Episode 4 Bake Off Creme de la Creme

We're back in the magnificent Firle Place estate in Sussex

where the hunt to find Britain's best pastry chefs takes a dramatic,

if totally predictable, twist

as the second set of heats begin and five brand-new teams

bid to become the outright winner of Creme de la Creme

and, thereby, be crowned the Creme de la Creme de la Creme.

-So far on Creme de la Creme...

-Girls, coming!

-Paula's international all-women team...

-Let's do it!

..and Liam's brigade of military chefs...

..have come through three punishing heats to become the first

two teams to qualify for this year's semifinals.

Now, five completely new teams...

-Oh, God!

-..will face Cherish and Benoit.

Did it burn?

But who can master a brand-new miniature challenge?

-Let's go, let's go, let's go!

-I'm counting what we've got.

Where everything is exposed.

-Who's got the graceful moves...

-Oh, my God!

-..to reinvent the classic dessert...

-Parfait!

..named after a world-famous ballerina?

And which of these new teams has got what it takes...

-My heart. I can't deal with this.

-..to be crowned Creme de la Creme?

Guys, I'm dripping blood all over the place here.

HE SIGHS

We're a man down.

MUSIC BUILDS

MUSIC: Carmen, Vivat le Torrero! by Bizet

Five new teams of pastry chefs are about to put their professional

reputations on the line, and Benoit and Cherish

have helpfully devised two incredibly demanding challenges.

Good luck, you two.

They are worth a total of 100 points and whoever scores the least

will have to leave the competition.

Good morning and welcome, pastry chefs.

Your first task is the tiny, but huge test,

that we call the miniature challenge,

requiring ultimate precision when it comes to producing

high volumes of small, fine pastries.

Now, we'd like two different types of pastries, 36 of each.

-Benoit, which miniature have you chosen?

-I've chosen fraisier slice.

It's a very much-loved French classic which consists of a layer

of sponge, a light mousseline cream and, most importantly, strawberries.

-And what's it called again?

-Fraisier.

-It's a pastry in French.

It's a sitcom in America. Cherish?

I have chosen verrine.

A layered dessert that is served in a small glass.

I want five different layers and I want to be impressed with

the flavour combination and presentation.

You have 40 points available to you for this

and 2½ hours to complete the challenge.

Good luck. Your time starts now.

This is it, boys..

-Apples are there, Lauren.

-Yep.

By demanding two batches of 36 precisely layered miniatures

in just 2½ hours...

I'm not familiar with these bowls.

..Benoit and Cherish will quickly discover which teams can cope

with the pressure of the competition and which can't.

A classic fraisier.

I will be judging them on flavour.

Of course, strawberry is the star of the show.

Sliced strawberries that you can see.

Also, the texture of their cream.

It's about the perfect harmonies of textures and flavour.

-In the green kitchen...

-Could you pass me the recipe there?

..with a combined 60 years in the baking business...

-Where's the other ones?

-Is that off?

-No.

..is the most experienced - or some might say oldest - team

in this year's competition.

We're trying to keep it simple with the fraisier so we don't mess up.

We shall see what they think at the end, won't we?

When they're all put together and layered and...

Ha-ha!

Mark, Alan and Tim have won multiple awards,

including Craft Bakery of the Year, for their work

at Mark's patisserie in Dorset.

Mark has amassed a huge 22 medals in international competitions,

and the team are out to prove that a master baker can match

the delicate touch of a patissier.

I know we all look like we're prop forwards in a rugby team,

but baking can be quite industrious.

-Perhaps we should dress in rugby uniforms.

-Yeah, yeah. England kit.

Mark's team are tackling a fraisier with a vanilla creme mousseline

and an almond liqueur strawberry glaze.

And for their almond and vanilla joconde sponge, to stay ahead

of the competition, they're using an old master baker's trick.

Good morning, Mark's team. How are we doing?

-We're just making the joconde sponge bases at the moment.

-OK.

We've got a chocolate one for the verrine,

and we have a vanilla one for the fraisier.

Ah, so you're using the same sponge twice so you cut the time.

Yeah, trying to cut the time.

But for a fraisier, joconde might be a little dense, no?

It's going to be quite fine. It's quite thin.

I've got another half to go in yet, so...

We're putting so much pressure when somebody is actually weighing

the ingredients. We shouldn't be doing that, really.

That's OK.

For the orange team...

-Backs.

-Sorry, mate.

..the pressure has been building for the last 12 months.

Not too green, yeah?

No, it's like a pistachio cream we're looking for.

-Hi, Reece, can I come and annoy you?

-Of course you can.

Lauren and you were in the competition last year, of course.

We were indeed.

I think it adds more pressure, the fact that we went out

in the first round so we need to make sure

that we progress through to the next round.

You wouldn't want to relive that embarrassment?

-No, we wouldn't. Not at all.

-No, no.

So, if you can give us a 20 or a 10, that would be great.

Yeah, sure. It won't actually count for anything, but...

-Have a word with the judges or...

-Yeah. Er...

That also won't count for anything.

MUSIC: Spring by Vivaldi

Hertfordshire's five-star Grove hotel is home to the youngest team

in last year's Creme de la Creme.

This year, captain Reece and patissier Lauren have been joined

by The Grove's chocolate consultant, 37-year-old Jonathan.

I feel a lot more confident this year with the team that we've got.

Last year, we were the young guns.

This year, we've bought Dad along with us for a bit of experience.

Reece's campaign to make it past the first heat begins with

a fraisier that contains a champagne and wild strawberry jelly,

a diced strawberry and creme mousseline

and a light pistachio Genoise sponge.

That's Jonathan's pistachio Genoise going in the oven.

It's very important that goes in early so it has time to cool down

so we can build it up.

That's one of the lessons we learned from last year is we need to

give it enough time to set. It feels absolutely terrifying to be back.

