Episode 9 Junior Bake Off

Hello and welcome to the infamous Bake Off tent.

In there, batter is mixed, pastry is folded and dough is kneaded,

as some of the country's finest young bakers battle it out

to impress our baking gods, Mary Berry and James Martin.

With a place in the semifinals at stake anything could happen.

This is Junior Bake Off.

For a place in the semifinals,

today's bakers are pulling out all the stops.

Getting a bit tense now.

Who will keep their cool?

Yep, that's perfect.

And who can't stand the heat in the kitchen?

No, not done!

In today's heat, our bakers will first face the Technical Challenge -

James' beautiful butterfly cakes.

And they'll have to whip up some wow factor with the

natural wonders of the world cake in the Showstopper Challenge.

Only one baker will make it through to the semifinal

but who will it be?

Zainab from Hertfordshire?

I really, really, really, really want to win this because

I want to show other people and myself

that I am capable of doing it.

Louis from Cambridge?

Like a dream that I'm in it, I'm baking and the judges just love it.

And I just hope that dream comes true.

Ruby from Cheshire?

When I do baking I feel really happy.

I find it really fun and there's loads of different

stuff you can do so you're never bored when you bake.

Or Charlie from Norfolk?

I really love taking recipes and adapting them to make them my own.

I think I've got a good chance of winning, but if the competition's

as good as it was last year I'll be given a run for my money.

The bakers' first and most dreaded challenge is the Technical.

Bakers. This is the Technical Challenge.

Today Mary and James would like you to bake

and present 12 butterfly cakes,

perfectly filled with cream and swirled with a delicious lemon curd.

-Mary.

-They should be light in texture, a lovely golden brown colour

and have a dusting of icing sugar on the top.

And what we're looking for is 12 perfectly risen

with a nice dome on the top

and you're going to use that dome, remember, to create

those fantastic butterfly shapes on the top. Good luck.

Nice one. Now, have you washed your hands?

ALL: Yes!

Now you've got one hour, best of luck.

On your marks, get set, bake.

These are experienced bakers so if you want to try this at home,

please get an adult to help.

HE READS INSTRUCTIONS

OK.

James' grandmother taught him

how to make the perfect batch of butterfly cakes.

I think it's a really nice recipe and I have to get it right.

So, if today's bakers are going to impress,

-there's no room for error.

-Oh!

The key to this is to get 12 exactly the same.

The actual cream is really important.

My granny, she used to fold in a little bit of lemon curd

so when it's piped on the top

you get this lovely sort of marbled effect with it.

They look so pretty.

I just wonder whether they will end up with beautiful open wings

and not get them in reverse.

This recipe requires the bakers to use the creaming method.

The butter and sugar are first mixed together

until it's light and fluffy.

It feels really good to be baking in the Bake Off tent.

I'm really excited to see how my bakes turn out.

Zainab is the baker of her family with an eye for detail,

but baking isn't her only passion.

So, what else do you do apart from baking?

Um, well, I play golf.

-Golf?

-Yes.

-So, have you won any competitions?

-Um, yes, I've won a few.

A few? Oh, my goodness.

So I'll grab my, um, bats, what are they called?

-Golf clubs.

-Clubs. I'll grab my clubs.

-I'm not too bad either at that. All right?

-Yes.

-See ya.

Next, the eggs...

vanilla essence,

baking powder and flour are mixed in.

I'm just adding the baking powder in the flour so when it gets

sieved through, it will combine properly so the whole cake will rise.

Football fanatic Charlie first learnt to bake with his dad

and has been baking big time for the last three years.

I'm feeling OK.

I've done these before, so I know what I'm doing

but hopefully the judges will like them.

How are you finding this recipe, you done it before?

Well, butterfly cakes were the first things I ever made as a child.

-As a child? Wow!

-As a toddler, really.

Louis likes to create his own recipes

and is also known by his nickname, Cake Boy.

So, what sort of a baker are you, buddy?

I'm sort of an all-rounder, really. I do sweet and savoury.

I did a cook book when I was eight or nine

to raise money for the school kitchen.

You're joking. You got your own cook book out?

-Yeah.

-What?!

-It sold loads of copies.

Wow, OK.

James and Mary are looking for 12 evenly sized cakes

so there should be an equal amount of mixture in each case.

Because we want 12 identical and the same size, it's much easier with

a piping bag to then start small and gradually top them up as you go.

I don't think I'm going to have enough...mixture.

Only got enough for ten at the moment.

Let's try and squeeze some out.

I think I might be able to scrape some out the bowl

if the worst comes to the worst.

Ruby's got, really, the trick down to a fine art

-so it's looking good over there.

-Yes.

