I do want to win, I'm not going to lie.
But I don't want to spend my last week here being stressed.
I'm never doing it again, so I'm going to enjoy it.
Christiaan's sense of style and eye for design have seen him produce
some breathtaking bakes.
That's one of the best things I've ever seen in the tent.
But his fondness for unusual flavour hasn't always proved a hit.
I like people working outside the box, but I think it's a box
I don't particularly like.
Always the bridesmaid... Who is number two?
..with no technical or Star Baker wins to his name, week after week
Christiaan was the nearly man, until...
Christiaan.
..Patisserie Week - finally named Star Baker.
He could be peaking at just the right time.
Georgie and Dylan are definitely fierce competition,
but you're as good as your last bake, so I mean,
that's a positive for me.
Welcome back to the tent, bakers. You're in the final, guys!
How amazing is that?
So, for your Signature Challenge, the judges
would like you to make 24 scones.
12 savoury and 12 sweet.
Your scones should be beautifully risen and well baked.
You also have to make a filling that will complement each batch.
I have got a little piece of advice -
make sure your scones are nice.
Powerful advice, Alison, you're on fire.
I'm on fire, but hopefully your scones won't be.
HE BLOWS IMAGINARY TRUMPET
You have two hours.
On your marks. Get set. Bake.
This is it, the last signature.
I'm really sad, actually.
As much as it's stressful, it's the best thing I've ever done,
so I'm gutted.
I don't think I'm ever confident, but I've got some nice scones,
so hopefully I can make them look nice.
I never actually made a scone before I started practising.
It's a little bit nerve-racking.
Maybe a lot.
Thousands of bakers all over Britain make perfectly good scones.
And they'll think, "Scones. I mean, for the final."
Well, it is really difficult to get a perfect scone.
What we're looking for is a flat top and level sides.
Well risen and really crumbly.
If you overfold the scone mixture, it's tough as old boots.
They should feel like little clouds.
And we've got three fantastic bakers.
They'd all be worthy winners.
But you just can't call it.
Whoever brings their A-game is going to win.
Morning, Christiaan. Good morning. Hello, Christiaan. Hello. Hello.
So tell us all about your scones. What are you doing?
So, for the sweet ones, I'm doing coconut and lime scone
with clotted cream, as well as a passion fruit curd.
OK. For my savoury scones I'm doing kind of like a curry,
mustard, chilli, onion, cheese. What, everything then?
Basically everything. Is this all chilli? Yeah.
And is all that going into these scones? Yes.
I'm out of here. LAUGHTER
To balance the heat in his curried cheese scones, Christiaan will serve
them with a whipped feta filling sprinkled with parsley
and pine nuts, and he'll add toasted coconut to his sweet scones
for extra flavour.
Who's your biggest challenger, do you think, in the tent?
If we could take someone out for you, who would it be?
Dylan. He's just so good, innit.
The things he comes up with are just insane.
Yeah, but it's on the day, anyone can win.
Yeah, yeah.
While Christiaan attempts to out-flavour the flavour king...
I'm using quite a lot of spices.
But I don't want them to overpower and Prue not be able to taste
anything but like burning mouth.
..Dylan's taking a risk too.
So this is rice vinegar.
Putting his own twist on a classic.
So I'm doing a clotted cream and strawberry one, but I'm elevating
it. I'm pickling some strawberries in camomile rice vinegar.
Pickling them adds like a nice gentle sourness.
And he's not stopping there.
He'll also elevate his savoury scones. Flavoured with fennel seeds,
he'll fill them with celeriac and
cream cheese puree, sauteed fennel
and an elegant smoked salmon rose.
You're in the final.
We made it.
I didn't think we would for a few moments.
I knew, I always knew. I'm a witch.
No pressure, but if you don't win this, I'll be furious.
Is that all our friendship is based on - me winning, is that it?
Well, I've got a bet on you, yeah.
But to win... I'm trying to mix it all together.
..the bakers must first produce a batch of scones,
light and fluffy in texture.
You don't want to knead it because kneading builds up the gluten.
And that's where it turns into bread. Does feel a bit dry though,
so I'm going to add some more moisture to it.
But a perfect texture is just half the battle.
So I'm rolling them out, cutting them.
Each and every scone across the batch must be identical
in shape and size.
The shape is down to how you cut them.
The raspberries can be a bit of my enemy sometimes.
It's hard to get a completely uniform shape
when you've got a wet filling.
And it's not just Georgie's sweet scones that are packed
full of flavour.
She'll fold a Mediterranean mix of olives, herbs and cheese
into her savoury scones too.
How's it going, my little Welsh wonder?
I don't know, it's just mad.
I still can't believe I'm here. I think i's lovely.
What do the kids think of all this?
They're really excited. They're happy to get the kitchen back.
What does the kitchen actually look like? Is it an absolute mess?
I am a mess, but my husband cleans up after me, love him.
He's really good. Good old hubby.
Has it brought you closer, do you think?
Yeah, I think so. I think he's seen a different side to me.
And then I've seen the side where he's supporting, so...
Aw. Teamwork, innit. Yeah, it is, it is.
Oh, yeah, it's been a massive family affair, especially with the kids.
I've sort of turned into the mum of the house definitely
while she's been away.
The kids are asking every two minutes, "How's Mummy?
"Is she doing well?" And myself, I'm sitting on pins.
I'm waiting for that phone call to see how she's got on.
Whenever she's not in the tent,
she's been at home baking flat out.
That's Georgina. Like, if Georgina's going to do something,
it'll be the best. The best of the best. Yeah.
And I've worked so hard over the last few weeks doing 14-hour shifts
in the kitchen. I've had to put the family on the back burner,
which has been hard.
