Desserts The Great British Bake Off

It's week four of baking mayhem. We've had bread, cakes, biscuits.

That tent is seriously hotting up.

I think it's the friction from Mary's sateen bomber jacket.

Welcome to the Great British Bake Off.

'Last time, the bakers took on bread.'

-Rise!

-Oh, it's so stretchy!

-'The remaining nine bakers...'

-Ooh!

'..had something to prove.'

My last chance to rise to the challenge.

Perfect.

Pure alchemy.

'Luis's inventive creations won him the title of Star Baker...'

Thank you.

Nice idea, but unfortunately it's not been executed that well.

'..and Jordan became the third baker to leave the Bake Off tent.

'Now the remaining bakers face the sauciest Signature Challenge yet.'

Oh, no, it's all bubbling!

Now that's what I call a sauce pudding!

'A Technical where precision is paramount.'

Don't make a mess.

It's so hot.

'And a Showstopper which leads to meltdown in the tent.'

-Argh!

-Freezer, freezer, freezer, please, freezer!

Argh!

I think that's sort of unacceptable.

'The nine bakers have three demanding challenges ahead.'

Morning, bakers and welcome to your just deserts...

It's dessert week!

And for your Signature Bake,

Paul and Mary would very much like you to make a self-saucing pudding!

-Oh!

-Oh!

-BOTH: Self-saucing!

I'd never heard of it,

but apparently it's a pud that produces its own moisture.

The judges would like you, please, to make eight individually portioned

self-saucing puds, and you can decorate them in any way you choose.

You can use any flavours that you choose,

but they must be... BOTH: Self-saucing!

So, bakers, you've got two hours on the clock today, on your marks...

Get set...

BOTH: Bake!

'The key thing is, when making one of these puddings,'

is keep your sponge nice and light,

something that'll bake in very, very quick time.

The sauce, they want to melt, but the outside you want to bake.

Timing is everything.

-MARY:

-'They can make two sorts of puddings,

'a classic fondant or a sponge

'which creates its own sauce at the bottom.'

The sauce has got to be the right consistency,

and, for me, it's got to have some texture to it.

Puddings are definitely not my strongest area,

so I am fairly worried about the outcome of them.

I think because you're putting fluid with sponge, anything could happen.

'Most of the bakers are attempting

'the classic melt-in-the-middle fondant.'

In my house we love peanut butter, peanut butter in everything,

so I thought it'd be nice to put it in the fondant.

I'm going to try and get a peanut butter centre in the middle,

which, if it works, will be really cool.

Martha's peanut butter centre will be encased in a chocolate sponge

and decorated with caramelised peanuts.

-Good morning, Martha!

-Hello!

-How are you?

-Very well, thank you.

How much of the filling is going to be soft in the middle?

A lot of the filling should be soft,

it should be liquid when you break into it.

And do they hold up once they come out?

-They have done so far.

-Good.

What's more stressful, Martha? This or doing your exams?

Last week's exams were OK, but next week's will be more stressful

cos I've got maths and chemistry.

So this is a bit of light relief for you.

-It's relaxing.

-Amazing! See you, Martha!

-Thank you!

This is the chocolate mix for the centre of my pudding.

This is the sauce, if you like.

And I'm mixing this one first

because I want this really quite well chilled,

so that when it goes into the centre of the pudding,

it's colder than the outside.

Nancy is planning an ambitious layered fondant

with chocolate and pistachio sponges surrounding the chocolate centre.

About how much runny sauce are you going to get in the middle?

My ideal is that when you cut into it, the green sponge is cooked

and all of the brown runs out.

I've had it once.

-Once?!

-Out of how many times, Nancy?

-Ten?

-Ten...

The thing is... OK, I won't say, but...

-Go on, say it.

-No, no, no, it takes guts,

I like people that push the envelope a little bit...

I do do a fondant quite regularly

and I thought I need to up my game a bit.

No, good luck, I hope it comes out.

'The bakers need to allow enough time to chill their saucy centres,

'so that, in the oven, the middle stays molten

'while the sponge batter turns into a cake-like crust.'

I'm making chocolate puddings with a molten salted caramel middle.

HOPEFULLY molten. That's the idea.

So I'm just putting it in the freezer to set a bit.

Kate's chocolate and salted caramel fondants

will be topped with toasted almonds.

I need to get a wiggle on, I need to get a wiggle on.

It is ambitious in two hours, when timing isn't my forte.

It's just raspberries, and some sugar

and it's going to be the raspberry compote inside the fondant.

Iain's flavouring a dark chocolate sponge with lime

to encase the raspberry compote.

How are you getting the raspberry mixture in the centre?

I'm going to pipe it in, so I've got the mould,

I'm going to put half the mixture in, the chocolate mixture,

and then pipe in, say, a teaspoon of it.

OK, I love lime and chocolate.

Are you going to finish it with anything?

Yeah, I'm going to paint some mint leaves with chocolate

and chill them and peel a leaf off

and stick the leaf in the top, with the raspberry.

OK, have you got time for that?

I don't know, I've given myself an hour to make the fondants.

All right.

