I'm so excited. It's Caramel Week.
So too am I, Noel Fielding.
And actually, here's a fun fact about caramel week.
Did you know that leathery screen star
Mel Gibson's original name was Caramel Gibson?
I did know that, actually. The Lethal Weapon films are my favourite.
Particularly love the powerful acting of Danny Oven-Glover.
- You ruined it. - What?
I had a lovely joke there about caramel week.
All the boys and girls who watch this show
would really enjoy that joke, and you've absolutely ruined it.
I don't know what his problem is, Danny.
Fancy introducing the show with me?
Okay.
Welcome to the Great British Baking Show.
This time the bakers must conquer caramel
Carmel is a very fussy baby.
with a super sweet Signature
Flippin' hate caramel.
an even stickier Technical
- Why does this happen to me? - You're here for the money shot.
and one of the most demanding Showstoppers
No, no.
of all time.
- Yeah, I can't. - Flippin' nightmare.
Caramel week, the week where anything can go wrong.
Yay Proper fake "Yay," that, isn't it?
It's completely different to every other week we've done.
- It's terrifying. - Caramel is heated sugar
that solidifies without crystallizing.
I'm dreading it.
It's just sugar and then suddenly, bam, it's caramel.
Then it burns, and you're like, "My life's over."
Dare I say it, I'm feeling fairly confident.
Bakers, welcome back to the tent for caramel week.
Today, for your Signature challenge,
the judges would love you to make a highly decorative,
sharing-sized caramel tart.
Now you can create any style of tart you like,
with any flavours or additional elements.
But remember, caramel must be the star of the show.
Oh, not again.
Years ago, I auditioned for a part in The Bill,
lost out to an Italian meringue.
- What was the role? - It was an Italian meringue.
I can kind of see it from both sides.
- You have two and a half hours. - On your marks
- Get set - Bake!
It's a caramel tart, and it's a highly decorative caramel tart
and one you've got to put your own spin on.
- And not a lot of time to do it. - It's caramel, innit?
You need to be patient. 'Cause when you rush it, things mess up.
And I don't wanna go home.
I can't be trusted with molten sugar. It's just a terrifying week.
What we're looking for
is a beautiful, thin base, a beautifully set caramel,
flavours which enhance the caramel with a gorgeous decoration on top.
Caramel has to be the star.
We don't want so much that it's overbearingly sweet.
It mustn't be rock-hard, like a toffee.
And it mustn't be runny like a sauce.
I'm just trying to get my pastry done.
Get that chilled and then I can focus on all the fillings and stuff.
It's so important that they get the caramel base cold
before they decorate it.
If they don't cool, if you put anything on the top, it will just melt.
I think the bakers will be nervous about caramel week.
They won't have worked that much with it.
It's pure sugar.
It's not something you'd eat every day.
- Morning, George. - Hello.
Morning. Hello.
What have you decided to do for caramel tart?
A bit like a banoffee pie.
I've got a chocolate tart and a caramel custard,
my bananas, and then I got a toffee sauce.
And then I'm going to try and cut through all that sweetness
with double cream and crÃ¨me fraiche.
I love the way you went, "Use double cream to cut through the sweetness."
George's classic flavour combos
will reside in a chocolate short pastry case,
and rest on a caramel custard he'll bake inside the tart.
Getting it done and cooled on time - is that gonna be all right?
The fridge is my friend in this challenge.
- Pray my custard doesn't curdle. - Well, yeah.
Lizzie is also risking cramming in a custard.
It's a caramel custard and then caramelised pineapple.
And is hoping this bake won't sink her chances
of getting to next week's quarter final.
My caramel tart is called "My Tart Will Go On."
- Funny, aren't I? - And are you a big CÃ©line Dion fan?
Who isn't?
Lizzie's Titanic-inspired tart
will be topped with caramelised pineapple, caramel shards and Chantilly cream.
And will also be filled with a baked caramel custard.
During practice, did you get everything cool enough
to be able to build those layers?
- No. - No.
- Why are you carrying on then? - We're just having a panic, aren't we?
I've made my pastry and that's going in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Shortcrust pastry, so cold butter is the key.
So when I roll it out, it doesn't start shrinkin'.
With pastry chilling
One task done. Whoo-hoo!
the bakers can concentrate
on the flavours to complement their caramel.
I am doing an apple pecan and miso caramel tart.
I want to taste the cinnamon apples.
But no sugar's going in because I really don't want this to be sickly sweet.
Crystelle's tart will have a layer of pecan nutty crunch,
miso-flavoured caramel and apple chunks cooked with cinnamon.
So, it's relatively heathy.
Sugar-free apples and lots of caramel sauce.
Probably start caramelising me pineapples.
Flavour isn't all the bakers must perfect.
I feel like a chef when I do that.
They must also conjure up textures
that balance luscious caramel softness.
There will be a crunch with roasted hazelnuts,
both chunks and small bites.
Giuseppe's nut-packed caramel tart
will come topped with yet more caramelised nuts
in a sweet apricot cremeux.
How's caramel for you?
It doesn't like moisture, it doesn't like too hot, or too cold.
Temperamental.
I'm used to dealing with an Italian wife, so--
You know this is going on telly.
Whoops.
Giuseppe isn't the only baker going a bit nutty.
I'm using three different kinds of nuts,
but the richness of the caramel covers most of the nut flavours.
Jurgen will pack pecans,
walnuts and pistachios into a caramel layer
he'll bake inside his pastry case and top with a kumquat crÃ¨me chiboust.