As chefs, whether it's in service or a big function,

you live off that sort of adrenaline and this is just like

the Holy Grail, so to speak, of adrenaline.

-Reece isn't the only one...

-Eggs here, yeah...

..hoping for a triumphant return.

-Hi, Stefan. You, of course, are team captain this time.

-I am.

Last series, erm...

-When you got the semifinal, you were just a team member.

-That's right.

And, to be honest, I'm feeling the pressure a little bit more.

-Are you managing to bark out orders sufficiently?

-Um...

That's what team captains are supposed to do.

I'm not sure barking out orders is the correct term.

Service, please!

Stefan trained at Michelin-starred restaurants under Marcus Wareing

and Gordon Ramsay before becoming head pastry chef

at the prestigious Craft House in Leeds.

Determined to reach this year's final, he's recruited

his trusted sous-chef, Lauren, and 19-year-old Maxime.

He is the UK Junior Chocolate Master 2016,

training his way through some amazing patisseries of France.

I'm really excited to have these guys with me.

Stefan's first creation as a team captain will have

a vanilla sponge base, a strawberry consomme jelly glaze,

a strawberry foam garnish and he's put his master chocolatier in charge

of perfecting the consistency of their vanilla creme mousseline.

Yeah, nice, Maxime.

I will mix it together with the butter

and start to build my fraisier.

Creme mousseline is a crucial component of a fraisier.

It's very difficult!

Undercooked, and it won't be firm enough to hold when sliced...

-Did you come to the boil?

-Oh, yeah.

..but overcooked, and the texture can become rubbery, or worse,

the mixture will split.

I picked THE worst pan for this. Jeez!

-You want a deeper one or...?

-That other one was catching.

But for Mark and his master bakers...

..textures might be the least of their worries.

-Burnt that.

-Huh?

-You've burnt that.

-No, I haven't.

That's vanilla. What have you done with that vanilla?

-Huh?

-Did you scrape it out?

No, I just put it in there as pods and boiled it with the milk.

-Did you scrape the pods out?

-No.

-BLEEP.

-You're meant to cut the pods in half and scrape them -

-not put the pods in.

-I use extract normally, don't I?

Mark's time-saving strategy is already in danger of falling apart.

It's not burnt.

Get it in there, go on.

-Blast freeze that one, yeah?

-I want to get it away before they see it.

Over in the pink kitchen, flavour could also be a concern.

It's basil bavarois.

It's beautiful. Beautiful fragrant smells.

As you will immediately notice...

TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH:

..Laurian and his team are from Wales.

Laurian fell in love with Wales 17 years ago after visiting

Cardiff to watch the Rugby World Cup.

A passionate baker since he was five,

he now runs one of the city's most successful patisseries with

Thibault and Jeremy, and they're always attempting new flavour

combinations they probably wouldn't get away with back in France.

French people are very closed-minded about cuisine

and pastry and, so...

I might not be allowed back in France

after the comments we are making!

As well as their basil bavarois, Laurian's team's fraisier

will have two white chocolate and almond sponges,

and Thibault is making a strawberry glaze to finish.

We're just doing it one layer at a time.

Doing the creme mousseline first and then we're going to put

the strawberry on top.

It's all going to be setting at the right time.

In the blue kitchen, the fraisier is a family affair.

-You two sisters?

-Yes, Suzanne and I.

OK. And you're the captain, But you're the younger sister?

-Yeah, that's right.

-How does that work?

-Do you mind taking orders from your younger sister?

-Absolutely not.

Right. It's just as well you said that, obviously.

And you're used to cooking together because you have a place up north?

We do, yeah.

-We have our own patisserie in Aberdeen and it's...

-OK.

-How is the patisserie world in Aberdeen?

-Yeah, it's...

Who's your main rival? Greggs, presumably.

# There were three little sisters... #

Despite being entirely self taught, sisters Jenny and Suzanne

and best friend Steph

now own and run a patisserie whose afternoon teas have been

compared by diners to those at the world-famous Ritz hotel.

I think being sisters is definitely a huge advantage for us

in this competition.

We know each other's strengths and weaknesses.

We're nice, sort of smiley girls,

but we've got a lot of fight behind us and...

Think it'll be quite easy to underestimate us.

Jenny has updated a classic fraisier with a pistachio creme mousseline,

a raspberry jelly insert and a Genoise sponge

soaked in a syrup developed at the patisserie back in Aberdeen.

-What am I about to eat?

-This is the creme de fraise syrup.

-Right.

-That's very good indeed.

-Yeah.

Yeah, that's some of the best creme de fraise syrup I've ever had.

For me, that totally wins,

although technically I hadn't actually tasted anything else.

MUSIC: Rigoletto, Questa o Quella by Verdi

Sponges are out. We're going to build those up now.

Whilst baking sponges and creating fillings

and toppings for their fraisier...

-What are you making, Tim?

-Doing the sugar.

-The what?

-Starting the sugar work.

-OK.

..the teams also need to find time...

I need a two-minute timer on that.

..to create another complex and multi-layered miniature.

Apricot jelly, apricot puree.

A classic French dessert that takes its name

from the glass it's served in - the verrine.

I will be judging them on taste.

Every layer has to tell a story

and, of course, texture is a big thing for me.

If you put it too moussey, everything is so soft with

no texture in the centre and end with a crunch. Big disaster.

Hoping to avoid disaster with his verrine,

first-time captain Stefan has been foraging.

I've gone out and risked nettle stings and bramble scratches

-and all that sort of stuff...

-OK.

-..to get this beautiful ingredient.

So it's elderberries. I'm going to turn that into a curd.

Stefan's wild elderberry curd will join

a buttermilk panna cotta, a blackberry foam

and jelly and compote layers made with blackberry and apple.

-Talk to me about the apples.

-Beautiful British Bramley apples.

-Bramley?

-Bramley, lovely acidity. I'll leave them a bit al dente

so you've got nice texture at the bottom of the glass.

