Last time... Matt, what are you doing? Whoa-oh!
...Halloween came early in the tent.
I've decided to dress as Noel, so I'm baking in heels.
While Syabira... I love it.
...left the judges spellbound...
Handshake. Thank you.
First in Technical, great Showstopper.
Wow.
...claiming the Star Baker crown,
Kevin's cake... Oh, man alive.
...was a horror show.
It does look a bit of a mess. But Dawn's cat...
That is shocking. ...was cursed.
Can't really taste anything.
And she was the sixth baker to leave the tent.
One of the absolute best experiences of my life.
Now... Is there such a thing as too much custard?
No. No. ...it's Custard Week.
So I'm ready for you, ice cream.
With a Signature where no-one wants to sink to the bottom...
Float the island.
Float, baby, float.
...a Technical with a timed twist...
What? What? What?
I just feel like I've been summoned into a naughty tent.
...and a Showstopper...
I wish I had three arms, honestly.
...where the custard must hold itself together...
It's quite wobbly.
It's super jiggly. Jiggle jiggle.
...as much as the bakers.
Oh, no.
The freezer is four degrees. It's going to be melting.
But the thing is, there's so many custard things you can make.
Everything. If you think, there's a custard slice.
But they could even do pain aux raisins again. No.
Last week was amazing, I would say that.
I was wondering if I'm ever going to be a Star Baker
and once I got it, I hope everyone else will get it, as well.
It is Custard Week, so there is a lot that can go wrong.
With confidence it's, uh,
it's in the mid ground at the moment.
Custard, custard, custard, custard.
I kind of love making custard. There's just so much you can do.
You get creme anglaise, creme patissiere, creme au beurre.
I had no idea that there were so many different varieties of custard.
Creme legere, creme chiboust, creme mousseline.
I thought custard was just custard.
Bonjour, mes amis.
Welcome back to le grand blanc... tente.
For your Signature challenge,
Paul and Prue would like you to create your take on
the classic French dessert iles flottantes.
The judges are looking for eight perfect portions
of poached meringue floating on
a sea of silky smooth creme anglaise.
The flavours are up to you.
The judges just want to see some beautifully presented floaters.
You have an hour and a half.
On your marks. Get set.
Bake.
I never heard of floating island before.
I heard about floaters a lot, but not floating island.
The last time I had a floating island is when I last practised this
and it was absolutely filth.
It's a bit of a funny one.
I like the custard, but I'm not a fan of poached meringue.
Reminds me of baby food a bit.
It's Custard Week this week.
One of my favourite things to eat ever.
Now, they've got to make eight floating islands.
Basically they're a poached meringue floating in English custard,
creme anglaise.
I normally buy custard, because it's much easier to go
and get a 50p can, innit? HE LAUGHS
So we want to see introduction of colour, flavour and texture.
I'm just gonna make eight little biscuits.
Lychee. Oh, they're like eyeballs.
I always like making floating islands.
Silky smooth and light and it melts in the mouth.
They are the most delicious.
So, how does it feel after last week?
Did you get a handshake and you won the Technical
and you won Star Baker?
That is actually a very nice achievement,
but we're all back to the clean slate this week. Wow.
Who are you? What are you doing now?
I'm making mojito cocktail, actually. Mojitos.
Now you're talking my language.
Syabira's meringues will be coated in a layer of sand crumble,
flavoured with mint leaves and lime zest.
Her creme anglaise will be presented in bowls painted
with palm trees to complete her mojito islands.
Only a mojito lover can live in that mojito island.
Everything that you serve will be only mojito.
Mojito cake, mojito flavour, mojito toast, mojito jam.
Rather than saying good morning, you say mojito.
And if the judges need something
to sober them up after Syabira's mojitos,
Janusz has just the recipe for the morning after.
I've decided to celebrate my favourite morning drink,
vanilla latte.
So it's gonna be a... Oh, I thought it was going to be Bovril. No!
So you've got coffee in the custard.
Two espressos, but it looks like latte.
Nice, OK. Yeah, that's a really nice idea.
Janusz's floating island nods to his perfect breakfast
with a coffee and vanilla creme anglaise,
served alongside a bite-sized marmalade-flavoured biscuit.
Is this the first time you've come across it yourself?
I had it before in Poland. We call it soup of nothing.
Soup of nothing? Soup of nothing.
That's how a floating island should be.
It should just disappear in your mouth.
Yes.
Now I'm making the custard.
There's milk and double cream in this.
I'm gonna then add the orange zest and vanilla paste.
Not only are Paul and Prue expecting
the creme anglaise to be perfectly smooth...
I'll have lime and rum creme anglaise.
The judges are gonna be smashed.
...they also want it to have a perfectly balanced taste.
Rose can really easily become an overpowering flavour.
I always stop just before I think I should.
And I'm just gonna add some cardamom.
Sandro is taking it one step further
and going all out with his flavour profiles.
I've not had that wow with the flavours yet.
I've just had the, "Oh, it tastes nice."
Which is great, but I want that, like, oh-oh-oh-oh!
His flavours bring together creme anglaise
with a cherry jelly,
chocolate shavings,
and a caramelised almond and hazelnut topping.
Plus he's bringing in a boozy element
to give the wow factor he's after.
The custard is going to be brandy-infused
and then I've got cherry jelly with a bit of rose prosecco in it.
Have you practised this?
I have practised it and I thought it's just a bit too simple,
so I added the alcohol in it.
I'm just really trying
to make sure the flavours are all well balanced.
Kevin's also adding a tipple for the judges.
I've never tried popping prosecco with a sword.
I normally just do it the safe way with a towel over the cork.
But it's not the custard he's adding it to.
The meringue will be flavoured with prosecco and...
How much prosecco? Eight tablespoons.
It'll deflate a bit, but as long as you whisk it enough, it comes back.
Kevin's prosecco meringue will float in a sea
of rose creme anglaise topped with lychee
and raspberry coulis.
In keeping with the island theme,
his decoration will be a tuile biscuit,
coloured pink to look like tropical coral.