Now we're talkin'. I love a bit of kumquat.
- Would you mind passing the cream, please? - Yes, of course, the cream.
I feel like now I've passed you the cream, this is now our bake.
This is our bake.
Just remember, if you hold that trophy up, it's part mine.
- Yeah. - Pastry time.
So, bring it out, roll it out, bake it,
and then, yeah, Bob's your uncle.
I want to roll it very, very thin, about two millimetres thick
to make it very, very crisp.
Need to make sure I get all the grooves in the tart,
get a nice finish.
They'll look out for the little details.
Aiming for a finish with finesse,
Chigs will top his tart with fine sugar work.
He's going big on flavour, covering a ginger-laced caramel
with a rich chocolate ganache.
The chocolate was overpowering when I was practising,
but I've changed it now,
I'm increasing the amount of caramel in there.
"Blind-bake for 20 minutes."
Where's my balls?
Baking the pastry case before the filling is added
Going in, then.
helps avoid the dreaded soggy bottom.
This will go in for 18 minutes to start with.
I'll take off the baking beans and then in for 15.
Be good to me, please.
Right, bakers, the Union have convened
and voted that you are halfway through the task.
Anybody have any questions,
please direct them to the foreman.
Start making the caramel.
The bakers must now turn their attention
to the star of the show.
It's fine to eat out of a jar, but when you have to make it,
it's a nasty little thing, caramel.
Just wanna make sure the water is mixed in with the sugar.
Whichever method the bakers choose
I'm doing a wet caramel.
I think dry caramel's the easiest. It's just sugar. A kid's dream.
they must be incredibly precise
- Caramel is a very fussy baby. - about temperature.
Gotta wait for that to get to 117 to get to caramel stage.
I kind of sound like I know what I'm talking about.
As creating the perfect colour
I judge the correct browning by eyesight.
is the only way to obtain the distinctive flavour.
The trick with this,
is to take it out when it's lightly golden.
Because it'll keep cooking.
Judging the exact moment to turn off the heat is critical.
So, this is looking amber, and amber means, "Get ready to rumble
'cause caramel's coming."
Take things too far
Literally, could be seconds.
and the caramel will be bitter.
You can really taste a burnt caramel.
Worried my caramel's gone too dark.
Let's just see what happens. I don't want to do it again.
I think we are pretty close. I'll add the cream.
I'm going in.
It's high fat, high sugar. Oh, yeah.
That caramel looks delish.
It has gone a bit dark.
Paul will match it to the back of his hand.
It's the perfect colour.
- Perfect tan. - That's how he tans himself with caramel.
The wasps love him.
With plenty of butter added
Would you like to go for a swim in that?
it's now the baker's flavours that come into play.
The smell of the hazelnuts is just phenomenal. I love it.
This is miso paste.
It's like a fermented bean paste.
Yummy, yummy
Caramel custard, done.
Ready to go.
Right, let's get this tart out.
It's very puffed up, but I think it's just the top layer of the pastry.
Now the bakers split into two different camps.
Yum, yum, yum.
Crystelle, Giuseppe and Chigs are ready to layer and chill their tarts.
Look at this.
This is a moment, a key moment.
This is my nemesis.
- Evil Caramel. - Evil Caramel.
Wasn't there a villain in The Smurfs called Caramel?
But Lizzie, George and Jurgen still have elements
to bake inside their pastry cases.
The caramel needs to bake for half an hour
so I need to get the tart in as quickly as possible.
We're baking the custard in the tart for 40 minutes,
which will leave me 20 minutes to finish off and cool.
Which is a bit worrying.
These are my little decorations.
While some have time to finesse
I've never seen a man cut liquid with scissors before.
There you go. There's always a first.
Jurgen, Lizzie and George must juggle getting their tarts baked
The custard shouldn't be rock hard,
it needs to have a bit of wobble.
while still allowing enough time to cool.
Then it's got to set.
But there's a big worry
when it comes to baking egg custard in a hurry.
I hope it hasn't curdled.
The wrong oven temperature
Dropped the oven from 180 to 120.
risks the egg protein curdling and ruining the desired silky texture.
Should've just done the set custard.
How much time do we have left?
Bakers, you have 11 onions, some butter and six loo rolls.
- Is that your shopping list? - Oh, sorry.
Bakers, you have half an hour.
- What do you think of this jiggle? - Coming out now.
- Yeah, that looks good. - Goin' out.
Come on, hon, you're gonna do it.
It needs to cool.
It's probably 120, 130 degrees.
Everything now depends on getting things cooled in time.
With half of the tent's tarts only just going in to chill
Oh, my God.
- the other group of bakers - It's set now.
are one step ahead.
I'm just doing stars in different sizes and shapes.
How come she's piping already?
The cake is still in the freezer.
If it doesn't cool in time,
the double cream's just gonna melt like a puddle on top.
Bakers, you only have five minutes remaining.
Still hot.
Well, you have to bite the bullet.
It looks wonderful. It is still quite warm.
Bloody curdled.
It's never looked like this.
I can tell it's curdled.
The cream is melting.
It is still quite hot.
Come on, this must have cooled down by now.
Bakers, you have one minute left.
Oops. It's a lake of cream.
I think this was a bad idea.
Come on. There you go.
I just wanted it to be simple, but effective.
Don't tell anyone, this is our little secret.
I don't even know if I've got enough cream left.
Come on.
Bakers, your time is up.
Please place your caramel tart at the end of your work station
and chill.
