European Cakes The Great British Bake Off

Welcome back to the Bake Off tent -

the bakers are past the halfway point.

They've had their orange segments

and a thorough sponge-down from Mary Berry.

-Was it a Genoise sponge?

-I think we've extended this analogy too far.

BOTH: Welcome to the Great British Bake Off.

'Last time, the bakers took on pies and tarts.'

Are you a pie or a tart?

Oh, a tart.

Yeah, I'm a tart as well.

'Kate's pork pies won over the judges...'

It's a great-looking pie, that.

And the pastry, really lovely.

'..finally winning her Star Baker.

'For others, it wasn't such a good week...'

Come on, there is a plumbing issue here.

-What's in that egg white?

-Lavender.

Lavender?

'..and it was Norman who left the Bake Off tent.

'So which of the remaining six...'

-Is it Alien Autopsy week?

-It does feel a bit like that.

'..will get a rise out of yeast-leavened cakes...'

It's dipped slightly.

I think it's going to be sad.

'..make cakes fit for Swedish royalty...'

This is the classic Swedish princess cake.

'..and produce monumental Dobos tortes?'

It's what I call a Showstopper.

'And whose Bake Off will come to a sweet but sticky end?'

Done.

EUROPEAN DANCE MUSIC PLAYS

"SCANDINAVIAN" ACCENT: Welcome to the 2014 Euro Bake Off.

Amsterdam, can we have your points, please?

-"DUTCH" ACCENT:

-Hello, Melly, this is the Amsterdam jury

and want to say thank you for having such a groovy show

and everybody in the Netherlands really enjoying themselves tonight.

So, the votes from the jury,

we have British bakers with the 12 points.

BOTH: This is European cake week.

I've had lots of European holidays

and I've probably eaten lots of cake.

But not thought about what they're called and how they're made.

There's definitely an element of winging it this week

because I haven't had a whole great amount of time to practise.

It's half term at the moment

but I've got two exams next week which are also suffering.

I'm looking forward to a good or average week now, I just don't

want to have another one where I get told off in the middle of the tent.

Bakers, good morning. Great to see you all here.

For your Signature Challenge this morning,

Mary and Paul would like you to bake, please,

a cake inspired by those great cakes of Europe.

Think Germany, France or possibly be a little bit more adventurous.

Romania, Estonia, Lithuania or the famous...

IMPERSONATES DUTCH

..cake from Holland.

Your cakes must be leavened with yeast.

None of this GB baking powder nonsense.

The choice of filling and decoration is entirely up to you.

I'm merely here to say you have three hours to complete your bake.

So as the Spanish, our beloved European brethren, would say...

-En sus marcas.

-Listos.

Bake!

-PAUL:

-Leavened cakes are the oldest cakes in the world!

Baking powder was only invented in the 1850s,

and so the only way to rise a cake before was with yeast.

So, these cakes have been around an awfully long time,

and they're all embedded right the way throughout Europe.

-MARY:

-A leavened cake is made in a similar way

that you would make a loaf of bread

and it can't really be hurried too much.

Get it too hot and it will rise too quickly

and you won't get the right texture.

Too slow - they won't have had time.

It's all to do with timing.

Austrians have been baking the kugelhopf for years.

Luis has been practising his for the last week.

-Hello, Luis.

-You all right?

-Yes, I'm good.

-Good, thank you.

So, what's this bake you're going to be doing for us today?

Apple and cinnamon kugelhopf with honeyed apples on top.

Luis will be topping his apple kugelhopf with roasted almonds

and spooning calvados syrup on top.

Are you going to be able to do it in the time?

Yeah, I should be able to because it's pretty much an all-in-one,

it proves for about an hour and 15 minutes or so,

and it bakes quite quick, it's only about 40 minutes.

-CHETNA:

-I'm making a savarin.

It's mainly orange-flavoured.

Once it's done, then I'm going to give it a bath

in this lovely orange syrup.

Once she's soaked the savarin in syrup,

Chetna will be filling it with pistachio and cinnamon cream.

It needs that cream to cut through the orange

so it just gives a balance.

-Does the savarin end up looking like that then?

-Yes.

It's a bit like a piles cushion, isn't it?

Let's just put that back there.

Everything that enriches and flavours a dough

has the potential to retard the yeast and inhibit the cake's rise...

There's so many other things here that could slow the yeast down,

you just need to get it going.

..something that Richard and Nancy are taking an extra step to avoid.

The first thing I've had to do is make what's called a sponge.

So, I've put the yeast, and some warm milk and the sugar

and half the flour, all the things the yeast likes.

So, I've put that to work for 20 minutes,

and then I'll know that the yeast is working.

That certainly looks like a sponge, doesn't it?

Richard's making a cake similar to Luis' Austrian kugelhopf,

but Richard's hails from Germany.

My brother-in-law is German and he often makes them,

so it's something I think I know what it's meant to taste like.

It's got cranberries, apricots, raisins, mixed peel,

rum and orange zest in it as well.

Once baked, Richard's guglhupf will be encrusted with flaked almonds.

-MARY:

-Is it staying as it is or is it having a syrup?

How are you finishing it?

I'm going to wing it again this week.

You're going to wing it?

I'll either do a syrup or I'll icing-sugar it.

Dangerous thing, week six, winging it.

You've got to go with your heart, haven't you, really?

Is your heart there, Richard?

Slightly worried if your heart's there.

My heart is in my stomach a lot of the time while I'm here.