Wow, did you draw that?
The kids are my life, so it's been really hard
having to tell them no a lot.
Um, and...
Oh, again, why am I getting emotional over that?
Aw.
Georgina always thinks of other people as more than herself.
It's about time now that she sort of had a limelight shine on her,
and I couldn't be any prouder of what she's achieved,
because she does doubt herself.
Winning this, it'll just mean the world to her, to be honest with you.
Hopefully she'll bring it home for the Welsh.
Iechyd da. ALL: Iechyd da.
You are the very first Welsh person in the final.
Ever? Ever. Is it? Oh, my gosh. Yeah. You're doing this for Wales.
It does mean a lot, that does, because Wales as a nation,
we all come together.
All right, so then these pop into the oven for 15 minutes.
As their first batch of scones begin baking...
200 for 15 minutes.
..the bakers have no time to catch a breath...
So here we've got the lime zest.
Now we're adding the coconuts.
..as they still have another dozen to prepare.
The savoury gets really sticky.
Let's not ruin the dress.
This is my savoury scone.
I love this because there's so many different flavours in this one.
Because I have fennel in the dough, the last thing you're left with
is this taste of fennel at the end.
And it's almost like everything you ate was just like a dream.
Yeah, you can see when he's passionate about something.
When there's something that he really enjoys, you know,
it shines through him.
He's had this curiosity about ingredients and food
for some time.
He'd taste it all and ask her, "What is this? How did you make it?"
No, she said he's not very good at cleaning up.
He's very messy.
After finishing school with an impressive four A-stars
at A-level, Dylan was due to start a degree in biomedical engineering.
But it wasn't where his heart was.
He just started looking up recipes, really developing
an interest in cooking.
He seems to have this real knack for very innovative and different
flavours, which I think is what sets him apart.
Can he win? Yeah, I think he can.
But regardless of the outcome,
I'm very proud of him that he's reached this stage.
Go, Dylan!
ALL CHEER
OK, question on my lips.
What? How bad do you want it?
I do want it. I think it'd be good.
It'd be a nice final touch to this all, do you know what I mean?
Yeah. Imagine if you actually won that and you say, "Yeah, I won
"the Great British Bake Off, age 20."
So these should be coming out now.
Oh!
They look like a scone.
Yeah, they look all right, innit.
Ah.
But Georgie is not quite so happy with the state of her sweet scones.
The raspberry ones aren't rising right.
So I'll definitely just remake them.
And she's not alone.
That's not right. They don't look great.
How much time have we got left?
Bakers, you are halfway through your final signature.
That's not great. So this is the Greek scones.
They're going in now.
I'm going to need more flour, more butter and more milk.
As Dylan and Georgie race to remake their misshapen scones...
So I've put less fresh in these and see how they rise.
I've got some dough on my shoe.
All right, here we go.
..with his final batch of sweet scones in the oven...
So I'm just going to make the whipped feta.
..Christiaan can push on with fillings.
Whip it.
How's it going? It's just very exciting, I think.
What do you think's got you into the final?
The "flavvurs"? The flaavers. The flaavers.
You have three good bakes,
you basically win the Bake Off.
I know.
He's put in so much work. So much work.
I do not think I could honestly have done it myself.
Practising from dawn till dusk every day of the week.
Usually he comes in the door and I've already shoved like
three cakes down his throat. Like, you know.
I've not even put my bag down from work
and there's a piece of cake in my hand, you know.
But I'm not complaining.
Oh, how cute. It's so cute.
That's so Dutch, in a bike.
Christiaan and Nick first met six years ago, quickly bonding
over a shared love of baking.
I grew up watching Bake Off.
It's something that I've always loved.
And when I met Christiaan, it came on telly.
I said, "Oh, have you seen this?" He's like, "No."
So we watched it and absolutely loved it.
I never once thought that he would choose to go on it, let alone get
to the final. You know? It's crazy.
It was... Yeah, it is crazy, but in a very good way.
I know how amazingly talented he is.
However, there's been times when he's needed
a bit of reassurance.
I do struggle with anxiety sometimes because I always push myself
for more and better.
There are moments that you're literally crying
in your kitchen over your cake that's just completely collapsed.
I genuinely don't think I could have done it without Nick's support.
There we go.
I am indescribably proud of Christiaan.
He has done so, so well, and I absolutely believe
Christiaan can win.
All right, so that's 15 minutes.
They look really nice and golden, so I'm quite happy. Yeah.
Bloody hell. Christiaan's scones smells so good.
I need to get my savoury ones in as quick as possible.
Two minutes left for the savoury.
Some of them are falling all over the place as well,
but they're better than the sweet ones.
All right. Please work.
Bakers, you have half an hour left.
Right, on to the fillings.
And that's a celeriac puree.
Tapenade.
Passion fruit curd.
Delicious.
Oh, bugger this. It's not enough celeriac.
I'm running out of time.
Ah, you stupid oven.
All right. Sweet scones are coming out.
Oh, my goodness! I can't see.
Oh, they look beautiful. Look at them!
My savoury ones just need a bit longer.
It's just assembling now. Six plain and six filled.
The nice and straight tall ones,
I feel like you want to keep them unfilled, because then they can see
the nice rise on it.
The fillings for the sweet ones are there.
This is almost ready.
The whipped Greek cheese.
I'm not going to get everything I want done.
I've still got to finish off my celeriac puree,
so I'm going to saute the fennel and just get some colour on them.
As Christiaan prepares to start filling, both Dylan and Georgie's
remade scones are finally out of the oven.
The sweet ones have 100% risen much better.
So I'm going to put them in the freezer quickly.
I need them to cool down as soon as possible.
