Tarts The Great British Bake Off

It's week two in our contest.

Last week we were inadvertently served an upside-down cake on a floor tile.

This week just 11 bakers remain.

Welcome to The Great British Bake Off.

Thousands applied, but just the cream of Britain's best amateur bakers have been chosen for this,

the ultimate test of their baking skills.

I've been practising, everything seems to be on track, so I'm ready to go.

Over the next seven weeks, their baking skills will be scrutinised and judged.

I am definitely a perfectionist.

This isn't just baking - I really want to win!

I'm a pretty emotional person. I get quite upset if things don't go well.

Last week it was cakes...

My hands are shaking. It's getting to the really nervous part.

And Holly was named star baker.

-Stunning.

-Your piping is perfect.

The stress of the Bake Off kitchen resulted in disaster for Rob.

But it was Keith who failed to make the grade and was sent home.

This week, the bakers tackle tarts.

It looks all right, but...God - who knows?!

Very nice short pastry.

-Oh, no...

-And the pressure of pastry is too much for some.

-They won't come out.

-These are not good enough.

Just get it done! Stop messing around and get it in the oven.

But who will last the distance to be crowned the winner of The Great British Bake Off?

Please, please!

It's week two in the search for Britain's best amateur baker, and over the next two days

the bakers will face three increasingly complicated challenges.

They will be quaking in their aprons as we speak,

because this week it's all about tarts - isn't it, Sue?

-Why are you looking at me?

-Don't know.

Tomorrow, one will be crowned this week's star baker.

And someone will have to leave The Great British Bake Off.

Now, your first challenge this weekend is the signature bake,

and this one I'd like to think of as Lorraine's Revenge, because it's quiche time.

You've got two hours to prepare a savoury quiche, encased in your choice of shortcrust pastry.

You'll present your well turned-out quiches to Mary and Paul, who will be looking for

good ingredients, a nice, smooth egg filling, and most important of all, a well-baked pastry case.

No soggy bottoms allowed in this tent!

On your marks...get set...bake!

A quiche is a savoury tart combining various ingredients with a custard filling

thickened with eggs, and baked in an open-topped pastry shell.

The signature challenge requires the bakers to create an original recipe

and produce a quiche of any flavour or size.

It must showcase their creativity and impress the judges -

master baker Paul Hollywood,

and Mary Berry, renowned author of over 60 cookery books.

First of all I'm looking for a good pastry case, evenly baked -

even underneath it should be nice and brown and crisp.

For me, the perfect quiche has to marry up the flavours in the base

with the flavours in the filling.

One thing I can't abide is having too many things going on inside,

too many things going on in the actual pastry -

that is a recipe for disaster.

The bakers begin by making their shortcrust pastry.

Shortcrust is the perfect pastry for tarts, as it's robust and

doesn't rise in the oven, creating a perfect case to hold a filling.

Pastry can be a cruel mistress if you don't treat her well.

I don't actually like quiche so this is a particular challenge for me.

Ian is a self-taught baker who loves to cook with fresh local produce.

He's looking to pack a punch with his stilton,

spinach and new potato quiche.

It's quite a manly quiche.

Now, surely that is a contradiction in terms, a manly quiche.

You need to embrace the femininity.

-No, I'm doing a walnut pastry with a bit of paprika in it, so...

-So you're trying to butch it up.

I'm trying to butch it up a bit, so it's quite a manly quiche if that's possible.

Shortcrust pastry is made with three basic ingredients -

plain flour, liquid and fat, which can be either butter, lard or a mixture of both.

One of the tricks with pastry at this stage is not to overwork it,

or it starts to go a bit gluteny and a bit tart.

Gluten is created when water and flour particles meet.

It's needed to hold the pastry together - but too much of it, and the pastry will become tough.

Working with pastry is actually quite tricky.

If you underwork pastry, it crumbles, it doesn't hold together.

If you overwork it, it goes like rubber. They have to get it perfect.

Just getting the pastry started, it's coming together nicely.

Tent's nice and cold, so nothing's melting yet.

Simon, dad of two and the family cook,

is making a dill-flavoured shortcrust pastry case

for his smoked haddock and watercress quiche.

Feeling a lot more comfortable - securing a place in the second round, that's put my confidence up,

so...just got to turn out a good quiche today and I think I'll be a lot happier.

-Holly, Holly...

-Hello.

-How are you?

-Good. It's all about the green today, isn't it?

-It's all about the green.

-Green top...

Well, off the back of your success last week, how are you going to impress us now?

I'm going to be making a pesto... I guess a pesto-inspired quiche.

You've got a forest of basil over there.

I'm not using the stalks, so to get 200g of basil leaves...

I think it's a shame - it's very expensive not to use the stalks,

and if you chop it terribly finely, nobody would know.

OK, so you've kept it basic.

I mean, good luck. It is simple, but baked well... Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, Holly. I like pesto.

-Yeah.

But I mean a pesto quiche, mmm...

Is it good enough? Is it going to give the flavour?

It will be if she's got a good proportion of cheese with it.

I sense a bit of worry there.

25 minutes into the challenge. With their pastries made and rolled out,

the bakers begin to line their tins.

My biggest concern is that my pastry will have a soggy bottom.

If I blind bake it long enough, it should be OK...I'm hoping.

Blind baking is the term used for baking a crust before filling.

Bakers first prick the base to prevent air pockets from forming,

and then the base is covered with foil or baking parchment,

and weights added to prevent the case sides from shrinking.

I always use kidney beans because that's what my mother used.

And they're cheaper than baking beans as well.

So you've got your beans on top?

-I've got the beans on top.

