Patisserie Week The Great British Bake Off

-Semi.

-Finals.

-Drama.

-Jeopardy.

-Excitement!

-Tension.

-Bakers!

-Passion!

-Are.

-We.

-Going.

-To.

-Do.

-This.

-Whole.

-Link.

-Like.

-This?

-Yes.

-Good.

-Welcome.

-To.

-The.

-Great.

-British.

-Bake.

-Off.

Last time...

-Oh, what?

-..Bake Off turned back the clock to Tudor Week.

Looks really healthy, doesn't it? Lovely lot of fat.

-There was even a spot of jousting.

-The...um...

Ahem...jousting pole...

Really that should have gone on the hand(!)

After getting lost in a marzipan maze...

The cake feels quite doughy.

..it was Benjamina who became the eighth baker to leave the tent...

It's so much fun being in there,

and it's so much fun baking with everyone.

..and Candice was awarded Star Baker for the third time.

BIRDSONG

Now, it's the semifinal and only four bakers remain.

We can do this, guys.

We can really do this.

We're so close, and to go home today would be

really, really disappointing.

You're nervous that any small thing that goes wrong

could be your last day in the tent.

It's scary, yeah - it's the last one that someone goes home...

Because the next time, someone will be the winner.

I had a dream I made it to the final and I baked in a dress.

So, if I make it to the final this week,

then it looks like I'm going to have to be baking in a dress!

Just three patisserie challenges...

-Bake, bake, bake!

-It's just not cooking!

'..stand between THEM...' Selasi, are you scared for the first time?

-Yeah...

-'..and a place in the final.'

-The more we say it to ourselves, Jane...

-It will be...

BOTH: ..absolutely fine.

IN FRENCH:

The Signature Bake awaits.

Good luck, everybody.

-ANDREW:

-(Good luck!)

Bonjour, boulangers et boulangeres.

Welcome to your semifinal.

Huge congratulations for getting this far,

but listen up - to get a place in the final,

today you're going to have to embrace your French side.

Paul and Mary would love you to make

24 savoury Palmiers.

So, we'd like you to make two different styles and flavours,

so that's 12 of each,

and we'd like FULL puff pastry.

None of your rough-puff

or your "ever so tough-puff" or "I've made it in the buff-puff".

Now, bakers, you've got three hours - trois heures -

-on your marks...

-Get set and... BOTH:

-Bake!

Semifinal.

It's just so empty in here.

I don't think I've been quite as nervous as this, actually.

I feel a bit queasy!

I've never made Palmiers before,

but it should be all right.

A perfect Palmier, you should be able to see the layers of the

puff pastry all the way through.

Palmier tends to be quite flat.

If it's too thick, then it becomes something else. It becomes a pastry.

The skill is how they incorporate the flavour.

No good putting great bulky things in the pastry,

it'll ruin the layers.

Whatever flavours you're going to add, add little,

but it's got to pack a punch.

The final is just down the road now,

this is the time you've got to smash it.

I do enjoy making pastry. It's just sometimes

things in the tent go differently to how you expect.

The key to Palmiers is a successful puff pastry, which first

requires the bakers to create pliable dough from flour and water.

I've used a mix of strong flour and ordinary plain flour.

The strong plain flour,

you've got more gluten in, so it gives you more flexibility.

Paul I think uses all strong plain flour, I think, in his recipe.

So I've kind of...hedged my bets and gone somewhere down the middle.

I've just used plain flour, yeah?

I'm just doing what I do at home!

I'm just trying to work this to a nice smooth consistency,

before bashing out my butter,

which will then hopefully create the layers.

-Morning, Candice.

-Good morning!

-Hello!

-So, are you using strong flour?

-I'm using half strong, half plain flour.

-Come on, is she...

-He's being very quiet, which always worries me.

Here's the expert, come on - tell us. Is it a good idea?

-Old perma-tan.

-I'll tell you later.

For her two savoury flavours,

last week's Star Baker Candice is combining garlic mushrooms

with sweet cured bacon to fill heart-shaped Palmiers,

and caramelised red onion chutney

with walnuts and blue cheese for her second.

You've got a lot of things going on inside the Palmier.

Are you blitzing it or chopping it?

Not blitzing it, just cutting all the ingredients up quite small.

It just gives it a little bit of bite.

-How thick are these going to be?

-Just over half an inch thick.

-Quite thick, then.

-They've worked at home,

so I'm getting a nice crisp and nice layers.

-No-one wants soggy Palmiers.

-NO-ONE wants soggy Palmiers.

-No!

-Look forward to it, then, Candice.

-Thank you very much.

I'm not worried, actually. They've been all right at home.

I think Candice and Jane are the ones to beat this week.

I don't know if Selasi feels the same.

The girls have been really, really,

really, really, really, really, really, really strong.

-Morning, Jane.

-Good morning.

-What've you got? Is this the dough before the butter's gone in?

-Yes.

I'm doing one with a sort of flower shape...

So it's got a fold like that and then a fold like that, and then

that's got pesto in it and that's got sun-dried tomato paste in.

-A sort of puffy hand?

-Sort of a puffy flower, I like to think!

To go with her pesto and sun-dried tomato flower-shaped Palmier,

garden designer Jane is also making elephant ear-shaped Palmiers

filled with black olive tapenade,

with goat's cheese and Parma ham.

The last batch I made this week

failed spectacularly, really -

all the butter leaked out and it was as tough as old boots.

Feeling it here, today. Butterflies!

The key to getting your puff right is chilling - I need

to work really quickly, cos I want to have at least an hour for baking.

It's more crumbly than it is at home.

