Episode 4 Junior Bake Off

Welcome to Junior Bake Off,

the show that will find Britain's best young baker.

The Bake Off tent is home to the greatest baking battle on earth.

Oops.

32 of the country's finest bakers

will be pushed to their limit.

It's harder than it looks.

But who will rise?

-Two minutes, two minutes.

-And who will crumble?

The bakers will whisk,

fold and ice their way through cakes, biscuits and bread.

Only one of them can be crowned Junior Bake Off Champion.

But standing between them and the title are our two judges.

The Queen of cake-making, Mary Berry.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist. It must be creative.

And master baker Paul Hollywood.

I'm looking for someone with drive and passion

to can create something that is truly magical.

I'm Aaron Craze. I'll support the bakers...

-If you need a hand...

-Yeah?

-Give me a shout.

-Can we pull it back?

-No, get it out, remix it.

-You have time to do that.

-No!

..as 32 are whittled down to just one.

In today's heat, four hopefuls face two tough challenges.

First, a test of their technical ability,

as they go head-to-head following one of Mary's recipes

for chocolate chip cookies. In the second, it's down to them

to create a unique cake based on today's theme...

ANIMAL NOISES

..wild animals.

It's gonna be tough because only one can make it through

to the semi-finals. But who will it be?

Meet Cameron from Sheffield.

I want to show off my baking skills

so people will think, "He's good at baking."

-Zyta from Aylesbury.

-To be the first winner of Junior Bake Off

would mean the world. They could advertise me on TV

and in newspapers and stuff. It'd be cool. I'd be like, "Wow."

Alex from Northampton.

My dream is to own my own restaurant

-with lots of people working for me.

-And Ellie from Edinburgh.

I think Junior Bake Off's going to be a tough challenge

but I've travelled a long way for this competition

and I'd love to do really well.

For the first challenge, they will be following Mary Berry's recipe

for chocolate-chip cookies.

The judges will be looking for 18 evenly sized cookies,

with an even distribution of chocolate chips.

They have the same amount of ingredients and time,

but results could be completely different.

It's a recipe that's simple.

Often the simple ones are the great recipes

for finding good bakers.

In the finished product, it really must be baked properly

and I think that's where they may well be let down.

-Has everyone washed their hands?

-Yes.

-Good stuff. Right, bakers.

We've only got 45 minutes to do these cookies, OK?

This is your chance to really impress our judges. On your marks...

get set...

bake.

These guys know their way around the kitchen,

so if you fancy baking, make sure you ask an adult.

They grease their baking trays,

and for 11-year-old Alex,

who normally bakes for his mum, dad and brothers,

it's easier said than done.

-Hello, Alex.

-Yep.

-How's it going?

-Fine.

-Oh. You broke your arm.

-What did you do?

-I fell off my bike and I broke my arm.

-And you're still baking?

-Yes.

Do you think this is going to slow you down in the competition?

No, I've been practising a lot with just one hand at home.

-Alex, good luck. And if you need a hand...

-Yeah?

-Give me a shout.

-OK.

-All right?

-Yeah.

I reckon with one arm, I can still beat them.

But 10-year-old Ellie, who has an ambition to bake for the Queen,

isn't feeling quite so confident.

I'm feeling really nervous about the cookie challenge.

I've made cookies quite a few times but it's maybe not my strength,

so I'll try really hard.

And to add to the pressure, Ellie is baking for one of her heroes,

Mary Berry.

Will that be almost, for you, an inspiration

in this show that Mary Berry's there?

-I know I'm baking from Mary Berry. It's upped my game.

-Good stuff.

For this recipe, the bakers then mix together

the butter and the sugar,

carefully add the eggs.

That is bad, I can't believe I did that.

It's the pressure. Oh!

Then add the vanilla extract, the self-raising flour,

and, finally, add those all-important chocolate chips.

12-year-old Cameron has been a keen baker since he was six.

-Who inspired you?

-My mum, definitely.

She always used to bake when I was little.

-I'd like to follow in her footsteps.

-It's a tough competition.

You're in the last 32 from thousands of people.

How do you fancy your chances today?

I've got a good chance.

They're pretty good bakers as well

but I think I've got the edge on them.

