Original subtitles

Last time... I'm going to cry. After a disastrous signature...

Oh, these are so bad.

...Connie dug deep, winning the technical

and producing a heartfelt showstopper.

It has great majesty. But there's also joy in it.

Despite an unfinished biscuit mosaic...

It just looks BLEEP.

...Tom's outstanding flavours across the board...

Big ticks all the way down.

...won him Star Baker.

CHEERING

But after a difficult week...

It's not very neat.

I'm not very neat.

It is a bit too much bicarb. Ooh!

...we had to say goodbye... Danni.

...to our first baker.

Finding love in a group of strangers - that's just beautiful.

This time...

Come on!

...it's audience choice week...

I'm very nervous about this one.

...with surprise guests in the signature...

This is going to be carnage.

...a cabinet of curiosities in the technical...

There's no method. No! This is... This is just madness.

...and a fashion-forward showstopper.

Work it!

Oh!

First-ever audience choice week.

With thousands of submissions

of challenge ideas from across the globe,

for the first time in Bake Off history...

Oh, my God.

...the audience are in charge.

I don't know what they're going to do to us!

SHE LAUGHS

And what we've got to do in that tent, my mind's just going to go...

IMITATES EXPLOSION

I think the audience are going to do us dirty.

I'm gutted I didn't put a few requests in myself.

It's the curse of the Star Baker. So, I'm just trying not

to go home this week. I'm trying to play it safe.

Oh! Oh, God! I forgot I was here to bake!

LAUGHTER

Hello, bakers. Welcome back to the tent

and it's our first-ever audience choice week.

We asked the public to submit challenge ideas for

the signature, technical and showstopper.

So today, the audience will be deciding what you bake

rather than the judges. So, for your Signature Challenge today,

the audience would love you

to make an exquisite baked cheesecake.

And the flavours should be inspired by a family favourite.

And speaking of families, the other audience suggestion is...

You need to bake with a relative.

Now, that's a relative helping you, not a relative as

the ingredients!

Family members, welcome to the tent!

DISTANT CHEERING

In a Bake Off first,

the bakers' relatives have been invited inside the tent

to help them with their Signature Challenge.

I'm going to cry!

How you doing?

You ready? Yeah.

Relatives and bakers, you've got three hours for this.

On your marks... Get set...

Bake!

Right, come on then.

Oh, my God!

Clara, I'm in the tent. This is mental!

This is going to be amazing, Noel.

This is going to be carnage.

This is my lovely sister, Paula. Hello.

This is my mother. She's not a bad baker. Ha!

I don't know if I'd say she was a good baker!

I'm good at obeying orders.

We've got my fiance.

I really put a lot of trust in him being here.

And try to not let Clara have a reason to shout at me,

that's kind of what we're going for.

It's audience choice week.

Overwhelmingly the most popular choice was a baked cheesecake.

And it will be lovely to see them having

the support from someone at home.

Cheesecake's my favourite dessert.

I'm happy that we're making a cheesecake together. Yeah.

The families baking together is going to be really tricky.

As long as they allocate jobs

for each other, it'll work beautifully.

If they start fighting, it'll be interesting.

That's the area I'm most worried about!

She requires quite a lot of supervision, but, erm...

The flavours they need to draw on are a family favourite,

a combination that unites them at home.

This is the ginger snap biscuits.

The other thing about flavour is don't go overboard.

Don't put too much essence or extract in there.

Little bit goes a long way.

This is like an infusion of some cream,

vanilla, lemon, cinnamon.

All of those are flavours that taste really, really good with orange.

There isn't time to let a cheesecake slowly cool, so

the bakers have got to be very canny.

In an ideal world you'd probably cool it overnight.

The freezer and the fridge will be very useful to allow them

to decorate so it doesn't melt.

But don't put it in the fridge too early, it'll collapse in the middle.

It's all about the cooling time.

I would like to see

a beautiful cheesecake that has been adorned with love

and a really luscious smooth texture.

Morning, Shannon. Hello. Morning, Shannon.

Hello. This is my mum, Tammy.

Hi. Hello. Hello, mum.

What is your cheesecake?

So... Oh, what are you doing to it?

THEY LAUGH

...we are making the naughty Bailey, named after our dog, Bailey.

Ah! That lovely one there.

One Christmas we had a little glass of Baileys by

the sofa and she may have accidentally drank some of it

and it's just been a funny story ever since.

She's absolutely fine. Do not worry.

She's actually died now but she had a long life. What? What?

She was fine, no, she was fine. She was fine. Oh, right, OK.

She had a lovely long life. She was 14. Yeah.

Shannon and Tammy's ode to

the playful Bailey will feature a ginger biscuit base,

topped with an Irish cream and white chocolate Basque cheesecake.

On the top, salted dark chocolate ganache. There you go, Nigella.

Yeah? And then we've got little Irish cream salted truffles.

Wow. That sounds... Wow, there you go. There you go, Nigella.

That sounds lush. Really, we're going to have to have words.

It's actually one of my favourite cheesecakes.

No pressure then. No pressure.

Thank you.

Also feeling the strain of

the tent is Tom, who's brought partner Alex to support him.

How you doing, guys? Hello. Hiya.

There's a lot of pressure on Tom right now, isn't there, Tom?

Yeah, there is. He is Star Baker. I know.

Sometimes it's not always the best to be Star Baker, is it?

No, it's not. Such a burden. Yeah, yeah.

THEY LAUGH

Alex's favourite flavours are

the star of their New York-style cheesecake,

a white chocolate filling and raspberry topping.

I'm making a almondy shortbread base.

So, it should complement

the raspberry and white chocolate really well. Very good.

You said, "I am making." you meant "we", right? Surely?

Oh, yeah, "we". Oh, yes. No, yeah, he's done so much already.

I allowed him to weigh out some ingredients.

He's going to have more things to do.

I'm going to give him pots to stir.

You're going to boss the kitchen! Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Cool, perfect. Oh, look at that. Ooh.

Unlike Tom and Alex,

Nikki and cousin Jen are working in tandem.

My JenJen, I call her.

When we were younger we were at my grandparents' house.

We'd go round and we used to, he had lots of little cakes

and he would buy Bakewell slices. And we love cherries.

Cherries are both our favourite fruit. Favourite fruit. Yeah.

Yeah, see, look. We finish each other's sentences!

Nikki and Jen's Bakewell inspired Basque cheesecake will pack a punch,

with a sour cherry gel,

cherry filling and almond base.

So where's the almond coming in?

