Masterclass The Great British Bake Off


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Welcome to The Great British Bake Off Masterclass.

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Judges Mary Berry and I will be doing the baking.

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We'll guide you through challenges faced by the bakers in this year's Bake Off.

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We will show you some little tips and tricks that will help you at home to create something magical.

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From the mixing, to the baking, to the finishing,

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to the presentation, at home you will get the same results.

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Coming up, my luxury pork pies

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encased in notoriously-difficult-to-handle hot water crust pastry,

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filled with the perfect combination of pork loin and a quail's egg.

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Mary Berry's chocolate roulade recipe.

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Mary will show you how to get the perfect roll every time.

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My traditional iced fingers - a complex combination

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of sweet yet buttery dough, precisely piped with whipped cream and strawberry jam.

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And Mary's Sachertorte - a technically tricky, dense chocolate cake

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with its signature glossy ganache icing.

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'Over the course of eight weeks

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'earlier this year, Mary and I saw twelve of the country's

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'very best home bakers go head-to-head as they fought it out to be crowned

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'Britain's best amateur baker.

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'Together, Mary and I devised the three challenges in each round...'

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-That's very, very good.

-Absolutely delicious.

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'..and the technical challenge was the trickiest of all.'

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They come in all shapes and sizes, don't they?

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-Some of them are a bit irregular.

-Good gracious!

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Eleven really lovely tarte au citron.

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Because the recipe was always a surprise on the day,

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the bakers had no chance to practise and had to rely completely

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on their own knowledge and skill to get a good result.

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'Week five of the competition was all about pies, showcasing the bakers' pastry skills,

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'but also showing us their understanding of the balance of flavours.

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'For the technical challenge, I chose a first for The Great British Bake Off.'

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We're going to ask you to make a batch of six miniature pork pies.

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And in each pie we'd like there to be one quail's egg

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and, for the first time in this competition, we're going to ask you to work with hot water crust pastry.

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Pork pies with quails' eggs in the middle and hot water crust pastry.

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Yes. I chose this as a technical challenge because it's quite tricky.

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Once you've got the hot water crust pastry made,

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then it's all about rolling it out.

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Then you've got to do the filling for it, put the quail's egg

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right in the middle, put the lid on,

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crimp it, egg wash it and then, finally, you've got to get that bake bang on.

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So, we're going to start with the hot water crust pastry.

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We need to weigh up the flours.

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So, I'm using two types of flour -

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plain flour and strong flour. Overwhelmingly plain flour.

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In fact, 200 grams to 40 grams of strong.

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Gluten is the wheat protein in flour that gives the dough its elasticity.

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Plain flour contains less gluten than strong flour

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and is used when a crisper texture is needed in the finished bake.

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That little bit of strong will give it a bit of extra gluten to bind it together,

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to give it that quality, so when we're rolling it out, it stays quite rubbery, which is what you need.

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The next thing I've got is 50 grams of butter and 60 grams of lard,

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-all right? A little job for you in a minute, Mary.

-Is it?

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-It's melting the lard in boiling water.

-Oh, I can just manage that.

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60 grams. You need to melt that in 100ml of boiling water.

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One teaspoon of salt in that water, please.

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In here, I've got butter and flour.

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I'm just going to rub this flour.

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I'm interested that you're using butter WITH lard.

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When I've ever made hot water crust pastry, I've used ALL lard.

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-Are you adding the butter for flavour?

-Unique flavour. It's better.

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The butter adds that quality of a little bit of dairy in there,

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that flavour of butter, which is good.

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-That's melted for you.

-Thank you very much indeed.

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Now, this needs to go in here.

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Obviously, at this stage, it is going to be rather hot.

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Well, the last thing you want is boiling hot fat in your hands.

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So, again, stir it round first, incorporating all the flour.

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And you can see, it's starting to turn into a proper paste now.

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I can touch that now. It cooled off as soon as it impacted on the flour.

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Make sure you rub round to get everything out of that bowl.

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Beautifully clean bowl.

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All on that lump.

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I'm just going to put a little bit of flour there, cos it's going to take a bit of working,

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just into a ball, so it's more of a smooth paste.

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-Just gently work it.

-So, that's to work in the fat evenly?

-That's right, yeah.

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Hot water crust pastry requires the mixture to be hot rather than cold,

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so as to make the dough easier to roll out.

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The large quantity of liquid used produces a hard, strong finish,

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making it suitable for holding heavy mixtures.

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I'm just going to begin to start flattening.

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And now it's essentially been worked into a ball.

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-That's very good.

-Now, this one needs to be rolled out with a rolling pin.

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It's in there. Flatten it down with your fingers first as much as you can.

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Flatten the dough lightly with your fingers and then roll out evenly

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with a rolling pin until three to five millimetres thick.

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All I'm doing, occasionally, is just putting a little bit of flour on.

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I'll tell you why -

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it relaxes the dough, so it can skid back to where it should be.

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I could roll this the size of this tray with no flour underneath

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and what'll happen is, when you put the lids in, it'll shrink back

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while it's trying to rest.

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And you're going to make it nice and thin,

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-that's where the bakers went wrong, some of them. They had it too chunky.

-They had it too thick.

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'The bakers seemed a little thrown by my choice of recipe.'

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What's it say? Stirring till it comes together.

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Work into a ball.

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Looks like a ball already.

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I'm not going to risk using it all.

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That could be my downfall.

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'The trickiest stage was the all-important pastry.

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'Mary-Anne had never worked with hot water crust dough before.'

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It's quite odd working with something that's quite so warm.

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Normally, with pastry, it's supposed to be cold, cold, cold.

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'Jo made an early error with her pastry.'

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I got the flour wrong.

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But, hopefully, it's right now.

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'Holly was also unfamiliar with this type of pastry.'

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I don't get how this pastry works at all. It's rock hard.

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It's quite odd stuff.

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These are the trays that we're going to use. These are the trays that the bakers had.

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The main thing is they've got to have almost straight sides and not buntings that are sort of round.

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You don't want the shallow ones, you want straight sides. That's key.

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Six of these.

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Now, what I'm going to do, I need to make the cut for the base,

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obviously to line the base, to line the side,

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and then to line about 5ml to 10ml away from the edge of that.

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Find something around the kitchen that will fit that size.

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-A small saucer you could run round. Something like that.

-Yeah, that would be fine.

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Make sure it's relaxed.

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Get a little knife. Just cut gently round.

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You want to get it as smooth as you can.

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Press up against the side and get right down to the bottom.

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Get it down as much as you can.

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There's your overlap. There's plenty extra if you need it.

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You're pressing down and getting rid of all those folds,

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-but keeping the pastry very thin...

-Yeah.

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-..all the way round and the base.

-Exactly. Exactly.

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-There is no need to grease the tins when you're making these pies?

-Not these ones, no.

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This has got so much fat in this mix,

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it should just slide out anyway.

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The chances of this thing sticking are very rare.

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'Form the excess pastry back into a small ball.

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'Roll out again to the same thickness as before

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'and using a small cutter

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'cut out six lids large enough to just cover the top of your pie cases.'

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On the top of every lid, we need to have a hole, and that's to get the gelatine in later.

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If you get a little piping-bag nozzle, put it into the middle,

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make your hole, and then just gently open it up.

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It has to be quite a big hole

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in order to be able to pour the gelatine in?

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Yes. Yes, it does.

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'Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and lay the lids on.'

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These are going to go in the fridge now, just for about half an hour,

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just to chill down slightly, again harden the lard and the butter.

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'Placing the baking tray in the fridge helps firm up the pastry.'

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While they're chilling down, we're going to make the filling.

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This is some streaky, unsmoked bacon - 100 grams,

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and 300 grams of pork loin.

