Hello, viewer. Hello, Noel.
Are you excited for Mexican Week?
I'm really excited,
although I don't feel like we should make Mexican jokes,
cos people'll get upset.
Oh, no Mexican jokes at all? I don't think so.
What, not even Juan?
Not even Juan.
BOTH: Welcome to The Great British Bake Off.
Last time, Bread Week saw two empty spaces in the tent...
Both Rebs and Abdul are a bit under the weather.
...Carole and Dawn hit a bad patch...
Surprisingly bland.
OK.
They're the wrong shape, underproved and underbaked.
...and Sandro was in the running for Star Baker...
Wowzers!
...but Janusz's creativity...
It's ingenious.
...saw him take the crown for the second time.
When it came down to who was in for the chop,
the judges gave the bakers a break.
Nobody's going home.
This time...
Nerves, man, nerves.
...we're back to full strength...
I think that all eyes are going to be on me
and Abdul after missing last week.
...for a Bake Off first.
It's Mexican Week.
The bakers will do battle with an enriched Signature...
Oh, no, they're burnt.
...get into a Mexican stand-off with a street food Technical...
Don't go mad, Carole.
...and try to pull off a dairy rich extravaganza
in a mucho challenging Showstopper.
Just don't want it to collapse.
Are you worried about your crack?
All the best, my darling.
I don't really know much about Mexican cuisine,
so this is an absolute adventure.
See you in a bit. Good luck.
When someone says Mexican food, my mind goes only to fajitas.
That's where my knowledge stops.
Yeah, Mexican food's fun,
but Mexican baking - what do the Mexicans bake?
I did have to research it, cos, you know,
you just do the savoury, really.
I love Mexican food,
so I'm looking forward to bake it in a tent.
Bakers, welcome back to the tent for Mexican Week.
Now, today, Paul and Prue would like you each to bake
12 individual pan dulce.
Pan dulce or sweet bread is the collective term
for a whole array of Mexican sweet treats.
Now, your pan dulces should be made using one of the yeasted varieties,
and you should present the judges with 12 identical tasty buns.
Which is also Paul's nickname.
You have two and a half hours.
On your marks. Get set.
Bake.
Pan dulce, it means sweet bread.
It's not a cake, it's not a bread.
I've never had them before,
so I don't know how they're supposed to be like.
Now, what is a pan dulce?
Well, basically, it's an enriched bread, an enriched roll.
There are dozens and dozens of varieties of this,
and they change from region to region.
Because it's an enriched dough,
it's going to be a little bit slower proving.
They've got to get that dough rising as quickly as possible.
Oh, my God.
Mexico is full of vibrancy, colour, wonderful food,
great flavours, and that's what we expect this week from the bakers.
Nerves, man, nerves.
Hello, Janusz. Hello.
Tell us about your pan dulce.
So I've decided to make conchas,
and I've decided to decorate them as little cactuses.
Cacti. Cacti, yes.
Cacti. That is correct.
Janusz is making one of the most popular of pan dulces,
known as concha.
It's a sweet enriched roll with a crunchy craquelin topping.
His coconut-flavoured bread will be contrasted with a limey crunch.
I'm using plain flour for this ones,
because they were more cakey, which I liked.
So less pan dulce, more cake?
It's going to be... mix.
MATT: You look a little perturbed, Paul.
OK, interesting.
I look forward to this one. Thank you. Thank you. Good luck.
Janusz is not the only baker creating conchas
in the form of a Mexican icon.
I'm making corn on the cob pan dulce.
Corn is very popular in Mexico,
and if I read correctly, they say it's more than 60 varieties.
Hello, Syabira. Hello.
So are you happy about Mexican Week?
Yeah. Have you been to Mexico?
Yes, I have. Did you do a tequila shot?
I like tequila, yeah. Do you like tequila?
Yeah. In the morning, yeah?
Mexican Week... I do tequila just to get through this show.
Slam a couple of those down.
Me and Prue do, yeah.
Celebrating a vital component of Mexican cuisine,
Syabira's conchas will have a corn and coconut custard filling,
and be decorated to resemble corn on the cob.
And are you going to cut each piece to create the corn look?
Yeah. I'm using this one. Yeah.
All right, OK. Interesting.
OK, well, I trust you on the artistic side. Look forward to it.
Thank you. Thank you.
With limited time, today's challenge is all about
how the bakers ensure their dough gets enough of a prove.
I'm making sure that my ingredients are already quite warm
just to kick-start that proving process.
I've combated my proving time with time saver yeast.
That really saves time. A new discovery.
The recipe that I've got,
it actually uses a tiny bit of baking powder.
Think it helps to make it a bit more like a cake than a bread.
Another baker who has opted for the most popular of pan dulces is James.
It's going to be a wee concha number.
It's vanilla and cinnamon and coffee.
So I've tried to keep it a bit traditional,
there's some chocolate in the top crunchy bit as well.
James' soft cinnamon and coffee concha buns will have a chocolate
and coffee crunchy top, and he'll create delicate caramel oysters,
complete with edible pearls.
Cos it's based on a shell, I thought I'd kind of stick with that theme.
Lovely. Thank you James. Cheers. See you soon.
That's looking spot on now.
Once the dough is made...
Soft and stretchy. That's my aim, soft and stretchy.
...it is essential the bakers develop the gluten,
or their pan dulces will be dense and tough.
I have to knead this by hand now.
Feel like it could have a bit more liquid.
Feels a bit too tackyish.
No Mexican way of kneading bread that I know of.
When Paul's around, I'll knead it his way.
There are over 1,000 types of pan dulces baked in Mexico,
including besos, a romantic little number.
With besos, it refers to as kisses,
where two buns are basically just kissing each other.
It's been chosen by Abdul.
In Spanish, besos literally means kisses.
Abdul's buns will come rolled in coconut,
dyed the colours of the Mexican flag,
and stuck together with jam and buttercream.
I searched online to see, you know, what the texture really is
and it's usually a bit more denser. It's not very soft bread.
Really? That's what, at least...
I've just come back from Mexico.
Oh, yeah. Did you have the besos?
I did. Oh, OK!
Unfortunately he knows all about it. Uh-oh! Yes.
Good luck. Flavours sound lovely. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Thank you. Good luck.
Dough's smoothish, so now I'm going to get it proving
for about 30 minutes.
Dough is looking good, lovely and stretchy.
About 25 minutes.
At home, I'd leave it for an hour.
With dough stashed in the proving drawers...
So my dough is proving now. I'm making the topping.
...for those making conchas,
the buns must be topped with a simple cookie dough.
So it's like a biscuit and a bread combined, I guess.
Like craquelin, a sugar, butter and flour mix
must be rolled wafer-thin before cutting out.
So these are just for the tops of the conchas.
They'll just kind of sit on top as like a wee hat.
Sandro's not only making a concha topping,
but also planning a tasty base.
Mine's going to be quite sweet cos I'm mostly dipping it in caramel,
and having some hazelnuts for crunch.