Are you cooking the Bramley?

I'll put them with this apple and blackberry compote.

-So they're not going to break down?

-A little bit.

-So there's no crunch any more?

-A little bit of crunch.

I can see that there's a lot of layered dessert.

Do you think you are a bit too ambitious?

In practice, we've set it in 2½ hours, no problem.

-I also know...

-They've got plenty to do, Cherish. Plenty to do.

-We need to move on.

-Thank you, guys.

-Your hand is so cold today!

-Sorry!

SHE LAUGHS

-When it comes to verrine layers...

-Reece, I'm free.

-What do you want me to do?

-Set the panna cotta in the glasses.

..Reece is aiming even higher.

What we're going to be doing is a version of

a Black Forest gateau layered up into a glass.

Although they've asked for five different elements, we're doing ten.

Cherry jelly, Kirsch panna cotta whipped chocolate ganache,

cocoa streusel, chocolate sponge, cherry foam and a chocolate cremeux

combine for an ambitious Black Forest verrine

that's been a passion project for the whole team.

We all came up with different ideas together.

We all had loads of different ideas to do the verrine

and we thought we'd sort of go with a classic.

Black Forest is one of the desserts I used to remember my mum

used to make all the time. A lot of work, but still...

If you don't run around enough, you're not doing enough.

In the blue kitchen, having taken control of the fraisier...

-Are you getting on OK, Susie?

-Yeah, fine.

..Jenny has put her big sister in charge of the verrine.

I've chosen some kind of unusual flavours for the verrine.

Rose, raspberry and pink peppercorn.

Big Sister Suzanne is layering Scottish shortbread

flavoured with raspberry, pink peppercorn mousse, raspberry jelly,

mascarpone cream and a rose ganache.

How are you going to inject your rose flavour into your verrine?

-I'm using some rose extract.

-Do you think this will be too soapy?

If you overdo it, yeah. You need to be very careful.

I'll try not make it too soapy.

Already risking basil in his fraisier...

..Laurian is gambling on bold flavours again for his verrine.

Using pink grapefruit, it shouldn't be any sweetness to it,

but a lot of freshness and a lot of vibrant flavours.

Grapefruit is just the beginning of an unusual verrine,

featuring a Chantilly mascarpone, sesame caramel cream,

cashew nut crumble and a chocolate cremeux

flavoured with a pepper that comes from

a little further afield than Wales.

Or France.

It's a bit like Sichuan pepper, but it's not. It's from Nepal.

Yeah, I know that you have to be very careful with it.

-Because you will numb your tongue.

-It's very fruity.

I see this working with grapefruit.

I'm really looking forward to tasting it.

This is fantastic, Timut pepper is absolutely fantastic.

This is why we do this competition, we want to discover new ingredients.

-So let's hope it works.

-Let's hope I bring the new ingredients.

But bold new flavours aren't for everyone.

We've gone for a sachertorte, which is a famous Austrian gateau,

which we've put into a glass, basically.

Mark's simple deconstructed sachertorte features layers of

apricot jelly and bavarois and layers of chocolate mousse

and ganache topped with spun sugar.

But the master baker's straightforward verrine

might become a little more complicated.

After a worrying moment earlier with the burned creme mousseline...

-Ahhh!

-BLEEP.

..whilst washing a knife, Alan's now managed to cut his thumb open.

Brilliant.

Guys, I'm dripping blood all over the place here.

-Right, go get yourself sorted out.

-I'm going to have to.

Has he cut himself? This is good, isn't it(?!)

-Right, little recap, where are we?

-I'm cutting the sponges for the top.

-Lauren?

-I'm onto the cremeux.

-Cool.

We're halfway through the verrine,

and Maxime is currently building the fraisier.

Lauren's got some meringues in for the decor.

-Man, I'm nervous now.

-We just need to push, OK?

We've done double the amount of elements as everyone else.

How that's going to turn out, I'll tell you in about 45 minutes' time.

The teams now face a horrendous juggling act.

We're just running out of time, I think.

Unless they've allowed enough time to chill and set

each verrine component before adding the next...

This is sesame caramel.

..layers will run,

ruining the dessert's appearance on the outside of the glass.

This is the rose ganache.

And at the same time, there's still a fraisier to build.

Do you know what's happened to Alan?

HE SIGHS

We're a man down.

Mark isn't the only captain facing a setback.

I think it's just a little bit cold, actually.

I think it needs heated up just a little bit.

-Maybe the butter wasn't soft enough.

-Yeah.

I'm a bit concerned with Jenny's team at the moment

because their mousseline cream has completely split up.

They've got a different temperature between their butter and cream,

so it doesn't combine nicely.

Do they have the knowledge to fix it? I'm not sure.

I've never known anyone to make a creme pat like this before.

He's left the lumps, the vanilla pods in it.

So that is the mousseline.

It's perfectly smooth so we can now pipe in.

We're just about to start layering our fraisier slice.

We've got different frames this year

just to make them a little bit smaller so it sets a bit quicker.

Larger single frames can speed up the building of the fraisier.

Creme mousseline.

I think it's come together, I think we just got away with it.

But it may take longer to set and make identical slices harder to cut.

We're just trying to get all the strawberries

just on either end of the slice.

We just need to get it all together and just get it set on time.

Mark's chances of it being set on time may just have improved.

Start loading them on, yeah? You know what you've got to do, yeah?

You're looking for a nice clean cut.

If it's not set properly, they won't cut very nice.

-Is it still painful, Alan?

-No, not...

-Right.

-Stop worrying about his hand!

Some of us are concerned about people

who almost slice their thumbs off.

-Obviously team captains...

-Yeah, yeah.

-Right, we're all in.

He's not here to sympathise. Bye, then.

This is just the champagne jelly layer.

I'm weighing it to make sure every single frame is exactly the same.

That's done.

Raspberry jelly inserts are looking quite good, actually.