So, like a shortbread almond biscuit base. It's almond extract.

That's from West Indies, where our parents are from.

It's quite rich then? Yes. Yeah.

I'm a big fan of Bakewell anyway, so I love... Ooh.

...I love the flavours in that. OK.

You know, you want the almond, you want the cherries. Yeah. Yeah.

It's about balance.

Good luck.

Thank you so much. Thank you. Good luck. Thank you so much.

Let's get this in here.

With an extra pair of hands in the tent...

Oh, they're ready.

...some families are splitting the workload to make bases

for their cheesecakes.

That looks gorgeous.

And as well as perfect textures...

I've just strained my orange zest. It needs to pack a punch.

...the judges are demanding beautifully balanced flavours.

Irish cream and white chocolate.

I think that will be enough. No, we want more.

We don't want too much cos it'll take away

the taste of the Irish cream. No.

No mother and daughter rows.

I think we've nailed the cherry Bakewell flavour.

Well, to our liking!

Someone else might taste it and go...

So, we have put some freeze-dried raspberries in.

And for married couple Molly and Ash...

We've got a history of cheesecakes dropping on

the floor in our families.

...their cheesecake is inspired by

the early stages of their relationship.

When I was first dating Molly,

her mum was really trying to impress me, so she made a cheesecake.

And then all you hear is her going, "Cheesecake's on the floor!"

I just thought, "I'm just going to be polite about this."

I got a spoon and just started eating it off the floor.

MOLLY LAUGHS

Hoping for no accidents,

Molly and Ash are sticking to a tried and tested favourite

with a raspberry filling topped with leaf tuiles.

Tell us, how did you two meet?

So, Ash worked with my best friend

and was like a little matchmaker, so... Ah!

We got on like a house on fire, didn't we?

She had a few blokes in mind and I won.

It's kind of similar how me and Noel met.

Somebody said something. Yeah. We had a little meeting... Yeah.

...and then... Yeah, exactly. ...fireworks.

The rest is history!

We haven't told our partners yet, have we? No.

That's two peaches done.

Clara and fiance Kieran have something they are willing to share.

So, we're doing a honky-tonk cheesecake

with peach jam from Georgia. Ah.

Because we're moving to Georgia after this. Wow.

Congratulations. Thank you so much.

Inspired by their upcoming move stateside,

Clara and Kieran's Basque cheesecake will be flavoured

with bourbon and laden

with peach jam and cowboy decorations.

You're quite messy, in general.

Are you quite tidy? Yeah, not in general. Thank you!

Are you quite tidy? I like to think so, but... No, he's not!

So, you're the cleaner. You're... No! Yeah, exactly. Kieran!

When it comes to the kitchen. Right, we'll leave the domestic there!

Have a nice time, good luck. Cheers. Good luck.

Just threw that one in there.

Oh, I always tidy the kitchen. Focus on your lemon juice, please.

OK. Yes, boss.

And that's 250ml. Want to double check that?

Uh, no, I trust you. Yeah, yeah.

Connie and Myke, look at this.

This is just a beautiful picture right there, isn't it? Ah!

How did you two meet then?

Came and asked me for a dance.

I was like, "No, you're all right."

Do you know what he said? He went, "I'm asking you for a dance.

"I'm not asking you to marry me."

I was like, "Really? OK."

Connie and Myke are marrying ginger and lemon

in their Basque cheesecake,

topped with two poached pears to represent them both.

You've got to be quite careful, I suppose.

They have got quite a lot of liquid.

Well, that's why we've got them draining. Yes, yes.

And then Myke expertly is going to cut them.

I'm going to slice them very thinly

and then hope for the best, basically. No, no, no. Oh, OK.

There's no hoping for the best, baby. No hoping.

Do you know what's nice is you light up when he's here?

Oh, do I? You can tell you two are in love. Oh, babe.

Right, OK.

Support the baking tray, support the baking tray,

support the baking tray. Oh, my God.

With cheesecakes baking...

It's in. And now, we're onto ganache.

...attention turns to toppings.

So, whatever we do, do not forget the salt, right? OK.

This is the cherry disc. It's going to go on top of the cheesecake,

so it's going to set. So it's, like, a bit like a gel.

I've got mum working on the curd.

She needs to just stir this forever and ever and ever and ever.

The boss tells me to stir, I stir.

Hoping to stay in his mum's good books

by baking her favourite dessert,

Moyin and Kike's Basque cheesecake will be topped

with orange curd and candied decorations.

How beautiful is your son? I'm just in love with him.

Is it nice having your mum here? He's cheeky though. Is he cheeky?

Oh, very. She's worse than me. She's the most cheeky person ever.

Really? She's a schemer. Moyin, you are... Why... Mummy...

You're not supposed to be saying that!

OK. That looks more like a jam.

Moyin isn't the only one relying on a mother's touch.

If this is not liked it means my mum's jam is not liked.

Yeah.

With their mum's fig jam as a topping,

Yannis and Ruhsar's cheesecake uses Quark,

a low fat cheese that's traditionally used

in Germanic baking.

Yannis, you do need to be careful when you bake with Quark

because you haven't got the fat

so the texture can lack the smoothness.

Which is why I'm cheating a little. I don't want it chalky, you know.

I am using a bit of Philadelphia cream cheese today...

Yeah. ..to soften it. To... Yeah. Yeah. Good luck. Look forward to it.

Thank you. Thank you.

Bakers and family,

you are halfway through. Halfway through.

Ooh, oh, my gosh.

Oh, it's really jiggly.

That looks lovely.

Hello. Morning, Gabe. Hi, Gabe. How you doing, you all right?

This is my partner, Ellis.

Hiya. Hello, Ellis, nice to meet you. Hi.

So, we are doing a cheesecake inspired by

one of our favourite chocolate bars, the iconic coconut chocolate bar

we all know and love. OK, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Obviously our little, like, throuple boyband, it's our, like, go-to.

Throuple boyband?

There's another one. There's three of us. I know.

A lot of people call it a throuple. We call it a boyband.

I have a TV partner and I have a home partner.

I see. Oh, so you're in one as well, really.

Ah, no, well, not quite!

Gabe, Ellis and their partner Tyler have chosen

a Basque-style cheesecake featuring

the boyband's favourite flavours of coconut, lime and chocolate.

It's just like a match made in heaven, the three of you,

isn't it, really? You all... Yeah. A boyband. Yeah.

A boyband! A boyband.

Who's the dancer? Oh, Tyler.