Sandro's salted caramel and coffee conchas
will have a praline custard filling.
They'll be finished off with a caramel and hazelnut base.
The idea is to do like a salted caramel cappuccino bomb thing.
I'm behind schedule!
Having missed bread week,
Rebs is determined to make every second count.
I have everything broken down
to literally the minute of what I've got to do,
because today I'm managing my time.
Rebs plans vanilla concha buns topped with lemon craquelin
and served with whipped cream lemon curd on the side.
Have you ever done Mexican food before?
I love a nachos night. Love a nacho.
There's something amazing about Mexico. Magical.
I want to go to the Mexican Day Of The Dead festival.
SHE GASPS Yes!
The one place that I'll fit in.
SHE LAUGHS
This is aniseed and ground anise.
With her pan dulces, Carole's embracing Mexican flavours...
Used typically in Mexican cooking.
...finding the language rather trickier.
I am making anise and orange de pan.
You're making what, sorry?
Pan de Denise.
Denise? Is that someone you know, or...?
Carole's the only baker making a pan de anis pan dulces.
Her light fluffy Chelsea bun-style bake will be filled
with a zesty orange and aniseed curd.
I think it sounds delicious. And does it have a name?
Oh, it's just your anis de... de pan, I think.
There's more than one baker opting for a tongue-twisting title.
I'll be naming my bake snap mella.
Bella la n... Bella naranja,
which translates to "pretty orange."
Maxy's Bella naranja conchas will be packed with orange
and cinnamon flavour, have a crispy topping,
and be served with cinnamon Chantilly on the side.
Who won Star Baker last week?
Janusz.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, he got his second Star Baker.
Is he your main competition, do you think?
He's my best mate.
There's going to be a point where you're going to have destroy him.
You know that? I know, I know, I know!
Across the tent...
SHE SIGHS
...is one more baker who's making the most popular of pan dulces.
I'm doing conchas, and they're conchas with a kick.
Dawn's classic Mexican combo of chocolate- and chilli-flavoured
conchas will come with a green and red craquelin topping.
The flavours sound good. I like the idea of the chilli in the chocolate.
Yes. What chilli?
Er, these ones, birds' eyes.
How many are you using?
Quite a few.
Right. Good.
Kevin's also on a quest for big flavour...
So I'm making the rum butter, so equal parts butter
and soft dark brown sugar.
...but rather than go spicy, he's gone boozy.
Once it's baked, I'll soak it in a rum syrup.
Kevin's the only baker making Mexican borrachitos.
Translated as "little drunkards,"
the alcohol-soaked bake will rest on a desiccated coconut base.
I just quite liked the image of these buns
kind of tottering around like little drunk people.
So is Mexico a real place?
I think so.
What? I think it's like Xanadu.
Like Oz? Yeah, like Cleethorpes.
Hmm, OK.
Bakers, you are halfway through.
Has your dough proved... good?
Er, not really, not as good as it used to at home.
Hmm.
After the first prove...
Soft.
...for those making conchas, shaping is key.
Just sort of roll it out, then you kind of just fold it in on itself.
Fold it over.
And then I like grab them into, like, a wee ball like this,
and then voila.
Just kind of fondling the balls, you know.
They're not the best.
Bit small, some of them.
But I can't find my ruler, so it's a bit of a guessing game.
The addition of filling ups flavour...
We put ganache in the middle, chocolate and chilli, in that order.
...but runs the risk of slowing the second prove...
I'm putting the sweetcorn in to just give, like,
the celebration of Mexican flavour.
...as does the trademark concha topping, if not paper thin.
I'm cutting my cookie crust. It goes on top.
And then you kind of, like, hug it around the dough.
And then we're going to cut them so it resembles sort of cacti.
Scoring the craquelin topping...
Crucial step.
...allows the creation of elaborate patterns as the dough grows.
Just doing four lines.
Each of these should sort of pop apart,
and you get, like, a grid effect on it.
Right, I'm going to put them in the proving drawer.
There is some big ones and there's some small ones.
With second prove under way...
OK, babies, grow for me nicely.
...the bakers turn their attentions to decorative touches.
Besos itself are usually covered with desiccated coconut,
and I thought, "Hey, you know what? Why not I mix in the red,
"green, white and kind of make, like, a Mexican flag?"
Right, how's it all going? Er, I'm all good so far.
Did you desiccate the coconut yourself?
No, it was desiccated for me.
Cheat! We have a cheat in the tent.
I'm going to try and make my caramel oysters.
All I'm going to do is spoon a wee bit in,
and just kind of work it up the sides effectively,
and that should give us a wee hemisphere,
and we'll join the two of them together later,
and we'll have an oyster.
These are just little fondant daisies. Very spring time vibes.
With proving time at a premium...
They're not as proved as I wish they were,
but I need to get them in.
...the bakers must decide when to draw the line...
I'm going to give them an extra five minutes.
...on when their bakes are ready to hit the oven.
Off you go. They're a bit flat.
I think I might be Mexican in my soul.
Maybe you should join us and bake.
I'm not sure about baking. Never been sure about baking.
Always seems like a waste of time to me.
To be fair, yeah.
I'm joking, I love baking.
All right, I'm going to put 'em in now.
So now it's just baking.
Some of them are better than others.
Bakers, you have half an hour left.
Prue's earrings.
I'll give them back to her. Yeah, please do.
I don't want them overcooked, cos they'll be dry.
And then I don't want them undercooked and they'll be raw.
Is that your own mortar and pestle?
No. That's a big boy, that is, innit?
When people say they like baking and they have one of those,
I go, "Wow, yeah. You're the real deal."
I've got one at home.
For those who got bakes in early, their pan dulce time is up.
They're done, they're done, they're done.
They're like little brains.
Could say I done some Mexican brains.
It's come up pretty well, er, there are a couple of cracks.
I mean, the sizes are roughly the same.
The pattern I wish was more consistent across them.
It does look like corn. That's what I'm happy with.
The remaining bakers face an anxious wait...
Do you think they're nearly ready?
Ooh!
Ooh, a couple of them have burst out the top.
...while their rivals crack on...
Now these bad boys are ready to soak.
...with assembly...
I'm just putting in my white chocolate buttercream,
and then there you go, they're smooching,
so, like, mwah, mwah, mwah.
...glazes...
Generous portions. Like a generous portion, I do.
...and decoration.
Oyster. Clam, I don't know. I don't know sea shells, do I?
How we doing for time?
Bakers, you have five minutes remaining.
Right they're going to come out.
Grand.
For those with buns still in the oven...
Very nice, very good. Now it needs to cool down so I can decorate it.
...it's now or never.
They are looking baked.
Oh, no, they're burnt.
They're burnt!
Oh, crap. Right.
Oh!
They're a bit hot. Are you worried about your crack?
No, I'm going to cover it.
Better when it's covered, the crack, isn't it?
He's going to tell me they're overdone,
cos I know they're overdone.
And also the top bit didn't go so well. C'est la vie.
Final touches.
So I'm going to pipe some rum butter on.