-I'm wondering if we should get the glaze on it now.

-Yeah, I know.

-Yeah, someone's done raspberries over there.

-Yeah.

Fraisier means strawberry.

-Oh, God.

-Here she is.

It's all right, we had an issue.

It's my fault.

Just need to set in the freezer. So I need to be quick.

Chefs, you have 30 minutes left.

Keep going, guys, keep going.

-Fraisier's definitely in the freezer, yeah?

-Yes, Chef.

This is our final layer for our verrine,

the mascarpone cream that's on top

which is what all the garnish will be sitting on.

OK, last layer's just going on now. These look OK, actually.

This is the crumble, the crunchy part of the verrine.

It hasn't completely set properly for us.

No point in panicking now, it's too late.

The chocolate is in the fridge?

Yeah, wait five more minutes for it to set.

-Are you going to be OK?

-I'm a few verrines short.

I didn't have enough ganache.

And things are going just as well with the sisters' fraisier.

Jenny forgot to mark where the strawberries lined up

inside her large single frame.

BLEEP.

And the judges expect precisely cut strawberries.

-Just going to have to... Can you grab the ruler?

-Yeah.

We've done a little stencil underneath our frame

to try and get the strawberries all in place.

Just take your time, just take your time. Is it not cut properly?

OK, good.

OK, I'm going to start getting them off the tray.

Let's get these finished. I've got lumps of that bloody stuff in there.

We're so far behind.

If we can just get one of the verrines finished or something.

-OK, Lauren, let's go, let's go.

-I'm counting what we've got.

-OK, OK.

-Tim, is it worth doing it?

-Can we get something out?

I just don't think you're going to make it in time.

I never expected it to be like this.

You never expect anything on Creme De La Creme.

-Fast, fast, fast fingers.

-There are 60 seconds to go.

Alan, can you get me the cream out of that fridge?

-This one, this one, this one.

-How can this be resurrected?

Tell you what, just whack your garnish on there.

Get the garnishes on there and go with a three-pronged attack.

Oh, my God, I've got one left.

-Done?

-Done.

OK, that's it, everyone. Time is up.

Well done, Lauren. Well done. Well done, Maxime, nice one.

-I could

-BLEEP

-launch that.

-BLEEP.

Over 300 layered miniatures in just 2½ hours.

Stefan's team, if you could bring your layered slices

and verrines up to the presentation table.

Stefan's team's fraisiers have a vanilla sponge,

strawberries and creme mousseline and a consomme jelly glaze.

Their verrines feature elderberry curd and apple and blackberry jelly.

It looks very pretty. It looks very uniform.

You've managed to get a slice of strawberry all around your fraisier.

Wow. I like that. It tastes of strawberry.

I wish there was a little bit more sponge.

Creme mousseline, really like it.

And when I slice it, you can see it's very, very clean.

Very well done.

-So the verrine.

-It's a very attractive dessert.

Though the flavours in combination are actually quite nice,

the texture, you've been pretty safe.

It's just all too soft for me.

I dig in, first layer, soft, second layer, soft.

I was hoping for some sponge.

-WHISPERS:

-I've got clammy hands.

Well done, guys. Well done.

Reece's team, perhaps you'd like to bring yours up.

Got it?

Reece's team's fraisiers have a pistachio sponge

and a strawberry champagne jelly.

And their ten-layered black forest verrines have a cherry mousse,

chocolate cremeux and a crunchy cocoa streusel.

I like to start off measuring.

Well, I have 4, I have 4.5 and I have 3.7.

Visually, what strikes me is the texture of your mousseline cream.

It looks pretty split from where I stand.

Butter. Butter everywhere. On my palate.

I'm going to stretch to find a good positive there - it's not sweet.

So it allows the strawberry flavour to go through,

but the texture is not really nice.

-So we move on to the verrine now, perhaps.

-Yes.

I think it's neat, finished off with a very beautiful,

thinly executed chocolate decoration which is very well done.

Black Forest.

I find the texture of your different layers to be refreshing.

You've got creamy, you got moussey,

you've got a little bit of gel at the bottom.

-You planned it quite nicely, the layering is right.

-Thank you.

And the chocolate cremeux in there is divine.

Really, really light and very creamy.

-You smiled. Did you do the chocolate cream?

-Yeah!

-Very good.

Give me a five. Well done.

Laurian's team, perhaps you could bring up your masterpieces, please.

Laurian's team's fraisiers comprise almond sponge,

strawberry jelly and a basil bavarois.

Their verrines feature a pink grapefruit base,

sesame caramel cream and a chocolate and Timut pepper cremeux.

It's a little bit hickley-pickley.

-Hickley-pickley?

-It's a bit messy.

-OK. Bit messy.

The texture of your bavarois is actually pleasant.

But basil tends to overpower the strawberry a little too much.

The strawberry compote, it tastes so tasty on your table,

but somehow when I taste it now, it's lost in translation.

Grapefruit, in.

I got a little tickly, peppery sensation.

But I haven't got the flavour jumping.

The bitterness kicks in and it just covers my taste buds completely.

-It's a shame.

-Good ideas, good principles.

They pick faults in everything.

HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

Here's time to check in with our friends from the north,

Jenny and co.

Jenny's team's fraisiers have a pistachio creme mousseline

and a raspberry jelly insert.

Their verrines include pink peppercorn mousse

and a rose ganache.

So we don't need Cherish's ruler to tell us that

they're not all the same size.

The balance of flavour is on the mild side,

but for me, the biggest flaw is the actual texture of your mousseline

-which makes it a little bit unpleasant.

-OK.

I really like the insert that you put in, it enhanced the whole slice.

-What about the verrines?

-There's only 28 verrines.

I just ran out of ganache to finish off.

It's very heavy, the mousse.

The mousse should be light, it should be airy.

OK, the rose, it's borderline being too strong.

-WHISPERS:

-Oh, well.