Are you the singer? You're the dancer. I'm the singer, yeah. Yeah.

I'm the one that doesn't sing but is just in the band. Yeah.

Yeah. That's me. It's all about the look, darlings. Yes, exactly.

Yeah. All about the look. Yes.

Good morning, Gary. Hello. Hi, Gary.

Tell us all about your cheesecake. What are you doing?

Well, where I live, we've got a couple of lakes.

It's full of swans and Paula came up with the idea

a cheesecake what looks like a lake with some swans

floating on the top. Oh, nice.

Gary and Paula's take on

a classic New York-style cheesecake will sit beneath

a sweet cherry compote lake and melted sweet decorations.

You're making some swans. Yes. Nice.

These are feathers. So simple this though, so simple.

A swan? Yeah, simple.

I don't think so, Paula!

Could easily turn into a duck.

THEY LAUGH

While Gary is relying on sibling strength.

Everybody says I'm artistic, but we'll see.

She is, she is. We'll see.

Get a paper towel and just dab them dry gently. Stir that.

Mo's supervising a different dynamic.

Mo, what's it like having your cousin here? It's quite nice.

Is it? Um... It's quite nice?

I thought he was going to say something else.

I mean, that's all I can say.

Aiming for a more emphatic response from the judges,

Mo and Esrat's cheesecake will incorporate lemon,

pistachio, cardamom and strawberry,

inspired by the bakes he makes for his family.

When my mum's, like, "Oh, they're coming over,"

I'll be like, "This person likes this, let me make it for them."

Honestly, like, he's my prize possession!

I tell everybody about him!

Well, we're basically done. Ah.

Two hands, please. Please, please,

please, please, please. I know, I know.

It's got a nice Basque jiggle. Yeah. I'm happy.

We're cooling it at room temperature.

Allowing the cheesecake to cool gradually is essential.

You don't want it going in the fridge because it'll shock it

and it will just crack.

If this stage is rushed,

the cheesecake won't fully set and could collapse.

Just spill out everywhere if it's not set properly.

But while most bakers are cooling...

It needs, like, ten minutes. ...Nikki and Jen's cheesecake

is taking longer than expected.

Want it slightly brown on top.

With limited cooling time remaining,

the bakers press on with their decorative adornments.

They look lovely.

That's looking good ganache.

This is some candied orange peel.

And this'll be, like, soft, but, like, chewy and, like, candied

and nice and orangey.

The bubble wrap gives white chocolate that honeycomb appearance.

Tell me about what you get up to, you two? Do you still fight?

Do you still fight with each other?

You know what's funny, we've never fought as a sibling.

I just loved him. Ah. Is that the same with you?

Oh, I don't know. She's lying on camera right now! No!

♪ We are family... ♪

Woo!

♪ I got all my sisters with me. ♪

That's just to get your attention, because, bakers

and family, you've only got half an hour left.

I reckon get it straight in the fridge,

I really do.

That's not going to do it. It's not going to cut it.

I need to put this cheesecake in the freezer. OK.

Perfect, thanks my love.

Well done.

So here we go.

To make up for lost cooling time,

Nikki and Jen have a chilling trick up their sleeve.

I'm using ice just to like really shock the heat in

the tin cos the time is ticking away.

As Nikki and Jen attempt to beat the clock,

everyone else faces

an anxious wait for their cheesecakes to set.

This is the trick to the cheesecake. You need patience.

I'm still waiting for a ring.

Oh.

Shut the door, Gary, shut the door, Gary.

I have a feeling it's not going to set.

Have you ever seen people worry about cheesecake like this? No.

In which universe would you do that?

Bakers and fam, you've got 15 minutes left.

Oh, gosh.

Right. Let's take it out the fridge.

Yeah, super hot.

I knew it was going to set.

Look at that.

Be really gentle with it. Yeah.

My heart was going then. Wow.

Stay calm.

So we're happy? We're happy. I need to decorate it.

Ganache her up, baby.

I want it to dribble all the way round. Yeah, I know but I don't.

Oh, my gosh, it looks beautiful. Have you helped at all?

Are you just watching? No, no, no, no.

She attempted to zest the lemon. She left half the lemon.

I got a stitch last time I was trying to zest a lemon.

The moment of truth.

Oh! No, no, no. Needs to be set a bit more.

Can you pull the paper? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

No, slowly, slowly, slowly. Hold on.

Bakers and family, you have one minute left.

Nice garnish.

Da-da-da!

The cherry, yeah, it's not as set as I'd like it. Oh, BLEEP!

That's me, I'm taller. That's you.

Swans are swimming away.

Yeah, hurry, hurry.

There you go, put the last one in.

I'm shaking.

Let's just hope it tastes better than it looks. Than it looks!

Oh, do not spill it.

Oh, my God.

Amazing. Oh, my God.

Bakers and family, your time is up.

Please step away from your cheesecakes.

Hmm. Well done baby. Mwah!

Woo! Well done, families.

Aww, it makes me want a hug.

Ah, well done, babe.

Thank you. Thank you.

Yeah, you did a good job.

Let's get married today.

It's judgment time for the baker's and families cheesecakes.

Hello, Tom. Hiya. Alex. Hi.

It's rather fabulously retro looking.

It has a little fat middle which I love on a baked cheesecake. Mm-hm.

Handsome profile.

Yes.

I wasn't talking about yours.

I love the tartness of the raspberries,

it really makes it zing.

Overall, it's impressive.

Love the bake on it. I like the textures.

I love this. Well done. Thank you. Thank you.

Well done, guys. Thanks, hon.

Woo!

I like those dancing shards of coconut.

Theatrical. Yeah.

A coconut cheesecake with

a whipped dark chocolate ganache and lime curd.

The chocolate and coconut really work well,

but I don't think you need the curd.

But overall it's not bad. Well done. Yeah, OK.

Bin the curd.

Let's get you a glass of rum.

We made a German style cheesecake by using Quark cheese.

We've done a fig jam.

Love the filling. It's very delicate.

Yes, the cheesecake part is really lovely.

You get the tang.

I don't know that I like all the little pips of the fig.

But overall I think you've done a great job.

Design-wise, excellent.

It's pretty. It has an old-fashioned look which I like.

It's got your classic cream cheese filling

but with some freeze-dried raspberry powder.

You do get that zing but I don't particularly like

freeze-dried raspberries. Sure. OK.

The difficulty is you're not getting a contrast between

the cheesecake and the fruit. OK.

Amazing. Beautiful.

I mean, it's handy that they are swans

because there's so much liquid there.

