Pastry The Great British Bake Off

Welcome back to the Bake Off tent, where we're just weeks away

from being able to announce Britain's best amateur baker.

And the scores on the oven doors are...

boys, two remaining, girls, four remaining.

-Sounds like a party. Welcome to...

-BOTH: The Great British Bake Off.

'Last time, the Bake Off went all continental.'

-Estos marcas...

-Listos...

-Bake!

'The bakers battled with European yeast leaven cakes.'

I think it's going to be sad...

'Swedish princess cakes.'

Couldn't think of another way of doing it...

'And tiered Hungarian tortes.

'Chetna was crowned Star Baker.'

Clever idea, everybody will be copying that.

'But an unprecedented decision from Mary and Paul...'

They were really rowing and it was really awful.

'..meant that no-one went home.'

'This week, the six remaining bakers tackle pastries.'

Urrgh!

'With a savoury signature...'

Come on, pasties!

'A technical pastry that no-one has even heard of...'

I don't really know what I'm looking for, to be honest,

because I've never seen one or heard of one.

'And a choux pastry Showstopper which reaches new heights.'

I was a bit bored, so I thought I'd build a set of stairs, you know.

So this is your first eclair stair?

'With a place in the quarterfinals up for grabs, tensions are high.'

-This is Paul Hollywood, if I come last...

-SHE LAUGHS

So, what do you get if you cross butter, flour, a crime scene

and a woolly jumper?

-Dunno.

-A Danish pastry.

I think that might need work. It's pastry week.

I'm delighted to be back again - I mean, the sun's shining,

the birds are singing!

I love working with pastry, so I'm looking forward to it.

The two previous weeks have been the hump to get over,

but, yeah, ready for this week, looking forward to it.

Bakers, good morning.

What a beautiful morning it is, and welcome to your Signature Challenge.

Mary and Paul would like you to bake some savoury pastry parcels.

Pretty much every culture has a tradition for these,

from the samosas to Cornish pasties to Spanish empanadas to...

-And the other ones!

-..the other ones. Good.

Now, Mary and Paul would like 12 savoury parcels.

This could be any pastry you like - could be puff, could be shortcrust.

You've got an hour and three quarters. Very much on your marks...

-Get set.

-Bake!

I think the judges are definitely looking for flavour every time

and I think last week I fell short on that,

so I need to put it right this week, I think.

When I reach a week where I can do some of my flavours,

I get really excited.

Week seven, we're looking for 12 perfectly formed,

beautifully browned, excellent-flavoured parcels.

I'd like to see something that they think we've never had before.

No excuses - it must be done in the time.

The seasoning must be right, the moisture must be right,

the bake must be right.

-Morning, Chetna.

-Good morning.

Chetna, tell us about your savoury parcels?

I'm making Indian savoury parcels - surprise, surprise!

I'm making kachoris, which are pastry

and inside there's a lentil mixture and then deep-fry them.

-You're going to deep-fry them?

-Yes.

Chetna's kachoris will be made

using a carom seed pastry,

which will crisp up when deep-fried.

Boiling away in that pan is lentils...

-Yes.

-So how far are you going to cook them down to?

Cos you've got to fry them as well, haven't you?

It's just going to be cooked - not al dente, but JUST cooked.

OK, this is going to be fascinating, it's all about the blend

-of the spices going in there, thank you very much, Chetna.

-Thank you!

Kate's bake is also inspired by Indian flavours.

So what are your savoury parcels?

They're samosa-inspired paneer and spinach parcels.

So the spinach you're using - fresh spinach?

No, I'm using frozen.

I've tried it with both and I've found that fresh spinach

is just way too wet, and samosas are traditionally quite dry.

Her samosas will be folded into triangles, crimped and deep-fried.

Tell us what's on here.

Well, I've got cinnamon, powdered ginger, turmeric, chilli flakes -

sorry, Mary - and in here I've got coriander, cumin, mustard seeds.

-Could be an overload.

-What, of chilli?

-An overload of flavours as well.

-Well, we'll see.

Luis will also deep-fry his parcels.

I was brought up on fried food, I'll be honest.

I remember eating these empanadas as a child in various places -

at my gran's, and so I didn't have the recipe,

so I've had to reverse engineer it and make it how I remember it.

-Morning.

-Morning, Luis.

-You all right?

So what flavours are you going to be doing in the empanadas?

It's mainly beef and chorizo, but there's potato, carrot,

celery and then a herb, a lot of spice mixing.

There's paprika, oregano...

Luis's Spanish flavours aren't just in the filling.

He's making an orange and paprika pastry.

-They're quite big!

-Well, they look quite big.

What I do is, I do the traditional rope around the edge.

-So you're crimping it?

-I crimp it all the way around,

so I only put about three tablespoons of filling in each one

and then I use the excess pastry to get my crimp round. I want them

completely sealed and don't want them to leak in the fryer.

Good luck, Luis.

I'm not happy.

See, I don't think that's right, I'm going to do that again.

Good morning, Nancy. Can the male judge ask you

what savoury parcels you're doing, please?

Yes, today I'm going to make spicy duck parcels, pasties.

-What's the pastry then?

-This is a quick flaky pastry.

Nancy's duck will be mixed with

oriental vegetables

and flavoured with Chinese spices.

How do you seal the whole pie up together

-so you don't get any leakage?

-I DID get some leakage.