What, they should chill or they should chill the tart?
Either.
I've got curdled custard, melted cream.
This is finesse. Paul, eat your heart out.
Look, this is all nice and smooth. Why did it curdle?
The bakers' sharing caramel tarts
will now face the judgment of Paul and Prue.
- Hello, Lizzie. - Hello!
Hey, Lizzie.
This is "My Tart Will Go On."
Erm, like Titanic, it was a disaster movie.
The cream melted.
It does look rough and ready.
It's the piping that you've lost. Probably with the heat from underneath it.
That's one crispy base.
Mmm.
Well, you might not have managed the finesse.
Flavour is delicious. And it's definitely a caramel tart.
I think if you could have just had time
to finish it properly, you'd have a little triumph here.
Thanks for the lifeboat anyway.
I'll throw a life jacket as well.
The caramel is absolutely delicious with that base.
It's a shame it looks like that.
Still, I love it. Finesse, it's not.
I like the look of it. The pipework's good.
And the sides look neat. Good colour as well.
- So far, so good. - Good God.
Mmm.
Quite treacly. The caramel. So, it's slightly bitter.
But having said that, because you've got the apple
and the nuts and the cream, it balances it out.
- I think it's lovely. - Good job.
- Looks lovely. - It's very neat.
Yeah, it's good decoration on top of that.
Thank you.
- Chigs, it's too strong for me. - Yeah.
Too heavy on the chocolate, almost too much caramel.
- I know it's a caramel tart. - Right.
- The caramel is too dark. - Okay.
The ginger is coming through, it's delicate,
the pastry's a little bit thick.
I think you've taken the caramel a little too far.
Oh, fair enough.
It's beautiful, very thin. And I love the hazelnuts.
That pastry is so crisp. The caramel is a little liquid.
Funnily enough, though it's quite liquid, the textures are wonderful.
- I think it's overall a little too sweet. - Right.
We wanted caramel to be the hero flavour. It's not. It's the hazelnut.
Okay.
There have been issues with cooling.
It's a pity, because we did ask for a beautifully decorated tart.
Obviously, the first thing you see about that is the split.
It's gonna rip every tooth that was in my head.
What you made is nut toffee.
- It's too chewy. - Not your best, Jurgen.
- Great flavour. - Thank you.
But not quite what we asked for.
Looks like global warming in the Arctic.
Cooling time didn't work out.
That is very nice thin crust.
Custard looks as if it's just curdled a little bit.
The custard's definitely curdled, and that caramel,
'cause it's on the warm custard, it just remains liquid.
Not getting a huge amount of flavour, which is annoying.
The glory of caramel custard is the smoothness.
Once you curdle it, you've lost the thing that it's famous for.
- I like the base. - It's all about the base.
- Thank you. - Thanks very much.
- I like it all. And I like you. - Thanks, that means a lot.
I knew the custard was curdled. I could see it.
Couldn't really get the flavours as well. So, not a good morning at all.
No finesse, again.
Flavour, no finesse.
There is no doubt that the judges have stepped up a gear.
It's a sign that the competition is getting serious.
The bakers were able to practise their caramel tarts,
but have no idea what caramel conundrum awaits them in the Technical Challenge.
Hello, bakers.
Today your Technical Challenge has been set for you by Paul.
Paul, any words of advice?
You'll recognise this recipe, and it's pretty straightforward.
So, we expect perfection and not excuses.
Okay, as ever, the Technical Challenge will be judged blind.
We're gonna have to ask these two to skip out of the tent.
Off you pop.
They're actually going bra shopping for Paul.
- That's nice they can do that together. - It's nice, isn't it?
For your Technical Challenge today, Paul would love you to make ten identical
caramel biscuit bars.
Each biscuit bar should consist of a crumbly, buttery shortbread finger
topped with thick caramel and coated with chocolate.
You have an hour and a half. Doesn't sound long enough.
- On your marks - Get set
Bake!
The recipe looks sparse. This is all we have.
That's it.
I think we all know what this is, secretly.
It's a family favourite, but I don't do well with those.
I've never attempted to make the recipe.
The shop-bought thing is perfect as it can be.
So what's the use of it?
We're looking for ten identical chocolate caramel shortbread biscuits.
You've got shortbread caramel on the top
- and you cover it in chocolate. - Perfect.
Making a shortbread, - short.
So you've got to add everything together, but not overmix it.
If you fold it that extra bit, it goes like rubber.
The caramel has to be just on the top. Not going down the sides.
Traditionally, it's on top.
You've got to allow the caramel to set to a point.
You go too high,
- it'll set like toffee. - Toffee.
If you do too less, it will just run off.
- Mmm. - It's delicious.
The caramel is soft but not hard.
It's got a bit of substance to it.
- Have you ever tried it in tea? - Not with chocolate on it.
Mmm.
The first line is, "Make the shortbread dough."
That's it.
So I've got the caster sugar, butter. I'm gonna put my egg in.
I'm just mixing my flour in by hand.
You want the shortbread to be snappy, buttery and crumbly.
You get better control if you do it by hand.
Right. Come on!
Do you eat biscuits like the one you're making?
Sometimes. Yeah. If I want, like, a sugary pick-me-up.
A sugary pick-me-up would be a good slogan for this.
Should we do an advert?
When you want a sugary pick-me-up,
have one of these shortbread
crumbly fingers. With caramel on top and chocolate coating
that we can't name, but you know what they are.
You see them in shops in golden wrappers.
That's should be good.
