Original subtitles

Well, I guess this is goodbye.

I can't believe you're leaving.

It feels like the end of an era.

Time to turn over a new leaf.

It's Prue Leith, actually.

Goodbye, Prue.

We'll miss you.

Good luck with the regeneration, yeah?

Regeneration?

TARDIS WHIRS

Yeah, every few years, we get a new Doctor Prue.

Good luck, Prue.

Don't worry, Prue. There's a bar in the back.

Oh, good.

We'll never forget you, Prue. See you, Prue. We love you.

BEEPING AND WHIRRING

BELL DINGS

MUSIC: "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies

GASPS Wow, it's Nigella.Oh, wow.

# Sugar..

BIRDS CHIRP

SHEEP BAA

# Honey, honey...#

I'm a massive fan.

How do you fancy being the new judge?

What is involved?

Eating loads of cake!

Hanging out with me. All right, Paul, don't put her off.

You know, it is the absolute dream.

I am in.

Yes! Oh, welcome to the family, Nigella.

You're gonna love it.

Welcome to The Great British Bake Off.

Oh, I've got goose pimples!

HONKING

HIGH PITCHED SQUAWK

When I got the phone call, I was like, "Is this for real?"

I saw the tops of the tent and I actually got emotional.

I'm in a tent.

Yes, come on!

Thousands applied.

Oh, my God, we're actually here!

Just 12 of the country's best amateur bakers...

ALL: Aww!

..have made it to the Bake Off tent.

It feels crazy. I'm definitely doing it for all the northerners.

I'm the first Portuguese on Bake Off.

Oh, spectacular!

But this year...

you've got to shine like you've never shone before.

..the Bake Off...

It's Audience Choice Week.

..is full of surprises.

Family members, welcome to the tent.

This is going to be carnage.

Everything they create...

So we've got sticky willy and stinging nettle in there.

..will be judged by Paul Hollywood...

Thank you. That is stunning.

..and Nigella Lawson.

Don't let the sugar shout.

Let it sing.

Laaa!

I'm going in.

I can't believe that she has entered the series

where I'm gonna be on the show.

Just thrilling. I would love it if I could get a handshake.

Shall I dust off my hand?

THEY LAUGH

Those who rise...

Ole!

..will be crowned Star Baker.

It tastes of celebration.

Those who crumble...

Shut the front door!

..will have to leave the tent...

If it was a school report... I'll see you after class.

..but only one can be crowned the winner...

I want it at an angle, please.

..of The Great British Bake Off.

Brr-brr!

THEY GASP

You didn't need to bring that.

Oh, I was just coming to get a handshake from Paul.

THEY LAUGH

It's Cake Week and three challenges await.

At the end, one baker will be named Star Baker,

while another will leave the tent.

Good luck, everybody.

Bakers, welcome to the tent.

Big news, everyone.

There's a new addition to the tent.

And that new addition is Paul Hollywood's attitude.

THEY LAUGH

He's gonna lighten it up. He's going to be warm.

He's going to be tender. He's going to be kind.

There's gonna be a lot of smiling from Paul,

especially through judging. Isn't that right, Paul?

OK...

Obviously, we are talking about our brand-new judge,

the legendary, the iconic,

Nigella Lawson.

ALL: Woo!

Thank you. Thank you.

For your first-ever challenge,

the judges would love you to make

a sumptuous chocolate stout cake.

Ooh, could there be a more Nigella word than sumptuous?

Go on, Nigella.

OK, I want it really sumptuous.

Oh, it's too much for me.

I think I might be pregnant.

Your stout cake can be any shape you like,

but it must include at least one filling or topping.

Now you've got two hours and 15 minutes for this.

On your marks...

Get set... Bake!

Come on.

Good luck, Bakers.

I'm just feeling so nervous right now.

I've got the butterflies going.

But here I am, one of the 12 bakers.

Absolute madness.

Oh, it's proper lovely, isn't it? Going so Dorset here.

Just too much going on. Oh, my days.

Do you know you're the only person I've ever seen look chic in shorts?

Thank you. That is quite something. Thank you!

Nigella's nice.

For the bakers' first and my first Signature Challenge,

I've made a chocolate Guinness cake for many, many years.

Never stopped.

Nigella's got these iconic stout cakes.

She is stout cake queen.

That's not terrifying at all, is it?

It's such a wonderful mixture of sweet and bitter.

The cocoa and that ferrous tang of stout.

You can afford to let it have a bit of a savage bite.

The thing is, it's deceptively tricky because it's quite a wet mix.

It's a long bake at a lower temperature

to bake all the way through.

Plenty of cooling time is essential.

Add toppings on top of a warm cake, it's all going to slip,

slide and fall off.

Why I love chocolate stout cake

so much is it allows plenty of freedom in terms of flavours.

I am hoping to find that wonderful frisson so you can get

when people bring something of themselves to it.

You can't just throw chocolate stout in a Bake Off

and say, "There you go." This is for Nigella Lawson!

Good morning.

Hello. Morning, Shannon.

How are you now? I'm very well.

Now, I'm very excited. Tell me about your cake.

You are a bit of an inspiration to me.

Oh, thank you. I have used your recipe,

but I've kind of adapted it slightly.

It's a little bit of a twist on a Black Forest gateau.

When you cut into it, it should explode out

with all this cherry goodness.

A project manager from Gloucestershire,

Shannon's been baking since she was five.

She's passing down her love of sweet treats to sister Georgie.

You can lick the bowl in a minute if you want.

She'll bake her Black Forest stout cake

filled with sour cherry compote in a bundt tin

that's caused problems in practice.

When I turned it out, it was all stuck in the centre

cos it's quite a moist cake. It's very wet.

Yes, well, cakes that you have to unmould,

they can be very stressful, but I guess if you've got the cherries,

you can hide a multitude of sins.

Good luck.

Thank you. Enjoy it. Sounds like an amazing recipe.

Fingers crossed!

Tom's also banking on Black Forest flavours

to help him win Nigella's heart.

We're making a chocolate stout cake and cherry compote,

which is going to have a bit of cherry brandy in there as well.

It is going to be a bit goozy.

Hang on one sec.

It's gonna be a bit boozy.

A hairdresser hailing from West Yorkshire,

Tom learned to bake at the knee of his two grandmothers,

Nanny June and Nanny Lynn.

Got me bum now on television.

That's what they want. That's the money shot.

He'll give his stout cake a glow up with beautifully

piped cream cheese icing and chocolate curls.

NOEL: You've got slightly mesmerising eyes,

like a younger Paul.

Look at his eyes!

You could have an eye off, you two.

THEY LAUGH

While Tom tries to woo Paul and Nigella

with his pretty peepers,

Gary's planning a bake that could leave them cross-eyed.

In the sponge it's Guinness.

I've got chocolate ganache and that's got whiskey in.

And I'm doing buttercream and I'm putting Irish cream in that.

Having retired from a career in textiles,

Gary lives in Nottinghamshire, where he and his wife of 30 years,

Donna, keep busy running a smallholding.

All right.

Gary's first bake not only features three different fillings,

but a secret ingredient he hopes

will produce a perfect sponge.

This is mayonnaise. You don't taste it.

It just gives it a nice texture.

It does make a big difference.

While Gary's cake celebrates

his Uncle Gordon's love of traditional stout...

I used to go to the pub with him as a young lad.

I used to have a glass of lager and he'd have a pint of Guinness.

..Yannis is keen to keep a clear head.

So I am using the 0.0.

It's the non-alcoholic stout.

I grew up in Austria, so I am making an Austrian cake.

It's called a Sachertorte.

It's the best chocolate cake in the world.