You could've done an island you see in the middle of a loch.
Oh, that'd be too cliche. THEY LAUGH
Could've done Nessie. A bit on the nose.
With Nessie sort of in there. Nessie in the loch.
Hey, Matt, do you like my cake? It's a Pac-Man cake.
Didn't Pac-Man have an eye?
Yeah, he had an eye, yeah. Thanks. Thanks for your help. Yeah.
Dun-dun-dun-dun dun-dun-dun-dun.
Bakers, you are halfway through.
Right, now I can pour it inside this mixture of eggs and sugar.
And then get it back in the pan
and then cook it until it's thickened.
Custard needs to be cooked low
and slow to get the consistency just right.
There's a lot that can go wrong.
The custard can be overcooked. It could be undercooked, as well.
It's a process that cannot be rushed.
You just need to keep on whisking it until it's thickened. Strong arms.
Cook it too quick and the eggs will scramble.
You mustn't boil it.
It shouldn't get above about 80, 85 degrees.
But remove it from the heat too soon
and it will not thicken enough and the floating islands will sink.
This is taking years to thicken up.
I am quite patient,
but this is just...
Just... just a bit too much.
Maxy's poached meringue will sit in
a lagoon of creme anglaise and blueberry sauce.
It'll be topped with caramelised sugar swirls and glitter dust.
I've seen people actually lose
years of their lives stirring custard. Stirring away.
Thinking it's not gonna happen, then suddenly it does happen.
Yeah, it does. And they get really excited.
Yeah. Have you ever stirred custard, Matt?
I get the Bird's to do it.
See what I've done there.
It's a bit thicker.
And I think we're done.
It's looking good. It's the right texture.
This is kind of done.
It looks really runny, but it should be all right.
With their custards completed and left to cool...
I'm gonna pop it in the fridge.
Uh, meringue. Am I right or a MERINGUE?
...the bakers move on to making the all-important meringue islands.
I'm making the French meringue style.
So in this case I whisked my egg whites to a soft paste.
Now I'm adding sugar.
Gradually.
Once it reaches stiff peaks
and all my sugar is there,
I will then shape them and start poaching them in water.
Abdul's poached meringue will be topped
with caramel swirls
and sit in an orange creme anglaise, marbled with a cherry coulis.
Is this something you've made before?
I had never even seen these before.
You're quite good with meringue, though, aren't you?
My wife's made of meringue.
Uh-huh. Well, she was.
She's just an eggy liquid
in the bottom of a pan now, but, you know.
Interesting. We still get on.
So, the show's been getting
a few letters of complaint that we've been stressing
the bakers out a little bit with our time calls
and that we need to be a little bit more soothing. OK.
So I've been practising, OK... OK.
...a kind of soothing time call. Ready? Yes.
HIGH-PITCHED SHOUT: Bakers, you have half an hour left.
Let's not panic just yet.
I'll do eight tablespoons of prosecco.
It'll deflate a bit, but give it a chance to whip back up.
Whipping the meringue to just the right degree is crucial.
Stiff and glossy.
Not enough and it won't be firm enough to hold its shape...
This is abstract art now.
...making it tricky to successfully form identical floating islands...
Just trying to get them as same as possible.
...that will hold firm in liquid for poaching.
It's gonna be a very generous portion.
I don't want to be called as a stingy lady.
I'm gonna pipe meringue that's gonna look like latte foam.
But, yeah, my hands are literally, like, shaking.
Have you been drinking? No!
Not for a long time now.
I'm gonna begin poaching,
so I'm gonna poach my meringues in the milk.
Let's try the first one.
So I'm gonna poach them for two minutes on each side.
Everyone will be poaching their meringues in liquid.
Mine rely on steam,
because you will destroy the piping.
My meringues have just gone wrong.
They're way too soft and just totally collapsed.
It's like the Titanic. In what way? Little icebergs.
Little mini icebergs. Oh, right.
I thought you meant the tragic ending. No!
If you touch them on the outside and they look good
and fluffy, it's almost ready.
At least that's what I think.
OK, that looks good. This one is done.
Floaters are done. I'm happy.
What you looking at? I'm looking at that magic over there.
Oh, yeah. I know. THEY HISS
Yours look like that. Yeah, yeah.
These are not good. They just look a bit rough.
Coat them in the minty sand.
BOTH: Bakers, you have 15 minutes.
I'm going to start putting the custard in.
Prosecco jelly has set.
It's a minty sand topped with the creme anglaise.
Nice bit of retro kitsch glassware.
Oh, this coffee smells good. There we are, baby.
And now I'm gonna jazz this up now.
This is my cherry coulis.
Right, meringues next.
They're very delicate things.
Float the island.
Float, baby, float.
I mean, they do float.
Oh, that's a sorry-looking one.
How long do I have left?
Bakers, you have one minute left.
Oh, boy. Time pressure, time pressure.
Just the final decorations.
OK, so this is the raspberry and lychee coulis.
Blueberry sauce.
Add the hazelnuts.
Oh, coral tuile is ready.
Final decorations.
Dunk 'em in. Think I'm just rushing a bit.
This is looking messy!
My hands are literally shaking. Too much coffee.
Oh, my God.
Bakers, your time is up.
Please step away from your floating islands.
Oh, that's cool.
They look like coated breaded chicken.
Yeah. Isn't it? Coated breaded chicken? What?
That's the last thing I want to hear, Sandro.
SHE CHUCKLES
The bakers' floating islands will now face
the judgement of Paul and Prue.
Hi, Syabira. Hello, Syabira. Hi, hello.
I actually thought it was a deep-fried chicken.
Yes, that's what Sandro was saying. Sitting in a bechamel sauce.
That's delicious, as well.
LAUGHTER
I think it is a floating desert island.
It's covered in sand.
It does look great.
It is a lime creme anglaise topped with
the meringue, coated with the minty sand.
As always, there's nothing wrong with your flavours.
They're fresh, they're very distinct
and your meringue is beautifully poached.
