Dessert Week The Great British Bake Off

-Last time...

-Very floral.

-..it was Botanical Week.

This is a complete mess.

After a disappointing start...

I guess I would have liked it to be a bit stiffer.

..Rav and Andrew were on a rescue mission.

Mine is so wet.

As emotions ran high, it was Andrew who survived.

And Rav was sent home.

I've always said that I'm like a cat with nine lives

and my lives were running out!

Despite Candice's impressive cake for all seasons,

and Selasi's perfect sponge and piping,

it was Tom who stole the Star Baker crown for a second time.

Great jasmine flavour in there. That's impressive.

Now, it's Dessert Week.

Let's add some sugar.

A Signature that's all about the swirl.

This is always so hard.

A Technical that's all about the nuts.

Ohhhhh!

And a mini Showstopper that's a massive challenge.

The moment of truth.

-Oh, no...!

-Disaster.

Over the next two days,

the bakers will be tested on a trio of desserts.

Three challenges,

three chances to win Star Baker and avoid leaving the tent.

So last week, obviously, I had a bit of a meltdown, so, yeah,

no, I had a little word with myself.

This week is more my type of week,

I'm a desserts man through and through.

I will try extra hard, yeah, Star Baker's been pretty allusive.

To have got this far is unbelievable.

I love them all, but I've now got so close I want to win!

You definitely have to impress on every three bakes because

there really is nowhere to hide now.

So far, being Star Baker has not been great for me,

I've had a bit of the curse of the Star Baker in the past,

so I'm just going to try and ignore that.

Bakers, just six remaining.

Or as Mel and I like to say,

46.1538% of a baker's dozen, don't we, Mel?

-We love that.

-We love it.

Anyway, enough of that.

What Paul and Mary would love you to make

for your Signature Challenge, is a family-sized roulade.

Yes, the roulade can be filled in any which way you like,

-but it must be sweet.

-Yes.

-And sponge.

-Yes.

-Not meringue.

You've got an hour and a half on the clock. On your marks...

-Get set... BOTH:

-Bake.

Ah, yeah, here we go again.

It's a new week, fresh start, hopefully I can start the

week off with a really positive note with this roulade.

Yeah, we're getting closer to the final now,

so, every little counts and no silly mistakes, I guess.

Practised a lot this week, so I'm reasonably confident but

having a failure could be a quick ticket to the way home.

-MARY:

-One of the key characteristics of a roulade

is that you should, when it's rolled up, have a nice spiral,

like a Catherine wheel. Now, that needs skill.

-PAUL:

-Think of a roulade like a good sandwich.

If you put too much filling in it,

you're not going to get it in your mouth.

I might, but most people wouldn't.

So the idea is to put a nice, even layer of filling all the way

through, and again that helps with the swirl as well.

A traditional roulade is a fairly simple-looking bake.

But with a place in the quarterfinals at stake, this is an

opportunity for the bakers to roll out something really special.

-ANDREW:

-I'm drawing a straight pattern on my roulade

which I'll then freeze, to hint at the orange

which will be inside the sponge.

The danger is, if you overcook the sponge a fraction,

it cracks when you roll it.

To help avoid any cracks, most of the bakers are making

a variety of whisked, fatless sponges.

So I'm going to be whisking some eggs and sugar together.

I want it to be really light and also I find it rolls

a bit easier than kind of more traditional sponges.

All the raising agent comes from the eggs, so whipping up the yolks,

whipping up the whites, that is going to make it rise.

Selasi's the only baker adding butter to his sponge mixture.

Just melted butter, which I'm going to fold into the sponge.

It doesn't make it too dry, it gives a nice texture as well.

-Hello, Selasi.

-Morning.

-Hello!

Right, tell us all about your roulade.

I'm making a lemon and strawberry roulade.

It will have a cream filling and also lemon curd.

Selasi's classic summer ingredients of fresh strawberries and cream

will be layered with his own lemon curd to add extra zest

to the filling, then rolled in a plain sponge and finished

with piped whipped cream and nuts.

What sort of finish do you get on your roulade?

-Does it crack at all?

-I'm using a Genoise sponge,

which is a bit more tolerant to the rolling.

I would say that having the butter addition means that you've

-got a very pliable mixture.

-Yeah.

So I'm hoping there will be no crack whatsoever.

-HE CHUCKLES SOFTLY

-Um...

-TOM:

-I'm just putting a very small amount of nutmeg into my sponge.

It's just a kind of aroma that works quite well with

chocolate and caramel.

Tom, tell us about your roulade.

I'm making a millionaire's roulade,

so it's based around a traditional millionaire's shortbread.

It's going to have chocolate and shortbread incorporated in it as well.

I will marry you.

Last week's Star Baker, Tom,

is making a nutmeg-flavoured sponge filled with his own shortbread,

which he'll sprinkle over a layer of salted caramel, before

rolling and covering the entire roulade with chocolate ganache.

Millionaire's shortbread is stunning, but inside a sponge?

Should be interesting.

Do you mean that in a sort of, genuinely it'll be interesting

or in a sort of mwa-ha-ha-hah, classic creepy Paul Hollywood

something-awful's-going-to-happen kind of way?

Errrr...

Baking time is crucial.

Right, going in.

Too little, and the sponge will be underbaked.

Seven to nine minutes is all it takes.

Too much, and the sponge will dry out and crack when rolled.

My sponge is in the oven, for 15 minutes,

potentially up to about 20.

Right. Filling.

I'm making a pina colada roulade.

It's a bit cheesy, but, you know, they're fun.

Benjamina's bringing memories of cocktails on holiday to her roulade,

with a filing of pineapple soaked in coconut rum, layered with

coconut mascarpone and all rolled up in a coconut-flavoured sponge.

