Desserts The Great British Bake Off

Now, I'm on my tod this week as Mel's having the electronic bracelet refitted to her ankle,

but behind me are nine of the country's best amateur bakers

battling it out over pies, pastries and puddings.

Well, each week we get closer to finding our champion

and each week I get closer to having to wear a surgical truss.

Welcome to the Great British Bake Off.

'Last week, the bakers took on pastry...'

Let's try that again.

'..as the bakers produced a multitude of tarts...'

Puff the Magic Pastry, here it comes.

'..and James' pastry perfection...'

I love that.

'..earned him the title of star baker.

'But, after some disastrous experiments with flavour...'

That doesn't work for me.

'..it was Victoria who said goodbye to the Bake Off tent.

'This week, dessert is on the menu...'

It's leaning that way.

I'm going to booze it up and get Mary a bit sloshed.

'..but who will appeal to the judges' sweet tooth...'

That is absolutely delicious.

'..and who will have to hang up their apron for the last time?'

It looks like a chocolate breezeblock.

-My worst nightmare, this is.

-Bleurgh.

I could cry.

This week, it's all about desserts,

so expect more meringues than a Katie Price wedding.

But less fighting.

Morning, bakers, and welcome to the first challenge of the weekend - the signature bake.

Now, what we're asking you to do for this is to make a torte cake,

which is, of course, a dessert which consists of multiple layers

which you can fill with jam or cream or mousse or whatever you like.

This torte needs to be more than 20cm in diameter.

You've got three hours to complete this challenge.

On your marks, get set, bake.

When making a torte, it's got to look special.

Not only from the outside,

it's got to look good as you cut that wedge out.

It would be nice if it had layers of different flavours,

but they've all got to complement each other.

Just like a classic sponge, a torte mix uses butter, sugar and eggs.

But that's where the similarities end.

It can be made with anything except normal conventional wheat flour

so they could use chestnut flour... Ground almonds will probably be quite prevalent.

This decision is crucial.

-HE SIGHS

-I'm dreading this.

The choice of flour substitute

will have a huge impact on flavour and structure.

I'm adding hazelnuts and almonds, roasted.

Ground nuts, the choice of most bakers,

will give the torte a firm foundation,

but can produce a heavy texture...

I have practised this recipe quite a lot of times.

..a risk that Danny thinks she has a unique way of avoiding.

I'm making a Savoy sponge, which is a fatless sponge

and I'm using potato flour to hold it together.

Drawing from her archive of recipes,

intensive care consultant Danny is always looking to impress

Paul and Mary with unfamiliar ingredients and tastes.

Today she's flavouring her potato flour torte

with blackberry, white chocolate, lemon and elderflower.

Now, potato flour. I don't know very much about potato flour.

-Paul, what can we expect from that?

-No idea. Never used it.

-It's very starchy.

-It is.

-I tend to avoid it like the plague.

I've used it for drop scones and things like that,

-but I haven't used it very much.

-This is going to be fascinating.

It's very different. And quite tricky.

My brain is saying it's jammy jacket potatoes.

Tell me if you think it's still jammy jacket potato.

If it's you doing it, it won't be jammy jacket potato.

'Danny isn't the only baker with a unique base ingredient.'

Chestnut flour is quite pasty,

but it has a lovely, unique flavour.

It's trickier working with non-standard flours,

but I have a number of friends who are gluten intolerant

so over the last few years I've developed a skill

of delivering good bakes, basically, without the standard flour.

At home, it's Brendan's neighbours

who've benefited from his constant practising, which has paid off

with a growing reputation for precision and lavish decoration.

Enjoy. Bye.

Today he's using clementines and lemon verbena leaves

to complement the flavour of his chestnut flour.

I have a tendency to over-elaborate the presentation,

although I like that if you have the material.

However, it puts me under pressure for time and so forth,

so I've taken that on board to rein myself in a little bit, really.

While Sarah-Jane is using a standard ground almond base

for her sponge mix...

..mix the chocolate together in a heat-proof bowl...

..she's taking a gamble by adding another ingredient

to boost flavour and structure.

These amaretti biscuits are mine and my husband's

dream pudding ingredient, really.

This is probably the... I wouldn't say this is outrageous -

this is the bravest thing I've ever done.

But until this, getting here on the train by myself

was the bravest thing I'd ever done.

Stay-at-home mum Sarah-Jane

has steadily grown in confidence throughout the Bake Off

and her simple but perfectly executed bakes have so far impressed the judges.

She's going for a chocolate and almond truffle torte

with plenty of almond liqueur.

Normally, if I wasn't here on Saturday,

I'd be washing school uniform,

getting homework done, so this is totally different.

I feel quite guilty about having so much fun

while everybody else is at home doing all the normal stuff.

To avoid a stodgy torte,

the bakers whisk egg whites into soft peaks and add them to the batter.

But it's a delicate operation.

Beat the egg in too hard and they'll knock all the air out

and lose the only raising agent in the cake.

I'm just trying to relax as much as I can

cos I think when I panic that's when it, kind of, goes wrong for me.

Before entering the Bake Off,

Stuart's biggest baking triumph was making his own wedding cake.

But in the competition, he hasn't always managed to impress.