So I decided to soak it up with a teaspoon of ground rice.

That's such a good idea.

They did seep, and they looked a bit messy.

Um, I wanted to do something different

because I think it's quite good to stand out.

Because if I was making a pasty and then Rich was making a pasty

they would be directly comparing our pasties.

Whereas I don't think anyone else is doing a miniature beef Wellington

so no-one else can be compared to mine!

Martha will wrap the beef in Parma ham,

add the mushroom duxelle

and enclose it in a rough puff pastry.

The beef, are you going to fry it beforehand?

I'm going to sear it very lightly so that the juices stay inside,

but it's almost impossible to get the beef really as rare

as it'd ideally be, because you'd have to get the pastry to cook.

So they're a little bit more medium/well-done kind of beef.

Unlike Martha, Richard and Nancy

aren't cooking their meat at all before it goes into the parcels.

It has to be cut so, so small, because it's going in the pasty raw.

-Good morning, Richard.

-Morning.

-So, what are you up to?

What have you decided to do for your savoury parcels?

-I'm doing lamb and mint pasties today.

-Nice!

Like a Cornish pasty, you're putting raw meat in there,

and quite big pieces, and let's hope that they cook in the time.

Richard will add sweet potato to his pasties

to complement his traditional choice of filling.

-How are you going to fold them?

-He's doing a live masterclass

for us, Mary, doesn't get more exciting than that.

I'm folding them all over first.

The crimping is critical on something like this

-to stop any leakage from the meat.

-Yes.

Hopefully if you crimp them well enough, you don't have

too many explosions - that's always the main worry.

Each of the bakers has their own individual way

of sealing their parcels.

How much time have I got left?

It's about half an hour, coming up to half an hour.

-How long's the bake?

-25.

-OK.

Bakers, you've got half an hour. Half an hour on your parcels.

-You are the king of crimping.

-Thanks, Mel!

-Senor Luis!

How do you say "to crimp" in Spanish, do you know?

Oh, God, I don't know!

Crimpar? Crimpar! So you reckon those two are done?

These two are definitely done.

That's one hell of a twist you've got going on there.

So why an Indian-inspired bake?

I love Indian food. But obviously Chetna's the queen of spice.

Not leaking.

OK, bakers, I'm in a rough puff kind of a mood, it's ten minutes!

I'm going to need every bit of ten minutes.

Nothing's burst yet.

I'm a little bit behind where I'd like to be.

I re-made my pastry, because I wasn't happy

and it didn't seem right, which set me back.

I've got enough time, it's just tight.

Urgh! I don't know whether mine are going to be cooked!

It's not a very hot deep fat fryer

and it's concerning, to say the least.

And if I put more in, I lower the temperature,

I'm just going to have to... I don't know what to do.

I'm going to literally be taking them out the oven, cooling rack,

straight into me basket.

Bakers, that's five minutes till pastry parcel paradise.

-My fryer went off, Luis.

-Oh, you're joking!

-No, I'm not.

-It's on a timer.

-I didn't know.

Come on, pasties!

I'd like to have seen a bit more colour.

Every time I get to this point, I can just hear the music,

-you know the music that they play at the end...

-Yeah!

Hoh!

Ow!

OK, bakers, your parcels are due for delivery now! NOW!

What a nightmare.

They look so...ah!

Paul and Mary will be looking for parcels which are uniform

in size, well filled, perfectly cooked and sealed to prevent leaks.

-Hello, Richard.

-Hi, Paul.

-So, I think

you've got some good uniformity,

you have got consistency and a nice dark colour.

They're not burnt.

No, it's not burnt. I'll take this fella.

-Nice and flaky.

-Oooh!

-It's a bit of a gap.

-Yeah.

You can really, really pack these things out.

PASTY CRUNCHES

What a wonderful combination! And I was the one that thought

-the meat wouldn't be done, and it IS done, so well done.

-Thank you.

It's a great bake, great pastry. Great flavours.

-Do you mind, Richard?

-Fill your boots.

-Fill my pockets!

Fill your pockets!

They look very tempting, they're a lovely golden brown.

And if I look underneath, this has had a little bit of leaking here.

The beef is a gentle pink and a lovely thin layer of pastry.

Tastes good, the flavours are fantastic.

-The seasoning is just right, I'll go for that.

-Thank you.

-Mind if I just...?

-Of course, go ahead!

Not bad, not bad.

Probably could have done with a little bit longer in the fryer,

if I'm honest. The colour's a bit pale, I think to me it is

a bit big for a traditional empanada.

I love their size, I know Paul thinks they should be dinky,

but that's about the size I'd like for my lunch.

-Yeah, too right.

-Good filling inside.

I think they look most attractive

and there's no leakage anywhere of the filling.

It's very, very tasty indeed, it's lovely.

But I think for me it's slightly under-done.

-Can I take another one?

-Absolutely.

-Thanks, Luis.

-One for later.

-Thank you.

I think you know what I'm going to say.

They needed another five minutes. I ran out of time.

-I love the look of them.

-I think I want to have a try.

I think it could have taken a shade more filling.

Yes, your idea of ground rice I think has worked.

There's just not enough in there. That combined with

-the lack of baking has sort of let it down a bit.

-Thank you.

Thank you, Nancy.

-Do you mind if I have one?

-Help yourself.

Did it all go as you wanted it to?

They should be an awful lot darker than that.

