Quarter Final 2 Junior Bake Off

It is day two of the Junior Bake Off quarterfinals,

-another five bakers are about to pop on a pinny...

-Like this.

..to battle it out for a place in tomorrow's semifinal.

-Like this!

-Not like that.

-Not like that.

Welcome to Junior Bake Off.

The five quarterfinalists face a towering technical...

Ahh!

..for a wedding centrepiece.

It looks a bit like a Christmas tree.

They take on a scary mini tart showstopper...

THUNDER RUMBLES

..to impress judges Graham and Allegra.

-Getting to the quarterfinal stage, I am expecting a lot more.

-Whoo!

These guys are five of the best young bakers in the whole

of the United Kingdom. We need them to prove that to us.

So who will pipe the perfect meringues,

whose pastry will crumble...

It is getting tough!

..and who will bake their way to a place in the semifinal?

-Well, it's scary.

-Yeah.

Yesterday three bakers went forward to the semifinal. Today three more

will join them, so which of these five bakers will it be?

In her heat, Amari from Birmingham produced

an original and unusual idea.

Amari you have dropped your ice cream.

I like Amari's style. She gets on with it but she has also got vision.

'I have been practising every single day'

so I am pretty prepared for the quarterfinal.

Up against Amari is Alice from Dorset who delivered bakes with

a near flawless finish.

There's no doubt that is a thing of art and beauty.

Alice, she's very solid. She knows

what she wants to do and she delivers.

Cos it's the quarter finals,

there won't be any room for mistakes. I have got two timers.

From the Rhondda Valley, it was Megan's attention to

detail that won her her place.

That for me is a near perfect feather.

Megan is very, very accomplished in the way she finishes.

'I hope I can make Wales proud.

'I'm really glad that I have got this far'

and I really want to keep going.

This is so cool.

From York, Isaac's raw talent delighted the judges.

You have a really good understanding of flavour.

Isaac's cake last time was one of the best bakes

I tasted in the heat rounds.

I am going to keep my head down and work as hard as possible

and hopefully it will be enough.

Purdey from London got through with her biscuit buildings.

It melts in the mouth and crumbles in your hand,

it's a very good shortbread.

Purdey has good technique, good understanding of skills and piping.

'The standard of baking is high amongst the other bakers

'because we all have got through to the

'quarterfinals so we're all'

a lot more determined and we all know we can get through.

So it's a bit more competition.

Welcome back to the tent, bakers. Congratulations for making

it to the quarterfinal. As you might expect,

this morning's technical challenge

is going to be a tad more... It is going to be

a lot more difficult, let's face it

and to add a bit more pressure it is one of Allegra's recipes for a

wedding centrepiece called

meringue en bouche. Which translates to meringues in the mouth.

Which I think is far more romantic sounding.

Now, this requires you to make 100 mini meringues arranged

into a tower using buttercream. Judges, what are you looking for?

Evenly sized meringues with a delicate stripe up the side.

We are also looking for a subtle flavour, crisp on the outside

and slightly chewy on the inside.

You have one hour and 30 minutes to make your meringue en bouche.

-On your marks...

-Get set...

-Bake!

It feels like I have never been away because I've just been

practising at home and when I come back here it's just more baking.

Baking is all I do now.

I have made meringues before but I only ended up making about 20.

What do you think of my meringue en bouche, Graham?

It is very colourful. It looks very, very proud.

What I do expect to see is even sizes of meringue.

There's three flavours, the pink ones, which are rose water,

the orange ones, which are orange blossom,

and the yellow ones, which are lemon.

If they add too much liquid flavour it is going to spread,

it is going to be too wet and you'll end up with a macaroon shape.

100 pieces minimum, to cover this cone, must be daunting.

Allegra has asked for French meringues...

Oh, my hands are sticky.

..which comprise of equal amounts of

two basic ingredients - eggs and sugar.

I am separating my eggs so I just have the white.

Whisking the whites before adding the sugar

ensures a light and fluffy meringue.

I just need to wait for that to whisk.

If over beaten the meringues will lose their shape in the oven.