-You reckon? You reckon you're going to win it?

-Yes.

-Are you in it to win it?

-Yeah.

-I like it.

Cameron has the confidence but Zyta,

who loves baking for her pets, has got the speed and she's well ahead.

It's easy. I make cookies a lot at home for my siblings.

And they always turn out well.

Oh, that's a bold statement, there, Zyta.

-Hopefully, these ones will, too.

-Absolutely.

So far, so good. Nice distance apart. Into the oven now, eh?

While Zyta whizzes ahead, the judges' eagle eyes have spotted

that Cameron has a problem.

I want to look at that bowl. I think there's mixture left in it.

I think there probably is, actually. Some of them look quite small.

What are you going to do with the rest?

If I make them bigger, they might spread out too much.

-But they all could be small.

-Yes.

-But that's his decision.

-OK.

What will Cameron do? Will he add the rest of the mixture?

Will he risk it for the biscuit?

With the remaining cookies heading for the oven...

Give you a hand popping them in.

..Cameron is still working out what to do and the clock is ticking.

Hey, my little cookie monsters. You've got 15 minutes left to bake.

There looking really good.

When Cameron finally makes his decision

he can only hope he's got enough time for them bake.

But for speedy Zyta, the cookies are out and starting to cool.

They turned out well. They could be more round

but I think they're all sort of the same size.

They might be a bit bigger than others

but I think they're quite good.

Your cookies should be coming out of the oven

because you've got five minutes.

ALARM BUZZES

Told you.

With cookies coming out of the oven thick and fast

Cameron can only stand back and watch.

Race against time.

With time seriously running out, Cameron has to take his cookies

out of the oven, baked or not.

OK, guys. Your time is up. Step away from your worktops.

This is the first time our bakers are going to have their cookies

judged by top experts Mary and Paul.

They're looking for 18 equally-sized cookies with a golden colour

and an even distribution of chocolate chips.

They look a really good batch. All very similar.

First to face the judges is Alex.

Despite his broken arm,

he's convinced he can do better than the others.

You've got a decent bake on there.

That is absolutely the colour that I'm expecting.

The texture of it is fantastic.

Yes, crispy slightly on the outside,

but nice and chewy in the middle.

Well done.

Confident Zyta flew through the recipe but will Mary and Paul

pick up on the different sizes of the cookies?

-It's got a good texture, has at?

-Lovely.

-Lovely bake.

-As it should be.

You've got a little bit of different sizes. That one's a bit small.

This one's rather larger.

After questioning how much mixture to use,

Cameron faced major problems with his timing.

You got a bit of an issue

because I think it needed slightly longer in the oven.

The colour there's quite pale.

As I break them, you can see it's quite...it isn't chewy, it's soft.

Flavour's good.

You got a nice distribution of chocolate chips in there.

But, for me, I think you need to be more aware of the baking.

The cookies took Ellie out of her comfort zone and the judges' eyes

have spotted straight away that they're flat.

There's a reason why the biscuits have gone like this.

Initially, give it a whisk to concentrate

all the ingredients together. That'll stop it from sitting on

the tray and flattening out.

-It's a nice bake.

-It is.

-Nice and chewy.

Good distribution of chocolate as well.

Well done. Thank you very much.

Well done, guys. Your first challenge is complete.

You just have one more to face but there's everything to bake for,

so good luck.

I think I got the best comments from the judges out of everybody,

so at the moment I think I'm in the lead.

They did have to say things we could improve on -

they wouldn't be very good judges if they didn't.

I think the judges' comments were quite good,

but they did notice some of my mistakes.

I think everyone's even at the moment.

There's no front runner, so it's all to play for.

COCKEREL CROWS

OK, bakers, it's time for your second test -

the invention challenge. In this round,

you have to bake a cake inspired by today's theme -

wild animals.

So unleash the beast within you and let your imaginations run wild.

Paul and Mary are going to be judging on intricate decorating,

very good ideas, and it's got to taste fantastic.

Are you ready? On your marks, get set...

Bake.

'The bakers have been practising these cakes at home.

'This is their chance to prove they have got the baking skills

'Mary and Paul are looking for to take them through to the semi-final.