I only started piping a couple of months ago but I've done it

quite a lot since then, so I should hopefully be quite successful at it.

Ruby is a keen bread maker who loves baking

so much it inspired her 12th birthday party.

It was really fun because it was like a bake off.

And we had to obviously make all the cakes and then I tested them,

-but I wasn't helping.

-Was you Mary Berry, was ya?

-Yes.

-Nice!

OK, bakers. You've got half an hour left to bake!

I think I need to get these in the oven.

I need to set my timer.

You getting them in?

Yeah, I just need to work out this...

-BEEPING

-Yeah, there we go...

BEEPING CONTINUES

-OK, thank you.

-Cheers, James.

-All right.

I've just put my cakes in the oven and now I've just got to

do my mascarpone cream to fill the butterfly cakes.

For the filling, the bakers combine double cream with mascarpone cheese.

How do you feel with Mary Berry hanging around?

-Um, slightly nerve-racking.

-Slightly nerve-racking.

-It is for me!

-She is the best cake maker.

-She is the best cake maker?

-Yes.

-So where does that put me then?

-THEY LAUGH

Next they add a swirl of tangy lemon curd.

The hardest part about this recipe is probably not

mixing in the lemon curd too much otherwise it will just be

a yellow cream instead of a marbled mixture.

So the opposite to that.

I reckon that's well stirred in by now, isn't it?

-Yes.

-So, what do you like doing apart from baking?

-When you're not baking...?

-I'm playing football.

-Playing football?

-Yeah.

-Really. Chelsea supporter?

-No, Norwich.

-What?

-Serious?

-Yeah.

Guys, you've got 15 minutes left!

I'm just about to test the cakes.

No, not done.

It's getting a bit tense now.

I don't want to get my eye off them.

30 more seconds, probably.

They need to be perfect for James and Mary.

Yep, that's perfect.

There. Ready.

I'm just going to cut the top bit off so I can put the cream in.

Five minutes left to bake!

I think I might have some minutes to spare.

Not many minutes to spare, but some.

The scoop from each cake should be deep enough to hold the filling

AND make decent-sized butterfly wings.

One minute left to bake. Let's dust them up!

I'm just going to leave it alone and stand right, right away...

Oh, God! I just forgot to dust them.

Bakers. Your time is up.

Stop what you're doing and please stand away from the worktops.

Our judges will be looking for 12 equal light brown sponges,

cream filling with a visible swirl of lemon curd

and perfectly positioned wings.

Well, first of all, great effort, guys.

This recipe is actually quite important to me

and you've done a great effort.

Some of you better than others.

Starting off with Zainab.

You're the one that has got the butterflies flying correctly.

You want to have wings that come out like that

and that's exactly what they do.

We got a little bit of inconsistency with the size.

Nice and light sponge as well.

-That's as good as it's going to get. Well done.

-Thank you.

So we move on to Ruby.

-Some of them look a little bit underbaked.

-Yep.

And the wings, we've got them sort of in reverse.

But consistency-wise you've got almost the same size

all the way round. Lovely and light.

It would have been nicer if we had a little more marbling in the cream.

But shouldn't take anything away from the flavour

because it tastes really good.

-Thank you.

-Louis. The top really is quite important

and you've got less butterfly, more moth.

The key to that, really, is

when you use a knife to create a bigger hole in the top.

It's still a nice texture.

We've lost a little bit of the marbling with the cream.

But certainly the flavour of the cream

is probably the best I've tasted so far. Good effort.

Charlie. The filling here,

you can see you've struggled with the piping.

You know, we have got something that looks

as if it's been zapped in a fly trap.

The texture looks good but they do seem a little bit smaller.

-Nice flavour.

-Really, really good flavour.

Lovely. Well, there you go.

That's your first challenge over and done with. One left to go.

Everything to bake for. Good luck.

-That was so cool!

-It sounded so simple

when we got the Technical Challenge.

I knew they were going to say about my different sizes

because I had a little trouble with the mixture

but I think that went really well overall.

I think Zainab's cakes were really, really nice

but I don't think I fell that short behind

because I think the only thing I slipped up on was the cream.

He said, "Get ready to dust". And I forgot to dust.

You forgot to dust.

The decoration is my down point

so that's probably why they turned out like moths not butterflies.

They all did really well

and I'm going to have to step up my game if I want to get through.

For a place in the semifinals, the bakers face one last challenge.

Bakers, this is the Showstopper

and it's your last chance to impress Mary and James before

they make that decision on who goes through to the semifinals.

Now, they would like you to bake a cake inspired by today's theme,

Natural Wonders of the World. James.

We're looking for great designs, fantastic flavour combinations

and brilliant decorating skills.

You have one-and-a-half hours

and we're expecting some magnificent results.