So, let's see Mark's team's products.

Mark's team's fraisiers feature vanilla and almond joconde sponge

and a vanilla creme mousseline filling.

Their verrines comprise apricot cognac jelly and chocolate sponge

topped with creme patissiere.

What is this black bits that's inside?

-It's from the vanilla pod.

-It's not part of a thumb, is it?

LAUGHTER

-Who's done the creme pat?

-Me.

-Did it burn?

-It may have caught a little.

Well...!

The flavour of that burned milk ruins my experience.

I prefer the sponge to be slightly thicker.

Your filling is very thick so it's very sick, eating just the filling.

You need the right proportions.

-36 verrines, that doesn't seem to be a problem there.

-Slight problem.

What layer is missing, may I ask?

Chocolate mousse would have gone on next.

And then a chocolate mirror glaze on the top.

Your coulis is very, very gritty and lumpy.

The flavours were working but there is again technical issues.

Sorry, boss.

Cherish and Benoit will now award every team a mark out of ten

for each miniature.

There is two or three teams who are holding up their strength

with good flavour combinations, and two or three teams

which are struggling to achieve technically.

There's a few teams that did not present 36 desserts in time.

What a shame.

A total of 40 points are on offer,

and the scores will be revealed starting with the lowest.

Good luck, guys.

Mark's team.

Burned milk in your fraisier led me to award you 5 points out of 20.

I was very disappointed in your apricot jelly.

For that, I have awarded you 5 out of 20.

That gives you a combined total of ten out of 40.

Fourth is Jenny's team, with 14.

Third is Laurian's, with 19.

So, who's triumphed in the Miniatures Challenge?

Stefan's team.

I commend you, really, for the choice of your ingredients,

but in the verrine, we were a bit safe with the texture.

I'm awarding you 14 points out of 20.

On your verrine,

loved the combination of the apple and the blackberry.

I have awarded you 12 points out of 20.

Which makes a combined total of 26 out of a possible 40.

And finally, Reece's team.

You had technical issues with your fraisier and the execution was

a little bit on the rough side,

but you had a divine cremeux in your verrine.

And for those reasons, I am awarding 11 points out of 20.

I really liked your execution on your verrine.

However, I was a little bit disappointed with your fraisier.

The butter was not emulsified.

For that, I have awarded you 11 out of 20.

Which gives you a combined total of 22 out of 40.

Which means that in pole position is Stefan's team.

But there are many points available in tomorrow's Showpiece Challenge,

so everything can and indeed may well change.

So I would suggest that you all take a very well-earned break.

Well done to you all.

How are we feeling, guys?

-Feeling good.

-Feeling good?

-A little shell-shocked.

I think getting a high five from Cherish is something that is

going to stick with me for a while.

We personally were really disappointed of our product,

so we just want to show tomorrow that what we do is

a lot better than what we have done today.

As a team, we're all gutted, but it's do or die tomorrow, isn't it?

So there is no second chance.

Tomorrow's final challenge involves a grand reworking

of a classic dessert, and the teams have been given

a golden hour to prepare

any elements that need setting overnight.

So, looking forward to the Showpiece Challenge tomorrow,

who are you expecting us to be surprised by, maybe?

I'm looking forward to see what Stefan's and Reece's team will be

coming up with because, obviously,

those two teams have been there before.

But Laurian's team slightly disappointed you.

They came up with great ingredients.

Through the tasting, it didn't materialise.

I'm concerned about Jenny's team.

-She has to take up all the tools that is in her tool box.

-Oh, OK.

-And she has to go for it.

-And Mark?

It's all about going through to the next round,

and there is only four points between Mark and Jenny's team.

In every competition, we like chefs with spirit,

we like chefs to fight back.

-OK.

-Just finished that glaze, Jonathan.

You do it again tomorrow.

It's only a five-, ten-minute job.

-I'm going to need you here, I think.

-Yep, coming.

We've got crystallisation, Tim.

MUSIC: Le Nozze Di Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Good morning. I hope you're well-rested.

Now, today is the Showpiece Challenge,

which is your chance to take something ordinary

and make it extraordinary.

The judges have decided, in their infinite wisdom,

that you should reinvent the pavlova,

but that it should be big enough to feed 36 people.

That dessert was named after a Russian ballerina,

Anna Pavlova,

so I'm hoping to see elegance,

-beauty and grace.

-Don't be safe, chefs.

Astonish us and prove to us that your team deserves to stay in

the competition.

60 points are available in total,

so more than enough to overhaul any lead.

You had one hour yesterday to prepare.

You have three hours now to complete the challenge.

And your time starts...now.

Let's do it.

-Pushing straightaway.

-Yeah. Wait.

-Oh!

A classic pavlova is a very well-made meringue -

crispy outside and marshmallow-y inside -

and served with fresh fruit and Chantilly cream.

The challenge involves bringing a traditional dessert

into this century.

Intricate desserts beautifully presented.

But it cannot just be basic skills,

it has to be highly professional skills.

Mark's team have taken inspiration from Anna Pavlova's most celebrated

performance - The Dying Swan.

Currently languishing in last place,

they will be hoping that that's where the comparison ends.

We're basically building a stand that sits on a lake.

It's going to have swans.

The ballerina will stand on the top of the stand

and all the pavlovas will be around the boiled sugar stand.

But we had an issue last night.

One of the bases crystallised, so we are re-pouring it this morning.

Sat on top of Mark's second attempt

at a poured sugar base

will be individual pavlovas layered

with raspberry bavarois,

chocolate mousse, smashed raspberry compote

and piped meringue dusted with chocolate.

So Tim is going to be cooking up the sugars, Alan is going to make

the meringues, I am responsible for putting everything together.

Don't over mix that meringue, Al, will you?

Oh, breathing in sugar here. Bit of energy.

Hoping to seal his first captaincy with an overall win,

Stefan has dug a little deeper into the pavlova's origins.

