Episode 8 The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice

The horses are bridled.

Come on.

The Tudor feast is being prepared.

I really need this to work.

Let the battle of Bake Off commence.

-On your marks...

-Get set, my lords and ladies.

-Bake!

-Bake!

Divorced.

Beheaded.

Died.

Divorced.

Beheaded.

Ooh! Pork pie.

Time for An Extra Slice.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Hello and welcome to the show.

Did we all enjoy Tudor Week?

AUDIENCE: Yes!

And as well as being Tudor Week, it was also, of course, Jane...

-SQUEAKY VOICE:

-Quarterfinals!

Sorry, Jane? The what?

Quarterfinals!

Oh, the quarterfinals, of course.

There are five bakers left in the tent.

They're like... Well, what are the five of you like, Candace?

We're like the Spice Girls before Geri left.

# I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want

# So tell me what you want, what you really, really want

# I wanna, I wanna, I wanna

# I really, really, really wanna zigazig-ah

# If you want to be my lover. #

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Jane described how it felt to be so close to getting to the final.

It's touching distance away, isn't it?

It's just over the brow of the hill.

Unfortunately, Selassie got the wrong end of the stick.

LAUGHTER

This week saw a Bake Off first,

which I'm sure you'll all have noticed,

given what a momentous occasion it was.

That's right, Paul attempted a joke.

Let's remind ourselves.

Are they wild, the guinea fowl?

They're livid, Mary.

LAUGHTER

LAUGHTER

So, Tudor Week saw our eighth baker banished from the tent.

And 'twas Benjamina.

AUDIENCE: Aw!

But the good news is, she'll be joining us a bit later on.

THEY CHEER

Now, over the past few weeks, we've thoroughly enjoyed seeing pictures

of your attempts to bake cakes that look like your dogs.

Well, we've had another one in from

twin sisters Tammy and Claudia from Worcestershire.

They've got a spaniel called Gypsy who loves to wear headscarves.

AUDIENCE: Aw!

She's gorgeous, isn't she?

Although she looks a bit apprehensive,

as she watches Tammy and Claudia trying to capture her in sponge.

Gypsy, you needn't have worried. Their hard work really paid off.

LAUGHTER

Gypsy looking a bit tipsy.

More of those later.

And I'm delighted to see

that our studio audience has been busy as well.

Prithee, show us thy bakes.

THEY CHEER

Ooh! Our panel will be tasting some of those later,

so let's meet them before they flee.

First up, it's one of Britain's

most acclaimed Michelin-starred chefs

and a man who says he goes to fast food drive-thrus in disguise.

It's Michael Caines.

THEY CHEER

Next, it's a woman who says

she loves a cold sausage smothered in Marmite.

It's Deborah Meaden.

-THEY CHEER

-It's true.

And finally, a comedian who says baking is just like cricket.

It's Miles Jupp.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So, Deborah, a cold sausage smothered in Marmite.

Sounds like a great idea.

Like, are they a treat, or are they a constant companion?

Well, how often do you have to eat them for them to be a treat?

Oh, here we go.

Because I eat them quite a lot.

For me, once a week.

-Oh, once a week?!

-Yeah.

Oh, more than a treat. More than. A lot.

Michael, has anyone ever spotted you

ordering a cheese burger and fries in disguise?

Yeah, unfortunately.

The baseball cap doesn't really disguise me much.

"All right, mate? Surprised to see you here."

I say, "Kids."

Miles, why is baking like cricket?

I like cricket, but I'm very, very bad at it.

So I like sitting in a chair and watching it.

To me, I suppose that is what Bake Off does, it feels like

I'm involved in cooking, but really, I'm in an armchair.

Now I'm pleased to report that once again, you've been busy

in your kitchens at home.

Ten-year-old Robbie would happily eat roast chicken

at every meal, so obviously, that's what he asked for on his birthday.

Here's what his mother's friend Veronica prepared for him.

Roast chicken!

With a delicious jam and butter cream filling.

Meanwhile, Pam from Birmingham baked a cake that looked

as if a chicken was attempting to escape from inside it.

LAUGHTER

MILES CACKLES

That is so bizarre, isn't it?

LAUGHTER

Helen from Stratford-upon-Avon had her work cut out

making a birthday cake for her husband, Tom.

He's an airline pilot and flies Boeing 737s like this one.

As it was his 40th birthday, Helen was determined

to recreate this exact plane as a cake,

getting every detail right and giving it a real wow factor.

LAUGHTER

I wonder if it arrived

on that chopping board after an emergency landing.

Helen tells us she used a cake mould in the shape of an aeroplane,

and who are we to doubt her?

Rather than do any actual baking,

Bev from Wiltshire decided to spend two days

making a model of the inside of the Bake Off tent,

using cardboard boxes and some novelty kitchen timers

in the shape of electric mixers.

If you're wondering what size that is,

I can tell you it's the perfect size for Bev's pet hamster Lulu.

AUDIENCE: Aw!

And also for Bev's other pet hamster, Max.

AUDIENCE: Aw!

Apparently...

APPLAUSE

..apparently, their Tudor marzipan showstoppers

were a wonder to behold.

Finally, to Jane, who loves cows

and wanted a cow cake for her 50th birthday party.

To ensure it was perfect, Jane decided not to entrust the task

to anyone else and made the cake herself. Here it is.

LAUGHTER

I do love looking at your pictures, so keep sending them in.

Details at the bottom of the screen.

Let us hence now to the tent and remind ourselves

what happened in Tudor Week.

It was the Bake Off quarterfinals, and the tent went back in time.

If we did study the Tudors at school,

I don't remember much about them.

The signature was shaped pies.

Selassie focused on his game.

Smells good.

Thank you.

While Andrew stepped up a gear.

-The bakers tied themselves in knots.

-That's not right.

And Lady Jane stumbled over the jumbles technical.

My heart sinks when they say it is a Paul technical.

First place is this one.

Candace conquered, coming first.

The showstopper was a Marchpane centrepiece,

worthy of a Tudor banquet.

Candice was crowned Star Baker for a third time.

-Benjamina.

-And Benjamina became the latest baker to leave the tent.

So, Tudor Week saw Benjamina banished,

but what a great achievement to make it to the quarterfinals.

Something Benjamina herself couldn't quite believe.

Am I here? Am I actually here?

Not any more, I'm afraid, no.

AUDIENCE: Aw!

But we are delighted, because it means we'll be seeing you in a bit.

Benjamina had opted to go down that traditional

Tudor Mexican fusion route,

filling her pies with chipotle pork and spiced black beans.

And whilst the judges loved the flavours,

Paul said her pastry was rushed and a bit ropey.

Michael, did that Tudor Mexican fusion appeal to you?

I think it probably slightly missed the brief a bit.

It's not very Tudor.

But it looked...and very tasty.

And I thought she brought a different perspective

to the challenge, but I don't think it worked, really, for her.

The whole Mexican thing, really,

that was a bit of a stretch, wasn't it?

I mean, it was pretty... When they cut into it.

It was very pretty and colourful. Bit of a stretch.

Miles, if you were about to serve up a chipotle pork pie

to Henry and Anne Boleyn, how do you think you would be feeling?

Well, I think I'd be pretty excited about meeting them both.

LAUGHTER

It's not every day, is it?

Do you think that she should have

been marked down for going to Mexico?

I think that's a bit Trump-esque, Jo.

LAUGHTER

Selassie went into the quarterfinals full of confidence.

I'm the only one in the tent now actually that hasn't been

Star Baker, so in one way,

that's an achievement, because I have got that far.

LAUGHTER

Yes, Selassie, in its own special way,

I suppose never having won Star Baker is an achievement.

Determined to make it through to the finals, Selassie made sure

he had done his historical research,

so let's have a quick game of Tudor-versity Challenge.

Selassie, when did the Tudor period start and finish?

And I need both dates.

1485-1603, I think it was?

Correct!

How would a Tudor person say "Make the biscuit dough"?

Make ye biscuit doo.

LAUGHTER

Correct! And finally, Selassie, can you show us which cooking implement

a Tudor baker would have used

to make air holes in his traditional raised game pie?

LAUGHTER

A Bic biro is correct! And no passes.

LION ROARS

Well, Selassie's game pies contained

guinea fowl, rabbit, venison and pigeon.

I actually heard that the squirrel outside the tent

was advised to go into hiding

until Selassie had safely completed his signature.

What did you think of his game pies, Deborah?

You see, I liked that, because

I think in Tudor times, they would have just added more and more.

So I thought it caught the essence.

I mean, apparently, it was a bit whiffy, was it?

At one point, I think Sue had herbs

shoved up her nose to cover the smell.

As Selassie himself put it...

The wild pigeon stinks.

Did Selassie do well to get the balance right?

Yeah, I think, as Deborah said, he got a really good combination

of flavours, which fit the Tudor period.