-Good luck!

-MEL: Good luck, Iain!

'The filling has to be supported by the sponge.

'It needs to be light enough to bake quickly...'

Job's a good 'un.

'..but strong enough to encase the sauce.'

Good job I've got these big, broad shoulders, is it?

I love a bit of fondant, anything sticky and full of chocolate,

I'm all over it, I'm happy with that.

Richard's fondants have a cherry coulis centre

in a chocolate sponge,

served with chocolate coated cherries.

The family get stuck into these.

I think, after this week,

it's not so much of a family favourite any more,

just due to the volume they've had to eat.

But, yeah, we like them.

I've just finished poaching the pears,

so I'm just taking them out and then I keep the liquid

because that'll be the sauce for the puddings.

'While most of the bakers are making fondants,

'Chetna, Norman and Luis are trying a different technique.'

I'll be pouring the sauce on top of this next,

and, during the baking, the sponge inflates and goes above the sauce

and the sauce drops to the bottom and starts to soak into the sponge,

which gives you a moist, hopefully moist, sponge.

Luis is using the cinnamon and almond poaching syrup

to create a spicy sauce at the bottom of his poached pear puddings.

Luis, you're piping pears!

I am piping pears today.

Are you sort of insulating them?

They've got little party hats.

So they don't get sunburnt?

Just so they don't get radiation burn from aliens and...

It's a cross between a wizard and a dunce.

I think last week was overload of Indian flavours,

so everybody thought, "That's it, she can't do anything else."

So I'm glad to be here to show that I can do other flavours too.

Chetna's turned to summery British flavours for her puddings -

strawberry, raspberry and rhubarb - with caramel butterflies to decorate.

It just seems so simple, but it's actually not

because it's self-saucing so some of them, actually,

it'll become sponge if it's left too long,

and mine, the sponge will just soak all the pudding back in, so...

Very tricky, yeah.

I'm making a sauce from the water, butter and sugar

and a little drop of vanilla essence.

The judges last week thought I was just a bit plain and simple,

but maybe it's fairly simple but I'm hoping it'll be good.

Norman's adapted his mother's sticky toffee pudding recipe

to create treacle sauce at the bottom of the dish.

How much sauce are we expecting to see underneath?

Underneath? About 60ml.

ABOUT 60ml?! It could be 65, Norman, if I'm honest(!)

Well, yeah, if I'm feeling generous, you might get a wee bit extra.

Right. The key thing, with these sort of puddings,

is not to dry out the inside too much.

-Oh, yes, aye.

-Good luck, Norman.

-Good luck, Norman.

-Thanks.

'The only baker doing a traditional surprise pudding is Diana

'who's mixing all her ingredients together.'

It's looking OK! So far, so good.

'She's incorporating her orange and lemon sauce into the sponge batter.'

It's Diana's take on the classic lemon surprise pudding.

In the oven, the syrup should drop to the bottom

to create a citrus curd.

Being on Bake Off is a culmination of a lifetime baking.

It'll be the biggest thing I've ever done

apart from, you know, giving birth and all those...weird things.

'Next, all the bakers

'have to combine the sauce with the sponge batter.

'The five fondant bakers put their chilled centres

'in the middle of the mix...'

That's so good it's wrong.

I've got my green mixture then I've put chocolate sauce

and then I'm topping them up so that each pudding is identical.

'..while the other bakers trickle their sauce over the sponge.'

It's best poured over the back of a spoon, it spreads it out evenly.

It's a little bit more in that one.

Bakers, you've got half an hour left.

They're going in!

My god!

Now is the vital part, the baking.

And the sauce.

That's all!

I'm always suspicious of people

who turn their noses up at dessert menus.

I'm sure the marvellous people of Paignton would entirely agree.

Paignton has a reputation for its beaches, but also for its puddings.

Since the 13th century, they've had a tradition

of making enormous puddings for special occasions.

When the railway came to Paignton in 1859,

they wanted to mark the occasion,

and they thought they would make a huge pudding.

They did it in sections so it was like a pyramid.

How heavy was the pyramidal pudding of 1859?

That was one and a half tonnes.

Big cake, big mixer, let's go.

Sort of bottomless pit of ingredients, isn't it?

So I'm going to mix this together now.

When I look at the ingredients, it's saying to me,

"Massive spotted dick."

I mean, essentially, that's what you've got.

Yes, it's a traditional syrup pudding.

But done on the most grand of scales.

OK, now, you're telling me this is a TENTH of the size?

It is, yes.

I wouldn't know where to begin with that.

'This beast of a pudding was brought out to a huge crowd

'of eager townsfolk, all wanting a slice of the action.'

Describe the scene.

If you imagine this hot August day and an expectant crowd here,

waiting for the pudding, but washed down with local cider.

Did it turn out to be a civilised affair?

-I'm afraid not.

-You surprise me!

The crowd became so excited and so keen, really,

to get their share of pudding, at the ensuing riot...

-There was a riot?!

-A riot, yes.

I've elbowed a few people for puddings,

but I wouldn't have gone into full riot, I don't think.

-I think 18,000 people...