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Now, pork loin's got, obviously, very little fat in there,

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and that's the reason we add the streaky bacon -

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to add a bit of fat to it, a little bit of flavour to it, as well.

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It does make a difference in the pork pie.

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So, would you mind chopping up that as finely as you could, please?

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-I will. Nice and fine and I'll remove this bit of sinew here.

-Yes, lovely.

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Sinew pieces will never go tender...

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-Yeah.

-..and I will just trim it off.

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Also, what's going in there, is an onion and a small bunch of parsley.

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I'd much rather cut this by hand. You get a better texture.

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If you did it in a processor, it could easily get like sausage meat.

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And every little piece is going to be tender,

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-because the loin is the most tender part of pork.

-Exactly, yes.

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The binding agent will be the pork. It'll bind everything together.

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You're looking for a dispersion of onion blended with pork

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and again, a good blend of the bacon in there

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and, finally, a little bit of zing coming from the parsley.

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Was there a reason why you used unsmoked bacon?

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-Smoked bacon will just overwhelm everything.

-Oh, right.

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Essentially, the bacon's been added more as a fat, but again, it gives you a bit of flavour as well.

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-So, you don't want it to overwhelm the pork, but just balance with it.

-And the seasoning?

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Once I've blended it all, then I'll season it, yes.

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I use quite a bit of salt.

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The only seasoning, really, is actually going to come from the bacon.

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Do you know, at home, if I'm doing this,

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I am not too good at seasoning, because you can't taste it.

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So, what I do, is I take a little bit of that out

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and sort of squeeze it together

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and fry it in a little flavourless oil, and then taste it, and then you know

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-whether you've got the seasoning quite right.

-That's a nice tip.

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Give that a good mix, cos what you don't want is all that salt to stay in one place.

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Then, the next job is quails' eggs.

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-Right.

-I need to boil these quails' eggs.

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Some of them had difficulty about boiling quails' eggs.

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-Apparently, yeah.

-They weren't quite sure how long to do them.

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I do mine, for hard boiled, two and a half minutes.

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How long do you boil a quail's egg for? Do you know?

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-No-one seems to know.

-Well...

-How long do you boil a quail egg? Does anyone know?

-All I know...

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-is under two and a half minutes, cos this is overdone!

-Is it?

-Yeah.

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I don't know! Something so small, timing it right.

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And it must soft-boiled not hard-boiled cos they're going to cook again inside the pie.

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So, I think that's going to be very tricky.

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Are you ready? Jump up if you are.

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I've never boiled an egg before.

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-What, just a normal egg or just a quail's egg?

-A normal egg.

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-You've never boiled a normal egg before?!

-No.

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You can make a macaroon but you can't boil an egg?

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No.

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It's important, as soon as they're cool, to peel them.

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If you leave them for half an hour, it's difficult to get the shell off.

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So, that's the last one peeled.

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-There you are.

-Beautifully done. Thank you very much, Mary.

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OK, they're the shells and they're the lids.

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Now it's a case of putting it all together.

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Put your fingers into the side, encourage them to have a flat side where hits the base.

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While it's cold, it's the best time to do it. It'll give you a little bit more leeway, you know?

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-And, of course, it gives more room for the meat.

-Exactly, yeah.

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Take a spoonful of the mixture, drop it into the bottom.

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When that's in, you need to push that down to the bottom with your fingers.

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Push down the bottom, build up the mixture round the side.

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That is where the quail's egg will sit.

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Paul, you've chosen to do six individual ones.

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Could you do these in a loaf tin?

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-Yes, you could.

-Same amount of mixture?

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Yeah, same amount and again, you just build it up, put one on each,

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or use a proper egg, a full-size chicken egg and just put them all the way along.

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'Once all six quails' eggs have been placed,

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'fill the remainder of the cavity with the rest of the pork meat,

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'ensuring it's packed tightly around the sides and on top of the eggs.'

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It's really essential to press it down.

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I think some of them had some gaps through not pressing it down.

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Yeah. When we cut the pie open, you saw the egg floating round

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with a little bit of pork, because they never compressed all the pork down.

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Now, the next stage is to egg-wash it and then pop the lid on.

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Now, if we start here, all I'm going to do is just delicately brush a little bit of egg round here.

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And this is just so the lid can adhere to the base.

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So, now we're ready to put the lids on this.

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'Once the pies have been topped,

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'trim the edges with a knife to neaten and seal

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'with some decorative crimping.'

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Fingers in, lift up the side.

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-You could do it with a fork if you're no good at crimping, couldn't you?

-Yeah, course you could.

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'Top each pie with egg-wash and they're ready for the oven.'

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Going to go into a fan oven at 190 for 40 minutes.

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They look amazing.

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A lovely golden brown colour on top.

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What I want to do is pop a knife in there

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and just open that hole up a bit.

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Over in this pan,

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we've got 100ml of water, which is bringing up to the boil.

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In there, we've dropped one chicken stock cube.

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What I've got here is leaf gelatine. You can use the powdered gelatine,

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although this tends to be a bit easier

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cos it just softens in the water.

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Powdered gelatine you have to bring back with boiling water and dissolve it.

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I'll just squeeze the water out of there.

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And this will then go inside the stock and dissolve.

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It's pretty much instant with this stuff.

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'Once dissolved,

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'transfer to a jug and gradually fill the pork pie cavities.'

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You've got to be really careful, haven't you?

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And pour very, very gently and watch when it comes...

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-Yes.

-..anywhere near the top.

-Exactly.

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And then you need to chill them, preferably overnight,

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and the pure reason being is that you want to solidify that gelatine.

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But don't put these into the fridge until they're cold.

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You can't put warm pork into a fridge.

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Leave them out till they're cool,

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then pop them in the fridge overnight.

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In the morning, you'll end up with some beautiful pork pies.

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Like a battalion of little soldiers!

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'When it came to the judging, however, to be honest,

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'I was highly impressed.'

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I like the look of this.

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There's been some form of display. There's a pattern round the outside which looks nice.

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And it's got a good colour on it, as well. It's a good bake.

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I must say, I like that, the appearance.

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It looks homemade and inviting and it's lovely thin pastry.

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-Good flavour. I like that.

-So do I.

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It's a lovely thin crust.

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That's one of the things that's difficult to get right,

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I'm sure you found. You're not too sure whether you've put your fingers

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into the very corner at the bottom to make it thin, as well.

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They look so tempting.

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I am dying to taste one.

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-There you go.

-That does look very, very good.

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-You like?

-I am savouring every bit.

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It's nice, isn't it?

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Well, what I like is the pastry is really, really crisp. Mmm.

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In the sixth week of the Bake Off,

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we decided to test the bakers on their dessert-making skills.

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Our challenges included a baked cheesecake,

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the French classic croque-en-bouche

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and, for the technical challenge,

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Mary chose a classic recipe that really stretched our bakers.

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Today's technical challenge is...

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a chocolate roulade,

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A nice, thin sponge, neatly filled and neatly rolled.

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This is a difficult challenge, this one.

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So, Mary, why did you pick

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the chocolate roulade as a technical challenge?

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Because I simply love it.

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It's good as a dessert and it's good as a special cake too.

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And this recipe is extremely light... it has no flour in.

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But it's quite tricky, so it's good to show everybody how to do it.

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The trickiness comes down to the actual folding

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and that's what makes it a special technical challenge.

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Exactly. It's difficult to roll,

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because you can end up by not getting a Catherine wheel effect.

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-Where do you want to start?

-I want to start with the tin.

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Now, the tin is 23 by 33 centimetres and it wants to be straight-sided.