-Good.

-I hope they're enough to weigh it down, and it doesn't balloon out.

Janet is well known in her local area for her baking.

Her pastry case is flavoured with cheddar cheese

and filled with mixed vegetables.

Round our way we grow asparagus. I just thought it would be light and

fresh - hoping people feel the taste of summer.

With the pastries in the oven, the home bakers get on with making their fillings.

Beautiful.

I don't want to do ordinary,

I want to take ordinary ingredients and make them taste extraordinary.

Mary-Anne loves researching and creating new recipes.

She hopes to impress today with her roasted cauliflower,

cheese and caramelised onion quiche - with an interesting difference...

-Hey, Mary-Anne.

-Hello.

So you're doing quite a different quiche. Your pastry, for a start...

I'm doing a suet crust with caraway seeds.

That explains why you're using self-raising flour - you're doing a suet crust, not a shortcrust.

Self-raising flour, Paul...?

It's to give it a bit of air, because suet and everything is going to sit on it

and made it quite a dead dough, a dead paste - and that will just give it a little bit of a zip to it.

I've also added some fresh breadcrumbs in, to kind of lighten it up.

-See you later.

-Good luck.

So how are you feeling? Did you sleep last night?

I didn't, no. Still lots of nerves, but I'm a bit better...

Did you have quiche-related nightmares?

Quiche-related nightmares? Yeah, like Paul Hollywood coming out of my quiche and...

That's a mighty quiche if Paul can come out of it.

No - I didn't really grow up with quiche because it's not a particularly Indian dish.

-So do you think quiche is your nemesis then?

-Absolutely.

Inspired by her extensive travelling, Urvashi loves using

exotic Southeast Asian flavours in her baking.

She's seeing this as a chance to stand out from the crowd,

with an unusual crab, coriander and coconut quiche.

-I'm wondering where the coconut cream comes in.

-Really?

-It's very, very sweet,

it's full of sugar. I have never done it - I'm going to wait and see.

-Something's changed - those onions aren't on the floor.

-Everything's on the table, yeah.

Listen, what a spectacular recovery you made last week.

Thank you very much. It was a bit stressful, especially when I threw a cake on the floor.

-I am seeing the funny side of it now.

-Good.

-At the time, it wasn't very funny...

Rob has always had a strong creative streak, and dreams of one day working as a pastry chef.

He's decided to make a smoked bacon and kale quiche.

I think there's loads of time...

-You're very Zen.

-Yeah. I am very Zen today.

Just...careful of the arms.

After just 12 minutes in the oven, the danger of pastry shrinking and bubbling is eliminated.

The foil and weights are removed, and the unfilled crust returned to the oven to brown.

I'm just waiting for it to be absolutely baked blind

to the point where there's no sort of little bits left that are

slightly undercooked.

It's looking good - I just want to make sure the base is absolutely cooked through.

It's feeling nice and firm at the moment but I just want to give it a couple of minutes to crisp up a bit.

Rotating the case will ensure it is baked evenly.

This is looking dry enough to take my filling now, hopefully.

If it isn't crisp throughout, the wet filling could seep into the crust and dampen it.

-So you're the youngest baker in the tournament?

-I am.

-So you think you can give a few of these old-timers a run for their money?

-I hope so.

Jason has only been baking for seven years, and hopes to take his baking

to a more professional level by taking part in the bake off.

He's gone for an Asian-inspired salmon and pak choi quiche.

I was looking for something different and I thought of sesame seeds -

and then sesame seeds led to salmon and pak choi.

So I said, yeah, I'm sure they'll like it.

Bakers, you're halfway through your quiche challenge.

You've got one hour to go.

The final stage is to fill and bake their quiches.

It's like a swamp... That's a big swamp of quiche!

Eggs are used in the quiche's filling, as they have a unique protein composition

that starts out as liquid, and rapidly develops a structure

that supports the other ingredients when heated.

Jo, what's going on? It's all going on...

I've made a caramelised onion

with Gruyere cheese and thyme quiche.

You be very careful to not go over the edges, because it will stick and you won't get it out.

Now, have you baked that blind?

I have baked it blind, yeah.

-It is a little bit pale.

-Right, OK.

When you're baking blind, the whole idea is to cook the pastry and to lightly brown the pastry -

it's not to do any more browning because you're cooking that at a slightly lower temperature.

That is a little bit light to start with.

Watch your edges, I'm worried about those now.

-Steady hand!

-Steady hands.

Only 40 minutes left, and most of the bakers are putting their filled quiches in the oven.

-Whose quiche have you got your eye on?

-Mary-Anne's.

I've got her... If I was a betting woman, she's my winner.

Everything she bakes, I actually want to eat.

I've just gone over there and eaten half of her ingredients, so...

If you could eat some more, then...

35 minutes on the clock.

-We haven't quite got 35 minutes.

-What, you don't have time?

-We'll see how it goes.

-How much time have we got?

I don't know, about half an hour.

Now, don't fail!

But Rob is still blind baking.

-Rob, what are you doing?

-I was chilling out with the pastry too much.

What's going on in the oven? Your pastry's cooking?

-Yeah.

-Turn your oven up.

-I've turned it up a bit.

-Well, good luck, Rob.

-Cheers. I know you're pushed for time.

I often feel like a schoolteacher with Rob. I feel every now and again

he needs a slap on the wrist and say, "Now, you MUST do better."

He had two hours - everybody else has managed to do it. Just get it done!

Stop messing around and get it in the oven.

He's quite sure of himself, but he IS behind,

and I don't know whether it's going to get finished.