Hopefully it'll get better as I...

combine the layers.

The pastry will need a series of chills, rolls,

turns and folds to create the lamination.

Can't see any butter coming through, which is a bonus.

This is...

..not looking great.

-Morning, Andrew.

-Morning.

-Morning.

-So?

Er, so my puff pastry isn't going quite to plan.

-What's happened, do you think?

-I think it might be a little dry.

-What flour are you using?

-I'm using plain flour.

Andrew's making elephant ear-shaped Palmiers, filled with roasted

red peppers and goat's cheese.

And, as a nod to his love of music,

he'll shape his second Palmiers into treble clefs, which will be

flavoured with a blend of fresh herbs and breadcrumbs.

When you say breadcrumbs, they're fresh white breadcrumb?

-Yes, there's the breadcrumbs.

-No, those are raspings. Those are dried.

So you're saying your pastry might be a bit dry,

-and then you've got breadcrumbs.

-DRIED breadcrumbs.

-Dried... I'm not going to argue with you, Mary!

-Good luck, Andrew.

Cheers, thank you.

I'm losing confidence by the second in this,

but trying to remain optimistic.

I'm just failing at the moment.

With their dough chilling,

the bakers turn their attention to their fillings.

She's very quiet over there today, isn't she?

Bit focused.

I can hear you whispering!

Just a bit of rivalry going on here!

This is going to be my salmon fillet.

I'm going to cook it first just to get the liquid out of it.

-Morning, Selasi.

-Morning.

-Tell us all about your...

-Palmiers. Um...

-I'm making...

-He's finishing my sentences for me!

Getting ahead of himself!

That's what I was going to ask you, but go on!

I'm doing a classic Palmier, which will be about 1 cm thickness

and then the second one will be a butterfly.

Selasi is hoping his butterfly-shaped Palmiers

filled with piccante peppers, red onion and sun-dried tomatoes,

and elephant ear-shaped Palmiers crammed with chilli-infused salmon,

pesto and creme fraiche will whet the judges' appetites enough

to book his place in the final.

I'm just wondering whether it's all going to stay crisp.

-It should be all right.

-Look at the great grin on his face!

You're obviously very confident, I'm just waiting for the result.

-He's winging it!

-Dude, you are winging it!

It just doesn't look like puff pastry. I can't use it.

Ruddy disaster.

What can I do?

An hour gone. Bakers, two hours left. It's two hours.

Are you doing me out of a job, mate?!

-This is all I had!

-Sorry!

I was like the speaking clock, but with puns, that's all we had!

Do you want us to come and bake for you?

Is that what you want, Selasi?!

-Want a quarter turn, want a book turn, mate?

-Yeah, we can do that.

It's over. I'm absolutely furious with you.

An hour into the bake, and Andrew's decided to take the gamble -

to restart his pastry from scratch.

I'm just going to have to work quickly,

try and take a couple of short cuts.

I'm not going to give up.

-Are these your secret notes?

-Yeah.

Mm, interesting. Week seven...

Wear mulberry lip...

-Where's your lipstick, by the way?

-It's all come off!

-Candice, that's a worry. Can I help you, please? Come on.

-Gosh, OK.

Because you without lipstick is not right. I'm sorry.

-It's semifinal, you can't let yourself down.

-I can't.

-OK, there?

-Yeah. It'll be rushed, but I'll get there.

So I did the first one uber-quick,

and then I did two and three together.

I might skip the last one, actually.

-Make sure you chill it before you bake it, though.

-Yeah, yeah.

It's going to go in the freezer. I'm going to try and pull it back.

OK, bakers - one hour left.

Which reminds me, it's time for my next turn.

Again, you don't want too much filling,

just enough so the judges can

actually taste the filling.

I do think you have to be fairly generous with the filling.

Otherwise you don't get all the flavours.

So this is an egg wash,

which is going to stick my breadcrumbs to my pastry.

Let's get the folds right. It's a complicated folding process.

So then you go that way...

..and then...that way.

In hindsight, I wouldn't have picked such a complicated shape.

In hindsight, I would have done a lot of things differently!

But we'll just keep calm and carry on,

cos that's the British thing to do.

I'll cut it in just under centimetre slices.

I don't want it too thin, cos then I'd lose the filling.

-So, um, do you want to win, Selasi?

-I really want to win.

I really want to get to the final.

-Are you feeling pressure from your family, as well?

-Yeah.

I need to make them proud. I can't let them down.

-Are you about to cry, Selasi?

-Nah!

We'll leave the crying to Andrew.

He was looking a little bit teary earlier, I have to say.

-I'm glad he's sorted it out now. So that's good.

-Yeah. He's good.

Although, you don't want him to sort it out TOO well,

I'm just putting that in there.

I'm relieved I redid the pastry.

Cos at least I think this is laminated.

This is my second set, I'm just rolling in my nuts.

As it's getting closer to baking,

I'm beginning to feel a bit worried about it again.

I'm just making them into a butterfly.

The sooner the bakers get their Palmiers into the oven, the sooner

they can tell how successful their pastry lamination has been.

I'm just going to do my first batch.

She's always ahead of the game, isn't she? Always!

Set the timer for about 8 minutes.

-OK...

-All good in the oven?

-I think so, they're in.

-Yeah?

-Nothing I can do now.

They're all in.

Have you got a second batch to go in? Another batch to go in?

No, I've basically got four trays in!

-Do you think you'll be last boy standing?

-Too early to say.

He's hard to beat, Selasi. I mean, if you think...

You want to be the only cock in the hen coop, mate.

I mean, on a pure Darwinian level.