My sponge is sponged, you can just see it's got some holes in it,

so that's good.

Renegade baker Nancy's already opted out of Europe.

My European cake isn't 1% European.

Probably Caribbean. I suppose it's European in design.

Nancy's hybrid savarin will be

soaked in an orange and passion fruit syrup

and flavoured with banana.

Savarin's quite light.

You've added banana, which sits on the dough.

It's dangerous putting not only a banana in but a fresh banana.

Do you feel the danger of the banana?

I'm feeling it, yeah, but I didn't let it get me.

Nancy and Luis are hoping to get enough rise from one long prove.

It's just a patience game now really, just waiting for it.

'For everyone else...'

So sticky. Love it though.

'..timing the rise is twice as complicated.'

Why are you proving it twice then?

I've put it in the first time to rise it.

I've put the butter in and the chocolate chips in after.

Hang on, you're adding butter to the dough after? How much?

Four tablespoons?

Four tablespoons?!

The first couple of times I made it, it tasted like a bread,

so I added a bit more cake-y ingredients to make it more cake-y.

If it rises, Martha's cake will be decorated with melted white

and dark chocolate, with crushed almond brittle sprinkled on the top.

Tell us about what the dough is, then.

It's got cocoa powder and melted chocolate in the dough

-and a bit of almond essence.

-OK.

When it's baked, I'm going to soak it in an almond liqueur.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

I don't know what a savarin is.

I don't know what it should... I've never tasted one...

I'm nervous because mine actually is inspired by a babka,

-which isn't even European!

-What is it then?

-Israeli.

But it's exactly the same as all the other yeast-leavened cakes.

Oh, come on, that is European. Almost, isn't it?

It's in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Yeah! Oh, that counts, that does count.

Kate's Israeli babka will be flavoured with dark chocolate,

sour cherries and pecans.

I spent some time in Israel as a teenager.

Had a wonderful time there

but didn't really like their cakes very much,

so I've had to really change the way I've thought about it and put

lots more flavour into it than perhaps they would traditionally.

Kate's non-traditional cake will be topped with melted white

and dark chocolate and chocolate-dipped cherries to decorate.

What I want to do is make sure that the filling is incorporated

all the way through.

Is it Alien Autopsy week?

-It does feel a bit like that.

-Just checking.

I'm just adding the butter to my risen dough

and then chocolate chips as well.

I'm cutting it in two and then I'm just twisting them together.

It's such a soft dough, it's actually quite hard to do.

Plenty of egg-wash for sticking.

So, now, what I'm going to do is I'm going to cover it

for the second prove.

Back in the proving drawer.

Bakers, you have one hour left on your European cakes,

one hour left.

Thank you.

Ooh!

Deciding when to stop proving

and when to start baking is the key to this yeast-leavened challenge.

Let's have a look at her.

Oh, that's great!

Yeah, that's looking good.

Don't over-prove cos it'll sink again.

It goes up and down if you over-prove.

-KATE SIGHS

-I hate this bit.

I think it's ready now

because there's enough space for it to grow a little bit in the oven

but it's come up enough that I know it's got the air bubbles inside it.

It's risen so I'm going to get it in the oven now and start it baking.

I hope it has risen enough.

Can't do anything about it now.

Trying to be as careful as possible

because I don't want to knock any air out.

No.

It's got a little bit further to go, it's about that far off the top.

I'm just preparing the syrup that I'm going to cook my apples in.

It's got cinnamon and honey and butter in.

You just drizzle it over the cake as well.

A classic yeast-leavened cake has the simple syrup added

after it's baked.

In here, there's orange and passion fruit juice,

some sugar and 100mls of rum.

But all six bakers are aiming to improve on hundreds of years

of European baking tradition.

I'm just preparing the cream to go in the centre of the cake.

This is just a bit of frippery.

This is the almond brittle, and I'm going to crumble it up

and then sprinkle it on the top.

Richard has gone with a traditional syrup glaze.

It's meant to taste orangey so that's a touch.

But also has a backup plan.

I'm making up some orange liqueur icing.

I know Paul told me that maybe winging it is a bad idea

but I've tried several decorating techniques on it,

and I'm not hugely happy with any of them,

so I'm just going to see where my heart takes me

when it comes out the oven.

-"DUTCH" ACCENT:

-So, bakers, don't be alarmed.

Let's take it really mellow

but you've got half an hour for your kugelhopfs and your guglhopfs.

15 more minutes.

The cakes need to be baked long enough to complete the rise.

It will rise a little bit more but what also happens is the heat

kills the yeast so it actually will set like a loaf of bread.

But there needs to be enough time left for them

to cool down so that they can be decorated.

It's just hard not knowing what it should be like.

I feel like I feel like in technicals even though

this is a bake that I could have practised,

which isn't very good cos I could have practised it.

You can start smelling it now.

-Is that your one?

-It's the cherries.

God, I need to check it. One sec.

Yeah, check the hopf, man.

-Ooh, he's risen.

-He has.

I think that's ready to come out.

Who do you think's going to win this, Luis?

Can I just ask you boldly and baldly?

Can you tell yet, out of the six of you?

-Money's on Nancy.

-Money's on Nancy?

Deffo.

It's dipped, slightly.

I think it's going to be sad.

The moment of truth.

Brilliant.

Looks how it should look.

It's a bit of a scary moment in a bake.

Love it, looks great, looks so tasty.

Let's hope it comes.