Whether it's a savoury Lorraine, a tangy lemon or a sweet cherry, we all love our tarts.

But one legendary British king liked them so much,

he had a separate kitchen built in order to produce them.

The magnificent 16th-century palace of Hampton Court

has been home to some of our most celebrated kings and queens, including a certain Henry VIII.

He may be famous for six wives and a penchant for beheadings,

but Henry had another passion which transformed Hampton Court

into a Tudor baking factory - his love of tarts.

Henry VIII had an impressive appetite.

We know this because we have his suits of armour.

His early ones, he has a 34-inch waist

with really broad shoulders - the guy is a real athlete.

His last suit of armour, 54-inch waist - he's really gone to seed.

With a passion for food and a court of 600 to feed,

when Henry VIII took over the palace in 1529,

he set about expanding the kitchens.

They soon covered an acre of land

and consisted of 55 rooms that were staffed by 200 cooks.

One of the kitchen's busiest departments

was built specifically to cater for the king's favourite dish.

The pastry is doing nothing but make pastry.

They're stood there rolling, mixing, kneading all day long

to produce what could be 300-400 tarts and pies a day.

When the kitchen's in full swing, you're going to need massive amounts of ingredients -

barrel loads of butter, tons of flour, huge amounts coming in here day after day.

As well as the pastry room, a confectionary kitchen was built

to whip up huge batches of fillings for hundreds of sweet tarts.

Tarts were seen as delicacies in the 16th century, and regarded as a dish of status.

They were difficult and delicate to make,

but they also presented a chance to showcase the finest ingredients.

A popular Tudor recipe was a rich strawberry tart,

which demanded the cook to squeeze the juice from the fresh fruit by hand.

Serving seeds to the king could have cost you your head.

When you're a Tudor king, it's all about the ingredients.

The best of British is going to be on the table, but it's all about food miles.

You can bring it all together in a tart.

Lovely British strawberries, but then flavoured with Persian sugar

and a hint of ginger from the Orient.

It wasn't just the opulent, luxurious tarts the king is thought to have enjoyed -

legend said his favourite was a very small, sweet, simple cheese tart

called a Maid of Honour.

King Henry is supposed to have happened upon Queen Anne,

with ladies in waiting, and they were eating tarts from a silver dish.

He tried one and it was so good that he wanted no-one else to have it,

and so the recipe was locked up in an iron box.

Another version of this story is that it wasn't the recipe

they locked away, it was the maid who knew how to make them.

20 minutes to go in the signature bake.

We're at the waiting in anticipation stage,

and fidgeting and hoping that it works stage...

My quiche is in the oven,

but I had it on the wrong setting on the oven,

so it was in there for about half an hour not cooking at all.

Mum-of-three Yasmin bakes daily for her family

and is still hoping there's time for her smoked haddock and watercress quiche to turn out as planned.

It looks nice, just not set really,

but I'm concerned because it was in the oven

for about half an hour with all that liquid just sitting on the pastry.

So I could get the soggy bottom...

We'll just have to wait.

That's ten-minute call, ten minutes to get your quiches turned out,

put on the end of your workstations and presented ready - face-up, please, Rob!

Smells really good. Mmm.

It's a little browned on one side, but hey,

you can't have everything - but it should hopefully taste very good.

Ah.

No, it's not going to come off the bottom tin.

Ah, nightmare.

I'm really pleased with the overall effect - spot on, I think.

Happy with that.

I'm quite pleased with it. It looks OK.

We'll know when we taste it.

It's like anything, it doesn't matter what it looks like, to some extent -

if it doesn't taste nice then it's a fail. So...

I don't know how set it is in the middle - that's the only thing.

-How long we got?

-Three minutes.

-Three? BLEEP.

I did make a conscious effort to make my quiche look nice -

hopefully the judges will be impressed.

Bakers, your time is up.

Yeah, it was a bit down to the wire!

-Hello, Ian!

-Hello!

-This looks...it looks tempting.

There's a lot going on in here. The texture of it is excellent.

What we haven't done is turned it upside down to see how the bottom is.

-Excellent. Not good, excellent.

-Relief.

-That's perfect.

-It's got a good base. Good colour.

For me, this is just too sweet.

It's a very unusual thing to put a sweetened coconut in with the crab.

-I've totally lost the crab.

-OK.

What you've got is a very mild Thai meal inside that.

As a quiche...do you know what, I'm in that situation where I don't know whether I like it.

Janet, it needed a little more cooking.

Nightmare, I'm sorry about that.

The pastry is absolutely delicious.

Thank you.

That's tasting really rather good. The dill comes through

in the pastry and I think it goes very well.

It doesn't look anything special

-but it certainly tastes very special.

-Thank you.

-I'm afraid I'm not mad about it.

-Doesn't work for me.

Pesto is designed to be an accompaniment -

it's too much, it's too much in a quiche.

Hello, Yasmin...

Yasmin's mistake with her oven settings

means she's unsure whether her quiche has baked properly.

It's got a great colour.

It looks very good. Not a soggy bottom.

-I'm just going to turn it over to have a...

-See the bottom.

It's all right! But it needed just a little bit longer cooking -

in the middle here, it just needs to be slightly more set.

Yeah.

-You got it in the oven in the end.

-I did, yeah.

The kale does nothing for me.

You can't taste the kale - but that pastry is superb. Very, very good.

It looks a mess.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-OK.

The actual bake. It's a bit pale.

It doesn't tempt me to eat it.

But once I get going, it's jolly good.

-Well...

-There we go.

Doesn't that look different? Lovely and brown round the outside.

-Shall we dare to have a look underneath?

-No, I think...

