The Final - Day 2 Junior Bake Off

It's day two and the final day of the final.

Either Alyth, Amari, Euan or Megan will be crowned

Junior Bake Off Champion 2015.

So, who will it be?

Well, it'll be one of these four, I just said.

Oh, yeah! Welcome to the final of Junior Bake Off.

THEME TUNE PLAYS

One more cake to be baked. One trophy to be won...

I wonder if we'll get the showstopper done in time.

I'm so nervous for that.

It's such a big thing to do.

..and four skilled bakers with their eye on the prize.

Yesterday, the finalists produced their signature pizza...

..and faced a tough puff pastry technical.

Megan demonstrated her perfectionism.

This is the final, and you've not only given us a pizza,

you've given us a bit on the side.

But once again, time-keeping was her enemy.

Slightly raw.

Yeah, a bit undercooked towards the middle there.

When she's on her game, she's very, very hard to beat.

It's just she has to understand the clock is the clock,

and she has to work to it.

If I smash it today and I do everything that I need to do

in my mind, then I put my head down and I focus on my timings

and everything that they've said that I need to do, I could win it.

Alyth was praised for her dough.

It's got the aeration bubbles you can see from the yeast,

that was good work.

But it was under-baked.

It's not really crisp.

One of her most endearing characteristics

is her ability to bounce back.

She can change everything if she does a phenomenal showstopper today.

It's hard to say where I stand out of the four of us.

I might be third, I might be second, or I might even be last.

Amari failed to pull off her ambitious calzone.

It's all falling out here, isn't it?

The pizza challenge did not go well for Amari.

But, in the afternoon on the challenge for the pinwheels,

the best pinwheels that we had.

-Really good puff, I mean, it's flaky as anything.

-Good bake.

Sometimes when I slip up, I say to myself I can't do it any more.

So, today, I'm going to try and believe in myself a lot more.

Euan won praise from the judges for his adventurous combinations.

You can taste the lemongrass, good balance with the peppers,

a really nice pizza, well thought out, well done.

And he followed up well in the afternoon.

Good flakiness to the pastry.

Euan has consistently been in our top two.

He has a very, very good knowledge, understanding and he's precise.

I need to make sure that my showstopper tastes great

and looks amazing.

I do feel like I'm getting closer to winning.

I feel like I can almost grab it but it's just too far to actually reach.

It's good to see you again.

Bakers, here we are, the final day

and the final challenge of Junior Bake Off 2015.

And this is a showstopper to end all showstoppers, because Graham

and Allegra would like you to make an enchanted woodland themed cake.

This tiered cake can be any shape, any size you want,

any flavour you want.

Remember, guys, this is the final, this is your last bake,

make it count.

Judges, any final words of wisdom?

Keep your heads in the game.

Stay calm and just imagine that you're cooking for your friends

and your family.

Best of luck, bakers. For one final time, on your marks...

-Get set.

-Bake!

I know it sounds like a lot, two and a half hours,

but you need an hour to decorate, so I've just got to hurry up.

To create the perfect tiers the judges are after

requires good time management,

as the bakers have to make two different size cakes

that will be stacked on top of each other.

Doing this many layers, it's quite important that you get them

all completely even.

Today, for the final showstopper, it has to be well-baked,

it has to have imagination.

I want to see nice, even layers throughout the sponge,

balance of flavour, colour.

There are three parts to this. One is the structure,

two is the look, and three is that it tastes good.

Those three things will give us our champion.

Oh, it's not open. I'm trying to pour it. It's not even open.

It's like, why is it not coming out?

I am making an Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant,

something like that, waterfall cake.

So, it's based on the waterfall that's near my grandad's

house in Wales.

The magical features are probably going to be the toadstool houses,

where the tooth fairies live.

Amari's two-tiered,

multi-layered and multicoloured tooth fairy land will be

covered in meringue buttercream and desiccated coconut moss.

She's also planning strong flavours for her sponge.

Got the inspiration for my recipe.

I was trying different flavour combinations,

and I thought lemon and ginger went together

and orange and cinnamon went together, so that's what I did.