My deep fat fryer went off and I didn't realise.

You've got the nice even shape,

I think, you've got VERY good crimping at the base, which I like.

-The colour's pale.

-Yeah.

-I think the only thing we can do with these...

-Is try them.

-Is try them.

I've made them less spicy than I would normally, for you, Mary.

-Have you?

-Yes.

-I like things spicy.

The filling's interesting. I don't particularly like the pastry.

I had a bit with the crimp on and it was quite doughy.

And it's not too hot. It's just the outside, your pastry isn't cooked.

You should have been watching your fryer.

Well, I did, I was kind of really confused about it

and I took some out and thought "I'll re-do them later"

and tried all kinds of things and it just had turned off.

-Shame. OK, thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Kate, do you mind?

-I wouldn't mind at all.

SHE LAUGHS

Great colour, right.

Lots of filling in there, pastry looks well done, flaky.

I like to have more filling than pastry, and that's what we've got.

That pastry is delicious. I DO love the flavour.

Your spices, the volume of spices you put in there

is frankly staggering. That's lovely, well done.

-Thank you.

-Do you mind, Chetna, if I just...?

-Not at all, no, please.

-There's no room in the pockets, I'll just...

-Put it in your mouth.

-Eat it, yeah.

-Phew!

-They look really nice.

There's a few under-cooking comments in there

so I'm getting a little bit of comfort from that. SHE LAUGHS

Paul was absolutely right, I tried it and they were under.

I couldn't really have asked for better comments,

under the circumstances. So I'm pretty delighted, actually.

I've learnt how to use a deep-fat fryer now.

SHE LAUGHS

The iconic Cornish pasty found fame as a miner's packed lunch,

but its popularity has spread further than you'd think.

In the early 1800s, the Cornish tin mining industry was world-famous.

And in 1825, a group of 60 miners from the county

were recruited to work in a silver mine in Mexico.

It was in the early 1820s.

They purchased 1,500 tonnes of equipment,

and they set sail for the silver mines.

It took them 14 months to get to the mines in Pachuca

and Real del Monte.

When they arrived at the mines, the Cornish miners were working

very closely with the locals, who were quick to embrace

parts of Cornish culture. Including the cuisine.

I believe that the indigenous Mexicans

saw in the Cornish pasty a fast food.

A type of food that could be easily made,

manufactured and taken so simply to their workplace.

The local Mexican miners created their own version of a pasty.

A Mexican paste.

And that is the story that started 190 years ago.

Today, we are now forming stronger

and stronger links with our friends in Mexico.

Descendents of both the Cornish and Mexican miners still regularly

get together to celebrate this unique bond.

My grandfather also,

and my grandfather stayed for 40 years in the silver mines.

Mi abuelo trabajo las minas.

His grandfather worked in the mines.

And both pasties and pastes are on the menu.

At first glance, the pasty and the paste look very similar.

When the pasty first went to Mexico,

they wasn't able to get the ingredients that we have

in Cornwall so they had to use regional ingredients.

So the Mexican pasty has potato, leeks, chillies, steak,

butter and parsley.

It's a very similar pastry, but considering they're so small,

they've got so much in them.

But not every Cornish palate can take the Mexican heat.

That was eye-wateringly hot.

I think I should have had a Cornish one.

'The bakers are about to face a technical challenge

'which will test their advanced pastry knowledge.'

Hello, bakers, you're going to love this one.

I mean that in a sort of

"You're going to hate this one" kind of a way.

Now, it's Paul's recipe, the Queen of Mean as I like to call him.

We'd like you two to just go away.

If you'd like to go away for us, that'd be great.

Go and do some crocheting, Paul.

Now, Paul and Mary would like you to make 12 individual kouign amann.

-Yep, we don't know what it is either.

-No idea.

OK, so apparently it's a traditional Breton pastry

and you've got three and a half hours on the clock to do that.

All the very best.

-Kouign amann.

-On your marks, get set! Bake!

-Bake!

For the first time in the history of Bake Off,

not one of the bakers has heard of this technical challenge,

let alone what it's supposed to look like or how to make it.

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

I have never heard of this.

How do you pronounce it? Koi...?

Queen-a-man.

-Queen-a-man.

-Queen-a-man.

It's called a kougan aman?

A queen-a-man, a queen amon?

It's kouign amann.

Traditionally, it's quite large, it's got to be buttery,

it's got to be crispy, it's got to be flaky.

So basically, the lamination is all about the dough butter,

dough butter layers.

They've got to build up the dough, it's got a little bit

of salt in it, it's got butter, it's got sugar in it.

It's got yeast in there.

What you're looking for is the texture of a puff pastry,

but a bit more open, a bit more structured,

and that comes from the yeast.

So when do they actually add the sugar?

They need to do a minimum of three turns before they add sugar to it.

If they put the sugar in during the turns, what happens is

it just dissolves, it doesn't go anywhere.

But also, they've got to think of when to put these in the oven,

it's got to be risen and rested before it goes in,

otherwise it'll just be too tight and not opened up like a flower.

Something like four or five ingredients...

..and three and a half hours to work with them.

So what's that all about?

Make the dough, shape into a ball and prove.

I've never made a pastry with yeast before.

Yes, first time for everything, isn't it?

A little bit nervous, don't really know what it's meant to be like.

My dough feels quite sticky, but I know that Paul's quite critical

if you don't add all the water sometimes.