-18,000!

-..on the green...

My local football team doesn't get that many people supporting it!

A feast like this was a great treat, it was a great occasion,

the highlight being this wonderful pudding with raisins and lemons

and nutmeg and sugar

and all sorts of ingredients they wouldn't have had.

-So, shall we see?

-The proof of the pudding.

Do you know what, I don't know if I'd fully riot for it,

-but I'd certainly skirmish a little.

-I think I would, too.

Oh, no! It's all bubbling!

'If the bakers leave their puds in the oven a fraction too long

-'the sponge will be tough...'

-Oh, no!

-'..and the sauce could solidify.

That's not good. That is really annoying.

'Not long enough and the batter won't be baked.'

Bakers, ten minutes left on your self-saucing, ooh!

It has a nasty habit of disappearing, the sauce,

so time will tell.

I like them, they probably won't be fancy enough for the judges,

but there we go.

They're still a bit wobbly, but it's got a thin crust,

which means that when I turn them out,

fingers crossed, they won't just collapse.

That's a bad one.

I've got some leakers.

Come on, you, out you come.

Perfection.

Oh, no!

That looks like my face before they get to work with the foundation.

Garnish and move on.

OK, bakers, just two minutes!

Ah... Stay!

Fingers crossed there will be lemon and orange curd in the bottom.

Bakers, the saucing must stop.

Step away from your sauce.

Phew!

Urgh...

Drop through, lovely.

Cock-a-leekie!

Now that's what I call a sauced pudding.

I can't wait to try this.

It is very, very chocolaty, I think it's really, really good.

It's well balanced, the whole thing together, it's very complicated.

But exceptionally baked.

Thank you!

It's a beautiful sponge.

I would like a little more sauce.

The look of it is fantastic, the flavours are DELICIOUS,

but definitely more sauce.

More sauce, OK.

Oh, dear!

In your favour, there looks a lot of sauce,

and this has got to be a saucy pudding.

-PAUL SNIGGERS

-Em...

It's welding my mouth shut,

the peanuts in there need diluting down a little bit...

-OK.

-..because it's so dry.

Maybe just a little bit less of the peanut,

but such a beautiful light sponge round the outside.

-So we're expecting...

-Sauce at the bottom.

-A sort of... Yes, a subterranean river, is that it?

-Yes.

We have got sauce at the bottom, there it is.

It's more a sort of poaching liquid you've got there.

Poaching liquid, yeah.

-I think the sponge is very, very claggy.

-OK.

Eating that sponge on its own is not very enjoyable,

-especially with that almost wet liquid just sitting on it.

-Sure.

Deep breath, deep breath.

Oh, gosh! Can I look the other way?

-We have asked for a sauce.

-Yeah.

It's a lovely soft middle, but it's not quite a sauce.

I think the flavour's exceptional. However...

for me, it's over-baked.

That outside sponge is dry.

They're very, very chocolaty

and I like the raspberry sauce in the middle.

Raspberry and chocolate go really well together,

it's a marriage made in heaven.

The consistency of it is very good as well.

They taste lovely.

They look great, I like the nuts on the outside, the chocolate.

I mean, the darkness, that richness of the colour

from the chocolate, I think it's a great idea.

It would have oozed.

-Ah, we can see that.

-SO would have oozed!

It's nice and soft.

Yeah, I agree, I think the sauce is bang on.

The sponge itself is delicious.

Perfectly baked, well done.

It does look a little bit untidy,

but we've got a proper sauce underneath that tastes beautiful.

I think that was my aim.

I think the sauce is great,

I just don't think it looks very attractive.

I think that looks fun,

I love the presentation like this.

Diana, the flavour of it is absolutely gorgeous,

the combination of the flavours is perfect

and, actually, I think that is beautiful.

A good pudding but not a saucy pudding.

-I think it's fine.

-Oh, that's fantastic!

I tell you what, I shall walk out of here on air!

I'm just delighted. you never know with those puddings

what on earth's going to be inside, to be honest.

I think it's worked out quite well.

That is a result, that is a result

on a sunny, beautiful day in the Bake Off tent.

Couldn't be better.

I don't think they were dry. I mean, they were puddings

so you can eat them in two minutes anyway,

they don't get time to go dry.

It's not like it's a cake, so I don't agree with him.

I feel a bit gutted, really, they didn't go to plan,

but I try and be a tough cookie. Sometimes it's a bit hard

and the cookie has to crumble, but I've done my best.

Sticky toffee pudding's not meant to look beautiful,

it's a bit like some people -

they're nice looking on the outside but rotten in the middle,

and my puddings are the opposite of that.

They don't look much on the outside,

but absolutely delicious on the inside.

'The bakers now face the feared Technical Challenge.'

Bakers, I can see by your faces that you are raring to go!

Now, Mary and Paul, as you know, you're not allowed to see

-who bakes what for this challenge, so tatty-byes!

-Goodbye, goodbye.

Right, now they've gone, I'm delighted to tell you

that for today's Technical Challenge, we would like you to make

Mary's...

tiramisu cake, an adaptation of the classic.