"Roll the dough into a rectangle and place in the loaf tin."
The thickness of the dough should be pretty consistent.
It's a bit sticky actually.
If I just press it in to make the tin shape.
And now, we're gonna put me dough in the freezer to chill.
Gonna put it in for five minutes.
Let's see what happens.
We're just gonna sum up the bakers in a very concise way.
Check this out.
Al Pacino, if he was on the Guess Who? Board.
- Lumberjack Robert De Niro serial killer. - Wow.
The main puppet in the Labyrinth.
Mixed with League of Gentlemen.
Princess Leia, dressed as a children's bullfighter.
Wow!
Never come here again.
That's it.
That's it. My work's done.
They all hate me now.
That's chilled for about 15 minutes.
Next step is bake.
I'm going in. So I'll check after 15 minutes.
Right. I'm going to set it for ten minutes, initially.
Twelve minutes to start off with.
Hi, Giuseppe. Me and Matt are a bit overworked.
- We're a bit tired today so - Aww!
Maybe you could do the time?
- Can you do it in Italian? - Yeah, which one?
That we're halfway through.
I'm gonna move on, I think. Make the caramel.
The dreaded caramel.
The hard stuff.
I'm looking for amber, but not too dark.
Not happy with that colour.
We're getting there. I want it to be a full-bodied caramel.
Like a nice glass of red wine.
Now, what I'm gonna do is add the cream.
I'm gonna start doing some funny business, fog up me glasses.
Thinking to add the butter now. It needs to get harder.
Lovely. I'm going to take that off.
If it's too hot, it then turns into toffee
and Paul's teeth will fall out when he eats it.
Just a bit worried about my caramel.
Don't know if I've done the right thing.
Just checking it.
No, a couple more minutes.
Two more minutes. I don't want undercooked biscuits.
Think this is ready now. It's getting a nice
golden colour.
This is definitely the colour of shortbread.
That should be it.
Starting to get a bit darker at the edges.
That looks good.
Just want it to cool down a little so I can cut it.
If they want perfection, they should be exactly the same size.
Which is not gonna be easy 'cause this is 18 centimetres.
So I have to cut them at one point eight centimetres each.
I hope that just broke in the right place.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
That did not break in the right place.
Bakers, you have 15 minutes left.
I'm gonna have to just try and pipe the caramel.
The caramel needs to be liquid enough to be pipeable,
but stiff enough to stay up.
Just about the right consistency.
Mine won't come through.
It's not pipeable. I'm gonna try and soften it up again.
Oh, this is definitely of pipeable consistency.
No finesse again. Just got to roll with it.
Let's see if that works.
I'm running out of caramel.
Oh, oh, just one more. One more push.
- Sounds like I'm a midwife. - Yes.
It's hot. No, why does this happen to me?
This is a flipping nightmare.
Nightmare.
I would start melting the chocolate now.
I'm thinking about how to do the coating.
I thought of dipping.
But the caramel layer is too delicate for pour it over.
Mmm. Is it just the top that needs to be coated? I don't know.
Bakers, you have five minutes left.
Stress, stress, stress.
This is gonna get messy.
- Phew. - I'm just gonna pour on top now.
I feel like it's all gonna just fall off.
Awful challenge.
It's dripping everywhere.
Well, these are gonna be the worst home-baked biscuits.
They're not even.
We've lost some biscuit in this one.
I hate these.
Bakers, you have one minute left.
Right, cardigan is coming off.
There needs to be a zig-zag, right? I'm panicking.
- You can do this, kids. - Can we really?
Not gonna get perfection again.
Plating up.
Oh, oh, oh.
Oh, this caramel has fallen off my biscuit.
Put that one at the end.
Bakers, your time is up.
I'm screwed.
Paul and Prue are expecting ten identical shortbread biscuit fingers,
topped with caramel and coated in chocolate.
And they have no idea whose bake is whose.
We'll start with these.
They are quite neat and they're all pretty uniform.
There's a little pattern across the top.
- Nice and slim. I quite like it. - Yeah.
The caramel is lovely. But I think the biscuit is a little soggy.
But it's neat enough. And the flavour's there.
Last-minute rush job. They're a mess.
There's too much chocolate in the middle, and not enough at the end.
Biscuit's a bit soggy again. Caramel's dropped down on one side.
We wanted the caramel just on the top.
The flavour's there.
- Right. - Moving on to this mess.
This one is not finished at all.
Watch yourself, Prue.
That'll take your teeth out.
So hard!
That's basically toffee.
- Not a biscuit. - Textures are all wrong.
Moving on.
- A bit messy. - Doesn't look great, does it?
It cut quite well.
Very soft again.
- It's too soft. - The flavours are good.
These are pretty uniform. They have a pattern.
- Wow, there you go. - Mmm.
- That's quite a good biscuit. - Hmm. Got a nice caramel.
They got all the elements, but it's just not neat.
Right. Okay.
- Good luck. - Ah, there's one.
- Soft biscuit. - It's going to be a very soft biscuit.
Caramel all around the edges.
It's gone quite rubbery, that biscuit. And they look a bit of a mess.
Although there are some decoration on the top.
Okay.
Paul and Prue will now rank the caramel fingers
from worst to best.
In sixth place
is this one. George.
You took your caramel to a brick-hard toffee,
and you didn't really finish.
In fifth spot, we have this one. Lizzie.
Bit of a mess.
- And the shortbread was like bubble gum. - Oh, yeah.
Crystelle is fourth, and Chigs is third.