More rather than less is good, I think, for this one.

Hey!

Looks more like a Yorkshire pudding.

I'd probably do it a favour if I dropped it on the floor.

All we need now is for it not to come out the tin.

See, that actually looks all right.

"LITHUANIAN" ACCENT: Bakers for Euro challenge,

ten minutes left on clock.

NORMAL ACCENT: I apologise to all Lithuanians.

All of this needs to go into this.

I think the best way to soak it in the syrup really is to put it

back in there and then to put that back in, then I pour it over

the top as well and it should kind of meet in the middle somewhere.

I'm putting the fruit on next.

After having stuck my finger in all of my various different options,

this was the one that tasted the nicest, so on it went.

It's almost soaked up because now

when I put the syrup in, it's not going inside any more.

I'm just putting the honeyed apples on top.

The weight of the syrup is making it bend over in the middle.

How much longer have we got?

"SCANDINAVIAN" ACCENT: Bakers, one minute left on the clock.

I'm running out of chocolate.

There's been a slight European collapse on the west wing there.

Thanks.

I just need to drizzle some syrup on.

-"DUTCH" ACCENT:

-Bakers, it is very, very important for you

to realise that the bake is now over.

Done. I love it!

LUIS CHUCKLES

I don't know what they'll make of mine, Chetna, I really don't.

The appearance is most attractive

and you've got a good height to it.

But it's all to do with the texture.

Let's start hassling the hopf.

Oh, sehr gut!

I think the texture's very good.

It's short, so when you chew it, there's no chew to it at all.

It breaks really quickly.

And I like very much the apple that you've put on the top

because it needs the moisture from the top.

Well done.

You've got good height there.

I like what you've done with the chocolate.

It'll be fascinating to see what the structure's like inside.

I love the flavour of that.

The cherries, the chocolate... goes well together.

Thank you, Mary.

He's something up his sleeve to say to you.

Your choice of flavours for the inside, I think, are wrong.

-Oh.

-Because it's quite dry inside.

The fact that it was dry chocolate with dried cherries

-and dried pecans...

-Well, it had a lot of butter in it.

It's not enough.

KATE SIGHS

It's a beautiful colour, that lovely rich golden colour.

-We've got a bit of a sort of waist to it.

-Yes.

I think you've put too much liquid in there.

It shouldn't get like that.

It normally comes out and it stabilises and when it's stable,

then you add the syrup, and it soaks in and remains the same.

You've probably put it on when it's too warm.

Well, the orange is coming through.

It's short, it's moist.

The cream goes really well with it.

The flavour and the texture and the moisture is very, very good.

I think it's a great pity that the top has crystallised

because it doesn't look very inviting.

I feel it ought to have a beautiful shine all over it.

For me, the flavour is good,

but the texture, it looks as though it hasn't been mixed smoothly.

If you look down at the bottom, there's a little split.

That is an indication that the yeast hasn't reached its full potential

before you put it in the oven.

I like the look of it but it needed more of a rise

and that would have given you a lighter structure. It's too dense.

-Thank you, Richard.

-Thank you.

I think the actual savarin itself is a beautiful colour.

I think the decoration doesn't add an awful lot to the savarin.

Bit '70s?

Ah. You've over-proved it.

-Have I?

-Yep.

You can tell by the structure inside, it's so irregular and open.

And then you've got the crease.

-The flavour's fantastic by the way.

-God, yeah. Amazing.

Well, that's something, anyway.

Not getting the banana, as I thought.

There's a little hint at the end.

-Tastes good, remember that.

-That's fine!

Thank you.

It does look fantastic, sits well.

Can't see any cracks in there at all.

That looks, to me, a nice texture.

It's a good thing you've got the brittle on the top,

because the chocolate is fairly bitter, but adding the sweetness

of the icing, the white chocolate and the brittle gives it a lift.

The blend of the alcohol, which Mary would love,

with the chocolate, is beautiful.

-Well done, Martha.

-Thanks.

Really well done.

I didn't know what it should taste like or what it should look like

or what the texture should be like but, apparently,

I nailed it, so that's really good.

Really relieved and quite happy that they enjoyed it.

It's still that eternity of waiting when they take a bite of it

and you're waiting for the verdict.

That seems to last for like half an hour

even through it's only seconds, you know.

I'm kind of happy when they give you constructive criticism

because it helps you as you go along, you know,

I'm not... I'm an amateur hobby baker.

I think my decoration was... I mean, even as I was doing it,

I thought this looks a bit naff, really.

You can't move forward while you're looking behind you

so that's what I'll do.

I wouldn't want to put myself at top, I wouldn't want to put

myself right at the very bottom,

but, yeah, I'd be happy with middling.

In Southern Jutland, the area where mainland Denmark meets Germany,

cakes were vital,

they helped preserve national identity in a time of war.

In 1864, Jutland was invaded and occupied by Germany.

In this area, you weren't allowed to speak Danish or be Danish.

So, what way did they find to express their national identity?

Formed unions and met in community houses.

Alcohol was banned so they needed something else to serve

while having these meetings, so that would be cakes.

The second drug of choice.

THEY CHUCKLE

It was all about who could bring the most delicious and creative

and beautiful-looking cakes.

So, deeply competitive, it was sort of Bake Off, wasn't it?

There was a Bake Off competition every week,

but with political songs.

These gatherings were called cake tables

and modern-day Danes continue this tradition.

What would the Danes call this spread?

Sonderjysk Kaffebord.