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And if you haven't got a tin like this,

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if your roasting tin is similar

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it'll work, you just need to line up the sides.

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I'm using non-stick parchment.

0:18:120:18:15

And you just fold it to, sort of, the size of the tin.

0:18:150:18:18

Now, the tin needs to be buttered,

0:18:180:18:21

-because you want the paper to stick to it, otherwise it'll slip.

-Yes.

0:18:210:18:25

Then we come to the ingredients.

0:18:250:18:27

First of all the chocolate.

0:18:270:18:29

And we need 175 grams of that. That's six ounces.

0:18:290:18:33

And I don't use one of the high cocoa content chocolate.

0:18:330:18:37

If you use high cocoa content 70%, it really is too bitter.

0:18:370:18:42

I agree. I think a lot of chocolate nowadays is very bitter.

0:18:420:18:45

This is just the bar that you'll buy in the sweet shop.

0:18:450:18:48

-Yeah.

-But it must be pure chocolate.

0:18:480:18:50

And the way to melt that is not to be rushed.

0:18:520:18:54

If you are in a hurry, you need to chop that up finely.

0:18:540:18:57

If this pan is boiling,

0:18:570:18:59

it will melt too quickly and you'll get a hard crust on it.

0:18:590:19:03

So, gently, gently. Remember that chocolate melts in a child's pocket,

0:19:030:19:07

so it doesn't need intense heat.

0:19:070:19:10

-OK.

-Then we come to the eggs. I've got six eggs here.

0:19:100:19:13

And I'm going to put the whites in here and the yolks in there.

0:19:130:19:17

And you want to make quite sure that you get no egg yolk in with the egg white,

0:19:170:19:23

because if you do, the egg whites won't whisk up to a full volume.

0:19:230:19:29

The raising agent in this is the egg white.

0:19:290:19:31

People that do have a problem with flour actually in recipes,

0:19:310:19:34

this is an ideal one.

0:19:340:19:35

Yes. And this is something that coeliacs can eat.

0:19:350:19:40

Do you utilise these egg yolks at all?

0:19:400:19:43

These egg yolks are going into the roulade.

0:19:430:19:45

We're going to mix them with the sugar.

0:19:450:19:49

But I start off by doing the egg whites,

0:19:490:19:51

-then I don't have to wash the whisk in-between.

-Yeah.

0:19:510:19:55

And then whisk on full volume until it'll look a bit like cloud.

0:19:550:20:01

The egg whites need to be stiff, but not dry.

0:20:010:20:04

This will take one to two minutes.

0:20:040:20:07

That's just about right.

0:20:090:20:11

It looks like cloud.

0:20:110:20:14

I'm going to tip the egg yolks into a bowl here.

0:20:140:20:18

I need to whisk those with sugar.

0:20:180:20:20

175 grams of caster sugar.

0:20:200:20:23

In it goes.

0:20:230:20:26

And I'm going to whisk those together.

0:20:260:20:28

There's egg white on there. That doesn't matter.

0:20:280:20:31

Put that in. Again, full speed ahead!

0:20:310:20:35

As that is whisking,

0:20:370:20:39

if there's a bit of egg yolk and sugar at the top,

0:20:390:20:42

as there is on the top of that bowl,

0:20:420:20:43

just scrape it down all the way round,

0:20:430:20:46

or you'll get streaks in it.

0:20:460:20:47

-That's it. And then not quite ready, so on full speed ahead again.

-Yeah.

0:20:470:20:53

The mixture is ready after two or three minutes

0:20:530:20:57

when thick and creamy in consistency.

0:20:570:20:59

-Right, now you can see that it holds its shape.

-Yeah.

0:21:010:21:05

It's called the ribbon stage.

0:21:050:21:10

Next, add the melted and cooled chocolate

0:21:100:21:14

and stir until combined.

0:21:140:21:15

Now, I'm going to take some of the egg white.

0:21:150:21:18

I'm not going to fold the whole lot in at once,

0:21:180:21:21

cos if you do that, it'll be streaky.

0:21:210:21:23

-Yeah.

-I'm going to beat in a bit of the egg white.

0:21:230:21:26

So, a couple of really good spoons going in there like that.

0:21:260:21:30

So, this will slacken it down.

0:21:300:21:32

And I'm beating that in and it'll make it a bit more runny.

0:21:320:21:36

Now, that looks well included,

0:21:360:21:39

those first two tablespoons in with the chocolate.

0:21:390:21:43

It's quite smooth.

0:21:430:21:45

And I'm going to add the rest all at once of the egg whites.

0:21:450:21:50

I'm going to tip that up and then put this in.

0:21:500:21:53

So, this is the crucial bit really, isn't it, the roulade?

0:21:530:21:57

-It is.

-You slacken it off first

0:21:570:21:59

before adding the majority of the egg whites.

0:21:590:22:02

And I'm going to fold that in, and folding is going round

0:22:020:22:05

the edge of the bowl and then cutting through the middle.

0:22:050:22:09

And that wants to be a very gentle movement.

0:22:090:22:12

So, because the egg white is the rising agent,

0:22:120:22:14

-you're trying to keep as much air in that as possible at this stage?

-Exactly.

0:22:140:22:18

Exactly. There is no flour in here.

0:22:180:22:21

If they don't incorporate all the egg whites into this mix,

0:22:210:22:25

-you'll get this mottled effect within the sponge, of white?

-That's right.

0:22:250:22:29

I know the consistency looks like it's split.

0:22:290:22:32

It has those little sort of dots of...

0:22:320:22:35

-Of moisture and then dry and moist and dry.

-Exactly.

0:22:350:22:38

I've got the cocoa. I'm going to put two tablespoons in.

0:22:380:22:41

Must sieve it, because we don't want it in lumpy.

0:22:410:22:44

And don't mistakenly put drinking chocolate in,

0:22:440:22:47

because that would be a very weak flavour.

0:22:470:22:50

But it is the cocoa that stabilises the mixture.

0:22:500:22:54

You'll get a good rise and it'll be a little bit firmer.

0:22:540:22:57

As well as adding richness to the flavour,

0:22:570:22:59

cocoa powder has a binding quality that helps

0:22:590:23:03

the ingredients to combine and create a firmer, more stable sponge.

0:23:030:23:08

I know some recipes don't put any cocoa in.

0:23:080:23:11

But I've tried all sorts to get the ultimate one

0:23:110:23:14

and I think this one is the best.

0:23:140:23:17

And then I'm going to fold that in just as I did before,

0:23:170:23:20

round the outside of the bowl and cut through the middle.

0:23:200:23:25

And only mix until it is...

0:23:260:23:29

everything has just included.

0:23:290:23:31

-Don't over-mix it.

-Yeah.

0:23:310:23:32

Once you've mixed this, you've got to put it in the tin

0:23:320:23:36

and bake it straightaway.

0:23:360:23:37

Once the mixture is in the tin,

0:23:370:23:40

it needs to be baked straightaway so no air is lost.

0:23:400:23:44

And then push the mixture into the sides.

0:23:460:23:48

If you don't push it into the sides, it won't rise evenly.

0:23:480:23:51

You're looking for a nice,

0:23:510:23:54

-even layer so the roulade is nice and flat and square.

-That's right.

0:23:540:23:58

So, that wants to go in the oven at 160 fan

0:23:580:24:01

and that will take about 20 or 25 minutes.

0:24:010:24:05

Bake the roulade until it's risen and starting to come away

0:24:050:24:09

from the sides with a firm and crisp top.

0:24:090:24:12

That looks just right.

0:24:140:24:17

It's got a crust on top.

0:24:170:24:18

It does slightly sink and expect it to. And it is well risen.

0:24:180:24:25

-And all we've got to do now is let it get cool.