And in second place
And we have this one. Who's that? Jurgen? That was you.
They look very good. And the biscuit's nice.
Just not perfect.
- So in first place. - Yay.
I wouldn't clap.
Erm, the overall look was pretty good.
The biscuit is a bit soft, but overall, yours ticked the most boxes.
- I'll take that. - Yeah, well done.
That was another surprise.
Certainly, getting first is a boost.
However, Paul did say, "I wouldn't clap."
They looked a bit uneven and that got me second place.
But I'm happy with that. It feels better than this morning.
I don't think that could have gone any worse.
I've had a terrible day.
I just want to produce a good Showstopper,
and just show that I can produce something that's not toffee.
Gonna do my best.
The bakers now have one more caramel challenge
- Good luck. - Good luck, everyone.
in which to impress the judges.
Hello, bakers. Welcome back to the tent. It's time for your Showstopper challenge.
The judges would like you to create
a visually spectacular caramel-flavoured dessert,
complete with an exquisite sugar-work dome or sphere.
The style of dessert is entirely up to you,
but it must have at least one baked element and two caramel components.
You have four and a half hours.
Enough time to attract every donkey, fly and wasp in the vicinity.
- On your marks - Get set
Bake!
Here we go. Here we go.
The sugar dome is going to be the headache of the whole thing.
Head down, happy thoughts, good vibes.
Highly decorated Showstoppers for me are the best thing,
and the fact that it's married up with caramel,
this should taste and look amazing.
Just to make it more difficult, we've asked them to encase the whole thing
in a dome of sugar.
Who would ever, in their spare time, make a sugar dome?
It's a specialist skill which you don't really expect most bakers to have.
But of course, these are great bakers.
We do expect them to be able to work with sugar.
Sticky, sticky.
Traditionally, it'd be made with caramelised sugar,
but they can use isomalt which is actually more stable.
The most important thing is you should be able to see through it.
Thinner and the clearer, the better.
I'm not expecting failures.
Like hell I'm not.
- Hi, Chigs. - Hi, Paul. Hi, Prue.
What are you doing for your caramel dessert?
Mine is called "The Caramel Mistake," because every time I made it,
- I can't stop making mistakes. - Right, okay. Good start.
So, my sugar dome, I went through two kilos of sugar at home
- and I couldn't get one out. - How many times did you do it?
I think it was sixteen times in total.
And then I learned about this lovely stuff.
- Is that isomalt? - It's isomalt, worked first time.
Chigs' dome will showcase a chocolate flower,
his layered dessert contrasts
caramel, chocolate and pecan with a coffee mascarpone mousse.
The first time I did it, it didn't set properly.
I added an extra sheet of gelatin
to make sure it sets.
- You started last year? - Yeah.
- So you're learning on the job? - Yeah, like an apprenticeship.
- Well, good luck, Chigs. - Thank you, guys.
But when it comes to sugar domes
I'm so scared.
there's more than one novice in the tent.
I've broken more domes than I've made, let's put it like this.
In practice, it has turned out very hazy.
I've got a couple of tricks to make it more transparent.
I'm not sure if they will work. I'll do my best.
Rich with caramel,
Giuseppe's layered dessert includes a set salted caramel mousse
topped with a set apricot and caramel glaze.
That is really lovely flavours.
- And they're pretty classic. - And lots of caramel.
I've made sure that caramel is everywhere in my dessert today,
so there will be no complaints.
So this is my peanut sablÃ© base. That's going in for 15 minutes.
The bakers can choose any style of dessert they wish.
It's a dessert that looks like a Russian charlotte.
So I've got lady fingers on the outside.
I am making an apple cake with Calvados in.
Be boring if we all done the same, wouldn't it?
But they must deliver contrasting layers
of set and baked elements.
Needs to be a harmony of textures and flavours.
Every element needs to generate an interest, a curiosity.
One baker going all out on layers
There's 107 steps on my list. Quite busy today.
is Jurgen.
One element is a caramel. Another element is a hazelnut praline.
And then I've got a caramel bavarois.
I've got a shortcrust bottom.
Then I've got a layer of mango and passionfruit, er, bavarois,
then a chocolate genoise,
then a caramel bavarois and passionfruit glaze on top.
Under the dome is a mango flower.
I've got lady fingers on the outside.
- Goodness. - Is that it?
- Is that all? - I probably could bake a few more things.
No, no, no, don't.
Encased in lady fingers and topped with a mango flower,
Jurgen's ambitious caramel and fruit charlotte
will be packed with multiple layers of flavour.
Is this going to be your return to form?
I'll try to make it my return to form, yes.
When you don't have an excellent week, you still have quite a good week,
but then everyone's disappointed, like you have to be the best every week.
Even if you get one element wrong, everyone's like, "Jurgen!"
I want to do my best.
Jurgen may be stacking up a wide variety of layers
chocolate genoise.
but George is taking a simpler approach with layers of nutty meringue.
Scaled it back a little bit.
So the main component is a dacquoise, so I can have three of them.
Think I want crispy exterior with a little chew inside.
Otherwise, it's just a bit of a chewy mess in your mouth.
Between his trio of hazelnut and almond dacquoise layers,
George is opting for a salted caramel Italian meringue buttercream
and a smooth chocolate ganache.
The dacquoise itself, are they gonna be difficult
to break through three layers of it?
In practice, it seems to have gone pretty well.
- You need to bring your A game today. - I know. I packed my bags last night.
There's confidence for ya!
I'm going to go and unpack your bags now.