Once the whites are foamy, add the sugar one tablespoon at a time

whisking well between each addition.

Well, you have got to look for it to become nice and thick.

I am looking for peaks

and I want to put it over your head without it dropping.

Yay.

I think it's done.

I can't do better.

I am not going to put it over my head just in case.

-Morning, Purdey.

-Hello!

How did the meringue go?

It went well. I have made meringues a few times so I kind of know what

I am looking for.

With your meringue, how do you make sure that it is the

-right consistency?

-When it is like stiff peaks.

Are there other ways to tell as well?

I knew you were going to do this, I knew you were going to do that!

I am splitting the meringues into three bowls

so I can add it into the piping bag with the different flavours.

It's up to the bakers how much flavouring to add.

Put in a tiny bit at first cos you don't want

it to be too strong and then you have to try it.

Tasting raw egg is not advisable, but these eggs are really fresh.

I think it needs a tiny bit more.

I tried rosewater in a cake once.

I put too much in

and it tasted like soap

so I am not really a big fan of rosewater.

-Isaac, how are you doing?

-Good!

Where are we at?

I have put a little lemon essence in and I am just about to try it.

-What are you looking for?

-Not too sharp but

it's enough to get the flavour coming through.

-Have you made meringue before?

-Yes.

-Flavoured?

-No.

-Striped?

-No.

-Striped and flavoured?

-I don't think so.

Bakers, you are halfway through.

This is quite challenging.

The judges are expecting each meringue to be decorated

with three distinct stripes.

I am streaking the colours into the piping bag

so it gives it that nice stripe.

I am doing pink for the rosewater flavour, yellow for the lemon

and the orange for the orange.

OK, now for the dreaded piping.

How do you do it?!

Twist it and you wrap it around your finger.

Twist and wrap and twist again.

Yep.

I am definitely not used to piping!

More like a one, two pull up sort of thing.

I am not too bad at piping. I do quite a lot of it.

The meringues should be equal in size so that they cook evenly.

Some of them are bigger than the others

but I will pick out the best ones.

It is important to get the consistency right or

the meringues won't form the peaks, or kisses, which

the judges are looking for.

I added too much lemon so it is really, really droopy.

On these it has kind of run out, but on the yellow ones

I have a nice colour.

Isaac is going for a very rounded macaron-esque meringue not

the stand-up kisses.

Everyone else did the slightly scary

bowl over the head trick and he didn't,

so he might not have whipped it quite enough.

Megan, she has got two beautiful meringues

and then she has these very, very flat lemon.

They might be small so she'll need twice as many to cover the cone.

They also will need less time so she has potential to overcook.

54, 55, 56, 57...

62, 63, 64... And they are in.

Let's put them in that way.

How long do they take?

20-25 minutes so I am going to put them in for 12.

-Why?

-I can always put them in for a bit more,

I can't take them out for a bit less if I have overcooked them.

That is why you are a baker and I am not!

Cos you know!

If you fancy having a go at baking, make sure you ask an adult first.

There we go.

-Bakers, you've got 20 minutes left.

-Oh, dear.

-We will be

-calling time.

-You meanie!

It is quarterfinals, come on!

-Do we need to make buttercream now?

-Yep.

I am making the buttercream and the lumps are not

coming out of the icing.

Are you sieving your sugar?

Yep. When I'm at home I wouldn't bother but...

-But here it is the Bake Off.

-We are not at home.

The buttercream will be the glue onto which the bakers

stick their meringues.

Er, er, OK! Looks a bit like a Christmas tree.

No, it's not ready yet.

Meringues this small can easily over bake or under bake.

Still yummy though.

One minute can make all the difference.

They look OK. One of them did come off so at least one was cooked,

hopefully that is the one they will try!

Right. Ah!

Just give it a little touch just to see.

They are hard, they are coming out.

Looking good.

Hopefully they will be enough to impress the judges.

I think that some of mine are a bit underdone.

They look a lot different to Purdey's.

Mine are more balls than peaks.

Bakers, you have five minutes left.

They are coming on!