A paediatric doctor, Yannis lives in London

and loves to unwind busting out a bhangra.

He'll sandwich apricot compote

between layers of stout sponge

covered in shiny chocolate ganache

and vanilla creme diplomat.

Oh, hello. The doctor's here.

I'm having an appointment.

With a baby doctor!

What's wrong with me? Is he dead?

Nothing there, is there? Sorry, that's the wrong place.

Sorry.

He's not a doctor! Am I qualified?

THEY LAUGH

Oh, you got a weak pulse.

Oh, he's dead, isn't he?

Clara's cake also celebrates a taste of home.

So I'm using a Portuguese stout beer.

It's the best beer.

Actually, I don't drink, so I wouldn't know that,

but this is what people say.

Clara lived in Portugal until she was 18.

A marketing graduate, she now calls Hertfordshire home,

along with fiance Kieran, their dog Gigi,

and pet pygmy hedgehog Pecan.

Hi!

She'll add orange zest to her buttercream

for an extra burst of citrus zing,

but it's the decoration she's hoping will really wow.

I'm going for a sugar dome.

That's very ambitious for a first challenge.

And you're confident about it in the time?

No. Absolutely not.

Not confident at all.

I'm just taking the risk.

Hopefully it works!

But before the bakers can worry about decoration,

there's cakes to bake.

It's very wet.

Because a stout sponge contains so much liquid

it's in danger of being dense.

Hang on. That's...

WHIRRING

That's a lump there!

To help create the soft and tender texture

Nigella and Paul expect, raising agents must be added.

I'm using baking powder and bicarb.

But it's a delicate balance, as too much can affect taste.

Nice. I guess I learned to bake at home with my mum when I was younger.

I'm trying to keep it as tidy as possible.

My mum doesn't like any mess in the house at all.

If there's a speck of dust on the floor,

she's like, "Ho, no, tidy this up, guys.

"I don't know why you're doing this to me."

Are you gonna clean up?

Yeah, I only do things I like to do.

Moyin lives with his mum in Essex.

A high achiever, he juggles baking,

studying for a political economy degree,

and training as a competitive sprinter.

A nod to his Nigerian heritage,

Moyin's adding extra strong Nigerian stout

to his sponge to give his cake an extra kick.

I believe you run. I do.

What do you do the 100 metres in? 10:76.

10:76? Yeah.

I'll have a go with you. OK. We'll have it outside later.

Ten seconds, Paul. Not ten minutes.

Ten seconds. Oh, ten seconds!

Yeah! Ah!

All right, there we are. We're going in the oven now.

A stout cake is the ultimate test of time and temperature management.

If you do it in one big cake,

it takes a lot longer to bake and cool.

Doing it in the two tins, they'll cook a bit quicker,

cool a bit faster.

But no matter how many sponges the bakers choose...

Oh! Oh, my God, I forgot the oven door does that!

..a long and low bake is key.

160 fan. So, it takes a whole hour in the oven,

then you've got to cool it for an hour.

I don't know how I'm going to do it.

The temptation to reduce baking time...

That is going in for 45 minutes...

..and turn the oven up...

..at 180C.

..could result in an underbite cake.

Good morning Danni, tell us all about your stout cake.

So what I've decided to do is a stout and port cake.

Port? Port indeed-arooni.

Did you just say indeed-arooni?

Indeed-arooni, yeah! You're my favourite already.

An administrator at a HGV service centre,

Danni lives in Dorset with her parents, older sister,

and their three cocker spaniels.

A keen forager, she likes to add hand-picked goodies to her bakes.

You're not having them!

Inspired by her dad's fondness for a port with his pint,

she'll add a splash to her chocolate ganache

and top her cake with cream cheese icing.

Cream cheese and stout - time honoured partnership.

I like the sound of this. How are you feeling, Danni?

I'm actually feeling all right. They're in the oven.

I'm a bit bored, really, actually!

You're bored?

Give me a bit more to do. Come on!

Danni's wish is about to come true.

Cakes are in the oven. I'm on with the Swiss meringue now.

The bakers still have things to begin.

I've got to start making a cherry compote.

A stout cake is rich and requires flavours that can cut through.

I want it really sour, so I've got a little lemon.

Cherry brandy liqueur.

Just to add a bit of an extra kick to my compote.

I've got to make the seedless blackberry jam.

With chocolate, I like to add fresh fruit to cut through the bitterness.

Here comes "Podium Nikki"!

After hanging up her dancing shoes,

Nikki now works in advertising

and lives in London with her partner Tom and daughter Ava.

Yeah!

Nikki's going all out with a stout cake featuring malt buttercream,

stout shaped tuiles and a tart blackberry jam laced with nostalgia.

This takes you back because, like, when we were younger,

my grandad grew blackberries in his garden.

My sister and I used to go out and pick them,

stuff them all in our gob as well,

bring the rest in to him.

While Nikki's jam celebrates the best of British...

These blackberries are good!

..Connie's cake features a fruit from a little further afield.

This is fresh mango.

I am baking a Dragon Stout cake,

which is a homage to the Caribbean.

Connie lives in London with her husband and music teacher, Mike.

She's worked for the NHS for the last 20 years

and likes to make sure every staff meeting ends on a high.

Shall we have cake? ALL: Yes.

Covered in a rich chocolate ganache,

her sponge, which she'll bake in a bundt tin,

is full of Caribbean flavour.

This has got Dragon Stout in it.

It's a very traditional Jamaican stout.

Are you bringing Jamaica into your bake? I am.

Have you ever been in Jamaica where you just pick a mango off the tree?

It used to be my mum's front garden. Used to wake up in the morning

and go and get the mangoes off the tree.

The best thing ever. Ah, nothing like it.

Molly's cake is full of happy memories too.

The cream cheese icing I've actually spiced

with the same flavours we had in one of our tiers of our wedding cake.

It's got cardamom and vanilla in it.

Molly's an accessibility reviewer

who volunteers at a local theatre in London,

where she lives with husband Ash.

And while Ash is always happy to help taste Molly's bakes,

sausage dog Lando is more of a hindrance.

Can I get to the fridge?

No.

Baked in a bundt tin, Molly's confident

her cardamom spiced stout cake will impress.

I'm basing it off a Nigella recipe I did for my food tech GCSE.

I got an A-star, so, you know,

hopefully I'll get the equivalent in here.

New bakers, you are halfway through!

Ohhh!

Wooo!

Out we come, baby.

The oven business is complete.

They've come out beautifully. I'm big happy with this.

They look better than they did at home actually!

But baking their stout sponge..

Looking good. As are you!

NIGELLA LAUGHS

.is just the first hurdle.

Ready for the fridge!

Here we go!

The race is now on to start cooling...

Use whatever you've got.

..before assembly can begin.

That looks good. I'm going to leave it for five minutes,

trying to make sure I stop it from sticking.

Oh, yeah, Perfect.

CLATTERING

Oh, no.

I'm gonna cry in a minute.

Just gonna get a breath of fresh air.

Babes, what's happened?

Fell out of the oven, Alison.

I went to push it back in,

and I think it got caught on something.

I only had one glove on. Right.

I should have put both gloves on.

You know what's weird? It's perfectly baked.

I know, that's the thing.

I just looked at it and it's like... I know.

Don't worry, you can do it again.

Just 60 minutes remain.

You've got this, babe.

Let's get something done, shall we?

Rather than the bundt tin I was using,

I'm doing a sandwich cake instead.

The cakes should bake quicker, cool quicker.

As Molly rushes to restart her sponge...

You've got two choices, haven't you?

Give up or not.

I'm not giving up.