All right, guys. On your marks, get set,

bake.

We've asked them to create a cake

based on natural wonders of the world

and that could mean icebergs, waterfalls,

whatever they want, really,

so they've got quite a bit to choose from.

With the Showstopper,

sometimes they spend too much time on the decorations.

They've got to remember that it's the cake itself we'll be tasting.

The bakers begin by making a classic sponge mix,

but it won't stay classic for long.

In this mix you've got the usual cake ingredients, so like butter,

sugar, flour and eggs, and then pistachios to give it a nice crunch.

It's a normal cake mix, really, it uses the creaming method.

It's just instead of using vanilla essence, it's coconut essence.

And instead of whole milk it's coconut milk.

How much chilli...? Half a teaspoon.

Charlie might be making a mountain but he's going for volcanic flavours

with three stacked chilli chocolate sponges and peppermint icing.

This stuff you've got to be really careful with?

This is chilli powder,

-and this is hot chilli powder so you're not using a mild one?

-No.

-Have you got the chilli right in terms of...?

-Yeah.

I had it at one point a little less, so I'm adding half a teaspoon.

Try not to use too much.

I'm just whisking the eggs so they're light and fluffy.

My cake is called the Coral Ocean.

It's based on the Great Barrier Reef and I wanted to do it

because it's actually endangered.

Zainab's two-tiered coral reef cake will be topped with two different

types of icing and home-made decorations

over a sponge base made using a special technique.

You'll be doing some marbling, how are you going to do that?

I'm going to add half of the mixture into the bowls in big scoops

and then leave space to add the cocoa into the remaining mixture

and then I'd marble it round.

It's quite a big cake.

Are you worried about it cooking in time?

Um, no, not really because it takes 30 minutes for the small one

and 40 minutes for the big one.

-I see you've got a lot to do on this.

-Yes.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

Ruby has also given herself a challenge

with an intricate topping to go on her cake.

Well, my cake's called the Iceberg Cake,

and the actual cake bit is actually the ocean

and then on top of that it's got a meringue iceberg.

Ruby's sponge features chopped pistachios for crunch,

butter cream icing

and layered traditional French meringue for the topping.

So where did the idea come from, Ruby?

I was looking through a magazine and I just saw

a picture of an iceberg and I just thought, that looks really nice,

I'll do...maybe make some meringue and not just a cake.

-You've got a lot to do then.

-Yeah.

I'm just doing the Italian meringue.

Louis is also making meringue.

Unlike Ruby's French meringue which is whisked, then baked,

his is cooked as it's mixed together.

It's called an Italian meringue because the Italians made it

and you boil the sugar in a syrup.

It's harder than any normal meringue.

Louis's tricky meringue will coat three coconut sponges,

layered on a passion fruit curd.

It's modelled on the hot springs of Pamukkale.

-This.

-These are those amazing springs, are they, in Turkey?

Yes. Decoration-wise I've got blue meringue and white Italian meringue.

This is your Italian meringue.

The temperature's quite important when you boil the sugar

in the water. Have you used a thermometer for that?

-No, it's a sort of guessing game.

-You've guessed it?

But every time we did it, it's turned out right,

-so we're just... I'm just hoping.

-It's a bit of a risk.

But it's looking as if it's starting to get there.

Yes, I'm just going to check it, actually.

If it's at peak, then it's the correct texture that I want it.

I think that's actually ready.

OK, bakers. You've got one hour left to bake!

Time, time, time, time, timer!

Everything, so far, has gone according to plan.

Cakes baking, it's time for fabulous filling and terrific toppings.

My icing's blue because I'm doing an ocean scene on my cake

so I want everything to look as realistic as possible.

I'm actually just spooning the meringue onto the parchment paper.

I've got to take out the cake, put it on the side

and then I've got to turn down the oven and then put the meringues in

and then I've got to make the butter icing, so it's very tight for time.

Half an hour, guys. 30 minutes left to bake.

What you doing?

I'm waiting for my cake to get out.

-Let me have a look.

-Yep, that one's cooked.

Correct!

And that one needs two minutes more.

-All right...

-Ooh, wait...

Jiminy!

Wow, that could have been serious right there.

Yeah? She's laughing it off!

-Zainab, anything could happen on Junior Bake Off.

-Yeah.

I think there's a bit too much chilli.

There's only 15 minutes left now, guys, make it count.

No. Two minutes more.

I'm not really concentrating on any of the opposition

because I've just got to do my cake to the best I can.

It's not going to make any difference.

Perfect!

Five minutes left to bake!

I think I'm going to get there in time.

What's going on here?

I kind of got in a bit of a mess.

I think your section's one of the natural wonders of the world, innit?