-And you said you had coconut in there?

-Yeah.

-What have you got in flavour?

-Coconut extract paste.

-OK.

-Oooh.

-Oh, that's interesting.

-It's really good, it's quite strong.

-Wow, it is, isn't it?

-Yeah.

That's like you're actually putting it on your skin.

-I was going to say, get you up to that nice teak colour.

-Nice smell.

Are you putting any of the pineapple inside?

I just cooked it down for a bit, with a bit of the rum.

Looks good, happy with it. Nice and airy texture.

Yeah, it's looking fine, I think.

It's got to come out very shortly.

BEEPING

(Hot, hot! Hot!)

No pressure... I don't think it will crack, but if it DOES crack,

you know, it's all part of the charm.

So I'm making a tropical holiday roulade.

I'm using my dad's recipe. It will have some banana in the centre,

and then there's going to be passion fruit caramel on top.

After tears last week, Andrew's hoping his tropical roulade

will brighten his chances of making it to the quarterfinals.

He's going all-out to impress.

Ah, you've done a joconde style?

Yeah. So I've got some stripes on there,

just to hint at the bit of orange that's inside.

It's a lovely idea.

Oh, that's a shame. Some of your stripes have come off.

That's all right.

Going to give it a little bit of a cool now.

I am happy with the sponge, yeah, really happy with it.

-JANE:

-You just pre-roll it when it's warm so it's got some sort of memory

as to what shape you want it at the end.

I always roll it from the long end, cos you get more slices out of it.

SHE LAUGHS

You roll the short end towards you instead of the long end,

I don't think you get enough sort of rolls in it.

I am making a white chocolate roulade

with a passion fruit and raspberry cheesecake filling.

My dad absolutely loves white chocolate -

like, loves, loves white chocolate.

Candice's roulade will be filled with layers of raspberry cheesecake

and passion fruit curd.

For her dad, she's adding his favourite white chocolate

into her sponge, which will be covered in freeze-dried raspberries.

-I just need to flick this.

-Go on, flick it.

Oh!

Done with great confidence.

Is it really scary doing this right in front of Mary?

Yeah, it's probably...

No. She's done it one or three times before.

Look at the smile on her face, she knows it's good.

The sun's come out.

Good luck, Candice, look forward to this one.

-Smelling good.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Honestly, petrifying but I'm so glad she said it was all right,

I was like, "Ohhhh!"

It's feeling flexible. I see a few cracks, but that's minor.

Not hugely happy with that sponge, it's just looking a little bit flat.

Think I took it out of the oven just probably a minute too early.

So I'm going to go again and try to do it better. You know,

this is week seven of Bake Off, good enough is not good enough any more.

30 minutes to go.

And while Tom gambles on making a second sponge,

the other bakers start making their fillings.

-BENJAMINA:

-So I've just got some pineapples, bit of rum.

I want the rum to come through, because when I did it at home

I thought, "I can't really taste the rum, it can take a bit more,

"it can take a bit more."

So I've put quite a bit in.

I make roulades reasonably frequently at home.

There's ganache in it, there's double cream in it,

bit of alcohol in it.

Jane's roulade is one of her husband's favourites,

with a chocolate and hazelnut sponge filled with whipped cream

and a layer of boozy chocolate and hazelnut paste.

Are you getting that to a spreadable consistency?

-Trying to get it spreadable.

-Which is quite tricky.

Mmm, But you can.

-Interesting that you've rolled it up that way.

-Yeah, lengthways.

I know. I do it at home that way and I know lots of people

do it that way because you get more rolls in it,

-but I do it that way because you get more slices in it.

-All right. Thank you.

Already happier with that.

The second sponge is much thicker, much lighter.

Its texture's way better.

Now I've got to get everything else together.

Three of the bakers are banking on a fruit curd

to add a bit of sharpness to their roulades.

Andrew's raided his family's cookbook.

I'm using my dad's recipe for passion fruit curd.

Dad's made this curd for at least the past three Christmases,

it's a family favourite. I've shamelessly nicked it off him.

I think Candice is doing passion fruit as well,

but I've got confidence in Dad's curd.

I just put seeds of two passion fruit into the curd.

I think it's nice to have a little bit of seedage in there,

just not a huge amount.

That's got a slightly bitter aftertaste,

you don't want that.

So let's add some sugar.

-BEEPING

-We're almost there with the curd.

-That's better.

-That's better.

-Oh, it's sharp. Hm.

-Good.

-Yeah.

Now it's time to get assembling.

The cheesecake will go on first,

then I will swirl through the passion fruit and then roll.

-MEL:

-That is a lovely, lovely, lovely sight.

A man spreading cream...onto a sponge.

-I'm slightly giddy, Selasi!

-That's all right.

First a layer of the caramel,

then a layer of the crumbled up shortbread.

There probably is a danger of overfilling,

you don't want it bulging.

The caramel next to the sponge can be an odd texture

because it's two quite soft, delicate things, but personally

I think it's good and hopefully they'll like it as well.

I don't want it TOO thick.

I don't want it to be cream with a bit of sponge.

This is my hazelnut paste.

It won't spread. But what I'm going to do

is I'm going to add a load more to the ganache.

You can see this, this is not happening.

Bakers, just five minutes to get your roulade on.

Time to roll.

This is the tricky bit.

Five minutes.

This is always so hard.

There's too many strawberries in there.

I am really happy with that, actually.

The moment of truth.

-SELASI:

-I'm going to cover it up anyway so...

Pretty is not really on the cards right now.

Just got to get it looking neat.

-It's not messy, it's informal.

-Informal, yeah.

-Informal.

Ooh, the ooze on that.

I'm hoping he likes the flavour and forgives me the lack of roll.

Just say it's a regional thing. He won't know.