If it had to come to that, I'm afraid...

Sorry, Selasi!

Oh!

The face of an angel - underneath it, he's vicious!

-These smell good, don't they?

-Mm, they smell nice.

Yeah, they're looking all right.

That was almost a DVD workout video we did, then.

A-a-nd...

Come on, little Palmiers.

-The next few minutes...

-Bake, bake, bake.

..will reveal if the bakers have achieved the required lamination.

I just haven't been sleeping.

I lie awake, tossing and turning, worried about my bakes.

It's ridiculous.

TIMER BEEPS

If this goes wrong, it's going to be the thing that sends me home.

We're all right. The butter's not leaking out, like it did midweek.

I've got the lamination, which is good.

I just want them to be cooked!

Want to get the next batch in.

Aaah!

-I've just lost three of my Palmiers!

-Oh, Jane!

Five-second rule.

Semifinalist bakers, you have 15 minutes left.

Come on, hold together.

I'm a bit worried about my second batch.

Oh!

Are you OK?

-You all right?

-Yeah.

I'll be all right.

I'm amazed they've laminated with that time. Absolutely gobsmacked.

These are raw.

Just don't want to dish up raw pastry.

-You OK, you manage to save them?

-They need to COOK.

Just not cooking.

I'm pleased with them.

I have got a little bit of onion spillage, but I'm OK with that.

Just cook, little Palmiers. Cook!

They're fine, they'll be absolutely fine. They will be. Completely.

-The more we say it to ourselves, Jane...

-It will be...

-BOTH:

-It'll be absolutely fine.

-Selasi, is this is the first time you've been less than calm?

-Yeah.

-There's a lot of patrolling from you today.

-Very!

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Are you scared for the first time?

-Yeah.

-So I'll probably be taking them out 30 seconds...

-Really?

-So right to the wire?

-Yeah.

Two minutes on the clock, bakers.

Two minutes.

Come on, oven - do your stuff.

Another minute.

One minute, out - in the basket.

No problem. Hm!

Really pleased with the pastry.

Fire those off. I think they're just about done. Just about.

30 seconds.

They're going to have to come out, aren't they? There's nothing for it.

They're not crisp enough at all.

Definitely undercooked.

Look at that poor little one. He's going to spot that, isn't he?

-Ten...

-Neuf...

-Huit.

-Sept.

-Six.

-Cinq.

-Quatre.

-Trois.

-Deux.

BOTH: C'est fini.

Right, gang - move your baskets to the ends of your benches, please.

Mary and Paul have asked for 24 Palmiers with two different

savoury flavours and shapes,

both with clearly defined layers and perfectly cooked pastry.

-MEL:

-They look like frogs. They're lovely!

-Right, there you go, Mary.

Let's try one of these.

I'll get the pesto bit.

They're not quite done, but very good flavour.

When you use pesto and sun-dried tomatoes,

they are steeped in oil, which is likely to go into the pastry.

Right. And this is the tapenade.

I think the flavour is perfect, um, REALLY good, but again,

same problem - they're a little bit soggy when you get inside.

The mushroom one, great shape, great colour - quite thick.

PASTRY CRUNCHES

Oh, good sound!

It's something I'd like for breakfast,

with bacon - they taste good,

they're a good colour and they're beautifully crispy.

Let's move on to the caramelised onion - there's so much filling

in there, it's bursting out.

Is that a pastry or is it a Palmier?

I can't really tell because there's so much filling in there.

-You've lost the definition.

-Mm.

The pastry is beautifully flaky, they're a nice flavour,

but I cannot see the shape of the Palmier.

I think it tastes... One of the best things I've had for a long time.

-But unfortunately, I wouldn't class it as a Palmier.

-Oh, OK.

-It needed longer in the oven, for sure.

-Yeah.

I was a little worried your salmon flavour wouldn't come through,

in fact it has. But it's only the outside that's crisp.

It's a bit untidy cos you're dealing with something that's quite rough,

coarse. You're going to lose the shape of the Palmier,

which is what's happened on a few of these, such as that one.

-And they are underbaked.

-Yeah.

I rather like this shape. It's a bit different. What's happened there?

It's not good, it's very soggy.

These are very...

As I look inside, they're very raw.

Not just underbaked -

that is raw in the middle, there. Not baked at all.

-Flavour's great, though.

-Thank you.

-Flavour's good.

They're beautifully displayed.

Underwear drawer, socks and then... bras underneath, probably.

Did you have a second go at your pastry?

Yes, I started my second batch of puff about an hour in,

-so I was quite pushed for time.

-But you've managed it!

Yeah, just about pulled it off, hopefully.

-OK, this is the herb one with the breadcrumb, yeah?

-Yes.

You've got a good colour of bake there. We've got quite a few layers.

Mm!

I like the flavour.

It's not very buttery, though.

Nice and crisp, though, especially the crumb outside,

which you thought was going to dry... It hasn't dried it out,

it's given a nice original finish to it.

-Right, this is the goat's cheese one, wasn't it?

-Yes.

-This is crispy.

PASTRY CRUNCHES

Now, that's much crispier than this one.

You can see all the layers,

see the crispness, and then you get the intense flavour in the middle.

I love these, these are very, very good. You've got away with this.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-Well done, Andrew.

I'm just chuffed and relieved...

I mean, Paul saying, "Yeah, you got away with that" - I really did!

I've been in that tent long enough

to know that those ovens don't cook as fast as mine do at home.

Why don't I learn?

She did say the pastry was beautifully flaky - that's

a nice comment coming from Mary Berry. I hope it's enough.

I just need to kill it in the Technical.