It's a great mojito. The custard is perfect.
It's the lime in that.
It's got that sharpness that cuts through,
so it's not too sweet.
Very clever. Well done, Syabira.
You're in some kind of crazy groove.
They look nice. They look quite attractive.
The meringue's lost its height
because of probably the weight of the caramel.
You have orange custard.
Look at that custard. And then we have a cherry coulis.
It is absolutely delicious.
It's very sweet,
but the custard's an excellent flavour.
I love the orange. OK.
I'd like to have seen the meringue a little bit more robust.
Looks quite appetising.
I'm not sure it's enough for a dessert.
The combination of flavours is really delicious.
The acidity of the puree sets off the meringue's sweetness perfectly.
It's lovely. The blueberry's got a lovely tartness to it.
But the creme anglaise could've been a little bit thicker.
It's quite effective.
Looks like a latte.
Your creme anglaise texture is absolutely perfect.
It's thick enough. As a latte goes, it's delicious.
There's just enough coffee in there.
It's very delicate and I love the flavour and texture.
It's delicious.
I mean, I'm really tempted to keep going,
but I won't cos I've got more to come. Thank you. Thank you.
I think it looks busy.
I do think they look quite pretty though.
You have the cherry jelly,
bit of prosecco, spiced custard with brandy.
Certainly got brandy in it. It certainly has.
It's very alcoholic.
I think that the custard is perfect from a texture point of view.
You'd have been better not to have the prosecco in the jelly. OK.
Because the brandy's quite enough. I think you got carried away.
Thank you. Thank you.
I think the puree, it's probably slightly watered it down.
It's slackened off the creme anglaise. Hmm.
The custard is smooth as anything. I love the prosecco.
It's a lovely light mouthful,
but it does mean that the islands are a bit squashed. Yeah.
The meringues have disintegrated with the prosecco,
so the alcohol has broken the meringue apart.
The lychee is delicious. Mmm. Thank you.
That was another mixed one.
Bottom of a pretty good bunch is an OK place to be.
Paul said it looks like a chicken and bechamel,
but they said the custard was perfect. I'm very pleased.
Too much going on. It was too busy, which it was.
Game plan going into the Technical
is I'm sitting at the back,
so I've got the whole view
to see what everyone else is doing. HE LAUGHS
The bakers were able to practise their floating islands,
but have no idea what awaits them in the Technical challenge.
Well, bakers, it's time for your Technical challenge,
which today has been set by Prue be-doo-be-doo.
Prue be-doo, any words of advice?
Take your time and keep your cool.
That cannot be it.
That is it. NOEL CHUCKLES
As ever, this Technical challenge will be judged blind,
so we're going to have to ask these two to hop it.
Go on, get out of here. Don't want you round here.
For your Technical challenge,
we're gonna do something a little bit different.
We're gonna have a staggered start time and a staggered finish time.
What? What? What?
BLEEP just got real.
LAUGHTER
So could everybody leave the tent except for Sandro.
LAUGHTER
What? Bye-bye. No, but wait.
What is... going on?
HE EXHALES No pressure.
The judges would like you to make six pistachio
and praline ice cream cones.
Your cones should be dipped in chocolate and nuts
and then topped with a pistachio and praline ice cream.
You have two hours and 45 minutes.
On your marks. Get set.
Bake.
This is the most nervous I've felt.
Normally the other bakers are here,
so I get to sort of see if I'm on the right track,
but today I'm all alone.
Pistachio and praline ice cream cone for a Technical. This is a first.
It's Custard Week
and to make good ice cream, you need to be able to make good custard.
I'd like there to be at least one and a half scoops in there.
I always feel cheated when I get a cone
that's just a little mound on the top.
They have to make their own cones.
They should be golden brown, not pale,
and of course if they're too dark, they'll be too brittle.
And you get that nasty burnt taste. Slightly burnt taste.
One of the really tricky things about this challenge
is the timing.
If they don't get their ice cream frozen properly,
we are going to have pistachio soup.
And we're doing staggered starts
to make it absolutely fair when we're judging.
Shall we try, then, Prue?
Mmm. That is beautiful.
The cone is crispy. Silky smooth ice cream.
The texture from the praline inside is lovely.
It's really good, strong pistachio flavour.
Even on a cold day, Prue, having ice cream, actually,
it doesn't really matter, does it? I know. It tastes great. I know.
I've never even heard of a custard ice cream.
I just know it needs to be frozen, so gotta be pretty quick.
To begin with, it says to make creme anglaise.
This is a mixture of double cream and milk.
I'm gonna wait until it starts to simmer,
which is already... It's getting there.
Come join the party, baker two.
Come and join us.
The judges would like you to make six pistachio
and praline ice cream cones.
You have two hours, 45 minutes.
On your marks. Get set.
Bake.
It is very empty and very quiet.
I think more or less I know what I'm doing.
So I'm ready for you, ice cream.
These eggs will be creamed with some sugar.
And then mix that in.
Baker three, would you like to join us?
Don't look so frightened. You're OK.
The judges would like you to make six pistachio
and praline ice cream cones.
On your marks. Get set.
Bake.
This is weird.
Oh, I just feel like I've been summoned into
a naughty tent.
Just like, "Oh, we've been naughty, haven't we?"
Never made ice cream with custard.
I need to get this creme anglaise to cool down as soon as I can.
That was weird, weren't it? Yeah, it was strange
being the only person in here.
Have you made anything like this before?
I've never made ice cream before. It's not a thing, innit?
The ice cream man comes over to your road
and he parks right in front of the house, as well.
You don't go, "Sorry, love. Sorry, love, we make our own."
We've made it already, yeah.
Hello, baker four.
On your marks. Get set.
Bake.
I don't know anything about ice cream, to be honest.
I've got no idea. Clueless. SHE CHUCKLES
Let's just start.
The key is to keep an eye on the custard when it's cooking,
so you don't get scrambled eggs.
So it needs to be cooked on the stove until it gets thickened.
Baker number five.
On your marks. Get set.