Probably a little bit too much.

It's very delicate.

I think I could do with a bit more tang.

I think the setting, I think the base,

I think the bake all big tick and the swans are incredible.

Ah, thank you.

I want swans on everything I eat from now on.

I'm going to see if I can copy it.

This is our honky-tonk cheesecake.

It's bourbon. On the top peach jam.

Wow. It's a swimming pool, isn't it?

Hmm, yeah.

The bourbon flavour level is spot-on.

I think it does work well with the peach.

But you should've just drizzled it on.

Always, always remember the decoration is to enhance.

A drizzle instead of a flood.

It's a cardamom Basque cheesecake.

On top is a strawberry compote and some pistachio paste.

It's very busy with the flavours.

OK. Just pick two and one highlights another, or the other one highlights

the other. You know you want three.

You know you do.

I think you do have to have confidence in your flavours

cos it's got the beginnings of a really excellent cheesecake.

I like the fanning of the pears,

I think you've done a good job there, Myke. Thank you.

But overall I quite like the appearance to be honest. Thank you.

The floral quality of the pears really does go well.

But I think it might have been better not adding more liquid.

Yeah, yes. Because of that addition,

it affected the overall texture. Yeah.

It looks splendid. Thank you.

I think it does look very good. Thank you.

I know you like ginger so wanted to put a little bit extra on.

Wow. Oh. Your chocolate ganache is very intense.

Yeah. Dare I say it, might even put a bit too much salt.

I can't even taste the Baileys. Really?

Yeah, I just don't like it at all.

Don't look so despondent.

Use it to go forward and not do it again.

I have made a cherry didn't-bake-very-well.

Right, OK. Yeah, it doesn't look

the best cheesecake I've ever seen.

I'm going to dive in before it oozes off the plate.

Ah, yeah. Yeah, here we go.

How much almond essence did you put in there?

It was four teaspoons, yeah, that went. Four teaspoons? Yeah.

All you get is that and the cherries are lost in it. Yeah.

Actually starts burning the roof of your mouth. Right. Hmm. Yeah.

Yeah. Overkill.

So this is a vanilla and orange Basque cheesecake.

That looks absolutely luscious.

I love the colour. Thank you.

Going all the way through in the design.

Yeah, I can't wait to try this.

It's beautiful. Thank you.

I love the texture.

And I absolutely adore that fierce spiral of orange curd.

Really is zingier than zingy.

Thank you.

Ah, well done.

That's one of the best things I've eaten for some time.

The balance of flavours, the bake, the look. It's flawless.

It's good. Really beautiful. Thank you.

Oh, my God.

Well done, well done.

I don't think that could've gone any better, no. And you got

the handshake, you know. We got the handshake. You can't ask for more.

Next time, I'm going to put one teaspoon instead of four teaspoons

of almond extract.

Still looked good. Yeah. It set well. It looked banging.

It was just those flavours just little bit too much.

I'll pull it together for the technical.

I'm sure we're going to look back

and we're going to be like this was the best day of our lives.

For the Audience Choice Week Technical...

No. Come on.

Why is there a cupboard?

...the bakers face a challenge with a different gingham guise.

It's weird that they've put

your family members in those little wardrobes.

Bakers, it is time for your Technical Challenge,

and, as you know, this has been set by the audience.

As always this is judged blind

so, Nigella, Paul, you may now leave the tent.

The audience wanted you to moonwalk out of here.

Well, they can't have everything.

For your technical, the public would like

to see what you'd do when you come face-to-face with

a mystery box of ingredients.

Now in front of you have a gingham wardrobe

and a fridge displaying an array of baking staples.

You have two hours to make a bake of your choosing.

You've got five minutes to open your boxes, plan your recipe.

That five minutes starts now.

Oh, no.

Oh, gosh.

In a Technical first,

the bakers can make anything they like...

At least I can choose what it is.

...but have no recipe and only a limited pantry of ingredients...

Do you know what? I'm going

with everything. I'm taking everything out.

...in the ultimate test of their baking knowledge and intuition.

I'm going to try and recall all my recipes that I know.

I can do a cake.

I might as well play to my strengths and just try

and pull it out and do a good job.

So, Paul, bit of Bake Off history today.

First time the judges haven't set the challenge.

It's like a breath of fresh air.

The whole idea is Mystery Box.

The bakers have a box of ingredients

which most people would have at home.

They have flour, they have rising agents,

they have eggs. Pick what they're going to use

and bake something that looks as good as these two.

Simple ingredients can go any number of ways.

And so, what it's calling upon is the baker

to think, "What can I do with eggs?" say.

Yeah, it's the people who are creative

I think will do well with this.

It neither should be

so ambitious that it can't be done in the time

or so simple that there's nowhere to hide.

And so, under these conditions,

I have gone for lemon sponge cake with a meringue topping

because I love an opportunity to wield a blowtorch.

So, I've done that.

That looks like a Nigella Lawson cake.

Now you've gone a slightly different way.

I've always liked Normandy apple tart. Yeah.

I think it's a beautiful thing to eat,

and it's something I think is very attainable in the two hours.

There you go. Hmm.

Hmm.

Oh, my God, this is so good.

In a way we've responded to the challenge

that I expect the bakers will.

How they can get the maximum out of really a minimum of ingredients?

Bakers, your planning time is over,

and your two hours will begin.

On your marks.

Get set.

Bake.

Two hours is not a lot of time to make a cake without a recipe.

I'm very nervous about this one.

Let's turn that frown. Down.

Into a smile. What are you doing?

I'm doing like a St Clements meringue.

Let's have a look at your recipe. Three eggs.

Yeah.

Juice, zest.

Yeah. Where's the method?

What method?

There's no method.

No, this is just madness.

I'm going to attempt a choux pastry Paris-Brest.

While some bakers are taking on more technical bakes

to impress the judges...

So, I'm making lemon meringue tartlets.

I'm thinking of trying to incorporate raspberries

and maybe some coulis.

...others are hoping familiar favourites will play to their strengths.

What the hell are you doing?

Well, I have decided on a lemon drizzle.

I've made loads... with a method and ingredient list.

Without that we're on a whim.

I'm going for a loaf. I'm going for a lemon drizzle loaf.

I'm going essentially with a lemon drizzle cake,

but I'm going to do a sandwich cake.

I'm going to do a lemon curd and raspberry puree.

What are you making?

So, I'm making a spring-summer citrus cake.

Do you prefer this is where you can choose your own recipe?