We like to have a look underneath, don't we?

-Oh, dear.

-That is a soggy bottom.

-Soggy bottom.

-That's one wet bottom, that one!

It looks unappetising.

-Mmm.

-The pastry's OK but it needs more colour. It's very dry.

It tastes really lovely.

-Oh, thank you.

-But it just doesn't look it.

Looks great.

There's a lot of stuff in there, I can see that.

You've done well with the custard part - not a bubble, it's just set.

The salmon flavour is spectacular.

I am getting some great flavours coming through.

Thank you very much.

Jason and Ian have really impressed the judges,

but going into round two, Joanne, Mary-Anne and last week's star baker Holly

must up their game if they're going to stand a chance of staying in the bake off.

They hated it! So that's not good!

I'm not sure what they meant when they said it was quite different.

I mean, it has cheese in, it's got eggs in, it has a pastry crust - voila quiche!

From the flamboyance and creativity of the signature bake,

the second challenge is by contrast tightly-controlled and a complete surprise.

Now comes the technical bake.

So, deep breath, what we're going to be asking you to do

is a tarte au citron, according to a Mary Berry recipe - so no pressure.

Honestly, no pressure. You can breath out now. Breathe!

Now, the technical challenge is judged blind, so we're going to be

asking Paul and Mary, please, to vacate the tent.

OK, you have 1.5 hours to complete this challenge.

On your marks, get set, bake.

Each baker has been given exactly the same list of ingredients

and a basic recipe to create the perfect tarte au citron or lemon tart.

-You made one of these before?

-I haven't, actually.

Never. I do like it but I'm a bit scared of sweet pastry,

but I'll just mess it up big time...

-There's a lot of fear coming through there.

-It's making Mary's lemon tart for Mary.

The technical challenge is unique, allowing the judges to directly compare the bakers' abilities.

The best thing about blind judging is that you judge the product in front of you, not the person.

I think sometimes when we're judging, we can think back of what's just happened,

and we think "Maybe we should give them that extra chance."

To be honest, when it comes to blind bake, nobody gets an extra chance.

With minimal instructions, they must use all their baking knowledge

to interpret the recipe correctly

and deliver a perfect result to the judging table.

Tarte au citron, then, Mary!

-Lemon tart.

-Lemon tart.

-Can I have a look?

-You can.

To me, it's a piece de resistance.

It's got to have that wafer-thin pastry, lovely and crisp underneath.

Shouldn't have a bubble in it.

That is absolutely beautiful.

The first job for the bakers is to create the sweet crust pastry.

It's kind of like a sweet version of the shortcrust

that we did before for the quiche, so I'm relatively familiar with it.

Sweet crust however contains sugar, which slows down

the formation of gluten strands,

creating a pastry that's delicate and hard to work with.

The recipe the bakers are following does not specify

how the pastry should be mixed or what the consistency should be when rolled.

I disagree strongly with the use of a lot of machines when preparing pastry.

I think it's crucial that you learn what the dough or paste should feel like.

If you can do it by hand, by rubbing the butter within your flour, add your egg,

knead it just enough so the gluten binds that paste together - that will make a fantastic pastry.

Oh, it's just so soft.

A soft, oily pastry is caused by the butter being too warm when mixed with the dry ingredients.

A bit like bill-stickers' paste, isn't it?

Can always add a bit of flour, soak it all up, and hope for the best.

Just very annoying.

Adding extra flour can make the pastry tough.

It should be chilled in a freezer for a few minutes to solidify the butter,

-making it easier to roll and line the tin.

-Trying to be optimistic.

Criticised for her pastry in the signature bake,

Jo needs to make sure it is perfect this time around.

The pressure's definitely on. I'm trying to forget what happened last time and just concentrating on this.

Back home in Essex, Joanne bakes up to ten times a week for her friends and family.

-I'm just going to have to patch this.

-But early on, she's already facing problems with her casing.

I didn't realise how temperamental pastry is.

I kept some trimmings and I've just made a little extra wall on it so hopefully that will rescue it.

I love tarte au citron.

So have you made loads before?

-I haven't made loads and I don't normally make it with quite such a soft pastry.

-Right.

-So it could be interesting.

-Right.

# A fugitive running... #

Ben was taught to cook by his grandmother, who has passed on her passion for baking.

# ..Fallen from grace... #

I was always taught a shortcrust pastry should be very, very pale,

which is what I'd got today and I was very happy with it.

So to be told that it's not coloured enough was a bit of a like, oh...

But there's no point in arguing about it, and I'll take that and move that through into this.

With pastry cases lined, it's time for the blind bake.

As with the quiches, Mary and Paul will be looking for perfectly golden and crisp pastry cases.

Because it's all in the pastry and the crunch, and it looks all right but, God, who knows?!

There's a little crack in the bottom of my case, you know.

My plan is just to make a tiny little bit more pastry to fill in that gap.

Hey, hey, hey. Yeah.

Oh, no.

-Are we facing the collapse of the pastry wall?

-Yep. We are.

I've never had it collapse on me or anything before.

I'm really fed up that I'm making silly mistakes and I don't know why.

And I really thought I was going to be all right with the pastry, but...we will see.

45 minutes to go.

With the pastries blind baking, the next task is to make the lemon filling.

The filling is flavoured with an equal amount of sugar to lemon juice.

I think wishy-washy lemon's not worth having, you know, I think

if you have something lemony, it's got to be really sharp,

so it sort of gets all your jaws going, you know.

The cases need to be filled right to the top.

Pouring the custard filling into the case while it's already in the oven helps prevent spilling.

Any leaked liquid will burn the crust during baking.