Anna Pavlova was a Russian ballerina,

but it was actually typically a New Zealand, Australia dessert,

so I've gone sort of tropical flavours.

And to complement it, Maxime's come up with a beautiful design,

which is a swan.

Around the young master chocolatier's swan will be

Stefan's individual meringue domes filled with vanilla mousse,

a mango, passion fruit and ginger cream insert

and a tropical fruit compote.

Hi, team. Hi, Stefan. How is the meringue doing?

The meringue is taking a long time to whip up,

so I kind of have a bit of a delay already.

And you put everything in?

That's how I always do it in practice. It comes out beautiful.

-And it works?

-Yeah, works every time, yeah.

Do you think your swan is going to stay upright? Because it is so thin

and you compromise on the stability.

It is risky, but I think hopefully it'll all come together

and we'll have a beautiful, sleek, slender design, like a ballerina,

-and it'll be OK.

-Everything is under control?

-Everything is under control.

-Except for the meringue.

The meringue, we might have to get a fresh meringue on,

but it's not the end of the world.

-We'll let you crack on, yeah?

-Thank you, guys. Cheers.

Have you got a second to look at that? I think that's ready,

-but you might think it is overdone.

-No, it's not ready.

-Not ready?

You've got to be quite quick with meringue

because it comes back on you.

You don't want to have to mix it again,

so, yeah, it's my job to get this done as quickly as possible.

For the team just four points ahead of Mark and his master bakers...

I'm too small for this workbench.

I'm on my tip toes.

..perfecting meringue won't be a problem.

We are sticking with a fairly traditional, classic pavlova

in terms of the flavours and the elements.

We're going to have the meringue

is going to be a macaron shell on the base.

-Your twist is using macarons instead of a meringue?

-Yes.

Jenny is risking everything on

a macaron-style pavlova that

will have a vanilla mousse dome,

a strawberry, raspberry and kiwi compote insert

and all 36 swan-like desserts

will take to a carved and painted chocolate stage.

Do you think so? It's too simple to be the winning dessert.

No, not simple. Macarons are not simple.

-Altogether, it tastes really good.

-So what is your strategy today?

Time management today is really crucial.

Are we ready to move up and push on a little bit?

-Yeah. Maybe turn that up.

-Yeah, turn it up.

Aiming to turn it up even more...

OK, this is definitely our backup one,

cos this one is broken, yeah?

..Reece's team's showpiece

is another ambitious bid to make it past the first heat.

Our showpiece today is all going to be based around

the story of the pavlova.

The main structure is going to resemble an elegant shape

of a ballerina in mid-dance.

To go with our showpiece, we've also got 36 entremes-style pavlovas,

which is going to be Jonathan's main job.

A giant abstract sugar work ballerina will tower

over 36 coconut meringue spheres

filled with Chantilly cream,

raspberry mousse

and a passion fruit curd insert.

-Two acids - raspberry, passion fruit.

-Yep.

-Are they going to work together...

-I believe they will.

-..or clash?

The meringue is slightly sweet, so that brings out that element.

But the sensation of raspberry,

the taste of raspberry and passion fruit...

-Yeah.

-..will one not hide the other?

I will let you decide at the end.

Controversy! There you go, plenty to think about.

-Good luck.

-All right, good luck, thank you.

Reece's team aren't alone in aiming to place their desserts

around a centrepiece made entirely of sugar.

Talk us through your concept.

Does it refer at all to Anna Pavlova,

or are you just ignoring her altogether?

-The ballerina.

-I'm ignoring her.

-Right!

A sugar-work tower will display six multi-layered sharing desserts,

and the flavour specialists have chosen to concentrate

on enhancing the classic pavlova components

with crisp French meringue,

vanilla cheesecake mousse,

a French marshmallow called guimauve

and a light mousse made

with blueberries, raspberries,

strawberries and red currants.

Each slice will get an added kick from a sharp mixed-berry coulis.

This is the coulis we are going to put on the plate to present

the cake later on.

-That's delicious!

-Tell the judges.

-OK. I'll have a word.

-It'll probably mark against you, that's the problem.

-Oh, OK.

-Don't say anything, then.

-I'll say nothing.

-Chefs, there are two hours left.

-OK, that's an hour gone already.

Alan is just finishing the meringues.

It looks a little bit soft, unfortunately.

-BLEEP.

-It's not right.

-Nice and stiff, that meringue?

-Yeah.

Should've left it on longer. Should've mixed it longer.

-No, there's something wrong with it, mate.

-I followed the recipe.

-Huh?

-I followed the recipe.

Do it again, then.

Do it again.

Pull it out. That ain't going to impress the judges, is it?

-All right?

-All right.

-HE SIGHS

-Well, he took it off.

We thought it was ready, but it's not,

and it's just... It's gone soft.

Just hollowing it out because we're going to put

a passion fruit curd inside the middle.

We need to get these inside the oven as soon as we can to let them

to set before we build the dessert inside it.

At the moment, I'm just doing the macarons.

Practice makes perfect,

and I've been making these for a long time now, so...

This just gets rid of any air bubbles and it also just

gives it a nice smooth finish...

on top of the macaron.

36.

All right, these are going in.

This is a lot stiffer. Not as soft as the first lot.

Oh, wow, look.

-What?

-Can you turn the fan off? Oh,

-BLEEP.

They are fan-assisted, aren't they?

-BLEEP

-sake!

-Have you got any more meringue?

-Yeah.

Pop it on all these ends, keep those ends from flapping.

-Piece of

-BLEEP!

-Is it sorted, Al?

-Yeah, I think we've lost about four.

-You've lost?

-Four of each for the corners, yeah.

Well, can't you re-pipe? We can't be short, mate.

-Just get one more tray quickly.

-I'm going to do it.

-I'm doing it now, yeah?

-All right.

-I got one pair of hands.