It would just be nice to try one with a recipe.

I'm just doing a basic sponge to do a chocolate orange cake.

So, I'm going for what I know, lemon and raspberry cake.

It's flavours I'm familiar with, which is the most important thing.

You got a handshake, right.

I did. I got a handshake.

In my head I always said if he was going to give me a handshake, I was

going to like reject it. You...

Ha-ha! But when it came down to it, you went, "Thanks."

Shake my hand. Shake my hand.

I'm going to put a little bit more lemon cos I don't want them to be

like, "I cannot taste it."

It's a lemon sponge with almond cream cheese.

While the sponge bakers fine-tune their familiar flavours...

After what happened with my mum in the signature,

I've got to be very cautious now cos my flavours are too strong.

...Yannis has chosen a bake unlike anyone else's.

I'm making an Esterhazy torte.

It's an almond sponge layered with creme patissiere.

Almost every Austrian or Hungarian cafe will have

an Esterhazy torte. It's a staple.

With their bakes ready for the oven...

I think it's perfect.

That looks like pastry.

...the bakers' improvised recipes now face the ultimate test.

It looks like a sponge. Looks how it does at home.

I'm going to give them 25 minutes in the oven

and then I'm going to have a look at 'em.

So, I think I'm going to start it at 180

and see how it goes cos I like my lemon drizzle

to have a bit of a crisp edge.

Let's do 20 minutes and see

what it looks like after that.

Big box, small box, mystery box. Big box.

Gingham box. We're halfway through, babes. Let 'em know.

Bakers, we are halfway through.

Hmm.

With their bakes in the oven...

I think we're good.

I actually feel like I've turned a corner now.

...the bakers can shift their focus to fillings and toppings.

I've just got to remember what goes in lemon curd.

Lemon, lemon zest, sugar and egg yolks.

However, curds aren't the only thing

that the bakers are making from memory.

I'm making a creme patissiere.

Are you trying to get that the same colour as your shirt?

Yeah.

I'm going to probably fold in some whipped cream,

some chocolate, so it's like a chocolate mousse-y kind of vibe.

We're on the cream cheese.

I put three teaspoons of ground almond just to give it

a little bit of texture.

I kind of guessed the measurements.

That's just who I am as a person.

TAPPING

What's that noise?

TAPPING

Bakers, you have half an hour left.

I'm just going to check my cake.

It's the moment of truth for the sponge bakers

and their mystery box creations.

It might be done but texture doesn't seem quite right.

No, it's collapsed.

It doesn't look too bad.

It looks quite good, doesn't it? Yeah.

Lovely.

So now I'm just going to poke loads of holes in it,

got a sugar syrup and drizzle

that on top. Lemon drizzle.

That looks like cooked pastry.

Now I'm just going to waft.

I think the cake had concertinaed, it had squished together.

Are you sure you never dropped it, be honest?

No, I promise. I didn't... I didn't drop it.

Gays working together.

How long we got?

Bakers, you've got 15 minutes left.

God, it's very tense in here, isn't it?

Oh. I think it's going to be a bit too basic.

I'm potentially thinking Swiss meringue buttercream,

and it might look really pretty.

I'm trying to make a raspberry puree and Swiss meringue buttercream.

I'm making Italian meringue.

I know it's like awkward and challenging

but they've asked for ambition so that's what I'm going to do.

It's just... I don't think I'm...

Hopefully I can make the Swiss meringue again.

I think I'm going to have to immediately... It smells like egg.

Oh, my God. It's split.

My Swiss meringue buttercream has not gone well.

I've given up with that now. I'm going to do like an icing drizzle.

Dammit, I'm annoyed at myself.

Because I wasn't whisking them still,

the eggs have started to cook. So,

I'm just going to have to pivot to American buttercream.

Honestly, there was a moment there.

Bakers, you've got five minutes left.

Oh, dear God.

Look at you. That's with no recipe.

That's memory. You're all over this.

You are like AI.

But that is a nice profile, isn't it?

Now to pipe.

I'll get it on then blowtorch it.

Come on.

You made sandwiches.

Exactly.

Don't they look like the crust off sandwiches. Yeah. Yeah.

My kids don't like the crusts.

No. Do they not? No. Do you eat the crusts?

No. I'm not an animal.

Are we making the same thing?

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Babe, I told you we're twins, separated at birth.

This is lemon curd just to give it that extra bit of spice.

Raspberry and lemon on the outside, it looks good.

How long we got guys?

Bakers, you have one minute left.

Come on.

This is so stressful.

Oh, well. It's done now.

I might just try and conceal the holes.

I'm not happy.

Keep pushing, Nikki. Keep pushing.

INDISTINCT

They going to say stop baking.

Bakers, your time is up.

It's done.

I look at that and I think wow, that looks great.

Thanks. I appreciate that.

Please bring your Mystery Box bakes up

and place them behind your photos.

Congratulations, bakers.

Well done, kids.

It's a weird looking technical, though, innit?

Paul and Nigella will now judge

the bakers' mystery box creations, and they've no idea whose is whose.

OK. Lemon and orange meringue tart.

I quite like the decoration on the top. Yes.

It's holding nicely. Yes, it is.

It is slightly overbaked but it tastes wonderful.

Hmm. When you eat it, it still has that melting buttery-ness.

I love the sharpness of the curd.

The meringue is set well.

I do get that blend in orange and lemon.

I think they've done a great job.

This is quite impressive, this naked cake,

considering there was no recipe.

It's incredible in two hours.

I know.

The flavour's good,

the cream cheese is delicious.

And overall I think it's a very attractive cake.

I just think the bake's slightly over on, on two of those sponges.

Each cake is actually quite small.

It's very easy for it to go a teeny bit over.

OK, moving on to this.

It's been overbaked for sure.

Hmm. I like it.

There's too much sugar in that cake which is probably

the reason why it's gone that dark.

I know you're right,

but I actually could eat a lot of it.

Moving on to this.

So it's a lemon sponge,

lemon curd and raspberry puree.

Wow, that's tough. I can feel it.

I think someone's had difficulty with the raising agent.

The flavour's not particularly good,

but it's definitely the sponge is the lack-er. Yeah.

It's too dense.

Moving on to this abstract work.

I think it's quite attractive.

I do, yes. I rather like that.

That's quite tough.

You're quite tough.

I am. I'm honest.

This bottom one is a bit compacted.

I think the flavours are good. I think just slightly overbaked.

And that's why it's just dry on the mouth. Yes.

Oh, another lemon meringue.