He's hoping to revive his fortunes

with a Black Forest torte featuring seven layers,

including milk chocolate ganache, cherry jelly and a mirror glaze.

Now, you're using layers - is this because you know now

that layers are your saving grace in this competition?

Yeah, I suppose, a little bit.

But also because it allows the different flavours

to come through as you are, kind of, biting into it.

It's going to be open-sided,

so you can actually see all the layers straightaway.

-That's tricky.

-I hope you pull it off, mate.

Yeah, cheers, thank you.

Cheers.

Stuart's thin layers are risky.

Most bakers will be slicing larger sponges once baked.

I'm just putting the last little bit in.

By baking his individually, Stuart's hoping to be able to control

the consistency of each layer and drastically reduce baking time,

giving him longer to perfect the finish on his torte.

If it doesn't rise, it'll be like a pancake.

And he's not the only one.

This recipe I just whipped up this week

so it's all still experimental,

so it would be nice to go in to bake, you know, 100% confident,

but sometimes you just have to take risks.

Photographer Ryan likes recipes

which fuse the British baking classics with his Asian heritage.

His opera torte features almond and hazelnut sponge

flavoured with green tea,

which is filled with a dark chocolate ganache and covered with buttercream.

Once again, flavoured and coloured with green tea.

I actually looked on the internet and found something quite impressive

done by a Japanese patisserie in Paris

and I thought I would recreate that. It's unusual flavours.

I should have just stuck with the torte.

OK, bakers - that's half-time. 90 minutes.

'Baking flourless cakes is a delicate process.'

Oh, dear. OK. That's one big thing out of the way.

For those using larger sponges...

I'm just going to check it. Just make sure.

..they'll have to judge precisely when it is firm enough to slice,

but still moist.

And for Ryan and Stuart's incredibly thin individual layers...

..the margin for error can be less than a minute.

Should be all right.

But sometimes I can't tell how thick they are until I cut into them,

so it may be sometimes a bit too thin and if it's very thin

it's hard to handle afterwards, but we won't know until we cut into it.

It looks generally OK at the minute.

While their sponges are in the oven,

the bakers need to make their fillings and toppings.

There will be the clementines, which are just citrus.

I'm then going to put lemon oil into the buttercream.

I've got some blackberries here with some orange juice and zest

and I'm just going to gently cook them down.

I'm actually going to make a blackberry curd,

so I want them to go mushy.

So just reducing cherries down with a bit of sugar

and then adding some gelatine into it

and then just setting it in a square, cherry, jelly layer.

I only did it the first time this week

so I'll have to make sure it's perfect, really.

Nearly all the bakers

are including a chocolate ganache in their signature tortes.

I'm always tempted to eat the chocolate while I'm cooking.

It's a carefully combined mixture of chocolate and fresh cream.

To avoid making the chocolate seize

you've got to just use the cream as the melting agent in it.

You get the cream scorching, pour it over

and that should melt the chocolate.

-ALARM BEEPS

-I just need to get my thing out of the oven, actually, so...

Still a bit longer.

It makes a gentle, like, a bubbling sound if it's not done

because there's still a bit of moisture in there.

That's what that moisture sound is,

so if it sings to you then it's not quite ready,

so I'm going to put it in for another two minutes.

What the hell, I'll put it in for four, eh? Back to the chocolate.

Law student John's love of French patisserie

is his inspiration when devising new recipes.

But will his torte noir, flavoured with blackberries, raspberries

and a hidden layer of tempered chocolate have that French finesse?

My cream was actually too hot.

Just a bit too hot and it's seized the chocolate.

You can see, like...the chocolate splits away from itself

and all the sugar crystals in the chocolate fly around.

I'm going to have to start again.

What do you want from me?

Medical student James is the only baker making a flavoured ganache.

Of all the things that I fed my friends for Bake Off,

this is the most well received, actually.

In an attempt to ensure the passion fruit flavour isn't lost,

he's added it to the cream and infused it.

-It changes colour a little bit.

-Before mixing with the chocolate.

The amount of fresh passion fruit in this means that, you know,

it's quite an expensive bake.

It's not a student's everyday diet. Special occasions.

James's experiments with flavour and technique

have earned him praise at home and in the Bake Off.

He's used ground hazelnuts in his chocolate torte,

and will be using some of his passion fruit ganache

to create decorative truffles dusted with cocoa powder.

Oh! I'm getting passion fruit. I wasn't expecting that.

-That's nice, isn't it?

-You're such a clever thing, you are.

Clever and cosy. You're the only person who's bothered to think about

what they might wear in inclement weather.

I like a man who dresses appropriately.

John, basically, is stripped to the waist, Stuart's in Hawaiian gear.

If it's sunny next week, John's style -

I think I'll copy that for next week.

-So you'll get the full Shetland rug out next week?

-Yeah.

'One hour remaining.'

I'm happy with that, I'm going to take it out.

Apparently, if you take the ring off as soon as it comes out the oven,

there's less chance that it will completely implode on itself.

While some bakers will have to accurately cut their layers

-from a single sponge...

-Perfect.

..Ryan's second batch of individually baked layers need to match the first.

The sponges didn't turn out right

and so I'll have to rework these now.