-OK.

0:24:250:24:28

It must be cold before you put the cream in,

0:24:280:24:31

otherwise the cream seeps into the mixture and also it melts.

0:24:310:24:35

-Yeah.

-So, we'll let that get cold.

0:24:350:24:37

Mary's roulade recipe was a great choice

0:24:370:24:40

and allowed our bakers to showcase their knowledge.

0:24:400:24:46

So, listen, have you made a roulade before?

0:24:460:24:49

I have, back in the day at school. It was my nemesis!

0:24:490:24:52

Jo clearly knew the secret of how to mix a roulade.

0:24:540:24:58

You can knock the air out of them.

0:24:580:25:00

They need to be really light and airy.

0:25:000:25:02

Janet had her own technique,

0:25:020:25:04

which proved she knew her stuff.

0:25:040:25:06

I don't want to take any of the air away by patting it too much.

0:25:060:25:12

Oh, go on, get in the corner.

0:25:120:25:14

And Holly demonstrated her understanding of the science of the sponge.

0:25:160:25:21

It's a little bit uneven, but that's the problem with fatless sponges.

0:25:210:25:27

I think they're quite hard to smooth over

0:25:270:25:30

cos they don't have that fat to kind of even out as it, as it melts.

0:25:300:25:33

Once cooled, it's ready for the filling.

0:25:360:25:40

Take 300ml of double cream and whisk until thick.

0:25:400:25:45

Important to have a double cream that pours.

0:25:450:25:47

-Mm-hm.

-Look out for the word 'pouring' on the side of the pack.

0:25:470:25:51

What it is to have such force.

0:25:510:25:53

I think I'll stand to one side while you're doing that.

0:25:530:25:55

It's unlikely that you'll over-whip when you do it by hand.

0:25:550:25:59

If you do it with a machine,

0:25:590:26:00

the machine easily over-whips and then it would separate.

0:26:000:26:04

That looks the perfect consistency.

0:26:040:26:06

Really firm.

0:26:060:26:08

I thought that might be coming over my head, yes.

0:26:110:26:14

Right, so, we're going to turn this out.

0:26:160:26:18

Take another piece of paper, and this is non-stick,

0:26:180:26:22

put it on the worktop,

0:26:220:26:24

and then a little icing sugar over the top.

0:26:240:26:27

You can do this with a sieve or you can do it with a shaker.

0:26:270:26:31

And there'll be a cloud of icing sugar

0:26:310:26:34

which will come all over us, so watch out.

0:26:340:26:36

So, just take hold of that and give it one bold tip.

0:26:360:26:42

-Yeah.

-One, two, three, over.

0:26:420:26:44

Remove the tin and carefully peel away the baking paper,

0:26:460:26:50

before topping with the cream.

0:26:500:26:52

Now, I've chosen to put whipped cream in here.

0:26:520:26:55

You could also put some chopped strawberries, raspberries.

0:26:550:26:59

-Cherries.

-Cherries. Stoned cherries.

0:26:590:27:03

-Yeah.

-But, of course, if you're going to freeze it,

0:27:030:27:05

you would freeze it just with cream in.

0:27:050:27:08

-And, believe it or not, it freezes beautifully.

-Really?

0:27:080:27:11

Just spread that over,

0:27:110:27:14

right to the edges.

0:27:140:27:16

Now, the rolling up is the part I enjoy.

0:27:160:27:19

-It's the part that a lot of people are terrified of.

-Mm-hm.

0:27:190:27:22

I'll give you a foolproof way of doing it.

0:27:220:27:24

To get a tight roll, you take a knife

0:27:240:27:27

and you almost cut through about half an inch from the end.

0:27:270:27:31

And then you break that, absolutely break it,

0:27:310:27:35

because I'm expecting loads of cracks. It's part of its charm.

0:27:350:27:39

So, get hold of that and physically break it all the way along there.

0:27:390:27:45

-And that is the middle of the sort of Catherine wheel...

-Yeah.

0:27:450:27:49

..and it's what you do for the best result.

0:27:490:27:51

Pick up the paper, hold it and then just gently make that go round.

0:27:510:27:57

Now, this is cracking all the time that I do it,

0:27:570:28:00

and as I'm turning it, I'm pressing the cracked bits back in.

0:28:000:28:05

And quite firmly.

0:28:050:28:07

-Can you see I'm doing that quite firmly as you go.

-Yeah.

0:28:070:28:10

Our bakers had a real problem with this

0:28:100:28:12

because they were nervous about, quite rightly, rolling it up.

0:28:120:28:16

Janet forgot the crucial element, icing sugar on the baking parchment.

0:28:190:28:23

It's the only way of preventing the sponge from sticking.

0:28:230:28:28

Ahh! I should have put icing sugar or caster sugar on the bottom,

0:28:280:28:33

cos of the fudginess of it.

0:28:330:28:35

How absolutely ridiculous to make a stupid error like that.

0:28:350:28:41

This doesn't even count as a roulade. It looks like a disaster area.

0:28:410:28:46

This is the scary bit.

0:28:490:28:51

Ooh, and it's cracking!

0:28:530:28:56

Needs a corset!

0:28:560:28:58

That's what it needs.

0:28:580:28:59

Doesn't look like it's done yet.

0:29:020:29:04

Holly wasn't too pleased with the finished result.

0:29:080:29:11

Oh, dear. Doesn't look great, does it?

0:29:110:29:14

I need some Mary Berry advice, that's what I need!

0:29:140:29:18

Push that again and more cracks.

0:29:210:29:24

To ensure perfect presentation,

0:29:240:29:26

finish the last roll of the roulade on your serving plate.

0:29:260:29:30

Top with a final dusting of icing sugar

0:29:330:29:35

and neaten by trimming both ends.

0:29:350:29:39

-Aha.

-And there it is.

0:29:390:29:41

And you should have a nice, tight spiral

0:29:410:29:43

like a Swiss roll, like Catherine wheel.

0:29:430:29:46

What you've showed us today is certainly...

0:29:460:29:48

you can see where they've slipped up.

0:29:480:29:50

And if they'd followed some basic rules,

0:29:500:29:52

they would have ended up with something as perfect as that.

0:29:520:29:57

In the blind tasting,

0:29:570:29:59

we were looking at the execution of the roll as well as the taste.

0:29:590:30:04

I quite like the look of this one!

0:30:080:30:11

-It's quite tasty.

-Mmm, it's very good.

0:30:110:30:13

-It has broken up a lot.

-It's not bad.

-But they've tried to do a swirl.

0:30:130:30:17

The overall appearance of it looks quite nice, though.

0:30:170:30:20

-The flavour's good.

-Flavour's good.

0:30:200:30:22

Now, this one looks nice. Slightly cracked.

0:30:220:30:26

-It's got a nice taste.

-Mm.

0:30:260:30:27

There's a little bit of a bend there. A little bit of a curl.

0:30:270:30:30

-Yeah. This one's made quite a bit of effort to get a good roll.

-Yeah.

0:30:300:30:34

I enjoy chocolate roulade.

0:30:340:30:36

I think it's just a fantastic and beautiful-looking thing.

0:30:410:30:44

It just looks gorgeously filled with all that cream

0:30:440:30:47

and I think the informality of the cracking just is tempting.

0:30:470:30:51

It's quite a dense sponge, but the flavour's in there,

0:30:550:30:59

that lightness which the meringue adds to it.

0:30:590:31:02

-Then you have that beautiful cream that lifts it to another level.

-I think it's a winner.

0:31:020:31:07

In week seven, the bakers reached the semi-final.

0:31:120:31:16

Precision and finesse would be the key.