..the rest of the bakers are scrambling...

OK, I'm making the sugar dome. Here we go.

..to start decorations and finish fillings.

My ganache. A little bit of port, a cheeky bit of port!

Yummy!

Too much. Too much. That's all right, that's all right.

I can do this.

BLEEP

I have to do everything again.

The Swiss meringue, it's finished whipping up.

Woohoo! Nice one, Gary!

That's peanut butter buttercream.

I don't know how much I did.

I measure with my heart.

21-year-old Mo from the West Midlands

is this year's youngest baker.

A law student, when he's not buried in books,

he's in the gym working up an appetite.

That's bang on you know.

Mo will sandwich layers of his alcohol free stout sponge

with peanut butter cream drizzled with salted caramel.

What else do you do apart from baking cakes?

What's your thing? I like doing callisthenics.

I don't take it seriously, though. I feel I've got commitment issues.

I come with a lot of baggage,

but it's the good baggage, like Louis Vuitton baggage.

ALISON CHUCKLES

But Mo and his peanuts have competition,

and Gabe isn't pulling any punches.

I've got a peanut butter milk stout.

I was just trying to really amp up those peanut butter flavours.

Gabe lives with partners Ellis and Tyler

and their two sausage dogs, Dill and Sage.

An artist by day,

by night Gabe becomes the daddy of Birmingham drag, Blu Romantic.

How are you all doing?

Gabe will pack his stout cake full of peanut flavour,

but despite practice going well,

his first bake in the tent is a journey into the unknown.

I've never made a stout cake before.

I don't even know what it's supposed to taste like.

I've been there going, "Oh, this is cracking."

It might actually just be horrible.

So, fingers crossed!

Bakers, you have half an hour left!

Oohhhh!

Ugh!

Cakes are in. I've put them in for 20.

I'm just gonna will them to cool down enough,

chuck some icing on.

I'm running out of time.

Molly's not the only one feeling the heat.

They're cooling but they're not cool enough quite yet.

But every minute they wait is one less they have to fill and decorate.

Right, second attempt. I cannot disappoint now.

I need the sugar dome done.

I'm gonna do a peanut brittle. You can't go wrong with that.

This is the chocolate ganache.

I need it to be nice and glossy.

The Austrians are gonna hate me if I can't get this right.

Ready.

I've made a bit of a boo-boo.

My compote - definitely need this thicker. It's just water.

No. Can't believe this is happening.

It's still the tiniest bit warm.

It wouldn't be a good idea to use them yet.

It's cool enough.

Just putting a little bit of ganache on my sponges.

As Danni starts assembly...

A little bit too much warmth, I think.

Just a little bit of crackage here.

..Gary's hot on her heels.

Critical time this now.

Critical time!

Oh, dear. I've got 25 minutes.

The only problem is, it's a little bit warm.

I'm gonna wait.

One more time, just for the road.

I've put six tablespoons of cornflour in this

and it's still not thick enough.

Third time is the charm.

I give up. Let's decorate this cake.

The buttercream is nice and stiff.

There's caramel and chopped peanuts for some texture.

In between will be the apricot compote.

Don't have too much jam.

The whole cake itself is sweet enough, right?

With cake construction in full swing...

Looking all right, isn't it?

..for the bundt brigade...

It is quite hot still.

..it's the moment of truth.

Every time I've done it, it's stuck.

Please!

What if it just goes everywhere?

Oh!

Nearly!

Oh, it's ruined.

But we can cover that with frosting.

Just cutting out the tuiles.

This is a Swiss meringue buttercream.

We are going to pour ganache on the top.

I can't wait to stick my head in that.

Bakers, you've got ten minutes left!

Oh, no. The cake is cracking.

It was looking good and it's all gone wrong.

I might just get them out.

My cake has stuck to itself.

Just take... Oh!

I think they are literally just baked.

But if I pipe it now,

it'll just turn into a gloopy mess.

Yeah, it's too warm.

Can't believe it.

Oh, my God.

I wasn't expecting her to do that!

Right.

Come on. Oh!

I was bored, I was bored. I manifested this.

It would look better with a sugar dome.

Bakers, you've got one minute left!

Come on, Gary, you can do this.

Fine-arooni.

They will melt a bit, but I'll probably ice them.

I plan to hypnotise Paul with a swirl when he comes over.

And Nigella.

This is the diplomat cream.

Quickly pipe some bits here.

I haven't finished.

Put some mangoes around the sides.

You finished?

That's enough.

Bakers, your time is...

..up!

SIGHS

APPLAUSE

You did it!

Well done, well done.

Oh, goodness.

Come on. Group hug, come on.

We've done it.

Mine didn't go to plan.

You haven't seen mine, have you?

Yeah. Yeah!

For the first time ever,

the bakers will now face the judgment of Nigella and Paul.

Hello, Connie. Hi, Connie. Hi.

NIGELLA: When I look at your cake, I just smile.

I don't think you could look at that without smiling.

Got to have some with some mango.

I know. He's keeping all the mango for himself.

Thank you. No problem.

Flavour-wise, it's fascinating.

The Dragon Stout gives a kind of licoricey taste.

But I think it's slightly overbaked. OK.

When we all make a bundt cake,

the tendency is to leave it a bit longer because the fear

of the unmoulding seizes one.

Absolutely. Thank you, Connie. Thank you. Thank you very much.

I don't like the look of that.

No? It's more like a trifle.

It's the temperature of that cake that's melted this.

And now we dive in.

That touch of red is good.

Looks incredible.

I love the taste, but it is more like a pudding.

Overall, I think your flavours are good.

But be careful of your planning.

That's my job, so I should really know better.

I'm a planner scheduler. Wow. OK.

Well, you need more planning and more scheduling. Yes!

Very neat.

Very professional actually.

I love the cream cheese.

I love the cherries as well.

And the flavours are giving me a lot of pleasure

but I think you've got a bit too heavy handed on the bicarb.

OK.

I love the stout on top.

A few frosted gravestones!

Nice neat layers. Thank you.

That blackberry jam is brilliant with it.

Flavour-wise, untouchable,

but it's overbaked. OK, my love.

That looks rather spectacular. Thank you.

It's very classic.

It's a big slice.

Ooh. Oh, yes!

I know you like neatness.

I like a bit of goo.

You see, that looks irresistible, doesn't it?

The suspense, Mo. I know.

Sensational. Thank you.

When you have a bit of salt in something,

you're just singing a song.

I love it. The flavours are absolutely spot on.

Looking forward to seeing what you're going to do next.

Thank you. I'm in heaven.

Sensational.

All right, love.

I like its simplicity.

Oh, stunning.

Beautiful. Beautiful!

You've managed to achieve that blend of the chocolate and the stout

and I think the hazelnut works beautifully well.

It has a popcorny taste.

Buttery, sugary.

However, I can taste the baking powder.

Obviously the most impressive part is not here.

The sugar dome. It's the tent.

It's the tent! That's what happens.

I think the dome knew best

cos I don't think a dome belongs on that cake.

I agree.

LAUGHS

This works. The textures are spot on.

But also you've got brightness in the buttercream.

You've got a nice cake there. Oh! Thanks.

Well done.

She's had a bit of first aid. She has indeed.

When I was carving her, she was still hot.

Why did you do it when it was hot?

I just felt pressured for time.

You were the one telling me, "I'm bored."

Oh, yeah, I'm giving myself something to do!

Right!

It's still a little bit raw. It needed longer.

How long did you bake it for? 45 minutes.

And what temperature?

180. Ooh.

No. A wet batter really needs a lower temperature. long and slow.

Gotcha.