Two and a half hours you've got

to make this marvellous, marvellous dessert.

-On your marks...

-Get set.

-BOTH:

-Bake!

'Mary and Paul want to test the bakers' precision

'and, to make it even harder, the instructions are minimal.'

I've never made this before, no. I couldn't even spell it.

Last time I did a test like this was going back to school,

but I've forgotten about that horrible time.

I think I'm the only person who's made it before in the whole room,

and I'm the youngest by far.

This is complicated!

Look at that, Mary!

It is quite tricky to make.

What I'm looking for is every layer to be soaked evenly

in the coffee and brandy, and even layers of the creamy mixture.

What you do notice immediately is that blend of the chocolate,

the mascarpone and the coffee

all coming together as one hit.

We certainly don't want one layer dry

because they haven't got the coffee evenly distributed.

The first stage of making the sponge I'm quite happy with,

so I'm going to just luxuriate

in knowing what I'm doing for a little bit.

I'm going to fold in the flour, which I've weighed out

and I'm going to sieve it over

when this is leaving a trail, I think.

That's what I've learnt at school!

'The flour should be sifted and folded gently into the mixture...'

Nice, holding its form...

'..which should create a smooth and silky batter.'

It's all lumpy, I sieved the flour and all.

A few spots of flour here and there, but you always get that.

Right.

In the oven.

I'm just trying to line it properly

so that, when it comes out, it comes out neatly.

Some people have used paper, and some people have used clingfilm.

I think it's clingfilm...

..but I don't know.

Deep breaths!

The OCD's kicking in nicely, so things have to fit perfectly.

Having a design agency, everything you do has to be precise.

I think it is ready, but...

One minute off, I reckon.

I've got to slice that horizontally, it should be all right.

How the hell are you supposed to cut that horizontally?!

Really hard, this knife's really aggressive,

so, yeah, it's really difficult.

It hasn't risen enough.

I suspect I didn't whip up enough and get enough air into it,

so, yeah, bit disappointed with that.

Oh, dear, starting again.

I think the sponge is a bit flat.

IAIN INHALES SHARPLY

IAIN GROWLS

I'm going to have to do the sponge again.

So far, so good.

But don't make a mess.

Don't make a mess.

'The finely sliced sponges should be assembled

'in, er, neat layers?'

I am cobbling together my sponges, which isn't ideal.

Well, I think the important thing is four layers of sponge,

but if I try and hack that any more, I'm going to make a mess of it.

So I'm going to keep that as a layer and then this layer

is, em...remnants.

'The bakers must flavour the sponges with a coffee and brandy mixture,

'but the recipe doesn't say how much to use.'

I wouldn't do too much, you don't want to soak it completely,

you just want the flavour in it.

Might be some left for a wee nip, you never know.

I've divided this by four because there's four sponges,

so I know how much to soak into each one so you don't overdo it.

I'm using a brush to kind of get it more even over the whole thing,

cos otherwise I think one bit will be really soggy

and the rest of it won't have anything on it.

'A stiff layer of mascarpone between each sponge

'SHOULD stop the cake from collapsing.'

There's a lot of mascarpone.

-Luis!

-Hi, Mel.

-What have you got here?

-LAUGHING:

-That's my diagram of cake.

Now, basically what you've done, Luis,

is you've done a sort of beehive and it just says,

"Sponge, cream, sponge, cream, sponge, cream, sponge, cream."

So, basically, if you were going to do that by eye,

you've done cream so you kind of know it's going to be sponge next...

It was helping me calculate

how many layers of sponge and cake there were.

I know, it's been a long day.

This is sponge number two, I'm going to have to make extra great effort

to cool it down to be able to chop it, but, yeah, looks prettier.

Come on, come on.

'While their tiramisu cakes are chilling,

'the bakers need to temper chocolate for decoration,

'but one vital piece of information is missing.

I can't remember exactly the temperature that it should be.

I know it has to go up to the 50s and come down to the 30s,

but I can't remember the exact temperature.

Something like...42 degrees or something?

'Just a few degrees out, the chocolate will lose its shine

'and be difficult to work with.'

I like giving a bit more height to the cake,

but it's a hot day so hopefully they won't melt in one second.

It looks a lot nicer, actually. Could have been a bit thicker,

but certainly better than the other disaster.

OK, bakers, 15 minutes, please, 15 minutes.

It's very slack, needs a lot more time in the fridge, really.

Urgh!

Hopefully, I have enough time.

I will remain hopeful until all hope is lost, I think.

Hmm!

My layers of mascarpone are uneven. They're going to notice that.

Done.

These are just melting as it's so hot in here today.

Just be very careful.

Bakers, I can hear the gentle pad of lady moccasins! Berry approaches!

One minute, just one minute!

One minute?!

I just want to get the chocolate on.

It looks OK, doesn't it?

I'm surprised at how good it looks, yeah. I've surprised myself, there.

Bakers, all tiramisu twiddling must now stop.

Voila! There you go.

Please move away from the bakes.

Iain, step away!

Nice, nice.

It's leaking.

So, we're looking for precision, even layers and finesse.