0:31:160:31:19

It was my turn to set the technical bake and, even if I say it myself,

0:31:190:31:24

what a brilliant choice my favourite childhood sweet treat proved to be.

0:31:240:31:29

Today's Technical Challenge is one of my all-time favourites -

0:31:290:31:32

iced fingers.

0:31:320:31:33

12 identical fingers, filled with cream and jam.

0:31:330:31:38

So, Paul, why have you chosen these iced buns

0:31:430:31:47

-for your Technical Challenge?

-I grew up with them

0:31:470:31:50

and they're one of my favourite things I've had in a bakery.

0:31:500:31:52

My dad used to be pretty good at them.

0:31:520:31:55

I bet you've chosen it

0:31:550:31:56

cos there's plenty of time for people to go wrong.

0:31:560:31:58

There are a few stages that you can go wrong,

0:31:580:32:01

but it's down to the rolling stage and dough stage.

0:32:010:32:03

Right, to start with, I need 500 grams of strong white flour.

0:32:030:32:07

Can't use plain flour, you have to use strong.

0:32:070:32:10

Plain flour's for biscuits and crackers.

0:32:100:32:12

-BOTH:

-And cakes.

-You almost forgot that.

-Ha-ha, you see!

0:32:120:32:15

And strong flour is for bread.

0:32:150:32:17

Strong flour is best for baking breads and recipes

0:32:190:32:22

where yeast is used, as it ensures a good, even rise and crumb structure.

0:32:220:32:28

500 grams of flour straight in the bowl.

0:32:280:32:30

Mm-hmm.

0:32:300:32:32

The next thing I'm going to add is my yeast, and I'm using...

0:32:320:32:35

instant or fast-action yeast, and here, I've got 14 grams.

0:32:350:32:40

Straight in to the side.

0:32:400:32:43

The next thing I'm going to add in is 40 grams of butter.

0:32:430:32:46

Is that salted butter or unsalted butter?

0:32:460:32:48

-For this you can use either and I'm using unsalted.

-Mmm.

0:32:480:32:51

And then I'm going to put in ten grams of salt,

0:32:510:32:54

just normal cooking salt.

0:32:540:32:56

Salt goes in opposite to the yeast.

0:32:560:32:58

It's a nice little tip this.

0:32:580:33:00

Salt on yeast will certainly retard it if not kill it.

0:33:000:33:03

So, you blend the yeast in first, then blend the salt in.

0:33:030:33:06

OK. The next thing to go in is caster sugar.

0:33:060:33:10

And you want 50 grams of caster sugar in there.

0:33:100:33:13

The reason why I'm using caster sugar is actually because...

0:33:130:33:17

you don't want to feel the grains inside the dough. That's the only reason.

0:33:170:33:22

And then I've got two eggs to go in there as well.

0:33:220:33:25

-Whole eggs?

-Yes, whole eggs.

-You don't have to beat them?

-No, you're fine.

0:33:250:33:29

Two eggs straight in. Next thing to add is your milk and your water.

0:33:290:33:33

Now, over there, I've got 150 mil of warm milk.

0:33:330:33:36

Milk tends to slow yeast down.

0:33:360:33:38

So, if you warm the milk up a little bit,

0:33:380:33:40

it'll act as a starter for the yeast, so it'll get growing.

0:33:400:33:43

The next thing I'm going to is add the water.

0:33:430:33:46

I've got 140 mil of water.

0:33:460:33:48

Hold some back, and I'll show you why.

0:33:490:33:53

To start with,

0:33:530:33:54

-here we go, I'll move this out of the way.

-Action.

0:33:540:33:57

I'm going to get really messy, you know?

0:33:570:33:59

Get your hands in and just stir with your fingers to start it off.

0:33:590:34:03

Could you do this in a mixer if you wanted to?

0:34:030:34:05

You could. I prefer to use my hands.

0:34:050:34:07

Now, this is really a conventional dough, so it's not too wet.

0:34:070:34:11

You can see there you've still got some residue flour that needs picking up.

0:34:110:34:15

That's when you put the rest of the water in. Put a little bit in there.

0:34:150:34:19

And at this stage, it's coming together. See? It's become one ball.

0:34:210:34:26

-Yeah.

-It's ready to tip out onto a lightly floured surface.

0:34:260:34:29

A dusting of flour on it.

0:34:290:34:32

Get your dough. Pop it in there.

0:34:320:34:34

I've compensated to the fact that people will add flour into that.

0:34:340:34:37

That's why you start with a wetter dough, OK?

0:34:370:34:40

Now, begin just by turning it, rolling it over like this.

0:34:400:34:44

Flip it over, roll, roll, roll.

0:34:440:34:46

Look at the muscles going!

0:34:460:34:48

What I'm trying to do is incorporate the eggs, the butter

0:34:490:34:52

and everything into that dough to get it smoother.

0:34:520:34:55

-Those people who've got bread making machines...

-Yeah.

0:34:550:34:58

-could they do this in there?

-Yeah.

0:34:580:35:00

What I'm doing is just building up the gluten.

0:35:000:35:02

The gluten is now releasing from the flour particles,

0:35:020:35:05

going into the dough, and forming, you can see there,

0:35:050:35:09

the stretches that you see, where the dough's beginning to split?

0:35:090:35:12

-Mmm. Yeah.

-That is the beginning...

-Let me feel it.

-..of the gluten.

0:35:120:35:16

-Yeah. It's still quite a wet dough, isn't it?

-It is.

0:35:160:35:18

Yeah, well it's a soft dough.

0:35:180:35:20

It's a soft dough rather than a wet dough. And then begin to stretch.

0:35:200:35:23

See, I'm just holding the back.

0:35:230:35:25

You pummel at that for at least five to ten minutes.

0:35:250:35:27

And this dough will begin to get smoother and smoother.

0:35:270:35:32

All the sugar will begin to dissolve.

0:35:320:35:34

It will become more glutinous.

0:35:340:35:35

You've got a nice, soft dough there that's well incorporated.

0:35:370:35:41

-That goes back into your bowl.

-Right.

0:35:410:35:45

-Would you Clingfilm that for me, please?

-I will. I've got cleaner hands.

0:35:450:35:49

Yes, it just prevents the dough from skinning.

0:35:490:35:51

So, what is happening at the moment, the yeast is beginning to eat,

0:35:510:35:55

feed itself on the flour.

0:35:550:35:57

And then it'll exhaust itself, so it'll grow, grow, multiply, get bigger.

0:35:570:36:01

You need to leave it for about an hour and a quarter. It'll then at least double in size.

0:36:010:36:05

-And you just put the Clingfilm over the top?

-Yeah.

0:36:050:36:08

Leave it in an ambient temperature. Normal household conditions.

0:36:080:36:11

Room temperature's around 20 Celsius. That's perfect.

0:36:110:36:14

Proving is the pre-baked period,

0:36:140:36:17

where yeast reacts with the liquid and flour to produce carbon dioxide,

0:36:170:36:21

causing the dough to rise without heat.

0:36:210:36:23

So, Paul, this has risen like Vesuvius.

0:36:230:36:26

It's huge cos of the heat in here.

0:36:260:36:29

You've got to be careful when you peel this off.

0:36:290:36:31

That's the structure of the gluten we built up when we kneaded it.

0:36:310:36:35

-Right.

-And this has proved up. Proving, rising, it's the same.

0:36:350:36:38

Now, I heed to tip this out onto a floured surface.

0:36:380:36:42

Run your finger round it

0:36:420:36:44

and dig all of this lovely, soft dough out.

0:36:440:36:50

Now, I need to coat this.

0:36:500:36:52

A bit of flour.

0:36:520:36:53

Cos as it rests, or proves, it actually gets softer.