I'm using a star tip nozzle,
so that it doesn't look like a little poo.
Bakers, you have one minute left.
What?!
That's not long enough.
Really?
They're just going to have to go on here warm. Oh, my!
That one burst.
Quite a few of them have.
I'm going to pipe some icing on them.
I'm using this curd just to stick the daisies on.
Oh, hot, oh, hot, oh, hot.
They turned out better than what I practised.
They look more expensive.
Oh, I need to arrange like a corn that is coming up from the field.
Oh, my God.
Trying to compete is impossible. Those are absurd.
Bakers, your time is up.
And breathe.
Please step away from your bakes.
I'm quite proud of these wee things.
Well, they're a bit overbaked.
I'm happy with the bread, to be fair, but they look shocking.
The bakers' pan dulces will now face the judgment of Paul and Prue.
Hello, Janusz. Hello.
They look very even, nicely brown.
Quite like the craquelin on the top, and the way it's been cut.
The roll is pretty equal colour as well.
Let's see what it's like.
Now, this was done with plain flour, wasn't it?
It was, yes.
I think you need more lime,
and the bun is quite dry.
The texture's all right.
I'd just like to have seen it a little bit more open,
and that's because you used plain flour.
But the problem is for me, it's just not punching any flavours at all.
I like the look of them, though.
Well, you know what? I think they look really interesting.
They look attractive, they make your mouth water, I want to eat a bit.
Let's have a look inside.
I like the look of this. It's got lots of filling.
Love the flavour.
It's underproved. Hugely underproved.
It's so dense. it's almost dough-like.
Do you know? I think the flavour is fantastic.
It is a bit tight and stiff.
The overall look look awful. Craquelin's not good.
Looks like you sat on them.
Oh, all right, just kill me, OK?
It's sort of split, hasn't it?
Yeah, I mean, the roll is OK.
It needed a bit more of a dome on it.
But the colour looks nice.
The lemon in there's good.
The craquelin I think was too heavy. Yeah. Too thick,
and then it's weighted it down so that the bread couldn't bloom.
But it's created quite a stretchy dough.
It's nicely made bread. Just the craquelin is the problem. Yeah.
Well, you're certainly showing off your sugar craft skills.
I love the top. That top is fantastic.
Craquelin's definitely too thick.
It's really dry because of it.
Very dense.
Not a huge amount of flavour either.
There's a bit of kick in the craquelin.
If it's going to be as plain as that, it needs a filling.
They're not totally even in shape, are they? No.
They're not really Chelsea bun shape.
I don't think it would matter what shape they were as long as
they were all the same.
Lovely flavour.
I think the orange and the anise comes through.
They're just underproved.
It's quite dense, but the taste is great.
The bread dough is a little heavy, but the whole thing is delicious.
Thank you.
I think they look quite impressive. They look quite nice.
They're glue. They are cake-like.
Mm-hm. Do you want a taste?
Sure.
The flavours are quite delicate, you know,
the raspberry and the coconut. I think it sort of works.
I just think it's too dense, and that for me is not right.
It's not quite right. OK.
I think they look absolutely beautiful.
They definitely look like corn.
They're clever.
Yeah, they do look pretty good. What's inside it?
It's corn custard filling.
That looks really good.
I love the flavour.
It's quite dry, but it's very interesting.
You added the filling before it went in the oven...
Yes. ...so it couldn't grow.
Then you had a craquelin on the top which prevents growth,
so it stays solid, so you end up with... going back to dough.
Like the idea, though.
So I've made conchas.
The flavours I've used are cinnamon and orange.
They look very even. Yeah, I do like the look of them.
And very big. Yeah, I like the size.
They could've done with a little bit more of a dome.
You've got some, so you've got a bit of height there.
The craquelin's sitting quite nicely on it as well.
The craquelin's really good.
It's a little bit crisper, so you get that contrast.
Yeah, it's good bread. I think your flavour's nice.
It's really nice. I like the look of them.
You've got a real instinct for what goes with what,
and I think those are all beautiful flavours.
They're overbaked. Well, you can see by the colour underneath. Yeah.
Size-wise, I think they're OK.
I'd like to have seen more of a dome. OK.
You've lost that because of the filling. The design's a bit messy.
It's all over the place and that's because it's cracked coming through,
and you've lost the definition.
Yeah. I didn't want it to be a case of hunt the ganache.
But now are we going to get the promised chilli? That's the thing.
Not immediately.
You do get the chilli. And you're right, it comes later.
The chilli content and the chocolate is perfect.
That's just the right amount. OK. Good.
It's just messy for me. It's all over the place.
It's not tidy enough. Yeah. It's not accurate enough.
I agree. I think it tastes good, textures are good.
Doesn't look too good. No.
I think they look great. I like the look of them.
They do look like little drunk fellas.
Could do with being a little bit more open.
Another five, ten minutes proving. Yeah. OK.
I really do like the flavour. The dough is nearly there.
To be honest, this is one of the best we've tasted.
It's all good.
Ten more minutes proving, and you'd have had perfection.
Yeah, it went pretty well.
Almost got a handshake. Stingy git.
I was so happy about the chilli.
And I was sort of watching their faces, and all of a sudden,
they were like, "Yes, the chilli is now creeping up."
Do you know? If I'm just not bottom two or three, then I'd be happy.
I don't want to say disastrous, but borderline.
BEE BUZZES
While the bakers practised their Signatures,
they haven't a clue what they'll be asked to make
in today's Mexican Technical.
Bakers, it's time for your Technical Challenge,
which today has been set by...
...Paul Hollywood. Ring any bells?
Never heard of him.
So, er, Paul, any words of advice?
You've got to get your flavour combinations right
and your textures.
As ever, the Technical Challenge will be judged blind,
so we're going to have to ask these two to vacate the tent.
Off you go.
They're going to a soft play area.
Oh, what, to go in the pit of balls? Yeah, Paul in the balls. Yeah!
For your Technical Challenge,
Paul would like you to make eight Mexican tacos.
Your tacos should be made from yellow field corn
and then hand pressed. On top of each should be steak,
spicy refried beans, guacamole, and pico de gallo.
You have two hours.
On your marks. Get set.
Bake.
Well, this is going to be interesting.
Tacos - new one on me.
I've never made 'em from scratch before.
Oh, no.
This is my first time doing tacos.
I bet it's the same, like, you make tortillas.
I never make tortillas either.
Paul, tacos for a Technical.
It's Mexican week, Prue. It has to be tacos.
Tell me about the fillings, then.
You've got a pico de gallo, which is basically a salsa,
a guacamole, then you have the steak,
and a little bit of cheese, and also refried beans.
I must say, it does look good.
And the big thing is getting the taco right.
Thickness of the tortilla - is it going to be too thick or too thin?
And then the actual stage on the pan.
You only need less than a minute on both sides.
If you do any more than that, it will dry out,
and when you try and roll it up into a taco, it will crack.
It's got to be pliable.
And they are very thin.
They are very thin, and if it is thin, it will work.