Eating cake from start to finish.

-For three to four hours?

-Yeah.

There's a way of doing this. If you think of an athlete training,

this is what we're doing essentially.

You have to have the yeast part, the dry part,

the part with the cream and then you stop.

What would happen if I hadn't eaten all the cakes?

It wouldn't be an option.

It's the host making sure. Eat some more, come on, you can do it.

-You haven't tasted this one, have you?

-Right.

Do you want some coffee?

Yeah, you drink about five to seven cups of coffee.

-So, essentially, by the end of this, you will require a paramedic.

-Yeah.

And the sugar is like whoo, whoo, whoo.

Yeah, never felt so alive. Let's have another coffee to celebrate.

That is utterly superb.

What are these ones here?

-Knippkea.

-Knippkea, what does that mean?

That they have a snap.

Oh, that's really good. Sort of chewy.

I've never been drunk on cake before.

There were times when I didn't think I could do it

but you were always there by my side, so thank you.

Oh, you're so welcome.

-All the best, guys.

-And to you, Chetna, all the best.

Good luck.

The bakers are about to face a technical challenge

that explores a part of Europe rarely visited in the Bake Off.

I feel sick.

Good afternoon, bakers, and welcome to your technical challenge.

Now, Mary, this is one of your recipes,

so have you got any little pearls of wisdom?

I suggest that you read the recipe at least twice before you start,

so you know exactly what you're up to.

-Good advice, Bez.

-Now leave.

-Off you go.

-Right, off we go.

There they go.

Now, Scandinavia is very popular at the moment -

-with ABBA and The Killing.

-ABBA was in the 1970s.

-It was, yeah.

So, Mary and Paul would like you, please, to make

a Swedish traditional cake called Princess Torte,

which means "Princess Cake."

It's three layers of sponge, it's filled with creme pat and jam.

It's got a dome of whipped cream on top. On top of that it's got some

green marzipan, and don't forget, a little rose plonked on the top.

I do believe we have two and a quarter hours for you

to assemble this Princess Torte.

-On your marks...

-Get set...

-And ba-a-a-ake!

My heart is beating.

Mary's recipe requires 26 separate ingredients...

I've never done a Scandinavian recipe in my life.

..and has 14 stages, making it one of the Bake Off's

most complicated technical challenges yet.

I've never heard of it. I've never seen it. Never eaten it.

Not a clue. Not a Scooby-Doo.

Mary, why did you choose this Princess Cake?

It's a delicious cake.

In Sweden they have it for all sorts of celebrations.

As you cut through, you will see first of all the bottom layer

will be Genoise - a tricky sponge to make.

On top of that will be jam with a ridge of piped creme patissiere

round the outside, then a layer of sponge.

On top of that, a mixture of creme patissiere and cream,

then a layer of sponge, and a dome of cream on the top.

Lastly, that blanket of green marzipan.

I think you're cruel, Mary, I really do.

This is a particularly difficult challenge.

HE LAUGHS

That's everything I like in a cake, that.

Don't count the calories. But, oh, so good!

SHE EXHALES

That is quite something.

If it's what I'm thinking of, there was a baker's in Stockport

that used to sell them when I was a child,

and I remember my mum buying them, which is really weird.

And a line on the recipe sheet simply says...

"Make a creme patisserie and chill."

They're relying on your knowledge.

The recipe's so vague.

Get that milk up, add it to the yolk, then add the flour

and then put it back on the heat to cook the flour out.

That's what I'm thinking.

And then the whole lot goes back into the pan.

You can make it too thick and it will taste horrible and curdled,

but you can get it too thin and it won't hold any shape

and it won't hold in the middle of the cake.

I think I'm almost there, actually.

I think I'm going to have to try and do two things at once

because there's hardly any time for this bake,

so I'm going to make the jam as well.

I'm used to having two pans bubbling. I make tonnes of jam.

This is a whisked sponge, which I do quite a lot,

so I'm hoping that it should go OK.

Basically trying to make it as light and airy as I possibly can.

You're looking for, when you pull the whisk out,

to leave a trail that lasts for about three seconds.

Which means that it's got enough air in it to inflate a sponge.

It's just under that now so I'm just going to leave it going

-for a couple more minutes.

-That's nearly there...

I would say that's about right.

Yep, it's about three seconds, so now I'm going to sieve over the flour.

The recipe says cornflour, plain flour and baking powder,

so I'm just giving them a sort of a mix.

You have to fold it, which is bit by bit circular,

just so you don't knock the air out.

That's what Mary does, so it must be right.

Everyone's just moving so fast.

It doesn't say to bake it for any amount of time at all,

so it's all guesswork.

Right. "Create a rose with individual petals."

I think what you have to do is roll out little pieces

and then flatten them and stick it together.

Ooh, nice.

Oh, no. No, no, it's definitely not done yet.

It's still a bit wobbly, so I'm just going to give it a few more minutes.

My sponge isn't rising and I don't understand that,

and I think I'd like to make another one.

OK, bakers, one hour to present your princess cake, one hour!

Let's go!

For the marzipan, it's 400g of ground almonds, 150g of caster sugar,

250 grams of icing sugar, which are all in the bowl.

I'm just kneading it together, getting everything combined.

I don't normally make marzipan. I usually buy it.

I can do this.

Oh, good(!)

I made my grandson a football cake.

I had to get it a really sort of grass green colour, which I didn't

think looked very appetising, but he thought it was great!