Of all the things that can go wrong,

this is the worst part because on the others, I can recover.

I'm not sure if I can make it but I'll have to keep on going.

Layering a torte requires careful planning.

You have to think about, when you're cutting into the cake,

once you get the slice, it should cut through

without being intercepted by a segment because each gap will be a slice.

Every sponge, ganache, jelly or cream

should be perfectly level and clearly separated.

Just using the scraps of the torte sponge to make the final layer

because this is going to be the very bottom.

But Ryan is rapidly running out of time to assemble his torte.

I don't have time to do another one.

If it's dry, I'm going to booze it up and get Mary a bit sloshed

and hope she won't notice.

I keep hearing the word "layers," and mine hasn't got layers.

Well, it's just one-two.

Cathryn dropped out of college when she was young

to have her children, Maisie and Ambrose.

She now wants to prove to all her family that she can be

a success outside the home as well.

-Your cake is amazing, Mum.

-Thanks, hon.

Her ground macadamia nut and coffee torte

will have a feathered white chocolate topping and a decorative finish

she hopes will impress.

It's a transfer sheet and it's got a picture on it in cocoa butter

and then you spread the melted chocolate on, and then when it sets

you peel it away and it should lift up the picture of what's underneath.

I think I've just not given myself a hectic amount to do

and so I'm not rushing for time.

I do feel a bit calmer today which is really good.

Cathryn isn't the only baker planning a spectacular topping.

I'm using chocolate icing because the cake itself,

it's got 70% cocoa, so they're a tiny bit bitter.

Using icing sugar will boost it up with a bit of sweetness.

Nursery teacher Manisha has proven to be a consistent baker,

but each week of the competition has demanded more practice at home

and more tastings with her dad and brothers.

How often do cakes last in this house?

Her ground almond and hazelnut chocolate torte will be filled

with a mascarpone and kirsch cream

and a jam made from kirsch-soaked morello cherries.

-Are these going spare?

-They are going spare.

-Not any longer, they're not.

-Have you tested this on your brothers?

-Yes.

-It's too chocolatey, I think, for them, they'd say.

-Really?

-I like it.

So you make loads of chocolatey things for two brothers who don't really like chocolate?

But I like chocolate so it's fine. I eat all the chocolate.

OK, so you make things that they won't like but you can finish off?

-Yeah.

-No flies on you, that's very clever.

-OK, bakers, that's three minutes. Just three minutes left.

-Not good.

Not got a lot of time to spare now. Where's that spoon?

It's split again.

Could be the end of the road for me, I think.

Everyone else has done a really marvellous job

and I'm here looking like an idiot, to be honest.

It'll have to do.

How am I going to do this?

Hasn't set.

That's how it should look.

I'm going to have to work this chest for Mary

because she's not going to be impressed by my torte, I tell you that.

How do you spell "noir"? N-O-I-R.

It doesn't say anything, does it?

Time up, bakers. Get them shiny tortes to the end of your benches

so that judging can commence, thank you.

I could cry.

It's judgement time.

I actually quite like the look of it.

The thing is, it's all about textures,

and flavours, obviously, but it's about textures.

You really should see the layers

and you can see your layers very clearly.

I think it looks very unusual but the one flavour

that's coming through very strongly is bitter chocolate.

White chocolate probably would have been better,

to give you that sweetness to balance with the bitterness coming from the top.

-Cuts well.

-Every slice should look well finished and good on the plate.

Just how that looks is lovely.

It's a beautiful cake, nuts are a great texture, and you do get

that after-palate of the passion fruit which for me is fascinating.

It looks professional, it's a lovely texture, it's just what I like.

The piping's very good. It's consistent.

OK, let's cut into this.

-Look at that.

-You clever girl, that does look good.

That's an impressive layers.

That is... That's quite something.

That is absolutely delicious.

It just reminds me of those '70s cakes.

It's Technicolor! It's great, it's beautiful.

Oh, it sits up nicely.

-You've got a decent bake with that chestnut flour.

-Thank you.

Quite tricky to do.

-I think it works.

-I think it does.

I was all ready to say there's too much chestnut sponge,

and I think it's very, very pleasing.

I think you've done a good job there

but keep away from the '70s decoration.

I think it's like a flourless antidepressant. It's cheered me right up.

I love the finish you've got on it.

The actual chocolate mixture is a little bit dry.

The alcohol that's in there, it's too much.

It can overwhelm absolutely everything.

-It's become almost Black Forest.

-But the whole finish looks lovely.

Thank you.

It's...

The problem is, when you have a chocolate torte like that

with ground almonds, they will try and dry the thing up.

Essentially it's quite a dry meal you're putting in there.

-I'd quite like a little cream with it.

-OK.

It's a good flavour.

It's a great flavour but for me, the texture's wrong.

It's just a bit too dry.

It's a nice idea. It's simple and effective.

I like the feathering as well. Feathering's very good.

-Gosh, that sponge looks good. It does.

-Very rich in colour.

I'm coming across the macadamia nut.

-It's beautifully moist.

-That is gorgeous.

Subtle flavours between the nut and the coffee

-in a nice sponge and well decorated.

-Thank you.

-You haven't got the finish.