Bakers, you've just got ten minutes left.
Oh, my goodness.
Georgie, your freezer door's open.
It's getting colder in here.
Piping on the whipped feta.
Just going to start spreading the tapenade.
The time just goes so quickly.
A few little pine nuts on top.
Fresh parsley on top as well.
To kind of, like, get that extra little bit of freshness.
This is the celeriac puree.
Dill oil comes next.
Squeeze this all through. Oh.
Bakers, you have five minutes left.
Oh, my God.
I don't think I'm going to have time to do them.
This is passion fruit curd.
It's nice and thick. It's how I want it.
Clotted cream on top.
Oh, it's a little bit liquid, isn't it?
The tops now and the chocolate.
And then they're done.
Are you going to be all right? I don't know. We'll have to see.
Well, I'm not happy with how it's leaking out,
but it is what it is.
Bakers, you've got one minute left.
BLEEP.
It's really annoying. It shouldn't have been this tight.
Christiaan, are you done? Yeah. Can I have a hand, mate?
Could you just pipe the clotted cream on the jam, please?
Oh, thanks so much, mate.
Honestly, you've saved my life.
Oh, it's falling out.
Bakers, your time is up.
Please step away from your scones.
Oh!
We did it.
Mine didn't rise very well at all.
Dylan.
This ain't enough mess.
It's judgment time in the final Signature Challenge.
Hi, Christiaan. Hello.
I like the look of these scones.
Very uniform. They look delicious.
Yeah, they do. This is the curry. Yeah.
That's a busy little scone, isn't it? There's a lot going on.
Mm.
That is very interesting.
It's a comforting, warm feeling.
And then this light, fresh kick of... Parsley is in there, yeah.
I do think you could have given it another couple of minutes.
Right. It's a little bit doughy.
But I think you've done really well with that, with the flavour.
Now the sweet ones.
It's melted, hasn't it? Yeah. No, it has, yeah.
You really do get the coconut, which is lovely.
The curd in there as well is delicious.
You've got something unusual.
I think you've baked them well.
They're excellent.
Thank you very much.
Well done.
Some of them are a bit wobbly.
Yeah. The overall shape is not particularly good. Yeah.
OK, let's start with one of the savoury ones.
It's a bit tough, but I do like the taste. Yeah.
I think the Mediterranean flavour really comes through.
Let's look at the sweet ones.
That's a bit lighter and cakier.
But there's not enough flavour there.
If you're going to put raspberries, you need to put quite a lot.
I love it with all the filling.
Mm. Passion fruit, cream. What's not to like? Yeah.
Overall, I think you've done a decent job on both of them.
Not quite polished enough, but the flavour ideas are good.
Thank you, Georgie. Thank you.
Well done, Georgie. Thank you.
It's really messy.
OK. Savoury ones.
The scone is nice and light.
Fennel seed works really well with it.
I was a bit worried about being over... Overcomplicated. Yeah.
Me too. But it all works.
They're delicious. Thank you.
But let's have a look at the sweet one, Prue.
They're a bit tougher, actually, these. OK.
And the strawberry wasn't strawberry enough.
Pickling the whole thing, and then the chamomile...
I don't get enough of the chamomile.
Or strawberries. Perhaps there's just not enough of it.
Yeah. Thank you, Dylan.
Well done. Cheers, mate.
Brutal.
They just weren't good enough. And it's just annoying, you know?
You don't do justice to what you spent a week trying to perfect.
I knew the shapes weren't going to be right.
I think they enjoyed the flavours.
It's going to come down to nitty gritty things cos it's the final.
I think that went OK.
I'm just happy that they said that the flavours were good,
but, yeah, the technical, it's the final.
So they're going to throw just anything at us.
I enjoy the technicals a lot.
If I do well in that I think I'll feel a lot better
about going in tomorrow.
Yeah.
With their signature complete, the bakers now face one final
gingham-shrouded mystery challenge.
Hello, bakers.
Welcome back to the tent.
It's time for your last ever Technical Challenge.
Now, today, your Technical Challenge has been set for you by the goddess
of gateau, Prue Leith.
Prue, have you got any words of advice for our finalists?
This is a bit complicated, so make a plan.
Now, as ever, this Technical will be judged blind.
So we're going to have to ask these guys to leave the tent.
OK, now, Prue would love you to make a stunning
afternoon tea display.
Your afternoon tea should consist of four individual
lemon sandwich cakes...
Four strawberry tarts...
And four plaited egg and cress rolls.
You've got three hours for this, guys.
On your mark... Get set...
Bake!
Oh, gosh!
Make a plan.
I mean, it's not the most difficult thing, but it's just doing
it all in time.
There's things that need to prove, to chill.
There's a lot of things going on.
Never made an afternoon tea.
I just can't mess this up.
Afternoon tea.
Now, I think you've chosen three classics.
You've got a beautiful egg roll, you have strawberry tarts,
and then you have the lemon sponge.
All the bakers will know how to make bread and pastry, cake.
So this is really a challenge about organisation.
Obviously we have to start at the bottom.
We have to start with the sandwiches first.
So we are covering some of the things we've already covered
on the Bake Off this year.
Like, the plaiting - they can overwork it so easily.
The bread is very light, it's lovely.
And they've got an egg mayonnaise filling.
Do they have to grow the cress?
They don't have to grow the cress and they don't have to lay the eggs.
They just have to boil them.
Strawberry. I do like these.
The pate sucree tastes beautiful, delicate and crumbly.
But they can overwork it.
They have to get it nice and thin.
Finally, this little lemon sponge is fantastic.
It looks beautiful.
It's a buttery, moist sponge.