I hope they look past the yellowy ones cos I showed I can do it

cos I have done the other ones.

I am going to get as many on as possible.

Keep on cracking.

They are getting worse and worse as they go up.

Ah!

I only have two left and I still have got all that buttercream.

Stop what you are doing, bakers, step away!

-Welcome to the quarterfinals, guys.

-It is getting tough!

-It really is.

Everyone else's looks a lot better than mine.

That was definitely the hardest challenge I have ever had to do.

I hope that they can overlook that it is not finished

and that the yellow ones haven't got the peaks.

Graham and Allegra are looking for 100 well-flavoured peaked

meringues with delicate stripes that are crunchy on the outside

and chewy on the inside.

Amari, very nice looking. Super delicate

stripe on the rose ones. They are pretty even in size.

Good lemon flavour, nice balance, got the crust which lasts

just long enough and on the inside

we have this beautiful mallow centre.

-Well done, Amari.

-Megan!

You've got lovely peaks, beautiful lines on two of your meringues

and I can also see that you've got very flat lemon meringues

and we haven't completed it.

To look at, you have the best kisses.

Nice orange blossom flavour

but a little bit more crisp and not so chewy due to the

fact that they are so small and

because you made them very small that is

why you ran out of time.

Alice, you have some lovely stripes here.

You do get nice kisses on two, nice peaks and they fall away.

But you have got good colour.

The orange blossom is not really coming through.

The lemon I thought was good and present, so well done, Alice.

-Thank you.

-Was that all the meringues you had, Isaac?

All the ones that didn't crack putting them on.

We know that finishing is not your strong point,

but flavours are so we are going to go in for the taste.

I'm having a little difficulty getting them off the cone

cos they are breaking in my fingers.

You have got the flavour down on these.

You can taste what they're supposed to be all through,

but they are really under which is why

-they are falling to pieces. You just need to take more time.

-Yeah.

Purdey, they are of a fairly even size.

Still got slight peaks but on the verge of macarooning.

It does taste good but still quite sticky on my fingers when you eat it

so it just needs that little bit longer in the oven.

The judges will now decide which two meringues en bouche have

towered above the others.

The first of our top two in no particular order is Amari.

A lovely well-constructed, well-flavoured,

well-baked meringues.

And the second is this one by Alice

for its simplicity and evenness of hand.

Well done, Amari and Alice.

But as you know, Purdey, Isaac, Megan it could all change in

the showstopper this afternoon. Come and taste your meringues, will you.

How many can you eat in the next 30 seconds?

'It feels really cool I got into the top two.'

It's pretty amazing.

'The judges were quite critical about how I didn't finish.'

Obviously I will have to be a bit better with my time management.

I completely agree with you on that one.

'I am a little bit disappointed but three people get through'

so hopefully I will be one of them.

That was our quarterfinal technical. It is now

time for our quarterfinal showstopper. Our judges want some

scary-themed tarts.

Well, they need to be scary because I don't scare easily!

MARK SCREAMS

Right, this is your showstopper. Our judges would like you to

make 12 mini tarts with a scary theme.

HE GROWLS

The design and flavour is entirely up to you,

so think chocolatey spiders, ghost marshmallows

or if you want something really scary, Mark's face!

THEY FAKE LAUGH

Now, after an hour

and a half we want to see some mini tart marvellousness.

The best of luck, bakers. On your marks...

-Get set...

-Bake!

Two baking trays.

These young bakers should know what a good showstopping tart is.

It has to have a good, crisp base, it has to be cooked

and it has to be cooked well.

They need to have imagination, good flavours and an element of fun.

The bakers first mix together the base.

I am making a sweet shortcrust pastry, no flavour in the pastry

but I feel like my flavours in my filling will stand out.

Purdey's flavouring her filing with

chocolate and orange topped with spiders

made from cherries with red currants for eyes.

It is a fudge filling so hopefully it is going to have a nice

shell on the outside and then soft in the middle.

Oops!

That didn't happen.

My mum's favourite pudding is a lemon meringue pie.