Just be careful of your baking

and be careful what you wish for.

Absolutely!

I think it looks amazing.

Looks like the cake's been imprisoned, doesn't it?

Hmm, it does. Yeah.

Your sponge is peaceful.

The cream diplomat is nice and light.

SPEAKS GERMAN

A little bit more apricot inside would have been nice.

Yes, I agree, I love the apricot.

You want it almost rippled through.

She's jaunty. Yeah!

I think it's pretty bland.

Oh, no!

The peanut does make it a bit one note.

Pipework, bake, good.

But your flavours are just dead.

Cool.

Yannis, can you resuscitate, please? It's dead!

THEY LAUGH

You got a cake out.

There's a cake which is nothing short of a miracle.

Well done for not giving up, though. Thank you.

This is tense.

The flavour is lovely.

The cardamom level is spot on.

There is something a bit savage

about the cardamom which works well with it.

The bake is good. Texture is good.

It proves the point, never give up. Yeah.

Well done. Molly. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Well done, Molly. Thanks!

I love that scallop waistband.

When you're doing detail that small

you have to be extremely accurate with a very cool cake.

Your cake wasn't cool. That was it.

So you were rushing and then things started falling apart.

I love the taste.

Those cakes are absolutely delicious.

I mean, it's almost mousse. It melts in the mouth.

Flavour-wise, it's really good.

That's probably the best cake here.

I'll be honest. Wow.

Good job. Thank you.

Gary, the best cake here. Blinking heck.

I can't believe it. Honestly, I underestimate myself sometimes,

but this is a lesson learned for me today.

I think, given the circumstances, couldn't have gone much better.

So, yeah, perseverance and not giving up, it pays off.

I think it went pretty well.

If I'm being brutally honest,

I was more worried about Nigella's reaction.

I got her approval, so I feel pretty good about it.

When Paul said it looked like a trifle,

I just thought, what have I done?

But who doesn't like trifle?

It didn't go quite to plan.

They were actually incredibly nice about it.

Onwards and upwards,

and I can't wait to see what the technical has in store.

Each week the bakers face a mystery second challenge,

and this one is more mysterious than most.

OK, new bakers, it's time for your technical bake.

And this one has been set by our new judge, Nigella.

Nigella, do you have any pearls of wisdom?

I do, and actually, these pearls of wisdom

really could be taken for life generally.

Balance is key. It needs some salt, it needs some bitterness.

Don't let the sugar shout.

Let it sing.

Interesting.

Laaa! Maybe not like that!

THEY LAUGH

OK, bakers, as always,

this challenge is judged blind,

so you may leave the tent.

Bye-bye. Good luck.

That's the sugar and the salt leaving.

Our judges would love you to bake

an exquisitely decorated coffee and walnut cake.

Your coffee and walnut cake should have a flavoursome sponge,

a silky smooth buttercream

and be exquisitely decorated.

I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking, "This is so simple."

Don't be thinking that.

You're going to have to work off one of our beautiful

Bake Off illustrations.

Come on.

Oh, my God.

What in the hell is this?

Behold the masterpiece! Oh!

NARRATOR: With no written recipe available,

the bakers must create their own,

using only the Bake Off illustration

detailing a ground walnut and coffee sponge.

Coffee American buttercream and walnuts to decorate.

OK, go back to your benches.

Bakers, you have two hours.

On your marks.

Get set.

Bake.

The bakers have been given every ingredient required

to recreate Nigella's coffee and walnut cake...

Single cream.

..but the method and quantities.

They've given us six eggs.

..are entirely up to them.

I'll do four eggs.

Channelling my inner Nigella.

I feel like I have made her walnut cake before.

I can't imagine a single one of these people in this tent

has not made at least one coffee and walnut cake.

I've not made one before.

I've got no idea what to do, so I'm just gonna wing it.

Number one aim is not dropping any cake on the floor.

Nigella, you've set them this amazing looking cake

with a slight Bake Off twist.

I wanted my first Technical Challenge to be a cake

that is very dear to my heart, which is a coffee and walnut.

You haven't given them the recipe. You've showed them a picture

of what you want and after that it's down to them.

Absolutely. It's quite a basic recipe.

I would expect the bakers to know the basics.

It's a very classic sponge.

Equal quantities - butter, flour and sugar.

But this cake, you would remove some of

the amount of flour and replace with walnuts.

But if they put too many nuts in the sponge, it's going to be dense.

Of course. Also, my fear is they're going

to go too mild with the coffee.

I use instant espresso and it's incredibly strong.

And a nice bit of colour as well.

Almost as good as you! PAUL LAUGHS

OK, I hope you're hungry.

It's going to be a whopper.

Oh, that's delicious.

This is such a great balance between the sugar and the salt.

Yeah, sometimes more is less. I agree.

This is a bit indelicate, sorry.

I feel like a lost dog. I'm like, what do I do?

My strategy is start off with the sponge.

I'm just gonna have to try and base it on a Victoria sponge

that's coffee and walnut flavoured.

It's just equal parts eggs, butter and sugar and flour.

Still a little bit stodge.

What did you say earlier that made me laugh?

Indeed-arooni! Indeed-arooni!

That was the moment I knew you were gonna win.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

I'm gonna put some walnuts in there.

The correct ratio of walnuts to flour is

key to the cake's success.

I just chose 75g. It was really speaking to me.

Not enough nuts, and the sponge will lack flavour.

It has to be enough for people to be like,

"Mm, I love this walnut cake."

But too much and they could end up with a dense,

heavy cake lacking in height.

Because we've got the ground walnuts

I'm going to take out some of the flour.

You probably wouldn't know that there were walnuts in there.

I don't know if that's right.

I'm going to put some coffee in.

And when it comes to the coffee,

it's crucial they get the balance bang-on.

I haven't been measuring. I've just been chucking it in.

Two tablespoons of coffee.

A teaspoon and a half.

Pinch of salt.

I like a bit of salt, but I don't want it too salty.

Just a tad.

Give it one last mix...

So have you done a walnut and coffee cake before?

I have done. But not in this condition.

Not even a word to read, nothing. Nothing!

He couldn't write the recipe next to it?

I'm so sorry.

I need to get a cake tin.

Not really spreading, is she?

I'm happy. All right, I'm gonna put them in oven.

No disasters this time.

Cook, babies.

I've set the timer at 25 minutes.

I'm thinking 18 minutes.

Just got to keep an eye on it.

I mean, I'm just hoping it's gonna rise.

How did judging go?

Dead. Said it was dead?

Yeah, dead. But, yeah, I don't know.

They were really loving Gary.

I think maybe it's because Paul sees himself in Gary.

So I think we all see Paul in Gary.

They could be related,

though Gary is slightly less tanned.

Bakers, you are halfway through.

And this is what you're aiming for.

So walnutty.

I'm gonna do some coffee American buttercream.

Like the sponge, Nigella's buttercream...

Oh. ..is all about balance.

Nigella said, "Let the sugar sing."

So I'm listening.

I've not heard anything yet.

Not only do they have to control the sugar and salt...

She said something

about balancing something. I don't know.

..but the all-important coffee flavour too.

I just hope that it's got enough punch.

What I didn't want to do

is put too much coffee in so it's really bitter.

I put some neat powder in.

I don't want to put no more liquid into it.

I'm making, essentially, some coffee.

It's leaking coffee. You could drink that.

Ha-ha-ha-ha! The moment of truth.

They're ready, more or less.

It's not done yet.

The thing is, if I open the oven too early, the cake can collapse.

And that would be a disaster.

They've collapsed a bit.

Oh, my goodness!

Sponges look baked.

Nice and soft. I'm happy with those.