I've made a rainbow cake for my daughter that did have green in it.

I was looking for lighter green

but it doesn't look like I'll be getting that!

If I put more colour in now it might end up being too much.

Here's hoping!

That looks pretty done. Yep, cake's coming out.

How are you?

I've got to be able to cut that into three slices.

-How's your sponge coming up?

-Yeah, it's better.

-That's better!

-Not risen that much.

-So, listen, read out...

"Cut the sponge into three layers." I am aware of that.

-Right. We're going to need an electron microscope!

-Yeah.

So, are you going to do it again? You've got time. I say go for it,

-just in case, while you've got everything else chilling.

-Right.

Five centimetres divided by three is...

..about one and a bit.

The best way of doing this is much colder than I'm currently doing it.

I suspect once again I'm going to be up against time.

-Now, that looks a little more buoyant and princess-y.

-Doesn't it?

Normally I would never attempt to cut a sponge

until it was completely cool.

Bakers, you've got half an hour

to get your princesses to the marzipan ball.

I won't have time to finish it, to be honest.

"Spread a thin layer of creme pat..."

"Over the base of the first sponge."

It's got to be cool, because if not it will just melt.

It's just not going to happen, is it?

-Apparently you pipe a border round it.

-The border looks good!

It feels fairly stiff.

Looks like a circular border.

"Spread the jam evenly within the border."

-Any enjoyment in this?

-No, not really.

-OK.

I'm quite far behind. But I'm catching up fast.

"Fold half of this into that."

Certainly haven't got time to measure, that'll do.

-That's got a really good consistency.

-It needs to be thick, doesn't it?

"Spread a third of this mixture over the jam."

This is such a complicated recipe! Eurgh!

Yep, speed is of the essence, my love, you're doing well.

Some people are getting quite stressed. Are you quite stressed?

-I was at the beginning.

-Were you? Why?

-Yeah, really.

I didn't know if I was Arthur or Martha first thing.

"Place the second sponge on top."

"Spreading out the cream and creme pat mixture."

Oh, no! It's just slipping off!

It says "put the third sponge on top, cover the sides with cream."

"And smooth into a dome top."

Nice princess-y curve there.

-What did the male judge say?

-Did you just say the male judge?

-Yes.

You're not even calling him Paul now?

You know when the male judge said - I'd forgotten it!

I'm going to put that in the freezer right now.

I'm going to use half this cake and half the cake in the oven.

I'm going to make a dome and freeze the top layer.

-Ooh, it's slipping!

-In it goes.

-Wow, it's really slippy.

-Yeah.

I won't have time to freeze that, for sure.

Ten minutes until your Swedish bakes face their Waterloo. Ten minutes.

Am I showing a bit?

-This is hilarious.

-I know, it's ridiculous.

Thin layer of jam.

I think if I try and cover it all in one go it will just squidge,

so I'm going to wrap this round the side.

I wish I'd put it on this thing to begin with.

This is a shame.

Couldn't think of another way of doing it.

One minute! Until the winner takes it all.

Where's my chocolate? Where's my chocolate?

Hideous.

Bakers, that's it, stop nozzling the princesses.

Bring your bakes up,

pop them behind the photos of yourself on the gingham altar.

-Marvellous.

-What a lovely bunch of princesses.

-Beautiful.

And the cakes aren't bad, either.

Paul, Mary, a whole shed-load of princesses await.

We really were looking for a domed top and then clear layers

and a good chocolate decoration,

with good piping and a flower on top.

It's a good rose. It's a bit wavy, the chocolate decoration,

a bit over-chocolated. It's not a very even top,

and we've still got some dusting of icing sugar on the top.

-And the creaming looks terrible.

-Let's have a look inside.

There's a little bit of collapse there. I think.

You can't see distinctive layers there.

Sponge looks good, creme pat's holding.

Mm-hm. Nice jam.

The thickness of those layers are really very thick, aren't they?

Bit neater, isn't it? The dome's sort of there.

It's certainly got the layers there.

The flavour's good, the jam's good.

This one's more square, isn't it?

The marzipan has been put over not a very smooth top.

-The lid actually comes away from the base, look.

-Ah, you've spied.

Please come on, please.

-Interesting.

-And it is collapsing.

And the creme pat's not set.

-And once you cut the cake it is not holding up.

-Yeah.

-This is more elegant.

-It's a pretty decoration.

We've got a few folds in the sides of the marzipan.

-Well, that's quite neat.

-Generous with the jam at the bottom.

-It's stable, it's holding.

-Good layers, too.

Not much cream in there, though, is there?

This is a lovely colour, this one.

Not such good piping of the cream at the bottom.

Good rose on the top.

-Nice layers here.

-Good amount of cream on the top.

Really, they can't go wrong with the flavours.

This one is so simple and so perfect,

the chocolate decoration on the top, and a lovely dome.

This is the classic Swedish Princess cake when it has that dome on top.

I'd like it a little bit greener.

Good layers of sponge, that is beautifully done.

Very elegant looking, I think. Nice and neat - I like that.

Beautiful.

But which Swedish Princess was technically perfect?

In sixth place is this one.

Kate, right. You know why.

And in fifth place...a little bit higgledy-piggledy all the way round.

In fourth place is this one. Martha, it's not bad at all.

But the whole decoration thing didn't work.

In third place, we loved your chocolate decoration and the flower.

Second place is this one. Well done, Chetna.

And who have we here?

-Congratulations!