Um, seaweed...

Ohh, fishes...

Where are they? Where are they?

Relax, relax.

OK, guys. Your Showstopper is over. Your time is up.

Please step away from your worktops.

After a lot of whisking,

icing and decorating, the bakers have done all they can.

Now Mary and James will judge

who gets a coveted place in the semifinal.

I think it went really well.

I finished just in the nick of time.

I hope the taste is really good.

Zainab, it looks enormous fun.

I love the effect you've got on the icing of the blue and the white.

It's just as though it's the flowing sea.

I like the way you have bothered to have two different toppings.

It certainly looks like a great cake inside.

I like the way that you've marbled it together.

It's quite a tall order getting that,

particularly a larger cake like this.

It's lovely-flavoured. I like that a lot.

It's nice and light.

Very light and the orange is really coming through.

On the whole, really, really good cake.

-If the Barrier Reef looks like that...

-You're off!

I'm definitely off. Well done.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

The worst thing that can happen is there'll be too much chilli in it.

I think it will impress them

but whether I get through or not is a different matter.

Well, firstly, you've got a fantastic picture of Mary

and you've made me about 3ft 6.

It certainly looks like a mountain.

You've got a very good colour to your chocolate cake.

It looks a good texture.

I'm always a bit wary with chilli.

It's all right. It's not too hot.

Very nice consistency.

To be honest, I don't think the chilli

and peppermint go that well together.

I'm hoping that they don't think my presentation's too messy

because I was a bit pushed for time.

It looks good.

I was anticipating a little bit more colour with the pistachio.

It doesn't always look green. It was for the crunch

of the pistachio, there's no actual flavouring.

I like that. It's light.

I actually like that crunch in there with the pistachio nuts as well.

The butter cream is good. The meringue is a little bit chewy.

To be able to cook all of that lot in an hour and a half

is very well done.

I think everyone'll get criticism

but I think with my cake it's going to taste better than it looks.

Now tell us about your Italian meringue.

Is that how you envisaged it looking?

No. It is a little foamy.

Probably the reason why it did that is that you didn't boil

the sugar and the water for long enough.

It needs to be a slightly thicker mixture and hotter

when you pour it into the egg white.

It looks an excellent texture, doesn't it?

-That's delicious.

-That is a really nice cake.

And you've got a really even bake, it's just a lovely golden brown.

It does benefit from that passion fruit

and I think the meringue may be not what you want but,

-certainly inside it, it's a great cake. Well done.

-Thank you.

Well, bakers, you've done everything you can

to impress our judges.

Of course, your fate is in their hands now

so I think you deserve a well-earned break.

So off you go. See you in a bit.

It's so tense... He really liked your cake, though.

He liked everyone's.

He really liked yours.

Only one baker can go through

and it's time for the judges to make their decision.

Mary, James. Great competition so far.

Let's go back to the Technical Challenge.

Only one person did actually get it right this morning.

-That was Zainab.

-Mind you, Ruby was a close second.

Yep. Well, let's move on to the Showstoppers.

Let's start off with Ruby.

The finish looked really good, but there wasn't enough about it really.

But a great effort.

Zainab made a very good cake, she chose a marble cake,

quite tricky to do, plus she did two lots of icing.

It does work. It fits in the brief really nicely.

It's the Coral Reef.

On to the boys. Let's start with Charlie.

I thought it was a great effort.

To be honest, I liked the whole design of it.

He got the layers right. He had a very good texture.

I know there's chilli in it, but did it go with peppermint icing?

Not for me, really.

Let move over to Louis the boy.

Now, he made a passion fruit curd there.

-It's really good, that.

-Really fantastic.

And his actual cake mixture was very good consistency.

Well, judges, a very tough decision but one you do have to make

because only one can go through to the semifinals.

Bakers. First of all, well done.

You've done such a great job,

but of course only one of you can go through to the semifinals,

and Mary and James have made that decision and it was a tough one.

The person going through is...

Congratulations, Zainab. You're going through to the semifinal.

I'm really, really proud of myself,

but I think it was a tough competition.

Zainab went through purely on the fact that she's confident,

artistic and most importantly, the two bakes tasted fantastic.

Her Showstopper, as you looked at it,

it just looked like the Coral Reef.

She really did pull out all the stops

and really deserves to go through.

I feel like I do have to raise my game as it's now the semifinals

and I have to work harder to get through to the finals.

Next time...

Four more junior bakers tackle James' scrumptious crumpets...

And create creepy-crawly bug biscuits in the Showstopper.

-Oh, no!

-But only one can go through!

My biscuit's broken.

If you fancy giving baking a go, head to the CBBC website

and choose a Junior Bake Off recipe.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd