Episode 1 The Great British Bake Off

Twas the night before Christmas...

No flavour.

Soggy bottom.

It's overworked. Norman's lavender meringue!

Pipe down, Paul, we're trying to sleep.

-BOTH:

-Welcome to The Great Christmas Bake Off.

Mary's whisking up a fatless sponge and Paul is toasting his little

cobnuts by the fire and we've got four bakers from Bake Off past,

willing and ready to take on the judges one more time.

Three Christmas challenges, four Christmas bakers,

-but who, I hear you ask?

-Who?

-Who?

-The Who?

-Not The Who! Not them.

All will be revealed.

-Don't reveal all because it's a family show.

-Really?

-Tops on.

-(OK.)

Nothing says Christmas like a good old-fashioned get-together,

and we've planned a very special reunion for our

extended Bake Off family.

Joining us for our festive frivolities are Norman, Cathryn,

-Mary-Anne and Ali.

-Done it.

First to don her Christmas pinny is 2012 semifinalist, Cathryn.

It's quite daunting, seeing the tent again.

Baking in the tent may have been nerve-racking...

-Oh, look!

-Fridge.

-Oh, Lord, what am I going to do?

-Fridge. Fridge and pray, fridge and pray.

-Oh, my giddy aunt!

..but she never shied away from trying a new technique.

Hold it by the end and flick it.

This is horrible.

So far that you can...

It's got green carpet in it.

I'm not serving Mary Berry green carpet.

Bake Off ranks as number one experience.

Obviously my children, don't get... Are not included in this,

but as an experience, it's my number one.

So this opportunity is like a Christmas dream come true!

Ali, from 2013, liked to bake with exotic ingredients...

The rose flavour is coming through quite strongly.

And, actually, I like that.

He's going to say it's too strong for him, I bet.

-I love it.

-..but he had his fair share of misfortunes...

Please, don't break. Please, don't break. You please, don't break.

..when it came to presentation.

Oh!

Unfortunately, I'm more known for my disasters than my triumphs, but

hopefully I'm going to change that today.

But I'm here to have fun.

No, I'm here to win. I'm here to win!

Also determined to triumph is former finalist, Mary-Anne.

It's fantastic to be back in the tent, a little bit surreal as well.

Back in 2011, our straight-talking home baker was best known for her

informal yet tasty bakes.

-The mousse is very good.

-I think you've done a really good job.

But she'll for ever be remembered for the time she accidentally piped

her daughter's name on her Sachertorte.

What you don't want to do, is have a moment where you misspell,

-that's what you don't want.

-Yeah. Oh!

You... You wrote Sacha!

Who's the baker to beat? Well, me, of course, isn't it?

Last, but not least, is retired naval officer from 2014, Norman,

who liked his flavours simple.

These might be at the bottom of the list as far as taste is concerned,

but I like them.

His attempt at being adventurous backfired when he went

maverick with an Italian meringue.

-What's in that egg white?

-Lavender.

Lavender?

I did have a bottle of lavender in the cupboard at home.

It's now in the bin. To be chosen to come back here is quite an honour.

It's a nice Christmas present, really.

-Oh, bakers!

-Hello.

-Welcome to the Christmas Bake Off.

It's really lovely to have you in the tent. Great to see you.

Now, for your first Christmas Signature Challenge,

Mary and Paul would love you to make edible tree decorations.

Now, they'd like you to make two batches, please.

12 in each batch.

They should be uniform and identical across each batch and they should be

beautifully and festively iced.

-Well decorated, well baked and well hung.

-Always.

You've got two hours on this challenge.

-On your marks...

-Get set and bake!

-Bake.

I am over the moon to be here, but I forgot just quite how it makes you

feel, which is terrified.

For months afterwards I was like, panic,

whenever I would hear a timer go off, saying,

"What's in the oven? What am I burning?"

Hoping it all goes well.

My wife at home says that I'm going to do better this time

than I did the last time.

As nervous as I may be, I'm just trying to lap up the fact that

I'm behind this bench again.

I'm really thrilled to see our bakers back.

Will they do better?

Did they go out too early?

We'll have to wait and see.

Christmas is the ideal time to show off what you can bake.

I want to see a biscuit that doesn't soften.

You don't want a cookie. For me, it has to be a snap.

They've got to be very attractive, highly decorated.

Most important, the taste - that must really woo us.

Will I be harsh with the judging?

Bah! Humbug!

The bakers can make whichever type of biscuit they want.

Norman is sticking to his Scottish roots.

This is a shortbread which I'm about to add some whisky flavour to.

You don't want too much whisky in it.

Nothing worse than too much whisky, is there?

So I'm just creaming my butter. I've got my rose water in there.

I've got some vanilla paste and my fennel.

If you can't smell it, you won't be able to taste it, so I need to make

sure that the rose comes through.

-Hello, Ali.

-Hi, guys.

Welcome back to the tent.

Now, tell us about your two Christmas tree biscuits, then.

So, I'm doing a rose and fennel biscuit.

-Oh, nice.

-That's in the shape of a paisley and it's got some henna

-designs on there.

-But fennel, I don't want it to overpower the rose.

You know, they're both very strong.

Both of Ali's biscuits have been inspired by Christmas celebrations

from around the world.

His paisley shaped biscuit is a nod to Christmas in India and his bauble

shaped biscuit pays tribute to Christmas in the Middle East.

It'll be filled with dates and glazed with melted sweets.

So the outside will be crisp and the middle will be sort of soft?

Kind of gooey and tacky, but in a good way.

-It's going to be delicious.

-I'm looking forward to this one, mate.

-So am I.

-Good luck.

-Cheers, mate.

-Thank you.

So I've got two bowls on the go.

This is the bowl for my holly biscuits,

this is the bowl for my chocolate biscuits.

Definitely not to be confused.

Two lots of biscuits in two hours.

Fully decorated, is quite a challenge.

-Morning.

-Good morning.

-Mary-Anne.

Good morning, Mary-Anne. Gosh, it seems ages. Series Two.

-Series Two, back in the mists of time.

-It's five years ago!

-Which flavour is this?

-This is orange.

I think if there's one flavour

that is key to the festive season, it's citrus.

Mary-Anne is using the zest of two oranges to flavour her

Christmas wreath-shaped biscuits.

Christmas pudding provides the inspiration for her pecan

praline biscuits which she's sprinkling with chocolate chips to

represent the currants.

So you're happy with icing and decoration?

I've really tried to emphasise the decoration,

which wasn't really my strong point last time round.

It was all a bit rustic.

No, no, no, you used to say, "I don't do dainty!"

-Do you remember that?

-So I'm making them small so, hopefully,

even I can't make them too ham-fisted.

-I can't wait to taste them.

-OK, thank you very much, Mary-Anne.

-OK.

-Thank you.

-See you later.

Paul and Mary have seen hundreds of biscuits

being made in the tent, some more successfully than others.

I think the last time I made biscuits was my farthing biscuits

which Paul appeared to be very pleased with.

I like that biscuit a lot. It's very professional.

I think the recipe, the way you've approached it...

You could sell those tomorrow.

I really believe you could sell them tomorrow.

So, let's hope he shakes my hand again today.

I made some swirly Viennese whirls with a little bit of red

colouring through.

I'd never have thought of putting colouring in,

just a swirl. So pretty.

But here we are five years on and people have really upped their game

in the Bake Off so, erm, I don't think that would cut it any more!

I didn't get to biscuit week.

It was the week after I got booted out, so I have a little bit of

something to prove.

On biscuit week, I thought it was a good idea to try and make

Buckingham Palace out of gingerbread.

I don't think the Queen would like this very much.

I think she'd be a bit naffed off with me if she saw this.

It was dreadful. So, this time, my biscuits need to be not dreadful.

-Hello.

-Hello. Hi, how are you? Happy Christmas.

-Happy Christmas.

-Happy Christmas.

-Cathryn, if I remember rightly,

you left us at the end of biscuit week.

-I did.

-Don't go straight into the negative, Mary!

-Rub it in, Mary.

Just straight in for the kill.

But she's done so much practising since, haven't you?

I have done a lot of practice.

Hoping to overcome her baking demons,

Cathryn has perfected her peppermint candy canes with added sugar

crystals for extra crunch.

Her holly leaf biscuit will be flavoured with

clementine, cranberry and rosemary.

I've tested the recipe for, hopefully,

a dough that holds its shape...

-Yes.

-..and then is really nice and crisp, and stays crisp, as well.

-So...

-That's the important part,

because in order to hang, they've got to be really firm.

-Yes.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-See you, Cathryn.

-Nice to see you.

Right, we're going to cut out some biscuits now.

I just freestyled a paisley design on some acetate.

It was handmade in the shed.

I've gone for this shape that I'm using here because it's quite a

simple shape and it was easy to make.

The second one I did is rather more complex.

-All right, Norman?

-Hi, folks, how are we?

Right, tell us about your two Christmas decorations, then.

My first one is my Christmas dufrickies.

-Sorry?

-Your what?

-Christmas dufrickies.

-Dufrickies.

-That's one, yeah.

But what is it? Is it an animal or bird?

It's a sort of name that you use for something you don't have a name for.

-Oh, I thingamajig!

-Thingamajig.

Whatchamacallit.

To avoid offending Paul's taste buds with any more lavender, Norman is

playing it safe this time by using classic Christmas flavours,

including a customary Scottish tipple from his local distillery.

This is a whisky biscuit?

Very mild whisky flavour.

A trained palate would detect the whisky.

Sorry, Norman, what are these called again?

Whisky flavour shortbread ding-dangs.

-Ding-dangs.

-What's a ding-dang, Norman?

If you've used the name dufrickie for something else,

it's the second name you can use.

It's a secondary dufrickie, becomes a ding-dang?

-A whatsit.

-A whatsit, yeah.

-Thank you very much, Norman.

-OK, thanks.

They're going to go in the oven for about 15½ minutes.

Is my oven on?

Oh! I didn't press play.

Oh!

Fancy oven and there's a play button, like with a DVD player,

press play and I didn't press play, so the oven isn't hot.

A little Christmas miracle, that's what we need.

While Cathryn waits for her oven to heat, the bakers all turn

their attention to their other biscuit dough.

My second batch of biscuits are orange and cinnamon,

which is very Christmassy.

Mixed spice which is even more Christmassy and the real exotic

touch, I've got a wee grating of nutmeg in them as well.

These are going to be Christmas puddings.

As well as the nuts, I've also got a little bit of Florentine biscuit

just to give a little bit extra texture.

So these are freeze-dried cranberries and they've got the same

lovely flavour as cranberry, but because they're dry,

they stop it from being, you know, soggy.

I don't want to commit to it but, yes, crisp biscuits is the plan.

I've got my biscuit mixture.

I've flattened it and I'm filling it with the date mixture.

Well, I think I'm the only one who's doing filled biscuits,

which could be a benefit, but it could work against me because

why is everyone else not doing a filled biscuit?

Yes, happy with those.

They don't all look the same, but I'm going to work some wonders with

the decoration and see if I can't weave some magic.

They're looking good.

You hope they're going to be nice and crispy because that's the first

thing Mary and Paul will check. Is this biscuit crispy?

If it's not, you've failed.

20 minutes.

TENSE MUSIC PLAYS

OK, bakers, you've got one hour to make your edible tree decorations

just how good King Wenceslas likes them -

deep and crisp and even.

They look OK. Yep.

The holly leaves have kind of puffed up a bit, which...

Oh!

I know what I've done.

I added bicarb, which I shouldn't have done.

Bicarb makes them rise, which I don't want.

-Are you OK, Cathryn?

-No.

I'm not having fun now.

It doesn't feel like Christmas any more.

With 24 biscuits to ice with two different designs,

time is of the essence.

This is the icing I'm making up for the biscuits.

I'll mix up a batch of white and then I'll put some in bowls

and add some green and red colouring.

I'm going to microwave the white chocolate to melt it.

I mean one's not going to hurt, is it?

I mean, who counts the decorations on a tree?

Who's going to care? It's Christmas, we've got...

-How are you doing, Mary-Anne?

-I'm... Yes.

-Come on, come on.

Christmassy hug, I've missed you. Come on, pop your thermometer down.

You and your distraction things...

-Pop your thermometer down...

-..Perkins.

Pop your thermometer down.

You're the reason I spelt that name wrong in the final.

No, come on, you can't blame me.

It's so nice to see you!

Red and green. I think red and green

shouts Christmas at you, doesn't it?

I'm going for, like, a tie-dye effect.

You get a really good look and it doesn't take half an hour.

I might have to decorate at a slightly faster pace than I would

normally choose, but, you know, it's Bake Off!

They like it to be a bit lively.

-Er...

-Intense.

-Remember what I do with this one.

It's got to look different from those, hasn't it?

Red, green, red, I think. I think it was this way.

So, Norman, you're doing basically the same design,

-but just you've swapped the red and the green around?

-Yeah.

-OK. Good.

-It will look different.

It'll look different, OK.

How will it look different?

Ah! So you're feathering in a diamond.

And then... Oh, that's very good!

That one. Slightly different.

Still got my boiled sweets to melt.

So this is the glaze for the baubles,

which should add a real good crunch to the biscuit.

These are...barberries,

they're a bit like cranberries, but in miniature,

they've got a nice, tart taste and they're going to be my red holly

berries on the Christmas pudding.

OK, I need to hurry up.

This is really refined stuff for me.

-If in doubt, chuck a bit of glitter at it.

-OK.

-Where

-are your ribbons?

-Let me start threading.

I've just got to strew my nuts.

OK, bakers, one minute on your Christmas bakes.

Oh!

I need a glass of Christmas spirit, has anybody got any?

It's tense when you're against the clock!

The icing is not dripping, this is the main thing, it's dry.

Look, they're dripping. They're not dry enough to hang.

My heart's racing.

I've just got one, two, three, four, five.

I've got one more to thread, one more.

It's you, me and the finish line, Cathryn.

-Thread, Cathryn, thread.

-Just hold on a second, please.

-OK, bakers...

-Ah!

-Sorry.

-Sorry, Cathryn, sorry.

Sorry to have... It's over.

It's done. It's done, it's all right.

Signature Challenge is over.

Move your Christmas bakes to the ends of your benches, please.

THUNDER RUMBLES

Mary and Paul are expecting to see 24 festively iced biscuits with

Christmassy flavours and the perfect crunch.

Absolutely fantastic.

Something totally different.

I just can't wait to get tucked in, really.

-Right.

-Is it hammer time?

-It's hammer time.

-Up to you.

Oh, happiness.

-It's like a toffee apple.

-Yes.

Inside with the date and with the shortbread,

I've never seen anything like it before,

never tried anything like it and I think it's a big win.

And these are fennel and rose?

Yeah, and you should get an aromatic rose at the back.

That is delicious.

Honestly, wow, the fennel is coming through wonderfully.

Not only do they look stunning, they taste beautiful.

-Thanks.

-Well done. Thanks, Ali.

-Oh, oh!

-Oh, the Hollywood handshake!

-My first one!

-Easy!

So, Norman, I think when you were asked for two different biscuits,

it would've been nice to do two different designs.

I think we'll try the whisky one first because that could be the most

-delicate one, I think.

-Yeah, it is a delicate flavour.

It's very crumbly.

The whole idea of a biscuit on a tree is that it stays crisp over Christmas.

I don't think that would.

The shortbread is delicious, absolutely...

I can't taste the whisky. OK, we'll move onto the next one.

A nice break.

Not getting too much nutmeg, a little bit of cinnamon,

but it's mixed spice is the key flavour coming through on that one.

What I would've done is play with the icing,

so maybe the zest of a lemon, zest of a lime,

what that would've done is give you another element,

that would've made it exotic, Norman.

What, are you saying he's the zest of a lime away from being exotic?

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

These are very jolly.

I think they look fun.

Oh!

Minty chocolate.

Very nice flavour.

Just the right thickness.

The balance of the icing and the biscuit is right.

You've got that lovely warmth of mint and chocolate together,

that works extremely well.

And the texture is good, it's a great biscuit.

-Thank you.

-Now, this is the clementine one, you said, and the rosemary.

Clementine, cranberry and rosemary, yeah.

The one thing that's wrong with this, is that they're too soft.

Oh, they're a very nice flavour, though.

So often the rosemary overpowers it,

but the rosemary and the clementine, they work.

-Thank you.

-I can't get the clementine.

-I think the rosemary is dominating too much for me.

-Oh.

-That's a shame.

-I think your better one is the chocolate mint, though.

-OK.

-I think you did well with that one.

-That's a stunning flavour.

Thank you.

You've gone dainty.

-Both of them look so pretty, particularly the wreaths.

-Thank you.

They look most exciting.

These look a bit more robust, but, again, look good.

Right.

You always were good on your flavours and you haven't let us down.

The praline comes through there, the chocolate works really well.

I'd have them and a cup of tea any day of the week!

-Yes.

-OK, I love the look of these, they look great.

And definitely Christmassy, that's the firmness that I like.

-Oh!

-They taste divine, don't they?

-They really do!

-Oh, good.

-Oh, I could eat about six of these.

The intensity of the orange inside there.

-Put your hand out.

-It's absolutely stunning.

-Put your hand out.

-Spot-on.

-Yay!

-Well done, Mary-Anne.

-Thank you.

They're delicious, absolutely delicious.

I'm never going to wash!

-Thank you, Mary.

-So good.

Never had a Mary handshake or a Paul handshake before, it's...

It means quite a lot, actually. I'm getting all emotional!

I waited three years for a hallowed handshake and I got it.

I'm chuffed. I'm chuffed to pieces.

I'm very happy that they got a Hollywood handshake, so,

maybe he's keeping my one for tomorrow!

We shall keep our fingers crossed.

It was definitely nice to get some better biscuit comments, but I think

I've decided I just don't really like biscuits.

For every baker that's ever entered the tent,

the most feared challenge is always the technical.

Waiting for our Christmas bakers is a mystery gift,

designed to test their baking know-how.

So, bakers, it's a Mary Christmas so it's also a Mary technical.

Excellent. Now, Mary and Paul,

any advice for the gang?

Think festive and be creative.

Festive and creative - now, off you go,

go and play Christmas sardines or something.

Tatty bye. Now, Paul and Mary would like you to make

a choux wreath.

36 tight, delicious choux buns in a circle,

which we may well use as a little truss for Paul when we're finished.

Excellent. The buns should be generously filled with festive

spiced creme patisserie and they should be gorgeous and beautiful

enough to lay at the centrepiece

of Mary Berry's groaning Christmas buffet.

You've got two hours on this challenge, open that box.

-BOTH:

-On your marks, get set, bake.

Oh, grim.

Yeah, I definitly don't want to play.

-I don't want to play.

-I'm not good with choux!

I don't do too badly in technicals.

When I get crazy ideas that I'm going to be really creative,

that's when it all goes pear-shaped.

I haven't done very well in technicals in the past.

There's always a first time to excel.

So, Mary, why have you chosen

a choux wreath for our returning bakers?

Because I wanted to test them on their creativity

and their techniques.

They've got to bake those buns beautifully,

they've got to be dried out, then they have to fill each choux

bun with a rich creme patisserie and they've got to make a caramel in

order to stick them together.

Making the choux, it's fairly straightforward,

but when you add all those elements together,

then it becomes a little bit of a tricky challenge.

Right, you know, I think we need to try some.

Mmm, that creme pat's got all those warming spices in there,

which makes it taste quite Christmassy, actually.

I'd have this Christmas Day evening, around seven o'clock.

It would go well.

The instructions just say, "make 36 choux buns".

But in two hours, 36 choux buns,

caramel, chocolate decorations,

creme pat, it's going to be tight.

I'm just melting the butter...

..in boiling water.

And then I'll put in the flour.

You want to beat it in really quickly and then you put it back

onto the heat to sort of cook off the flour.

I'm cooling it down, cos if I add the eggs now, they're going to cook.

Why's he doing that? He's got choux pastry in the KitchenAid.

Oh, so has Mary-Anne!

I'm going hand whisk, it's what I normally do.

Looking good.

Oh, now I know why, it was to use the freestanding mixer,

because there's too much mixture to use the hand whisk!

To know if your consistency is right of the choux pastry, I believe when

you lift up the spoon, it should gently plop

and I think that's what's happening.

There's ploppage going on.

I'm happy with that.

I'm just dabbing down the sticky up bits because if I don't, then

they will burn before the rest of the choux is cooked.

If you add a little bit of water to your oven, the steam helps it rise.

At the end of the day, they're competition,

so got to keep my tricks to myself.

It doesn't give a time on how long to bake.

I reckon I'm going to put them in for, probably, 15 minutes.

I'd rather look at them too early than too late.

It's a creme patisserie.

It's got spices in it, which I've never had before,

but we'll give it a go.

I had whisked the egg yolks with the cornflour,

heated the milk and sugar,

and now it's back on the heat until it thickens up.

Now the custard is thickening up there, I think I'm just going to

check on my what's-her-names.

Oh, they are looking fantastic!

Norman's choux buns are massive compared to mine. Yep.

Definitely bigger.

I'll just give them five more minutes.

It's almost like a game of chicken.

You have to leave it as long as you can and hopefully you don't burn

them, and hopefully they puff up into really nice hollow buns.

Just my buns aren't doing anything.

They should be...

And they're just...

Rise.

Oh, no, we're all right.

Do you know what it is?

My oven is really dirty and you can't see in the door, so I never

really know what's going in there until I open it.

This one, sparkling, you can see absolutely everything.

Maybe I'm just overanalysing.

Bakers, I hate to break up your hot choux shuffle,

you've got one hour left, just one hour.

I'm not thrilled with the shape, but they've risen and they're...chouxy.

So they've got a lot of steam inside, so poke a hole in the bottom

and then the steam can get out

and your choux buns will be nice and crisp.

And then I'm going to pop them back in the oven to dry out.

Nothing worse than a wet choux bun.

Pipe 12 chocolate snowflake decorations.

Hmm, too small?

Maybe. Let's do it slightly bigger.

Is it a spider's web, Norman?

Looks more like a spider's web, yeah.

That's a bit spider's webby.

Far be it for me to...

You see, and, of course, it's well known

that no two snowflakes are the same.

Ah, that's good! You're mesmerising me with your snowflakes, Norman.

You know, the good thing about choux pastry is it's OK to overdo it

a little bit, only because when you fill it, it's going to go a little

bit soft anyway, but if you under bake it,

it's going to collapse and that's a disaster.

OK, bakers, YULE be pleased to hear you've got half an hour on this

bake, half an hour left.

The choux buns are out. The colour's just right.

I think Norman's about to fill.

I see him as the pace setter,

so he's setting the pace and I make sure I keep up with the pace.

Half an hour and the buns aren't filled, the caramel's not made.

I want to make sure each one has got loads in it.

No-one wants a half full choux bun, do they?

Do you want me to grab a ball and you just nozzle it?

Yes, please.

-Thank you.

-Stab, fill.

That's gone right through. That went through to my hand!

Oh, no, I'm so sorry! Did I actually stab you?

It's... I've got stigmata, yeah, OK.

Now, get it into a wreath, get it into a wreath.

The caramel, you can burn it by over-boiling it.

I will be careful not to do that.

So...

Assemble a two-tier choux wreath.

This has got me beat.

I've no idea what a two-tier wreath looks like.

Choux buns in a circle is my idea of a wreath.

I'm hoping this is what they want.

Should a wreath have a bit in the centre?

I wonder.

Stop looking at Norman's wreath.

I can't help it. I'll focus on my own.

Come on, focus on this!

Ali's wreath, Ali's wreath, not Norman's wreath.

Stop looking at Mary-Anne's wreath!

You said not to look at Norman's, you didn't say Mary-Anne.

Don't look at Mary-Anne's either, don't look at any of the wreaths.

-Norman hasn't...

-Now I'm looking at Norman's wreath!

He hasn't stuck his together.

Ow! Note to self, don't put finger in caramel.

Ow!

Ah! It's fine.

Additional glue.

It says, "Drizzle the wreath with some of the chocolate ganache."

Normally I'd pour it, but because it says drizzle, I'm assuming

they're looking for lines.

Oh, delicacies go all the way out the window.

I can't even see it in the rear-view mirror now.

It's not going to win any prizes in the good-looks stakes.

I'm not doing amazingly for time.

Timekeeping is definitely not a strength.

OK, bakers, one minute to go.

MUSIC PLAYS

Thingy is very stringy.

Oh, no!

MUSIC PLAYS

It's perfect.

OK, bakers, your time is up.

Bring them up to the table, put them behind your photo.

Time to call in the Holly and the Berry, here they come.

Judges, step forward, please.

Well, we asked you to be festive

and creative and they're different sizes,

they're different interpretations, but they look good.

Right, shall we start from this one, then, Mary?

I think they look most attractive and the balance between the size of

the choux buns and the size of the snowflakes, it's just about right, isn't it?

It does. They look pretty good, them, actually, don't they?

Let's have a taste.

Oh, nicely filled.

Lovely crisp outside to the choux bun.

Creme pat's lovely in there. It's well mixed, it's well made.

Very nice indeed.

Yeah, I like that one, well done. Right, moving on.

Well, we've got masses of chocolate all over it,

a little bit too much, I think.

There is a form of snowflake on the top, quite small, petite,

but quite uniform.

Again, well filled with the creme patisserie.

Could have done with a little bit longer in the oven.

A little bit more drying out on this one.

-Creme patisserie is good.

-The creme pat is good.

Now, I like the colour on these, these look good, quite bold.

Snowflakes, there's a bit of individuality between them.

-That's a web.

-That's a web, well...

-Yeah.

Caramel looks, actually,

the caramel looks quite dark, doesn't it?

But it is sticking them all together, which matters.

I think the chocolate is odd, it's just a line round the top.

Although they're the right colour, they're not quite crisp,

they just needed a little bit more drying out.

And the caramel is definitely burnt.

Moving on to the last one,

we have a swimming pool of chocolate in the middle.

The choux buns are a good colour,

but I'm just going to listen to...

Yeah, they sound crisp, but let's just wait till we get into them.

The actual choux buns themselves

needed drying out a little bit more.

They're soft. It's rather strange that we've got all that chocolate in

the middle and we've still got a full jug of chocolate here.

I think someone's been taking chocolate from all the other

-benches, Mary.

-Something like that.

Mary and Paul must now decide which choux wreath is most worthy of

gracing Mary's Christmas buffet.

In fourth place is this one.

-Whose is this? Norman.

-Right, yeah.

Right, the snowflakes are not really snowflakes,

the chocolate needed to really go all over it

and you have burnt the caramel.

-OK.

-And in third place...

We've got a great pool of chocolate in the middle and the choux buns

needed drying out a little more.

In second place is this one.

Pretty good. I do like the snowflakes on there

and, actually, I probably would've given the choux buns a little bit

longer, but the flavour was good.

And in first place is this one.

-Yay, well done, Ali.

-Well done, Ali.

The actual choux buns were crisp, beautifully filled.

-A delightful finish. Well done.

-Thank you.

What's going on, because I don't know what's going on?!

I mean, did I get a hallowed handshake for my signature and I

came first in my technical?

I mean... I mean, if this isn't a welcome back,

-I don't know what is!

-I was a bit overenthusiastic with my drizzling.

At the end, time running a bit short,

finesse tends to go out of the window.

Fourth's not too... It doesn't sound too bad, does it?

Coming away with the second makes me really excited and really positive

for tomorrow, so less faff, more action.

It's the second day of Christmas and just one challenge remains before

Mary and Paul decide who will be the winner of

The Great Christmas Bake Off.

Paul, Mary, how wonderful to have the awesome foursome back in the tent.

They're quite competitive. I know this is the Christmas Bake Off.

They all want it, I sense.

The one that's surprising me is Ali because he went out quite early.

The style that he did on the signature with those baubles was incredible,

and then on the technical, he smashed it out the park again.

As you say, he's improved so hugely.

And also Mary-Anne's come back and she's promised to go a little bit

-more dainty.

-She's all about flavour.

I think between the four of them coming in,

I would have said Mary-Anne was one of the strongest.

Cathryn wears her heart on her sleeve when she bakes.

Technical she was second, she's got great presentation most of the time.

I'd liked to have seen more finesse with the biscuit.

-Yeah.

-Let's talk about Norman.

When you're asked to give two different types of biscuit, you

-don't finish them in the same way.

-They were the same, let's be honest.

-They were the same.

-They were the same.

Who do you think is going to be the winner of

The Great Christmas Bake Off then, today?

It seems to be Ali who's in, very much, a strong position.

Well, Ali's right up there,

but Mary-Anne and Cathryn could make it too.

Unless there's a shortbread challenge,

in which case it's Norman.

Now, you and I have got to go and feed Prancer.

-Oh, yes.

-It's a euphemism.

Morning, bakers. Now, it's Christmas Showstopper day.

To me, a Christmas Showstopper is normally when my great aunt Hilda

gets the tassels out after the Queen's Speech,

but for your Christmas Showstopper, Mary and Paul, please,

would love you to make a Christmas scene cake.

Yes, now that can be a classic festive scene or a Christmas memory.

You can render it in any cake you like, minimum three tiers,

always "tiers" at Christmas...

-Always.

-..and go all out for the decoration.

OK, bakers, you've got four hours on the Christmassy clock.

-On your marks...

-Get set...

-BOTH:

-Bake!

I'm feeling good. Definitely happiest when I'm baking a cake,

it's my favourite thing to do.

I don't make cakes as a rule, it's mainly bread and pies.

I'm a bread and pie man, really.

Stacked tiers are not really my thing, so it might be ambitious,

but, I think, go big or go home.

This really is a cracking challenge.

A three-tier cake, minimum of three tiers,

they can do exactly what they like,

different flavours of cake,

different fillings,

but the actual finish must be superb

and tell their story of Christmas,

whatever they've chosen.

I would like to see their cakes baked well without being burnt.

Once you cut into it and see the texture, then it's the taste.

You want a cake to be moist if it's a sponge, or full of fruit if it's a

fruitcake, and it's got to look amazing.

Not only is it Christmas, it's The Christmas Bake Off.

So I'm doing three tiers. Each tier of mine is different flavoured.

It means I'm a little bit stretched for time, but if I plan it right,

I think I'll be able to get it done.

I am making the same cake for all three cakes which,

when I was thinking about it at home,

to me, seemed like a good idea,

but if you don't like that one cake, you don't like the whole cake.

-Hello, Norman.

-Morning, folks, how are we doing?

Norman, tell us all about your Christmas-themed cake.

The bottom layer is a square fatless sponge cake.

I'm going to drizzle it with raspberry liqueur.

There are three further layers on it.

-The bottom one will be flavoured with the orange liqueur.

-Yep.

The second layer will be flavoured with the spiced rum.

And the top one, I kept the best one till last,

will be flavoured with whisky and ginger.

Norman is hitting the bottle again for his Festive Showstopper,

drizzling each of his sponges with boozy syrup infused with orange zest.

He's the only baker to make yeasted savarin cakes which will form the

top part of his four-tier cake tower.

Gosh, it's going to be quite a tall beast, isn't it?

-It's going to be big, isn't it?

-It's going to be big.

It's the size of a small child.

I mean, it's an intimidating, marvellous beast, this one.

-Good luck, Norman.

-Hopefully we've enough time to do it, but...

We shall see.

I've created a recipe for a fruitcake and it's kind of like a

cross between Christmas cake and a Christmas pudding,

so it's really fruity, but it's kind of got that squidgyness

of like a Christmas pudding.

-Good morning, Cathryn.

-Morning!

Right, tell us all about your Christmas cakes.

So I asked my children what are their favourite things about

Christmas and it's Christmas Eve and we go to church and then we go to

the pub and then we go home and put on matching pyjamas and we go round,

we drive round and see the best houses with the best Christmas lights.

Oh, yes! It's a very exciting thing to do, actually.

-Yeah!

-Years ago, before the M4, we used to go from London to Bath...

-Is that before roads, Mary?

-Before the M4?

-Before roads?

-Yes, before the M4, on the A4...

-Horse and carriage?

-Oh, shut up!

-..and count all the Christmas trees.

-With an abacus.

Yeah, that's what we do.

As a tribute to her family's favourite yuletide pastime,

Cathryn is decorating her cake with a fondant church,

a pub and even Father Christmas on his sleigh.

What are these? These are the mixes?

It is. It's got treacle, black treacle, golden syrup,

and it's about to have the mixed fruit which I have had soaking in a

-bit of sherry.

-Lovely. OK. Good luck with that.

-I know, I need to get going. Thanks.

-Thank you, Cathryn.

I'm making a joconde sponge because I can bake those in thin layers and

then assemble them into a cake.

I recycled it a lot in The Bake Off five years ago.

It's easily adaptable as well as being quick to bake.

Mary-Anne's using flavours inspired by festive holidays in the Netherlands.

She's pairing chocolate and orange for her bottom tier.

Her middle tier combines lemon curd and ginger spice cake,

and her top tier will be sandwiched with speculaas cream.

Speculaas is a spice mix from the Netherlands.

By husband's Dutch, so I'm baking some speculaas biscuit crumb and I'm

going to mix the crumb in with the cream.

It's the Dutch version of gingerbread, really.

And they have it on 6th December for St Nicholas.

Yes, they do the presents on 6th December, so by the time you get to

the 25th and 26th, it's all about family and food.

Lovely. Thank you very much Mary-Anne, look forward to it.

This is the first cake mix, it's the largest one.

I've got orange and almond in here which, I think, are quite Christmassy.

They need about 50 minutes.

Right, these are going to go in now.

They will actually bake in about seven minutes.

Whilst the other bakers' cakes are in the oven,

Norman's dough has just finished its first prove.

This is the fermented dough for my savarin cakes.

These will prove for about an hour and then they'll go in the oven.

It's gloopy kind of stuff.

This is the start of the second joconde, this time with a spice flavour.

A joconde is a flexible sponge cake,

usually found in high-end French patisseries.

Mary-Anne's not the only baker hoping to perfect it.

I'm just doing the design for the joconde that's going to go around my cake.

This is actually the first time I'm doing a joconde.

I know it's a stupid place to experiment, but I want to go all-out

after hearing what everyone else is doing.

I couldn't just do three normal sponges.

In a bid to claim the Christmas crown, Ali's set himself the

ambitious task of creating four different sponges

as well as a mousse.

Each tier celebrates a chapter in the life of Jesus,

using ingredients believed to have been around at the time.

So I've got lemon and saffron...

-Yeah.

-..at the top. I've got spiced fig and cinnamon mousse

in the middle and orange and almond at the bottom.

Now you're doing your joconde here.

-Yeah.

-Is that the collar?

Yes, the collar, yes, so I'm going to put the collar around here.

It sounds fascinating. I like the idea of the multi-layers

representing different things

and the flavours coming out in there as well.

-This is going to be good.

-Thank you.

-Looking forward to it.

-Thanks so much.

-Thank you.

Done.

It looks perfectly cooked.

My cakes aren't out yet.

But they're fruitcake and I always knew it was going

to take a long time to cook and a long time to cool.

With multiple cakes and other elements to complete,

the bakers must move straight on to their fillings.

I'm making both curds.

Lemon curd can be eye-poppingly sharp, but this one is a little bit

more subtle and it also pairs really well with the ginger.

So here I've got the marzipan buttercream that's going to kind of

crumb coat and fill my layers of fruitcake.

Doing cinnamon mousse without cinnamon.

So it's going to be a nice cinnamon flavour which contrasts nicely with

the spiced fig.

That's my syrup for the cakes.

Sugar syrup. Just infusing, and I'll add alcohol to that.

Why are they taking so long to cook?

They look really nice but they're just not cooking quickly enough.

I'm running the risk of the last-minute, you know, shuffle.

OK, bakers...

TO THE TUNE OF THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS:

# Four show stoppers Three meltdowns

# Two scary judges and two hours left on the clock. #

-All looking pretty good.

-Oh, phew!

So I'm just splitting it so it's much thinner to cool,

because you can see how hot it is in the middle and I just need to try

and get these in the freezer.

This is the speculaas crumb, so it's just dark sugar, flour,

butter and spices.

We shall pour on the syrup.

This one's orange liqueur for the bottom one.

The whole cake absorbs the sugar syrup.

The alcohol in it.

For the top one, this is whisky, Scottish malt.

You can taste the whisky in there.

So this is the top tier.

I'm drizzling the drizzle. It's quite a lemony cake as it is.

I just want to make sure there's enough saffron

to complement that lemon.

This is the Seville orange curd.

It's nice and bitter and a really punchy flavour.

I told you I'm a pie-maker and a bread-maker.

I'm out of my league here!

I'm just doing a layer of my marzipan buttercream to give a nice

neat edge underneath the fondant.

I'm very pleased that all the cakes are out of the oven now.

I just really, really want them to cool.

-Are you happy with the sponge?

-Yes, very happy.

Good, so the base ingredient's great.

Yes. It's... Yeah, I'd probably simplify it

if I could go back in time.

-Have you practised it?

-No.

-You've not practised it?

-No.

This is the Showstopper! This is...

I've practised a three-tier cake,

but I've changed it so much

that THIS, I haven't practised.

Does that look like snow?

Yes, not too bad.

It's white, anyway.

I'm relieved to have one done, but

this is obviously the easiest one.

So I'm now going to pour the mirror glaze on top.

I just want a few kind of streaks of a different colour.

I want a midnight kind of look.

Mary-Anne's the only baker not icing her cake.

Instead, she is decorating with miniature festive bakes.

I'm making Christmas pudding choux buns.

I need to make perfect spheres so I'm going to be sticking two halves

together and use them as decoration on my naked cake.

-Bakers...

-TO THE TUNE OF DING DONG MERRILY ON HIGH:

# Half an hour on the clock That is all you have left

# Half an hour on the clock of bake... #

Yeah, you've got it. Half an hour, bakers.

Now, we're going to start the assembly process.

I've lost a cake!

Half of the big cake.

I haven't got time to lose a cake.

-You put one in mine, remember, Cathryn.

-Oh, Ali!

Yeah, I did, I put it the other freezer, I haven't lost a cake!

MUSIC PLAYS

This is the top layer.

It's the speculaas cream.

I want there to be slightly more cake than filling.

You want to be able to taste both.

I've never done this before, not taken it as far as this.

I had a theory in my head, which hasn't quite worked.

It's not going to be perfect because I've already got some things that I

messed up a little bit, but I need to make sure this is as good as I

can get it within the time.

-Norman, how's it going?

-It's not going very well, actually.

No, why? What? I've never heard you say that.

You're a man of great confidence and grit.

I think this thing is going to fall down.

I do worry, I have to say, from this way on, it's looking marvellous,

-from this way on...

-It looks like it's going to fall, yeah.

-Christmas could be over.

-Yeah.

The shakes are here. The nerves are kicking in.

Bakers, I ho-ho-hope you are ready

because you've only got ten minutes left.

These are the houses that I have cut out of sugar paper.

A sort of border. I'm really anxious now.

I really don't want to run out of time.

I really, really, really want to finish.

I haven't even iced the bottom layer yet.

Oh, I don't know what to do.

-Are you all right, Cathryn?

-Should I finish two tiers?

What should be the priority? What should be my priority?

-Please excuse me.

-Finish two?

Now, no, no, stop tears.

Right, come on, Mel and Sue, Mel and Sue hugging.

No tears, but very brief, because you've only got a few minutes.

Mel, do it from behind. I'll go from the front and then we'll reverse.

-Turn.

-I haven't time!

-Like on a spit.

I love you, but I haven't got time.

Listen, look, do you know what you've got to do?

Roll it out, put it on and then get it underneath. Quick.

I can't take this pressure!

I'm so scared about this part.

TENSE MUSIC PLAYS

It seems to be holding together.

No amount of glitter is going to save this rascal, is it?

Oh!

Bakers, that's time's up, if you could move your Christmas bakes to

the end of your benches.

Stop icing your pub, Cathryn.

To have it looking mostly the way I imagined it was a bit emotional.

I wanted my last cake for Mary Berry to be a good one.

For a little moment I took it too seriously and I got a bit upset,

but now, it's just a Christmas cake,

it's going to taste lovely and...happy Christmas.

That went almost to plan.

I don't think I will ever make one of those again,

unless someone did a special request, you know?

I'm just so exhausted.

I feel like I've been working for 15 hours.

I honestly think I lost 2,000 calories zooming around that tent.

It's judgment time.

Who will impress Mary and Paul the most with their Festive Showstopper?

I love the little drawing on the very top of the cake.

The top two cakes you have well iced.

They've got lovely rounded edges.

When you come to the bottom layer,

that is just spread buttercream and it doesn't look quite as good.

Obviously, you never had a chance to finish this.

Now, this is a fruitcake, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

-They all look evenly baked.

It tastes very much like a very,

very rich fruitcake with a hint of Christmas pudding.

I think it works, and it's nice

having the buttercream in the middle.

You've soaked the fruit in alcohol?

Yeah.

I love it.

It's a nice cake, that's a lovely cake all the way through.

-Each layer is very, very good.

-Thanks.

-Well done, Cathryn.

Cool. Thank you.

A little bit drunk, the whole cake, but the overall effect,

simple but lovely.

-Thank you.

-OK, I'm going to start from the top.

So it's a lemon and saffron drizzle cake.

That's a nice lemon drizzle, that.

You could go even sharper if you wanted to,

really bring out the lemon in it, but it's well baked.

-And the next layer?

-So that's a sticky fig cake with a cinnamon

-mousse in the middle.

-You've done well to do a set mousse in the

middle because you've got to get the whole lot cold and set.

It's pleasantly spiced, but the actual cake itself is overbaked.

It has caught on the outside, however, the flavour is delicious

and that mousse is so light.

Well done. Right.

The bottom tier is orange and almond.

A little over baked on the outside, but you've got your flavours

absolutely right. The almond is coming through.

Each individual layer is very, very good.

-My favourite is the mousse in the middle.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

Gosh, Norman, that is quite a feat.

Your savarins look well baked.

I think they've gone a little bit lopsided here.

It's drizzled with raspberry liqueur in a sugar syrup.

That's a nice sponge at the bottom.

It's beautiful, it's light.

Now, I'm going in for the bottom savarin here.

It's the orange liqueur.

It's a very good yeast mixture.

It's very light and airy.

I'm not getting much of the drizzle.

The orange liqueur is a very subtle flavour.

Well, it's too subtle to catch us, really!

-I've missed you, Norman.

-Have you?

Yeah. But it's a beautiful cake, baked to perfection.

And this one is the...?

Spiced rum.

Oh, got the rum on that one!

That's a great one, that. The flavours really come through,

-that rum comes through.

-Now, this is the one that's going to knock us

back, is it? This whisky.

There is no doubt that there is whisky there.

-I think it's a great cake.

-Yep.

-I think you've done all right there.

-Thank you very much, thank you.

-Well done.

It's very difficult to do these naked cakes,

but you have got every single layer

the right thickness.

-Right.

-It's chocolate joconde sponge with Seville orange curd.

That's a first-rate chocolate cake.

The tartness coming from the curd is great.

And then you've got the coolness coming from the cream.

It all goes very well together.

-That's nice.

-Good.

-Right, the next layer.

-Look at that. That's the lemon curd in there as well.

-Yeah.

Wow. And the lemon and the ginger together.

That's just a knockout blow.

-And the top layer.

-The main flavouring is speculaas,

the traditional Dutch spice mix.

Is it spectaculaars?

Definitely.

Oh, no, it works well in there.

You've got the ratio of cake and cream absolutely right.

It makes it beautifully moist.

The whole thing together is beautiful.

The flavours are superb.

There isn't one that you've failed on.

Excellent, well done. Thank you.

Thank you.

If I were to wake up on Christmas morning with a piece of each of

these in my stocking, I'd be very, very happy.

The standard - amazing.

They certainly were spectacular.

Norman delivered three beautiful, perfect savarins.

They really were perfect texture.

The decoration was a little bit iffy. He could have done with

neatening that up a little bit but I thought his baking was spot-on.

What about Cathryn, Mary?

She had the option of perhaps doing another sort of cake.

It would be nice to see one of the layers different.

It's difficult to do a fruitcake in that time, but I thought the cake

was nice, the fruitcake was good.

For me, there was one cake that actually knocked me back.

Mary-Anne's cake. Every single element, not only did it look good,

it tasted magnificent.

You sound emotional Mary.

I am! It's one of the best cakes that I have eaten on Bake Off.

-Oh!

-I have to say I agree, actually.

-Oh, it was delicious.

It really was good. What a time to pull it out the bag,

because Ali was so far ahead as we went into this challenge.

Since he left Bake Off, you can see what he's done.

The first three challenges, and even this, he's just gone up, up, up, up.

And the flavours that he achieved are fantastic.

I just thought they were all slightly overbaked.

Has the brilliance of Mary-Anne's

cake put the cat among the Christmassy pigeons?

I think it certainly has.

It's made it a very interesting chat.

It certainly has.

Bakers, we have a new Christmas star,

and this particular person produced a very shiny choux,

a wreath full of chocolate Christmas cheer and, frankly, a sponge cake

which blew all of our Christmas stockings right off.

Amsterdam fine it was too.

The winner of the Great Christmas Bake Off is...

..Mary-Anne. Well done.

Well done!

Hello.

BRASS BAND PLAYS Deck The Halls

I think Mary-Anne was definitely a deserving winner.

That last cake tasted really good.

I won! Yeah, go me!

She deserved to win. I may not have got the accolade of

Christmas Star Baker, but I got something so much more

and that's the recognition that I wanted and craved.

It's been a very enjoyable experience and great to get back

into the tent again. I'm going to miss it even more now.

-ALL:

-Merry Christmas!

Next time, it's Christmas all over again with the return

of Howard, Chetna, James and Janet

to face three more festive challenges.

It's Christmas, it's supposed to be jolly, isn't it?

But their Christmas cheer soon turns to fear...

Oh, gosh, it all comes flooding back, doesn't it? All the anxiety.

The ganache is rubbish, it's split.

Oh! Oh, no!

The ruined tower.

Oh!

..before one is crowned the winner of the next

Great Christmas Bake Off.

The winner is...