I think it was tasty. It looked tasty.

I particularly was impressed that he had managed to get his quail

in the centre as well.

From somebody who doesn't really cook, I was blown away by being able

to get a quail's egg in the middle of the pie.

And I'd have eaten it.

That's my measure. You know, would I want to eat it?

Do you ever struggle to get your sausage

right in the middle of the Marmite?

No, because I'm very clear. I put the Marmite on top of the sausage.

Well, you see, that is brilliant.

I know! I know! I know!

Culinary genius.

Now, Miles, you're quite posh.

Do you eat quails' eggs on a regular basis?

Yeah, they're my cinema food.

Yeah.

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

Moving on to Andrew.

When it came to his Tudor signature, he looked to Italy for inspiration.

I'm not going to confine it to the British Isles.

Quite right, Andrew. Why confine yourself to the British Isles,

just because that's where the Tudor period actually was(?)

He took inspiration from da Vinci's sketches, which show that 500 years

before they were actually invented, he had come up with designs

for the helicopter, the parachute

and a mechanised Pukka Pie rotator.

And here's what Andrew came up with.

Miles, what do you think?

I think the pies themselves look very nice.

The actual device, that's absolutely terrifying.

It has a sort of hint of the torture chamber about it.

And he wouldn't let anyone else wind it,

as if it was a device he was incapable of ensuring anyone

but himself to use it.

Andrew's marzipan centrepiece

featured jousting knights on horseback,

carrying lances made of caramel.

He had big problems with his caramel,

but eventually succeeded in producing this.

LAUGHTER

In any other hands, the judging could have descended into smuttiness

and giggles, but remember, this is Paul, Mel and Sue.

Here they are in a bit of unseen footage.

Inside is a ginger, currant and honey sponge.

And there's some caramelised nuts on the front.

We can see.

LAUGHTER

I needed to get a slightly longer jousting pole...

Shaft?

..jousting pole on those, but otherwise from that,

I think it went fairly to plan.

What did you think of Andrew's showstopper, Deborah?

I...

I thought it was a bit lumpy.

I mean, I just think he's...

When you think of the precision of the pies, they were so crisp

and sharp and then you get this slightly lumpy...

-Clumsy.

-It just wasn't fine enough.

Yeah, I think, I think he's done brilliantly up till now.

But this was a bit overambitious. I mean the horses that looked...

They look slightly charred, as if they were from one of those

circuses that sometimes fails its inspections.

LAUGHTER

He could have had a better week, yeah.

Now, there's some dispute over the origin of marzipan.

Some claim it was from a region of Spain called Maci Pan,

other that it was from a region of Sicily called Almond Paste.

Now, let's talk about Jane.

The judges loved her Tudor Rose signature pies which were

filled with spiced sausage meat, cranberries,

chicken and roughly three kilos of lard.

Why did the pie pastry require quite so much lard?

Well, there's two things.

When you add lard or fat to pastry, it shortens it,

so part of the element is to try to get a nice short crust, but at the

same time, you are filling the pie with ingredients that will leak or

give moisture and sometimes at the end, you top it up with the jelly.

And that also helps waterproof the inside as well,

so stopping the juices from leaking out to the outside.

-Lard does?

-Well, yeah.

So fat people don't really need umbrellas, then?

Right, well, that's something useful to know.

It was sadly downhill for Jane in the technical when she took

a tumble with her jumbles and landed at the bottom for the first time.

But when it came to the showstopper,

Jane's magnificent swan centrepiece saw her escape the chop.

I think, I mean that will make me sound mad,

but I find it quite hard to relax near square cakes.

I think it's just a very...

-Is that an unreasonable thing to say?

-Yeah.

OK.

-LAUGHTER

-Well, I can't argue with that.

-Why?

-Why?

-Just, circular cake, everyone gets a bit of edge, don't they?

Whereas one like this, people get bits in the middle, they don't get the bit on top, or round the side.

And she's not really thinking about these people.

-LAUGHTER

-And that is...

I'm afraid that's typical of her.

I just...

No, it really puts me on edge.

So, in Tudor Week, the court of good Queen Mary

and Lord Paul of Hollywoodshire

anointed Candace Star Baker for a third time.

She came first in the technical, making some jumbo-sized jumbles,

but her signature pies received mixed comments from the judges.

For her second batch, Candace went with that traditional Tudor filling

of ye olde macaroni cheese.

Was Candace wrong to go with macaroni cheese for her filling?