-I know, I know.

-It looks...

-..messy.

-A mess.

I think the flavours are good, the textures are good.

It just doesn't look professional, but you see, it's lovely,

the fruit and the cream and the sponge.

That's absolutely fine, but it's just not cutting right

-and it's looking a little bit untidy.

-On the plus side,

it's got more layers than an archaeological dig, so all good.

I think it looks a bit of a mess,

it looks like a chocolate breezeblock. You didn't have to make it that big.

Being so tall, it is very difficult to cut into elegant pieces.

But that is why I called it noir, in my defence.

I wanted it to be a robust, dark cake,

that's either quite intimidating or quite inviting.

I love the fact you wanted to create an intimidating cake.

It's the first intimidating cake we've had on.

-Flavours are lovely. Yeah.

-It's nice with the fruit.

The bake is good, the flavours are good. It's just too big, too cumbersome.

I'm not intimidated by it.

I'm just angry at myself.

I'm ashamed of myself because that isn't the type of stuff I bake.

It was just a mess. I'm really upset with myself.

I don't think I'm stuck in one period cos I can do modern as well.

But just that particular one worked out

that it looked '70s for some reason.

I can't remember if it looked '70s or not.

I have to make sure this afternoon's technical bake is spot-on and I don't panic and nothing goes wrong.

I feel relieved that at least the first thing I've tried

this weekend has gone down well. It's lovely.

Apart from the lashings of booze, love, attention to detail,

but mainly booze, that goes into making a great dessert,

you need sugar.

It took the dedication of one man

to bring sugar to the dining tables of the masses.

In the early 19th century, the sugar industry was hitting boom time.

Ports like Bristol were reaping the rewards and yet for many,

sugar remained an expensive luxury,

tantalisingly out of reach of the ordinary working family.

Sugar was such a highly prized commodity before 1874

that it was referred to widely as white gold.

At times, it even commanded the same price as gold.

Sugar was very expensive because it was taxed really heavily.

The Government knew that people wanted it. It was highly in demand.

In 1815 alone, government revenue was £3 million.

Profits from sugar were responsible for the flourishing

of many of the UK's cities and Bristol is a case in point.

Money from the sugar industry came pouring in.

Merchants build these amazing houses, factories, sugar refineries.

In many ways, you can actually say Bristol is a city built on sugar.

Bristol's new-found wealth

was reliant on the toil of the working classes,

who laboured in these sugar refineries and warehouses.

But because of the hefty tax on sugar,

these were the very people who couldn't afford to buy it.

When working families did get hold of sugar, they often had to settle for a far inferior product.

The most infamous case of adulterated sugar

was the Bradford sweet poisoning of 1858,

which involved a local sweet seller called William Hardacre,

or Humbug Billy, as he became known.

The supplier he used for his sugar was notorious for adulterating it with a cheap substance called daft,

an unpleasant mix of chalk and limestone.

One day, the supplier muddled up the jar of daft

with a jar of arsenic and so when William made his humbugs,

each humbug contained nine grains of arsenic, which is twice the amount

you need to kill a man and of course, people died.

200 were poisoned.

This was a massive scandal, a huge outcry, and the beginning

of a demand that they had to make sugar cheaper and abolish the sugar tax.

Prime Minister William Gladstone was the man who started to make

things better for the sweet-toothed working classes.

He felt that taxing foodstuffs vital to their staple diet was unfair

and set about pushing through a series of reforms.

William Gladstone was an economic liberal.

He believed that the complicated system of tariffs,

duties, customs, actually held the economy back,

that a true, free, growing economy could only be created by abolishing

all of these and he particularly wanted to abolish the tax on sugar.

He also perhaps wanted to do this because he himself loved sugary desserts.

His family teased him

about his pleasingly childish greed for sugary sweet treats.

In 1874, Gladstone succeeded.

The sugar tax was lifted and all of a sudden, cheap good sugar was put

in the reach of the working classes and desserts were changed for ever.

As sugar finally became cheaper,

all manner of previously unattainable sweet desserts

took pride of place on the dining room tables of working families,

whilst the upper classes began to focus on more refined uses of sugar,

such as spun sugar and sugar craft.

The fact that today people from all walks of life can now enjoy

desserts that are safe, affordable and delicious is thanks largely

to the pioneering reforms of one man, William Gladstone.

'One dessert down, two to go.'

Right, bakers, you know how we roll by now.

Next up is the technical challenge. As ever, this is judged blind.

Paul, Mary, I'm going to ask you to retire to the tepee of love

and we will call upon your services later.

Today's technical challenge is the mainstay of French cuisine.

We're asking you to create a creme caramel.

You've got to master a baked custard and caramel.

You've got two and three-quarter hours to do it in.

So on your marks, get set, bake.

'With just four ingredients, milk, sugar, vanilla and eggs,

'and a straightforward three-stage recipe,

'the bakers may think this is going to be easy.'

I must have had creme caramel at some point, but I can't remember ever having it.

'But the key to creme caramel is precision.'

I've made creme brulee before, which I think is quite similar.

'The slightest mistake

'and this technical challenge could be their last.'

Mary, why have you chosen creme caramel?