I've never made anything like this before, never made any flat, fine, fiddly tart thing.

It's not in my nature.

I'm actually enjoying this quite a lot.

The final stumbling block for our bakers

is when to take their tarts out of the oven.

I'm probably going to give it just another couple of minutes to make sure it's all right.

Take it out too soon and it won't set properly -

something Janet is all too aware of.

The quiche was not cooked totally in the middle, which was a bit of a downer.

So I think I'll need to leave it as long as I possibly can.

Leave it in too long and they risk boiling the filling,

which will result in a cracked top and air bubbles in the mixture.

I've kind of based it on a similar tart I've done before with custard.

You take it out when there's just a little bit of wobble in the middle,

so I've applied that principle, and fingers crossed it'll work.

In the lap of the gods now.

I think everyone's just hoping, more than actually knowing

that it's going to go right - including myself.

Bakers, lemon tarts wait for no man nor woman.

You have three minutes left, please.

Better or worse, out you come.

And you needn't start exploding either.

Please, please!

Moment of truth. As it stands now it looks OK.

If there's any time for trimming off the mess that's baked on the outside of the case, then I'll be happier.

I don't think it's a disaster.

It doesn't look like a disaster, because at least it's not runny.

I hope it's enough to get me through.

I like a really lemony tarte au citron so when it comes to the taste, we'll see what they think.

I'm hoping that will be rescued.

If it was at home it'd be good enough, but it might not be good enough for the judges.

So we will see.

OK, that's tart termination time. That's your lot!

The judging for the technical bake is different to the other challenges,

as Paul and Mary have not watched the bakers working.

This means they will rank them from best to worst without knowing which tart belongs to which baker.

Good gracious.

11 really lovely tartes au citron.

They're all of a jolly good standard.

Come on, let's get stuck in.

It's a bit thick on the pastry.

Tastes good, but you expect that - it's a Mary Berry recipe!

LAUGHTER This one looks a little bit darker.

There's a crack in the top of this one.

It is slightly over-baked.

A thinner pastry on this one.

I think that the blind bake wasn't long enough, and that's been boiled.

Nice to have thin pastry, though.

-This one looks like a patchwork quilt.

-Good bake.

-What's that?

That's the join in the pastry. It's folded in the corner here.

When you line the bottom of a tin, you've got to press it to the side all the way around.

This hasn't been pressed enough so you've doubled up, so it's got a thick rim all the way around it.

It's a disaster the way that's been lined. This one looks good.

Thin crust... It is not shrinking away from the side.

The filling is beautifully creamy.

-Now this next one has definitely been overdone.

-Absolutely.

It's shrinking away from the sides and has been in the oven too long.

The pastry lining on this looks quite neat.

-It's a good bake.

-Very good bake.

-The base is excellent.

And also a good ratio between the pastry and the amount of filling.

Yeah, that's nice, that one. This one looks impressive.

It's a lovely pastry.

Slightly thicker pastry on the bottom. The topping's lovely,

but the pastry underneath is not crisp.

-It needed a bit longer on the blind bake.

-Nice finish of pastry there.

-It's nice and neat, isn't it?

-Yes.

Good ratio of filling to base.

Lovely and crisp underneath that one. And we come to the last one.

Very nice short pastry.

Paul and Mary must now decide which baker showed the best technical ability with their tart.

We'll start with the lowest...

-which is...

-This person.

Simon.

Slightly overdone. Pastry's a bit of a mess.

And in tenth place, we have...

-this person.

-It's me.

That's you, Jo. It was a bit of a disaster.

Mary-Anne has had yet another bad round, finishing ninth, followed by Janet in eighth...

Oh, not again.

..Urvashi in seventh...

-Me.

-..and Yasmin in sixth.

Rob finishes a good day in fifth, and after being in the bottom two

with her quiche, Holly's fourth place gives her some breathing room going into the final day.

-And in third place...

-Hello!

Jason, what a pretty decoration you've put on.

In second place...

is this one.

That's a nice lemon tart.

And the winner is...

Ben.

It is nigh perfect.

'I'm shocked, I'm shocked.'

I was seriously not expecting that.

I'd quite happily run and jump around and scream and shout, but I'm a bit too reserved for that,

unless I've got a spotlight on me. But I've got to nail it tomorrow

because I think people will be watching now.

'To be at the top of the pile today feels great.'

I don't let it go to my head, but I am going to bask in it

for the time that it is, and hopefully continue to do well.

'I am disappointed.'

I did expect to come bottom, especially when I put the tart down next to everyone else's.

But tomorrow's another day so, yeah, come out fighting, same as usual.

'I really don't know what went wrong today.'

I just think I made silly mistakes, really, all day.

'The boys will be really disappointed.'

Actually, that was what was going through my mind at the end of it.

I was just thinking, "Oh, God, I've let everyone down."

It's the final day in the second round of the bake off.

This is the last chance the bakers have to impress Paul and Mary,

and for one of them to avoid being sent home.

If we look over the two challenges yesterday,

who's in trouble and needs to pull out all the stops today?

-Simon. Simon's quiche - the flavours were good...

-Yes.

..but the reason why he's put in the danger zone is because he came bottom

and he burnt the whole lemon tart.

That's why he's in the position he is now.

Mary-Anne, she was the only one who did the suet crust for her quiche,

-but it wasn't done in the middle. It fell apart.

-It was a raw bottom.

She's got the knowledge there, but her work is clumsy.

Jo is another one.

Which is a surprise - she had such a great first week.

But when you're looking at the quiche...

-It was anaemic.

-It looked insipid.