Paul's recipe tells them to prove the dough,

but does not state for how long.

I'm just going to keep an eye on it, I'm going to wait until it doubles.

Then I'm done and I'm going to have a cup of tea.

Now, I'm going to sit and look at the recipe.

HE HUMS TO HIMSELF

The next step is roll out the dough into a 20cm square,

and roll out the chilled butter into a slightly smaller square

and place diagonally on the dough.

I think a bit of butter bashing reduces the tension, doesn't it?

This is Paul Hollywood if he hates

my kouign amann, if I come last.

SHE GIGGLES

When they think it's proved for long enough,

the bakers press on with the next stage.

I'm rolling out my dough to 20cm square.

I'm onto stage five, which is fold the corners of dough

over the butter.

I'm going to do it the way I know, which is basically a longer piece

of dough, a shorter piece of butter and you get a fold straightaway.

Next stage is roll the dough into a rectangle, fold down

the top third then lift the bottom third and then refrigerate.

Only Chetna is leaving hers to prove for longer.

Everyone else has already folded their pastries, but I haven't,

I'm just waiting for a bit more rise.

Am I stupid? There's two and a half hours left?

Why is everybody folding it right now? What's going on?

Halfway through the bake and it's decision time.

Part seven of the method is a little bit ambiguous.

It says "repeat the rolling and folding process three times,

"adding sugar between one of the layers."

Does that mean one of the layers each of the three times,

or just one of the layers?

One layer or every layer?

I think the sugar between one of the layers.

So the sugar is going in this one. I reckon it's not the last layer

and it's not the first layer, it'll be the middle layer.

What I've done is I've divided my sugar into three...

And you're adding the sugar between one of the layers.

Every time. So I know that's the right amount of sugar.

-But which layer?

-I don't think it matters, to be honest, because...

-You don't think it matters?!

-Don't tell Paul that!

It's this sort of precision upon which a technical bake rests.

You know what he's like, he'll be thumbing the dough

and he'll be saying, "The sugar's in the wrong layers."

Hey, wouldn't it be awful if this were salt? No, it's not.

I've made a guess and put it on the last time.

At least this way I'll have a defined bit of sugar through.

Who's done it right and who's not done it right, though, do we know?

Apparently the thing you have to do is put the sugar in last,

and I think Richard and Martha have done that.

Problem is, if you put sugar in while you're folding,

it melts with the butter. Put the sugar in last, it still...

Don't tell me it arrests the rise. Don't do that to my face!

I'm going to chill it one more time

for another 20 minutes and then I'm going to

get it out and do the final cutting and filling of the tins.

Bakers, you've got one hour to go

on these fiendish little kouign amann things

that no-one's ever really heard of.

Place the dough squares into a muffin tin,

gathering the corners at the centre.

You can see a few layers in there.

They need to prove now for as long as they can.

I'm going to do it in the fridge.

I'm proving them at room temperature for...as long as I can, really,

before I think I have to put them in the oven.

I'm just going to keep an eye on them

and when they look as though they've doubled, I'll put them in the oven.

I want it to prove in a cool environment.

I've done it differently to every single other person in the room.

Don't want to get deep vein thrombosis, you got to walk around.

So this is where working outside doesn't work in my favour.

-I don't like sitting down for long periods of time.

-It's all good.

I don't like this waiting malarkey.

Makes you think too much. I'm better when I've no time to think.

This could be the new sort of mindfulness meditation.

Just do one of Paul's bakes,

which basically is like going on holiday for a couple of weeks.

-Kouign amann.

-Kouign amann.

-Kouign amann.

-Kouign amann. Do you know which country it's from?

-Breton.

-Breton isn't a country.

Well, it used to be a whatever it was...a...

-Province?

-Province, thank you.

They used to have amazing sort of lace,

and they would wear Breton coiffes, which are stiff...

Sorry, there's something happening over there.

Stiff lace hats and they would do special dancing.

-Hello, Martha.

-Hello!

You know this isn't a life-drawing class, don't you?

Are we boring you with this technical challenge, or is this

-the calm before the storm?

-Little bit.

-Are you a little bored?

-Well, we can...

-Three and a half hours!

It's quite long for a bake with six ingredients.

-So how long have you got left now?

-I don't know.

Nor do I. I'm sorry I can't help you.

It's around about 35 minutes, something like that, I'd say.

OK, I'm going to put them in the oven.

They don't look as puffy as some people's.

I've no idea what I'm looking for. I don't know

whether they're the right shape, the right height, the right size.

Hopefully they'll taste nice, though.

It doesn't say how long to bake. It says "bake until ready" -

I'm thinking longer is better.

I don't really know what I'm looking for.

It's really hard to know, because they all look

quite different around the room and I don't know which one is right.

Because I've never seen one or heard of one.

My only thing was that about the sugar and that's it.

What I'm thinking is that I should have added it in one or two layers,

-not three.

-They're coming out.

Whoa, look at you! Those smell mighty fine.

I just don't know whether they've had enough cooking.

Bakers, you've got five minutes left...

IN A FRENCH ACCENT: ..with your little pesky Breton friends.

They're a nice colour.

They should be even-sized, not got even size.

Ouchies.

I imagine they probably should have been a bit more puffed up,

but that's my decision to refrigerate, possibly.

-OK, bakers, our most languid challenge to date is over.

-Come on!