It is a classic,

but there are plenty of places where they could go wrong.

I've got a feeling that some of them will be trying to heat the eggs and the milk together.

If they do that, it will curdle.

The caramel, they could get it too light or too dark.

That's fantastic.

Caramel, it's not burned, it's got plenty of flavour.

The texture's like milk. And it's still got that wobble as well.

-Let's hope we get that replicated by the bakers.

-We shall see.

Got to make the caramel first, that's going to be tricky in itself.

Lots of opportunity to go wrong.

'Caramel should be a straightforward mix of water and sugar.'

Yeah.

'Heated until the sugar has completely dissolved.'

Although it's really tempting to stir this, I don't at all.

It really is best just to leave it alone.

'Manisha made caramel last week.'

I had lots and lots and lots of issues with sugar and water.

'But it took her eight attempts.'

It's like the worst nightmare, this is.

I'm just brushing away any little globules of sugar

that might be on the side of the pan, so if they get into the caramel,

they don't encourage it to crystallise.

'The bakers need to time this stage precisely.'

I'm just concentrating on not over-cooking my caramel.

'The caramel will continue to colour and thicken.'

Stop.

'Even after it has been moved off the heat.'

I don't know what the hell is going on with me today. I just...

That's burnt.

It's not crystallised, which is good.

-It's a very nice dark creme caramel colour.

-I think it's burnt.

-Let's smell it.

-It smells burnt.

-Yes, it's burnt, love. That's burnt.

-It'll be OK.

-Do it again.

I'm going to watch this.

It should be like a medium straw colour, not a light straw,

but not as dark as it just was.

I feel I'd rather do it under rather than over, you know?

If it goes bitter, I'm in trouble.

If it's slightly under, it's not the best caramel, but it'll do.

'Once golden, the caramel should cover the bottom of the ramekins

'before setting.'

That's maybe a wee bit light, but it'll do.

It's not doing it, I think I've messed this up.

Did you not cool it for long enough?

I think I probably cooled it too much.

Oh, blast, never mind, it's awful, it's just sticking.

I'm either guessing correctly

or I've skipped a couple of steps.

I'll soon find out.

'Only once the ramekins are lined can the bakers move on.'

The recipe is a bit vague with this one.

It just says, "Make the custard."

'The bakers have been given vanilla extract, sugar, full fat milk

'and eggs.'

This is the weird thing.

I always thought custard would just require egg yolks and not egg whites

but it doesn't say anything about separating the eggs

and it says four eggs rather than four egg yolks.

Maybe I'll go with it and put all the eggs in.

Whole eggs? Heaven knows.

I've got no idea.

I'm just going to go with my gut instinct and go with just egg yolks.

But I think that might be a mistake.

I made a creme brulee before,

but not creme caramel.

So who knows how it's going to go.

'The milk needs to be warm enough to thicken the custard.'

I don't know when to put the eggs in, that's the thing, it's scary.

'But not too warm as the eggs will scramble.'

My custard is just not getting thick.

How thick is it supposed to get?

This won't thicken.

I got splodge and it's, you know, bottom of the pile straight away.

I am quite aware I need to get it into the oven...

pretty soon.

OK, bakers, an hour to go, you better scramble.

Don't scramble, whatever you do.

Nice, even consistency.

Right, go!

I'm doing the mad panic I didn't really want to be doing.

It does look a bit lumpy, but I've got no choice now, it has to go in.

The bakers have been told to use a bain-marie.

None of us know should it be hot water in the bain-marie

or cold water - I've gone for lukewarm.

'The water should help keep the temperature around the ramekins consistent,

'giving the custard a more tender texture when set.'

OK.

I'm going in.

Apart from the oven temperature

we really are on our own again.

'The bakers don't just have to gauge their oven time accurately.'

I'm working by instinct,

rather than knowledge.

'They also have to allow their creme caramel enough time to cool.'

I need to go pee.

'Hot creme caramel won't turn out of the ramekin.'

Hello, hello, are you in there?

HE HUMS

I think because it hasn't got the egg white in, it hasn't got

that protein structure,

so it's not holding its shape

and its wobble as much as it should.

So...

Plopadops.

I think I'm ready to take mine out.

HE LAUGHS

# All by myself... #

Disaster creme brulees.

SHE LAUGHS

I'm quite happy with those, they look good.

Got a nice little wobble in the middle.

The creme caramel has not set

so I'm hoping the freezer will set it,

but I very much doubt it will.

OK, this is your ten-minute turnout call.

Let's see 'em, come on!

Let's see them caramels!

< BANGING ON PLATE

It's cracked a bit.

Whoops!

Oh, that's a shame.

It came out in one piece

and it's got caramel on the top. No, I'm happy.

< BANGING ON PLATE

There's no caramel whatsoever. The caramel's stuck to the bottom.

Oh, my goodness!

There's little bits of broken china on there and everything.

-Turn it.

-No.

If you don't, I will.

I'll let Paul turn it over.

No, that's the rule, you have to turn them out.

The caramel is too pale.

You know, your fate can change in an instant here.

SHE GIGGLES

Bleugh!

That's what I thought.

OK, bakers, it's time up.

-What do you think overall, Mary?

-They're certainly different.