One of the big things in Mexico when you're having a taco
is it's lovely to have a lot of filling on it,
but it has to be practical as well.
So you should be able to encase it and then eat it. Yeah.
If it's too much, it's going to go everywhere.
OK, Prue, choose your taco. OK.
Mm. Wow. The corn flavour coming from the taco is perfect,
blended with all the ingredients on the top.
Overall, it's a delicious eat.
I mean, for me, this is Mexican cooking on a plate.
Can I have it for my lunch?
The instructions aren't really that detailed.
For each of the elements, it just says, "Make the pico de gallo.
"Make the refried beans. Make the guacamole."
It's quite scant.
Have you made, er, tacos...?
No. No.
Hang on a minute, you don't know what the question was going to be.
So the first bit is, "For the tortillas,
"blend the drained corn until you have a smooth thick paste.
"Tip the processed corn out onto a work surface and add masa harina,
"then mix to form a dough."
Masa harina. I think it's like cornflour.
I'm not really sure how this dough's meant to look.
If it's corn, then I don't suppose it needs a lot of kneading.
Think it's going to be sort of like a thick bread like dough texture.
"Cover and leave to stand."
And let it rest. Don't touch it. They want to be rested.
"Marinade the steak."
Nice steaks.
Would you eat that like that? Never.
I'm not really a raw bloody meat person.
No. I cry when I eat a leaf.
So the ingredients tell you what spices and herbs to use,
but they don't say how much.
Oh, my God, they don't give you any teaspoonfuls or anything.
Ground cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano.
Like a mad professor, I am flinging things into a bowl with gay abandon.
Ancho chilli powder.
So ancho chilli powder is dangerous, so we will be going easy.
I just hope my, er, chilli is not too hot.
Something missing.
I'm going to sneeze in a sec.
You can't really taste this.
Blah! It's burning my mouth.
Well, it's meant to be hot anyway. It's meant to be Mexican, innit?
Beef marinated.
SHE SNEEZES
Excuse me.
What's pico de gallo?
"Picko de gallio."
Interesting, pico de gallo. This is the first time I've heard them.
I think pico means small, maybe.
It's like a salsa, just reading the ingredients.
White onion, very big white onion.
"Deseed and finely chop tomatoes."
Deseed a tomato. How do you deseed a tomato?
Chilli went in, coriander, juice, salt.
I could eat a tub of coriander by itself. I think it's gorgeous.
I love coriander and cilantro. I know people hate it.
Apparently there's a gene that makes you taste coriander like soap.
It tastes like soap.
Everybody's got their own tastes. I'm doing this to my taste,
but it might not be to Paul's taste.
Spicy, soapy, salty, and sour. Great.
Hey, Noel, do you want to hear my Mexican accent? Yes, please.
All right, here we go.
UNCHANGED ACCENT: Ariba. You are halfway through.
What do you reckon? It's really good. Thank you.
SHE LAUGHS
So to make the refried beans, the instructions said,
"Make the refried beans."
I make kidney beans at home with coconut milk,
so same method without coconut.
So I think we just fry them with everything that's here.
I'm going to fry onion with garlic.
I'm going to add chilli powder, salt, black beans.
Let's go half. Don't go mad, Carole.
This is really, really hot. I don't think it's supposed to be hot.
And then this one just straight up won't turn on.
You look like you're sort of typing out an essay.
What are you trying to do? I'm trying to make it turn on.
Is this the future champion of Bake Off?
TIMER BEEPS
Oh, my days, everything's happening at once.
You're having a breakdown.
That's not even happening. That's inside your head.
It's not that cooked,
so I'm just going to simmer and it will get soft.
We'll let that thicken a bit.
I have honestly never made this, never.
I'm going to start making my guacamole now.
"Step six, make guacamole."
Now how many avocados do we put in there? Oh, God.
Chopped tomatoes are going in. Red onions. Jalapenos.
Juice of lime.
I like to have a little bit of chunk,
cos Paul said it's about flavour and texture.
I, like, blitz the avocado till it's smooth and creamy.
Oh, you're looking for smooth and chunky, that's the best way.
This is perfect for me.
So my beans finished.
I think that's what refried beans looks like.
Let me actually taste this.
It's the right amount of chilli, in my opinion.
It tastes OK.
I might put some more salt.
Don't know if this is right.
Oh, spicy.
Not bad.
Noel, I absolutely insist that you do this time call.
We've been down this road before.
No, no, I insist.
I've got your back here. OK, off you go.
Promise? Promise.
Bakers...
Bakers, you have half an hour left.
Oh, my God.
Here we go. "Make the tortillas."
"Divide the rest of the dough into eight equal balls."
"Flatten using the lid of a casserole dish."
No tortilla press.
Think we just kind of go...
Looks like what I'd imagine you would get, doesn't it?
THEY STRAIN
My tortilla dance.
I'm too small. I'm on tiptoes.
Slam!
I'm just going to get it as flat as I can get it.
This is the hardest part.
You don't know how thick or how thin it should be.
They don't seem to turn out that big.
Just try and get it a wee bit flatter.
They are small, but I guess tacos are supposed to be small.
Ta-da! "Bitesize" I think is the correct term.
What next? "Cook the tortillas."
Tortillas, traditionally, I think are meant to be cooked
on a hot stone. You just kind of go...
So I'm going in.
Boop.
I'm thinking two minutes on each side.
One minute on each side. Should be done.
Put it in a very high heat so it puff. Puff, puff.
Oh, we have some puffing. Yes!
They're puffing now. Is that meant to happen?
I don't want to overcook 'em.
Why don't you just put that under there,
and I'll go, as if I leant on it, and...
You know like in the Chuckle Brothers?
Shall we try?
No? I need them. You need them, don't you?
I need these, yeah.
Two done.
I don't know how they're meant to look exactly,
but do want some brown on there.
You don't want your tortilla to be too dry.
Not bad.
They've started cracking. That's a problem.
Oh, no, this one's burnt. This one's burnt.
Ah! And it's not puffing up.
Do they look like a tortilla? Haven't got a clue.
They're very small, though, aren't they?
Last one. They look cooked.
There's so many things to go wrong. Ugh!
OK, Matt, let's turn the tables a little bit, yeah? OK.
Why don't you do a time call... OK.
...and I won't interrupt you or anything? OK.
You just do it, yeah? You sure? Yeah.
OK. Bakers, you have 15 minutes left.
Weren't you supposed to interrupt me? Yeah. Yeah.
That's all my tacos done. Just need to make steak now.
The plan is to fry the steak. Medium rare.
Straight in. Nice and sizzly.
That looks expensive meat, actually.
Which is weird, cos we found that in a skip.
I'm joking.
I don't know how to cook steak.
I would cook it, like, about five minutes each side.
Couple of minutes on each side, if I've got time.
Everyone's got an opinion on steak,
and everyone thinks you've done it wrong.
I could go a bit longer, but I'm just a bit scared to overcook it.
I'll give it another 30 seconds.