Yeah, I think it's double starching.

It's un-needed, really.

You know, that's a good example of Candace when she goes for an idea

and she doesn't really execute it well.

As soon as I saw it, I thought it doesn't even sound appetising.

You know, why put that in a pie filling, is what I was thinking?

I thought it looked bloody brilliant.

-Double starching, is that like, two lots of carbs?

-Well...

I try and do at least quadruple when I cook...

LAUGHTER

Obviously, that's not very healthy, is it?

-Deborah, does pasta in a pie do it for you?

-No!

No.

I need to rethink my life.

LAUGHTER

Tudor week was a big success and the BBC have decided to devote

an entire evening to the Tudor theme.

Coming up tonight at 8, it's...

That's followed at 9 by...

And at 10, it's more of those...

LAUGHTER

Time to take a look now at the bakes brought along by our audience.

Plenty of Tudor-inspired bakers here in the studio.

-Jenny, where are you?

-Hi.

So, you have created an Elizabethan scene based around

some well-known Bake Off faces.

-Who is playing the part of Queen Elizabeth?

-Paul.

-When we...

-LAUGHTER

..when we were thinking about the really big, historical women,

we thought who rules the tent with the iron fist and Paul was the one.

The natural choice.

I mean, is it a historical fact that Queen Elizabeth used to stick

a gartered leg out like that?

-I think...

-LAUGHTER

I think that's more Paul's weekend alter ego showing its true face.

Oh, I see. OK. Thanks, Jenny.

That is great and also quite disturbing. Thank you very much.

LAUGHTER

-Alison, where are you?

-I'm here.

You've gone a bit Tudor as well, haven't you?

-What have you got there?

-Well, at the heart of every feast

in the Tudor times was a hogshead.

So I've done a hogshead.

How did you get it to look so realistic?

-YouTube.

-Oh, OK.

I thought you were going to say "you".

Phew - you added "tube". How marvellous.

Alison, thank you so much.

That looks absolutely amazing, well done.

Anna, where are you and what have you brought along?

Well, as Mary Tudor was known as Bloody Mary,

we have made a bloody Mary flavoured cake.

Fancy that, guys?

-Is that with Worcester sauce?

-Oh, yeah!

-And alcohol?

-Oh, yes.

-The cream.

-Can you just specify the ingredients? So, vodka, presumably?

So, vodka buttercream, tomato juice, some Tabasco,

cayenne pepper, black pepper.

And, um, I see the burning of heretics is the cheery scene...

LAUGHTER ..portrayed there?

That is spicy. Yeah, the vodka, everything. It's all there.

This makes me want to take my top off and jump into a public fountain.

LAUGHTER

But then, what doesn't?

What do you think of the texture of it, Michael?

Yeah, I think too dense at the bottom, girls.

Could do better there. But the top one, that was great.

The top one is a lot lighter.

That's a nice bit of kick of spice coming through now.

-I like that. That's really good.

-That's a wake-me-up cake, isn't it?

-Yeah. Yeah.

So thank you very much, Anna. Well done.

And thanks very much to all our studio bakers.

Back now to the tent and time to meet a baker who nearly came

to blows with Paul over a babka

and who aced the lace pancakes technical.

Sadly, in Tudor Week, she was excommunicated from the tent.

Will you please welcome Benjamina?

CHEERING

CHEERING CONTINUES

-I think you've got a few fans in.

-A few.

-It's so lovely to have you with us, Benjamina.

-Thank you.

Huge congratulations for making it to the quarterfinals.

-How did that feel?

-Feels amazing.

Like, quarterfinals is a big deal.

Eight weeks in that tent.

So I'm really, really happy with how far I got.

-Now, you're a twin, aren't you?

-Yeah.

Have you secretly been taking it in turns to go in the tent?

Well, we're really un-identical, so...

-Oh, OK.

-I don't think that would have worked.

Sadly, Tudor week was your last.

Paul was quite surprised that you went with the Mexican theme

for your Tudor pies.

But you were confident that they wouldn't be out of place

at a Tudor banquet, as we can see here.

They'll look kind of Tudory and they'll just taste...different.

Were you worried when Paul questioned your Latin American flavours?

I think I knew going into it, it was a bit risky, but I wanted to be fun.

I don't like game, I don't like the traditional Tudor flavours,

so I thought, I'm not going to make something I don't like.

This is fun, it's different, let's go with it.

I noticed during the baking of your pies,

you took a bit of time out to play the oven.