The colour of this, the caramel's not cooked,

it's not caramel, is it? It's coloured water.

It's a bit scrambled egg-like inside.

This one's gone slightly darker

and it's got a little bit of caramel there.

-The texture on this one is smoother.

-A subtle wobble to it, it's not too set.

When we come to this one it's got a nice caramel colour

which we've been looking for.

Let's look at the texture.

It's got a good wobble.

Lovely and creamy, it's just perfect, isn't it?

They're not bad, them, at all.

"Not bad" means that they're really quite good.

It's a nice caramel, actually.

I thought it was a little bit burnt

but actually the flavour of that is pretty good.

These for some reason have got a little ring in the top.

But perhaps when the caramel went in a spoon was put around it.

But looking at the next one, you're not making a creme patissiere,

you're making a creme caramel, two very different things.

This one looks good, although it may be slightly overdone,

but the caramel is lovely and smooth, but it needed to come out earlier.

Creme caramel, that's the key thing, caramel.

Not liquid sugar water.

We have another one that would have to be served in cups.

These two were standing next to each other and they were looking over at each other.

You can't deny that's got a wobble.

It has definitely got a wobble.

The caramel is good, probably slightly overdone.

'But whose creme caramel has turned out on top?'

So we start from the bottom and this is the last one here.

I added only egg yolks and no egg whites.

-Number eight. It's this one.

-Same thing.

Next one, number seven.

A little bit pale.

And a bit like scrambled egg as well.

And number six. This one?

I burnt the first batch

-so I was cautious about the caramel.

-You went from the opposite end of the pole.

James takes fifth,

Sarah-Jane fourth,

and Cathryn third.

Number two is this one.

Well done - smooth, nice size, great flavour.

And here we come to one that has a perfect topping,

lovely texture,

good wobble, perfect.

-Great wobble, Brendan.

-Thank you.

That's the first technical bake where I've become number one.

I'm a slow developer, I've decided.

I'm going to have to try to get Mary drunk again tomorrow.

Wear an even lower vest top, maybe. I don't know.

I'm definitely in the danger zone, definitely,

and in fact probably will be going home tomorrow.

If everything goes well and if I beat Manisha, maybe I'll be safe.

It's the final dessert challenge,

and for someone, it will be their last in the bake-off.

Good morning, bakers.

Welcome to yet another howling, sub-zero, Great British summer day.

Now, it's the Showstopper Challenge.

What we're looking for is a layered meringue dessert.

We need four layers, and you can fill them and top them

and dress them in any way you like.

Very best of luck.

On your marks, get set, bake.

I've chosen a layered meringue because it is pretty difficult.

They've got to get each layer right

and have exciting fillings that will compliment the meringue.

They've to get the textures right,

so if they want a crispy meringue, they've got to dry it out

in the oven for at least an hour and leave it to cool for at least an hour.

Their towering meringues can be layered with whatever they choose,

be it mousse, sponge, cream or coulis.

It's a true test of technical talent, flavour,

texture combinations and construction.

Oh, dear.

Most bakers have chosen to base their desserts

on the classic French meringue,

made by whisking stiff egg whites and sugar.

I just pulled the whisk off and look at that.

Never done it for me before.

Sugar is added bit by bit to stabilize the mixture.

You can't mess around with the addition of sugar.

One of the reasons meringues weep,

is if you don't dissolve the sugar in the egg white properly.

Danny has named her showstopper Monte Bianco.

Layered with a chestnut and chocolate mousse,

her meringue is a coffee dacqouise, or as I call it, 'dakees'.

What is a 'dakees'?

It is with a nut in the meringue, and so you've got almond in there.

I've got almond but I'm sprinkling ground hazelnuts on top because I've got three mousse layers.

It's tricky. It isn't a classic meringue,

and wants to be eaten within an hour or two hours,

because when all that moisture gets into the meringue,

-it's almost like a total mousse, isn't it?

-Yes.

I'm pouring in the sugar syrup into the meringue.

The sugar syrup is maybe a wee bit hot still.

As usual, James is making life difficult for himself.

-Hello.

-Hello, James. What's the meringue?

An Italian meringue, which is why it's hot.

-Did you boil your sugar?

-Yes, yes.

-You did?

-118 degrees.

James is layering his meringue with fig, chestnuts, cherries

and a chocolate ganache.

Isn't Italian meringue more stable than a French meringue?

Yeah, you can play with it a lot more.

-Is that what you like about it?

-You can smash it down.

Boil your sugar and put it into a mix.

You can eat it straight away

because you're cooking the eggs with the temperature of the sugar.

-So you can stick your finger in if you like.

-That's all I wanted.

-He knows me so well.

-I'm looking forward to this.

-I'm looking forward to this one too. Good luck.

-Thank you.

Delicious. Lovely.

But Sarah Jane has travelled even further for her meringue.

I'm making the base for the Swiss meringue,

so you just heat together the sugar, the egg whites and cream of tartar

till the sugar dissolves, and then whisk it until it's how you want it.

She's making a tiramisu inspired meringue tower,

where layers of chocolate sponge and hazelnut liqueur-flavoured mascarpone cream

will fit in between delicate, heart-shaped, Swiss meringue layers.