Yeah, it's a nice pink in the middle.
That's still mooing.
It's all right.
Oh, Maxy, your steak's cooked perfectly.
My steak's going to be hot.
I wouldn't eat it.
SHE LAUGHS
How long do we have?
Bakers, you have five minutes left.
Do we? OK.
Just going to start assembling.
What goes first? Hmm. Bit of steak.
And then the fried beans.
Just don't know how much of each thing to use.
I won't put that much in there.
Just a wee forkful of each.
Holy guacamole.
Where do you put the "glockymolo"?
Salsa?
REBS: My pico de gallo's a bit spicy.
Bakers, you have one minute left.
Oh, my gosh.
This is going to be so tight.
Oh, now I'm in panic mode. Cheesy stuff, throw it on.
Don't forget the cheese.
I have one more to go.
These look quite stuffed.
I wish that we'd had, like, quantities. Oh, well.
Just trying to make the board look pretty. It's a bit fiddly.
It's the best way I can think to use an avocado.
Well, that's, erm, small.
Bakers, your time is up.
Bring your tacos down to the table
and place them in front of your photograph.
Wow.
I wish I could try one.
I go there, and then thingy can go there.
Paul and Prue are looking for eight thin tortillas
topped with perfectly marinated steak, spicy refried beans,
pico de gallo, and a tangy guacamole.
There's a bit of a difference in thickness, isn't there, and size?
It's so tempting to put too much filling, isn't it? Yes. It is.
Right, let's start over here.
These are actually quite neat.
They look very nice, don't they?
It's a nice fill, that one, as well. It's just about right.
Have to have a big gob, you know.
I know.
Cos you really want to get it all in at once, don't you?
Hmm.
That's pretty good, actually. It's balanced well.
The heating is about right.
And I love the fact that the meat is nice and rare. Yeah, and the...
There's a bit of colour on this. There's no need for colour.
There is a bit of darkness in some of these,
but the majority of them are all right.
Yeah, I think it's lovely.
OK, moving on to number two.
These look a bit dry. See the crack?
They look a bit crisp.
It's been overcooked, or there isn't enough water in there.
Let's taste it.
Mm, that is good.
The steak is spot on. The filling's OK.
I would say there's slightly too much onion
and slightly too much chilli, but... Mm. ..everything else is wonderful.
OK, moving on. Now, these...
That's a little too full, isn't it?
Yeah. For the size of them.
They're a little bit thick as well, actually. They're very small.
I'm getting slightly over-seasoned. Bit salty.
I'll tell you where there's too much salt. It's actually in the taco.
They're a little bit dry.
You wouldn't expect them to be that dry.
Moving on, you see the feathering round the outside?
They should be beautifully round, but they're all over the place.
This is quite a dry one as well.
That cow's still mooing.
I like the flavour. Yeah, I like the flavour.
Right. These look quite pale, don't they? Almost underdone.
It's also got too much filling, I think.
I think there is.
Again, quite salty again, isn't it?
It's very well seasoned. It... Even too much.
I think too much.
Now, these are too small.
That's ridiculously thick!
There isn't as much seasoning in that one,
but the meat's cooked well.
Moving on... They look quite thin.
I think they've been cooked quite nicely.
And I quite like the fact that that's... But that fits nicely.
Yeah, and there's not too much in it. Yeah. So...
Taco's good. Meat, tick. Guac, tick.
And the pico's nice as well. I think it works as a taco. Mm.
Oh, dear. Far too thick. Far, far too thick.
Too much chilli.
It's too thick. The meat needs to be cut up much smaller
on something so dainty and small.
OK, this is the right size.
Now, these here are cracked. See them all cracked there?
Yeah. They've overdone 'em.
The guacamole's very nice. The beef's nice and rare.
The flavour's OK, but again, the taco's overcooked.
Last one.
Now, these are quite little delicate tortillas.
Yeah, and they're thin.
I think that's a good one. The guacamole's excellent.
I really like that. The tacos are nice.
I'm not getting too much chilli. No. OK.
Prue and Paul will now rank the tacos from worst to first.
In 10th place, we have this one.
Carole, not very good. Very thick, too small.
Ninth spot, we have this one. Whose is this?
Rebs. Basically over-seasoned, massively over-seasoned,
and you had too much filling in there.
In eighth place, we've got this one.
James. The tacos are just slightly small.
Janusz is seventh,
Abdul is sixth,
Dawn is fifth,
and Kevin is fourth.
So in third spot, we have this one. Whose is this?
Sandro, actually, these were pretty good.
Could've done with being a little bit neater.
This is number two over here.
Syabira, these were really delicious, except that they were
a little bit difficult to manage because they were breaking up.
So in first spot, we have this one.
APPLAUSE
Beautifully filled, taco was really good,
seasoning was very good as well. Well done.
Thank you.
I feel over the moon, honestly, I feel over the moon.
I didn't expect it.
Second for the taco. Yes!
I'm pretty chuffed with myself for my performance today.
So I came in eighth in the Technical,
which is better than I thought, but worse than I would hope.
SHE SIGHS
I'm a little bit disappointed in the result.
The pressure is on for tomorrow now.
If I don't do well tomorrow, I'll be packing my suitcase.
Only the Showstopper Challenge remains
before Paul and Prue decide who will be leaving the tent
and who has scooped Star Baker.
Hello, bakers. Welcome back to the tent.
Now, for your Mexican Showstopper Challenge,
the judges would like you to create your own take on the popular
tres leches cake.
Now, tres leches obviously refers to the three milks
that are traditionally used to soak the sponge once it's baked.
You can use any combination of flavours you like,
but your cake must consist of at least four layers
of milk-soaked sponge.
Your tres leches cake need to be bold, delicious,
and inspired by Mexico.
You have four hours.
On your marks. Get set.
Bake.
I love a tres leches.
My favourite thing about it is that it's full of moisture.
A tres leches cake basically means three milk cake.
Evaporated milk, condensed milk, and double cream.
I never try tres leches cake before.
Put all these milks together, make a syrup of it,
make lots of holes in the cake, and pour the syrup all over.
And that soaks in and allows the cake to really moisten up.
What it mustn't do is to so sog up the cake
that the milks are running out of the bottom.
So it's going to have to be layers of moist cake one on top of another.
This is tricky.
The difficulty we're all going to face is the soak.
Because the cakes are so moist, when they lift the cake,
it could fall apart.
If it's too soaked structurally, it might break,
and if it's not enough soak, then is it really tres leches?
It's a fine balance over there.
Obviously we want high decoration, it's a Showstopper,
and they do have four hours to complete it.
I mean, a Mexican cake above all looks fantastic.
It's one of my favourite cakes. It's beautiful.
Sandro, good morning. Good morning. Good morning, Sandro.
Tell us about your tres leches cake.
It's a fiesta kind of cake.
So I'm going to have a big moustache in the middle,
and at the bottom going around, you have iced biscuits.