It didn't hit me - "Wow, I want to tuck into that."

She's got to really pick her game up for this one.

Bakers, this is your final bake.

It's your chance to really show off and show the judges

what you can do. And I have to say, Paul and Mary are expecting nothing less than pastry miracles.

What we're looking for is a selection of miniature, sweet tarts.

The pastry's got to be super thin and well-baked

and we're looking for a batch of 24. We're looking for consistency across that number, so no pressure(!)

And of course we will be saying goodbye to one of you at the end of today, so all

that remains is for you to put in a blinding performance. Good luck!

'The final showstopper bake is the most demanding pastry challenge the bakers have faced,

'as it combines baking intricate tarts in bulk, where one small mistake will stand out.'

Make sure I use the right thing - that would be great, wouldn't it, all the wrong stuff(?)

Paul and Mary want to see two dozen intricate tarts

showcasing two flavour combinations AND decorative skills.

Each tart must be exactly the same in size, taste and appearance.

These little showstopper tarts are really quite difficult

-for the bakers because they're not used to doing large quantities.

-It's consistency.

Consistency not only in their pastry and their rolling out, but consistency in their bake.

I'm just about to roll out...

and to start lining my pastry cases.

I've put it in clingfilm for a couple of reasons - one, to stop me

touching the pastry quite as much as I need to, and to stop me adding

more flour to the mixture...

so keeping it nice and short.

And also I find it lets you get it a little bit thinner as well,

which is important for this challenge.

I just want to get the pastry right today.

I just want to make sure it's all perfect today.

Having been in the bottom two in the signature and technical bakes,

Joanne knows everything rests on how she performs today.

She's making raspberry and mascarpone tarts with

a lemon and almond pastry and honey and almond tarts with a sweet crust.

It doesn't matter how good your fillings are,

without the pastry being good, you know, that's the whole

essence of a tart, really, isn't it?

As they are making smaller, more intricate bakes,

every aspect of the process needs to be precisely executed.

Tiny little tarts, big hands - not necessarily a good combination.

So I do find them a little bit fiddly.

How long have we got? I keep losing track of time.

Time goes so terribly fast when you're trying to get on with stuff.

Janet has opted for two quite traditional tart recipes.

The first is red fruits with lemon mascarpone and the second, chocolate ganache and cherries.

It's straightforward, but done well, it tastes fantastic.

I hope they're nice flavours, and visually I wanted something that looked pretty.

The essence of miniature tarts is little ones need to be a feast for the eyes as well for the taste.

It's easier to push pastry in with another bit of pastry, and I know

Paul's got a real thing about having rounded corners,

so I'm trying to get my corners as sharp as possible.

With tins lined, it's time for the blind bake.

Hot rice bags!

You shouldn't use greaseproof paper, because it leaves marks...

on your pastry, so if you use clingfilm bags and as long as

bake at a low enough temperature, you won't get the marks.

-Is life too short to be making hot rice bags?

-I did think that as I was doing it.

I thought it doesn't matter, but it matters to Paul and it matters to Mary, so it matters to me.

Hoping to hold onto her title of star baker,

Holly's making milk chocolate and pistachio tarts and her husband's favourite, trifle tarts.

Oh, God!

The pastries go into the oven.

Timings are crucial with miniature tarts.

Their size means they bake quickly, and therefore there's much less margin for error.

In just a minute, they can turn from being underdone to burnt.

It all looks nice and calm in your kitchen today.

Yeah, it's not!

-Can you run through your two tarts?

-He's jogging!

It isn't just baking for Rob, it's like a fitness DVD at the same time.

Sorry. I am doing a, erm...

chocolate with fennel and ginger.

OK.

Then I'm doing a almond pastry with creme patissiere and poached pear.

-Are you all right for time? Er...

-No! Look at him, he's tight.

That's the only thing that's going to let me down today, and I really don't want it to.

You take it to the line every single time.

Yeah, I know, it's stressful baking.

Manage your time better, and then you'll be all right, you'll be fine.

All right.

Ben has started on his fillings.

I'm just rubbing inside of the bowl with some lemon juice.

I'm making some meringue in a minute for the lemon mousse.

Just by putting lemon juice in there,

we can get rid of any fat, and hopefully get a nice rise

into the meringues.

After coming in last place in the technical bake, Simon has to up his game in this final challenge.

-Are the family being supportive?

-Very, yeah.

What have they been telling you? What have they been saying?

"Don't fail, don't lose, and if you do lose, don't come home!"

He's hoping his 12 passion fruit and ricotta and 12 salted chocolate and

stem ginger tarts will be enough to keep him in the competition.

I'm not keen on this salt and chocolate business.

It is quite daring, actually.

If he gets that balance right, he could create something magical.

Because I did quite well yesterday, I'm not really feeling more pressure today.

I'm just taking it how it comes.

I'm happy I did well, but I'm not going to sit in it and think, "Hey, that's me done."

Hoping to build on his success, Jason is making mint chocolate tarts and blueberry Bakewell tarts.

Jason's recipe doesn't require a blind bake as the frangipane

and blueberry jam filling is baked at the same time as the pastry.

I'd love to be named the star baker today!

Part of being in this competition is to win it. I know for me, anyway.

It's half way through the showstopper challenge,

and the blind-bake tart shells are coming out.

-What's happening, then?

-Still a little bit stuck, that's all.

There it comes. Got it, got it, got it, got it. That was tense.

-Particularly with you standing there!

-The pastry seems to be all right, thank goodness,

so now I'm just making the fillings for my almond tart.

They've just caught on the edges a bit. I think I set the oven too high.