It's lovely looking.

I like the pipework.

Oh, I like a curd that makes your cheeks squeak.

It's difficult cos it is

a bit fluid but the flavour's really good.

Moving on to sandwiches.

They look perhaps a bit heartier than they need.

I know what they were trying to do. Yeah.

And it hasn't worked.

I think there's salt in there as well.

Yes, I like that bit.

I know. I thought you might.

When you eat it,

the heartiness is not serving the flavours. No.

Moving on to this lemon drizzle loaf cake.

I mean I like the top.

I'm getting citrus. I'm getting citrus.

But I'm not getting flavour, weirdly.

That lemon punch is not coming through.

And the texture of the cake is powdery. Yeah.

This looks great, very retro.

It's a little bit too dark. Yeah.

But I like the decoration.

The sponge isn't too bad to eat but it is overbaked.

I felt a bitterness which makes you feel that there's some zest with

a bit too much pith in it in the cake.

But there's a real attempt there.

Chocolate orange sponge.

The overall look of the cake looks quite nice.

It does.

It's not a bad sponge.

But is it chocolate orange?

Is it raspberry and chocolate?

They're all having a bit of a struggle together. Yeah.

OK. Moving on to the choux at the end.

Paris-Brest one of my absolute favourites. Mm, delicious.

I do like Paris-Brest.

Great flavour with the chocolate.

The choux's actually not that badly baked.

Profiterole are lovely. Yeah.

But the raspberry's made everything a bit wetter. Soggy, yeah.

And you don't need that flavour there.

But overall I think it's pretty decent.

I do applaud the ambition.

The judges will now rank the bakes from worst to first.

Right, in 11th place is this one. Shannon.

It's just fallen a bit flat.

When you have a lemon drizzle cake,

got to be really hit by lemony-ness.

In 10th spot, we have this one.

Molly, it was very difficult to get some flavour from it.

Yannis is ninth, Gary is in eighth, Tom seventh,

Connie in sixth, Moyin is fifth,

Nikki is fourth, and in third is Clara.

In second spot we have this one. Whose is this?

Mo, nice choux.

Great taste of chocolate as well. Well done.

And in first...

Well done.

Lots of pizzazz,

lot of zing and really beautifully balanced.

Thank you.

I really feel like I pulled that out of like

the recesses of my head.

For it to go so well, it just feels unreal.

That was not my kind of challenge,

so I'm not surprised it didn't go very well.

I'll just have to try my best tomorrow.

Not a fan of audience choice week at all. Sorry, audience.

Showstopper time.

So how does it feel not being in control of the challenges?

Oh, rather relaxing. Great.

No, I bet it's eating you up inside, isn't it?

Come on, be honest.

Look at him, look. He's like...

It's fascinating actually with their relatives.

Were they a hinderance? Possibly.

Um, but Moyin - that cheesecake was perfect.

Unbelievable. It was just lovely.

I did give him a handshake which was. That was the first one.

The first one, yeah.

When you move into the Technical Challenge... It was a hard task.

But to have three or so recipes that they really know... Yeah.

...it's actually a very important part of baking. Yeah.

I certainly think Clara, Gabe,

Mo did well.

When you're looking at the people that could go home - Molly

and Shannon are standing out at the moment. Yeah.

Which is crazy, isn't it? Cos they had good weeks last week. Hmm.

You can't just have a flash of genius once or twice,

it's about consistency.

And this is a tricky showstopper today.

It's something a little bit different.

And I'm looking forward to it.

All I know is the audience are

definitely keeping them on their toes.

They really are. Alison Hammond, everyone.

Thank you.

Hello, bakers, welcome back to the tent.

It's time for your Showstopper Challenge.

This has been sent by our lovely viewers

who, I've got to say, they have made us proud.

They would love you to get creative with couture

and come up with a powerful inventive bake

that you can actually wear.

So maybe some tiramisu trousers.

Jaffa Cake jerkin.

Or maybe a choux pastry that you can actually put on your feet.

Choux shoes, I love it. Exactly.

So basically we're having a fashion show.

And Alison is available for modelling.

Especially the underwear.

I'm happy to wear a nougat knicker.

Actually let's leave that bit.

You have four hours and 30 minutes.

On your marks. Get set.

Bake.

This is such a cool challenge.

When are you ever going to make something edible to wear?

This is iconic.

Yeah, into fashion in a big way.

At home I literally wear the same like three outfits.

The bakers have to make a wearable bake.

Now, if I were faced

with this challenge I would be filled with abject terror.

It's hard to make an edible cake filled hat cos... Right.

...your brain is where the cake sits.

OK. So... What a sentence!

I know, right.

We want creativity and we want flavour.

We want the bakers

to utilise any baking format they wish,

but the bake has got to be spot-on.

I'm making a pistachio and raspberry cake hat.

I want to continue like the good day I had yesterday. Stay on top.

I think the gingerbread is probably one of the stronger biscuits.

I'd be heartbroken to see their bakes collapse.

But they have to measure that against flavour,

taste, texture. So, it's a very hard challenge.

The audience has been very demanding.

I'm not going to dwell on yesterday. Just going to focus on today.

I'm not ready to go.

So, I've got to do this, I've got to do really well.

It's going to be interesting to get a bit of fashion in the tent.

I mean look at me, highly fashionable.

Morning Clara. Clara. Hi, guys.

Morning. What's your wearable bake?

I'm making a designer bag.

It's going to be brown... Yes. ...and pink. Ah.

So this is right up your street today. Yeah.

Yeah, this is so exciting, I love this challenge.

Oh, good. Well, you're very artistic. That's your strength.

Clara's accessorising her wardrobe with a designer bag

and hopes to pack a punch

with her favourite pina colada flavours.

When you've practised this,

structurally has it been sound and held?

I actually went for a walk with my dog

and the bag just to make sure it worked.

And it did.

I've basically built this structure.

Good. So basically just building layers. The rest is edible.

Well, I love the flavours, one of my favourite. Yeah.

Oh, I didn't know that.

I'm sure. I knew that.

You put the biscuit in it like that.

Clara's not the only baker

with a DIY solution to hold up her bake.

Is the hotel aware that you've used all their coat hangers?

Well, I felt so sorry for

the next door neighbour

cos it was pinging here, there and everywhere.

I am making some little fairy wings

and it's going to be a nice gingerbread base.

I'm decorating it

with royal icing and blackberry puree as well.

So basically, you're making a biscuit with decoration on the top.

Yeah.