There's baking powder in there, so they need to be careful not
to fill it too much,
otherwise it'll rise like a souffle and sink. It's a difficult challenge
simply because there's so much to do.
And we need to see every element perfectly executed.
Mess up one of these things,
it could snowball.
I'm just thinking what needs to be done first.
So I'm starting with the bread.
Get that door going.
I give it a little knead by hand.
You want to have that proving ASAP.
This bread just seems so high hydration.
Sticky!
It's like, come on, mate, come together.
Christiaan's has good gluten development.
That's done.
So that's in to prove.
Maybe 30, 40 minutes.
This is your last Technical.
They've really pulled out the stops for this one, haven't they?
They ain't messing around.
As long as there's a rhythm to it and everything gets done.
When you say a rhythm, I can drop you a beat.
Here we go.
# First the cake and then the pastry, then the br... #
I'm going to make pate sucree for the strawberry tarts
because that needs to chill.
I'm going to make this.
And then the sponges.
And maybe I'm wrong, but I kind of want to make my cake second,
rather than my tarts.
I need four of these, and then I'll cut these in half.
Yeah.
As Dylan's sponges hit the heat...
12 minutes, then we'll check them.
..Georgie and Christiaan's pastry...
That looks lovely.
..can begin to chill.
The key to a short pastry is to keep it really cold.
How are you doing? You seem quite happy.
This morning went all right for me, I feel.
I mean, you take that positive energy into the next
challenge, isn't it?
How much that'll set you back -
a grey, wobbly fork.
I mean, they're hard to eat with, but...
It's for waving at the Queen.
What is that for? It's a pastry brush.
It's a strawberry caresser.
Oh, yeah, that!
Noel, what's going on?
Oh!
So now I'm going on to the sponges, creaming together the butter
and the sugar.
Let's do the tart cases.
Create a little shaggy dough.
Just want to weigh this because I'm going to have to divide.
Each one of Prue's lemon cakes is built from two layers
of sponge. They're sandwiched.
So you need eight sponges.
Right, let's pop these babies in.
And while Christiaan and Georgie have opted to bake eight thin
sponges... I'm going to do ten minutes to start off with.
I'll check again at six minutes,
I think. ..Dylan's decided to make four fat layers that he'll split
into two once cooled.
Those cupcakes look awful.
Well, I don't know why they've sunk in the middle.
I'll just remake them.
Bakers, you are halfway through.
Blimey, that went quick!
See how these babies are doing.
I think I might have slightly overbaked them.
I think the cake's doing it again.
They've just mushroomed out.
Failed again. It's so annoying!
I'm losing my mind.
Babes, you've got this.
You're normally really good at this sort of stuff.
Just, everything's going wrong.
Oh, I don't like seeing my Dylan low!
Come on, give me a piggy back.
Let's cheer you up.
I'm going to roll my pastry out, cut the shapes.
I feel like maybe I should roll it a bit thinner.
They should turn out really pretty if they're done OK.
Why won't this BLEEP?
I just keep tearing the pastry.
I need to bake the pastry shells.
Let's put these in for ten minutes to start.
Bakers, you've got an hour left.
Let's get on with this bread.
Definitely doubled in size.
Out of this, we are making four plaited rolls.
So it's a five stranded plait.
I just can't remember how Paul did that plait
he did. Ding, ding, ding, ding!
Bring it to the middle. This one to the middle.
I'm going to keep saying it.
This one to the middle.
I can't remember how to do this.
One over two.
Oh! So I've got two here.
We've got two more to do.
This is the last one.
Who does this?
I've done this twice, and every time I've done it different.
Oh, my days!
Oh, look at our Christiaan doing his little plaiting.
Oh, it's a little bit like an art project, isn't it?
Look at that.
I think that's right.
I honestly have no clue any more.
Do they have to prove or no? Yeah. I'm going to put these in to prove.
They should take about 20 to 30 minutes.
Oh! Who are you?
All right, let's take these babies out for now.
So they've shrunk a bit.
Yeah, I think they're all right.
Golden-ish.
Oh, God!
Definitely overbaked.
Hopefully the filling will save it.
Go! Action!
Bakers, you've got half an hour left.
My bread has proved nicely.
It looks pretty terrible.
None of them look equal.
So egg wash and then nigella seeds on top.
I might egg wash my whole house.
Oh, no, don't!
Why not? Have you tried? No. We've got pebbledash.
People did it before because it was all the rage.
And I think it was like the '80s, maybe.
I love you've said so many things in your accent there
that have blown my mind.
Was it? All the rage.
All right, let's bake them.
Ten minutes.
So this is the lemon curd for the cake.
So the curd is ready here.
Can I switch sides? Yeah, go on.
So I'm just going to chill this curd.
Bread rolls - they're ready.
They felt all right, but they don't look great.
Got a nice golden colour, I feel.
Bakers, you've got ten minutes left. Ten minutes to go!
It's the final!
I'm going to make the egg mayo.
I've cooked my eggs soft boiled!
I don't know whether I'm meant to chop it or what.
It's disgusting!
Start decorating and assembling.
Wish I had my tweezers, man.
This is so hard.
Now I'm going on to the sponges.
I'll cut them in half, and I think I can make these look all right.
This is the mascarpone cream cheese.
Doing a little dam around and then filling it with the curd.
All right, let's move on to strawberry tarts.
I don't know how they should look.
I just don't know how to decorate these.
You've got one minute left.
Why does everything just look ugly?
I need to get my head sorted.
This is really, really stressing me out.
I don't know how they want them. They look a mess.
It feels like everything I've done has turned out wrong.
I just don't want to touch these tarts any more.
Getting on my nerves.
Bakers, your time is up.
So bad today!