One semifinal bake down,

two to go, and it's a lot to play for.

Got to do it.

Let's do it, Selasi - talk to yourself!

SHEEP BLEAT

One challenge down, two to go...

..before Paul and Mary decide which baker is heading home

and which three will make it to the final.

Bakers, for your Patisserie Week challenge,

we have a little something set by Monsieur Paul.

Before we ask you to leave, Paul, any words of advice?

Remember it's the semifinals,

so it's not only got to taste good, it's got to look good, too.

Paul, I think you've got an appointment at Banalities'R'Us,

just over there! If you'd like to pop off...

Mary, we'll see you later.

Now, for your Technical Challenge, Paul and Mary would like you

to make, please, one high-end Savarin.

It is all-singing, all-dancing, we've got chocolate and syrup

and caramel and yeast - yes, yeast.

-You've got 2½ hours on this challenge.

-On your marks...

Get set. BOTH: Bake.

This is kind of unknown territory.

I've heard of a Savarin.

I'm just trying to picture it in my head.

Savarin is a round, yeasty cake thing that you then soak with syrup.

I'm not sure.

I've heard of it before, but I don't think I've made it.

Paul, why did you choose the Savarin?

Savarin's quite a tricky thing to do. It's basically a yeasted cake.

Now, it's all down to the proving -

if they take it too early, it won't reach the top of the mould.

If they take it too late, it'll balloon and mushroom over the side.

You'll note from this one, it's perfect.

-You see all the little marks from the top of the tin?

-Yeah.

That's the level it should be at and that's what we'll be looking for.

And then it's about the liquor.

When we cut into this, we want to see it moist all the way through.

Look at that, Mary!

What a beautiful, even texture.

You see the way the moisture's dropped all the way down the cake?

Absolutely evenly from the top to the bottom.

The Chantilly cream...

The vanilla complements the bit of orange booze in it, it's lovely.

Do you know, I think our bakers have been very lucky today.

Here they are having a rich dough to rise -

it'll rise beautifully in this gorgeous weather.

10 g of yeast, half a teaspoon of salt...

Never put the yeast and salt together,

cos the salt kills the yeast.

At least I know that one!

I'm going to treat it like I would an enriched dough.

So I've got my flour, sugar,

yeast, salt, eggs...

I'm hoping that an all-in-one method will be fine.

Just melted my butter slightly down,

just to make a batter,

and when I make a batter, I always melt my butter.

Totally making this up! Just trying to think how I'll combine these.

I thought maybe I'd whip it,

but I think I'm going to go with my dough hook.

-Because that's what I would use for dough.

-Using a whisk attachment.

I want it to be quite smooth.

I'm using a mixer and I'm folding the ingredients in,

I'm not beating it too much.

It's a cake. So you don't want to over-beat the mix or the cake mix

or it goes a bit rubbery.

I've changed my attachment.

The dough hook just wasn't working out in terms of mixing.

So I think we're going to leave that. Let the yeast do its thing.

Probably leave it out for 40 minutes...?

45 minutes...?

In this heat, half an hour. With luck.

Just says, "Leave to rise".

"Make the syrup."

Full stop.

300 g of caster sugar. Juice of a lemon.

150 mill of water, and 100 mill of orange liqueur.

Funnily enough,

the recipe doesn't say anything about how thick it should be.

I want it so that it's going to absorb in.

I think it should be fairly thin, so that it penetrates through.

And then the next thing is...

Make a 7 cm oval disc with the plain chocolate.

How on earth do you draw a 7 cm oval?

Is that right?

I think it's almost like a label.

-FRENCH ACCENT:

-Do not use sticky labels! We use "chocolat"!

-It's really, really warm in here.

-It's quite intense, isn't it?

HE PANTS

I think it's going to be hard for the chocolate to set properly.

That's good. Thank you.

(Keep that.)

It's not as neat as I would like.

"Fill the Savarin tin with butter and leave for a second rise."

I'm going to pour this in.

My second prove's about 20 minutes, and I'm trusting it to then

puff up a bit more in the oven.

"Make caramel shards."

Going to try a bit of caramel, then,

because you know how good I am at caramel!

Last time I made caramel it didn't go too well, but I've been

very careful to sift my sugar and clean the pan beforehand.

I've got my dreaded caramel to make.

That's not good.

It's crystallised.

Is that going to turn? Is it? Is it?

I think I'm going to have to make another lot of caramel.

You take your eye off it for a second and...it burns.

It's done it again! So, let's try it AGAIN.

One, two...

Pour, and then I'll shard afterwards.

-Andrew's caramel...

-Andrew's done it, I know.

-Look at Andrew's caramel.

-I know, I know. Don't get obsessed with him.

(He's obsessed with you, Jane.

(He is. You're all he talks about.)

SHE LAUGHS

Pop this in the tin now.

That's been proving for 50 minutes, and it has easily doubled in size.

Just going to try and level it a little bit.

I'm going to see how that gets on with 30 minutes.

SHEEP BLEAT

-What's going in there?

-White chocolate.

-Good.

-And this is for piping the word "Savarin"?

-Yes.

Which kind of makes me a bit nervous.

You only get one chance at piping, so it's kind of do or die.

Oh, this is very, very delicate stuff.

You've got a squashed N.

No-one wants a squashed N.

-Yes, my friend.

-We're getting there, aren't we?

-Yes, my friend.

Aw, thanks.

I may have just got chocolate on you, and I'm so sorry.

I really hope you haven't.

No, we're good.

If I don't go in now...

Otherwise it'll never,

ever get cooked and cooled.