OK, bakers, stop. Move the roulades, roll them to the end of the benches.

The challenge is over.

Paul and Mary are looking for a roulade with a light sponge,

even layers of filling and the perfect swirl.

I love the finish, it looks really exciting.

Because you rolled it the opposite way, you're never going to get

a full roll, you're only going to get one and a bit. Right...

Well, it cuts well.

You managed to spread that nut mix.

-I mixed it with my ganache.

-That's an honest girl.

-I thought so.

Hazelnut's sharp.

The alcohol in there is almost ruining the flavour,

which is a shame. The texture's beautiful.

I like the whole combination.

Perhaps it's the little bit of tipple in there that I like.

Always.

You've got a nice swirl in there.

It's very neat. I want to make sure the filling's in there

equally all the way down.

Let's just cut into it and see what it's like, shall we?

-MEL:

-Quite a big slice there, Paul.

-I'll take a big slice, yeah.

Now, look at that, that's just perfect.

You haven't overbaked your sponge, it's beautifully soft.

Fresh pineapple, cream, and coconut.

The whole combination I think goes well.

The essence or the extract of the coconut, does it taste natural?

-I'm trying to determine.

-OK, too fake?

-I'm not sure...

-Yeah.

-OK.

-It is a pina colada though, I'll give you that.

And the textures are absolutely spot on.

Interesting that you covered it.

What's that hiding?

The whole thing of a roulade is to get that spiral,

and we're not seeing it because you've masked it.

Let's see what's happening inside.

You have got A spiral there.

-This was your second attempt at...?

-Did a second sponge,

the first one was underbaked.

I would like a swirl of cream in there too,

because it is a bit cloying with the toffee and also the icing.

I think you've actually done a really good job on the flavours.

I just think the appearance is not good.

From my angle here, this swirl, it's very messy.

We've got a little crack down the side, that means that possibly

the sponge itself was in the oven a little bit too long,

-but we've got to taste it.

-OK.

Looks quite dense there.

Right, so I think we'll have a look and see.

The filling is a little bit soft.

Cheesecake needs to be a little bit more set.

It's a bit rubbery in the middle.

But the actual filling is absolutely scrumptious.

So you've got a lovely design.

You've got rather a soft filling, and therefore

instead of getting a beautiful spiral,

we've got it a little bit flat.

I like the joconde style you did with the orange on the top,

-that looks pretty good. Let's have a look, shall we?

-Mm.

Lovely flavours, they all go well together.

I think the sponge is delicious. It melts in the mouth.

And the banana goes really well with it as well.

But the overall flavour is good,

the textures are excellent, I think you've done a pretty good job.

-And you've showed us one or two skills.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Piping looks good on the top, quite neat.

Looks more of a fold than a swirl.

-It's quite a simple finish, but it's very effective.

-Right...

-Is it a bit unstable on the curved...?

-It's called originality.

It's called a photo frame, Mary. Is that a photo frame, Selasi?

Yes, it is.

No-one's under there though.

I think overall you HAVE got a nice swirl -

you couldn't see it from the outside because it's so soft.

You can see it pouring out.

You've got a beautiful, soft sponge.

I think I could take a bit more lemon curd,

did you put much in there?

Not too much because I didn't want it oozing out, so...

The sponge is delicious. The sponge is absolutely the star of the show.

-I think you've done a really good job, actually.

-Thank you.

Selasi, come home. I'm just going to nick a strawberry.

That went really well, actually.

They liked the curd, there wasn't enough curd.

It's a shame I jarred the rest of it.

-HE LAUGHS

-But, yeah, I'm taking this home.

It'll be good on toast.

Paul said the coconut was a bit too artificial. I can take that.

After last week's disaster that I had, it feels like I'm

back in the running now. A really great start to this week.

Didn't like the decoration so much but you know what, I think it's quite classy.

I wanted it to look like a chocolate bar,

and it did look like a chocolate bar.

I need to think of a way of making the Technical something that'll be

enjoyable and I can go into it with a bit of confidence.

Ohhh, happy days, bakers, it's the Technical Challenge. Yay!

Now, this week it's been set by Mary.

Mary, any words of advice for the lovely bakers?

You've got to be organised, you've got multi-tasking to do.

-MEL:

-Multi-tasking.

We will be asking you to juggle during the entire bake,

-if that's all right.

-Good. Mary and Paul, you must leave the tent.

-Bye-bye, eyes.

-Tatty-byes.

-Now, bakers...

-Yes.

..Paul and Mary would very much like you to make...a marjolaine.

-What?

-Yes, that was my understanding too.

It's actually a French rectangular gateau.

You should make, please, four layers of nutty meringue

sandwiched with praline buttercream and ganache,

then the whole thing covered in nuts.

You've got three hours.

(Three hours.)

-On your marks...

-Get set and bake!

Marjolaine. Never, ever heard of it.

I think it's like a layered cake but it's meringue instead.

You've got your meringue, your cream, your meringue,

your cream, meringue, cream...

ganache, nuts. That's what I've pictured.

Apart from chocolate ganache, I have never made any part of it.

I don't really know what it should look like.

I can't afford to come last now. I really can't afford to come last.

Not at this stage of the competition, anyway.

How long have we given them for this challenge, Mary?

We've given them three hours.

-Which is pushing it a bit.

-Wow, Mary, you really are cruel.

-I'm not as cruel as you usually are.

-HE CHUCKLES

They've got to, first of all, make the dacquoise,

which is a glorified meringue with nuts.

Can be quite tricky to get that meringue absolutely perfect.

It's got to be crisp but not chewy,

because we have to cut through this gateau.

-I think we need to look into these layers.

-Indeed.

You can see the ganache and the buttercream

and the meringue as well.