- Thanks, Noel. - Good luck, George.
Cheers.
Once the caramel layers are done, I'll feel a lot more calmer,
'cause they are supposed to be the main element.
As if making caramel wasn't tough enough
This will be caramel. I hope.
today, the judges want this sticky star ingredient
showcased in spectacular style.
This is going to go in a mousse and then by swirling in some caramel,
you'll kind of see different shades of caramel.
"Fifty Shades of Caramel" is what I'm calling it.
It's a challenge that means taking on multiple tricky techniques.
- What are you doing? - This is the early stages of honeycomb.
- Oh, I like honeycomb. - Do you?
Yeah. The only comb we need.
So that's gonna be honeycomb. Sugar and syrup,
and then bring it up to about 150 before you add the bicarb.
It's like a little science experiment, isn't it?
And Lizzie is playing mad professor in more ways than one.
Unlike everyone else, I'm not going for the delicate dome on top.
That's just not me.
So, er, I'm doing a bowl and then I'm filling everything inside.
This sounds like a trifle.
- It's a hodgepodge of desserts. - It is, yeah.
It's called "Roses Really Smell Like Caramel."
And people get flowers all the time.
And I'd rather get cake.
Liz is turning the bake on its head with a blue isomalt bowl
filled with apple cake and sage-flavoured caramel
and decorated with apple and toffee pastry roses.
- I want to see finesse. - You say this every week.
And you are getting better.
- I want to see the finished product today. - Proper finesse.
Whilst Lizzie needs to refine her floral decorations
Look at the way I dress. Does it look like I have finesse
in any aspect of my life?
Crystelle is working on a prickly plant that's close to her heart.
My late granddad, Greg,
the day before he suddenly passed away,
he randomly bought a cactus and he left in the porch of our house,
and then he passed away, sadly, the following day.
But that cactus is still in our house, and it is humongous.
So, I'm calling it "Granddad Greg's Cactus Garden."
Crystelle's salted caramel mousse dessert
will contain a coffee peanut ganache on a peanut biscuit base,
whilst Grandad Greg's cacti
will sit underneath an isomalt terrarium dome.
He was very, very generous and just buy us slabs of chocolates and sweets.
My mum would get so annoyed.
This is for him, let's hope I don't mess it up.
You didn't believe me when I said I've unpacked for you.
You're not going anywhere, mate.
You really got my clothes? You are the best.
I had a right rummage-around in your room.
That is hilarious.
- George, I'm wearing your pants. - I love it.
- How long have we got left? - Bakers, you are--
Noel, you are halfway through telling the bakers
- they are halfway through. - You're halfway through.
Noel, you have told the Bakers they were halfway through.
Thank you, Matthew.
I'm starting to build my cake.
I'm setting things, then I put more things together, then I set things.
With so many elements to make
This is my second batch of caramel. Ready for the mousse.
the bakers need their layers to set quickly.
Adding the gelatin now.
And so most are opting for that notoriously tricky ingredient.
These are gelatin sheets for the coffee mascarpone cream,
so it sets properly.
But gelatin can go spectacularly wrong.
It's quite tricky because you don't want to have a layer of jelly,
'cause that's kind of gross.
Add too much,
and meticulously-made elements can turn to glue.
I'm settling somewhere in the middle, hopefully that'll be okay.
I'm adding the Bavarian layer to my charlotte.
It is already quite set.
There ya go.
That is now gonna chillax a little bit.
As well as perfectly-set dessert
Okay, another thing done.
the bakers require an exquisite finish to take their bakes from the everyday
So this is what you call a mud pie
into the extraordinary.
but I'm going to turn this now into a mirror glaze
with the addition of cream and sugar.
But a set glaze means reaching for the gelatin once more.
Ugh! This didn't happen in the practice.
This This jellyness.
Gonna pour it in and see what happens.
This doesn't look good. Put the gelatin in too quick.
Didn't read my instructions, did I?
This isn't right.
I flippin' hate caramel. I'm gonna start again.
You here for the money shot, Noel?
Desperately trying not to make a weird joke about that.
Yeah.
It's like molasses, it's so deep.
Gonna be able to see your face in that?
- Can you see yourself? - Yeah. High-five!
- Yeah, man. Thanks. - Good luck.
- Very sticky. - Let's do round two.
Now do you know why I call this the "Caramel Mistake"?
- Hello, Jurgs! - Hi, Matt.
Jurgs? What do people call you? Do you have a nickname?
- No. - Jurgchon.
- No. - Erm, Jurg-ella? Jurgie?
Endless variations.
No one even calls you Jurgs?
As a German, I don't understand this English thing
of putting an "s" at the end of a name.
Like, er, Matts.
Yeah, "Matts" doesn't really work. Matts.
That's more like it.
Now it all comes to life without a dome.
Can you tell them roughly how long they've got?
Bakers you've got half an hour.
- I said "roughly." - Oh, sorry.
Bakers, you got half an hour.
Ah!
- George, you good? - I think so, man. Sugar dome.
This is the scary bit.
I'm doing the stinking sugar dome.
Domes are created by pouring isomalt or sugar
over moulds of various kinds.
Weirdest thing I've ever done ever. Dry a balloon.
I'm using the technique with cling film over bowl.
Most of the bakers have chosen the more stable isomalt.
It just needs to be something below 130.
But in hope of a clearer dome
You think I'll get any points for using sugar as opposed to isomalt?
George has taken the risky decision to use pure sugar.
I'm gonna keep my cool.