Bake.
I've made ice cream before. I've got an ice cream maker at home.
I can do this. It's just like being at home.
I'm looking for my custard to thicken up.
Until it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
I'm gonna do it a bit thicker than I did the floating island custard.
Baker six, would you like to join us?
On your marks. Get set.
Bake.
Yes. The last one in. So, this is the first time I'm making ice cream.
This is the first time I'm seeing this machine, so... let's see.
Creme anglaise is nearly ready. I'm happy with the way it looks.
It's all a bit crazy. Yeah. Staggered.
I know! Maybe it's because of the ice cream.
They don't want it to get melted... Yeah, that is it, I think.
...when the next judges... It's quite breezy here, isn't it?
Yeah, it's very breezy.
It's like a gale.
I've made my creme anglaise.
It is looking pretty decent. I'm quite happy with it.
It's gonna go to the ice bath.
So it's cool enough for the ice cream machine.
The bakers need to reduce the temperature
of their creme anglaise as quickly as possible.
That's in the fridge. In the fridge.
But where they cool it is crucial.
You can't put a hot creme anglaise into the freezer.
The temperature difference, it might cause a issue.
Into the fridge.
I chill in the freezer to get it down as fast as I can.
Adding warm creme anglaise to a freezer
will cause the freezer's temperature to rise.
And now it can go to the freezer.
And may prevent the ice cream from setting later in the challenge.
It's cooled, which is good. Yeah, that's ready.
I am adding in my pistachio paste.
I'm gonna add the food colouring.
Pistachios shouldn't have too much colour.
It says to churn and then to freeze.
When it gets really thick and ice creamy,
I will turn it off, however long that will take.
It'll probably take about 45 minutes to churn. I don't know.
If this works out, I'll be so proud of myself.
Right, now I'm gonna make the...
...waffle cones.
I've got an idea of how it's done.
I'm gonna whip up my egg whites, then sift in the flour
and icing sugar, fold in the butter.
That looks good. It looks the right consistency.
I'll start cooking them now.
I'm gonna go for it.
I'm just gonna trust the press.
First one is in. Lid is on.
I give them two minutes and wait patiently.
Pop it in for three minutes.
Five minutes, four minutes.
I just need this to be golden.
Three, two...
Hello.
Not there yet.
Yeah. I'm going for a goldeny type colour and just roll it.
Not brown, just golden.
Once it's done, you just need to roll straight away and let it set.
Tighter at the bottom.
Something is burning.
Something's burning.
Or is it me?
Oh, no!
Oh!
What?
Whoa-oh!
I just made an ice cream cone. That's really cool. Ha-ha!
It's six, right?
I'll go again.
I'm going to do it for less time.
Well, that's better.
Ow! It's so hot.
Well, I definitely didn't perfect it.
Look at that. NOEL WHISTLES
Hmm. You ever done that before?
I've never made a waffle cone before.
So you just did that. I'm gonna be obsessed with waffle cones now.
Yeah, are you getting a waffle cone maker?
It feels fine.
THEY LAUGH
Don't try that at home, children.
Burning, burning, burning. I smell burning.
Whoa, man. They're burnt. What is going on?
OK, even less time than that.
Final one.
Chicka-ching! Hot, hot!
That is six.
This one is OK. This one is OK.
I'm moving on to next step. Make the praline.
Caramelise my sugar, put it on top of the pistachios.
When I was a kid, pistachio ice cream
was something you had on holiday. Yeah.
On the Algarve. Sort of like, "Ooh, ooh, they've got pistachio.
"Ooh, they've got pistachio! MAXY CHUCKLES
"Ron, they've got pistachio. Did you want pistachio?
"You like pistachio.
"No, just vanilla? He just wants a vanilla."
It's getting there, baby.
I'm just gonna stop churning it. It's pretty thick.
I think it's done.
Scrape the ice cream into a bowl and fold through the praline.
Freeze.
Make sure that's all in there. And now it can go to the freezer.
So I need it to set quick, quick, quick, quick, quick.
It's gonna freeze. Should be OK.
I will be leaving this in the freezer for as long as possible.
Dip the ice cream cone rims in melted chocolate,
then in chopped pistachios. Pistachios on my wafer.
What I'm actually gonna do is put some melted chocolate in. Yeah.
Ooh, yeah, I'm gonna put that in there.
You just gonna do that? I'm just gonna do it.
Like a little secret extra. Wow.
I hope my ice cream is freezing.
I'm gonna see my ice cream. It's still soft.
It's set. I'm happy, happy.
The freezer is four degrees. It's gonna be melting.
Ah, stress.
I'm praying really hard silently so my ice cream sets.
Baker number one, you have five minutes until judging.
It's cold. Everything's cold right now.
How many scoops do they want? I'll try and do two.
Then I've just got to drizzle chocolate sauce.
I'm gonna do it in the freezer, the rest of this.
A little bit of the sauce.
Baker number two, you have five minutes.
Baker number one,
I am coming to get your bake now for judging.
Happy?
Sir, madam.
These look quite attractive.
They've managed to get two balls on.
I mean, the green's about right, as well, the colour.
And the cone is absolutely lovely. It's crisp. Mmm.
I can't hear anything.
It's nice and creamy, the ice cream, and set.
The baker has filled the inside with... With chocolate.
...chocolate. It stops the ice cream soggying it up.
That is delicious. HE EXHALES
My ice cream didn't set.
It's so hard, mate.
It's like water.
Baker number three, you have five minutes left.
Baker number two, I'm coming for you.
Thank you.
That looks like it's been in the sun for six hours,
pouring out the bottom hole.
The cone seems to be crisp enough.
The praline's good.
It's a good flavour, but it's just not set.
The freezer didn't cool down my ice cream. It's melting.
I feel like I want to give up this challenge.
If it melts, it melts. I did my best.
Baker number three,
I'm coming to get your bake right now.
Thank you. Thank you. Ah, it's just melting.
I'll get it there quick.
There you go. It's very soft. It's not set.
It's just like liquid.