It does look quite impressive.

It's very nutty.

You do get that texture from the dacquoise as well from the meringue.

It is sweet. But oh, it's so good.

I'm at the stage where it says,

"Make the dacquoise, finely grind the nuts."

This is a combination of almonds and hazelnuts...

Grind them, and then roast them.

I'm going to roast them for a few minutes.

You want them to be dry, golden and smelling nice and nutty.

Next step just says, "Make a meringue..."

By whisking egg whites,

adding in a spoonful of sugar at a time

to try and keep the air in.

It's thick, it's glossy, it's looking gorgeous.

My nuts are looking nice and golden brown, so now they need to cool

before I fold it into this,

and that's apparently what makes a dacquoise.

You've got to fold it in

and keep as much of the air in there as possible.

That's about right. It's well mixed in.

"Divide the meringue between three Swiss roll tins."

Smooth it out, try and keep it as light as possible.

I considered piping it in. I want a very flat surface, I think.

Pictures I've seen of dacquoise before

are usually piped into a disc

so I'm going to...risk it.

It's not easy to spread because of the consistency of it,

so you just need to let nature do its thing.

"Bake until golden." So I am going in the oven.

It doesn't give me a time,

but I reckon it's going to take at least an hour.

I'll try and get it ahead on my next step, chocolate ganache.

Ganache is easy. It's just hot cream and chocolate.

So this one bit, I'm happy with.

From here, it may all go catastrophically downhill.

You just want it really glossy. I'm pretty pleased with that.

Next step is to make the praline.

It says, "Toast the blanched almonds."

I've never made a praline, I've never made a caramel.

The praline's fine, you just make a sugar syrup,

you get it to look nice and caramelised, shove the nuts in.

Just want to coat all the nuts.

Now we just let that set...

I'm very happy with it.

Now, we all know that nuts and caramel are an exquisite,

delightful combination.

Like Berry and Hollywood, they're a match made in heaven.

Actually, it was a match made in France.

The praline was named after

a 17th-century French diplomat, Count Praslin,

whose head chef invented the sugar and almond combination.

Word soon got out about this new sweet,

all the way to the palace of King Louis XIV.

And was even used by the count to curry favour with the noblemen.

The count decided to use praline to convince

the local nobility to support the French crown.

And according to the legend, it worked.

I like the idea of that. There's a lot of political tension in the UK -

pass round the Sherbet Dip Dabs, all's fine.

400 years later, in the town of Montargis,

the praline is still being made to the chef's original recipe

and sold in this shop by confectioner Benoit Digeon.

Praline has been in your family for how many years?

For one century and ten years.

My grandfather bought the company in 1903

and no other praline recipe inside the books,

and we keep it in the family.

So, how do you make this praline?

It's very easy. We have to have good almonds,

we have to caramelise them gently and then we coat them with

the caramel, and after the caramel there is vanilla,

there is arabic gum, and there is sugar and that's it.

-That's it?

-Yeah.

-There's no secret?

There is no secret, there is no secret.

I think there's a secret.

How many times do they get caramelised?

Enough time.

-Once?

-Enough.

-Twice? Four times?

-Four times if you want.

-Six times?

-Why not!

It doesn't really matter whether you caramelise once, twice,

200 times. The praline is still the count of confectionery.

That is nice.

I like that, yeah. I'm going to have that set in my door.

My lovely stained glass praline has now turned into this praline dust.

This is going to go into my buttercream.

Is that golden brown? I'm going to let that cool in the oven.

-Where's Margaux? She's in there?

-The meringues are cooling in an oven,

which seems like an oxymoron to me.

Is anyone else doing that? Don't pass it on.

-Oh, no, that's in the instructions.

-Oh, is it? Oh, sorry!

Half an hour, bakers. Demi-heure.

Again, I'm not sure if the piping was a good idea or not,

but I guess we'll find out.

I need to be very careful...

for it not to crack.

It's now crumbling everywhere,

which I don't think is a particularly good sign.

Fingers crossed I haven't totally messed it up.

I need to bisect them to get my four sheets.

It's 20 centimetres wide, so that's ten on each side...

Ooh, I'm not going to enjoy cutting this. One bit.

All about precision...

HE GROANS

Andre, comment ca va?

-Errrr...

-Oh, no.

I really think that's recoverable. Unless someone tips Mary off.

Many Bake Off secrets I have held close to my bosom, Andrew,

and this will be to the grave.

Yep. That's what I want to hear.

The spread's good thickness, spreads well, it's holding its shape...

Lot of concentration going on.

Yes, this is, this is not my forte, this sort of stuff so...

concentrating hard.

I think they're going to want really even layers.

Pop those together, no-one'll know.

No-one will know.

I think the judges are going to be looking for precision, neatness,

nice...even layers.

What do you think it looks like, having never seen one before?

Kind of thinking like a Viennetta, but posher.

Doesn't get posher than a Viennetta, my darling.

It's not hummus, is it? Just tell me it's not hummus.

-It's not hummus.

-It's not hummus. Good.

OK, cinq minutes, bakers, cinq minutes!

"Pipe the remaining chocolate ganache

"around the top edge of the cake."

I'm going for a single continuous line around the edge.

"And pipe eight diagonal lines..."

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

-HE GROANS

-Messed it up.

Far too close together.

Just trying to get it filled quickly.

Feeling a little pressed here now.

OK, bakers, time is very much up now.

Please bring them up to the gingham altar in front of your photo.

Mary and Paul want to see a perfect dacquoise,

with four distinct layers and beautifully piped ganache.

Right, shall we start with this one then, Mary?

This one's dropped slightly, it's got a bit of a soggy bottom.

See where it's ballooned out.

-It's a little bit drunk-looking, isn't it?

-Mm.