Could have risen more, but...

Oh, God.

Could be a little dry.

We need to make sure they're cool this time, don't we? Yeah.

If I don't let them cool down,

this buttercream is gonna melt.

So get them as cold as humanly possible.

Might do some caramelised walnuts.

What's the point sitting around doing nowt?

You all right, Tom? It's going all right.

It seems to be going to my plan.

But is it going to Nigella's plan?

Well, if Nigella wanted it to go to her plan,

then she should have left us one.

I'm just chilling now.

The cake's in the fridge, but the urge to just get them out,

decorate them, is really overwhelming.

It's just basically, how long can I outlast myself?

Bakers, you've got ten minutes left.

Argh!

Then I want to start assembling.

The cakes are cold, which is good.

The tiniest bit warm in the middle.

Right. Crumb coat.

Come on!

Walnuts will cover a lot of sins.

I'm breaking by hand - I don't want to grind it to dust.

Definitely too crumbly.

Not too big, not too small.

So now I just need eight rosettes.

I'm trying to copy the picture on the board.

This is so scary.

How long do we have now?

Bakers, you've got one minute left.

Oh, my gosh!

I'm feeling a bit better about how it's looking than how it will taste.

They're getting worse.

Put these whole walnuts on.

I think they'll add an extra je ne sais quoi.

Oh, my God.

Goodness me.

Bakers, your time is up.

Ta da!

I'm happy.

If you squint, it looks the same.

Please bring your coffee and walnut cakes to the front

and place them behind your photographs.

Oh, yeah. Well done, bakers.

They all look decent, don't they?

Smashed it!

It's time to judge the bakers' first Technical Challenge,

and Nigella and Paul have no idea whose bake is whose.

What we were looking for

was an intense coffee and walnut sponge,

a lusciously smooth American buttercream,

decorated as per that beautiful illustration,

and with emphasis on the balance between the sweetness in the cake

and the bitterness of the coffee, with just enough salt.

But I'm impressed. It's a beautiful sight.

Quite like the look of this. It's a nice colour.

It is. Nice and even layers.

It's really lovely.

The coffee could be a bit punchier.

So I'm gonna...

Don't forget - pace yourself.

I don't have many skills, but eating is one of them.

PAUL LAUGHS

This is very neat.

Flavour is fantastic.

The cake itself has a little less sugar, which is working.

Yes, it's deliciously soft.

I think it's been powdered too much. Yeah.

It's overbaked. It feels drier.

Got the coffee.

Lovely amount of salt, though. Got the salt.

May I just say?

I love salt, because it's a bit like

putting lemon in something savoury

that often makes everything come to life.

The height is good and the height work is good.

It's a beauty.

I'm not getting much coffee.

No, it's a bit sweet.

Well, to be fair, we didn't give any measurements.

It's a nice bake, though.

The height of this is quite low. Yeah.

The bake is all wrong.

It's raw. The salt levels are quite high on that one as well.

No complaints from me.

Good height on this one.

Pipe work's not bad.

This one has got a lovely nuttiness.

Also hasn't got too much sugar.

If you had more filling, it would work better. Yeah.

But it's a lovely light buttercream.

I like the idea of caramelisation of the nut.

Do the nuts need to be sweeter?

I don't think so.

It looks beautiful.

Wow. That's dark.

That is good. That's got a coffee hit.

I love the taste.

Might have been wrong on that nut.

It works. That's a good cake.

It is a nice cake.

I think the crumb on this is a little bit too powdery.

Yes. Neat on the top.

There's something weird about the texture.

And it does need salt.

Yeah, it does. Very neat.

I quite like the crumb, although it's thin, it's thick.

Yeah, it's like a mosaic. It's a mixture, yeah.

That's overbaked.

It didn't have a lot of air in it.

I mean if someone gave you that cake, you'd be smiling. Yeah.

I am smiling. It's your charm.

LAUGHTER

I think it's slightly overbaked.

The sponge is quite soft.

It could be the nut size is huge. LAUGHTER

Maybe it needs more butter.

I mean, I quite like the look of it because it is coated, isn't it?

But I would like to have seen just a bit neater.

Coffee level's good in that. Nice and salty.

Wow. Far too salty!

I mean, it may be just over.

Oh, dear. It's a pity.

This one - a bit pale.

The crumb is a bit all over the place.

There's a bit of anxiety emanating.

I'm not getting anything in that cake,

considering you had some real powerful flavours.

Yes. OK, this is going to be interesting.

NOEL: Nigella and Paul will now rank

the coffee and walnut cakes from worst to first.

In 12th spot, we have this one.

Molly.

It had no flavour.

In 11th place...

Danni.

There was a bit of a texture issue, but some good flavour going on.

In 10th spot we have this one.

Shannon.

The flavour of the coffee was all right, but the bake was poor.

ALISON: In ninth spot is Moyin.

Clara is eighth.

Yannis seventh, Connie sixth, Nikki's fifth,

and Mo takes fourth.

In third place...

..Gabe!

Great flavour.

In second spot this one. Whose is this?

Gary. Very well done.

A well-balanced cake.

The sponge was very good. Thank you.

First place!

Congratulations, Tom!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE That was my dream cake.

Thank you.

I'm gobsmacked. I can't believe I did it.

I followed my Nanny Lynn's method.

Everybody's gonna be so proud of me at home.

I couldn't wish for a better day, really, could I?

I think I'm just aware that I'm on the chopping block at the moment.

It's disappointing, but tomorrow I've just got to go

in there with the attitude that it's gonna save my bacon.

And hopefully that's exactly what it will do.

Nigella, how have you found being in the tent?

I've loved it. I'm full of cake and hope and expectation.

The standard is incredibly high.

Who is standing out?

We've got the youngest baker in the tent.

Mo. His signature was off the scale.

He was fourth in Technical as well.

So actually, I think Mo's in a very good position.

And Tom. Absolutely smashed the technical.

He's in a very, very strong position... Yeah. ..alongside Gary.

His sponge was the best one in the tent yesterday.

Who do you think needs to really watch themselves

when it comes to the Showstopper?

Shannon. I think Molly, Danni and Shannon.

She struggled in the Technical and she was way down in the Signature.

Danni's down there as well.

Molly obviously had an issue with her first cake - dropping it.

But her sense of flavour is fab.

That's really important. And then came last in technical.

But although she came last, it's also important for them

to learn none of us are finished articles.

I mean... Apart from Alison!

Speak for yourself, Nigella!

Hello, bakers. Welcome back to the tent.

It's time for your Showstopper challenge.

And today, the judges don't only want you

to bake a cake, but they want you to be a cake.

Paul and Nigella would love you to create a self portrait cake,

which should consist of at least two tiers.

You can use any decorative style that you wish for your portrait.

The sponge, the filling and the flavours are entirely up to you.

You've got four hours for this.

On your marks... Get set... Bake!

I'm feeling positive after my incident yesterday.

Positive vibes.

I do not want any more cracks.

No more cracks for me.

The first Showstopper, I think, is a really interesting one.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the bakers' artistic skills.

When I first read, "Portrait cake," I thought,

"Oh, my God, I'm creative, but I'm not artistic."

Even if you're not the Picasso of patisserie,

what I want is a bit of personality, some wit.

PAUL: It could be a caricature,

it could be a print, a mosaic.

But being a tiered cake,

structurally, it's got to be sound.

Choose a robust sponge,

married up beautifully with fillings -

buttercream, ganache - whatever they're going to choose.

But whatever flavours are in the cake,

there's probably a limit a palette wants to take in at one time.

It's that balance that makes a cake from good to great.