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Lovely dome, simple decoration, beautiful flower, a lovely cake.

Well done, everybody.

It's all about tricks of the trade

and if you've got them it's not too bad.

It's when you haven't got them. I didn't have them this morning!

They loved it! That is unreal.

Another half an hour would have been brilliant for me.

Hm...

So, once again the question of Europe has divided the pack,

it seems. Mary, who do you think's done well?

I think safe are Chetna and Luis.

I think what we've got is a natural split between three sets of two.

We have Nancy and Martha who, having an exceptional day today,

could be pushed right up to the top.

And then on the other side of the fence we have Kate,

who was Star Baker last week, and Richard down at the slippery end.

Do you think there's a curse of Star Baker? It seems that the Star Baker,

the following week, really suffers.

It happened to Richard, and it's happened to Kate.

Do you think it's because the tent

-is built on an ancient Indian burial site?

-Could be.

-Mm.

Morning, bakers and welcome to Showstopper day.

Now, I have to say, today is pretty epic.

Mary and Paul would like you, please, to create a contemporary version

of the Hungarian Dobos torte,

which is traditionally a multi-layered sponge cake

topped with caramel slices.

We'd like you to make a cake of at least two tiers

with the emphasis on sugar work and all things caramel.

You can have spun sugar, pralines,

caramel-flavoured Italian meringue buttercreams,

caramel sculptures, butter caramel, bitter caramel,

caramel sauces, butter-bitter caramel sauces, towers of praline,

a praline stack, a praline villa, a huge massive tower of sugar.

-Are you all right?

-I'm not all right, could you take me to the sunroom?

-You've got five hours.

-On your marks...

-Get set...

-Bake!

The Hungarian Dobos torte is traditionally constructed

from thin layers of sponge topped with caramel decoration.

Mary and Paul want the bakers to pull out all the stops

with their sugar work.

Traditionally, on the top of the torte,

they normally have triangles of caramel,

but to be honest they can do anything they want with the caramel.

They've got five hours to complete this challenge.

I expect some serious caramel work.

It's got to have that look about it that my eyes won't leave it.

It's got to be stunning.

I am making a two-tiered Dobos torte,

in the shape of a local monument from home

that you can see from where we live,

and it's my wife's favourite place to visit. It's like a tower

and it's on a hill, so I've called it The Cage On The Rocky Hill.

Luis' torte will be filled with hazelnut, vanilla,

salted caramel and coffee buttercream.

But it's his sugar work that he hopes will be "monumental."

It's going to sound a bit bonkers actually, the caramel is stuck

on the outside of the cube to give you the tower effect.

I'm going to do that shape in sugar work on all four sides,

and then there's a flag on the top, which means it's always open

-when the flag's up.

-I think it might need planning permission.

I hope you have your papers in order.

I'm doing a two-tiered Dobos torte with ten layers in each.

The bottom tier will be like a thick raspberry puree

and a chocolate cream caramel covering.

The top layer will be a peach and white chocolate one as well.

Richard's two-tiered cake will be topped with white

and dark chocolate buttercream and ambitious sugar work.

I'm going to make myself a sugar bird in a spun sugar nest

with some trees. So, yeah, I've got lots of sugar to play with as well.

-So, you're baking these off individually, your sponges?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-I just think I can get them thinner.

You seem to be organised, and you've done it completely at home?

I've done it completely at home and within the time, so...

I'm not going to say confident, I would say cautiously optimistic!

I am making a two-slash-three-tiered chess-inspired Dobos torte.

I'm hoping to cut out the middle of my second tier

and put, like, a chess board design inside, like a hidden design.

And then if the sponge that I cut out of the middle comes out

in one piece, I'll just put that on the top as the third tier.

Martha's Dobos torte will be covered with chocolate ganache,

with chocolate and caramel chess pieces topping the cake.

Your flavours in-between the layers of sponge are going to be what?

I'm making a salted caramel Swiss meringue buttercream.

-It's a bit of a mouthful.

-You had me at salted caramel.

Martha, Richard, Kate and Luis are making their European Dobos tortes

from individual layers of a whisked fatless sponge.

So you have to get a bit of a production line going of a layer in,

a batch out, cut them, get the next ones in.

But Chetna's building her European Showstopper with layers of sponge

that are a little more British.

I can see it's a Victoria sandwich-type sponge.

Yes, for me it's my favourite sponge so I just try

-and use it wherever I can.

-Will you be trimming those?

No, what I'm doing is I'm cooking all my sponges in the tins

because I tried on paper and what happens is once it's cooked

it goes thin on the sides, it doesn't have that height.

Chetna will be filling her 14 sponges with chocolate caramel

buttercream, and she's invented some unique caramel decorations.

I want you to describe to me how you're going to...

I'm going to oil it and then put a toothpick, dip it in the caramel

and then once it's cold, just lift that caramel circle off.

It's a clever idea.

-How many of those are you doing?

-Covering the whole of the top tier.

-Good luck. Thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you.

Two left to do.

-This is like your in-tray of sponge, isn't it?

-It is.

-In-tray, out-tray.

-You like all this, the organisation bit, don't you?

-I do.

You do, I know you do!

I am just releasing my sponges.

That's the bottom tier, and it's all the layers are done - seven of them.

You need obviously a lot of layers to make a cake.

I've done 12, I've got another eight to go.

I think there should be about 24 layers in total.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

Which is a lot of layers, actually.

I'm going to make a two-tiered torte.