Amari's been baking at home since she was two.

She now bakes for her four younger siblings.

I've counted, you've got seven tins over there.

Are you doing seven tiers?

-Are you all right?

-Did you know that there was seven tins there?

-No, I thought there was six.

-Oh, really?

That's all right, take one away. Are you doing a six-tiered cake?

No, it's a six-layered cake, it's got two tiers.

Oh, OK.

Alyth is also creating a two-tier cake for mythical creatures.

I'm calling it Unicornia because it's where the snow unicorn lives.

I decided to do a chocolate cake, cos they live on a mountain

and mountains are brown inside, with the dirt, so I thought,

because in unicorn land, they have chocolate, chocolate dirt.

Alyth's unicorns will live in a cupcake house.

The mountain underneath will be a two-tiered cake, covered

in white chocolate buttercream snow and decorated with chocolate trees.

Each of her cakes will have different flavours.

I'm doing a chocolate orange, chocolate cherry

and a chocolate vanilla cake.

I add the zest of the orange to give it the flavour, but I might just

put a little bit of juice in, just to give it that extra tangy orange.

As well as baking, Alyth enjoys playing football,

and she's an excellent tackler.

-Alyth!

-Hi.

-What you cutting up now?

I'm chopping up some glazed cherries.

-Well, they look very nice.

-They do look lovely.

Is this true, you're making a mystical unicorn cake?

It's not mystical, it's real.

Why've you got such a love for unicorns?

Cos they're magical, like me.

Aw, I like that, I like that. I like that.

My cake is called The Enchanted Oak, and it's inspired by my

primary school, because it had a huge oak tree in the centre, so...

And that was probably one of the best years of my life.

I loved primary school.

Megan's fondant enchanted oak will decorate her three-tiered cake.

The top and bottom tiers will be carrot cake,

sandwiched together with cream cheese buttercream,

and the middle layer will be a chocolate and vanilla swirl cake.

-Morning, Megan.

-Good morning.

-Tell us what you're making, Megan?

It's going to be pale green, so it's going to be the back of the forest.

-I'm going to have one tree, sort of, climbing the cake.

-Nice.

I'm going to try and mould that.

That's not going to have any leaves on it,

so it's more enchanted and mystical.

Then, the ivy at the back is going to be growing up

and it's going to be pointing towards a bouquet of flowers.

How many times have you done this bake?

Three, but I've never done it so it's all completed.

I think today's a perfect day to do something for the first time.

-Yeah! I hope so.

-All right, Megan, good luck.

-Thank you.

-Head down, keep focused, watch the time.

-Yeah, yeah.

Welsh rugby supporter Megan has made cakes decorated

with rugby pitches, but her showstopper reflects

her other interest in nature.

I'm trying to create a marble effect,

but it's so, because it's inside the cake, I wanted to do something

that is, sort of, like a tree, like the bark where it swivels.

This is my orange and cinnamon cake.

It's really important to get the flavours right, because

if you don't get the flavours right, it'll be a bit pointless.

That's better.

This is just a plain sponge.

Oh, I was meant to put vanilla in that.

-Oh, well, I'm not.

-It tastes all right.

My red velvet cake is going to be in the shape of a tree.

The inspiration behind my cake is one of my favourite books

when I was a child, The Magic Faraway Tree.

I'm doing four tiers, so I hope it really impresses the judges.

Euan's bottom two red velvet tiers will be hollowed

out in the middle to create pinata cakes,

which he'll fill with jelly beans and white chocolate ganache.

His top two tiers will be citrus cakes filled with popping candy.

I've soaked one of my citrus cakes with this mixture, which is

caster sugar, lime juice, lemon juice and orange juice,

which will create a sort of lemony drizzle.

Euan's favourite subject at school is art.

When he's older, he'd either like to be a designer or own his own bakery.

I'll have chocolate ganache on the outside and buttercream

for the tree, and then I'm going to use some biscuit crumbs as the grass

and I'm going to have little mushrooms and stuff on it.