I'm gonna pour this into my dome which I've lined with cling film.
Paul and Prue will be looking for a flawlessly transparent dome.
It's probably gonna be an imperfect dome, but aren't we all imperfect?
And that's what I'm gonna tell Paul Hollywood.
The thinner the sugar, the clearer the dome.
Double-dip to make it a bit thicker.
It's like a crystal ball. See the future, wow!
- You get through to next week. - Whoa!
But this brittle substance is fickle.
Now I need to hold this for ten minutes.
Go too thin
and the slightest pressure will cause it to crack.
Very hit-and-miss in practice.
But pouring the dome is only the beginning.
I'm starting to sweat.
Even if they decide it's set enough
Think I'm brave enough to let go.
the bakers still have to unmould their fragile creations.
Sounds like there's a lot of cracking going on.
I think the sugar is set.
Oh.
Let's pop the balloon, then.
Let's hope it doesn't shatter when I take it out.
Good God.
I'm so scared.
And Oh, oh, oh.
Mother help me. 'Cause that just
That's a broken dome.
Beauty. Get in there.
Look, it's not not usable.
I didn't like the drips of that.
How much time do we have?
Bakers, you have 15 minutes remaining.
- I'm gonna do it again. - I'm gonna do another balloon.
Because the drips aren't even enough and he's gonna be like, "No finesse."
I'm pretty pleased with it.
My dome is very hazy now.
If you warm it with a blowtorch, it can get more transparent.
Actually, it's perfect.
Could have been clearer, but it's done.
Right. Dome number two.
Gonna get "finesse" tattooed on me.
Next is the final decoration.
- Put my mango flower on. - Oh, there's a crack.
I think it's gonna break again.
Think I'm gonna have to start again.
Stressy, stress, stress.
That looks well better.
Yes! You did it.
- How's yours going, Crystelle? - I'm on my third one.
- Third? - I'm gonna go for more isomalt.
Come on, Crystelle, you can do this.
Well, that's Yeah, that hasn't worked.
Bakers, ten minutes left.
Lizzie, how hard is the balloon technique?
- Start melting your isomalt. - Yeah.
Crystelle, dome number seven.
So I'm gonna try the balloon technique which I've never done in my life.
I'm gonna make it really thick.
- Roses are a bit burnt. - Five minutes until this is set
and I've got eight minutes left of the challenge.
Ugh, I'm gonna be sick.
- Putting the dome in place. - Please don't break.
Bakers, you have five minutes remaining.
I think we're gonna have to just pop it, aren't we?
Just cut the bottom. Can't get water on the thing.
Final finishing touch.
Caramel layer beginning to ooze out.
Here you go, you peel it off now.
That's fine. You know what? That's okay.
Lizzie, you're the best person in the world.
- Oh, my God! - You've got to put it on the cake.
I have to do it now? I'll do it now.
Oh, my God, no. No, no, no, no.
Is it stuck?
Oh, my God. No, no, no.
- Why did I do this? - Yeah, I can't.
That was like watching Charlie Chaplin.
"I've done it. I've made it. I'll just put it in this sticky bowl."
Just Okay.
Bakers, you will be relieved to know your time is up.
You've gotta leave it You've gotta do.
Hands up, who's having a heart attack on behalf of Crystelle?
Group heart attacks, everyone?
Oh.
It's judgment time
for the bakers' show-stopping caramel desserts.
Crystelle, would you like to bring up your Showstopper, please?
What happened to the bowl?
It was a bit of a last-minute rush at the end.
I ended up going with the balloon method
so I did it while it was quite warm. It was gonna be bigger.
I like the look of the chocolate. You got a lovely glaze on that chocolate.
- That looks lovely. - That's very beautiful.
I love the flavour.
- Sort of salted caramel chew. - The biscuit layer is okay.
The chocolate layer on the top's just too thick.
And your mousse is quite dry.
A mousse should be like bubbles on the mouth.
- It's quite stodgy. Gelatin? - Yeah.
- Too much. - It's a bit too much. Look, it's gluey.
So overall, I quite like the flavour, even though it is rich.
You couldn't eat a lot of that, but it looks lovely.
Thank you. I'll take that.
Jurgen, I think it looks most spectacular.
I love the sponge fingers.
The isomalt looks really thick.
You've got quite a heavy collar here, but the dome itself looks beautiful
'cause it's absolutely crystal-clear.
- Love the flower in the front. - Looks really good.
Oh!
Oh, you are a piece of work.
- Cut into it. - Oh, look at that.
Gosh, that looks beautiful.
- Wow. - Wow!
That looks so lovely
because the bavarois are the same thickness.
The caramel at the bottom and the pastry is really thin.
That's delicious.
Absolutely. Every layer from the shortbread to the bavarois,
all the way to the top.
The passion fruit.
The praline, the lady's fingers. The whole thing's beautiful.
- It's nice to have you back in the tent. - Thank you very much.
- Jurgen, it's an absolute triumph. - Thank you.
- Can't resist another. - Well done, thank you very much.
- Well done. - Smashed it.
- Lovely shaped dome. Very misty. - Yeah.
Looks like a greenhouse in the winter.
Apart from that, it's very elegant and neat.
Oh, come on.
- There's so much caramel. - Certainly tastes of caramel.
Actually, it's not too much.
Something's slightly wrong about the textures.
The glueiness of the glaze is a little unpleasant.
Your mousse is all wrong, it's like a wallpaper paste.
And it's heavy and stodgy and dry. The glaze is too gluey.