Please bring your afternoon tea displays down to the table and place
them behind your photographs.
OK? Yeah.
Paul and Prue are expecting three afternoon teas fit for a final,
with four plaited egg and cress rolls, four scrumptious strawberry
tarts and four delicate lemon sandwich cakes.
Shall we start with that one?
There's a definition there in the plait. Yeah.
It's a shame they didn't cut down there,
open it up and put the egg because you want to show
off what the filling is rather than cutting it on the side.
Yeah.
The bread roll is good.
It's got a bit of bite to it, but it's soft and lovely.
Moving on to the strawberry tart.
I mean, it's quite pretty.
Snaps well.
Oh!
Lovely, isn't it? Perfectly baked.
OK. The sponge cakes. Sponge cakes.
That's quite neat, though, isn't it?
It is. Wow.
That's got a nice texture as well.
I would not mind that at all...
No. ..for my afternoon tea.
Moving on to this one.
It's quite neat. Nice bit of definition.
And they all look more or less the same.
They do.
It's got a lovely texture to the roll.
And the egg and cress is delicious.
OK, let's look at these tarts.
I'm not convinced of that layout.
The pastry's definitely overbaked. Mm.
Let's try the sponge.
That's very difficult to cut it in half, isn't it?
Yeah, it is.
Lemon curd is the winner.
Mm. Just delicious.
Slightly overbaked, I think.
That's why it was struggling when you cut it.
Literally pushed apart.
Moving on to this one.
This is a bit uneven. Yeah, it is.
I think the plaiting wasn't perfect.
The plaiting was terrible!
It's baked OK, but it's a little bit dense.
The dough is just too tight. Right.
The pastry is a bit rough.
And it's too thick.
I think it's been done in a hurry.
Yeah. Moving on.
The sponge looks uneven, doesn't it?
Yeah, it's the way it's been cut.
Flavour is lovely.
Lemon curd is good.
Mm. That sponge is a little bit ropey.
Mm.
It's not good. OK.
This is going to be tricky.
ALISON: Paul and Prue will now rank the afternoon teas
from worst to first.
Right, in third place,
we have this one.
Dylan, your bread wasn't very good.
There was no height in the strawberries.
And the sponge wasn't your best.
OK. In second place, we have this one.
Whose is this?
Georgie. Not too bad.
I quite like these. A little bit overbaked.
These burnt.
I did like the bread on this.
The overall look was pretty decent.
Which means, Christiaan, that this is in first place.
The rolls were perfect.
The tartlets looked beautiful and those little lemon cakes
were just delicious.
So well done. Thank you.
Finally, I can say I'm not the bridesmaid, but the bride!
I finally got a first in Technical after all these weeks!
I knew I'd overbaked those tartlets.
It always tends to come down to the Showstopper.
Anyone could win it.
I think it's so disheartening.
I've done so badly in both the challenges.
Another day tomorrow.
Tomorrow will be perfect.
I'm not going to let anything slip up.
I'll just... Yeah, I'll just make sure of it.
Remember to have fun.
We're allowed to get a little bit stressed, but just enjoy.
Just enjoy it. It's the last time we're going to do this.
Yes.
Just one challenge remains in this year's Bake Off.
Good luck. Good luck!
I think, at the moment, when you look over the two challenges,
Georgie and Christiaan have really come into their own.
They've upped it a level, haven't they?
Yeah, but Christiaan has got his nose in front.
IN CHRISTIAAN'S ACCENT: It's all about the flavours!
But let's be honest, Dylan has messed up, hasn't he?
He's messed up two challenges. He has.
Dylan's very young and he cares so much about baking.
But if he has a problem, he's quite emotional and can't hide it.
When it comes to Georgie, can she win?
Yes, of course she can.
All of these three could win.
Dylan could come back with a blinder.
I really would hate to call it.
I do think, going into the final Showstopper,
it will be the weight of the world on their shoulders.
This is the big one.
It's a difficult challenge.
Something will go wrong, and the one that deals with those problems
is the one that wins.
Oh, I can't wait!
Bakers, it's your final bake...
..ever!
So the judges would like you to make an exquisitely decorated hanging
cake fit for a summer garden party.
Your cake should consist of at least three tiers, have two fillings,
and be exquisitely decorated.
Remember, this is your final chance to impress these beautiful judges.
So do not hold back.
And do not rule out blackmail or massaging Paul's feet.
You've got 4.5 hours for this.
On your marks... Get set...
Bake!
I'm a nervous wreck.
I've never made a three-tier cake, so this is really pushing me.
There is a lot of cake to bake and, if I pull it off,
I'm going to be really happy.
I'm tense and I just don't want to mess up like yesterday.
It's the final Showstopper, and we're asking them to produce
a hanging cake.
If I was a baker, I would be absolutely terrified.
I just need to stop panicking.
Because they're hanging,
precision is really important.
What we don't want is collapsed cake.
The critical thing is, what sponge do you use?
You'd be tempted to use a very light whisked sponge, like a genoise.
The problem with that is, because it's defying gravity,
there's an extra pressure on that.
You could concertina up the sponges.
And, of course, it has to taste like the best cake you've ever eaten.
You don't want a mismatch of flavours.
I want to see impeccable decoration, exquisite design.
This has to be absolutely perfect.
I wanted to do something a bit special.
So this is going to be a lemon, strawberries and champagne cake.
Nice, light, fluffy cake.
Perfect for a celebration!
With the Bake Off crown tantalisingly close,
Georgie's final bake will celebrate the taste of summer.
Her classic combination of lemon sponge bursting with champagne
and strawberry confit, zesty lemon curd and champagne
and elderflower mascarpone Chantilly.