Enveloped in a decorative white chocolate collar,
Sandro's cakes include a chilli chocolate coffee sponge
with Irish cream soak,
and a spiced chocolate sponge with coffee and cherry brandy soak.
That sounds amazing.
It did taste nice. Yeah.
It was very adult type.
Yeah, well, chocolate, coffee, chilli.
Yeah. It's got like, four, teaspoons of chilli flakes, so...
Interesting. Thank you very much. Thanks, Sandro.
I did get a bit of a face when I said, "There's four teaspoons
"of chilli," so I'm hoping that's not going to be overpowering.
Sandro's not the only baker in the party mood.
Morning, Maxy. Good morning.
Tell us all about your tres leches cake.
Cake is called coco flower fiesta,
so I'm making a chocolate tres leches cake
filled with strawberries and cream,
and the outside will be decorated with flowers.
Maxy's chocolate sponge will have a tres leches vanilla soak,
layers of strawberries, Italian meringue buttercream,
and cinnamon vanilla cream.
Going to be so rich. Very rich.
It's going to be SO rich!
Is it still nice and light, though?
Er, I hope so.
Well, good luck, Maxy.
Abdul is also opting for a celebration,
one with a uniquely Mexican vibe.
The theme is Day Of The Dead,
so I'm making white chocolate skulls.
Love Day Of The Dead.
Glad someone's doing Day Of The Dead.
Abdul's cake will be soaked in passion fruit and coconut
tres leches, have lime curd filling,
and be adorned with white chocolate sugar skulls.
It's Day Of The Dead - do you want me to get you some poison?
I think on the Day Of The Dead, you actually honour the people
who have passed away, rather than make more people.
Make them pass. Yes.
Oh, OK all right. I think that's the concept, yeah.
Noted. Noted. Yeah.
The bakers may use any sponge they choose...
Angel cake. It's a fatless cake.
I'm doing a whisked sponge.
...and Syabira's opted for the unconventional.
I am making sweetcorn sponge.
Explain. It's a sponge that I put a little bit of sweetcorn in.
Why would you want that in a cake?
I like the idea of it.
Well, it's very Mexican, and it might work.
Syabira's sweetcorn sponge will be soaked with a sweetcorn tres leches,
filled with creamed corn
and cinnamon flavoured cream cheese icing.
Certainly want to celebrate the taste of sweetcorn,
which is actually quite difficult to bring through considering
it's going to be fighting with other flavours as well.
I love sweetcorn, by the way.
Don't look so stressed. This sounds good.
Thanks, Syabira. I hope it works.
You're off your maracas.
I tried to hit the brief, getting in as much Mexican flavour as I can.
Going to bring good vibes, good energy.
Going to go OK today. I'm not going home.
After another set of poor performances,
Rebs is determined to deliver a winner.
So I am doing a tiramisu tres leches wedding cake.
So it's a wedding cake to symbolise the marriage
between an Italian classic and Mexican flavours.
OK. OK.
Swapping Italian masala wine for Mexican,
Rebs' cake will get a coffee tres leches soak
and a trio of fillings, including a chilli chocolate ganache.
It's all about marketing, you see, branding.
If I say, "It's a wedding cake," then it's allowed to be more simple.
The judges have asked for a minimum of four layers of sponge.
I think it was quite mean,
cos, like, tres leches sponge is not for stacking.
Despite this, Kevin is undertaking a vast geometric construction.
My tres leches sponge will be soaked in coffee milk,
and I'll be building it in four square tins
to make an Aztec pyramid temple.
Mayan or Aztec?
Well, there's a bit of overlap, really, isn't there?
Kevin's central American style pyramid
will have a coffee tres leches soak,
be filled with hazelnut praline cream,
and coated with a chocolate ganache that comes with a kick.
Got some chilli in the ganache.
Hopefully not too much.
I don't want the judges to feel like they're eating electricity.
I'd like you to take their heads off.
I would like to not go home.
OK, well, let's meet in the middle.
To make a four-tier cake requires vast amounts
of smooth well-mixed batter...
I think the batter actually looks quite good.
Like, it looks quite light and fluffy.
...and multiple tins that somehow need to be squeezed in the oven.
I'm trying to get them all in at the same time.
There you go, sponge is going in.
30 minutes in the oven, and hopefully they will be baked.
Bake beautifully.
So these are going in now. Lovely.
Just making the milk soak now.
The bakers can now create
what is the key to a good tres leches cake.
Whipping cream, evaporated milk, coconut.
I'm using 300ml of double cream.
Same for the evaporated milk and condensed milk.
I'm putting some Mexican coffee liqueur.
And now some tequila.
Determined to celebrate Mexican flavours...
Chocolate, coffee, little bit of chilli in it, orange, lime.
...Carole's cake will include more than a few.
Bit of a mixture, really.
Carole's chocolate cake will get a coffee liqueur soak,
lemon and orange buttercreams, be surrounded by a chocolate collar,
and come topped with chocolate flowers and hazelnut caramel spikes.
Are we playing into your strengths here, Carole?
I do like decorating cakes.
So the idea of the collar sounds good.
Yeah. Hope you get it all finished on time. Yeah.
The coffee and chocolate combo is proving popular.
I've got coffee in here,
and I've got a dark chocolate feuilletine layer
and that just gives it, a bit of crunch in this very wet thing.
Dawn's sponges will be soaked with vanilla flavoured tres leches,
filled with a coffee creme mousseline, and topped with
a bunch of choux buns filled with an amaretto creme pat.
So there's some booze in the profiteroles if you want it.
I've decided to celebrate, er, fruits of Mexico.
Rather than booze, Janusz is choosing the healthy option.
I'm going to use a tiny bit of lemon, dragon fruit,
passion fruit, guava, and I've got mango in the freezer.
I knew I'm missing one.
His dragon fruit cake will have a guava and coconut milk soak,
mango cream and dragon fruit, and passion fruit curd.
I think your whole idea of this cake sounds amazing.
It's challenging for yourself, which is good.
I mean, you've been Star Baker a couple of times now.
Love the idea. Thank you so much.
Always something interesting going on with you.
Soak completed.
In addition to their soak,
the bakers must create fillings that balance the sweet rich sponge...
Coconut dacquoise.
...and a number of them are risking a powerful Mexican flavour.
I've already put one teaspoon of chilli powder
and one teaspoon of the chilli fakes.
Need to add the chilli in.
I don't want the judges to be choking on it,
but I don't want them to say, "Oh, can't really get the" chilli.
Some bird's eye chillies.
Oh, flipping hell, that's strong.
Also embracing chilli...
Doesn't this look delightful?
...after a poor showing in the challenges so far,
James aims to make up ground with multiple elements.
It's a chocolate chilli and lime tres leches cake,
and the top tier is going to be a fraisier tart.
And then to neaten up around the outside,
I have a white chocolate collar.
Going all out, James' lemon and lime sponges
will have a vanilla tres leches soak,
dulce de leche lime curd, and creme diplomat fillings.
The cake will be coated in chilli chocolate ganache
and be topped with a strawberry fraisier tart and cookies.