I'm doing Italian meringue chocolate buttercream,

but then I'm putting a layer of praline in as well.

Nancy will be topping her tiers with chocolate ganache and caramel,

and decorating with caramelised hazelnuts and caramel shards.

I'm building up my cakes now and then I'm going to put them

in the freezer, just for 15 minutes cos I want everything to firm up.

If I took these out of the tin now they'd just be a mess.

In the Venn diagram of baking and building,

how many points of intersection are there?

-This is slap bang in the middle.

-It really is, isn't it?

This is an absurd amount of sponges, isn't it?

Well, it's my own fault, I did do an extra tier,

I can't blame anyone but myself for that.

So you're going for the old three tier-er?

I am because I think that two-tier cakes look like hats!

Kate's ambitious three tiers will be flavoured with raspberry,

chocolate and orange, and decorated with caramelised pistachios.

-Time is so tight now.

-What are your worries within the time?

Well, I want to be able to do a good job with my caramel.

I'm hoping for two hours, but it's not going to happen.

-Just on caramel?

-Just on caramel.

As the Dobos tortes are constructed,

the proportion of sponge to filling should be even...

Scrap that layer, let's go for this one.

..so that when the cake is cut,

clearly defined layers are revealed.

It's a shame because I really wanted this cake to look really good

and I think it's going to look a little bit slapdash.

One positive thing is that the ganache looks nice and shiny.

OK, bakers, GST time - Greenwich Sponge Time -

you're about 12 layers in.

Nothing like cutting it fine, is there?

In GMT, that's halfway through the bake!

I've used modelling clay to make a template to pour some sugar in,

although looking at that, it's a little bit mottled,

so I might have another go.

My chocolate has gone sort of grainy and a bit funny,

but it's not the end of the world cos I've scraped it off

and I'm going to put another coat over the top, make some more.

I'm not the world's best chocolate person,

so my plan with this ganache is I shall keep my eye on it.

It just seems, like, gloopy and separating,

so I think I might just start again - again!

I am having another crack at making a bird,

which may or may not go well.

Sugar work is a tricky art. Too much heat, too little heat,

or even stirring, can all have disastrous consequences.

I just put the cream in too quick into my caramel, so I took it off

before it could incorporate, so I'm going to do it again!

I'm dipping pistachios into caramel.

Yeah, it's working now.

You have to wait till it gets to exactly the right temperature

in order to get the spike.

How long a spike are you looking for?

Not that long. What I do is I chop them off.

-Right, I'm going to try and make...

-It'll be a bit hard at the moment.

Ooh, it's completely gone.

Aggh!

It's totally gone.

OK, I need another saucepan. Thank you.

OK, bakers, 30 minutes remaining,

until I get to see more tiers than an England penalty shoot-out.

This is spun sugar, with blobs in it.

Hopefully, what it will end up being is the nest for my bird to sit in.

I wouldn't say caramel work is a strength for me -

my pulled nuts are rubbish.

I'm running out of time severely now,

because I haven't done enough of my nuts!

They're supposed to surround the cake.

It's supposed to be a crazy amount of caramel

but I'm just going to do as many as I possibly can.

Look at that bending.

I'm having to put on curly ones that have died in the heat.

Once something goes wrong, like my ganache went wrong,

it's all about keeping your head on.

That's it.

I'm just hoping I've got, like, ten minutes.

OK, five minutes on your Hungarian cakes.

Damn! What am I doing?

The last-five-minute panic has kicked in!

Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

I think I'll have it done just about in time, which is good.

Bakers, one minute left on your Hungarian creations.

It's tricky knowing when to stop!

At least it looks a bit like a chessboard, if nothing else.

OK, bakers, it's over. Finished. No more tiers.

Step away from the bakes, thank you.

Nancy, if you'd like to come and present

to Mary and the male judge...

You've got beautiful cut edges there,

even layers of the filling, which I like.

I like the taste of that, it's rich.

Wouldn't want a big slice of it

but I can taste the caramel coming through.

The nuts you're getting through there are lovely.

They really add a nice touch to it - the praline coming through it.

The whole torte itself is very well-made and well-executed.

-Congratulations!

-Thank you.

-Well done, Nancy.

-Can you now call him Paul again now he's said something nice?

-Yeah.

-He's wonderful, he's lovely.

-Aw-w! Creep! Women!

The cakes look a bit sad, a lot sad.

-They've drooped.

-It looks a bit of a mess, yeah.

You've incorporated quite a lot of caramel in it.

I've done pistachio-praline blitzed on the bottom,

I've made a spun-sugar nest for my sugar bird

and I've attempted to make some trees for the front.

Have you got caramel in it or just on it here?

The chocolate has got caramel whipped into it as well.

The sponge is a little dry, a lot drier than the top.

I just think you could have presented the cake

-a little bit nicer with the icing...

-I entirely agree!

-..which I thought would have been your thing, to be honest.

-I know.

What can I say?

It is a monumental effort.

It is spectacular.

It's what I call a Showstopper.

Thank you very much.

-Sorry for destroying it!

-That's all right, go for it.

It's quite washy with the flavour.

It needs an identity, if you know what I mean.

For me, it's far too sweet and if you took a decent slice of that,

it would be too much, but how beautiful is that?

-You missed slightly on the flavour.

-OK.

Kate, please bring your torte up.

The top layer has a raspberry ganache filling,

the middle layer has a milk chocolate filling

with a chocolate sponge

and the bottom layer

has a hint of dark chocolate orange.