Step away from your Bretonese little pastries.

Paul and Mary are looking for 12 identical pastries

which are well proved and crispy, with distinct layers.

You've all got good, strong colour, but we're going to try and find out

who's added sugar in every layer and who's added sugar at the end.

-What was the right way, Paul?

-Adding sugar at the end.

They've gone down in the middle.

They have, you can see there's not many layers in there.

Pretty sweet.

Normally you'd expect to have a bit of sugar on the top.

I think there's sugar on each level. Has a few issues, that one.

This looks as though it's got attempted layers,

but the problem is it's quite bready as well.

I think I'd struggle with the prove on that one.

Now this one is pretty good - nice and high, good lamination.

Nice caramel colour on the top, all pretty much the same size.

You can definitely see the layers here.

It's a decent pastry.

That's good. That's really good. Just perfect.

Moving on to number four here, huge irregular size difference.

There are layers, you can see them on the top and on there.

It looks as though it's been well made,

but just needed that much longer to rise.

It's a nice flavour.

Flavour's good.

I think this one's had a problem with the sugar -

sugar's gone on every level, it's struggled.

And some of these are really over-baked.

Yeah, they are. Moving on to the last one.

There's an attempt at lamination here.

And they are a pretty uneven size.

It's got a good balance of flavour. But it is massively under-proved.

-Good flavour.

-It's got a good flavour.

Paul and Mary will identify who has managed to produce the best version

of this completely unknown Breton pastry.

So in sixth place, who's this?

-A little over-baked, and we didn't get the lamination.

-OK.

And in fifth place is this one - whose is this?

-Luis, was there sugar on each level?

-There was.

-It just tasted a bit too sweet.

-OK.

And in fourth place?

These were multi-sized...

-Yeah.

-But we did get some of the layering.

And in third place is this one.

You can see they've got layers. Nice colour, just needed more proving.

And in second place, who is this?

Some of these were really very good.

And in first place, well done!

-Well done, Richard.

-APPLAUSE

Good layers, you didn't put the sugar in throughout the whole thing.

-Close to mine - very, very good, well done.

-Thank you.

To get praise, especially after having a couple of dodgy weeks,

to have big twinkling smiles and, "Aren't you good, Richard?",

it's lovely, it's really, really nice.

Looking back, it is frustrating

because the clues were in the recipe. I did it the way I read it.

What can you do with that?

You get it right or you get it wrong and I got it right

in the morning and I didn't get it right in the afternoon.

There you go.

So the bakers are about to go into their Showstopper day

and after a difficult week last week,

Richard is now flying high, wouldn't you say?

Absolutely. He's been top in both challenges.

So who else is doing well this weekend?

I think Martha's done fairly well,

she was there on technical.

Someone like Nancy could go up or go down.

Chetna did well on the signature.

Yesterday, she was sixth in the technical, though,

-she was at the bottom.

-Which leaves us with Luis and Kate.

I think Kate's signature, the pastry was massively underdone,

it was really pale.

And the filling that she made, it really wasn't well-seasoned.

Luis's signature, when you look at it, when you try it,

you think it's pretty good, but that was almost

the tried and tested recipe for me.

Kate and Luis are essentially in trouble

going into the final Showstopper?

I would go along with that and also put Chetna in there, as well,

you don't come bottom of the technical challenge.

If she has a bad day today... she has to be consistent.

She's been SO consistent up to now, though.

But you could say that about a lot of them.

Good morning, bakers.

Now, this morning, for your final challenge of the weekend,

Paul and Mary would very much like you

to bake some showstopping eclairs.

Now for the mathematics bit. You've got to make 24 eclairs,

two different flavours, so that's 12 of each.

Now these eclairs should be made from choux pastry, obvs.

They should be eclair-shaped, please,

but that is where the restrictions end.

-It's freestyle after that, OK?

-Wow.

You can decorate them any way in which you wish.

-No way?

-Yes, you can!

-Way?!

-Absolutely!

-It's like the '60s all over again!

-Absolutely, second summer of love!

-It's free eclair love! Good lord!

You've got four hours to create this Showstopper, so on your marks...

-Get set!

-Bake!

It's certainly nice to be doing a Showstopper

and not panicking like I have done for the past few weeks.

Tricky one today, really -

I think the choux pastry is difficult at the best of times.

I think there is a lot more pressure now to do more interesting things,

which is why I've taken a bit more of a risk.

They've got four hours in this particular Showstopper challenge

to produce 24 eclairs - that's plenty of time to see

some great innovation and fantastic creativity.

If they can't produce a good eclair in that time,

they shouldn't be in that tent.

Choux pastry, of course, is unlike any other pastry

because it's cooked in a pan.

The all-important part is the baking.

That perfect eclair has a dry inside as well as looking perfect outside.

Pushing the boat out, Kate, Luis and Chetna

have chosen to flavour their choux pastry.

-Morning.

-Hello, Chetna.

So it looks as though you're making a chocolate choux.

Yes, just to add a bit of colour

and it does give a tiny bit of flavour to it.

With the yellowy mango filling in it,

on top I'm making a caramel chocolate icing,

and then I'm going to have little pieces of mango

and then on top of that

I'm going to have a little shake of caramel sugar.

To accompany her complex chocolate choux,

Chetna will make lemon meringue eclairs.

So I'm doing a lemon curd and then I'm going to mix it with

some cream and then I'm going to make Italian meringue.