Oh. Mmm. Oh!
It's leaking all over, even down the side.
Because the ice cream is so unset,
the praline doesn't have the proper crunch it should. No.
A sort of pistachio soup.
SYABIRA: It's fine.
It seems fairly stable.
I was going to do a second scoop on top, but don't think I will.
Baker number four, your time is up.
Well, the ice cream looks set.
Try a little bit of that cone.
Mmm, the ice cream tastes nice.
Very crunchy praline.
Shame we didn't get the second scoop.
That's a mean ice cream. Delicious, but not enough.
I wonder if the ice cream's a bit on the soft side.
I'm just trying to keep it neat.
Baker number five, I'm coming for your bake right now.
Happy? NOEL LAUGHS
Down to the wire.
The most obvious problem immediately is that
the chocolate is just a great ugly lump on top. Yeah.
The wafer's good, good texture. You do get a little bit of praline.
The ice cream mix itself is good.
It is melting very, very quickly.
It's melting very quickly. Eeesh.
It feels weird, like everyone is watching me.
Baker number six, your time is up.
Thank you. Thank you.
The wafer looks a little too dark and too brittle.
They're overbaked.
The ice cream is nice and smooth.
It's just melting pretty quickly now.
THUNDER CRACKLES
Paul and Prue will now rank the ice creams from worst to best.
In sixth spot, we have this one.
Syabira.
Ice cream wasn't set.
In fifth place, we have this one.
Janusz. It wasn't set, was it?
Abdul is fourth
and Kevin third.
In second, we have this one.
Maxy, these are pretty good.
You needed to put more ice cream on it to create a bigger dome.
Which means we have this one.
Sandro, absolutely delicious.
Nothing wrong with it at all.
I feel great. I got my first Technical win.
They still taste great.
They are just more sort of smoothie than an ice cream.
It's terrible. Disappointed.
There's always a rainbow after the rain.
Let's do this. Four more hours.
Happy Custard Week, everybody.
Custard Week. I love custard. Who'd have thought it?
Coming from northern stock, anything with custard is good.
You can't just claim custard from the north, you know that? Yeah.
There's a little village just outside Bolton... Here we go.
...called Custard and that is where it all came from. Really?
No, don't be ridiculous. Of course not.
You had me there.
We've whittled down to six really strong bakers now.
It's getting harder and harder, isn't it?
Syabira did really well in the Signature. Yeah.
But she was last in the Tech.
Whereas Sandro didn't do too well in the Signature with what he did,
but he won the Tech.
So you've got these two sort of jumping around.
And then you look at everybody else,
they're all again smack in the middle.
And now you're in this position
where any challenge you make one mistake, you could go.
Which is harsh, isn't it?
Bake Off is tough. It's brutal.
Oh, I can't bear it. I wouldn't watch it. It's brutal.
Or be involved in it. I'd wipe it off my CV.
Good morning, bakers.
Welcome back to the tent for your Showstopper challenge.
Today Paul and Prue would like you to bake
an exquisitely-decorated set custard gateau.
Your gateau must consist of multiple baked layers
and be sandwiched and supported
by beautifully-flavoured, perfectly set custard.
You can make any style of gateau you like,
but the set custard elements must be the star of the show.
I thought Paul Hollywood was the star of the show?
Used to be. Now it's set custard.
Imagine being usurped by set custard.
Oh, it's a tough business. NOEL LAUGHS
You have four hours. On your marks.
Get perfectly set.
Bake.
This bake here, I need this to be, like, perfection.
It's gonna be my, like, do I get my Star Baker?
It's a personal favourite,
so I'm really excited to make this
and I hope the judges like it.
We've had pouring custard,
we've had frozen custard,
so for the Showstopper, we're going to have set custard.
So, obviously there's many different types of custard.
Creme pat, creme diplomat, creme mousseline.
There has to be baked elements in there.
There are so many different avenues they could go down.
So, strawberries, I need 400 grams. I'm gonna just reduce them.
Well, there are lots of ways to set custard.
Most people would use flour and a bit of gelatine.
It needs to be silky and soft, but it must be firm.
So that when you get a slice, it doesn't just bulge out.
I am thinking about
texture, flavour, texture and flavour.
And time.
Custard gateau has to look amazing.
Lots of flavour,
lots of colour,
but custard has to remain the hero.
Morning, Syabira. Hello, Syabira.
Morning, hello. Hello.
Tell us about your custard gateau.
I'm making pina colada
custard cake today. NOEL CHUCKLES
You see, there's a theme going on here.
We're getting mojitos, we're getting pina coladas.
It is a cocktail week this week.
Both Noel and I are big fans of pina colada.
Paul always buys me pina coladas when we go out. No pressure.
Syabira's cocktail gateau will feature delicate pineapple flowers,
a coconut rum creme legere
and alternate layers of pineapple creme pat
and rum sponge with a tropical ingredient.
I'm adding the coconut milk inside now to give
the coconut taste in the sponge.
I'm excited, because I tried this cake alongside
a proper pina colada drink.
Pina colada, cake, pina colada, cake,
pina colada, cake.
This is my joconde sponge.
It's an almond-based sponge.
It's nice and moist.
The bakers want baked elements to be both light enough
to avoid compressing the silky set custard...
I'm making a traditional Polish sponge.
It has both flour and potato starch.
It brings the lightness to the sponge.
...and firm enough to structure their gateau.
I am going to make a coconut sponge,
so it's more robust.
While most bakers are using sponges to support their custards...
Just starting my dough now, so I'll start laminating it shortly.
...Abdul has been inspired to do things differently.
So I'm basically making a mille-feuille.
Oh, nice. So tell us about the puff pastry.
So I tried a rough puff pastry. I'm actually using your recipe.
Oh, you'll do well with this.
You're gonna go far, Abdul.
Do you know... What a move from Abdul.
Actually, that recipe is, I think, as good as a puff pastry.
Yes. That's what I noticed, as well.
I did notice there's a slight... What is happening here?
What's happening here? Can we just have a moment for this?