0:36:530:36:59

Even softer.

0:36:590:37:00

Now, I need to divide this...

0:37:000:37:03

into 12. So, just divide in half.

0:37:030:37:08

And again.

0:37:080:37:10

-And again.

-And each in three.

-Yeah, each one into three.

0:37:120:37:15

To ensure perfectly even-size fingers, you can weigh the dough.

0:37:150:37:21

Each piece needs to be 70 grams.

0:37:210:37:23

Get each one and you just ball it up.

0:37:230:37:26

Turn it on the table...and a ball.

0:37:260:37:30

Shape all 12 pieces into balls,

0:37:300:37:32

then hand-roll into fingers, approximately five inches in length.

0:37:320:37:38

Place in two rows of six on a non-stick baking tray.

0:37:380:37:42

Again, gently roll them out first, and they're nice and equal.

0:37:420:37:48

That goes on the tray.

0:37:480:37:50

-They look beautifully even.

-They're perfect.

0:37:500:37:53

Right, I'm going to put those to prove,

0:37:530:37:55

but in our house, I'd have to put them away from the dog.

0:37:550:37:57

The fingers need to prove for about 40 minutes until doubled in size.

0:37:590:38:03

OK, Mary, here they are, fully risen.

0:38:050:38:07

And you can see, if you touch it, they spring back.

0:38:070:38:10

-They've risen, so they all touch each and will have soft sides.

-Exactly.

0:38:100:38:14

OK, Mary. These are going to go in the oven now for 10 minutes. 190 fan or 210 non-fan, all right?

0:38:140:38:19

-Very hot, then?

-Very hot oven and very quickly.

0:38:190:38:22

Cos of the sugar and eggs in there, it will actually bake very quickly.

0:38:220:38:26

But I want them to remain soft, which is why they're only getting 10 minutes.

0:38:260:38:29

Here we are, Mary, cooled buns.

0:38:290:38:34

They look a beautiful regiment.

0:38:340:38:36

Got to then split these off.

0:38:360:38:38

And, of course, there's the structure you're looking for. Nice...

0:38:380:38:43

and soft. Smell that.

0:38:430:38:44

It smells divine.

0:38:460:38:47

It was a complex recipe with many stages.

0:38:500:38:53

These fingers required meticulous and strict attention to detail.

0:38:550:38:59

Mary-Anne took a very professional approach.

0:38:590:39:02

Consistency is what they look for, especially in batches, and they want 12.

0:39:040:39:08

And when the judges ask for a batch, they want consistency across the batch,

0:39:080:39:13

which is why I'm taking the time to

0:39:130:39:16

make sure that the dough is

0:39:160:39:18

approximately the same weight - about 85 grams in each one.

0:39:180:39:22

What's in a few grams? But they will make a difference.

0:39:220:39:25

I just know he's going to have his eagle eye

0:39:250:39:27

looking for unequal-looking buns.

0:39:270:39:33

Here we are, Mary. Cooled buns.

0:39:360:39:40

They look a beautiful regiment.

0:39:400:39:42

Separate the fingers and leave them to cool whilst you make the icing.

0:39:420:39:46

Icing sugar goes in, 200 grams.

0:39:470:39:50

OK, I'm also going to add water. Do we get a spoon?

0:39:500:39:55

'Course not. Use your fingers.

0:39:550:39:57

Cos you get to feel the icing as well.

0:39:570:40:00

I'd put a little bit more water in that - not a lot.

0:40:000:40:03

The secret is not to get too much runny icing

0:40:030:40:06

because it runs down the side.

0:40:060:40:08

You'll need to use approximately 32 millilitres of water,

0:40:080:40:12

or enough to achieve a loose but not runny consistency.

0:40:120:40:16

So, what you're looking for is that.

0:40:170:40:20

-See the way it holds its shape...

-It's got a lovely shine, too.

0:40:200:40:23

Exactly. And that holds. Once it's dripped once, it stops.

0:40:230:40:26

And that's the texture you're looking for in the icing sugar.

0:40:260:40:29

OK, get your bun, drop it in,

0:40:290:40:33

wriggle it around a bit,

0:40:330:40:36

lift it out, run your finger down it...

0:40:360:40:39

There you go.

0:40:400:40:42

'Once all the fingers are iced,

0:40:420:40:44

'leave aside for a few minutes until set.'

0:40:440:40:47

'When it came to the all-important finishing,

0:40:500:40:53

'Jo really struggled cos her icing was far too runny.'

0:40:530:40:56

-So, this was Paul's way? This is Paul's dipping?

-Yes, this is dipping.

0:40:570:41:02

I don't like the dipped look. I lost half of it on the table.

0:41:020:41:06

It all dripped down. Try and tidy this up a little.

0:41:060:41:11

Holly was well aware that consistency was key.

0:41:110:41:15

It says in the recipe to dip them in the icing.

0:41:150:41:18

And I don't think I can do that,

0:41:180:41:19

so this is what I'm going to do instead.

0:41:190:41:21

I'm quite good at making things look the same. So, even if they don't taste that good

0:41:210:41:25

I hope I'll get a couple of points for the fact that they look quite similar.

0:41:250:41:29

Oh, it's blooming hard work!

0:41:290:41:31

I didn't know how you could dip in to a thick paste,

0:41:310:41:34

so I thought I would do what I hoped would be better...

0:41:340:41:40

or as good.

0:41:400:41:41

-OK, Mary, if I give you these four here...

-Right.

0:41:430:41:47

..what I'd like you to do -

0:41:470:41:50

a diagonal line about three-quarters of the way through.

0:41:500:41:53

-A diagonal line.

-A diagonal line.

0:41:530:41:55

-Just slice it down.

-Below the icing?

-Yes.

0:41:550:41:57

'Open up the fingers and pipe in a generous amount of cream.'

0:41:570:42:01

You've made a few of these in your time?

0:42:010:42:04

I've done a few of these in my time!

0:42:040:42:07

'Finish by piping a line of jam across the cream

0:42:070:42:10

'and top with a dusting of icing sugar.'

0:42:100:42:12

There you go - some classic iced buns filled with cream

0:42:120:42:17

and a line of jam.

0:42:170:42:18

They just look absolutely mouth-watering.

0:42:200:42:23

-We had very varied results, didn't we, in the icing?

-We did.

0:42:250:42:28

Gosh, this is...

0:42:310:42:33

-Don't they look good?

-I'm pleasantly surprised.

0:42:330:42:36

'Our judging all rested on presentation and the perfect bake.

0:42:360:42:40

'This was, after all, the semi-final.'

0:42:400:42:43

-Mmm.

-These are nice. Good, even bake. Icing's not bad.

0:42:430:42:46

-Quite nice this zigzag finish here, isn't it?

-Mmm.

0:42:460:42:49

Just done. Another minute or two less they wouldn't have been baked.

0:42:510:42:56

That's a nice iced bun. The texture's good.

0:42:560:42:58

It's soft.

0:42:580:43:00

It's got an equal colour.

0:43:000:43:02

It's beautiful.

0:43:020:43:03

The icing hasn't covered the whole top,

0:43:030:43:07

-but it's got a nice taste, hasn't it?

-Mmm!

-It's very, very good.

-Absolutely delicious!

0:43:070:43:12

Now, this one, it's got more of uniform icing on it,

0:43:120:43:15

although the icing was a little bit too wet -

0:43:150:43:18

that's why it's run down the side.

0:43:180:43:21

I think you've done us proud. Those look absolutely wonderful.

0:43:280:43:33

To be nice and coated all over, and then lots and lots of cream inside,

0:43:330:43:36

and again a nice piping of jam. You don't need a lot of jam.