So, we'll start with this, then, Mary.

We've certainly got definite layers.

Good bit of tempering with the chocolate.

And I do realise that today is very warm,

so the fact that the chocolate is falling over a bit,

that's fine by me.

Lovely sharp edges to it and every sponge is evenly soaked.

There's a good distribution of flavour in there, as well.

The piping's interesting in this, they've tried to be clever

with the little bubble piping round the outside.

Because the sponge layers were just a little bit varied,

some of the coffee mixture has leaked out.

But the overall appearance is better,

though a little bit irregular, it's a neat-looking tiramisu.

They've gone a bit OTT with this,

haven't they, with the piping round the outside?

You can see where they've collapsed in the middle, as well.

The actual sponge itself, we haven't got a very good rise to that,

therefore it hasn't absorbed all the coffee mixture

and that is dripping down on the table in front of us.

Now, this one has got a very good rise,

however, we haven't got clear lines between each of the layers,

it's a little bit messy.

I never got any coffee in that one at all.

If it had been well soaked, it would have changed colour.

Interesting decoration on this one.

There is a little bit of definition in the lines, too, which is good.

Good chocolate work in two different designs.

Nice lines, nice layers, they're all equal.

OK, this one, it's not even with the sponge, is it,

the cream and the mascarpone?

It's a bit messy. Fairly thin sponge.

-Coffee's not strong enough.

-No.

Each layer should be evenly soaked with the coffee mixture.

That's a shame.

Now, this one's quite neat. I like the decoration, very classy.

The lines are quite stark, you can see all the sponge.

I can see chopped chocolate, which gives a lovely texture.

The mascarpone is nice and soft, nice flavour.

Nice flavour, yeah, it's a good, balanced flavour.

Nice bit of chocolate on the top.

The layers are very thick, aren't they?

Thick and thin all the way through.

The top layer there is not soaked at all.

Nice flavour, though.

Now, this one seems to be just mascarpone,

and the lines have been lost.

We're losing the coffee, the bottom layer there hasn't got any at all.

'The cakes will be ranked from worst to best.'

In ninth place...

I think, because the sponge was a bit thin, it all ran through.

In eighth place is this one.

Couldn't find the coffee, Norman, if I'm honest.

Very irregular on the cuts as well.

And in seventh place,

little bit messy and not very evenly soaked.

In sixth place is this one.

Very irregular, couldn't see much coffee in there.

'Richard is fifth, Nancy fourth

'and Chetna third.'

In second place is this one.

-Well done, Luis.

-Thank you.

That's a nice-looking tiramisu, the lines are all the way through.

-That is a great-tasting tiramisu, well done.

-Thank you.

And this is number one.

We were all about precision,

even layers and the flavour was perfect.

Well done!

-MARTHA:

-'I am elated!'

I had no idea that was coming,

I even thought that it wasn't as good as everyone else's,

which is ridiculous, looking back,

because they really, really liked it.

'I couldn't believe it, when the judges were going through the count

'up to number one, it kind of got'

to five, then four, and I'm thinking, "Wow,"

so, yeah, I'm totally delighted.

I think I'm a home-baker

and I think it's showing up in certain places, yeah.

So maybe...maybe that's my downfall.

I came eighth today, which I suppose is one better

than coming last at ninth,

so it just makes me realise I've got to try a bit harder.

'A brand-new day in the Bake Off tent

'and, with the sun already blazing, the competition is heating up.'

Morning, bakers, and welcome to your Showstopper Challenge.

Now, Paul and Mary would like you to make something fabulously retro -

it's a baked Alaska.

We're talking sponge, frozen centre, meringue coat.

Weird.

Now, you've got four and a half hours

to create this baked Alaska, so on your marks...

Get set...bake!

And freeze.

Not... Not literally freeze. LAUGHTER

Four and a half hours making ice cream, my god!

I'm OK with today's task, it's a sponge base and ice cream,

so what can possibly go wrong?

There's many things that can go wrong in a baked Alaska.

The sponge texture has to be thought through.

There's joconde, there's Victoria, there's genoise,

but it's got to be baked perfectly.

Then you've got to think of the ice cream,

something that they can churn within the set time that we've given them.

Finally, the meringue.

I want to see decoration on that meringue, I want it to stand out.

There are a lot of elements to get right.

One thing wrong and it'll be total disaster.

This is the hottest day of the year so far

and they're going to have to keep their cool.

Love this weather, love the summer.

The trickiest bit today is how hot it is in here.

I think we need to get the ice creams

freezing as quickly as possible.

'The bakers are making ice cream from scratch

'by adding a range of flavours to a basic custard.'

How retro is this?!

In my teenage years this would have been quite popular,

which was an awful long time ago!

Diana's bravely attempting a swan-shaped Alaska

with raspberry ripple ice cream on a joconde sponge.

The thing is, if you play it too safe,

it doesn't really win many prizes, does it?

I wanted to keep it very simple and straightforward

for the first two or three episodes.

Now that I've got used to this atmosphere here,

I feel capable of upping my game a bit.

Norman needs to woo the judges with his surprise strawberry coulis

in the middle of his classic vanilla ice cream baked Alaska.