Abdul's mille-feuille will be made with layers
of compressed rough puff pastry
that will sandwich chocolate creme patissiere
and vanilla creme diplomat, along with strawberries,
raspberries and caramelised peaches.
But even with Paul's recipe on his side, he needs to keep his cool.
In this weather, what you do is you incorporate grated frozen butter
to add between the layers and laminate them.
Oh, my hands are, like, freezing. Frostbite.
Right, this needs to be in the oven, like, asap.
So, they're gonna go to the oven only for 20 minutes,
because they are just small little cakes.
This will go in for about 25 minutes.
So, pastry is gonna be in the fridge
to chill for about 20, 25 minutes.
I'll start making my custard.
I'm currently mixing together cornflour, eggs and caster sugar.
As the bakers move on to their custards...
You just need to stir it patiently.
I'm making set custard. It's really quick and easy to make.
...Sandro is chancing a different method.
I'm doing it through the microwave.
How? Explain.
It'll go in to microwave for about 30 seconds at a time
until it thickens.
So rather than using a pan, you decided to use a microwave?
Yeah. How do you feel about the meecro-wavay, Paul?
If it works, it works.
Sandro's ambitious three tiers will consist of three different custards,
a vanilla layer, a coffee layer and a mango layer.
It'll be decorated with buttercream roses
all in memory of a very special person.
I wanted to do a tribute to my friend that I lost.
She was, like, helping me get on here.
I didn't even want to get on here, really, like at the time.
What, and she encouraged you to...?
She wanted me to join the show. Really?
Yeah. She would've loved a cake like this for her birthday.
Well, she'd be very proud of how you've done.
Yeah, she will be super proud.
Sandro's Showstopper isn't the only one
to be inspired by someone special.
The Showstopper is a tribute to my father-in-law who passed away.
He would've been really proud to hear that I'm in the tent.
I just never got the chance to let him know.
Maxy's gateau will feature exotic layers of coconut
and almond dacquoise,
joconde sponge,
a lime and passion fruit curd
and a cascade of tropical fruits,
all set in place with a more traditional filling.
I am making a creme pat.
Classic vanilla. I want to keep it simple.
This is supposed to be about the custard.
Yeah. Mm-hmm. It's gonna be the hero, the custard, isn't it?
Yeah.
Some bay leaves, some thyme to infuse
with my honey custard.
The judges are looking for custards with perfectly-infused flavours.
I'm putting in pineapple and lime.
I hope this will taste exactly like a pina colada.
This is my chocolate raspberry custard.
Janusz is taking his flavour inspiration
from a favourite holiday.
So, I'm whisking Neapolitan set custard gateau.
It's gonna consist of three different custards.
Janusz's trio of custards will comprise of
a dark chocolate and raspberry custard,
a strawberry and ruby chocolate custard,
and a white chocolate and vanilla custard.
Keeping to his Italian theme,
he is soaking his sponges in limoncello
and finishing off his cake by decorating
with a white chocolate drip.
Have you practised?
I did practise, and I baked it in high heels, as well.
You baked it in high heels?
Yes, just to make sure that I can walk in those shoes that I had
for Halloween Week.
So that was me, 6am in my kitchen, in my high heels.
In your high heels.
You know, I just feel like
there are too many rules in this tent, you know.
It's really important that the bakers get
to express themselves, you know.
Um, so, with that in mind, bakers,
take as much time as you like and bake whatever you want.
Paul won't like that. Bakers, you are halfway through.
I'm taking them out of the oven now.
The other cake is ready.
I am. I'm really happy with them.
Pop these in the freezer so they cool quickly.
I've got one and two.
The puff pastry will try to rise,
but the trays above will compress it.
I need the custard to be a bit thickened.
I'm using gelatine, fully.
The consistency of the custard is key
to a successful gateau.
Gonna go into the microwave for about 30 seconds at a time
until it thickens.
And making the perfect silky but firm custard
involves careful timing.
It's a bit grainy. Like, usually it's very smooth.
Maybe it's the cornflour that I didn't mix in properly.
I'm gonna make it again just to be safe.
Thicken it too much and the custard will be gloopy to eat.
See how set this custard is?
It's just right. Ooh. HE EXHALES
But undercook it... I'm a bit worried about this.
...and it could be a sloppy mess.
It's not thickening up.
At home, it would've been done by now.
The pan's not very hot. Have you had the wrong one on?
No, no, I haven't. This is the right one.
Well, it's not very hot...
...at all. That's why.
It should be quite soft when you slice into it.
That is a big bowl of custard. I feel like I could jump into that.
Believe it or not, we'll use pretty much all of it.
Really? Aye. Well, it's a set custard gateau.
There needs to be... You need a lot of custard.
...a lot of custard. Yeah. Is there such a thing as too much custard?
No. No.
Kevin's immense three litres of custard
will be decked with nectarines
and raspberries upon a dacquoise base.
The gateau will be topped with raspberry jelly
and finished with a cascading swirl
of Swiss meringue buttercream,
prosecco-infused macarons, and bay leaves.
The thyme going in there's going to be interesting... Hmm.
...to see how that works. And the bay.
And bay, as well. And the bay. Have you practised this at home?
Yeah, uh-huh. And when it comes to the setting times for each layer,
have they managed to work OK?
Yeah, yeah they worked OK.
Ah. I'm setting the custard with gelatine.
So it's like that, it's just stacked? Yeah.
I think it sounds absolutely wonderful
and I hope you pull it off. So do I. Thank you.
Bakers, you have one hour left.
I wish I had three arms, honestly.
Or maybe eight, like an octopus.
I'm behind, because I had to make one of my custards again.
I'll try to catch up as much as possible.
While some bakers are waiting for their custards to set...
It's going in the fridge.
...others are ploughing ahead
and assembling their gateau with unset custard.
The hot custard needs to be set together with the cake
so that it gels together.
I'm just putting the dark chocolate and raspberry custard in.
And then a thick layer of custard.