Because they've got to be quite thin they were fragile when I did them the normal way,

but the Swiss one seems to make them quite shiny

and crisp on the outside, but really chewy in the middle.

So the French meringue, you end up with a broken heart?

-It's not good.

-No.

-No.

Last week went brilliantly well, and it just seems

to all have gone downhill again,

so hopefully with this bake I'll be able to turn it back around and be better again.

Stuart is hoping to keep his place with a choca blocka mocha meringue,

layered with vanilla sponge and chocolate ganache.

So, Stuart, how many layers have you got?

It's round about six.

Will they be crispy?

Mixed between crispy, crunchy and chewy.

Can you not... Listen.

If you make your mind up on what you want to do with your layers,

what consistency do you want your meringues to have?

-Commit, Stuart!

-Kind of a chewy...

-Kind of a chewy or chewy?

-I want it chewy.

-So it's chewy.

-Yeah.

I think it's going to be a huge surprise at the end for you and for us.

Yeah. I think so.

It's a voyage of discovery all round.

Meringue expands as it bakes, so it's usually piped

onto flat baking sheets to give it room for growth.

I'm going to bake my meringues in sandwich tins.

Normally I swirl it onto a baking tray like a circle

and then build a stack.

Ryan is adding to his workload by creating a strawberry

and pistachio meringue and a rose and raspberry mousse.

Are you feeling scared? Is the pressure on?

It is a bit, because today I'm not really safe.

There's a lot of weight always put on this third challenge

because this the big party piece, so you've got to be good for it.

With two solid bakes under his belt,

Brendan has got his sights on Star Baker.

I wanted to do something a bit special,

and the elements of this are quite advanced.

Brendan's demonstrating his skills with a pear, chocolate and hazelnut dacqouise,

with a hazelnut mousse and a dark chocolate ganache.

This is the ganache, which will go on the outside,

and that's been made with some hazelnut oil and Frangelico liqueur.

That's the ganache that's going to go on the outside.

Why have you done it now?

From working with it at home, it takes a good hour

and a half to two to get it to the piping consistency that I want.

And decoration, are you going for disco or glam rock?

What are you going for?

I'm going for classical elegance, actually.

Meringues take at least an hour to bake.

But not everyone's in a hurry.

-Hello, Cathryn.

-Hello.

Whereabouts are you up to now with your meringue?

I'm not. I haven't started it yet. I'm just waiting.

My honey cake's coming out in about ten minutes.

I just wanted to get that done and then make a start on my meringue.

Cathryn is making a gooseberry, almond, honey meringue with layers of honey sponge.

Is it quite a stable thing? Does it tend to collapse? Does it soften?

It can look slightly monstrous. But it does hold its shape.

-Right, so it's Frankenstein's cake, basically.

-No, it's not. Well...

It's hard... I have found it hard to make it look delicate.

-It's not delicate.

-It's the Honey Monster.

We've got the Honey Monster coming.

Once the meringues are baked, it's crucial to let them dry out

for at least two hours, otherwise their sides will crack and crumble.

Oh, that's hot.

Just letting the air out, you know, so it can start drying a little bit.

By keeping them in the oven with the heat turned off,

the outside will become crisp whilst leaving the centre soft and chewy.

This is definitely an endurance bake. I've got to make a ganache

and I've completely forgotten about that. I need to get that done.

Sorry, but I'm going to have to crack on.

If he can keep on top of his timings,

John is making an elderflower and brambleberry layered meringue,

with tempered chocolate and a raspberry coulis.

Is it going to be a chocolate breeze block?

It's going to be big, but I'm hoping it will be a bit more elegant.

It has collapsed in the past, so I'm going to paint the meringues

when they're dry and cooled with a bit of white chocolate

and that should stop too much absorption from the cream.

Drying meringues is vital.

That looks actually quite pretty nice, I must say.

Those without a crisp surface will absorb any fillings and collapse.

My fourth meringue is not setting,

so I'm going to attempt to make another one now.

I'm not sure if I've got time for it, but I've got no choice now.

-Hi, Paul.

-Am I not wanted at the moment?

-No, you're always wanted.

-It's a mess.

Yes, it is.

So you're happy with all your meringues?

No, because this one is not drying. It's been in there for two hours.

-Two hours?

-I don't know why.

I've just bunged in another one straight away now.

This is knocking me back time-wise.

-It's going to eat into my presentation.

-I'll leave you to it.

It's essential that the bakers' chosen fillings

work in harmony with their meringues.

I'm trying to extract as much moisture out of the pears as possible,

because they're going to be interleaved with the meringue.

And moisture and meringue don't go together.

I'm putting four different types of cream.

A Tia Maria cream, a Kahlua cream,

a chocolate cream and a Chantilly cream.

Manisha's four cream-filled French coffee meringue layers

will be topped with hand piped chocolate hearts and gold leaf.

Oh, just stick, why don't you?

Going to try and make the flavours nice.

I can make anything look quite pretty anyway,

but the flavours have to go really well,

and if the flavours are not there, then, you know...

Bakers, that's half an hour to go. Just 30 minutes left.

The crunch point is when to assemble,

because after I have assembled it,

it's not going to take long for it to just go... (WHISTLES)

So I'm going to have to be quite quick.