And then raspberries, I'm debating whether to put it underneath

the lemon curd so that when you bite it, you can taste the raspberry.

You're being very ambitious, you've got rather a lot going on.

-Yes.

-Good luck.

-Well done, Chetna, see you.

I'm making a Neapolitan eclair,

so I'm doing a chocolate choux with a strawberry mousse inside.

You can't use too much cocoa in the choux,

because it prevents it rising so well.

Like Chetna, Kate's also making flavoured choux -

chocolate choux for her Neapolitan eclairs

and basil choux for her lemon meringue ones.

So I'm using Greek basil, which is a bit punchier in flavour.

I'm making a lemon curd mousse filling for the lemon meringue.

There's a lot to do, I really need to get a wiggle on.

-Hello, Nancy.

-Morning.

Can you tell us about your two eclairs, please?

Yes, I'm going to do a salmon and horseradish eclair,

-topped with sesame seeds.

-It'd be lovely to have something savoury.

I've got smoked salmon and poached salmon

and then I've got some fresh horseradish.

Can I have a look at the horseradish?

I've never seen horseradish like that. Did you grow that, Nancy?

Brought the horseradish from my garden.

Nancy is the only baker to attempt both a savoury and sweet eclair.

She will stir a home-made raspberry jam through creme patissiere

to create the filling for her raspberry ripple eclairs.

Are you using the same choux for both or are you changing it round?

I've tried a savoury choux and a sweet choux, one for each.

And to be honest with you, I couldn't tell the difference.

So I'm making one batch of pastry and I'll use it for both.

Thank you very much, Nancy.

So I've just added the flour

and cocoa powder to the butter-water mixture.

And I have to just beat it for two minutes

so the rawness of the flour will get cooked.

So that's made like one ball now.

So I'm going to pour that into a bowl.

The main challenge for a choux pastry is knowing when it's done.

In the words of my dad, not too thick and not too wet, basically.

And you've got to do it by eye.

If you pick it up on a spatula and drop it

and you get a V then that's when it's meant to be done.

Today, I am making some lavender and blueberry eclairs,

and some rose and raspberry eclairs.

You get a little bit more adventurous, really.

I wouldn't have made lavender custard this time last year.

'In addition to lavender, Richard will make a rose custard.

'He's hoping that he can nail those delicate floral flavours.'

-Hey, Richard, how you doing?

-Not bad, not bad.

I can't help but notice, Richard, that you've brought

a little bit of your day job on to today's bake.

-Oh...yeah.

-Are you advertising?

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

-So this is your first eclair stair?

-Yes, the eclair stair.

It's actually going to be recycled into a chicken stair

when I get home.

My dad keeps chickens and I'm going to turn it into a chicken ladder.

Making them walk upstairs to bed? Don't they have wings?

Can't they just fly?

-Hello, Martha.

-Hello.

So have you made eclairs much before?

For my AS coursework, we did a whole portfolio on desserts.,

we had to pick one and then develop it.

And I chose profiteroles, so it's the same pastry.

So I've written about 8,000 words about different developments

of profiteroles, which is just ridiculous.

-You wrote a dissertation on choux?

-Pretty much, yeah.

What are you doing for your eclairs? What are your two eclairs?

I'm doing a rhubarb and custard eclair with some candied rhubarb

on the top and a creme pat and rhubarb compote in the inside.

And then I'm doing a maple syrup and bacon eclair.

Martha's American breakfast theme eclairs

will be filled with maple syrup creme patissiere

and topped with nougat and bacon sprinkles.

Sometimes you get quite an overwhelming flavour of bacon,

-which...

-It shouldn't be overwhelming,

it should just be a little...

It's basically it's a maple and pecan eclair with little bits of

-candied bacon just for saltiness.

-OK.

So I'm going to let it cool in the bag

so that it holds its shape when I pipe it.

Oh, gosh, it's so important for me to do well today,

very, very important.

So I'm going to pipe them and then they're ready for baking.

I'm just spraying them with a bit of sunflower oil,

because I think it helps them rise a bit more evenly.

Water just creates a bit of steam when you first put them in.

There's one that's wide, and the rest are fine.

You've just got to look at them - if they grow then they're done.

If they don't then they're not.

A good eclair, for me, would be not doughy.

Light and airy and lots of space inside to fill.

I think they're fairly uniform. Apart from that one.

Halfway through, and with two hours remaining, the bakers need to

leave their choux to cool and focus on fillings.

I'm doing a maple syrup creme pat and just a custard one

for the custard and rhubarb ones,

because obviously creme pat is custard.

I'm just measuring out my rose water for my second custard.

It's another one you have to be really sparing on,

because once again I'm doing another custard

that could taste like soap if I put too much in.

Luis, Nancy and Richard are making fruit jams

to cut through the flavour of their sweet fillings.

Luis, what are you up to at the moment?

I'm just making different fillings -

one of them is going to be blueberry cheesecake,

so the bottom of the eclair has got a strip of blueberry jam in.

And the other one is going to be peanut butter and Jell-o,

and it's a strawberry jam running underneath it.

Luis will decorate his American-themed eclairs

with candied pecans and peanut brittle.

Now your blueberry jam there,

it looks as though it's a blueberry jelly. Have you sieved that?

I have sieved it a little bit, yes, it is smooth.

I have to see how the flavours go together,

there are quite a lot of them.