Working with unset custard makes it easier to create
the generous layers the judges are looking for.
The custard layers are about this thick.
Similar.
They wanted exactly the same layers of custard to cake.
But deeper layers of custard...
Add another layer.
...require a longer setting time...
It's a lot of custard.
...to ensure a sturdy Showstopper.
It goes to the freezer!
Fridge. I need to let it set as quick as I can.
Hopefully it will set on time.
You can see, like, it's not fully, fully brown yet,
but it's only brown on the edges, so, yeah,
maybe I'll just take it out now.
I hope this cools as instantly as possible.
Syabira, we need to let the bakers know
that they've got half an hour left. Can you...? Mm-hmm.
Can you tell them all, but in Malay, please?
Bakers, you have...
SHE SPEAKS IN MALAY
You all speak Malay, right?
HE LAUGHS
It's an international language, isn't it? Exactly.
Definitely not enough time, but we'll try.
Press speedy mode on. It's time to assemble now.
So now I'm getting the layers of the coconut and mango done.
I'm now spreading the hero of the show, my custard.
It is ready now.
So to add some support, I added raspberries.
Set.
Definitely not set yet.
How do you think this bake is going? Do you think you're on schedule?
I'm a bit behind, because I had to make my custard again.
It was grainy and I was like, "You know what?
"Paul Hollywood will notice that."
And I didn't want... He'll put you in CUSTARDy.
Yes, he will put me in custody.
My passion fruit and lime curd.
That joke was a TRIFLE corny.
Orangey Madeira-type sponge with vanilla custard.
I am so scared to open it.
But I've touched it and it's pretty soft.
I'm still just waiting for the custard to set.
I'm hoping it'll set quite quickly.
-It's super jiggly. -Jiggle jiggle. LAUGHTER
Now I'm assembling the joconde sponge with the coffee custard.
Bakers, you have 15 minutes remaining.
Cakes. HIGH-PITCHED: You can do it.
So, this is the peach layer.
Pipe with buttercream.
Let's do this, like, ruthless.
I'm gonna coat them with white coconut rum.
Creme legere. Creme legere is a whipped custard cream.
That looks nice. Can I drink that? Yeah, you can.
Maybe I'll just pour it over my feet.
That's a custard treatment.
Custard treatment?
It's actually good, because all the sugar,
all the butter, it's actually moisturising.
I haven't had a custard treatment for a while, have you?
No, never.
Just set.
As long as it's set inside. HE CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY
Would you like me to...? I'll just turn it. How do I do it?
You're gonna try and pipe in there, all right?
I'm cake boarding and dowelling every layer.
Yeah, come on, strong. All right, all right, all right.
Come on, Matt. We ain't got time. Pipe really hard. I'm doing it!
Oh, like that. Oh, like that. All right. There you go, yeah.
KEVIN EXHALES It's quite wobbly.
Let's go, go, go, go,
go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go.
Done. Look at that. I made a cake!
That's not stable.
Right, if you get Star Baker, I want a cut.
I'm sharing it with you. Yeah. I'll give you 5%. Yes, please.
All right.
Oh, no.
Not cool, not cool.
The dowels aren't keeping it stable enough.
I'm gonna present it on two stands.
Bakers, you have five minutes left.
SANDRO GROANS I'm getting stressed out.
This is the vanilla custard now.
If I'm making a cake, there will be drip on it.
Hopefully the flavour is pina colada.
Really pretty purple roses and rosettes.
The dried pineapple is gonna be like a flower.
Neapolitan ice cream.
Trying to decorate as much as possible.
I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I need more time.
Do you need any help? I'm trying to pipe that all over.
Just, uh... I can't stop thinking of my friend though, now.
You pipe, we pile.
It's three of us. Come on.
I'm getting a bit overwhelmed.
It's a very jiggly cake, babes. I know.
I'll go and help Kevin.
Mmm. Yum, yum, yum.
I know. We've got ten seconds. What do you wanna do?
Some nectarines. Bakers, your time is up.
Oh, that'll do, that'll do.
Yeah, that's it, that's it.
Please step away from your bakes.
Well done, everybody.
KEVIN SIGHS
Sandro, how did you manage this? Uh...
You need to tell me what kind of witchcraft you used inside.
SANDRO CHUCKLES Witchcraft.
Because that is crazy next level.
It's judgement time
for the bakers' showstopping set custard gateau.
Abdul, would you like to bring up your Showstopper, please?
It looks absolutely lovely, Abdul.
It looks very professional. Quite stylish.
Let's have a look, shall we?
We have raspberry and chocolate creme pat,
vanilla creme diplomat with caramelised peaches.
That big enough for you, Prue?
Now, what are you trying to tell people?
LAUGHTER
Right... Paul, you greedy man.
The custard in both layers is definitely the hero.
I think the texture of the custard's perfect.
The pastry needed longer in the oven. OK.
Probably needed another five minutes just to get a bit of colour as well
more than anything else.
But overall, I like the textures and the flavours.
I think you've got the idea of a mille-feuille spot on.
Thank you. Really good job.
Well done, Abdul. Well done.
Thank you.
It looks impressive.
I like the variety of colours in the piping.
I think it looks lovely, and then... And the drip, drip.
Obviously the drip. The drip is perfect.
There's a chocolate and raspberry custard,
there is a ruby chocolate and strawberry custard,
and a white chocolate and vanilla custard.
The proportion of custard to sponge is good.
Sponges are nice.
All the custards are too gloopy and too dense,
too thick on the mouth.
It's not fresh enough.
I would've thought all those flavours would be very fresh.
The custard's more like wallpaper paste.
PRUE CHUCKLES Don't mince your words, then.
It is.
Thank you.
JANUSZ SIGHS
I don't know whether it's formal or informal.
I don't know whether it's messy or very attractive or artistic.
I'm not quite sure how to look at it.
Yeah, I'd say it's slightly messy and really attractive.
It's eclectic.
Wow. Wow, look at that. Look at that.
I think your flavours are great. Your sponges are good.
However...