So I thought a lemon meringue pie is a perfect idea.

But what is scary theme going to be?

So I thought eyes

and then I came up with the idea of calling it a lemon meringue eye.

Isaac's evil eye will have a chocolate pastry base

and it will be filled with lemon curd that he's brought from home

and topped with French meringue and decorated with fondant eyeballs.

-Isaac, how are you?

-Good.

Why chocolate pastry over plain for lemon tart?

I wanted to go a little bit more adventurous

so we tried adding chocolate and I liked it better that way.

Pinch of salt!

Like Isaac, Amari is also flavouring her pasty.

Good afternoon, Amari. What are you making?

Coconut shortcrust pastry.

All of my flavours are kind of tropical

so I've got the coconut pastry with an

avocado and mango filling.

Wow, that is going to be really, really interesting.

Thank you.

Amari's avocado and mango mousse

will be topped with eye-popping lychee

and grape eyeballs with blood made from a strawberry sauce.

I decided to chill my pastry cos it makes it a bit more solid,

so when you lift it up it is easier to handle.

Oh, come on stick, please stick!

If it is too thin it won't be very easy to cut out

and put into the tin.

And if the pastry is thick it will take longer to cook through and

it could end up raw.

The balls stop it getting bubbles in the base and rising.

All the bakers are cooking their pastry before filling.

If I didn't blind bake my pastry, there is a large

risk of the cases not being cooked,

especially with my filling cos it is so wet.

Megan's toffee apple filling will be covered with caramel webs

and fondant spiders.

I am very conscious of time now. I am aware of how much

I need to be spending on each thing.

THUNDER RUMBLES

SCREAMING

-That thunder was loud!

-I know.

Bakers, you are halfway though. You have 45 minutes remaining.

And it is thundering and raining and I am scared!

HE ROARS

I have got the apples, brown sugar, golden syrup and butter.

While their pastry cases are in the oven, the bakers can

make their filling.

The chocolate kind of set

so I am hoping that the whisk will just mix it in cos at home it

looked a bit smoother.

I am not really using the avocado for the flavour. Kind of the flavour

but mainly because the avocado thickens it up a bit.

Alice has chosen a more conventional filing.

-Hi, Alice.

-Hello.

-What are you up to?

I am making my creme pat.

What is that?

That is mascarpone that I am going to mix in with the creme pat

otherwise it is very sweet.

It is a balance of flavours, a balance of textures, very nice.

Alice's mascarpone creme patisserie will be covered in

raspberry sauce to fill her cinnamon shortcrust base.

She is finishing them

with home-made white chocolate Egyptian mummy heads.

What are we worried about, Alice?

I don't know. It worked last time I tried it.

How many times have you made it?

Four, I think? Maybe a few more times.

Bakers, you've got 20 minutes left.

I am going to take that out.

I will just leave that there.

I am just putting the lemon curd into the cases.

That is a very nice lemon curd.

Thanks. I am just about... I just need to put the meringue on, then

-they are going in the oven.

-Cool.

I am filling my pastry cases with my toffee apple filling.

They go in the oven to caramelize and for the toffee to thicken a bit.

I am not baking these again as I am doing a cold filling.

I think it's a bit quicker and also it is just the flavours I like.

Right, OK.

They look good.

I am going to put them in for another two minutes

as I think they are still a bit soft in the middle.

Bakers, you have got five minutes left, last finishing touches.

Going to put cherry bodies and I've got redcurrants for the eyes.

That is my caramel. You just melt sugar down

and it makes like a droopy substance so I am making my spiders' webs.

Is that going to be an eye?

-Yes, I'm going to do it like this... Pumpkin seed.

-It's scary.

Yeah.

Are these your mummy faces?

-Yeah.

-Clever.

-That's really cool.

-Bakers, you have one minute left, one minute.

-Ooh.

I am just going to put the legs and body on this one.

Ah!

I just want to get the eyes on.

I'm adding the webs. I just want to show them that I can do it.

OK, bakers, that's it. Time, please!

Step away from your scary tarts!

Ooh!