She'll also add elderflower to her buttercream
for a floral decorative flourish.
So I'm going to do palette knife flowers on the top and bottom.
And the middle tier - a rose garden stencil.
Wow. Wow. So how do you feel?
Because you're still in with a shout of winning this.
I'd fall to the floor and roll down the hill.
You better had do! I want to see that.
NOEL: But Georgie's lemon cake faces stiff competition.
And it's going to be like a lemon poppy seed cake.
And true to form, Christiaan's giving this classic a unique twist.
I thought it would be quite fun if it could be something
that is a little bit more out there.
So it's going to have a raspberry jam with liquorice in it.
Oh, liquorice is quite nice! Raspberry and liquorice.
I've never had that.
And it's not just the jam that's being given the full
Christiaan flavour treatment.
He'll add lemon, thyme and cardamom to his poppy seed packed sponge too.
While his decoration celebrates his love of design,
each tier a mix of unusual and contrasting shape.
He's on fire. Fire!
You are on fire at the minute.
You've won a Technical.
You've been Star Baker.
You've had the handshake.
It's insane, isn't it? All you've got to do now...
..is get the trophy.
Are you feeling it now?
I can feel it in my hand.
Like, literally, like, you know.
But to get their hands on the prize, first, they must make and bake
a huge quantity of perfect sponge.
There's so much.
It's about eight and a half kilos, this cake is.
It's quite big.
An oil-based sponge, so it should be quite sturdy,
which is good.
We need it to be able to hold up all the three tiers,
hold the fillings.
Definitely needs to be stable.
But Dylan's decided to risk sacrificing stability for a sponge
as light as air.
I'm doing a genoise sponge.
Last time I made genoise, it got messed up last week.
But, you know, I've done this many times now, so I'm not expecting
any hiccups today. I'd be very upset if there was.
His final shot at the title.
Dylan's delicate genoise, infused with Earl Grey tea and filled
with mascarpone cream and candied orange, will form a three-tiered
hanging cake inspired by his travels to the Italian fishing town
of Murano, famous for its glass-blowing.
It was just really cool.
I loved the colours and hopefully, if I have time, I'll do some isomalt
glass-blowing on it. Wow!
I tell you what I'm worried about, is that genoise is such
a light cake. They're not concertinaing up?
No. OK.
I don't think yesterday was your best day, but it's all
to play for today. It's up to you now. Yeah, I know. Yeah.
It's all in your hands.
Yeah.
With at least six sponges to bake and just one oven...
OK. ..not only is batch baking a must, but managing time
and temperature will be crucial too.
30 minutes to start.
But it might take longer because it's a fuller oven.
While those are baking, I'm getting all my fillings
and everything ready.
I haven't even got my cakes in yet.
This is ridiculous.
My genoise is a bit clumpy, so I'm just going to keep folding it.
As soon as these are in the oven, I can start with all my fillings.
BLEEP!
This is strawberry confit, so we're going to add a bit of champers.
Paul?
Oh! Ah!
Oh! You can do this cake without the champagne.
I'm using the champagne because it's the final!
This is raspberry liquorice jam. In the Netherlands,
we love our liquorice.
All right, let's just move. At home,
they take 38 minutes.
But they'll probably take longer here, so I'll check them.
I don't know, I'm just worried about them.
The batter just wasn't as nice as it always is.
There were quite a few lumps, so just...
I hope it's all right.
Georgie!
How are you?
I'm all right.
What's happening? I'm hyper today.
Hyper focused. Frantic.
Are you? Yeah.
I'm ADHD.
ADH... Are you? Yeah.
OK, so this is you in full ADHD concentrating.
Spider diagram of, like, a million things.
And then I pop from one spider diagram to the other.
And then I cut off each branch.
And I think she's absolutely nailing this.
And then I go to walk away.
And you're thinking about the Pope. Yeah.
That's usually how it works.
Something pops in your head.
Thinking about juggling.
That's what it's like.
So these cakes are coming out of the oven in about two seconds.
There we go.
They're looking OK in there.
The bakes in the Technical were overbaked, so I really want
to get these ones right.
These look really nice.
So I'm making my Earl Grey buttercreams.
Got my candied oranges on the hob.
Sponges are in the oven.
Come on, come on, come on.
Please bake!
I need to get my curd under way now.
I want this quite sharp because it's quite a sweet cake.
So we want this to be...
So here I've got the French buttercream.
I don't want the lemon thyme leaves in there, but you want the flavour.
As Georgie's sponges exit the oven...
That's a bit over.
I'm cutting the tops and bottoms off anyway, so it should be OK.
..and the last batch of Christiaan's go in... Crazy, innit?
It might be the last cakes I'm baking.
Unless they go all wrong.
For Dylan's genoise, it's the moment of truth.
The small ones don't look right at all.
They all have clumps of flour in the bottom.
I knew it going in. I literally knew it.
I had a feeling and I knew it would be bad.
And it was.
Bakers, you are halfway through.
Right, let's get these babies out.
These bottom ones are a little bit lighter.
I might just give the whole thing two more minutes.
So I'm just cutting the tops off.
This can really soak into the cake.
A strawberry lemonade syrup. Right.
I'm going to start stacking now.
And we're not nervous and we're not anxious.
So this is the filling.
Mascarpone, Chantilly.
Raspberry and liquorice jam.
I don't like liquorice.
Oh, but you're gonna need to taste that.
Is it different when it's all together?
Yeah, definitely. Definitely.
You know what you're doing. I mean, you know me.
This is the curd and the confit.
Some people like thin cakes.
Lots of it.
I prefer big wedge of cake.
Big wedge of filling.
Filling and stacking is still a way off for Dylan.