I pipe cream all the way to the edges anyway, so you won't see the edge of the case,

and I'll have to trim off where I've burnt.

Not a major drama, but...you know, keep calm, carry on.

Despite his earlier confidence following the blind bake...

Grrr!

..Rob's discovered a problem with his pastry.

They won't come out.

The pastry has too much butter in it, and so the whole thing separated,

but there's nothing I can do now,

because they're baked, so I can't make another one.

They're knackered, they're absolutely knackered.

I'd throw these straight in the bin, but I can't do anything. I'm trying to keep calm.

Now, you may have thought that the French have the monopoly on fantastic tarts,

or tartes fantastiques, as they say in France, but one of the world's most famous tarts

comes from a little town in the middle of the English countryside.

Bakewell, a tiny, remote town in the Peak District, is home to one of the world's most famous tarts.

Famous the world over, the Bakewell tart owes its international success

not to planes, trains or even automobiles,

but to the humble horse-drawn stagecoach.

In the early 1800s, they were the only way to travel great distances.

Towns like Bakewell were put on the map along with their local delicacies.

The Bakewell tart actually is known locally as a Bakewell pudding.

It was invented in the Rutland Arms by a Mrs Greaves in about the 1820s.

The hotel was a popular staging post on the 200-mile route from London to Manchester.

These stopping points gave the drivers a chance to change their horses and the passengers

an opportunity to have a good night's sleep and feast on local food.

The local legend says

that one day she asked her maid to make a strawberry tart,

and the maid made a mistake and out came the Bakewell pudding.

I don't believe that that's true.

I think Mrs Greaves invented it as a special dish for her guests.

The Rutland Arms had a major reputation for food.

It had extremely distinguished guests.

You've got people like the King of Saxony staying here, you've got Jane Austen.

It had to be up to the mark in terms of its food and hospitality.

Charles Dickens was another famous visitor, and he wrote

about eating a Bakewell pudding, describing it as a local delicacy.

I think the Bakewell pudding became so famous because of the people who

endorsed it - the aristocracy, the noblemen who stayed at the hotel, who took it to London.

They would talk about this and ask their cooks and their caterers to try and replicate this pudding.

There was fashion in those days, as there is now,

and when these famous people endorsed this pudding, then everybody wanted to try it.

Word of the pudding spread far and fast.

In 1837, a few years after its invention, a similar recipe was

published in a cookery book 4,000 miles away in America.

A global baking sensation was born, all made possible by a rickety horse-drawn coach.

OK, 30 minutes left.

Just 30 minutes left.

The bakers begin to fill and dress their tarts.

These are just slices of apple that I've poached in apple juice

and sugar, and then when you roll them up,

they magically turn into little apple rosettes which look fabulous.

Knowing that she could be in trouble if she doesn't deliver today,

Mary Anne is once again attempting something out of the ordinary.

I'm not going to be here again, so I might as well go all out, eh?

Now, I'm no experienced cook, but this looks like you've cut it pretty fine time-wise.

Yeah, and I've messed up with the creme patissiere.

Ah, you've curdled it. Do you think the pressure of it's just got to you?

I've totally cracked this time.

Last week, Urvashi was criticised by Mary for using inedible flowers as decoration.

-I was mortified, so I got out one of Mary's books from the library and it's got...

-You swot!

..a double-page spread of edible flowers. It's great,

because it's got violas and I started growing violas last year.

Urvashi wants to stun the judges this week with her strawberry and

basil tarts and elderflower tarts garnished with homemade honeycomb.

My girls love watching this, because it is just magic when it all bubbles up...

-I've never seen honeycomb being made.

-Really?

Honeycomb is made by rapidly boiling butter, sugar and golden syrup.

It's there, yeah.

When it reaches 140 degrees Celsius, bicarbonate of soda is added.

Ah!

It's like magic.

-Oh, my God!

-Isn't that brilliant?

Reacting with the hot sugar, bubbles of carbon dioxide form,

giving the honeycomb its unique structure.

-I love that.

-It's just like bubble magic.

-That's brilliant.

-Isn't it wicked? Hopefully, it will set.

Ten minutes left, everyone, ten minutes left.

I am really pushing it for time again.

Oh... Hello, sailor.

Look...at that.

What's happened with the pastry?

It's burnt. Overall, if I was going to make a bad job of pastry,

this is pretty much how I'd set out to do it.

That ganache hasn't thickened up.

Really disappointed, really disappointed. Quick miffed, really.

I can't do anything about it.

I won't be able to turn these ones out, because the pastry won't set.

so I'm just making them look a tiny, tiny bit better than they do.

I just have a mantra in my head.

"You can't get it wrong." So even if you are getting it wrong,

you've still got a chance to redeem yourself.

Now I've got two good fillings. Let's see how we get on.

Back in the game!

Bakers, leave those tarts alone.

Your time is officially up.

The remaining 11 bakers have now done all they can,

but only ten can make it through and be in with a chance

of winning the Great British Bake Off.

Jo, you're up first.

It's the moment of truth for Joanne, and the last chance

to convince the judges to keep her in the competition.

The raspberry ones look fantastic.

Cooked well.

Wasn't that nice going through that crisp pastry?

That's what we're looking for.

Nice flavours.

-Thank you.

-Then we come to the...her lemon ones.

Lovely thin pastry there.

That one melts, it flakes.

And you've got this lovely runny honey in the bottom.

The taste of that one is excellent.

You've got them all very uniform. This is what we were asking you for.

You've made them like little soldiers.

The pastry looks a little on the thick side to me.

It's over baked and too thick. Your fillings are good, your

piping work is second to none, but again the pastries have let you down.