Graham and Allegra are looking for 12 mini tarts with a perfectly

baked shortcrust base and a scary looking but tasty filling.

They are genius. They are fantastic. Very well presented, you could

-have been a little bit tidier on your meringue.

-Yeah.

You are a great little baker. You have taste nailed,

but if you look underneath you can see that it is raw

-and you can see on my plate that it is leaking.

-OK, yeah.

Epically freaky and scary is what we call these tarts.

The shortcrust, which was part of the definition of

the challenge, is really good.

You start off with this mango flavour,

little bit of avocado and goes through to

when you eat the lychee, really nice eat.

The coconut pastry is genius,

really good touch, really nice touch.

I think the imagination of the spider is particularly interesting.

Looking at your tarts you see a little raw base. It looks

good on the surface, tip it upside down before you take it out.

Your filling isn't cooked enough

but your shortcrust is a really nice shortcrust.

-Just a little bit more cooking on the base...

-OK.

..but generally I think they are fun.

Very nice, gorgeous. What a set of mummies. Very simple idea

and very well executed.

If I look at the cross section of your tart it is quite thin

-and I see it is just under.

-Yeah.

A couple more minutes in the oven.

However, those flavours work, Alice.

Very, very good to look at. Loving the bits of caramelized

apple and your moulded spiders.

The pastry is very nicely cooked, it has a good crunch to it.

It could have done with the extra height. I've got a tiny, tiny

amount of filling in it. I really like the toffee apple.

-I thought that was a really lovely idea.

-Thank you.

Well done, bakers.

What we want you to do now is take a break and when you come back

Graham and Allegra will send three of you to the semifinals. Off you go.

-Oh, that is really good.

-Yeah, well done.

Judges, I don't think our bakers have

made this very, very easy for you, have they?

One baker, Amari she did tremendously well.

She was in your top two this morning

and she got the best comments this afternoon in the showstopper.

She had a vision and put it into a

shortcrust tartlet and it is delicious.

The other four bakers, they all had problems with their tarts.

Alice had a nice even tart, well-rounded flavours,

-just slightly undercooked.

-And she was in the top two in the technical.

Let's move on to Purdey. What do you think about her tarts?

I mean, that is not cooked. She could put whatever she wanted in

the middle but she had to deliver 12 cooked tartlets.

Well, let's talk about Megan and her showstopper

because earlier on in the technical, she didn't finish her tower

and she had a similar problem with her showstopper.

Timings are everything.

You need to make sure that you can bring everything together

as it's finished and in a timely manner.

But she did think on her feet and to make it

look as good as she could, she just put the caramel

-on the four middle ones.

-She styled it out.

-She did style it out.

Both times we've seen Isaac in the tent,

when it has come to flavour you've been grinning

and today you were so frustrated.

With Isaac, he is a gifted baker in terms of taste

but you've got a raw base, so technically he's not delivering.

It is tricky, isn't it?

That's why they made this so difficult for you this afternoon.

Well, here we are. It was a really tough job for Graham

and Allegra to pick the three that

are going through to the semifinals.

The first baker to go through to the semifinals is...

..Amari.

The second person going through is...

..Alice!

The third and final baker going through to the semifinals is...

..Megan!

Well done, guys.

Which means sadly and really, really sadly

we are going to miss you so much.

We have to say goodbye to Purdey and Isaac.

You have been absolutely amazing. Round of applause to you two.

I am very excited that I can keep baking in the tent.

In the next round, I am planning to come back with even better

flavours to impress the judges.

I feel like the other semifinalist today

had a much better day than I did.

I think, I like, scraped through.

I really need to prove myself in the next round

and I hope that I do much, much better.

I am going to keep on baking from the heart for the rest of my life.

This is such an amazing experience and everyone is just so nice

and it has been so fun and I will never ever forget it.

Next time - the semifinalists have their baking knowledge

-put to the test.

-Cherry? Cherry Bakewell?

They show their animal side with showstopping bread buns.

Oh, I forgot to put the egg white!

There are just four places in the final

so which bakers will the judges choose?

Going through is...