Good piping.

We want that dacquoise in four layers.

In the very middle, we have the chocolate ganache,

and then we have the praline buttercream either side.

That has been done correctly.

-HE GROANS

-That was nice and simple, Mary(!)

The dacquoise is a little bit chewy.

Yeah. Right, number two.

This looks a bit neater, doesn't it?

It's got very good, even piping.

That meringue drop-through...

That's how it should be, and it's crisp.

You have the four layers...

The meringue is good, it's nice and crispy.

-Really well put together.

-Right, let's move on.

This one, the piping's not too bad at all. It's OK.

We have all the layers.

When the knife went through that, it went through as it should do.

Little bit chewy on the meringue, the flavour's good though.

Mm-hm.

Right. Moving on.

Nice straight sides.

The piping of the ganache, although it's neat,

it is a little bit irregular.

-Knife went through very nicely there.

-It did.

Nice layers though.

Though it's crisp, there's a slight chew to it, but the chew melts.

Now, this one's gone a bit all over the place.

Decoration I don't think is as good as some of the others.

Just a straight line, not good enough.

We're not getting such distinctive layers with this one.

-A little on the chewy side, the dacquoise.

-Mm.

The last one. Now this is fairly neat...

-It looks well-finished.

-Layers are there.

Nice crunch in the meringue.

The flavours are good all the way through. Nice. And neat.

Mary and Paul must now decide which baker has mastered the marjolaine.

OK, in sixth position is this one. Whose is this?

Selasi, it was a bit of a mess on the outside.

The actual flavours were fantastic, but the textures were wrong.

And in fifth place, it's this one.

The piping wasn't absolutely top notch, and it's not quite straight.

Fourth place...is this one.

Jane, the overall appearance of it was very neat,

but it comes down to the chewiness of that meringue.

And in third place...

The actual piping was not terribly even.

Number two is this one.

Well done.

The piping work was pretty neat, good height, nice straight sides.

And in first place...

THEY APPLAUD

Lovely flavour. Beautifully layered, good piping.

Altogether lovely.

Thank you.

-Yeah, Andrew!

-Well done.

I'm really, really chuffed.

If I could continue this through to tomorrow,

and get Star Barker, I'd be ecstatic.

The moment that they tasted Andrew's and I realised how different

mine was to Andrew's, I knew I was going to be last,

or at least in the bottom few.

Yeah, I don't feel too great, but the standard in there is high

so I really can't mess up tomorrow, at all.

Andrew, who was so nearly shown the door last week,

has done really, really well so far.

His Signature roulade was pretty good,

-and in the Technical, came first.

-He could be ready for Star Baker.

-Is there anybody with him?

-Benjamina's done well.

I think she's in line for Star Baker.

It seems like there are two bakers today who are really going to

-have to watch themselves.

-Tom is in trouble.

Fifth in Technical,

and for me really low down in Signature too.

I think Jane's in big trouble.

She messed up on the roulade to the point where I think

she rolled it up the wrong way.

I think Selasi could be in serious trouble.

-Candice, possibly, if she has a bad day.

-Are WE in trouble?

-Yes.

-We're always in trouble.

-You're always in trouble.

-OK. Good to know.

With a place in the quarterfinal at stake,

the bakers have one final challenge to impress Mary and Paul.

Morning, bakers. Welcome to Showstopper day.

Are we all feeling it? Good.

Paul and Mary today would love you, please,

to make 24 mini mousse cakes.

Cake equals sponge, they must have an element of sponge.

Mousse - they must have an element of mousse.

Mini - they must be small.

High-end and sophisticated, a little bit like Susan and myself.

So, we need 24 mini mousse cakes. Two flavours. 12 of each.

-You've got four hours. On your marks...

-Get set...

-Bake!

All right, and we're off. Good luck, everybody.

I'm looking forward to today, actually.

After coming first in the Technical yesterday, it was a bit of a confidence boost.

I'm not hugely confident about the Showstopper. Sometimes in practice

it's worked, other times it's been a bit of a disaster.

It is so hot in here.

What do they say? If you can't stand the heat...

So very hot.

I'm confident with this. Let's see. Let's see.

This challenge should show many textures.

It'll have a lovely soft texture from the sponge.

The mousse should be set and yet not too set, so it's rubbery.

A mousse, your spoon should hit the top, feel that tension

and then just drop through and it should melt in the mouth.

That's what a good mousse should be like. And full of flavour.

Each baker must make a sponge to provide the foundation

for their mini mousse cakes. Which type of sponge, is up to them.

So those are my egg yolks whisking up,

and that's going to be for my vanilla Genoise.

I think Genoise is good for a mousse cake, it's quite light.

So this is my chocolate sponge,

which is my gran's chocolate cake recipe.

You could say it's a bit old-fashioned,

it uses margarine and stuff,

but actually, I just think the flavour's great.

I'm imprinting a pattern, basically,

I'm then going to whack in the freezer.

And once it's solidified, I'll put a chocolate sponge over the top.

-Good morning, Jane.

-Good morning.

You've got the fleur-de-lis - now, what mixture is that?

That's decor paste, so it's like a cake mixture,

but instead of using whole eggs you use egg white.

And it'll be chocolate mousse, coffee mousse, vanilla mousse

and then some ganache.

Jane's first three flavours of mousse will be set in layers

that will be wrapped in a chocolate and vanilla joconde sponge.

If that wasn't enough mousse for one baker, she's

making two more for her blackcurrant and vanilla mini mousse cakes,

which will be topped with a fruit mirror glaze.

-Have you practised this?

-Yes, I have, yeah.

-And it sets on time?

-Yes.

-Lovely.

-Sounds great, Jane.

-Thank you, Jane.

-Well, I hope so!

-Yeah, good luck, see you later.