I haven't had...eaten a baked Alaska for a long time,

so I'm looking forward to having a bit of this one.

Martha, tell us all about your Alaska.

I'm making a key lime pie inspired baked Alaska.

Oh! Well done and you've won, goodbye!

Well, it'd be nice, wouldn't it?

MEL: Martha's twist on an old favourite

combines a biscuit base, genoise sponge, lime curd

and a coconut ice cream, all topped with meringue.

What sort of piping are you going to use for that?

I think I'm going to pipe roses onto it, or little swirls.

Yes, because it's not complicated enough as it is,

and you definitely need another element(!)

-You've got a lot to do, so I think we'll leave you.

-I know.

Good luck. Thank you, Martha.

I did learn ice-cream making from my mum.

She made loads of ice creams at home.

Chetna's baked Alaska layers mango and raspberry ice cream

on top of a coconut cake covered with piped meringue.

All these flavours, it just reminds me of home.

The sign of summer would be mangos.

And they would be, em... there the whole of summer.

I've got toasted black sesame seeds and honey.

I'm just making a paste, this is to flavour the ice cream.

It might not look very appetising,

but it makes a nice ice-cream flavour.

Always one for unusual flavours,

Iain's offsetting his black sesame seed ice cream

with a cocoa sponge and a French meringue.

-Hello, Iain!

-Hello, morning.

-How are you? That looks revolting!

-It does.

-Can you tell us...?

Always start with the positive, Iain, that's a mantra of Paul!

-It's a mess, a disaster, it's revolting...

-Mushroom soup?

So, what have we got?

It's black sesame seed ice cream.

-Nice! OK.

-Yeah!

The 100%, sort of, cocoa sponge idea,

blended with that could be fascinating.

It doesn't look an exciting colour, but we'll see whether that flavour

will come through with the strong chocolate, we'll see.

-Thank you, Iain.

-Thank you.

I'm sure there's enough time,

it's just that we've got a really hot day

and the freezers are going to have to work really hard.

Nancy's ambitious summer pudding Alaska

has two ice creams, a vanilla parfait and an almond sponge,

all topped with a berry rippled meringue.

So, when we cut through it,

it'll be like a football jersey and three stripes?

I'm hoping it will be like a rainbow.

Are you doing it in different bowls, or what?

I actually figured that if I do three thin ice creams,

they would probably set better than trying to do one big one.

How high are we expecting this to be?

So a handy dessert for one.

LAUGHING: Yeah.

When I get my ice cream in the ice-cream maker,

I'll feel a lot happier.

I'm keeping fingers crossed that the ice cream will set.

And I am making a very kitsch Alaska

for my fellow Brightonians.

I'm camping it up.

Kate's glittering meringue tops her pistachio ice cream

and chocolate sponge.

Time's OK today, it's more about getting this ice cream made

so it's got a good three hours to set.

Ah, that's better!

The ice cream now has a lot more volume.

I just want to get it into the freezer and so it freezes solid.

Superb! Absolutely superb!

I could have been born in Italy!

Definitely ice cream, innit? Lovely.

Richard's making a baked Alaska version

of yesterday's Technical Challenge - tiramisu.

His coffee ice cream is layered with lady fingers

and plastered with a thick layer of meringue.

I do worry a little bit that tiramisu followed by tiramisu

might get a bit boring, but I think mine's different enough

to the one Mary did for it to not necessarily be compared.

Let's hope not anyway!

-So, this is the mango?

-Yes.

That is amazing!

If you keep providing things like that for us,

the love gets ever stronger.

I'm so glad you like it, I'm so, so glad!

Now, hopefully, this will set.

Yes, you go and set it.

I will, thank you.

Saw that!

'While the bakers leave their ice creams to, hopefully, set,

'they crack on with the next stage.'

OK, let's get on with said sponge.

I'm making the sponge at the moment,

and this here is the raw chocolate and that's the flavour for it.

The sponge is almost exactly the same as yesterday's,

except mine's got chocolate and vanilla in it

rather than just plain,

so hopefully that will add another element of flavour, you never know.

I am making an almond bottom sponge.

Bakewell tarts are my favourite,

I love the flavours of anything to do with Bakewell,

so I thought it'd be a good translation into this Alaska.

Luis's inventive Alaska

layers raspberry, frozen yoghurt and apricot sorbet

on a frangipane sponge, decorated with cherry-topped meringue.

Everything's multi-tasking today, there's just so much going on.

You've kind of got the ice creams, the sorbet going on,

the sponge, so it's a bit frantic.

Sponge is done, stick it in the oven.

OK, you are halfway through this baked Alaska challenge,

two and a quarter hours remaining.

It's just like liquid. Is yours?

Good heavens!

Is it frozen, Norm?

It's frozen, but it's melting very quickly.

It's the waiting game

because there's very little time left that the ice cream's set.

It's been in half an hour!

Oh, mine has, yeah.

It's not frozen!

You're joking!

Good, good!

It's really good.

That beard, by the way, it's almost like an extra centimetre...