I don't know if you remember that? Let's just have a look.

ORGAN MUSIC

And having taken your flavours down Mexico way,

they then went down a treat.

Whilst Paul did say that your pastry looked a bit ropey,

he thought your pork and spiced black beans flavours were stunning.

Were you pleased with how your pies turned out?

I was definitely pleased with the flavour.

I'm glad that that was spot on and that I took a risk

and it worked off in that sense.

The pastry, yeah, I ran out of time.

Time wasn't with me, so that was a bit rushed and it showed.

How were you feeling going into the Marchpane centrepiece showstopper?

I knew that I'd had a rough first two challenges,

so I knew I had to pull it out of the bag.

But I was a bit nervous because marzipan is not something I like at all.

So I knew it was going to be a tough one.

-I wasn't comfortable with it.

-I'm with you. Very much so.

And you went for a Tudor garden design, featuring a marzipan maze.

Do you have any regrets at all with that bake?

Would you have done anything differently?

I think I would have done it a bit bigger,

so I had more room for a proper maze.

That would have been a good idea.

Let's talk about Batter Week, when you won Star Baker.

-Did that feel good?

-Yeah, that was great!

I think I went in thinking I want at least one Star Baker while I'm here.

So when I got it in week four, it was great.

It was a great feeling.

A lot of the other bakers actually really struggled,

but your tropical churros stunned the judges.

Let's just remind ourselves.

-They are beautiful.

-Thank you.

Absolutely beautiful.

Crispy, they look good.

Great frying.

Well done, you've cracked it.

Thank you!

Were you feeling confident about churros?

Had you practised them a lot at home?

I had done quite a few practices, but funnily enough,

that was the best they had ever come out!

They had never come out like that at home.

So it was a bit of an, "Oh, OK! We'll go with that."

Now, in Pastry Week,

you blew Paul Bollywood's mind by introducing him to a flavour combination

so unusual and so unorthodox, he'd never in all his years

experienced or tasted anything like it.

It's mad.

-Mad good?

-I do like it.

I've just never had anything like it before.

It's bizarre.

What were those magical flavours that

had such an earth-shattering effect on the palate of Paul Hollywood?

It was just peanut butter and banana! That was it.

LAUGHTER

Were you surprised by his reaction?

Yeah, I thought that was a pretty standard combination.

But maybe not.

So, one bake which didn't go to plan

was your chocolate, tahini and almond babka.

But was it a babka?

Let's take a look.

That's a couronne.

-No, it's a babka!

-It's a couronne.

-It's a babka.

-It's a couronne.

-It's a babka.

-It's a couronne.

-It's a babka...

-It's a couronne...

It's a babka...

Well, whatever it's called, I bet it tasted really nice.

Let's have a look.

Is that wallpaper paste?

JO: Oh!

-What went wrong with the bake?

-It came out underdone.

I didn't have enough time to prove it and then bake it.

So it was really underdone.

Well, here on An Extra Slice, we do give you the opportunity

to have another go at a bake that didn't quite go to plan in the tent.

-So, what have you brought with you?

-I've brought my babka.

Hooray!

So, let's...

Oh, that looks amazing.

OK, guys.

Is anything else different about it?

I put a lot less chocolate in,

because I think Paul was right about it weighing it down.

So I put less.

It's all in the prove. You've done it really well.

You've got good laminated dough here.

It's almost like a brioche, texture and flavour should be.

-Shame you didn't produce that on that day.

-Yeah.

-Because you've really knocked it out of the park. It's lovely.

-Thanks.

The tahini is... Because it's only just there, but it's there.

Lovely.

-Really lovely. Well done.

-It is really yummy.

-Thank you.

Now, we're so sorry to see you go.

We do love a baker that stands up to Paul, oh, yes, we do.

And so, we've made you one of our special cakes.

I think I've got time to do this.

Thank you very much, Miles.

-Who's going to do the honours?

-Right, there we go.

Aw...

APPLAUSE

That's you with your perfect lace pancakes

and your pina colada roulade and your showstopping churros.

So will you please give Benjamina a Great British send-off, everyone?

CHEERING

Are you all right to take that? Thanks ever so much.

CHEERING

That's it for this week. A big thank you to Benjamina,

to all of our studio bakers

and to our celebrity panel, Michael Caines...

CHEERING

Deborah Meaden... CHEERING

And Miles Jupp!

CHEERING

Next week, it's the semifinals and the bakers take on patisserie.

See you at 9:30!