James, you have got a lot to do. It's a lot of work.
There is quite a lot for four hours.
That's a huge task, but if you pull it off...
I think I need to this week. It's not been my week so far.
Bakers, you're halfway through.
I reckon that's cooked.
We're looking all right.
With sponges out the oven...
...getting the soak in is critical.
As usual, I'm going to cut the tops off.
I'm the queen of cutting the tops off from the cakes.
Going to prick the tops of them and get some lovely milk into them.
To ensure each bite is decadently moist needs liberal soaking.
You need to get it wet enough that it's, like, soaked,
but not wet enough that it's going to, like, ooze.
But overdo it...
That's a lot of soak gone in there.
...and the sponges will be impossible to assemble...
What you don't want is it to be really saturated,
or the whole cake'll collapse.
...while scrimping on the soak
means the sponge will be dry and unpleasant.
I've used 500ml for my one.
It was actually more than enough now,
because they are drinking quite quickly.
Trouble is, with an angel cake, it's not brilliant at soaking in.
I'm just going to pop it in the fridge for a little while.
As soaked sponges go in to set,
the bakers turn their attention to coating their cakes.
Lime butter icing.
Sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar. 392.
SHE GASPS It's 392, innit? You daft cow.
And now I'm making an Italian meringue buttercream.
Just putting the custard into my German buttercream.
It's really delicious. Not as sweet as normal buttercream.
Oh, wait. Oh, that'll be burnt.
My Italian buttercream meringue, it looks a bit split,
so I'm trying to whisk it to see if it helps. We'll see.
Just missed my, uh, caramel burning quite severely.
I-I saw it and I smelt it.
As ever the judges are expecting the cakes
to not only be delicious but visually spectacular.
Going to melt down some chocolate and that's going to be
a medallion on top of the temple.
It's a temple to chocolate, made out of chocolate.
They're tiny baby choux.
Trouble is if they're too small, you can't fill them very easily.
My cake itself is called Day of the Dead.
I'm now melting my white chocolate to make my skulls.
It's over-rated being dead, I'll tell you that much.
I've been dead for 13 years now.
Paul has to break me out the cemetery before every show.
Prue puts clothes on me. Prue puts clothes on you?
Prue dresses me like a dolly.
I'm going to get my curd from the fridge. All right.
I won't be here when you come back. I'll be back in the graveyard.
All right. I love you. I love you as well.
OK, so let me get this straight, Mexico IS a real place. Yeah.
How would one get there?
Oh, it's easy, you just go like this.
WHISTLES
Well, that's all well and good for him but I can't do that.
HE SIGHS
Bakers, you have one hour left.
One... MATT WHISTLES
We are going to construct.
It's now the bakers find out if they have one
of two very different problems.
Oh, this is the stressful part.
If their sponge is too wet, it's at risk of collapse.
Cake. Soaked the full way through. Kind of what I, I hoped for.
Too dry and it could fail to deliver
the sumptuous tres leche eating experience.
I don't think it's soaked at all.
And soak. Yeah.
Ah, it's not centred! Ah! Knew this would happen,
but do you know what? Go hard or go home.
Oh! I just don't want it to collapse.
I doubt this is how the Aztecs originally built it.
Um, I think a lot more engineering would've gone into it.
The cake itself, it didn't soak well. Oh, it's dry.
Yeah, I'm going to cry. SHE SNIFFS
It's gonna be all right. It's gonna be all right, OK?
You're going to pull this off. Your flavours are going to be amazing.
Building a multi-layered cake with soaked sponges is
a construction conundrum.
I'm using supporting dowels.
HE GIGGLES
I think it would be absolute folly not to dowel and board it.
Yeah, going to play it safe.
Make good decisions, Kevin. Make good choices.
Oh, dear. Oh BLEEP.
What's wrong? I'm trying to deflower.
I ain't going to get these off in time.
If you really concentrate, you can slow time down.
OK. All right. This is stressing you out, this talk, isn't it?
Oh, look at that.
I feel like my presence is making this much, much worse, isn't it?
My chocolate cake's split at the bottom
and now it's leaking everywhere.
I just don't understand why it's turned out like this.
I'm going to try and cover it up with icing.
It's very difficult to, like, get it... Like it's,
it's, it's not working out that well.
Why is it so bulged this side? Oh, my goodness, I'm going to cry.
Just got to get the cream on and then I'll tidy it up.
It's a mess. Not good.
I'm so fricking stressed out right now.
I love a good drip because it hides all
the sides that are ugly. You can hide everything.
The cake is not right. The... Argh!
OK. OK. Chill out.
Oh, my goodness, this is so BLEEP.
It's cracked! This ain't even frickin' working.
It's holding up well but, uh, it's a mess.
This is not how this was supposed to go. I don't want to go home.
Bakers...
...you have... ...15...
...minutes left.
Pew! Pew!
Need to get a wriggle on.
Oh, uh, did not think this through.
I mean, a wee bit of piping will cover up the flaws.
We're all in a bleeding rush.
You can do one flick. Go on. Swap? I'll spin it, yeah. Go on.
I'm just trying to make it look half presentable at least.
Oh, urgh!
There's not one bit of milk left in the bottom of this cake.
How long more do we have?
Bakers, you have five minutes left.
Oh, God!
I just want something out now.
Oh!
Right, let's do the tache.
♪ I'll cover the holes... # With fun piping
and make it look like a natural look.
Bakers, your time is up.
Please, step away from your tres leche cakes.
I'm stepping away.
It's four hours' bake, you're not going to make it perfect, will you?
It's so messy. I'm literally about to cry.
BLEEP.
MATT: The bakers' tres leches cakes will now face the judgment of Paul
and Prue.
Your decoration is so accurate and beautiful, and piping is so good.
Thank you. Let's have a look.
I think the soak's a bit dry on a couple of them.
The top two seem to be wetter than the bottom. I agree.
Mm.
It's such a surprise. It tastes like sweetcorn.
It does, yeah.
I mean, we asked you to be imaginative. Well, that is
imaginative. It's not for me.
My only quarrel is I think it would have been better not
to have the lumps of corn in the cake, because it spoils the texture,
but it's a really good, original cake.
Well done, Syabira. Thank you. Thank you.
I think overall you attempted too much. None of it's neat enough.
The Fraser cake needs to be much neater than that, the collar
has lost all its shine, the pipework isn't particularly good.
I have a few issues with this.
It is a bit untidy but let's see what it tastes like.
MATT: It does look good.
PRUE: Mm!
The cake layer is absolutely delicious.
I like the flavour of the Fraser tart, the creaminess,
the lightness, the sort of vanilla.
The top sponge is a little bit tough.
Much drier than the bottom one. The bottom layer is the chilli one?
So I've got like a lime curd and a creme pat in it.
The sponge is good but it is unevenly soaked.
I like the lime curd and I like the sponge, but it is messy.
Thank you.
Well, I must say, I love the idea.
I think it's a little rough and ready.
Some of the milky syrup is running out,
which must mean it's quite well soaked.