It's the bottom where the problem is.
You can see these clumps of flour.
If I can cut them out, the top should be fine.
I'm gonna have to use those.
But I'm making more of the small cakes as well.
Just worried about time.
Bakers, you've got one hour left.
I don't want to jinx anything, but I'm all right
in terms of time schedule, I think.
They're all fully stacked.
So the final hour, I want to just be the finishing touches,
decoration and getting that cake on that stand.
So this is why it's such a rush.
This is exciting.
Piping nozzles.
All the baking people at home are like, "Oh!"
I can get this done.
It's gonna be a real push.
Smiling still?
A little bit.
Yeah, it's a little bit scary, isn't it? Yeah.
So these are going to be the flowers on here now.
This is like oil painting.
In terms of design, I'm going to go quite abstract.
So the top tier is going to be origami inspired.
I still have a whole cake I need to crumb coat and layer.
This is stunning.
Who knows what it's gonna taste like.
Can you believe this is the bake between winning or losing?
This is your bake. This is it.
So I'm going to roll up the font. Stick it on.
This is a stencil.
It's a bit patchy, which is annoying.
I want things to be perfect.
I'm doing a marble effect on this.
I don't even want to make this look beautiful, because I want it to look
like plastered walls.
The marbling looks horrible,
so I'm gonna ganache all over this again.
I'm not gonna get everything I want done.
Probably not going to be able to do the sugar glowing.
I would like to still do the moss.
How's it going? Are you enjoying it?
Yeah, that's a big word, isn't it?
Enjoying? Enjoying.
What am I doing?
What did I come over here for?
Bakers, you've got half an hour left.
You're doing so well.
Keep going.
That's good.
So I need to stack the cakes onto the hanging pole.
All right, big push.
Oh, God!
What's wrong? I don't want to do it.
If that drops, the cake is gone.
So scary.
OK.
Yeah? Yeah.
OK, I'm gonna start building the cake.
How's it hanging? Is it gonna hang?
I hope it hangs.
Is that the hard part of this?
It's not necessarily the hardest part, but you need to allow yourself
enough time for it.
Bakers, you have 15 minutes left.
All right. I'm gonna try and do the cupcakes.
Mhm!
Let's just get it on.
I don't want to be left at the end without it.
My hand is so wobbly now.
Christiaan's is amazing.
Oh, is the cake touching?
It's gonna have roses on the top of it now.
Summer party.
So, flowers.
Bakers, you've got five minutes left.
Ah!
Oh, BLEEP.
I can't do it!
OK. You ready?
And I'll support the button.
OK. Beautiful.
Ah!
Oh! It's hanging.
Bakers, one minute left.
Do you need help?
You know those moss cupcakes? Could you break them up?
I'm not happy with the middle layer, but I'm just happy
that it's hanging.
Wow, it's hot.
Smash it!
Bakers, your time is up!
It's out of my hands now.
Well done.
That's it. You've done all that you can.
Thank you!
Oh, my God!
We bloody did it!
The winner of this year's Bake Off will be announced
at a very special garden party.
Here to cheer them on are their families and some old friends.
It's amazing to be back to see everyone all decked out,
looking pukka, and the love brings back some beautiful memories.
I can't believe I'm here.
It's so fun, having food, laughing on the merry go round.
It's great.
I'm back! I've only had a week away.
Nice to be enjoying it with the rest of the bakers
and just having a thoroughly nice time while somebody else sweats
in the tent.
For me, it has to be Georgie.
She just sums up everything that is perfect about home baking.
If I was going to put my money on it, I'd say Dylan, maybe.
Dylan is extraordinary, but my personal hope is Christiaan.
He's kind of snuck in as that underdog.
I think Christiaan might take it.
I'm nervous just thinking about being in their position,
so I can't even imagine how they feel.
Dylan, would you like to bring up your hanging cake, please?
We're coming to get you.
Yeah. Let's go.
Dylan. Tell us all about your hanging cake.
So mine is inspired by the houses in Murano.
It's quite abstract, isn't it?
You'd have to explain to everybody at the party what was going on here.
What it is. It's not obvious.
You'd never guess by looking at it.
What you've got really beautifully is that feeling
of crumbling plaster.
Right, shall we taste? OK.
It's Earl grey genoas with a mascarpone cream
in between the layers with some candied orange.
And then an Earl grey buttercream on the outside.
Mm.
The tea works really well.
Thanks.
I like the candied orange.
It does work really well with the Earl Grey and the sponge.
You've got quite a concertinaed sponge here. Yeah.
You know, I think the candied orange works so well,
but you needed more of it.
When you do get the candied orange, when you do get the Earl Grey
in the sponge, it's delicious.
But when you look at the levels on this, where you've got
an inch of mascarpone... Yeah.
..and the same on there,
and they're barely a quarter of an inch,
it's not very well balanced.
Was this because it was a rush? Yeah.
The top one was the last one I did, so I tried to get it out.
You were in more of a hurry? Yeah.
But nevertheless, fascinating work.
Thank you, Dylan. Well done.
Is your tongue blue?
Yes, it is.
Take it away.
Well done, babe. Cheers, guys.
Well done.
Georgie, are you ready for your show stopper?
As I'll ever be. Let's do it.
Oh, my God!
This is scary as hell. Yeah!
Oh!
There you go.
So, Georgie, tell us about this magnificent show stopper.
My cake is inspired by summer gardens.
It's a lemon sponge with champagne and elderflower mascarpone,
lemon curd and strawberry confit.
Well, it certainly says summer, doesn't it?
It's so pretty.
I think you've done an amazing job with the stencil work.
And the piping with the buttercream looks great as well.
Beautiful.