Shannon's designing her real-life fairy tale

through gingerbread wings

and a sprinkling of blackberry puree and colourful royal icing.

Then Paul said, "So it's just biscuit decorated."

My heart did go a little bit

but I'm not worried. Not worried at all.

I'm just going to freehand, like, go crazy,

and just start cutting out feathers.

Like Shannon, Mo has opted for wings,

but for a different purpose entirely.

I'm doing a Victoria Secrets inspired angel wings.

My goal is just to get as much feathers cut out.

I'm doing different sizes

and it's going to be like feathered out.

Mo's glamorous angel wings will feature an almond sponge,

cherry compote and an abundance

of delicate wafer-paper feathers fit for the runway.

For my practice, the decorations alone took like two, three days.

But I love taking risks.

I'm going to roll out

the gingerbread to make the structure of the hat.

With no constraints on what to make their wearable bakes with...

Yeah, I want to get the cakes done, in, cooled.

The batter - that looks perfect.

...the bakers are choosing either cake, biscuit or pastry bases.

It's made with a tart base and it will be stacked with choux.

But whichever they choose,

it must look the part

and be made with impeccably good taste.

This has been soaking for about a year.

I always have fruit in my house soaking for Christmas.

Morning. Are there any bananas in this recipe?

Let me guess, banana bread?

Not bread. Cake.

So, I'm taking inspiration from Dolly Parton.

We all should.

Exactly. And I'm doing a wig topper.

Oh. Fabulous. Well, you're a hairstylist, aren't you?

Exactly. But it's just going to be like the top part.

If you wanted the bottom part, then you have

to pay extra cos they're extensions.

Inspired by his nine to five,

Tom's Dolly Parton wig topper will serve a banana sponge

and a caramel rum banana jam.

I love your take on

a wearable bake. It's just... It's very you.

Thank you.

Another baker playing to his vocational strengths is Gary.

I'm actually a knitwear technologist.

I've run knitwear factories most of my life.

And my showstopper is a knitted hat.

Weaving in his knitwear expertise,

Gary's bobble hat will feature

a warming mix of chocolate and orange.

Do you know what Paul said this morning? He said, "I like Gary."

Yeah. "Reminds me of me."

Oh, no!

He reminds me of me.

So he knows... He's really good. He really reminds me of me. Yeah.

If it was Paul's show, there'd be, like, 12 Garys,

and he'd just have a nightmare trying to choose between them all.

I've got my tape measure, I've got my pattern drafter.

And it's not just Tom and Gary making use

of their professions, as Gabe designs costumes for a living.

Usually I'm sewing with beautiful costume fabrics

and not biscuit.

If I don't get this right, this will end my career as a costumer.

I'll never work again.

Gabe's betting his career on a biscuit

and choux crown featuring his mum's favourite Turkish Delight flavours.

It's ambitious. It is. Yeah.

Did you practise this?

So the biscuits flopped every time.

No.

Snap or bend?

Uh... Both.

This cannot happen today.

Yeah, yeah. All right.

Bend. Snap.

In we go.

I really need to make sure I don't underbake or overbake.

A good amount of time, bit of browning round the edges.

If anything, I'm just going to slightly overbake it.

Moyin, good morning. Good morning.

I am making a pistachio and raspberry cake hat.

A hat. Yes.

What shape hat?

So, a hat. So you can put it on your head.

OK, trilby, sombrero?

Kind of like a top hat. Similar. Similar-ish.

Moyin's bespoke chiffon hat cake will be layered

with pistachio cream

and raspberry jam, all perched atop a biscuit rim.

I think you did really well yesterday.

So you've got a lot to live up to today.

But I try not to think about it too much going into the next day.

You're an athlete, aren't you? I am.

So I suppose you have to adopt that way of thinking.

Yeah, it's like you're only as good

as your last... Your last race. Yeah. Exactly.

Just filling up the cake tins.

But for Molly, it's a different type of race.

I'm a big Formula 1 fan so I'm hoping to recreate,

one of my favourite caps.

Hoping to escape the back of the grid,

Molly's celebrating her love of Formula 1 through

an Earl Grey flavoured cake based on a cap that caught her eye.

One of my favourite drivers Daniel Ricciardo.

Oh, Daniel, yeah. It was, yeah, Japanese Grand Prix.

I had it at home and I'm recreating it.

Really looking forward to this one. Yeah. Thank you, thank you.

Homage to Daniel. Yes, exactly. Yeah. Hope he likes it.

And Molly isn't alone in doffing her cap to someone special.

And the door shuts. Woohoo.

This is a hat which is based on

the hat that my mum wore at my wedding.

It's a nod to all mothers really.

Connie's remembering her mum through

a Caribbean rum carrot cake fit for a mother of the bride.

My mum, one of the most special people in my life.

This is for you, Mum.

With their bases in the oven,

many of the bakers are moving on to their second baked element.

This is going to be like the top hat bit, where the cake sits on.

The gingerbread, it's coming out. Move on to the choux.

Keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going. Rock, rock, rock.

I feel like I've got a bit of time, to be fair.

But Shannon only has one bake to worry about.

I'm like, "Do I make another one just in case it crumbles?"

Yeah, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do another one just in case.

I'm confident with it now.

If I was worried, I wouldn't be making another one.

Bakers, be upstanding for Naomi Hammond.

Wooo!

Yes!

Work it, work it, work it.

Bakers, you are halfway through.

Oh, God.

Go, work it, girl.

Ah, dear.

Right, let's put that in. In there. Goodbye.

With all their baked elements now in play...

These choux better do me well.

...the bakers can move on to their flavoursome accessories.

This is the Earl Grey buttercream.

There's a bit of orange in there to give it a bit of zing.

So, this is coconut liqueur,

to obviously have that pina colada effect.

I'm doing a blackberry puree.

Because it's only tiny little drops, it's going to need to pack a punch.

White rum. Ooh, I can smell that.

For Nikki's wearable bake,

she's celebrating her favourite destination.

Mexico means a lot to me.

Went on loads of holidays there,

love it. Bring out the maracas.

Ole!

Going loco down in Acapulco,

Nikki is making a sombrero doubling up with

a lime gingerbread

and choux buns with a mojito filling.

Love a mojito.

I love a mojito.

And I love a marg. I like eight spicy margs.

Eight spicy margs later, what kind of Noel do you get?

Mango, cardamom, saffron.

Also inspired by a favourite drink is Yannis.

The flavours will be of a mango lassi.

It's a, a very, very famous celebratory drink.