-Thank you.

Yeah, it's week seven, you've got to go for it, haven't you?

Now going in.

-A minute...

-BEEPING

-I am doing so much today.

-SHE LAUGHS

For the bakers, time is of the essence.

They now need to mix their mousses.

The more time they spend making the mousse,

the less time they will have to set.

I am making an apple crumble mousse cake.

Benjamina's vanilla sponge will be layered with apple mousse

and topped with crumble and caramel shards,

and paired with a chocolate and coffee mini mousse cake.

Tom's doing apple. I think it's like an apple pie mousse.

So, similar but different.

I think on paper they sound pretty similar,

but I suspect they'll come out very different.

Not necessarily to my favour, I imagine.

This is fresh raspberries for my raspberry mousse.

Selasi's raspberry mousse cake

will be topped with a passion fruit jelly.

He's also making a chocolate mousse,

layered with a white chocolate and mint ganache.

Timing wise, it's all about setting that mousse.

I'm going to use the freezer for about half an hour just to sort of

speed it up, and then the rest of it will be in the fridge.

I think you're very wise to use the freezer,

because...warm day, and you're using it as an extra chill.

Four sheets of gelatine...

Chilling is not the only way to set their mousses.

The addition of gelatine helps the mousse set quicker.

This is gelatine, leaf gelatine.

So I'm using a fair amount.

It's sort of double what I did at home.

Getting the right amount of gelatine is crucial.

Too much and it'll be rubbery -

too little, and it'll result in a sloppy, unset mess.

So I've got about four sheets of gelatine in here,

and that will give it a nice, firm set.

This is cream with gelatine going into the white chocolate.

I wanted to go for classic flavours,

but just done in a slightly different way.

It's going to be like little finger sandwiches,

nice picnic bench and it's a hipster's picnic.

So, you know, taking something really classic and simple and

making it ludicrously complicated, which is the hipster way.

Tom's attempting two different flavoured sponges

for the "bread" of his sandwiches.

Carrot for his carrot cake mousse sandwich, and an apple sponge

for his white chocolate mousse sandwich.

Are you using moulds?

No. I'm going to pipe my mousses.

-You're piping all this on?

-I'm piping the mousse on.

I think you're going to struggle piping mousse with those layers,

and chilling them and getting them ready in time.

I think so too.

Right. OK.

-Good luck, Tom.

-Thank you.

I did have moulds and I thought, "Piping will make it easier."

Didn't think it through.

-MEL:

-Mousse gets its unique light texture

from the addition of whisked egg whites.

You're folding in the egg whites - you don't want to knock any

of the air out, you know, mousse has got to have air holes in it.

So you've got to be fairly delicate with it.

Both Candice and Jane are going a step further

to get the maximum volume into their mousses.

It's Italian meringue,

and it gets folded into the mousses

to make it...mousse-like.

Just want to whisk it up so it's nice and thick and shiny...

-Hello, Candice.

-Good morning.

-Hey, Candice.

-Hi.

-Can you tell us about your two mini mousse cakes?

My champagne cocktail is a prosecco and raspberry liqueur jelly.

And on top of that will be my mini mousse

which will have a lemon and lemon thyme sponge.

I have then got a blackberry and raspberry mousse,

and on top of that will be a raspberry liqueur...jelly.

-That's just one of them.

-That's one of them.

-That's one.

Candice's love of vintage has inspired her Kir Royal

blackberry and raspberry mousse cake, served in a champagne saucer.

To complement it, she's also making

an after-dinner mint chocolate mousse

that will conceal a heart-shaped chocolate sponge.

-You're saying you've got this hidden sponge?

-Yes.

-Mm-hm.

Now, how... Is that a mousse base and you've got the sponge...?

The sponge and then mousse round, so the sponge will be in the middle.

-You've taken on a lot, haven't you?

-I always do.

Mary and Paul said I've given myself a lot to do,

so, there's nothing new there.

Candice isn't alone with the biggest workload.

Jane is on mousse three of five.

This is vanilla mousse, then I've just got to do

a blackcurrant one, a chocolate one and a coffee one.

Quite an ambitious task to do so many mousses!

They look done.

Don't want to put mousse on warm cake.

The mousse operation is the tense bit. The piping is just a nightmare.

Come off, come off, come off. It's pretty good.

I was just thinking it wasn't going to work.

I was having nightmares about this.

My chocolate sponges are really good, nice and fluffy.

I am measuring my strawberries. If I don't do it,

then the mousse won't cover them and the jelly will leak down the side.

Andrew, mini mousses, tell us all about it.

My mini mousse is going to be forest fruit mousse

on a vanilla sponge base.

And the other one is going to be a mint chocolate mousse,

and I'm going to make some honeycomb.

Andrew's using his family's love of ice cream

to capture a day at the seaside in mousse form.

His mint chocolate and forest fruit mini cakes will climb on board

a home-made mini Ferris wheel, just for cakes!

My friend James helped make

the little hangers for the Ferris wheel.

-It's all quite ambitious.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Good luck, Andrew.

-Cheers, thanks very much.

I'm working pretty quick, but I have got a lot of elements later on,

so I just need to get chilling ASAP.

My mousse is nice and light, it is smooth.

I'm going to blast it in the freezer for about half an hour.

Looks all right. Let's just hope it sets.

One down.

Two hours remaining.

I'm getting started on my chocolate mousse.

Chocolate and coffee always work well.

Hopefully, it'll be a winner.

There seems to be a lot of mint chocolate in the tent today.

I think Andrew is doing chocolate mint actually,

but it'll be interesting to see who gets the flavour right.

It has just set a little bit too much.

So I am actually going to make my blackberry/raspberry mousse again.

I have a horrible feeling I have left gelatine out of something.