0:43:360:43:40

Just one line just to balance up. They are beautiful things made properly.

0:43:400:43:44

The texture of them is so soft.

0:43:440:43:47

Using that enriched dough makes them beautiful.

0:43:470:43:50

-Mmm.

-Do you like them?

-They're nectar.

0:43:510:43:53

-They're lovely, aren't they?

-Mmm!

-Delicious.

0:43:530:43:57

'By the final, I think the bakers knew the score.

0:43:580:44:02

'That nothing but perfect baking and presentation would do in order for Mary and I to choose

0:44:020:44:07

'who would crowned Britain's best amateur baker.

0:44:070:44:09

'The final technical bake had to be the most demanding of the series,

0:44:090:44:14

'so Mary selected a recipe that would give the bakers no margin for error.'

0:44:140:44:19

Our technical challenge today is our hardest yet.

0:44:190:44:22

It is the Sachertorte.

0:44:220:44:25

You've got a really dense torte and on top we need to get a nice,

0:44:250:44:28

shiny slick of chocolate ganache.

0:44:280:44:31

Sachertorte, Mary. This was the technical challenge at the final.

0:44:380:44:42

Why did you choose that one?

0:44:420:44:44

I chose it because I don't think any of them had ever made it before.

0:44:440:44:48

It's the ultimate cake that you would find in a very posh hotel

0:44:480:44:54

and it is difficult to make.

0:44:540:44:56

It's a one-tier cake with a very dense cake mixture,

0:44:560:44:59

and the icing has to be really shiny.

0:44:590:45:03

And also, it tested their piping skills

0:45:030:45:06

because they had to write "Sacher" across the top

0:45:060:45:09

and get the spelling right.

0:45:090:45:10

So, Mary, how do we start to make this cake?

0:45:100:45:13

First of all, the cake tin.

0:45:130:45:14

This is a nine inch, 23 centimetre cake tin.

0:45:140:45:18

It's got a loose base. And I've really well greased that.

0:45:180:45:21

And then if you put a piece of non-stick paper in the bottom -

0:45:210:45:25

that will make sure that we get it out. First of all,

0:45:250:45:28

I start with the creaming mixture

0:45:280:45:30

and I'd like 150 grams of unsalted butter.

0:45:300:45:34

So, that goes into the mixing machine.

0:45:340:45:37

And then 100 grams of caster sugar.

0:45:400:45:42

And, of course, you use caster sugar rather than granulated

0:45:420:45:45

cos you don't want any granules in the cake.

0:45:450:45:48

-Turn that on just to mix it for a moment, then add the caster sugar.

-Yeah.

0:45:500:45:55

'The mixture will be ready after two or three minutes,

0:45:560:45:59

'once the sugar is combined and the texture is light and thick.'

0:45:590:46:02

That looks absolutely fine now.

0:46:060:46:08

It's a lot whiter, it's beautifully creamy and it'll be less granular from the sugar.

0:46:080:46:13

The next thing to go in is melted chocolate,

0:46:130:46:16

and I've got 150 grams.

0:46:160:46:18

It's plan chocolate. It's not the posh 70%,

0:46:180:46:22

-it's 39% cocoa solids.

-OK.

0:46:220:46:25

And I melted it over the top of a pan of hot water.

0:46:250:46:29

-Slowly I've taken it off and it's just got to the pouring stage.

-OK.

0:46:290:46:33

If you put it in hot, of course it would melt the butter and the sugar.

0:46:330:46:39

At the same time, I'm going to put vanilla extract in

0:46:390:46:44

and I'm going to use half a teaspoon.

0:46:440:46:46

-It smells lovely, doesn't it?

-It does.

0:46:460:46:48

'Whisk until the chocolate

0:46:480:46:51

'is fully incorporated and the colour is even.'

0:46:510:46:54

That, to me, looks well whisked.

0:46:560:46:58

Now we add the eggs.

0:46:580:47:00

Five large eggs, please.

0:47:000:47:02

First of all, I'm going to separate the eggs.

0:47:040:47:06

Do it very carefully cos you don't want to get

0:47:060:47:09

the yolks and the whites mixed.

0:47:090:47:12

Put the yolks in there, the whites in here.

0:47:120:47:16

Obviously, five eggs in this relatively small mix

0:47:160:47:20

is quite a lot of eggs. It's going to be very, very rich.

0:47:200:47:23

It's very rich, it's very dense, but that's all part of its charm.

0:47:230:47:27

I'm going to add the egg yolk and I shall turn this on full speed.

0:47:270:47:31

'Add the egg yolks one at a time.

0:47:310:47:34

'Once all are combined, sieve in 55 grams of plain flour.'

0:47:340:47:40

The reason I'm sieving the flour, Paul, is it's an expensive cake

0:47:400:47:44

and I'm just taking every precaution that it's perfect.

0:47:440:47:47

And also, we're going to add some ground almonds.

0:47:470:47:50

It almost acts like a binding agent just to pull the mix together?

0:47:500:47:53

It stabilises the mixture and will help it to keep.

0:47:530:47:57

This cake is much better eaten the day after.

0:47:570:48:01

And the ground almonds also add to the denseness.

0:48:010:48:04

So, in that goes, 75 grams.

0:48:040:48:07

And, at this stage, it's folding it in.

0:48:070:48:11

So, round the outside of the bowl

0:48:110:48:13

and fold it in, and it will be very stiff at this stage.

0:48:130:48:18

-What liquid is left to go in this, then? Egg white?

-Just egg whites, that's all.

0:48:190:48:23

And fresh egg whites give much more volume.

0:48:230:48:27

An older egg white is runny when you crack it

0:48:270:48:30

and you can't get such a volume.

0:48:300:48:32

Whisk it up until it looks like cloud.

0:48:320:48:36

So, again on full speed.

0:48:360:48:37

Now, this is not ready, but I just want to show it to you.

0:48:420:48:45

This really hasn't got full volume yet. It's still rather yellow.

0:48:460:48:51

It will get a bit whiter than that and it'll be sort of soft peaks.

0:48:510:48:55

But it just needs a bit more. You can over-whip it at this stage. And, if so,

0:48:550:48:59

it breaks into pieces in the top of the bowl.

0:48:590:49:04

'Whisk the egg whites for a couple of minutes

0:49:050:49:07

'until they're stiff but not dry.'

0:49:070:49:09

That looks just what I'm wanting.

0:49:100:49:13

So, we've got plenty of volume there

0:49:140:49:17

and I'm going to take about a third of that into here.

0:49:170:49:20

I think that's just about a third.

0:49:200:49:22

So, I'm beating that in.

0:49:250:49:27

-This just slackens down the mix to allow you to put the rest in.

-Exactly.

0:49:280:49:32

So, I'm going to take the rest of the egg white

0:49:320:49:35

and put that in in one go.

0:49:350:49:38

This is the key stage, I think,

0:49:400:49:42

when you're starting to fold in lightly the last bit of meringue.

0:49:420:49:46

Once you've slackened off the mix,

0:49:460:49:47

the addition of the extra essentially air

0:49:470:49:50

being added to a slacker mix would then retain the air.

0:49:500:49:53

Adding it to a thicker mix in one bulk would just decimate the air bubbles

0:49:530:49:57

-and therefore give you a flatter Sachertorte as well.

-Exactly. It's coming through.

0:49:570:50:02

I'm doing it carefully and slowly.

0:50:020:50:04

And, if you want to, you can make the actual base of the Sachertorte

0:50:040:50:08

a day before or two days before and then ice it when you want it.

0:50:080:50:12

So, all that mixture out in more or less one blob,

0:50:120:50:18

and then you're not taking the air out of it. So, in it goes.