-It could be a thing of beauty this, Jason.

-I've left you the blueberry, did you notice that?

-I did!

-It's great.

-Thank you.

I like the way you've decorated it as well.

It's simple but quite arty.

How pretty those apples look!

You've just achieved something, to me, that's quite new on the top there.

The filling is scrummy.

-They're quite deep and big.

-Yeah.

-You've bitten off more than you can chew, Paul!

-Definitely!

I love the look of them. I adore the way it looks.

-Thank you.

-It is stunning.

-How pretty do those look!

-Don't they?

Full of style and most attractive.

But really it's delicious, it's very, very nice.

That you could put in a decent establishment - to sell.

Could you, really? Oh, my goodness, thank you.

Very, very good.

APPLAUSE I might take a few back tonight.

Ah, that's really sweet, thank you.

I said to you, you really should be able to eat

all the decoration, and haven't you done well!

Of course, violets, violas are totally edible,

and they look so pretty, particularly against the yellow.

What was in this pastry again?

-Just a straightforward pastry.

-Which you burnt.

-It's very overcooked, Simon.

-It is very overcooked, yes.

I'm getting chocolate.

Mm.

-And it is quite...it's salted well.

-Thank you.

-But that case is...

-Oh, it's horrific.

-It's a non-starter.

-That's rather a shame, really.

Robert, Robert...

Oh, dear, you're capable of such great things, you know.

Tastes really good. What else can I say?

-The problem is, it's a mess.

-Yeah.

This isn't the first time that you've been in this situation.

-I'm disappointed, to be honest.

-These are not good enough.

It's getting to know that they had kind of like big hopes for me and then basically not delivered.

I think I've done enough to be able to stay, but I also think that I've messed up enough to go.

Basically, I'm fearing the worst.

I think the person who's most obviously at risk of going home would be Rob.

We'll see how that one goes.

I'm obviously hoping, really, really praying that I stay, but

I had a really bad day yesterday, so I am quite concerned still.

Mary and Paul look back over the weekend's offerings individually

before deciding who they think should leave the Great British Bake Off.

But first, who will be named star baker?

Jason's had a really good time, hasn't he?

That blueberry with the frangipane, great.

Ian's also had a very good weekend, possibly the best quiche in the room.

I was mad about the casing of it, so crisp it looked beautiful.

And he had an amazing tarte au citron, let's not forget.

Again, the flavours were good, pastry was very good.

So is he in the running to be star baker?

For me, it's very, very close.

Let's look at the other end of the spectrum.

You identified that you thought Joanne and Simon were in trouble.

Joanne had a bad day yesterday.

Tenth in the tarte citron, second from bottom.

-The worst quiche.

-It's not good for her.

Today, though, her tart was pretty good.

We were looking for something that was beautifully presented, and she made excellent pastry.

-Now, Simon.

-The main reason why Simon is in the bottom is because he

-came last in the lemon tart.

-What did you make of his tarts, Mary?

Simon's pastry is really overcooked.

The flavour's all right. The pastry's knackered, it's burnt.

-You liked the chocolate salt, though?

-The actual filling of the chocolate was lovely,

but when you look at it, it isn't of a standard that we're looking for.

I'll tell you another person that needs a mention - Rob.

That is disgusting. How dare that be put up!

If he can't do it, then he shouldn't be in the competition.

He's got the skills, he's got the technique.

-Yeah.

-He's just not organised.

It grates me that he bothered turning up to create that.

-You're forgetting that yesterday he had two very good results.

-It doesn't make any difference.

This is a fundamental disagreement that you need to resolve.

-It's a Paul and Mary moment.

-Yeah, sure.

-Yeah.

Bakers, let's start with the positive.

The person that the judges felt this weekend really excelled in

every single challenge and therefore must be this week's star baker is...

..Jason.

APPLAUSE Well done, mate.

-Thank you.

-Well done!

Now we come to the slightly more painful issue of who won't be joining us next week.

The saddest thing of all, of course, is that we have to lose one person.

And I have to say this was extremely close.

And the person who will be leaving us this week is...

..Simon.

I'm so sorry, mate.

It's all right.

No, it's all right.

I don't feel any resentment for the result.

It's got to be the best people go through for this competition.

It is tough. I've told Rob that I expect him

to win, otherwise I'm coming to talk to him afterwards.

-I'm well sorry.

-Yes, mate. Come here.

For me, Simon just didn't perform all weekend.

It was disappointing today, because his pastry was so overbaked.

Give us a squeeze.

I am upset that I didn't reach the standard that I set myself,

but it will push me to do more in my own baking at home and set a higher standard.

You're lucky.

For me, Rob, I still feel he shouldn't be here.

But after much talking and chatting, we decided to let him stay.

I want to prove to Mary and Paul that I can be consistently good.

I don't think you've seen the best of me yet at all.

I am enjoying the moment.

This has proven that a lot of the effort that I put in is really paying off, so I am happy.

Obviously I'd had a bad couple of days, so it's such a big relief.

Oh, sorry.

Oh, I'm so relieved.

Next time...

I've got butterflies in my tummy, I'm nervous now.

..it's bread!

It's a bit scary. You just want it to work and you want it to be right.

Paul is on the search for perfection...

This is the week they really have to raise their game.

..setting his first technical challenge - focaccia.

Someone's not been following my recipe.

I think this has been the scariest challenge so far.

The bakers must rise to his exacting standards.

The whole thing's collapsed. It's just gone completely.

Everyone is out to impress.

-You've nailed it.

-It's a lovely texture, that.

But there can only be one winner.

This is more than a competition.

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