Good morning. Good morning, Molly.

Good morning. How are we?

We're fine. What about you? I'm good.

Positive attitude. That's good. Yeah!

Going to make things excellent today.

Now this is a very, very encouraging sight for me.

You like lemon? I love lemon.

Good. Lemon's my favourite, too.

NOEL: Molly's lemon and mango portrait cake

will be wrapped in knitted pattern icing -

a nod to her favourite hobby.

And she'll paint her portrait in colourful buttercream.

ALISON: Are you doing hair as well?

Yeah! I've got to get the red hair in! I love it.

Yeah, you have to. Yeah. it sounds great.

The flavours are all spot-on.

I hope you enjoy it.

NOEL: Shannon's also hoping to win over

the judges with a cake full of fresh flavour.

I'm a bit of a zesty girl,

so it's going to be extremely lemony.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, as they say. Pardon the pun.

ALISON: She'll stack layers of lemon sponge

and lemon curd to create the canvas for her fondant face.

My partner, when he's seen it in practice,

he said it looked like Tracy Beaker.

And I also forgot the eyebrows.

So don't let me forget the eyebrows today.

Not to be outdone in the citrus stakes,

Gary's bringing something extra to the lemon party.

It's going to be lemon and lime.

The lemon sponge - there'll be lemon zest.

And on the lime sponge, it'll be lime zest.

And also I'm going to add lemon extract.

That's going to go into the buttercream.

Gary will pipe buttercream decoration

to bring his countryside home to life,

while his fondant portrait sits proudly atop his two-tier cake.

All right, Gazza? How are we doing? You're having a good week.

Really good Showstopper. Yeah.

You could be a... Don't jinx it!

I'm not going to jinx it!

We both know what we're talking about.

Also, there's some young ones in here,

so I guess they're slightly looking to you.

I do have to keep control of them, you know.

Who's the naughtiest out of this lot?

Yannis. He's a rascal. NOEL LAUGHS

What about this one?

Well, she's not far behind.

She's lovely, isn't she?

Yeah.

Good morning, Danni. Good morning!

Good morning.

I am so, so, so excited to show you my bog.

Your bog?

My bog water. Oh, right.

This cake is vegan and this is all stuff I foraged myself.

So we've got sticky willy and stinging nettle in there.

Sticky what? Sticky willy.

It's the weed that sticks to your clothes.

Do you ever call anything sticky willy?

NOEL: Danni's vegan portrait cake

celebrates her love of foraging

and fixing old electronics,

with chocolate computer chip decorations

and a jam filling made from foraged flowers.

Magnolia petals.

Oh, wow. Wow. Magnolia's got a very gingery flavour.

I like the idea of the flavours. They are unusual.

Good luck, Danni. Thank you. Thank you.

Tom's gone digging for ingredients, too...

I decided to go for carrot cake.

..and looking to build on yesterday's triumph in the Technical,

he's spicing things up.

Cinnamon is the predominant spice.

It's warming.

Like a hug in a bowl.

ALISON: Fashioned from fondant,

Tom's cartoon-style portrait will sit atop layers of spiced

carrot cake and salted caramel.

That was cool yesterday, right?

You need a handshake now, don't you?

But I do want something from Nigella.

I don't think I'll be satisfied just by a little handshake off Paul.

What do you want from Nigella?

I want... I'll get it. I'll go through her bag.

I want, like, a little Nigella air kiss.

A look of...

"Darling."

Fierce. Fierce. Diva.

DANNI: We are making the batter of the bog water.

However they choose to flavour their sponge...

Zingy. We want it a bit zingy.

..it must be deliciously light...

Folding in the flour.

..yet robust enough to support

the weight of their fillings and portrait decoration.

Can I ask you a question? Of course.

Why did you sieve?

Because that's...

You're going to beat the living daylights

out of that now, aren't you?

I am. Just pour it in.

NOEL: And while most of the bakers

have gone for a classic Victoria sandwich-style sponge,

Yannis is risking one of the lightest in the baking world.

I've decided to use a chiffon sponge today.

It's meringue-based. It's full of air.

He'll sandwich whipped pistachio ganache

and cherry compote between layers

of delicate chiffon sponge,

to build the backdrop for his ambitious pointillist portrait.

Pointillism is an art form where tiny dots

of colour merge together and form a picture.

It normally takes two hours,

so the strategy is to do the cake as quick as I can.

So these will be going in t'oven.

All right.

With so much sponge to make...

One...

..batch-baking... Two. ..will be key to a successful Showstopper.

There's six tins so far. Three are waiting to go in.

ALISON: But that's just the first test.

This is magnolia petals.

The bakers must also juggle jams,

compotes, curds and buttercreams.

Oh, my God. Catastrophe.

NOEL: But for Yannis, fillings will have to wait.

He's forgotten to add meringue -

the key component in his lighter-than-air chiffon sponge.

It's not too late to put it back in.

It's not going to affect anything besides time.

But time is the hardest part.

This is hibiscus curd that I'm making.

The sponges are baking, I think...

Oh, my.

It's not been on for the whole time.

ALISON: The only baker planning a 3D portrait,

Moyin will spread hibiscus curd

between layers of brown sugar sponge,

which, with his oven now on, is finally baking.

Look like they're fine.

That was my main worry, like,

because they were sitting there for so long.

That's some hibiscus, orange zest and sugar

for the hibiscus curd.

It's based on a Nigerian drink called zobo.

One of my favourites, and my auntie used to always make zobo.

My cake is flavoured with the thing

that I like to drink in drag most, which is a marg,

particularly a spicy marg.

NOEL: Gabe will recreate a spicy marg in cake form,

but it's the reveal of his drag alter ego Blue Romantic

that he hopes will steal the show.

I've got like a little mirror that I'm making out of Isomalt.

I'm going to smash it,

and behind it will be my face all hand-painted? Blue?

It's got to be blue!

I know, groundbreaking!

Yeah.

I don't know you. I'm feeling a bit tired.

Should we get some help? Yeah.

Danni! Can you do a time call for us?

Yeah! Come on. Halfway through.

We don't ask many people to do this.

I'll shout, "Bakers," and get their attention. Yeah.

Bakers!

You are halfway through!

She's so good!

We're gonna be out of a job.

While Moyin and Yannis wait for their cakes to bake...

That time is so important for me.

I'm gonna just have to be really fast from now.

..for the rest, the first of their sponges are ready.

Oh, get on it!

I need to get the cakes out of the oven.

Two cakes, three. There's more coming.

Ah! Is it good?

Is it bad? I don't know, I'm nervous.

I'm happy with those.

I think that's done.

Thank you.

A nice golden colour.

That's from all the spices.

Five...

Hello, Paul.

Six. Three going in. Three top tiers.

I'm covering it in sunflowers. My favourite flower.

Got my little mascot there as well.

ALISON: Covered in fondant, sunflowers.

Nikki will stack no less than

nine layers of sponge packed full of cherry jam,

chocolate buttercream and kirsch-soaked cherries.

I've got a lot going on. I know, I can read Paul's mind!

It's what I expect!

I am a bit anxious.

That's a lot of cake.

She's got a lot of personality, Nigella.

NOEL: While Nikki's throwing the kitchen sink at her cake...

I just hope the flavours - that you're going to enjoy it.

..Mo's hoping less is more.

I'm keeping it pretty simple

with lemon sponge and blueberry compote.

I thought that's a bit boring

because I'm looking around and people are doing like,

God knows what.

Mo's cake - a classic combination

of lemon sponge and blueberry compote -

will feature a self-portrait of his pet cat Simba.

I thought it was a boy.

Turns out it was a girl because she might be pregnant.