I want you to stay in this competition for so many reasons.

Not least because you will be

a russet Gandalf by the time we finish this.

-I'll see you later.

-Thank you.

'With just an hour left, the bakers start their meringue.

'Diana's the only baker making Swiss meringue.

'The eggs are cooked over a bain-marie,

'which makes the meringue firmer,

'ideal for constructing a swan.'

Bit like me, calm on top and paddling like billy-oh underneath.

Diana, you are pushing the boat out with the old swan, aren't you?

Yeah, I am.

Is it going to wilt?

-No.

-Good.

It must not be a dying swan, Diana.

Don't let it be a dying swan.

I'm making Italian meringue. I prefer this one

because you don't have to stick it in the oven to cook it.

This one cooks by pouring this very, very hot molten sugar into it.

A year ago I didn't know what an Italian meringue was.

I know now.

I can't wait to see Luis's meringue.

Two-mixers Luis! Two-mixers Luis.

This is multi-tasking!

Bakers, half an hour left on this bake. Half an hour left.

That was Melanie Giedroyc reporting for Baked Alaska News.

-'With the clock ticking...'

-Voila!

'..and the temperature rising...'

It's so hot!

'..the bakers must assemble the sponge and the ice cream.'

The aim is to get the Alaska in the freezer as quickly as possible.

Oh, no!

Argh!

I'll have to work fast here now, it's pretty warm in here

and the ice cream's melting quickly.

The middle one has not set at all.

I think probably when they cut into it, that bit's going to collapse.

Unless some miracle happens.

I'm just going to bang it back in the freezer.

I need to go in the freezer. Freezer, freezer...

'It's 25 degrees...'

Can I put this in the freezer?

'..and the bakers need to keep their Alaskas cold

'while they get the meringues ready for piping.'

Who's is this?

Iain's, I think.

-LAUGHING:

-Argh!

I just need to get this on really quick.

OK, bakers, 15 minutes, please, 15 minutes.

IAIN: Where's my ice cream?

-It's here, sorry, Iain! We...

-Argh!

Well, you've got your own freezer, haven't you?

Someone's took it out the freezer, and this is all melted.

Why would you take ice cream out of the freezer?

What's wrong?

How's it looking?

-Look.

-It's soup.

The only reason why it's stayed there is

because I put the tin round to hold the caramel in.

IAIN EXHALES

IAIN GROANS

OK, all right, let's think about how we're going to present that.

That's not...

-I've got a serving suggestion.

-Oi-ah! Oh!

No, no, no, no!

Iain, Iain, Iain... you have to...

Look at it, I can't present it!

He threw it in the bin!

-Iain had to throw his in the bin.

-He didn't?!

Bakers, buckle up, you've got five minutes to go

on this baked Alaska ride.

Scream if you wanna go faster.

-CHETNA:

-My hands are shaking...

..because I'm in such a rush.

Well, they've just broken, they're broken.

And they didn't do that at home.

It'll be all right, it'll be all right.

Now it's all melting, the whole thing's melting.

'With time running out, there's only one finishing touch.'

You've got one minute left!

'The blowtorch.'

I can feel it melting with every inch more of blowtorching.

I'm having to work so quickly on this.

Ladies and gents of the baking fraternity,

we have arrived at our destination, Alaska.

I'm sorry the flight was a little bit...turbulent.

Iain, are you OK?

Yeah, I'm fine.

My fear is that the knife will go into that Alaska

and it will just be runny.

It looks so pretty, I can't wait to get in there.

I think the overall look is very professional,

the piping is excellent.

Very precise all the way around.

I can see the parfait, as well, right in the middle.

It's melted but it's still there.

It's a lovely summer fruit flavour.

The sponge, the jam, with the meringue, very professional

and in these conditions, exceptional.

The ice cream tastes absolutely delicious,

and the meringue, I think, turned out very well.

I can't think that they'll find anything wrong with what I've done.

I like the piping down the side, I think that's pretty, it's different.

I think I would have liked quite a few more strawberries.

The ice cream itself is a good ice cream,

but I could do with a little more vanilla.

The whole thing together... Break it down - the sponge is good,

the ice cream is good, the meringue is pretty good.

However, you're missing the point sometimes.

You're playing it so safe that actually you're beginning to fail.

Well, in the end I sort of resurrected my swan,

have a debacle of it breaking and...

That didn't do that at home, you know!

Isn't that a pain in the butt?!

I actually think it looks pretty good, actually.

-Impressive!

-Thank you.

I think it looks most exciting.

The sponge is delicious and the ice cream is quite delicate.

I think you should be very proud of yourself,

-you always come to us with your head down.

-Sorry.

You need to start holding your head a little further up.

-Like a swan would.

-Yes.

-Well done.

It had frozen, it looked lovely, I could actually manage

the piping work, but it didn't make it to the freezer.

And you've still got a smile on your face, which is what it's all about.

Well, you know... Yes.

I was worried about the mango and cardamom

but, actually, that's gorgeous.

The sponge is great as well.

The marriage of the flavours with the sponge

and the ice cream is absolutely lovely.