How long do we go for, do we go for 20 minutes?

I'm going to give it 25 minutes, but I'll check it before then.

"Prepare the fruit.

"Orange segments, mango, kiwi, strawberries, pomegranate,

"blueberries and raspberries."

I'm going to cut my fruit in various shapes and sizes...

select the best...

I'm just cutting out segments of orange,

attempting to do it much more neatly than I would at home.

Bakers, halfway through on your Sava...

The first proof was an hour, the second is 15 minutes,

but it's rather large. And it will grow more.

I think I'm going to go in.

I'll just look at 25 minutes and then keep an eye out.

20 minutes to start with.

It's looking absolutely huge.

I'm glad I put it in the oven early.

Cos it means hopefully I can at least get it cool.

-Go.

-She's always on time!

Major concern is getting this Savarin cooked,

cos it is taking slightly longer than anticipated.

Wow-ee.

Still not dark enough.

I think it's cooked.

Everyone is like, apart from me at the moment.

"And then use all the syrup - soak the warm Savarin". I read it.

I am going to...brush the top...

It hopefully melts and goes into it.

Then I'm going to turn it out, do this around the sides...

Oh, Jane, that looks good!

This is going to be one sticky Savarin.

Wow-ee!

Smells amazing!

Yeah, I think that's cooked.

I'm going to try turning this out.

It's not quite taken the top of the rim...

15 minutes, bakers. 15 minutes.

Gives me enough time to just... towel down Selasi.

Thank you.

It will come as no surprise to anybody

that I'm having another go at caramel!

A lot of it is coming out the bottom.

I'm waiting for my cake to cool.

It felt a bit warm. I can't risk it with the cream, I really can't.

Unfortunately that is still warm.

Going to put this in the freezer for two minutes.

Come along, caramel, do me a favour.

Bakers, it never Sava-rins, it always Sava-pours.

Five minutes left.

Actually, no, I need to fill it.

I think I could be shard-less.

That's crystallised.

How is it everybody can make caramel and I can't?

Going to go for some sort of star arrangement,

and I'll do mango radially coming outwards,

fill the gaps with strawberries and raspberries,

caramel shards go in...

Still trying to think how I'm going to decorate it, actually.

The cream's melting, it's so hot.

Keep the cream as cold as possible...

How long have we got?

A minute now, bakers, one minute.

Five seconds...

OK, bakers, time's up for the yeasted ring of doom.

Step away.

Bring them up, please, and put them behind your photos

for the judging to commence.

Mary and Paul are looking for a well proved and baked Savarin,

perfectly penetrated with orange syrup,

decorated with fresh fruit and a handwritten chocolate label.

We've got a bit of melting going on with the cream,

but I think we can allow that, Mary.

Did you really say that?

Are you starting to be really nice?

Right.

Start with this one. The decoration isn't bad,

there's a bit of sugar work in there.

The problem with this, for me, it's the colour,

it's overdone. And it's under-proved.

You don't get a lot of definition. If you prove it correctly,

it fills the mould, and therefore you get a better shape.

-But let's get inside and see.

-OK.

It's quite close-structured.

And therefore, to penetrate that far down

the liquor's going to find it difficult cos it's

so tight at the top. But - what does it taste like?

Actually, it HAS got down there.

It's got a little bit down there.

-They've written "Savarin" beautifully...

-Yep.

..and that's difficult in this heat, isn't it?

OK, move on.

We have a very similar problem here,

it's under-proved, and again the bake is too strong.

It's slightly overdone, probably by five minutes.

Now, the decoration, I think, is good

and they've bothered to take the membrane off the orange,

-which gives a nice finesse to it.

-Let's see what it's like inside.

That bit was soaked beautifully.

It's gone in the bottom where they've soaked it,

poured it down, and it's drawn into the bottom of the cake,

but actually, bang in the middle, there's nothing.

Right. Moving on to the next one.

Now, it's inconsistent in colour.

It's almost like it wasn't mixed properly,

so you've got a light bit and a dark bit.

But the decoration, they've got the "Savarin" on the top,

but for me they've just chopped up an orange

and dumped it on the top. They haven't even segmented it.

No, the membrane's all round the orange, isn't it?

You can see the top there where it's gone down to about here.

That's very visible that it's only soaked in the top.

There's nothing in the middle.

OK. Move on to the last one.

Now, actually, I love the colour of this.

It's slightly under-proved, and you can see where it hasn't

shaped into the moulds at the bottom.

But the colour is perfect.

-Mind you, the shards...

-But...

-..have crystallised.

-Yes.

The "Savarin"'s been written well, it's neat, it's tidy,

it's uniform, but I think we need to look into it as well.

Let's have a look.

It looks as though it hasn't quite gone through to the middle again.

Mm.

-Plenty on the outside.

-Mm.

There is a little bit in the middle.

OK...

But which of our semifinalists has baked the perfect Savarin?

So, in fourth place...

It's a little bit overbaked, and the orange has not had

its membrane removed.

In third place is this one.

Too dark, just overbaked. Again, quite tight inside as well.

It just needed more proving.

In second place...

..this one.

Good caramel, a little bit overbaked still.

And in first place is this one.

-Well done, Jane.

-Well done, Jane.

The colour on this is perfect. That's exactly the colour

it should be. Decoration was very good.

Oh, wow!

How did I do that? How did I do that?

That's disappointing.

I nailed it as well.

Had I done well in this Technical, I think I'd be all right,

but coming last is very risky.

Today, from the depths of despair, I feel like I'm soaring

on a bit of a high. Today's actually been quite a good one.

I did my best, I really did my best in that.