Oh, my gosh. So you might have some kittens.

I'll have one if you don't want them. Is that all right?

Yeah. That's fine.

I think having my own portrait is a bit narcissistic.

I'll happily do a portrait of my dog.

This is Gigi.

ALISON: A collection of her favourite things,

Clara will immortalise

Gigi's paw prints in buttercream,

paint her portrait in the style of Van Gogh,

and build books from her pistachio and cardamom sponge.

No, I know, Paul.

It's not completely baked.

I don't like that he's here.

I love the sound of this cake. I do like pistachio cake.

Do you? I love a baked pistachio cake. NIGELLA: Yeah!

LAUGHTER

ALISON: While Mo and Clara are putting pets in their portrait,

Connie's features an animal a little less common.

This is an elephant.

My inspiration is a trip to Thailand.

We visited an elephant sanctuary.

Noel: Built from chocolate sponge and berry compote,

Connie's cake will feature chocolate elephants

roaming freely through green edible moss foliage

and bright blue buttercream.

The blue depicts the water in Thailand.

Right. We're going to war.

Me and you, Connie. That's it.

Are you doing blue as well? Battle of the Blues!

Right. We're gonna start building this masterpiece of a showstopper.

Alison: As the bakers start to stack sponge and fillings...

Oh, yes. This is a jammy jam.

..every minute matters.

A bit rushed.

I'm stressed about time and building the cake is the most stressful part.

NOEL: The quicker they complete their canvas...

Oh, come on. ..the longer they'll have

to perfect their all-important portrait.

It feels quite tense in here.

Come on.

And after yesterday's warm cake collapsed,

Danni and her dowels are under extra pressure

to ensure her vegan sponge stays upright.

I'm begging you, honey. Please.

But she's not the only one struggling.

Oh, that's hot.

Moyin and Yannis are falling behind.

The oven definitely held me up.

Like, those extra 20 minutes of the cake cooling...

The cakes would have been cool by now.

I wanted this cake done in two hours.

So I have one hour and 15 minutes left to decorate.

I'm gonna have to paint like a maniac.

Bakers, you have one hour left.

ALISON: As the bakers push to finish their portrait cakes,

the tent is missing one.

And, well, Shannon's had to head home.

I'm actually really upset

because Shannon is like the person I'm closest here.

Get better, darling.

See you, Shannon.

Yeah. Sending her lots of love.

We'll keep the tent warm for her.

NOEL: But for the remaining 11 bakers...

My poor hand's cramping up.

..cake assembly is in full swing.

It's in. The spice in my spicy marg cake.

Oh! So much going on.

Are you OK? Oh my God, not really.

You under pressure? Yeah.

This is my paws. Yes.

And obviously, the most important part is the self-portrait.

This has got to be you on a cake.

We are fondanting.

Hopefully see a portrait appear of my little me.

My colours are mixed.

So I'm just putting them all in bags.

Gonna get the face done.

Breathe, Nikki.

This is wafer paper.

I'm gonna paint Simba and then stick it on there.

ALISON: While the rest of the bakers begin fleshing out faces...

Who wouldn't want a fondant face mask?

..with his cakes now cooled...

The hibiscus curd is slightly leaking out,

but we've got curd at least.

..Moyin's finally making headway.

The next hour's was looking hectic.

Got to get a head shape, carve it.

It's called the head of heritage because it's like a head of me

and it's, like, based on my Nigerian heritage.

I've got modelling chocolate to cover my cake.

I have to work fast.

NOEL: And he's not the only one.

Not happy with the timing at all.

Already an hour behind schedule,

Yannis is only just starting his

time-consuming pointillism portrait.

I think it's doable.

Depends how crazy Yannis is feeling tonight.

If Yannis is crazy, he's gonna achieve it.

Bakers, you've got half an hour left.

Oh, God. Come on, come on.

This is speed decorating.

It's going to plan...ish. It's leaning.

If it gets too much of a lean on, I will cry.

I simply have to hope that she holds.

What stage are we at now?

I just unmoulded my mirror.

Behind it will be my face. I love that.

It's a bit shakier than I would like.

It looks disgusting. No, it does not.

You're so harsh on yourself. So good.

Yeah. It looks just like me, doesn't it?

How are you feeling?

I'm a little bit stressed for time.

Is this you when you're stressed? Um, yeah.

You're so chilled out.

You know why? He's in pole position? Yeah.

I'm just gonna put fruit around.

In this one the figure's kind of meant to be

like a fruit of Paradise.

That's gonna look banging.

This is my other favourite hobby. Knitting.

That's turned out really well.

Look at Moyin!

Are you OK? Are you rushing?

I'm rushing, but I can do it.

Uh, elephant. Oh, God.

I'm regretting everything.

I'm even regretting coming to the tent right now.

You have five minutes left.

Portrait, portrait. Where's my portrait?

I'm just gonna try and stick it on.

This looks incredible.

You chose one of the hardest things to do.

I don't know why I did this to myself.

Is this your hair? It is. That looks great.

He's got this.

That's my mirror.

Get in there.

A little bit patchy, but it's my face.

My nose piercing.

Come on, then. Let's finish this.

You've got one minute left.

Argh!

OK. Those are just the face markings.

So good with the gold on it.

Oh, come on.

I'm just going to freestyle the rest.

Cover it with a lot of buttercream.

Moyin, you have to be so proud of yourself. This is amazing.

Bakers, your time is up.

Please step away from yourselves.

I'm done!

Yeah.

I'm happy with it.

Incredible. Come here.

I'm never doing that again.

My poor baby.

Oh, my poor baby! What are you doing?

OK, bakers, that's your Showstopper done.

If you'd like to step outside

and we'll bring you back in for judging.

Go and have a cup of tea. You deserve it.

Oh, thanks!

Well done. Well done, Gary. Thank you.

Yay!

Are you happy with him? Yeah, yeah, I am actually.

Whose cake is that? Danni's cake.

Oh, no, don't, don't, don't, don't.

She's gonna go. She's going.

I can't even watch.

Oh, no!

Oh, no!

I'm so sorry.

SOBBING

Oh, come here, come here, come here.

It's all right. Oh, baby.

What did we say in the beginning?

It's OK. It's just bloody cake, right?

It's just cake, my love.

Oh...

NOEL: It's time to judge the bakers' self-portrait cakes.

Danni, it's time for your Showstopper.

Do you want some help? Oh, yeah. Please.

It looks like it might have had a bit of an accident.

You could definitely say that.

She had a lazy lean-on.

And then the big old tumble came.

A riot of green.

She is magnolia jam.

And she also has stinging nettle and sticky willy in her.

The magnolia in there is not carrying much flavour.

The sponges as well - they're a little bit dense.

I'm surprised it collapsed because it's quite robust.

It's a very robust sponge.

Well, I think the difficulty with vegan baking -

without the eggs, you are missing a certain amount of glue.

It's a shame it collapsed.

But you did give us a cake, which is a good thing.

Thank you so much for the feedback.

Oh! Well done. Well done, Danni.

LAUGHTER Is that Paul?That's Paul.

It's very neat.

But we almost saw this in the Signature as well.

You know, a two-tier, piping around the outside.

You've stayed in your safe place.

I don't see it as playing it safe.

It's playing to your strengths.

It's lemon and lime sponge with a buttercream flavoured with lemon.

I like the cake.

I think the flavours could have been brighter.

You are a very, very good baker,

but if you're trying to push your flavour,

push it a little bit more.

OK. Will do.

That looks amazing.

It is fantastic. Right.

He's going in!

Oh, wow. I wasn't expecting that.