The fact that it looks a bit messy, I'd forget about that.

It just is stunning when you eat it.

Great piping, looks like little roses, looks very attractive.

The lime curd is sharp, it's a beautiful sponge.

Great interpretation of a classic key lime pie in a baked Alaska.

Gosh, when you look at that, we can only say, "Well done!"

The actual bake is good. Mmm, scrumptious!

The meringue is very, very good,

that marshmallowy feel which you always get

from the Italian meringue is fantastic.

The sponge is good and the raspberry flavour's excellent, as well.

My presentation could be nicer, obviously

no-one wants to get baked Alaska swimming in melted ice cream,

but hopefully it tastes like a tiramisu.

I like the way you've done all those swirls

all the way around the outside, looks very festive.

Those layers look good, the Italian meringue is nice and strong.

That's all right for me!

All aspects of that are excellent

because the flavour of the coffee ice cream is delicious,

the sponge is just softened slightly, as well, between.

It's almost like the Technical Challenge...but better!

Oh, thank you!

I think, overall, the design is very good,

I think the piping is excellent.

I can clearly see the layers

and I like the proportion of sponge to the ice cream.

The yoghurt and sorbet together work really well.

I like sharp flavours, it's almost cleansing, you know.

The almond sponge is very good. Well designed,

well thought through and well done!

Iain, if you'd like to bring your bake up, please.

'I threw it in the bin because I didn't want to present it.

'I didn't want them to judge the way it came out,

'so I'd rather present nothing.

'Gutted.'

Can you tell us about your baked Alaska, please?

I had some issues with the ice cream.

And I let the frustration of that get the better of me.

-OK. Did you have a problem with your sponge?

-No.

-Did you have a problem with your meringue?

-No.

-Did you have a problem with the ice cream?

-Yes.

So, where's your sponge? In there?

We could have tested that.

I know, I didn't cope with the situation very well.

I think you know that it got the better of you,

it was just a moment of your life

that you want to forget, is that right?

It is, I regret it.

Because we all make mistakes and we would have liked to see that sponge.

-Thanks, Iain.

-MEL: Take your bin away.

IAIN: Sorry I didn't present anything.

I don't think we've ever seen this tent so intense.

They all had problems, but they all coped.

Well, except for one person.

Let's look at Star Baker.

Oh, I think Kate. She's done very well today.

She did drop it slightly in the Technical, down to seventh,

but her Signature Bake with the almonds round it

and the chocolate was very, very good.

What about Richard?

He's a good precision baker,

which you'd never expect that from a builder, but he's so delicate.

Luis didn't start off well, but he did extremely well

-in the next two challenges, didn't he?

-He did indeed.

Now, Norman.

I thought his baked Alaska was OK.

But, again, very safe and pretty boring, if I'm going to be honest.

The ice cream itself lacked flavour.

Now, somebody we haven't yet mentioned today is Iain.

He was sailing along quite nicely for one of the first weeks ever

and then this happened.

It's a very, very difficult position he's put us in.

I know he did it at the spur of the moment,

but I think that's sort of unacceptable.

So, now you've got a choice.

You've got two people who have put themselves in trouble -

by their bakes and then by their actions.

And you have to work out at the end of the day what's more important.

Well, bakers, I've got the happy task of announcing Star Baker.

Now, if you sliced this person across like a stick of rock,

you would see the words written "consistency" and "quality".

I'm extremely pleased to announce that the award for Star Baker

this week goes to...

..Richard, for the second time!

-Ooh, well done!

-Well done, Richard.

I get the less than pleasant job,

and it's never nice,

and this week it's particularly difficult

because we have to send someone home

who's an extremely good baker

who had a moment of madness.

Iain, with such a lot of sadness, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry.

Let me feel your beard, Iain, just for the last time.

Feel the beard. Touch the russet.

No, it is onwards and upwards from here.

I love to bake, but I just have to learn to deal with my frustrations

in the baking and I'll try and not throw as much in the bin.

Do you know, Iain is a remarkable baker.

What a sadness because if he doesn't present something for us to taste,

how can we let him stay?

It shows he had passion, he cares about his bakes,

that's why he erupted in the way he did.

But you can't do that.

-Well done, Richard.

-Cheers, Paul.

Star Baker was Richard, AGAIN!

This guy is becoming the one to beat.

I'm going to take Star Baker and run for the hills with it.

It's wicked to win it twice.

Makes you stand out, I suppose, doesn't it?

I was probably quite close to getting sent home,

so maybe I should put a wee bit of pressure on myself

and ask myself to produce the goods next week.

I'll try to walk tall. I won't promise, but I'll try.

Gutted, absolutely gutted.

I've learnt never to throw my bakes in the bin.

KATE LAUGHS

'Next time, it's pies and tarts...'

I've got it as thin as I dare.

Ooh, not making this look easy!

'..with a Signature to make even the steadiest hand tremble...'

-Whoa...

-Well done, well done.

'..a Technical which gets them in a twist...'

Argh!

'..and a Showstopper which takes pies to new heights.'

Ooh, there it goes!

Oh, my goodness! There is a plumbing issue here.