'In the first challenge, confident Zyta was super speedy

'and now she seems to be super ambitious.'

-Zyta.

-Hello.

-What you making?

-I'm making an orange and chocolate cake.

-Mmm, good combo.

I like that, chocolate and orange, works well.

So I see you've got a really big tin.

Will that take long? You have an hour and a half.

-I can do it with, like, a minute to spare.

-All right.

So I've just got to be quick.

The small cake is going to be a rock on the island

-because I'm putting iced animals on it and making it an island.

-Yeah.

-And I'm going to have a lion on it, like Pride Rock.

-Oh.

-Do you reckon you have what it takes to get into the semi-finals?

-Yeah.

-Win it?

-Yeah.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Am I getting on your nerves?

-A little bit.

-All right, I'm going to go.

Cameron is making a coffee cake, but he's using coffee with a twist.

Civet coffee, which is coffee that has been eaten by a civet,

and then pooed out, and the coffee beans are collected and roasted.

-What?

-OK.

-Say that again.

-They pooed out the coffee?

-Yeah, they poo out the coffee,

and then the beans have been roasted, and apparently they're really nice.

It sounds interesting.

I've never heard of that. What is a civet?

Like a cat, sort of.

It's like a little raccoony/cat thing. Fantastic.

Cameron's idea is certainly inventive but obviously

don't try this with your own cat!

The first round proved a real challenge for Ellie,

so now she's a really out to impress her hero, Mary Berry.

I'm baking a chocolate and beetroot hedgehog cake.

Chocolate and beetroot? Do you think the judges will be blown away?

Do you reckon they've even tasted that before? Mary, especially...

I know. I don't know.

'Earlier, Alex made perfect cookies, but can he improve on perfection?'

I'm making a lemon sponge cake covered with royal icing

and it's made to look like a zoo with lots of animals

like tigers, monkeys, lions, zebras.

I've been practising it at home with one hand...

and it's gone really well.

But you have to try harder to do it with only one hand.

Once again, Zyta is flying through her recipe

and racing ahead of the others.

But is she going too fast?

Oh, no. No, no, no, no.

-Zyta. What's going on?

-I forgot to put my baking powder in.

-How are you going to pull that back?

-I don't know.

-Right, OK, you can do this. Paul.

-Yeah?

-I need some help.

We've got self-raising flour in here,

-but a bit of baking powder hasn't gone in at this stage.

-Right.

Can we pull it back?

-No. You have to get it out and remix it in.

-Remix it?

-Yes.

-Has she got time to do that?

-TEARFULLY: No!

You've got time. You have.

-OK, try and bring it out, try and mix it in.

-OK, let's go.

Listen, we're going to mix it in. OK? Come on, dry your eyes.

Come on, you're a soldier.

Right, get a spoon and mix that in cos it hasn't set. Go.

Yeah? We'll get away with it, come on.

Let get it back in. OK?

OK. OK. It'll be all right.

It'll be all right. This is what makes a good baker -

someone that can pull it back like that.

Have a deep breath, deep breath, just compose yourself. Good girl.

'Zyta has done all she can to save her bake, but will it be enough?'

Having filled their tins and moulds,

all the cakes are finally in the oven.

Now it's just a matter of waiting.

If our bakers think that Mary and Paul are hard to impress,

check this out.

I met a professional baker whose customers are even more demanding.

MUSIC: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

I've come to the leafy heart of Stoke-on-Trent to hunt out

a secret bakery.

There's a British baker that takes

animal-themed baking very seriously indeed.

So seriously that it's taken her six months to get the recipe just right.

That's right, six months. A long time.

They must be a bit of all right.

Kerry Wilson is the dedicated baker in question.

Her tasty treats are so popular, she sells up to 3,000 a week.

So six months for a recipe? What is that all about?

It took a long time to get it right -

our customers are extremely picky.

Only the best will do.

Quite frankly, if it's not right

they're going to turn their noses up at it.

I'm desperate to know just what's so amazing about these biscuits.

But there's one problem.

I'm afraid you can't see the recipe. It is a top secret.

It is locked away in my fireproof box.

That's right, yeah.

Kerry won't let me see the exact ingredients,

but she will let me help her make a batch, as long as I don't peak.