- Put gelatin in there? - I did. Yes.
Probably a bit too much.
However, it does taste lovely.
- Looks a mess, doesn't it? - Yeah.
You've had a bit of leakage and nothing's set.
- Doesn't look the right colour. - No.
It's too light. The isomalt's too misty.
It's a shame 'cause you can't see the chocolate work inside.
Let's take it off.
I mean, that looks a lot better already.
- Ooh, look at that. - Thank you.
I love the even layers. Really nice.
The caramel wasn't taken as far as it could've been,
which is why it's poured out. Your dacquoise is nice.
It works with the coffee flavour.
I think the flavour is absolutely delicious, Chigs.
Definite caramel, chocolate is just there. The praline is delicious.
It's just all a bit liquid.
It's such a pity 'cause it's so nearly perfect.
- Yeah. - Thank you, Chigs.
Cheers, guys, thank you.
Well, straight off the cuff it looks amazing.
I like what you've done with that dome, considering it's made from sugar.
That's difficult. It's a nice-looking cake.
- George, I think it's beautiful. - Thank you.
This is gonna be difficult in sugar.
- Oh, perfect. - Perfect.
Boom.
- Wow! - Mmm-hmm.
I could eat a lot of that, George.
It's a little too dry for me.
You've got dry chocolate ganache, dry dacquoise,
then you got a little thin layer of buttercream,
and then you have dacquoise again.
It needed a mousse or a bavarois rather than just buttercream.
The taste is nice, but the textures, for me, are too dry on the mouth.
I know what you mean,
but I actually think that if you get a mouthful of everything, it's delicious.
And I think you've done a really good job.
- Thank you very much, George. - Thank you.
Well done, George.
Well, it looks amazing.
As always with your bakes, it's surprising and witty.
- I like it. - We asked for finesse.
I think we've got it.
You've done an upside down dome, which is unusual and brave.
Let's have a look, shall we?
How am I gonna do this?
I think I'm gonna need a spoon.
I have never had sage caramel before.
- What do you think? - The flavour's very strong.
To be very honest, Lizzie, it doesn't look great inside there.
- It's a bit rough and ready. - It's just like a trifle.
You've got literally just a mess of everything going on.
You've mashed it with the flowers.
Funnily enough, Paul says it's like a trifle.
It would be better if it had a ton of custard in it,
because it's quite stodgy.
The roses are not great to eat, and it's very sweet.
I've never had anything like it before.
- I think it's very brave. - Yeah, very brave.
- Thanks, Lizzie. - Ta.
- Finesse. - Finesse.
The tables have turned, so now I'm all style and no substance.
He likes the flavours. He loved the way it looked.
He just thought it was a bit dry.
Whether it's enough, I don't know.
I don't know who's gonna go home, or who's gonna get Star Baker.
You know, I think we're all pretty on edge, actually.
Definitely think this is the tightest week. 100%.
Well, I think that the bakers will be glad to see the back of caramel week.
- It's been really good in parts. - Nice to see Jurgen come back.
I think the one that deserves a little pat on the back was George for using sugar.
He could've come in today and said, "I'm beaten,"
but he came in and really did himself proud.
Is it enough to save him?
And Lizzie, I have to say, has not done herself proud.
The whole thing was sort of inedible.
Does this mean Lizzie is near the bottom now?
It's her or George isn't it?
George has been struggling over the first two challenges. He's built himself up.
And Lizzie's sort of dropped down. Don't think he's on his own anymore.
I was a little bit upset about Giuseppe's as well.
That was really gelatinous.
He's still got a good chance of being Star Baker
'cause he did do so well in the other two.
I think Crystelle is in line for Star Baker
'cause she had not had a bad week.
Jurgen's had a pretty good week.
He did come second in the Technical, and I think he's done really well today.
So let's talk about Chigs.
I thought he did very well in his Chignature.
Chigs got better every challenge from Signature through to Showstopper.
At the end of the day, I think you've got two people in trouble
and the other four in line for Star Baker.
Well done, bakers. That was a tricky week. Caramel.
And I've got the amazing job of announcing who is Star Baker this week.
And the person who's Star Baker this week is
Jurgen.
You're back, Jurgy-pops, you're back.
Jurgy-Popsy back.
And I have the unenviable task of telling you who's going home
and what I will say is that it was really close this week.
Could have been one of two people.
The person who's going is someone we've all grown very close to
and we're all gonna miss a lot.
I'm afraid that the person going home this week is
George.
It's all right, guys.
There is bittersweet to it.
My Showstopper, I was proud of.
- I just think you ran out of steam. - Yeah, I know.
It is very sad to see George go.
But, unfortunately, George made more mistakes than Lizzie did.
Speaking to my family, they're just so proud
that I've managed to kind of even get in the tent.
So, yeah, week seven. I'm fine with that.
Well done, Jurgen. Well done.
I thought actually Jurgen did enough to win Star Baker today.
Jurgen was back to his old self, wasn't he?
It was honestly one of the best desserts I've ever tasted and I want the recipe.
- How many is that now? - How many Star Bakers?
- Three Star Bakers. - Good God!
- Hello darling. How are you? - Hello.
Yes, Star Baker again.
- No way! - Yes.
- Oh, amazing. - Yeah.
Caramel!
We've got five of the strongest bakers this year going through.
Quarter final? What the hell?
Yeah, it does feel all of a sudden like we are in a serious competition now.
Going into next week is going to be a little bit different
and, I think, very difficult.