They've just got to go in the freezer.

Whatever they come out like, they come out like.

I definitely put gelatine in that.

Definitely put gelatine in my blackcurrant...

They have just got to go in now.

I like to think the gelatine is in there,

I keep trying to persuade myself it really has set.

SHE CHUCKLES

As the other bakers rely on moulds

to set and shape their mousses...

..Tom is busy filling his sandwiches.

I'm slightly working up my nerve for it.

This is the bit where it has all gone wrong.

This is make or break, this stage.

Version two is looking a lot better.

I'm going to pour my mousse mix straight on top

of my sponge mix. Straight into the freezer.

-How you doing?

-Tight for time.

-OK.

I feel like we've been in a chocolate abattoir, Jane, slightly.

You look great, you're rocking it, by the way, you are rocking.

My mousse is out - get the decoration on,

and the un-moulding is going to be the scary bit,

cos that's the bit where we'll find out if it's set or not.

These are set a bit. Needs to be in the fridge longer.

It's definitely set, that is for sure,

so it's not going to collapse.

It's just trying to get it out.

-SIGHING:

-Thank the Lord.

I'm having to work really quickly because I know that I need to

do chocolate ones, and I just don't know

what THEY are going to come out like.

I feel like I am back on target.

My chocolate one is now in, this is good news.

-You all right? Breathe, breathe.

-(It's not going very well.)

It looks lovely, just breathe, breathe.

30 minutes left, bakers, 30 minutes.

This is better than being at the gym,

I have done more running today than I have done in months.

If I could swear, I think I probably would. As in, "Thank beep."

They look so bad. Hopefully we can cover them in glaze.

That's not really set.

Which is really bad.

Looks like we're just about OK.

That's not good at all.

The mousse is just not...

It's sagged a bit, it's just not where it needs to be.

I don't think Mary and Paul are going to be very impressed actually.

Disaster.

Keep your fingers crossed.

It is just melting like... I don't even know what.

They're going to collapse. They will collapse.

They are just sliding everywhere.

-JANE:

-That one's going. It's-a going.

Bakers, that's five minutes to go

till your mini mousse need to be served.

I'm looking for more wobble than me on a truss-free Sunday.

The countdown begins.

Five minutes. HE SIGHS

-ANDREW:

-I'm rushing this, and this is not a job for rushing.

-Oops.

-Oh, no!

Will you ever write a big dipper again after this, Andrew?

-Probably not.

-OK. Good man.

So are you going to quarter those mousse

to make the mini, mini mousse, or...?

-I suppose for you that IS a mini mousse.

-That's a mini mousse.

HE LAUGHS For me, that's an entire cake.

Oh, my God, they're just melting...

Right, bakers, that is literally it with the mini mousse cakes.

Step away from the Millennium Wheel of lard.

HE EXHALES

Mary and Paul are looking for 24 mini mousse cakes,

perfectly presented and with a fully aerated mousse.

Five mousses,

and you've achieved great things.

That fleur-de-lis is outstanding, it looks great.

These, in their own way, are quite startling.

-I hope they're going to taste really good.

-I hope so.

Just look how that cut. Beautifully set.

That's mousse.

You feel the bubbles bursting in your mouth.

Delicious. Yeah, really well done.

It's a shame they look like they do.

That's purely down to the jelly on the top not setting.

You have achieved a light mousse. It's aerated.

Thank you very much.

Now, let's move on. These are the coffee ones?

They're chocolate on the bottom, then coffee,

and then a vanilla on the top.

Holding well.

It has got a nice mousse-iness to it, a nice bit of aeration.

Let's taste.

Beautiful cappuccino.

It's mousse-like, it's light, all the flavours are coming through,

from the vanilla to the chocolate to the coffee.

The sponge is delicious too. I think you've done really well.

Thank you.

These look very attractive.

The mousse, from the side,

looks beautifully light.

I can see little bubbles all the way.

I love these, love the passion fruit,

I think they look very delicate, very good.

These guys here, though, are just too big.

-You forgot the word "mini".

-Yeah.

-What is that green again?

-White chocolate and mint.

The actual chocolate mousse at the bottom is not very aerated.

I would have put the sponge, then the mint,

-and then the mousse sitting on the top.

-OK.

Because as you push through the chocolate on the top,

your mousse just flies out. Because it's so solid.

Moving on to the passion fruit...

That combination is lovely. The mousse is light, it's aerated.

The sponge, not too thick a layer. A lovely sponge.

Flavour of the mousse,

texture of the mousse is very good,

-and overall, it's a lovely flavour.

-Thank you.

I think we need to get stuck into this one first, have a look,

before it starts to melt.

It's more a cream than a mousse.

You've made it very difficult for yourself not giving it

-the support of sponge.

-Yeah.

I think the flavours are good,

the textures on the chocolate are good.

-It is more like a ganache than a mousse.

-Yeah. Sorry.

Now, this looks SO pretty,

and I can think that that would be a lovely thing to eat.

-I could do, actually, with a stronger fruit flavour.

-OK.

You certainly have got a little bit of aeration in the mousse.

You haven't mixed it thoroughly, and you've got some cream in blobs.

The flavour's good,

-I just think the texture of that mousse is too stiff for me.

-OK.

They're a little bit messy.

The top do look like cappuccino, if I'm honest,

but it's pouring all over the top.

They just did not set in the freezer.

As soon as I took the acetate off, they just went, "Wuh."

Right.

Oh, wow. They taste amazing.

SUE LAUGHS

At least they taste good!

Oh, I think I'm going in for another bit,

-I really don't care.

-I don't. It's waking me up, this one.

The sponge itself is beautifully soft,

the cream is a beautiful sort of cappuccino...

-Yeah, it's a shame it's not neat.