Anyway, look at that.
That's an impressive wedge to come out of that cake.
So you've done an all in one sponge?
Creamed. They look well baked.
Yeah, they look beautiful.
That is utterly delicious.
Oh, thank you.
It's almost like a trifle.
It is, because it's got so much lovely filling.
The elderflower works really nicely in it.
The sponge is baked beautifully, nice and even.
The filling is lovely.
The mascarpone is soft and luxurious, and it complements
the sharpness of the lemon.
If I was going to a summer party and someone gave me that,
I'd be a happy man.
Absolutely delicious. Thank you.
Well done, Georgie.
Thank you, guys.
Smashed it.
Oh, thanks, guys.
Christiaan, it's show stopper time.
Look at that little beauty.
Yeah, go slow.
Go slow, go slow.
Thanks.
Christiaan, remind us about your show stopper.
So my show stopper cake is poppy seeds, lemon thyme,
lemon and olive oil sponge with lemon thyme French buttercream,
and a raspberry and liquorice jam.
Wow!
The design is wonderful.
Love this layer here.
This layer doesn't look quite as polished as the top bit. No.
Oh, wow, look at that!
It's a great looking slice.
I've never tasted anything like that before.
The liquorice with the raspberry.
It's unusual, but that's not the first time you've done unusual.
I like all the flavours, but I think they're all a mite too strong.
I never thought I'd say this because I'm always asking
for punchier flavour, but it's almost too concentrated.
It's delicious in a tiny bit,
but I don't think you could eat a whole slice.
And I think it's slightly overbaked.
The idea, though, I love it.
That's very Christiaan.
Well done. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much.
Well done, my darling.
I'm a bit overwhelmed.
I feel a bit numb.
Of course it would be lovely to win, but not everything was exactly
as I wanted it in terms of flavour, in terms of shape.
I think I did everything I could, and I still honestly don't know
who could win it, because I had a bad day yesterday.
So, it could be...
It still could be anyone.
Those two are just so talented.
It's crazy.
I think I'm just really humbled from that challenge.
You know, I tried my best this week, even if everything goes to plan.
But theirs were amazing.
I think it's between Christiaan and Giorgio.
I think I'm out of it, to be honest.
Oh, my God!
While the bakers are reunited with their loved ones...
Hello, baby.
Are you enjoying?
..Paul and Prue have a huge decision to make.
What a show stopper, three really incredible cakes.
I can't get over them. They were amazing.
Lemon poppy seeds, liquorice.
When you look at Christiaan flavours, very brave.
The wonderful thing about Christiaan is his ability to put strange things
together and make them taste fantastic.
But I think he just overdid it this time.
But I think it's decent enough.
And he did win the technical and he did really well
in his signature as well.
You are so good!
I thought Dylan's pulled himself up.
I'm so proud of you.
I loved his flavours.
I just thought one of his sponges was a little bit concertinaed up.
But you know what? It was still absolutely delicious.
What about our Welsh queen?
I thought she did really well.
I loved the floral design.
It screamed the summer and it tasted of summer.
You know, you could say, well, it was very conventional
because it was strawberries and cream.
But these flavours are classic because they are the best.
And she just did what she does best.
I think she did really well.
She's been pretty constant.
So it's something that Prue and I have got to talk about.
Is it close? Closer than you think.
You could make a case for each of them.
So you haven't decided just yet?
It's... No. There's a couple of things I want to talk to.
We'll have fisticuffs. Oh, it's exciting!
I am nervous because I just don't know who it's going to be.
Oh!
Oh, it's so lovely to have you all here.
Can I please ask our incredible three finalists
to step forward, please?
Dylan!
Christiaan!
Georgie!
It's been an incredible final.
You've all been amazing.
But there can only be one winner.
The winner of the Great British Bake Off 2024 is...
..Georgie!
Well done! Well done!
That's amazing!
You're the winner of the Great British Bake off!
This is mad!
I've won it.
I can't believe I've won it.
I cannot believe I've won it.
It just means...
It means, it's just incredible.
I can't believe that I've won the Great British Bake Off.
Oh, my God!
You and me again.
It just means everything.
Like, I've always been so self doubtful.
I've got this, I've got that wrong with me, I can't do it.
And you make excuses.
And for once I just thought, no, I'm going to go for it
and I'm going to put my everything into it.
Working all the hours.
You know, I've sacrificed things with the kids, my family,
and I'm just so proud of myself
because I've just proved to myself that I can do something.
And now I'm here today, winner!
The winner!
My heart... You didn't expect that?
No, I didn't.
Georgie did what she does best.
Classic British baking.
Beautifully done and won it.
And quite right, too.
That's a very special cake.
Full of flavour, full of life.
The Welsh wonder, Georgie, smashed it out of the park.
I'm so, so, so proud of Georgie.
So happy for her.
She deserved it. She is amazing.
She's such a good baker.
Her cake was insane.
It was literally like picture perfect summer garden cake.
It was so good.
Well done!
I'm really glad she got it.
She's just absolutely wicked.
I am already feeling sad that I'm not coming back here.
And I'm not going to see everyone.
Come on, come on!
You promised me you'd roll down the hill.
Remember? Yeah.
The people I've met
are going to be best friends for life.
It's been the best thing I've ever done.
Go on, then. Go on, then!
# Together again
# My tears have stopped falling
# The long and lonely night...#
Hello, guys. Hello, guys.
# Are now at an end
# The key to my heart
# You hold in your hand
# And nothing else matters
# We're together again
# And nothing else matters
# We're together again
# Together again. #
Are you a Star baker in the making?
If you'd like to apply for the next series of Bake Off, visit...
Subtitles by Red Bee Media