It's still all to play for tomorrow.

It's a long challenge, a lot to do, a lot to prove tomorrow.

(We can really do this.)

So, two quite fiendish challenges. Who did well?

Andrew and Jane were above the others. And surprise, surprise,

because he made his puff pastry again.

-I know.

-But it worked.

Jane and Candice, I'd put them actually equal in the Signature,

and the reason for that is Jane's were not baked.

Mary doesn't entirely agree with you by the looks of it.

Well, I was going to say that Candice,

when you actually looked at them, you couldn't see the

definition of the layers of Palmier because she had so much filling.

It's fair to say that Selasi's butterflies were raw.

Selasi is really going to have to pull up his socks.

One show-stopping bake now stands between these four bakers

and a place in the final.

Good morning, semifinalist bakers and welcome to your semifinal

Showstopper Day. Now, listen up. Today, Paul and Mary

would love for you to make 36 fondant fancies.

Two different types of fondant fancy -

genoise sponge, buttercream and fondant, all made from scratch.

You have four and a half hours on this challenge.

-FRENCH ACCENT: On your mark...

-Get set...

-And bake.

36 individual fondant fancies, four and a half hours.

Yeah - walk in the park.

Time really is a challenge today.

It's very important for me to nail this Showstopper.

I have to nail it.

I want to see shop-standard fondant fancies.

It may look easy, cos you think it's just a sponge and fondant,

but each component part has to be perfect.

I want to see flat sides, I want to see them beautifully smooth,

I want to see them glossy.

The real difficulty is the genoise sponge, because

in the real world you'd make them the day before

so the sponge is firmed up.

Their sponge is coming out of the oven, cooled

and then cut.

It'll be so difficult to get neat, sharp shapes.

We want sheer perfection.

Genoise isn't my sponge of choice, for sure.

I do have to get this right.

If it doesn't go right, I'll make it again.

I've just chosen flavours, really, that the kids love.

So I'm doing a pistachio sponge with a raspberry curd

and a raspberry buttercream.

Jane will cut her pistachio sponge into heart shapes,

before filling with a raspberry curd and covering with raspberry fondant.

Her second fancies will use lemon curd to add zest to her sponge.

-Hello, Jane.

-Good morning, Jane.

-Morning.

Tell us a little bit about how you're doing the fondant.

-I dip using my potato masher.

-Nice.

Are you a pourer? You're a dipper then, not a pourer.

I'm a dipper.

Are you a dipper, dunker or pourer, Mary?

-I think I'm a pourer.

-Pourer.

-But I think that's quite a clever idea.

You've got to do well on the last Showstopper.

Good advice from Paul. Do well, don't do badly.

Do well.

This is the final challenge, to get to the final, so...

everyone's sort of ready to bring their A-game.

This one is going to be kind of Victoria sponge-inspired...

So it's going to be a vanilla genoise,

raspberry jam and a vanilla buttercream.

Andrew's Victoria sandwich fancies may be simple,

but together with his chocolate and coffee fancies,

he's hoping to create a philharmonic fondant orchestra of cakes,

decorating each of his 36 fondant fancies

with sheet music and bow ties.

There is a musical theme to this,

I'm calling these my philharmonic fondants.

I'm going to do orchestra players and then a choir,

with sheet music behind.

I've not done this to time at home.

A lot of elements, so the quicker I can get this sponge done...

The shallower the cake tins, the quicker the sponges will bake...

So all I'm going to do with this is just gently tilt it.

..allowing more time for cooling,

coating and then covering with fondant icing.

It's fine. It's just going in.

I think some of the other bakers are using Swiss roll tins,

so theirs are going to cook and cool quicker than mine.

I didn't even consider doing that,

I got this idea of making a couple of big ones in my head,

and I haven't wavered from that path.

First batch in the oven, ten minutes. That's it.

And I need to do my second batch.

-Hi, Candice.

-Hello.

Your two genoise, are they exactly the same recipe?

No, one of them is a chocolate genoise,

and the other one is an almond-flavoured genoise.

Candice is hoping to book HER place in the final

with a chocolate praline fondant fancy,

and a cherry Bakewell-inspired fancy, decorated with lilac-coloured

icing, and a liqueur-soaked cherry surprise in the middle.

-This are your cherries.

-Yep.

How are you going to thicken that?

I didn't want it any thicker than that.

Because what I do is actually put the cherries in whole

into the middle, with a little bit of the juice,

and the juice soaks into the sponge.

So this will go into that hole...

-Yeah.

-..and the juice will go down like a drizzle?

-Yes. But not a huge amount, so it doesn't saturate the sponge.

-Right.

-The thing is, you've got to get it finished on time.

-Yeah.

-Bonne chance.

-Merci beaucoup!

They're always telling me I do too much, but, yeah, semifinal!

That looks good.

Not ready yet.

-Hello, Selasi.

-Good morning.

Now, you've never had a great Technical Challenge.

Yeah. I know it!

-Now, coming into the Showstopper...

-Yeah.

-..I want you to do well, mate.

-Cheers.

-I really do.

Selasi's hoping to do well by going small and delicate

with his lime and ginger-flavoured fancies,

and vanilla and raspberry Prosecco velvet fancies,

with a bright pink sponge.

Fascinating colour. Little bit of...

-Oh, no, I just did that, just to check that.

-Oh, right, you did that.

It's a bit of a split.

Did you sieve your flour?

I never really sieve my flour, even at home.

If you don't sieve your flour,

-sometimes you get pockets of flour...

-Yeah.

-..in the genoise.

-Thanks, Selasi.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

I'm making my sponge again, cos...