-I know.

-Let's look at the apple ones.

Although... That's nice as well. It's sharp.

The apple coming through is delicious. It's very, very good.

And it is more mousse-like actually.

-Than the first one.

-It is beautiful! It doesn't look awfully good...

-I know!

-..but it's lovely.

-Well done, Benjamina.

-Thank you.

Well, it's a very original idea,

but there isn't much finesse about it.

You have managed to pipe them,

but I can't imagine how you've been able to

keep the lightness when piping a mousse.

Right. Let's start with the apple one.

-The apple pie with the melted ice cream...?

-Yeah.

If this was a challenge for a mini cake with a picnic theme,

you'd be top of the class.

And I do get the idea of the apple pie

with the melted ice cream, by the way.

But the mixture that you piped is not a mousse, it's quite heavy.

Now, this is the carrot cake, isn't it?

When you pipe a mixture in the centre,

it hasn't filled the actual sandwich.

There are great gaps in it.

-It reminds me more of a spice cake than a carrot cake.

-Mm.

Nutmeg. Gone a bit overboard I think with the nutmeg.

OK.

And it's not mousse again, it's quite stodgy, it's thick.

I think your idea's fantastic - on another challenge. Thanks, Tom.

They look gorgeous.

The whole effect is absolutely stunning.

We'll start on one of the fruits of the forest.

Cuts well.

-That tastes delicious.

-Tastes divine. It really does.

The sponge is baked perfectly, the flavour is gorgeous

and the jelly is perfectly set, and it holds itself really well.

And you've shown us you can do chocolate curls.

Now, this one's got the honeycomb on the top, hasn't it?

It is very soft, this mousse.

It's a good sponge...

Sponge is delicious, got lots of flavour.

Mm.

-The mint mousse is fantastic.

-Thank you very much.

BIRDSONG

This is quite an impressive array of baked goods, don't you think?

-MARY:

-They've got style, we've had some excellent flavours,

I think it was a very good challenge.

Jane was looking a bit wobbly when she went into today -

has she managed to save herself?

I would say she definitely has.

Who else would tackle five mousses? And wonderful flavours.

-And it was a mousse, proper mousse.

-Is she safe, Paul?

-Yeah, I think she is.

-Selasi was in trouble.

He delivered some Scooby Snacks as his mini mousse.

The chocolate mousse is delicious,

but you can't do something like that as a Showstopper.

Tom was also in trouble, and he delivered his Hipster's Picnic,

so what did you think of that?

The filling was not a mousse, and it was rather clumsily piped.

The idea was fantastic, but we wanted a mousse,

-and I don't think we got a mousse.

-Moving on to Benjamina...

If you shut your eyes and ate both of those,

-you'd give them first prize all round.

-Yeah.

She got the flavours absolutely spot-on,

but they didn't look so good.

She was in a high position going into Showstopper day though.

I wouldn't discount the fact that she could win Star Baker,

because it did taste very, very good.

So moving on to Candice - again, very nice idea,

but almost her downfall to suspend

those beautiful mini mousses in jelly.

She's got to be really careful. She's a good, natural baker,

but I think sometimes she concentrates on the stuff

on the outside rather than the actual core bake we're looking for.

That leaves Andrew.

If there was one display that drew our eyes, it was Andrew's.

Very original, beautifully produced.

All the way through he's showed us several skills,

and he has a very good finish.

And do you think you know possibly

who might not be joining us next time?

-We've already spoken, and actually we've both decided that, yes, we know who it is.

-Yep.

Bakers, I get the brilliant job,

because I get to say who is Star Baker.

Now, it's fair to say that this person has had

their fair share of ups and downs over the course of this competition.

One might say, if one was feeling cliched,

it's been a bit of a roller coaster.

He's cleverer than that -

he'd probably do it as a Ferris wheel decked with mini mousse.

For the very first time - congratulations, Andrew,

-you're Star Baker.

-Thank you.

-Aww...

Don't start crying.

This bit of the weekend gets harder and harder,

and it's up to me to announce the person

who very, very sadly will not be coming with us into next week.

And that person is...

..Tom. We're really sad to say goodbye.

It's all right, I knew that was happening.

-You've done so well, mate.

-Yeah, it's good.

'I think right until the moment your name's called,'

you kind of think, "Oh, maybe it's someone else."

But I knew it was going to happen, I knew that was going to be my name.

I would've loved to be in the tent right through to the end,

but someone has to go each week, and it had to be me this week.

There was nobody else it could have been.

To get through to this stage in The Great British Bake Off

he should feel very proud of himself.

-You've done brilliantly, Tom.

-What a week to go out on, you know?

This is the first time in Bake Off history,

we've have lost the winner of Bread Week.

They normally reach the final, so

I do feel sorry for him, he IS a great baker.

'That was a very close escape, very close escape,

'it doesn't mean I'm still safe.'

But I'm in the quarterfinal, I don't know how!

Quarterfinals! Yes!

I'm actually really, really proud,

especially after the Showstopper that looked...quite a hot mess.

I was a bit nervous. But I'm glad that I'm through.

Yes! Finally, finally, finally.

I'm delighted. I'm really, really super chuffed. Super, super chuffed.

'I've got a chance to make the final.'

But I suppose now I'm going to have to step it up a gear again.

-'Next time...'

-Coming out, coming out, coming out.

'..it's the quarterfinal.

'And for the first time in the history of Bake Off...'

Get set, my lords and ladies.

'..it's Tudor Week.'

If we did study the Tudors at school,

I don't remember much about them!

'With marzipan centrepieces...'

Real Showstopper, that is.

'..a Technical that's got everyone in knots...'

Oh, dear. This looks a mess.

'..and pies fit for a king!

'Or...Paul.'