-Hey, guys, we've had 1½ hours, just over.

-Yeah.

-So 1½ hour left.

-It's a bit soft.

I think that meringue was a bit wet.

While their meringues bake, the teams will need every minute to

perfect their showpiece decorations and fillings.

-OK, Lauren, you on schedule OK?

-Yeah.

Just making the tropical fruit mousse.

That's just going to sit on top of Stefan's meringue.

So I'm just putting in my inserts, and then I'm going to finish

it with a tempered white chocolate disc, just to stop any leakages.

So, you boys are concentrating on strawberry compote,

chocolate mousse. You do the chocolate mousse now. Yeah?

-You know how to do that, don't you?

-Yeah, it's all written down.

The boys are putting them together now.

Hopefully, we can get them set quick enough.

That's the thing, get them set.

Mark's team. It seems like they're pushing themselves.

On the other hand, we've got Jenny's team.

-They are still...

-SLOWLY:

-..stirring...their...mousse.

I am worried now.

It's not about winning,

it's about getting through to the next challenge.

If one team collapses, like it happened yesterday,

they may have a chance to go through.

I got them on the wrong trays.

These don't fit in there, they are on the wrong trays.

Put them in the normal freezer.

Sorry, my fault.

I'm just waiting for the bavarois to set on top of the dessert.

We put them on the wrong trays,

so we can't get them in the blast freezer, they've had to go in

the ordinary freezer, so hence they will probably take a bit longer.

It's time we haven't got at the moment, so...

But we can't transfer them onto another tray because as soon

as you try and move them, they'll just go everywhere, so...

OK, guys, you have 60 minutes left.

60 minutes.

-I'm just going to start assembling it now.

-Yeah, start assembling it.

Still a wee bit to do, but I think we're on track.

With their desserts setting,

the teams turn their attention to their delicate centrepieces.

So, just having to remake our little ballerina.

Unfortunately, when I unmoulded this one I made last night -

I think it is a bit too cold in here - so her little foot broke off.

We decided to go for a chocolate sculpture rather than

a sugar sculpture because that's our strength.

Maxime is a chocolate specialist.

He could do sugar well, but better at chocolate,

so we're going to stick to our strengths on this one, definitely.

It's very brittle. It's like a boiled sweet.

Let's just hope she comes out.

We could do with a bit of luck right now.

There you go.

-Having the master watch you.

-I know!

-Intimidating.

Let's do it again.

BLEEP.

-Tim, we will be casting another woman.

-Yeah.

-Maxime, the polish is just taking a long time.

-I know.

-Oh,

-BLEEP.

-I broke it.

-I will do it, I will do it.

Be focused, be focused. Don't worry.

-Hi, Stefan. Any issues at all?

-I have a few issues.

-Right. Is this one of them?

-That is one of those.

-Right, OK.

We have a broken wing.

We've got to polish it, like this, with our hands,

just to rub the cocoa butter in.

-Just over polished?

-Just too firm.

-Over polished.

-And how are you going to mend that?

-I ain't. Maxime's the boy for that.

I will repair it. No worries.

-Eh?

-Ain't going to set.

We're waiting for the bavarois to set.

I think it's causing a few problems at the moment.

How much time have we got left?

-I'd say we've got 30 minutes.

-We should start assembling now.

Chefs, you have half an hour left.

There's a lot of fixing today.

I think when we build it, we will put something here, like this.

Nobody can see it was broken.

Macarons are perfect.

Maybe five minutes behind or so, but, hopefully, we should be OK.

OK. Yes, I'm level here.

It needs to go back. At the top.

-When you say back - right, front?

-Yeah, yeah. That way.

-Front?

-There.

Seriously, I've got sweat running out of my gloves.

I know. Done.

Soon as this is on, we can start going on there.

Don't move. Don't move. Don't move.

It's not hard to do. It's just scary.

I'm just going to move it into the middle of the table

cos it's just rocking.

Oh, my God!

Just relax. You're all right.

Thibault is a little bit stressed.

I think he's just worried it's not going to be sticking

and it's going to be breaking.

He'll be better when it's finished. I'll give him a cuddle.

Ten minutes left now.

I can't deal with this.

OK. Don't go over the top. OK?

Guys, they're setting. They're setting.

These are the discs that are going to go on the top of the pavlova.

And this is going to be the base to sit it on.

Nearly there.

-Get that glaze in two layers, OK?

-Why, is it too thin?

We need to get it colder.

-Don't move too much, Stefan.

-Oui!

Come on!

BUZZING

So, if you do the first tray

and then I'll take it onto the presentation thing. OK?

Tim, are you going to lift it over with me?

-We're going that way, aren't we?

-No. You've got to turn. You turn.

OK.

CLUNKING

-Oh!

-Something's happened there.

Oh, my heart. I can't deal with this.

-Where's it going? At the back?

-It's going in the corner.

-That's it.

-That's better.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's all right.

TIMER BEEPS

OK. I'm on my last one.

Nearly there. Just got to really push, push, push. OK?

You have five minutes left.

OK. Maxime, do you want to start putting these on the showpiece, OK?

Take the tray.

-Do you want, like, mango, kiwi, mango, kiwi?

-Yeah.

-We need to get those on ASAP. Yeah?

-Yeah.

She straight, or not? Yeah, yeah. Nobody touch the table, yeah?

Watch the meringue. It's just...

All the middle's come out.

-Oh, my God, guys. It's wobbling so much.

-Were going to stop.

-Go and get another tray, Tim.

-Yeah. Yeah.

1½ minutes left.

-One more?

-That's it. It'll collapse. I don't want to touch it any more.

Sprint.

OK. That's it. Time is up, I'm afraid.

Wah!

Please step away from your showpieces. Well done, everyone.

-Right, guys.

-Big effort, eh?

-Oh, my God!

-I know.

-They haven't finished, have they?

-Far from it.

BIRDSONG

Five stunning pavlova showpieces made in just four hours.