Mary made a comment.

"You didn't sieve your flour." That means she's going to be looking

for air pockets, so that's why I'm doing it again.

I've lost a little time, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.

An hour of the bake has already gone.

I'm going to leave that for five minutes

then whack it in the freezer.

It's about getting everything chilled down in time.

This looks so much better.

I'm a bit behind, cos I had to make my sponge again.

Right, going in.

Now, this is a good moment, this is like an '80s pop video, isn't it?

Suddenly it's all very, very Ultravox.

-Who needs a smoke machine?

-I know.

-And I've just breathed most of that in, thanks for that(!)

-Yeah, me too!

Sorry!

This is going to be my buttercream

that's going in the vanilla fondants...

I'm going to divide this in between two, and oomph up the lemon in one

and add some raspberry to the other.

The second batch is going to be lime and ginger genoise sponge.

Mary's watching. Make sure...

..I'm doing it right.

So now, hopefully, she won't be looking for air pockets.

This is the semifinal.

You know, there's a certain look of dedication on everybody's faces.

I think fondant fancies is a fantastic challenge for a semifinal.

These are very, very flimsy.

You can see just they're very fiddly little items.

I mean, the heart-shaped one can be quite tricky.

Because of the bend on the top of the heart, where it comes in,

creates a crease, if you're not straight,

that shows up a huge amount of problems.

So I'll be looking to see how neat those hearts are going to be.

Second one is good, I'm happy with that.

As the other bakers' final sponges are ready to come OUT of the oven...

-Sponge has actually risen!

-SHE LAUGHS

..Selasi's is only just going in.

I'm really, really behind. But I'll be all right.

Bakers, as I said to Idris Elba last weekend,

you have two and a quarter hours to tickle my fancy.

Halfway through, bakers.

The ones you buy in the shop don't have anything in the middle.

So these are like a nice little hidden surprise.

To achieve a perfect finish on their fondant icing, the bakers

must first cover their sponges with an even crumb coat of buttercream.

It's fiddly. I don't like this bit.

The first two are fun,

and the remaining 34 are an exercise in endurance.

My buttercream is going to go in the hole in the middle,

and not on the outside or on the top.

Because I found that just so time-consuming.

They may be mini cakes, but this is a massive job.

I'm giving them a reasonable bit of individual attention,

until I'm roughly happy with their appearance.

But if I perfected each one, I could spend double the time on each one.

Which I don't have.

Say you spent five minutes on each one,

that's three hours.

There's a lot to get done.

I don't think I'll ever make these again.

Can I just say, I'm loving your fondant straddle.

You're going to end up with thighs of steel.

You are anchoring in there, mate.

Come on, CB.

This is not a comfortable position or activity.

I've got a bit of stamina.

I'm the baking athlete.

Bakers, you'll find out

if your fondant fancies are fantastic enough for the final

in half an hour.

Always time for a cup of tea.

Half an hour, bakers.

I'm going to start dipping them in...

This is a critical part of the bake.

And pour...

Pouring the fondant will reveal who has achieved the smooth sides

that Mary and Paul are looking for.

My coating technique is trying to make sure that the whole thing

is covered, and then it travels nicely down the sides.

Hi, Mary. You all right?

Did you ever think, when you were growing up, that one day you

would be making tiny, pastel pink sponge cubes to entertain people?

To entertain people!

There is a danger that you might end up with little bits of sponge

in your fondant, but it's a risk worth taking, to be honest.

Phew!

I'm feeling the pressure, I am feeling the pressure.

This is the pale green that's going over my lemon fondants.

There we go. Round two.

These are my lime ones.

They're better than the vanilla ones, I think. So much better.

But there's nothing I can do now.

This definitely gets very repetitive.

They're all covered.

So I've got all my elements, it's just the decorating.

Oopsie.

I'm not happy with them.

They're definitely not perfect!

But...I will finish it.

Bakers, that's 15 minutes on your resplendent fondants.

I haven't got my decorations done.

Still doesn't give me enough time, but...we can try it.

But - let's get all with some decoration on.

This is the almond buttercream.

-Breathe.

-Breathing, breathing, breathing!

-And...breathe...

-This is a speed thing.

Three, six, nine, ten.

11, 12, 13, 14...

Two, four, six, eight, ten, 12...

This is actual insanity.

Semifinalists, five on your fondant fancies.

Five minutes on your fondant fancies.

(So messy! They're so messy!)

I'm still going to present something. We don't give up.

In my household.

SHE GASPS

It's OK. It's OK.

Think, CB, think.

I can't do any more now, so...

that is how it will have to be.

This is manic. Absolutely manic.

Fondant and fanciable semifinalists...

the bake's over. Step away from your bakes, please.

My fondant is just oozing.

Candice, do you want to bring your Showstopper up?

-MARY:

-It's a very nice display.

You chose to do an awful lot of work,

and looks as though it's worked out.

I think the praline ones, with the nuts on the end, look quite nice.

A little bit messy at the bottom,

they could have done with tidying up.

It was just time at the end, yeah.

So let's try the praline ones first.

Now, that DOES look exciting when you cut inside.

A lovely surprise there in the middle.

A beautiful, textured sponge,

and the right amount of fondant round the outside.

There's nowt wrong with that!

-The flavours all go well together.

-Thank you.

-It's beautiful.

-I think your textures are spot on.

-Thank you very much.

Looks pretty good. Right...

-Well, that's soft.

-Ooh!

It's neat...

I was really worried, when you were putting that sponge in,

with all the runny liquid round the outside. But you clever girl,

it has not bled into the genoise sponge.

Let's see what it tastes like.