After the failure of one of his layers,

Ryan's emergency meringue is presenting its own problems.

It's going to be bigger than the tower, and part of this tower is meant to go straight up.

That would've sat there perfectly, and it would have held the cream

and everything would come into place.

The new meringue will be bigger, so it will just look odd.

Are you going to leave time to finish?

-You know you've got to make this look good.

-Well...

-No.

-I've never finished it properly before.

-Commit!

I don't want to commit myself, because if something goes wrong,

I'll go, "Oh, yeah, I chose that anyway."

You can't create something and then back reference what it is,

if you know what I mean, post-rationalise what it is.

Well, if I haven't created it anyway, how can I?

This is getting way too meta.

I mean, this is becoming BBC Four as we're talking.

That's five minutes. Just five minutes left.

It's leaning that way.

I want them just to see it now, then I can go home.

That's it. Time up. Step away from the cakes.

Step away.

-James, stop polishing your figs.

-GIGGLES

I can hear a bit of crispness as we go through.

Well, you got your layers,

but when I initially look at it, it doesn't really work.

-It's just too much going on there.

-OK.

The meringue's OK. It is crispy.

Has got flavour, but for me, it doesn't work cos the textures aren't right in the mousse,

and I think the whole thing has gone a bit off-kilter for me.

This is awkward.

I don't like it.

There's no definitive "that's what it is".

If you start with enough, five, six different flavours, I switch off.

It is a huge mixture of flavours, but, erm... I don't dislike it.

-It's rather an exotic fruit salad within a meringue.

-Yeah.

I like the look of it. I think it looks pretty good.

That does look fun when you cut through, doesn't it?

I'm a little sad I haven't got any crispness from the meringue,

but interesting fillings.

-It just feels a little bit stodgy, which I wasn't expecting.

-OK.

I think it looks good, actually. It looks interesting.

I'm going to cut down the middle and see.

As you cut it, each person gets a very nice looking piece.

It's always risky with pear because of the moisture.

-Lovely. Really nice.

-Good.

It's actually... It's quite delicate.

The flavour is absolutely lovely.

The pear and chocolate meringue all goes very well.

-Very well done.

-Lovely.

-Well done, Brendan.

Nice crisp on the meringue.

It's very tricky to get into this one.

-I like it, actually.

-Well done.

-Yeah, well done.

-I think I could do with the sponge being a little bit thinner.

-Yes.

But the gooseberries are coming through.

-It's a nice gooseberry sponge cake, that.

-Oh. OK.

Struggling to find the meringue, though.

I think it needed to be sharper.

OK. It doesn't really look like a heart.

We were asking you for a meringue there.

We've got almost as much chocolate in as we've got meringue,

but it does remind me of tiramisu.

That's good. One good thing about it.

Stuart, you imagined this as your showstopper on the table.

You look at and you think, it's a meringue cake,

but I would like some form of decoration on top,

because it doesn't tempt me to see what's inside.

That's tough!

You could wedge a door open with that.

I wouldn't know that there was a meringue in there,

and it's really like a layered trifle to me.

I love the outside of it.

I can't identify the flavours cos there's so many things going on.

-That is a crowning glory, isn't it?

-Good piping work.

And it's rather nice to have this crispness on top.

Don't like it. And I'll tell you why.

The meringue texture is excellent. It's just too bitter.

I disagree with you. I have got a very sweet tooth.

I think it's plenty sweet enough for me.

I'm in serious danger.

I think I'm in really serious danger today, so, you know, it's worrying.

I suppose that's the way it goes.

You have good days and bad days and for me, unfortunately,

it's been a bad weekend.

I've made quite a few errors,

and these are not tiny errors, these are, like, huge errors.

Mary and Paul have made their decision.

Let's start with the fun bit.

The Star Baker this week is somebody who showed real skill,

real dexterity and an awful lot of flair.

Of course flares were incredibly popular in the 1970s,

from which the great man Brendan takes inspiration. Well done!

Obviously for one person,

the bake-off experience has to stop today.

And the person who won't be coming with us is...

..Stuart.

We're going to miss you, Stuart. Come on. Go on!

Yeah, it's my time to go, but I'm gutted still.

The kids at school will give me a bit of jip about it, but, erm...

I think, hopefully, they'll commend me for putting myself forward.

It was unfortunate, because the guy's got a gift in baking,

but everybody else has raised their game as well, so it's tricky.

The standards are high this year, and any flaw, that could be it.

-Well done, Ryan.

-Thank you.

-Raise your game. Raise your game.

When Paul shook my hand, I got the drift that I was close today,

so I have to do better next time round.

I came this weekend with a very different mindset,

and clearly it's worked,

so now I can get down to some really serious baking.

Oh, my cupcakes.

That was intense!

Next time, it's pies.

Very exciting.

I don't think I can handle the pressure.

The bakers produce a signature bake with a bit of welly.

Oh, dear.

This is going to go really wrong.

They take on a technical challenge that has them all stuck.

Oh, look at that. It's just a disgrace from start to finish.

And Mary and Paul's tastebuds are tantalised.

-You've absolutely nailed that.

-Sheer perfection.

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