-All right, mate, good luck. Interesting flavours.

-Cool.

I'm reducing down my raspberries and my blueberries at the moment.

I think the fruits work quite well with the rose and the lavender.

I'd like to think I'm traditional, but with a contemporary twist.

THEY LAUGH

-That's all right, in't it?! I am!

-You DEFINITELY are.

The bakers' eclairs will all need a clever twist

to catch the eye of the judges.

We do have a big variety of eclairs set out for us today,

and they are...four hours is quite a long challenge.

We expect to see something that's going to really stand out.

Three of them are doing chocolate,

that's going to be fascinating to see.

Kate's doing the same thing as Chetna as well,

they're both doing that lemon meringue eclair.

Can't believe Chetna's making the same one as me.

Unusual, because it's such an unusual thing,

I've never seen it anywhere.

The race is now on to assemble their showstopping eclairs.

So that I get the same in each one, I'm weighing the filling

as it goes in, because you just can't see what's going on.

My creme pat is a bit too runny

and I don't really know what to do about that.

I think I might have left it out of the fridge for a bit too long,

or maybe it wasn't thick enough to begin with,

or maybe I put too much cream into it.

This is the strawberry mousse.

So I'm taking strawberry,

I am mixing it into the cream.

Do you suffer in any way, Chetna, from tinnitus?

-What's that?

-Ringing in the ears.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Yes or no.

-No.

-Good, because I'm about to shout.

Bakers! Half an hour left, thank you!

-God, is it half an hour left?!

-Yes! Look at you go.

-Shall I shout again so you go even faster?

-No, I can't!

15 minutes to go, bakers!

-No, stop!

-I'm joking, I'm just playing with you.

I might make a maple cream instead,

cos it's too runny for me to put inside.

It's just going to ooze out. I really don't want that to happen.

The creme pat dilemma has really made me pushed for time.

I think I was going to be pushed for time anyway

and it's made it really... It's going to be really difficult for me

to finish on time, I think.

Bakers, you've got ten minutes left to polish your choux.

Come on, shard, please.

Richard, honestly, I haven't even filled them yet.

I feel under a massive amount of pressure.

Argh!

I keep misplacing my things. Scissors, scissors, scissors...

-Richard?

-Yeah.

Can you break up my nougat into small squares?

It's on right there. Oh, my goodness, these are awful.

Looks a total mess.

Nothing like putting a hot strawberry in chocolate.

What do you want where?

One on each is fine, thanks so much, you guys.

OK, bakers, this choux-stopper is over.

That's enough, move yourselves away, shoo!

Terrible, absolutely terrible, I'm a goner. I'm so a goner.

I think the flavours are all right. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.

Nancy, do you need a hand?

No, I'll be fine.

I think the whole presentation is simply beautiful,

and you take immense care in what you do.

Let's start with savoury.

It's very light, delicate and crispy.

I must say I'd like a little more seasoning, but it is very good.

Baked well, great filling.

So this one, bit soggy underneath, but it's holding itself quite well.

I do like them. They're a bit sickly.

You've got a lot of sweetness on the top.

Yeah, you're that far from perfection.

Exactly, it's just the adjustment of the filling.

I think they've got a decent shine on them,

I just think the topping's let you down a bit.

They look to me, every one the same size, which is quite a feat.

I think we'll try the blueberry one first.

It's packed full of filling,

got a nice shell around the outside - a good bake.

You haven't over-lavendered.

Let's have a look at the raspberry and the rose.

It's got a nice crisp again.

I think the rose is perfect, the hint of the rose is good,

it's not overwhelming.

I hope I've done enough to survive, but my gut feeling is it's 50/50.

Do you know, looking at those, it's a party.

You've managed to get them all an even length, six inches.

You're very good with precision.

-I think, Luis, they look amazing.

-Thank you.

There's so much going on, but it's clean, it's sharp.

Let's start with this one.

-I think it's incredible.

-Wow, thank you.

You were going for the peanut butter and jam and you've got that.

It is different - I like that, I like different.

Let's try this one, shall we?

You've really cracked it. It's very difficult

to keep the jam from making the base soggy,

and you've achieved that.

You have nailed it on all counts. Well done, Luis.

I'm flattered, thank you very much.

It's all right, but it's not perfect.

And I had to do perfect today.

-We'll try the lemon meringue one first.

-OK.

Got a good amount of filling in there.

The lemon filling's very good. I wouldn't know there was basil there.

-Oh, really? It comes very late on.

-I've got the basil.

-Yay!

It's interesting with that wave of basil at the end,

-it works quite well.

-I've had a second piece and I can't get it.

Couple of hours' time, you'll be on the bus on the way home, Mary.

The chocolate ones are a mess from start to finish, really.

Some of them are baked more than others,

the shard hasn't really worked, the result looks a little bit messy.

-I totally agree.

-The strawberry filling is too runny,

it's coming out as a runny, whipped cream.

-It does all work together, it just looks a mess.

-Yep, thank you.

I think they look a lovely display.

You've got 13 as well.

-Have I?

-Oh, good.

Thanking you!

That's my wages sorted.

It's got a nice sharpness to it.

I think the eclair probably could have done with

a couple more minutes, but I'm being picky, that's what I do.

The flavour inside is fantastic,

and the Italian meringue on top is lovely.

Now, chocolate one.