Maybe oversoaked.
I think the design is fantastic,
and to make it a tres leches cake is tricky.
I think you pulled it off all right. What's that in the bottom?
Is that just where the milks haven't soaked in?
I reckon there's probably a few parts where it's not soaked in.
I love the flavour. It's got a little bit of a kick.
Quite a kick, it's strong chilli.
It's quite pungent and the biggest issue I have is the texture.
I think you've got flour lumps in there.
That's a real pity because flavour's good.
We asked for vibrant colour and we've got it,
and I love the look of it.
I think the cake is quite effective, the colours are strong,
I like the declaration on the top
but let's see what it looks like inside.
Ooh. Wow.
The bit of cake I've just got doesn't seem
to have been soaked at all.
Have you got chilli in there? Yeah, in the ganache.
Is it too strong?
Yes! When I first put it in my mouth I was going, what is that?
What you've done is added a punch and a punch and a punch and a punch
and then destroyed what it actually was.
I think your criticism is too strong.
I think it's a really well-made cake.
I think you've done a good job with the look,
just thought your flavours are just too much.
I think it looks lovely. It's quite cartoonlike but highly effective.
The drips are perfect. I think it's beautifully executed.
It's as neat as a pin and it's very modern looking.
How about that for colour?
The cake is quite dense. I think the sponge is a little bit too dry.
You could have got more soak in there,
but your saving grace is the guava and the passion fruit.
I would agree, I think it looks absolutely wonderful,
the flavour's fantastic.
I just think that the cake is a little too firm.
I think the skulls work, day of the dead celebration.
It's a little bit wonky.
I agree it's on the lean but I think it's an attractive,
unusual looking cake. Very even layers.
The soak has gone through quite nicely on each.
The passion fruit and the lime work really nicely together.
I think you've done a decent job.
Sandro, I absolutely love the look of it. It is a bit wonky.
It is wonky on the top which winds me up a little bit
but I love the colours. It looks very good.
The bottom tier is a chocolate coffee cake.
The top is a sliced chocolate cake with spiced chocolate ganache
and cherry compote. It looks like a black forest gateaux, actually.
I know we are always asking for good strong flavours
but I think you've overdone it a bit, Sandro.
There's too much booze, too much chilli, too much cherry.
It's a bit milder, the bottom one, so it works nicer.
I think that bottom layer is absolutely delicious.
I think it's something of a little triumph.
So I have done a tres leches wedding cake, a rustic wedding cake.
It is rustic, you're right.
You've got a bit of leakage down there as well.
That is very boozy.
You've got chilli in that ganache? Yeah. Wow!
It's supposed to be mellowed by the cream.
Filling is too much!
A little less tequila and quite a lot less chilli.
You're getting hit with big, big flavours.
If you'd held back on that,
you would have had an all-round nicer cake.
I think the overall look is good.
Your piping work, the way it all cascades down looks great.
Yes, I like it, I love the colours. Cuts nice. Oh, that's interesting.
I think the butter cream's got a nice lightness to it
to go with the richness of the cake.
The chocolate flavour comes through nicely,
so between the two it's quite stark but it works.
I think you've done a good job, Maxy.
I think it looks simple and effective, it's quite elegant,
let's see what it looks like inside.
Wow, that's soft.
That's heaven.
That flavour is heaven.
I like the crunch, I like the soft cake.
That's good. The sponge is so soft, coffee levels are perfect.
Wow. It's really good. Thank you very much.
APPLAUSE
I can't believe that. Absolutely stunned.
Everything they said was fair,
clumps of flour in your cake batter just isn't acceptable.
She said it's a triumph.
Triumph, that's a good word.
If you were to put a bet on me I think I'd give myself 7-1.
My chances ain't very good.
I think I'm definitely in the firing line.
They asked for Mexican and I feel like it was more of a Mexican't.
Well, we didn't get the Mexican weather.
It's been pretty cold again. But we had some good Mexican Showstoppers.
They looked beautiful, didn't they? They look Mexican.
There were lots of bright colours.
There's two people actually that pulled themselves up quite a bit,
I think Abdul and Dawn. Dawn smashed it.
I think both of them catapulted themselves up.
What she was so clever about was she wasn't overcomplicating anything.
And then you look at the other side of the coin, James, I mean,
what was that about?
He stretched himself too much, that cake was not good,
and the collar was dull, it was matt. And it was really clumsy.
Too many elements.
Yeah, but I'd say exactly the same about Carole.
And coming into today, Carole was near the bottom.
For me, she still is.
I mean, the other person that was in trouble was Rebs
and I think she still is in trouble. Those cakes were far too strong.
Everything was too strong. We could get rid of two today.
There is legitimate reason.
To be honest we had three pretty poor
performances from Carole, Rebs and James.
Has Dawn done enough with the Showstopper
to be a consideration for Star Baker?
Without a shadow of a doubt, Dawn's pushed herself up.
I don't think quite in line with Star Baker. Right.
I think Maxy is, I think Sandro is. Yeah. And Janusz.
I think you have to put Janusz in in there as well. Janusz is there.
Hello, bakers. Well done again on that showstopper, it was amazing.
Luckily this week I've got the fabulous job of announcing
which one of you has won Star Baker.
And the person who's Star Baker this week is...
Maxy. Yeah!
I have the less fun job of saying who's leaving us
and, yes, this week it is two bakers.
So the two bakers who are leaving us this week are...
James...
...and Rebs.
Honestly, devastated. This means the world to me. Sorry, Rebs.
It's hard in this tent. It's only cake. Poor Rebs.
Her flavours were just too strong and too many of them.
Bake Off's been a fabulous experience.
It's just I didn't want it to be cut this short.
I'm gutted for James as well. James is such a fabulous person.
It's been fun though, so I don't mind.
I'm always sad to see any bakers go, but particularly James.
If I was to use a fun metaphor, I think
I was a plant that's roots are outgrowing its pot.
I'm going to really miss you, mate.
James had a rotten week,
and his Showstopper was a real disappointment.
Oh, I think I went wrong across the board!
I think Maxi winning Star Baker for the second time is well-deserved.
She was the most consistent over the three challenges.
I'm dancing right now! Just keep going, huh?
This has really given me confidence.
Honestly, I never thought I'd come to the tent and get two Star Bakers.
It's crazy. Next week, we're halfway through,
and I think we've got five bakers in there that are all doing very well.
There's another three of them that have to step up now
and show us what they really can do.
There's only one way this is going to go and it's,
like, harder and harder.
Next time...
...the bakers tackle demanding desserts.
You know "desserts" backwards is "stressed". And I am.
From steam signature... Oh, my God.
...that has our bakers hot under the collar.
Oh, what a disaster. A Technical...
Have you seen the method, guys?
...with no recipe. Come on! And a magnificent mousse Showstopper...
To be able to put that design together with mousse is impressive.
...that will serve one baker... Oh! It's moved.
...their just deserts.
Mine looks like a car crash.
Are you a Star Baker in the making?
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