But I can tell there's flour, eggs...

-Now we're going to put some chicken stock in.

-Chicken stock?!

In a biscuit?!

Have a look. Oh, Kerry, you've made a right mess here.

Look at the state of this gaff.

Once the mixture is ready, it's time to cut them out,

and like our bakers' cakes, they're all given an animal theme.

They're looking fantastic. Right, let's get them in the oven.

Once they're baked, they're then decorated in chocolate.

Mmm.

-That's not chocolate. What is that?

-This is actually called carob.

-Carob.

-Yeah.

Now, my customers think this stuff is much better than chocolate.

And this is what we're going to decorate our biscuits with.

Don't know about you - I've never had carob and chicken biscuits.

But I'm willing to give anything a go.

That's if there's any left after Kerry's guests are finished.

-All the VIP guests have brought their dogs with them.

-No.

You see, the people aren't the VIPs, it's the dogs that are the VIPs.

Oh, no, they're dog biscuits!

Turns out, Kerry means Very Important Pets.

Oh, whoa, whoa!

Roll.

-Speak.

-WOOF!

Not you! Speak.

# The dog days are over

# The dog days are done... #

Try to attack me. Well done.

Always works every time, that one.

If our junior bakers can impress the judges as much

as I've impressed these guys, they're onto a winner.

But to be onto a winner,

our bakers' wild animal-themed cakes must be baked to perfection...

Smashing.

'..and make a decision under pressure -

'something Cameron struggled with in the first round.'

-Are you on time? Are you organised?

-Yeah, I'm on time right now.

-And under the gaze of the judges...

-What do you reckon?

-..Cameron makes a snap decision.

-Yeah.

-Do you think it's done?

-Yeah.

OK, let's have a quick look.

But was it the right one?

What do you think when you put your finger on that?

It's a bit wobbly but... I'll put it in the fridge to firm up a bit.

-Cool down.

-OK. Good luck, Cameron.

-I'm happy with it. Thanks.

Look forward to that one.

It was not done.

Yeah.

-So when it came out of the oven, it sunk.

-That's a shame.

Meanwhile, Zyta is about to discover

if her quick actions have saved her from a baking disaster.

Earlier, she forgot to add baking powder.

So she took her cake out the oven, and mixed it in - a risky business.

But has it paid off?

It's going well. Actually, better than I thought it would.

Yeah, I think I'm going to get it done in the time.

Right, guys, you've got 30 minutes left to go.

Ooops.

Ellie's cake is in the oven still, isn't it?

It was quite tall, it'll take time to cook.

I hope it comes out in time.

She's going to be pushing it.

Hopefully, I can get my cake out soon, have a look at it.

TIMER BEEPS

Two minutes, two minutes.

While Ellie waits those all-important two minutes

for her hedgehog cake,

the others wild animal ideas start to take shape.

It's harder than it looks.

I couldn't decide on what animal to do for my cake,

so I thought I'd make the cake into an island, and in his box,

I have a whole bunch of animals that I'm going to put on it.

And finally Ellie's hedgehog has come out of hibernation.

-All right?

-Yeah.

-What stage we at?

-You've just got it out the oven?

-Yeah.

-This is the last time to impress the judges.

-Mmm-hmm.

-Very delicate.

Here, let me. Let me.

-Beautiful. Yeah? You happy with that?

-Yeah.

OK, I'm just about to ice the face on to the civet.

The details are pretty important

because it could just look like any old cat.

Cameron's right. Attention to detail is key -

it could make or break the bakers' cakes.

Alex has got himself a problem.

His fondant leaves are too heavy for the trunks.

OK, guys, you've got one minute left to go.

'And in the last few seconds, he's forced to make a drastic decision.'

OK, wild things, step away from the worktops. The time is up.

'For three of these bakers, this will be the last time they face

'the judges, as only one can make it through to the semi-final.

'Their wild animal-inspired cakes will be judged on their ideas,

'presentation and taste.'

Alex, you're up first.

'Despite being forced to abandon the leaves on his palm trees

'in the last few seconds, Alex has made a lemon sponge cake

'with lemon and lime jam filling,

'covered in royal icing with rice paper animals.'

-It looks, from here, a very, very nice sponge.