0:50:180:50:21

And it's a perfect mixture, absolutely smooth.

0:50:210:50:24

If you haven't mixed the egg white in properly,

0:50:240:50:28

-what happens, it looks curdled.

-Yeah.

0:50:280:50:30

Then, important to level this.

0:50:300:50:32

It will not take its own level because it's a fairly stiff mixture.

0:50:320:50:37

And try not to get it up the sides of the tin,

0:50:370:50:41

because that'll just burn on the tin and also be difficult to get out.

0:50:410:50:45

-It's not going to grow massively up the side of that, is it?

-No.

0:50:450:50:48

It'll just be a little bit deeper. So, that's ready to go into the oven.

0:50:480:50:53

-You should have your oven set, and it should be 160 fan.

-Yeah.

0:50:530:50:58

That's 180 in a conventional oven.

0:50:580:51:01

It'll take between 45 minutes and 50 minutes.

0:51:010:51:04

It's got to be shrinking away from the sides of the tin.

0:51:040:51:07

It has a slight crust on the top.

0:51:070:51:10

If it does sink, it usually means that you've slightly undercooked it.

0:51:100:51:15

'At this stage in the competition,

0:51:180:51:20

'all the bakers were aware of exactly what they needed to do to impress us.'

0:51:200:51:25

It's going to be quite a hard challenge and I haven't actually made one of these before.

0:51:250:51:29

But I've made ganache and I have made a torte before, so, yeah,

0:51:290:51:32

we'll see how it goes.

0:51:320:51:34

'Mary-Anne had her own way of melting, or burning, chocolate.'

0:51:340:51:38

I'm melting some more chocolate because the first lot burnt.

0:51:380:51:41

'Mixing in the egg whites was no problem for Holly.'

0:51:410:51:45

This first couple of spoons full are just to loosen,

0:51:450:51:49

cos otherwise it's very, very hard to fold egg whites

0:51:490:51:52

into a stiff cake mixture.

0:51:520:51:54

'Jo was also confident she knew the tricks when it came to mixing.'

0:51:540:51:58

Well, you just have to do these cutting motions rather than...

0:51:580:52:02

You don't want to lose the air.

0:52:020:52:04

It's...

0:52:040:52:07

..OK. It's not completely level.

0:52:090:52:13

-So, the cake is baked and it is level across the top.

-Yeah.

0:52:160:52:22

I've freed it from the tin, still have the paper underneath,

0:52:220:52:26

and this is absolutely cooled, and you just peel that off the base.

0:52:260:52:30

With it being quite a robust cake, you can actually treat it

0:52:300:52:34

a little bit harder.

0:52:340:52:35

'Place on a serving plate and spread the cake

0:52:350:52:38

'with gently warmed apricot jam.'

0:52:380:52:41

Sieved apricot jam. Of course, you don't want to get that too hot,

0:52:410:52:45

just enough to melt it.

0:52:450:52:48

If it's really thick, you can add a little water to it.

0:52:480:52:50

It just helps to seal in the moisture of the cake, doesn't it, with the apricot jam?

0:52:500:52:54

Not only does it seal in the moisture, it means that

0:52:540:52:57

any loose crumb is attached to the cake and doesn't get in and spoil the icing.

0:52:570:53:02

-These little air bubbles in the top, can you just push them down slightly?

-Just press them down.

0:53:020:53:06

And if you press it down and fill it with apricot jam,

0:53:060:53:09

-that'll make it quite level.

-Yeah.

0:53:090:53:12

'Allow the jam to set whilst making the icing.'

0:53:120:53:16

-The icing is a, a chocolate ganache.

-Yeah.

0:53:160:53:19

And I'm going to put double cream - and it must double pouring cream.

0:53:190:53:24

And that's 200 millilitres.

0:53:240:53:26

'Ganache is a rich chocolate mixture commonly used as an icing or filling

0:53:260:53:32

'and forms the base for chocolate truffles.'

0:53:320:53:35

Then a plain chocolate, 150 grams.

0:53:350:53:38

That's five ounces.

0:53:380:53:39

-And we're using the same chocolate that went into the cake as well?

-Exactly.

0:53:390:53:43

There's steam coming up from the cream. Take it off the heat

0:53:430:53:47

and tip the chocolate into that.

0:53:470:53:49

That will just start to melt, and on no account put it back on the heat.

0:53:490:53:54

It will naturally melt. It won't curdle, it won't separate.

0:53:540:53:59

It's quite easy to do, but you must do it off the heat.

0:53:590:54:03

'Once the cream and chocolate are well combined,

0:54:040:54:07

'leave to cool for a few minutes until thickened slightly.

0:54:070:54:10

'Then pour the ganache over the top of the torte.'

0:54:100:54:13

-I'm just letting it take its own form.

-Mmm.

0:54:150:54:19

Then I'm going to encourage it to slip down the front...

0:54:190:54:24

..and all around, tilting it.

0:54:250:54:28

I can just run along here, like that, and it will run down.

0:54:290:54:33

If you haven't got it quite right, you're going to have to use a palette knife dipped in water.

0:54:330:54:38

But I've been able to avoid that,

0:54:380:54:40

because you do begin to lose the shine.

0:54:400:54:42

'Finish by scraping the excess chocolate

0:54:420:54:46

'from the edge of the plate with a palette knife

0:54:460:54:48

'and wipe clean with damp kitchen paper.

0:54:480:54:52

'Leave the torte for a couple of hours for the icing to set,

0:54:520:54:56

'then pipe the word "Sacher" across the top

0:54:560:54:59

'in melted milk chocolate for a classic finish.'

0:54:590:55:02

Just going to ruin my cake, that's what's going to happen. Right.

0:55:140:55:20

'The icing of the torte was critical and the pressure showed.'

0:55:240:55:28

That's it.

0:55:380:55:40

'Holly proved she knew the secret when piping a Sachertorte.

0:55:410:55:45

'Don't stop halfway, and do it all in one go as if handwriting.'

0:55:450:55:49

'Mary-Anne's daughter, Sacha,

0:55:580:56:00

'was the cause of her simple spelling mistake.'

0:56:000:56:04

SHE GASPS

0:56:050:56:06

You wrote Sacha!

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'In judging, we were meticulous.

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'We wanted an event cake with a mirrored finish.

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'They did well!'

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-Well, we've got some shiny tops, haven't we?

-Shall we start from this side?

-Yeah.

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The ganache could have been a little bit thick, but it has got the right consistency.

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-That cake looks pretty well done as well.

-The cake looks very good.

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Getting the apricot through, which is good.

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I think it's a nice cake, that one.

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It's a nice cake - a little over decorated.

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Yeah.

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Now, this one, it's got the nice ganache on, this one.

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I think that could have done with a little bit longer bake.

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It's got more of a high mirror finish, which is what you're looking for for a Sacher.

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-These two could both have done with just a little more, five more minutes.

-Mmm.

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Made beautifully, Mary, may I say?

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I think the glaze that you've got on the top is stunning. I think the ganache was superb.

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-Proof of the pudding.

-Right.

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-Hmm!

-Mmm, that's a bit of all right, isn't it? Mmm, very good.

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Moist. Chocolaty.

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There is a definite zing of that apricot that's left on there as well, that sweetness sitting there.

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And again that almost fudge quality to that chocolate on the top.

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Mary, fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.

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This was the last of the technical challenges. A bit sad, really.

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It is sad, but I've really enjoyed these masterclasses.

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We've had plenty of time to go through every detail

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of the technical challenges, so everybody at home can make them.

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And all you need is a good pair of scales, good ingredients,

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and follow every single step, and success should be the result.

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I hope we've inspired everybody to get going.

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Get into the kitchen and start baking.

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Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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