So elegant, eh?

-It's very nice.

-Really nice. All of them.

-Very nice.

We're going to begin with Stefan's team.

The impression from a distance is you can see the swan - it worked.

I'm not quite sure about why the flower is actually stuck

at the back of the head.

I really like, though, the colourful pavlova.

I was a bit disappointed with the finishing touch.

Because the chocolate is too thin, it breaks.

However, really like the pavlova.

I think it's very colourful.

It's very attractive.

I love the exotic fruit aspect of it - I think it's refreshing -

but the meringue is not cooked.

To me, that meringue is dry but not actually baked.

Really like the passion and the mango but, saying that,

it has to be marshmallow-y, glue-y, for a pavlova.

Thank you.

It's going to be very, very tight.

-Not too bad.

-Not too bad.

It does look very tantalising and scrumptious.

Really, really, really enjoyed the movement of your ballerina.

Because I get the picture.

What you are lacking, though, is a little bit more elements.

The little flower, Lauren, well done. Nicely pulled.

I appreciate, really, trying to impress us.

-I guess we go right down the middle.

-Go down the middle.

I really like it.

Well done.

Boom! That's one out of the way.

When I tuck in, into the raspberry, it's really tasty.

-I doubted the fact that you needed to bring two acids together.

-Yeah.

But, in fact, it worked.

I really get to enjoy both the passion fruit and the raspberry,

-for different reasons.

-OK.

-The pav doesn't work, for me.

The meringue is not baked.

I really enjoyed eating your meringue

and I disagree with my colleague over here.

And that's rare. In itself, that's rare.

That's always a good thing.

High five from Cherish and you got a compliment from Benoit.

Should be proud.

From a distance, I have to say, it looks quite striking.

-It does serve 36?

-Yes.

-I really like it. It's very serene to the eyes.

It's very posh, it's very elegant.

I get blackcurrant a little bit more than the rest

but it's actually quite pleasant.

Overall, a pretty safe, pleasant dessert.

I would like a bit more mousse in between.

I can taste the berry but I would like a little bit more.

We have actually helped ourselves with your compote.

It is so beautiful. Inject it into your cake,

then I will be in cloud nine.

-Overall, well done.

-Thank you.

Very good.

Jenny, you did not meet the brief. We asked for 36 pieces of Pavlova.

-36, yeah.

-There's only 24.

-Time management.

We've got the lovely effort with the airbrush but it's fairly basic.

After that, you've basically bought some moulds,

casted some chocolate and brushed a little bit of bronze over it.

What other skills can you bring to the table? OK. Let's give it a try.

Funnily enough, I wasn't sure about the macaron but, in this case,

-the macaron actually work.

-The mousse is nice.

The compote, the raspberry, acidic and then the macaron. It's edible.

At least the macaron is baked.

But, I think they are totally different things,

pavlova and macaron.

So does it link with what the brief asked you to do?

I don't think so.

It's good to get feedback.

I do not know where to start.

All right. The first look of your dessert, it is very untidily done.

There is no defining line.

Technically, you may need a little more development.

The meringue is crispy in the top part.

It's slightly chewy, like you would expect a pavlova to be.

Meringue itself is OK, but I dislike gelatine.

And when I touch the mousse, like that, it should not bounce.

Your mousse is bouncing for me. I'm sorry. I didn't like it.

-OK. We did get 36.

-Well done.

-You did!

-Well done!

-36!

-But it's the old bouncy mousse problem.

-Well done for the effort.

Cheers.

BLEEP.

If you're going out, which we obviously probably are,

you could have said something a bit nicer, couldn't you?

For the showpiece, 60 points are available.

Once added to yesterday's points, the team with the lowest

overall score will have to bid farewell to the competition.

-Good luck, guys.

-Good luck.

-Thank you for having me on your team.

But who is guaranteed their place in the next round?

The team in first place, for your showpiece, the judges

awarded you 37 points out of 60,

giving your combined total of 63.

Congratulations, you're through to the next round, Stefan's team.

APPLAUSE

In second place, with an overall score of 60, is Reece's team.

And joining them in the next round with 58½ points is Laurian's team.

There is only one place left so, in no particular order,

Jenny's team, the judges gave your showpiece 16½ points out of 60,

giving you a combined total of 30½ out of 100.

And Mark's team,

the judges gave your showpiece...

..23 points out of 60, giving you a combined total of 33.

So that means that it's Jenny's team that, sadly,

goes out of the competition today.

Come here, girls. You've done well. You've done yourself proud.

-You've done well. Jenny, you've been a good team captain.

-Thank you.

But there is more to learn. There is more to learn.

Yeah, we are sad, of course.

Well done for getting through.

Just got to take the positives from it and learn from it and,

yeah, maybe we'll return next year, you never know.

-You escaped that one.

-Yeah, just.

'I can't believe the result. I thought we were on our way home.'

I got that wrong. But I think we got through by the skin of our teeth.

So, we're delighted.

Buzzing. Absolutely buzzing.

It's a great feeling getting good scores from, you know,

some amazing pastry chefs, but there's some talented teams.

We've got to really up our game

if we want to stay ahead of everyone else.

It feels great. We're through, yeah. It's good. We're really happy.

Definitely for tonight there's going to be a good celebratory drink.

Well, it's a dog-eat-dog world in patisserie competitions -

if that's not a slightly strange mixture of metaphors.

So, it's Jenny's team that have lost their place in the competition

but join us next week when the remaining four become three.

Bye for now.

Next time, on Creme De La Creme...

-Droit, droit, droit!

-..the heats...hot up.

-I will judge them on how fun is the macaron.

-Stefan, it break, huh?

-Are they usable?

-I don't think it'll get past the judges.

There are many aspects of the croquembouche who can go wrong.

-This is so light!

-That's because it's empty.

-Nothing wrong...

-Ah!

-You all right?

-No.