With her chocolate swirl cakes in the oven,

Megan has moved onto her carrot cakes.

It's dripping everywhere.

This carrot cake's got a lot of baking powder in it,

so it does rise.

If you want to bake at home,

make sure an adult knows what you're doing.

Hope for the best.

I have practised my time-keeping and it has been under-baked,

so I'm going to have to make sure that I can take it out

at just the right time.

So after about 30 minutes, I will check it, just in case.

Bakers, there's already an hour gone.

You've got one and a half hours left.

I'm going to have to take this one out to check the back ones.

Yeah, a lot.

Maybe about another ten minutes.

-Hi there, Alyth.

-Hello.

-Hey, Alyth.

So how many cakes have you got in the oven now?

I have two-tiered cakes but they're, like, that thick,

so they take, like, an hour long to cook, each.

-That's a lot of cake.

-Yeah.

Oh! That's really not ready. OK.

I can't really tell. I'm scared to open it because they'll sink,

but I can't tell whether it's golden.

Yay, they're done. Right, OK, wow, all right.

Some people have already taken their cakes out of the oven.

That wasn't very hard, was it?

Test. Phew! OK, they're cooked, everything's fine.

Hot.

Yes, perfectly cooked.

Well, really happy about that.

I'm doing OK for time.

I just need at least 20 minutes to assemble it all,

but I need it to cool.

If I put them in the fridge, they shouldn't take that long.

I thought I just threw the cake in the sink, then.

Waiting outside at the woodland party

are the bakers' family and friends.

Euan's probably worked harder on Junior Bake Off

than he has on anything ever in his life.

Baking means a lot to Alyth.

She's enjoyed baking with Bob since she was four.

Yes, I taught Alyth to bake, but she has taught herself

a lot, as well.

She's very good at taking a recipe, reading it

and then producing it well. She's very good like that, yes.

Me and my family have eaten a lot of Amari's bakes.

We've eaten cake for breakfast.

She's been doing lots of different bakes, like tarts and cakes,

and pizza, which I seriously liked.

Megan's always been a perfectionist.

Everything she does, she does want to be the best at, which is

difficult sometimes when they're not the best.

I think Megan would absolutely love to win.

She absolutely loves to bake.

And I actually love eating it, too.

-Can I borrow a spoon?

-Spoon, yes.

-That looks awesome.

-It's just icing.

I know, but it looks amazing.

Back in the tent, decorations can begin.

I am just beginning to just roll out some of my icing for my waterfall.

The reason why it's pink is because unicorns

like to bathe in pink water.

For this final cake,

the decoration is just as important as the flavours inside.

I'm happy with my cakes.

I'm just now a little bit worried about time because I've got to

buttercream them all and fondant them all.

Just a little bit worried.

I'm making meringue buttercream.

What you have to do first is, you have to mix the egg whites

and caster sugar over a heat until the caster sugar is fully dissolved.

Euan and Alyth have chosen to decorate their cakes with chocolate.

With the chocolate ganache, you need to make sure that you don't

burn your chocolate.

You need to have a good shine on it, and quite a nice thick consistency.

I think I might need more white chocolate. It went lumpy.

I am just taking out the middle of this cake,

cos it's going to be a pinata cake.

Euan is the only baker attempting to remove

the centre of his cakes before assembling them.

I've chosen jelly beans because I think jelly beans are quite fun.

I hope the judges will get blueberry, liquorice,

chocolate pudding, and tutti frutti.

A few more minutes. How much longer do we have?

Bakers, you've got half an hour left. Already two hours gone.

This is meringue buttercream.

I am putting it to sandwich them and I'm putting it on the outside

and I'm also using it as the waterfall.

Have you got your cakes out the oven?

One of them is.

Are you nervous you're going to get it done in time?

A little bit.

I'm a little bit rushed for time just because I've done

so much, so I'm quite worried now.

Yes. Thank goodness it's out.

-Hey, Amari.

-How are you doing?

-Wow!

-Hello.

-I need my sunglasses.

It's a right feast for the eyes, that, isn't it?

Today, Amari, are you going to show Graham and I your best,

tidiest finishing?

I'm going to try.

Fondant icing isn't very easy at all to work with.

It's just I needed a clean finish.

It's going to cover all of my three cakes, so up to the top.

It's a lot of work.

Hmm, right.

Phew, that was close.

-Do you want a brush?

-Oh, yes, please.

-There you go.

-Cheers.

This is my second lot of white chocolate

and I'm going to keep an eye on it.

This is the final and I can't afford to make the chocolate, just,

ruin my chances.

Come on!

This is desiccated coconut dyed green as the moss.

15 minutes remain on the final showstopper.

EXHALES

In previous rounds, the judges have commented on my flavours,

but, today, I'm kind of staying a little bit more safe with

the flavours and more focusing on the decoration.

This is so terrible.

Some people have just taken theirs out of the fridge.

I took mine out of the fridge ages ago,

so I'm thinking, is mine too simple?

I'm using brown fondant just to mould the tree, like an oak tree.

Isn't that lemon drizzle?

It's more like a citrus drizzle.

Oh!

If I don't get it in in time, then I won't have a cake

for the judges, or a place for the unicorns to live.

Five minutes to go.

-It's looking perfect.

-Where's the front?

These are the chocolate cheese that I made at home.

That's meant to be at the top of my tree,

which will be where the land of goodies is.

I'm shaking so much.

Right, it's all together.

It can wobble a bit towards the top, so...

Fingers crossed it all stays together.

I'm worried that my cake might fall over, cos it's getting quite wobbly.

I'm going to put you... You're going to be at the side somewhere.

-Oh, that looks really good.

-I am so, so nervous.

I've got some unicorns, marshmallows for rocks.

BOTH: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five,

four, three, two, one. Stop!

-That's it.

-All done.

Step away. Well done, bakers, that is it.

You have completed Junior Bake Off.

I feel really sick that it's kind of over now,

because I really wanted to have a really good one at the end and

I'm not sure whether that's really, really good, so I'm worried now.

I hope the judges say it's really nice flavours, nice and moist,

and I hope they don't notice that I was rushed for time.

I hope that they say that it's amazing

and the best cake that they've ever had in their whole entire lives.

But I know they won't say that.

I'm hoping the judges will like the flavour of my bake,

and I'm also hoping that they'll like the design

and I really hope they enjoy it, as well.

For the final showstopper, the judges wanted evenly baked

layers within a two-tiered cake which was well-flavoured,

well-constructed and looked visually striking.

It looks great, it look absolutely full of fun.

Snowmen, unicorn, a cupcake.

That cake, Alyth, that cake is yummy. Really good flavour.

Really nice texture, I like the cherry bits,

it's really moist, it's a really nice, yummy eat.

Thank you.

-The icing, I don't think it needs quite so much...

-OK.

..because the cake is that good. And the next layer is?

Chocolate orange.

Graham's about to do something that he doesn't do very often - smile.

Another great cake. The orange is lovely in that.

Just the right balance. These cakes are good.

Thank you.

So we asked you for a two-tier cake, you gave us a four-tier cake.

It is full of charm.

You've done a phenomenal amount of work.

You've tried to construct it, you haven't necessarily hit it

because you haven't built it up straight.

-This top layer is lemon, yes?

-Citrus.

-Citrus.

It's got lemon, lime and orange something inside of it.

-Popping candy, is that?

-Yeah.

Really good colour, and also I love the contrast of the orange

and the green. It's very fun.

It's got a good texture to the sponge.

-It's a little moist, which is good.

-And I really like the crumb to it.

It's just how I like a Victoria sponge.

Euan, I'm going in for your second cake now.

Can you remind me of the flavour of the base?

It is a red velvet cake with mixed berries in it.

Wow.

When you were cooking your red velvet cakes, I saw you took them

out of the oven and you placed them straight into the fridge.

The tins have kept cooking the sponge, and what you've got

is a fairly dry sponge here, you know, it powders off.

But, you know, you can see four definite layers there,

and it is full of charm.

Well done.

Megan, is this absolutely finished for you?

Not for me, no.

It's your old enemy, timing.

Although the cake is standing, it's got the three structures,

-I just think it doesn't necessarily give us the true Megan.

-Yeah.

You have to say, your finishing is professional standard looking,

I would say.

That's why it takes me so long.

-I like it.

-Oh, thank you.

I like the cinnamon in it, I like the spices, the walnuts are good.

As a carrot cake goes, for me,

maybe the texture needs to be slightly closer, a touch less

baking powder, because, for me, the air holes are slightly big.

OK, I'm just going to cut through your second tier,

which is your chocolate and vanilla swirl.

The cake is nice and moist.

You do pick up the chocolate,

you do pick up the vanilla from the buttercream,

but you don't pick up the vanilla from the sponge.

You're a really gifted young baker,

it's just you need to get your timings down.

It is vintage Amari.

You feel something, you see it in your mind and then you make it

and you bake it. Genius.

You have got even bakes, even amount of buttercream.

Good flavour of orange. Even the coconut goes well.

-Try the top one?

-Yeah.

Not grabbing that ginger.

You've got little ginger pieces through it?

Yeah, little bits of stem ginger.

Mmm, score, very nice.

They are really nice when you get one, but you don't always get one,

and you need to have at least one in every bite.

What a load of fun, Amari.

-You can consider that a very good bake, well done.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

As Amari, Euan, Megan and Alyth join their families

and friends at the woodland tea party,

the judges must decide on their winner.

So, judges, last showstopper in the Bake Off tent.

What a fantastic few weeks we have had.

How proud are you of our bakers?

Oh, extraordinarily, they have all been amazing.

Now, let's go to someone who had his nose in front from this

morning, you said. Euan. How did he get on?

He's not shy of trying to push the boundaries and to challenge himself.

You know, he's challenged himself a step too far.

He's got a nice idea with the cake,

but, essentially, the finish isn't there.

Let's move onto Megan.

Unfortunately, it looks like a finished cake without much

character, because that was what she was going to put on.

Those last bits were going to be the thing that gave it soul

and made it Megan.

Now, Amari, she's had, like, kind of a mixed bag couple of days,

-hasn't she?

-She gave us a proper showstopper.

She's given us loads of different colours, she's given us well-baked,

well-flavoured, she's given us everything we were asking for.

Let's move onto the wonderfully weird world...

-Eccentric.

-..of Alyth.

She is creative through and through.

Large cakes take a long time to cook.

Very easy to overcook, very easy to under-cook.

These are really well-balanced.

Judges, this is really, really tough.

Have you got any idea where we're going to give the

Junior Bake Off title to?

There are some strong, strong, strong players on the table.

APPLAUSE

Bakers, family and friends,

welcome to the Junior Bake Off woodland party.

-Are you all enjoying yourselves? ALL:

-Yes!

-Whey!

You look like you're enjoying yourselves.

But this is the big moment.

We've come to the end.

Could Amari, Alyth, Megan and Euan please step forward.

APPLAUSE

Bakers, the judges have made their decision.

The winner of Junior Bake Off 2015 is...

Amari!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

There you are, lovely. Well done!

They said my name and I didn't really expect it.

I thought it was going to be like Alyth or someone,

so I was really, really surprised.

Give it up for the rest of our bakers, guys, though.

Amazing. Fantastic. Great finalists.

Amari, today, in the final showstopper, showed precision,

a well-baked, well thought out, well-processed,

well-flavoured and well-executed final bake.

That's why she's our champion.

Both Graham and I had absolutely no doubt it had to be Amari.

She has the vision, she is our worthy champion.

From this experience, I think I'm probably going to take away

happiness, some new baking skills,

new friends and I think a bit more happiness.

I really loved Amari.

I think any of us winning would have been amazing,

whether it be myself or would have been any of the other bakers.

You just become so close, so, yeah, I think she really deserved to win.

You just have to believe in yourself

and when you believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything.

I never thought that I would actually win, and I did,

so I'm really, really happy.