The actual choux pastry with the chocolate is very good.

-It really is.

-So unusual to have mango and chocolate,

you feel it's very indulgent.

But overall, two different types of eclairs,

very well thought out and well-executed.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Chetna.

The last ten minutes were just crazy.

I thought at one point I wouldn't get anything on plates.

Where do I start? I don't think they look good at all.

Let's see what they taste like. Let's try this one.

It falls apart very, very easily.

The flavour of the rhubarb and custard's coming through.

It tastes of rhubarb and custard, and it's good.

And these little twirls, I do like the inventive idea.

Right, let's try one of these.

Yeah, I was going to make a maple creme patissiere,

but I think again it was too much cream and it was too runny

to put in, so I just whipped up a maple cream very quickly.

The filling's too weak, it needs to be stiffened up.

The bacon, it should crumble, it doesn't go.

It doesn't really work for me.

-Chin up.

-It's fine.

So in front of me here are these amazing American-style

almost like hot dog eclairs that Luis made.

He pulled himself right back up, didn't he?

I think Luis did phenomenally well.

The flavour, the texture, the rise.

He was seriously down there, in serious trouble,

and I think he's done extremely well.

Mary, do you think he's done enough?

I think he's done enough, and it was a spectacular finish.

He had a great day at the office.

Unfortunately Martha experienced the reverse, didn't she?

She was doing all right with the signature,

she came third in the technical, so she was sitting quite comfortably.

And then today, she comes up with that, which is a disaster.

The icing, the bacon, so there was a lot of issues with it.

But... She wasn't in danger but I think she certainly

put herself into a little bit of trouble.

Do you think Chetna's safe, Mary?

I think Chetna's safe, her chocolate eclair there, very special.

And her lemon meringue tasted so good.

Kate didn't fare particularly well in either the signature

-or the technical.

-She always seems as though she's confident,

she's full of smiles, but it wasn't so good today.

I mean, her lemon meringue, I couldn't taste the basil

-and I still can't taste the basil.

-Still nothing?

-Nothing?!

-Nothing.

And the chocolate one as you bit it, it dropped all over the place.

I think she struggled this weekend, when you look at the whole picture.

And I think she's in a bit of trouble, yes.

What about Nancy? You said she was quite close to perfection.

The amount of flavour that's gone into that salmon,

she needed the seasoning just to lift it up.

So she was very close from getting it absolutely bang on.

She needs to taste her bakes, doesn't she?

-I think so.

-As she goes along.

-Has this put her up a notch?

She came from second in the technical,

and based on that, being up there again too, I think she's quite safe.

Richard had a cracking start yesterday.

How did today compare, Mary?

Over the years of Bake Off, we've had real problems with lavender

and rose, and he got those subtle flavours, er...

but the decoration isn't exactly dazzling, is it?

-He came first in Technical.

-First in Signature.

-Yeah, he did the first one-one.

-He did very well.

So the bakers are all very, very good -

is it hard to distinguish between them at this point?

One SINGLE mistake can get you crashing out of Bake Off,

which, really we've never been in that situation before,

when the whole group are so good.

And when they do make a mistake, it's highlighted.

Do you know who might be going?

-Mmm.

-Mmm. I do.

-And do you have somebody in mind for Star Baker?

-Yes.

-I do.

Well, we'll leave you be. You can discuss that.

-We'll reconvene.

-Ooh, I've just got basil!

Bakers! Who thought choux could be so emotional?

I'm delighted to say that today's Star Baker

is not just a pastry perfectionist,

but also makes a bespoke mitred stepladder

upon which his best bakes can rest.

The inventor, the pioneer of the eclair stair,

today's Star Baker is Richard. Well done.

APPLAUSE

I feel a bit like the angel of doom today, I'm afraid.

It gets very difficult, and Paul and Mary said that there's

so little between you now, this has been a very, very tricky decision.

But I'm afraid we have to say goodbye to somebody

and the person that won't be joining us on Bake Off next time is...

Kate. We're very sorry to say goodbye.

Mel-Sue sandwich.

You've been magnificent. Magnificent.

Gutted, absolutely gutted.

I'm overwhelmingly pleased to have done it.

I'll never stop baking, obviously I'll never stop baking,

but I might not bake tomorrow.

And I might not even bake the next day.

Kate was in a very difficult position coming into

today's challenge and I thought that overall,

Martha was in a much stronger position,

certainly coming into today,

and I think she just did enough, and that's why Kate had to go.

I'm so surprised - I cannot believe I'm still here.

I think it must have been the closest decision yet.

Obviously, I've always cared about it but I never thought

I would care about it to the point where I would cry over an eclair.

It's quite strange. But I did, I did cry over an eclair!

Do you think your chickens need stairs?

They do, I treat them well.

It really is very unusual at this stage

to be Star Baker three times over. But Richard's done it.

I like making my family proud.

It's always nice to go home and tell the kids that Daddy won.

I just got to try and not let it get on top of me, really,

so yeah, lots and lots of fun but lots and lots of practice this week.

'Next time, it's the quarterfinals.'

It takes, like, one bad bake to make you go home.

It is absolutely raw.

'And the bakers are risking their all in a fruity signature.'

It's a dangerous thing to do.

'Stretching themselves in the technical.'

We're getting good length, aren't we?

How much length do you want?!

'And hitting the spot with their showstopping doughnuts.'

Oh-ho-ho!