It's a beautiful genoise, actually. The flavours are fantastic.

You've made two cracking fondant fancies.

They don't LOOK so brilliant, but they're stunning.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Thank you very much.

It's very dainty.

They're quite small as well,

-if I'm honest.

-I didn't want to do a big one,

because I've had a problem with big bakes in the past.

You've got a lovely shine on the butterflies.

But it's a bit of a matt finish with the flowers.

And the genoise is peeking through where the icing isn't even.

OK. Let's try this top one.

This is the...?

Vanilla pink velvet with white chocolate icing.

I'm not madly excited by the flavour.

I know it's white chocolate,

but it's not really coming through to me. It's just very, very sweet.

It's VERY sweet.

I think the sponge is baked to perfection,

-if I'm honest, I think the sponge is fantastic.

-Cheers.

It's not particularly good fondant,

it's just sweetness with a great sponge inside.

Right. Let's try the butterfly.

Can you remind us of this one again?

-And that's lime and ginger.

-Lime and ginger.

-Maybe don't try the icing.

-Don't try the icing!

-It's too sweet.

-It's too sweet.

-They're quite thin, aren't they?

-Yeah.

There's very little sponge here...

The sweetness is there.

But then the tang coming in is beautiful.

That's a potent lime, that.

It's lovely, it's not as sweet as the last one.

Thanks, Selasi.

The biggest fault is obviously all the crumb has come on the outside,

so when you poured the fondant on, it's going to crumble,

it's gone to the side, and you can see every single crumb.

I know.

But it's important for them to look very smart and tempting.

All right, we'll start with the hearts.

Let's have a look.

-MEL:

-Lovely.

SHE SIGHS WITH RELIEF

Very neat. Sponge looks good.

Marzipan, buttercream, and then that's the raspberry...?

That's the curd, yeah, the raspberry curd.

Very good rise on your genoise as well.

The flavours go well together,

-but it's just so sad you didn't put something on the outside.

-Yes.

Now, lemon should win.

-Cos it's bit of a favourite of both Mary's and mine, actually.

-Hope so!

Now, the lemon's coming through.

But, you see, it needs something sharp,

because a fondant fancy is so sweet.

So if you have something sharp, it just brings it all together.

It's a shame. The top looks good,

just the side's let you down a little bit.

-Yeah.

-But the flavours are good, the flavours are good.

-Sorry.

The presentation is stunning.

Both of them, you've gone simple, which, in a way, is a good idea.

You're got a good finish on the fondant of the coffee ones.

As we come down, the jam is pouring out of the lower ones.

Have you got buttercream on the outside before you put

-the fondant on?

-Yes, I did.

It was maybe a little thin in places,

which is probably why you can see the jam.

I think what we'll do is we'll start with the vanilla...

Good jam, good sponge, good flavour.

Sharp and to the point.

Textures are excellent.

Let's try this mocha one.

Cuts well.

There's a little bit too much buttercream for me.

In a way, wise, to get that lovely finish,

but when you come to eat it, it's a little bit too buttery.

Textures are good.

The mocha coming through works really well, actually.

Which one took your fondant fancy, Mary,

which was your favourite today?

Well, Candice, I have never tasted better flavours.

She really pushed the boat out.

If it was tidier around the side,

she would have done much better on appearance.

Andrew did incredibly well on the first day.

Has this challenge lived up to expectations?

He's done very well with this challenge. Because he went simple.

He's up for Star Baker,

I think Candice has to be up there as well. Selasi...

What can you say about Selasi?

Those are a little bit basic.

And of course, they are just a little bit clumsy.

Jane had a bit of an issue with her tidiness, didn't she, Mary?

She didn't coat the outsides with buttercream.

And really, when you look at them,

they're very, very lumpy round the outside.

Bakers, I've got the great job.

I get to announce which one of you is to be Star Baker this week.

I may not be Mystic Meg, but I read your Palmier,

and I saw that your Savarin was going to be incroyable,

and your fondant fancies were going to be fantastique.

Mystery Star Baker, mystery no more, you are...

-..Andrew.

-Yeah!

-Well done.

-Well done!

-Well done, Andrew.

-THEY APPLAUD

I have the less pleasant task this week.

And I know that this is a really hard week for anyone to leave.

And so it's with real, incredible sadness that this week...

we say goodbye to...

..Selasi.

-Who we just love!

-We love.

I'm using this as an excuse to get very, very close to you, Selasi.

-I want to get closer..

-Get off, get off him!

-Aw!

-Selasi!

It's a massively great achievement, personally and for my family

for getting this far in the semifinals.

Come on, bring it in again. He's mine.

It's been absolutely... yeah, amazing, splendid.

Splendid. Loved it all.

No-one's more sad than me to say goodbye to Selasi.

What a character, what a baker.

I'm very proud of Selasi, I think he's a great baker.

And he'll carry on doing it, you know.

I don't have words, I really don't. I could cry, actually!

And I haven't being close to crying all day!

-Welcome to the final.

-Thank you so much.

I'm so proud of myself. So happy!

Feels absolutely incredible to be in the final.

And to get Star Baker as well, I really wasn't expecting that.

Yes!

Ten weeks ago, 12 bakers entered the tent.

Come into the Mel/Sue sandwich.

One by one...

-Michael.

-..we bid them farewell.

-I reached my limit.

-I knew it was coming.

-Tom.

-Benjamina.

I'd have loved to be in the final, but we can't all go.

Now, just three remain.

Right, calm down now.

But who will be crowned the winner

of The Great British Bake Off 2016?

The winner is...

SHEEP BLEAT