It's the hibiscus curd that I put in the middle.

And the flavour is meant to represent

a Nigerian drink called zobo.

There's something sherbetty in that curd which is just thrilling.

However, your sponges are overbaked.

Flavour-wise, though - stunning.

Well done. Well done. Well done, Moyin.

That looks amazing. You can see it's you.

It's an almond chiffon sponge layered

with cherry compote and whipped pistachio ganache.

You've overbaked the chiffon, but the flavours are fascinating.

First, you feel a bit like I'm having

a slight experience here, and it feels like it's too much.

And then it does come together.

I enjoyed it.

I just think your sponge is a little bit dry.

I wouldn't have recognised that as you.

There was supposed to be some more stuff on there.

I can imagine. I'm sorry.

Kind of one at a time.

But I love the elephant.

NOEL: That blue is beautiful.

NIGELLA: Like the earth and sky. Yeah!

Delicious.

That compote works beautifully well with the sponge.

And it's very fruity, which I like a lot.

Thank you. I've got it.

I'm going to give that to you

as a present because you said you love elephants.

I do. Thank you, darling.

Gabe, are you ready?

I'm ready. Let's do it.

ALL: Yes! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Where is your portrait?

There is a mirror on the front of the cake.

Usually my drag persona isn't around.

So you have to get into that mirror before you can see it.

Oh, that is clever. NOEL: So cool. Oh, my gosh.

It's rather profound, actually.

NOEL: That's beautiful.

I suppose a lot of us feel we have a person beyond the surface.

Yeah, very much so. Yeah.

Before you dig in...

ALL: Woo!

LAUGHTER

Right. So it's orange sponge

with citrus curd and orange buttercream.

The citrus is really in your face.

I love it. I think the flavour is fantastic. Fabulous.

But something's gone a teeny bit wrong in the cake.

They're all overbaked. Right.

It is a pity because the flavours are so fabulous.

I think it's charming.

I mean, you can see it's you.

So I've got chocolate, cream cheese frosting,

black cherry jam, kirsch cherries.

There's also chocolate ganache.

That's one big chocolate cake! It is.

There's so many things going on in there.

It's very difficult to concentrate on one thing.

What's interesting is, you're so exuberant,

and this is a bit over the top

because you were overexcited to do everything. Yeah.

Did it say that in your school reports?

And a whole lot more.

Impressive. It's really lovely.

I mean, the Van Gogh style doesn't quite

do justice to your personality.

It's a bit more melancholy.

Is the top one which was the raw one in the middle?

No! Paul!

Bad manners to bring that up.

OK. It's a pistachio sponge with a hint of cardamom

and almond liqueur, cream cheese.

I really like the pistachio cake, but the cardamom -

I didn't get too much of that.

I love the flavours.

Maybe just a bit more sharpness to balance the richness.

It's fabulous.

It just makes you smile.

And I am very interested to taste it.

My Showstopper is traditional carrot cake with

a cream cheese frosting and a salted caramel sauce.

There's quite a bit of cinnamon.

Cinnamon can bring a bit of fire. Mm-hm.

I like that.

Just be careful with some of the rising agents.

It just sits at the back of your tongue.

But otherwise - fantastic.

Well done. I mean, it's really fabulous. Thank you.

You're welcome.

Straight off you can see it's you. Thanks.

Love the pattern.

That is so gorgeous.

Knitting - there's something very cosy about it.

So this is lemon and vanilla sponge,

white chocolate ganache and a lemon and mango curd.

I think that's a beautiful cake.

It's light, it's tart in the right places,

and the sponge is beautifully baked.

I could have taken a pinch of salt in it to make the lemon brighter.

Yeah. No, I mean a pinch.

But it's beautiful.

There's confidence in your cake, and it's lovely to see

because you have had a bit of a tough time of it.

Yeah. Well done.

Well done.

I think the portrait is brilliant. What's the cat's name?

Simba. It's a good looking cat.

What type of cat is it?

I don't know. Ginger? Great.

LAUGHTER

Thanks for that, Mo.

Well, it's a good looking cake.

It's very Dutch Old Master in the colours.

OK.

It's lemon sponge with a blueberry compote

and a cream cheese filling.

That's spot-on.

It's beautiful.

That's what you talk about simplicity.

Everything goes together really well.

It's been thought through. Yeah.

And I could sit there and eat all that.

Well done. Thank you. Thank you.

Well done, Mo!

I'm feeling pretty good.

I'm quite happy with where I am.

If I do win, it's a nice start.

Like, a nice vibe.

Paul... He said I was a good baker.

Will I get Star Baker?

I'm not hundred percent confident about that.

Possibly Mo now.

It were amazing, weren't it?

That went OK. I'm happy with that.

They seemed to like it.

I don't know what will happen,

but I don't think I could have hoped for much better.

I have accepted that I'm going to be the one going.

Absolutely.

I have had two catastrophic failures.

I'm on the chopping block this time.

Oh, I need a lie down after today. How do you feel?

I feel so happy. I say that, even though I have got sugar poisoning.

LAUGHTER

So, our very first Showstopper.

You've only got 11 bites.

Because unfortunately, Shannon had to go home.

Before we came into this challenge

Shannon was sort of lingering down at the bottom with Molly and Danni.

Danni's cake was in trouble before it fell.

But I have to say, I was thrilled that Molly came back from

the Signature and the Technical Challenge.

So for me, Molly's put herself up.

I think Nigella and I will have to have a chat afterwards,

but I think Star Baker is a bit more clean-cut.

I think you've got Tom, Gary and Mo.

I love what Tom does. I love his flavours.

Gary did well. I think he's got a lot to show.

But then Mo comes along. A little bit of magic.

It's extraordinary.

But I have to say, I did really love Gabe's.

You got a little bit emotional.

I thought there was something really wonderful about

that mirror that you cracked.

Do you think one day your true self

will emerge through a mirror, Paul?

And it will be Gary. Yeah!

Well done, bakers. That was an amazing week.

I've got the great job of announcing Star Baker.

And the Star Baker this week is...

..Mo.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Unfortunately, I have the sad

job of announcing which baker is leaving.

The first baker leaving the tent is...

..no-one!

Oh, shut the front door!

LAUGHTER

You are all safe. Well done.

What just happened?

Actually what just happened?

Um...

I shouldn't be here.

No mistakes. No mistakes. No mistakes.

I want to see a step up.

Absolutely.

I am so happy.

So relieved.

I nearly cried with relief, I really did.

Because apparently I cry at everything at the moment.

So that's what the tent does to you.

We had a very difficult decision to make.

Because Shannon was unwell and had to leave,

it seemed the fairest thing to give everyone a chance,

go into next week, and prove themselves then.

It's so nice no-one going home because I'm just getting to know

all these people and everyone's dead nice.

It'd be such a shame, like, to see anyone leave.

Well done, Gary. That was close.

They'd come up to me and they said I was that far.

That far.

But I think Mo's Showstopper is amazing.

Mo was a worthy winner.

Great job.

Getting the Star Baker is like, what more can you want?

More of the same.

It's quite a confidence boost.

I took a lot of pride in the fact that I'm self-taught.

It's an acknowledgement that you are pretty good.

Yeah, it's nice.

Next time...

..it's biscuit week.

Look good, don't they?

With a super-sized signature...

Who doesn't love a big American cookie?

The bigger, the better!

..a tiny Technical...

Reveal the Iced Gems!

Oh, my God!

..and an intricate Showstopper...

Does it look like a mosaic? It's not good.

..that sees a few bakers crumble.

Do you eat biscuits?

No. Not really. They're a really old people thing.

Are you a Star Baker in the making?

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