The only caramel you've got on there is what we've got on the side?

Yes, pistachio caramel.

The bottom layer is my least favourite,

-because the actual sponge hasn't softened.

-OK.

I'm getting the orange, but it is the drier one.

I think you've got two winners with the two top layers

but I'm not so fond of the bottom layer.

I would have liked to have seen more caramel, however.

I admire the sheer volume of caramel on there. Well done.

Clever idea with the grapes - everybody will be copying that.

I must say at the beginning when you were doing Victoria sandwich,

I was all ready for it not to work and, of course, it has worked.

I'm really impressed with the definition

on the lines that you've got.

The flavours are good and I think you've done a really good job.

Thank you.

It looks a bit, um, uneven.

Yes.

It's got a great flavour, going towards the top.

It's beautiful, moist. It reminds me of an opera cake.

There's nothing wrong with an opera cake.

The flavours are very good. I like the sort of brittle in it,

but the chess pieces, in fact, don't show too much skill

because you used a bought mould that you just pour the caramel into,

but the whole effect is very good.

-Well done, Martha.

-Thank you.

Let's move the queen and checkmate!

-I love a queen.

-I love a queen.

So who do you think might have come through on the Showstopper for you?

Luis' was as nigh-on perfect as you can get

and he just needed a bit more flavour.

Now Chetna - she had very good layers.

I was really surprised that she got success with a Victoria sandwich.

I think Nancy has to be in there as well.

The chocolate looks good, the layers are strong,

great flavour, great textures all the way through.

Let's look at the bottom two. I think we're in a difficult position.

The brief was multiple layers

and caramel in all sorts of shapes and forms.

In Richard's, we have got the layers.

They are not distinctive but he has done quite a lot of sugar work,

so he has followed the brief.

Whereas Kate did three tiers,

which looked, and actually tasted to me, beautiful.

But she only did one skill with her caramel.

It's really tricky, we go round in circles all the time.

There's so many factors to take on board. As you say,

it's not just this round. They have jostled. It's a photo-finish.

We've got a really difficult decision between the two.

For Mary and Paul, it has never been such a close call on the Bake Off.

Bakers, can I just start by saying thank you, merci, grazie,

-gracias, and the Swedish one.

-Tak!

Tak for some amazing Euro baking this weekend.

So I have the great joy and pleasure of announcing

who this week's Star Baker is going to be.

Now this person has sort of risen through the ranks this week

and presented a very pert little Swedish green princess to us,

and has provided today

the most caramel-filled amazing amount of layers of spongedom

I have ever had the pleasure of putting into my mouth.

This week's Star Baker is Chetna!

And, as you know, Mel and I alternate this job

because, quite frankly, it's horrible.

This was a particularly tough one,

and there was an awful lot of argy-bargy

between our esteemed judges.

Um, we don't agree.

The reason why we came to this impasse

is because it came down to two people.

Kate, Richard, coming into the final, you were both neck and neck.

When it came to your Signature, Richard, yours was under-proved,

Kate, I thought with the moisture, I think you needed more to it.

When it came to the Technical, again it was five and six respectively.

And then when it came into the Showstopper,

it came down to the caramel.

Kate, you never did enough caramel.

All we got was your nut with a sort of lovely shard at the top.

We didn't get anything in the layers.

It was beautifully proportioned.

You had very good flavours in the top two layers,

not so good on the bottom.

Richard, on the other hand, you did a lot of caramel work on it

but it just looked a bit amateurish, that was part of the problem we had.

I do agree that it did look a bit messy,

and when it came to the caramel, we had spun sugar,

we had praline, we had crushed praline at the bottom,

so, as you can see, we were at loggerheads.

But a decision had to be made and so the person leaving us today is...

It's nobody, lads,

cos they were really rowing and it was really awful.

-Come on, come on!

-See you all next week.

See you all next week.

Oh, that was really tough, that was really tough.

I think I completely dodged a bullet just now, erm, yeah.

Over the moon, getting ready to come back and redeem myself.

Next week, mate. Next week, remember...

I think that was the toughest week on Bake Off I can remember.

We had a little bit of a tiff.

On the whole, Paul and I agree because we have the same standards,

but, on this particular occasion, we definitely disagreed.

It was so close. First it was Richard, then it was Kate.

Then it was Kate. Then it was Richard. Then it was Richard

and Kate together. It was as simple as that. It was a draw.

Listen, I'll see you next week.

I don't feel relieved yet. I will.

At the moment, I'm just...

I'm not very good at coming last.

Finally, finally!

God, I'm still in shock!

'It feels amazing.'

It feels like all that planning

and hard work has paid off.

I'm just happy to have survived another week, so job's a good 'un.

My family will be thrilled that I'm through another week.

I mean, we still take every week as, like, a triumph.

It's like, "Oh, my goodness, another week!"

-Well done, my dear.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

Though it seems stressful,

and you don't know what you're doing at times, but...

At the end of the day, it's such fun.

Next time...

Oh!

..the bakers face complex pastries...

No excuses, it must be done in the time.

Come on, pasties!

..with a completely unknown Technical...

I don't think I've ever even seen one of these.

..a choux pastry Showstopper which has them reaching new heights.

I was a bit bored so I thought I'd put a set of stairs.

So this is your first eclair stair?

'And the remaining six bakers...

This is Paul Hollywood if I come last!

'..battle it out for a place in the quarterfinals.'