...I'm not sure it celebrates custard and makes it the hero.
This is a beautiful cake. The sponge is perfect.
The icing's lovely.
The problem is this was supposed to be about set custard.
There's very little custard
and none of it is set.
Thank you, Maxy. Thank you, Maxy. Well done, Maxy.
Thank you.
It is a pina colada custard cake.
Well, I think it looks amazing.
It is so unusual.
You actually coated it with custard.
It's much easier to just slap buttercream all over it.
It's just fantastic.
Wobble-icious.
Oh, my goodness.
Wow. The amount of custard in that.
It's great, isn't it?
That's what it's meant to be and it's set.
That custard gateau is impressive.
I've never had one with so much custard in it
and be that stable.
The lime that comes through,
the pineapple and then your coconut.
I think the whole thing together is just spectacular.
And the other thing that's impressive about
so much custard is that it's not too gluey
and it's not rubbery.
I mean, you've just hit it right.
Look at the wobble on that. I know. Like a jelly.
Well done, Syabira.
Well done. Well done.
Smashed it.
Syabira.
I think it looks great. Very neat.
The piping is absolutely exquisite.
It's both bold and modern and yet very creative.
So, the bottom tier sponge is coconut
and you've got the mango custard.
Well done.
The second tier in the middle is a joconde sponge with
a coffee custard and the top tier is
a... orange sponge with a vanilla custard.
I think the bottom one's a triumph.
It's clever. The coconut mango is nice.
Mmm, I love it. That is a wonderfully light sponge.
The coffee, the sponge is really good.
The coffee custard's a bit glutinous, dry.
OK.
I think every one of those cakes is highly saleable,
absolutely delicious and would be gobbled up by anybody.
Well done. Well done.
Thank you. Shall I bring this back?
Thank you. Thanks. Thanks, mate.
Well done.
Kevin, would you like to bring up
your set custard gateau Showstopper?
Do you want a hand? Yeah, please.
Have we had an earthquake?
Wow, it's literally just...
...dropped as it's opened right up. Yeah.
Right, let's have a look at the... Yeah.
See if we can get a slice.
So what we have here is a dacquoise sponge
topped with honey, thyme and bay set custard.
Topped with raspberry jelly.
Do you know, that custard is amazing?
It's so unusual.
The more you have it in your mouth, the nicer it is,
and it goes beautifully with the raspberries.
The thyme and the bay is amazing.
It works really well together. It is delicious.
It's a shame that it looks a mess. Yeah.
Thank you. Thank you.
Well done. Well done.
They were ever so nice about the flavours.
They were really, really nice about it.
You know, if there's a bit of hope there, I'll take it.
I feel like I made my friend proud.
I hope I'm in the chance for Star Baker.
You just never really, really know.
I think Syabira done a really good job with her Showstopper.
It is just unbelievable.
I'm just like, "Did I really make that?"
I feel like I'm just standing there
and I'm accepting it, but at the same time,
I feel like, oh, I nearly melt down to the floor,
cos it's just too much to handle.
That didn't went as well as I planned.
I've made a gloopy custard.
Definitely that puts me in the bottom,
so it's up to the judges.
Well... That was a lot of custard.
Yes.
Or not, in some cases. No.
Janusz was disappointing.
It wasn't only that his custard didn't taste great,
they were gluey and spreadable.
You said wallpaper paste. Yes.
How do you even know?
And why have you been eating wallpaper paste?
MATT LAUGHS Shall we talk about Kevin?
The flavour were essentially the best ones in the tent.
They were amazing.
What, thyme and bay?
But unfortunately, the stability of the whole gateau
was not strong enough and it just collapsed.
If they were set, they were often gloopy,
and if they weren't set, they tasted nice.
You have to get it just right, and I'll tell you who did,
and that was Syabira.
She really triumphed, didn't she?
She had thick custard, the flavours were terrific.
It looked great. The design was just so modern.
What about Sandro? He did a lot of work, didn't he?
He's always ambitious.
I think two of those cakes were pretty well perfect.
The bottom layer, the mango, stunning.
Who do you think is in trouble?
I think Kevin, and Janusz is also in line to go home.
I can't believe that about Janusz.
It tasted awful.
Well done, bakers.
That was a tough week.
There were some very impressive bakes,
but there can only be one Star Baker
and the Star Baker this week is...
Syabira.
APPLAUSE
Thank you, guys. Thank you.
OK, that leaves me with the horrible job
of announcing the person who will be leaving us this week.
And you're such a small little gang now.
This is going to be horrible.
The person who's leaving us this week is...
Kevin.
Sorry.
Well done, Kevin. Thank you.
I'm nothing but proud.
The imposter syndrome's real and...
...coming into this competition
I didn't feel like I deserved my place, but...
I feel like I can count myself as one of this talented bunch.
Like... Oh, my...
That custard is just extraordinary.
I'm very sad to see Kevin go,
but that custard will remain with me for the rest of my life.
I'm going to go home and do it.
I think he's invented something wonderful.
Syabira got Star Baker again
because that was a proper custard gateau.
She just smashed it on every single department.
Aren't you a clever girl? Thank you.
Thank you. Twice.
I wouldn't have imagined I would get a Star Baker.
Second in a row, that's wild.
It's one crazy journey that I had this week.
Honestly, insane.
A little bit sad I didn't get Star Baker,
cos I thought, like, I was pretty close.
I'm feeling good to be back for another week.
Oh, yeah, we're through to the quarter-finals, innit? Yeah.
OK, I'm through to the quarter-finals.
HE CHUCKLES Whoo!
Next time...
What is this, mate?
...it's the quarter-finals.
I think it's cooked.
Pastry Week.
Oh, that is horrible.
The bakers must perfect their puff...
I don't want to present raw pastry!
...for a super sweet Signature...
This is crazy, man.
...tackle a tongue-twisting Technical...
Man-get-out.
Mange-ay tout.
...and create a showstopping storybook of pies.
I'm expecting nothing
but perfection. HE EXHALES
Subtitles by Red Bee Media