-Sponge looks good.

I really like that. I think the taste is lovely.

The sponge is baked perfectly.

And then the inside, with that jam, really lifts it.

-Well done, Alex. Well done.

-Thank you.

After forgetting to add baking powder to her cake,

Zyta has made an orange and chocolate sponge jungle cake,

topped with sugar animals.

The appearance is absolutely wonderful.

There's all different animals and you've made the animals yourself.

We know you had a problem with the baking powder in the mix originally.

Let's see how it's turned out.

Because you've got the chocolate with it, and the orange,

it is drowning that back flavour of the baking powder, so you're lucky.

-Yeah.

-But you still got a good rise.

-You did get a rise.

-An excellent rise.

-You've got a nice texture.

I think you're doing a really good job. Thank you very much, Zyta.

With the judges concerned his cake is underdone,

Cameron has made a civet coffee sponge cake,

shaped into at a civet, and topped with coffee buttercream icing.

So I take it that's just a nod to the fact

-that's where it's come from?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-It's lovely to see a free-form cake.

When the cake came out of the oven, it wasn't quite done,

it did just go down a bit. And I was really sad for you.

-But you got away with it.

-That buttercream with that cake,

I kid you not, is one of the best coffee cakes I've had for a while.

I don't often give out praise like that lightly.

-Well done, Cameron.

-Thanks.

Ellie's hoping her chocolate and beetroot hedgehog cake

with chocolate butter icing and dark chocolate button spikes

will seal a place in the semi-final.

I like the appearance of it.

It's a nice colour.

I've had a few beetroot cakes in my time

and some of them have not been good.

But that's really moist. Absolutely delicious.

It's enhanced the chocolate. It hasn't taken anything away.

Added moisture. You've done a really good job.

-Well done. Thank you very much, Ellie.

-Thank you.

It's all down to Mary and Paul now.

They have got such a tough decision to make.

But what exactly is going through the judges' minds?

-Let's start with Alex.

-The idea was to put palm trees on there.

Because of his arm,

he found it very difficult to finish what he wanted.

-But the cake tastes really good.

-Absolutely lovely.

I think he did very well.

I think the others' cakes were really good.

They were really inventive, but I think mine was a bit better.

Now, Zyta's. The cake was her mistake.

There are little flecks of the raising agent in there.

But the overall appearance of that, the creativity, is very clever.

I mean, the banana with that monkey.

'You don't want to seem overly happy,'

and rubbing it in their faces if you win

and you also don't want to get distraught if you lose.

You're trying to work out what you're going to do.

-Coming over to Cameron's...

-He has been very creative.

He didn't need any special tins, anything special,

he thought it all out himself.

-I think it's lovely.

-The sponge is light.

He may have just got away with that, to be honest.

'I've done all I could to get through,'

so I'm happy with what I've done. If I don't get through,

I'll be proud of where I've got to.

Moving on to Ellie, this cake is very good.

This beetroot cake is delicious.

The beetroot has certainly given moisture to the cake.

But she has used a mould, as well. She hasn't created that herself.

I think they liked the chocolate and the taste and the presentation of it.

Hopefully that will help me get through.

Let us just go back to a little bit earlier on today

when the guys made a classic cookie dough mix.

Well, I think Zyta was slightly better

than all the others, wasn't she? She had a nice rounded mixture.

They were even and well-baked.

The others were really much on the same plane.

Well, you've got a very tough decision to make now, guys,

so good luck.

Mary and Paul have made their decision.

And the person going through to the semi-finals is...

-..Cameron.

-Oh, my God.

Oh, my goodness. Look at that.

'I'm feeling amazing. Ecstatic.'

I can't say it in words. I know the semi-final's going to be tough

and the heat's going to be turned up but I'm going to bring my A game.

I thought his cake was quite enchanting.

He showed ingenuity, innovative ideas and flavours.

And it tasted absolutely glorious.

That's what this is all about - finding people like Cameron.

Cameron has made it through to the semi-finals

but who will make it next time

when four new bakers face two tough challenges?

Of course I want to win. I'm here to win.

I think this challenge is bringing

my competitive streak to the surface.

My sponge is looking brilliant.

Wow, that's a lot of baking powder.

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