Because I'm making

a Hindu Bengali wedding crown the groom wear.

Yannis is celebrating his Bengali heritage through

a crown made from a sable pastry base

and choux buns filled with saffron and cardamom diplomat.

The flavours sound amazing. Structurally it has to be sound.

I'm trying to make sure that things are not heavy.

And culturally it has to be sound as well.

I mean you've got to do a lot of people proud today.

Yeah, there are millions and millions.

It's not just Bangladesh, it's West Bengal as well.

Exactly. It's not a joke. No.

The cakes are coming out.

So happy with the bake.

Ah, I think that's overbaked.

INDISTINCT

They are done but they look

and feel how the sponges looked and felt yesterday.

I overbaked this cake.

I might have to risk making a new batch.

I can't risk serving up the type of sponge I did yesterday.

It snapped.

I do have a second one.

But I baked it slightly less.

Oh, what do I do?

Oh, God!

Oh, what do I do?

Right.

Going to go with this one I think.

So glad I did two.

It doesn't look that bad, to be honest.

It might not be that overbaked so they might not notice.

I think it's good, I'll just have to take the risk.

While Clara and Molly decide to go with their first attempt...

Leave me alone!

...the other bakers' remaining elements now need to cool.

It's nerve-racking to do that in front of Paul.

Is that craquelin?

The top is craquelin, yeah.

Woo! See. The inside is choux.

Ten years in this tent, I know some stuff.

Has it been ten years?

Yeah. Wow!

I'm just piercing this, ready for piping and it'll be

go, go, go, go, go.

Bakers, it is I, kettle head.

You have one hour left.

Don't disappoint me or I will expose myself.

Who wants tea?

Right, we've got to push, push, push.

It's now all about putting it together

and making it wearable. It's probably the tricky part.

This is when it doesn't fit in the shape.

Biscuit crown. We're going to unsheathe it.

It is coming.

Need to take this out.

Yes.

I've got a crack in my sombrero.

Oh, no, that's a big old crack.

This is just a base to do Dolly's hair with.

Looks like brains, doesn't it?

It does look like brains.

Do you think yours is bigger than that?

Uh, probably not, no.

Mine's like a single... a single crispy.

I think I can fix it with glue.

Caramel glue.

What I'm starting to do now is build the bobble hat.

This is a four-to-one ganache chocolate

which will set really hard as a shell.

I need to do this fast.

You've got time. Yeah. We can speak Portuguese.

Como anos tienes donde vivo?

That's Spanish.

Oh.

This is where it gets really messy. Sticky Nikki.

I need the cake to go in there.

I've made a structure out of wood,

with compartments for cake.

Clara, can I borrow you for a second? Of course.

Can you just strap it round the arms?

Go as tight as you can.

I don't know if it's going to work on this.

It is going to work.

I know, I don't... It's falling.

Bakers, you've got half an hour left.

That's all we got left, this is critical now.

Seriously, guys,

half an hour to go till your big moment.

Hopefully it stays in place.

I'm just going to start attaching a bunch of feathers.

Royal icing, just hide everything.

Just hope this is going to be kind to me.

The rest of it should be quite robust, I think.

Oh.

So, the choux will stack to form the crown.

Oh, my shaky hands, here we go, here we go.

I'm trying to get my colour to do Dolly's hair with.

Last week, mine weren't even finished.

I think I'm going to finish today.

Traditional wedding colouring, purples,

some whites, roll it together.

You've got your marble.

I like how black that is.

I did think you'd like how black it is. It's so black.

I will be putting a bit of pink on it, so hopefully you and Alison

will both like it. A bit of pink. Yeah, exactly, that's me

and Alison, innit? Exactly. Yeah.

This is a knitted texture, press it onto the fondant.

This is a crocodile skin effect on the bag.

Come on, don't tear on me, please.

Come on, baby, you can do it.

Yes.

There's some bits that I just feel like they're really drooping down.

I don't really know what to do.

This is looking better.

Oh, gosh. Are you going to put more stuff on that?

Yeah, I'm going to do like a 3D design to make it, like,

that's the base of the hat. Then I put that on top of this.

Oh, it's a hat. Yeah.

Get these strands on and then pipe this to death.

I'm going to make this really nice and glossy.

Yes, Mo.

Ah!

Work it!

Bakers, just five minutes left.

You've got to get those bakes on those mannequins.

Forgot to breathe then.

The moment of truth.

Please, God.

It should stay on.

God, I hope it does.

I'm really nervous about the knots.

I don't think the hat brim's going to stay on.

Fuming.

Oh, no. It's not holding, is it?

Oh, my God, the pressure. The stress.

Oh. BLEEP!

I think you've done it. Done it.

That's it.

She's done it. She's done it.

Don't scream. Well done.

Glad I went for the less risky approach.

How long do we have?

Bakers, you have one minute left.

Right let, let's finish it off.

Oh, come on.

Just using every second I have.

Do you know what? It's on.

No-one's going to know.

How would they know?

Can't have a collarless Dolly?

I think that's as good as it's going to get.

Oh, oh.

Bakers, your time is up.

Ole!

Please step away from your wearable bakes.

Come on. Come on.

Well done.

Come on, guys. Woohoo!

It's going to fall. Step away.

I'm not sure I'm happy.

I've just got to pray

to the Bake Off gods that that is enough.

I did it. I love you.

Nigella and Paul will now judge the wearable bakes.

Connie would you like to bring up your showstopper, please?

I want it at an angle, please.

Oh, that looks so amazing!

It's called mother of the bride.

My mum was there for my big day

and that's kind of the hat that she wore.

That mother is quite something.

I love that.

You'd hear her click-clacking in the heels,

the woman who wears that hat.

Divine. Divine!

I think it's superb.

It is a rum, fruit, carrot cake.

Ah.

Oh, my God!

That is my kind of cake.

The flavours and the spices in there, it's gorgeous.

It is that sort of Caribbean vibe.

I mean, with the colour and the design and that cake,

it's a special cake. It's delicious. Well done.

Thank you so much.

She looks rather fabulous.

The detail in it is fantastic.

It fits well and it sits on the head properly.

Sorry, Dolly.

It's a banana cake with a banana, caramel,

rum, jam and a creme pat whipped cream.

Oh, my God! It's like intoxication by banana.

I quite enjoy the banana.

I do like the blend of flavours.

Everything together with the white chocolate it works.

Design-wise, I think it's great.

Well, I keep going back in to eat more so I think that's

a bit more eloquent than any words.

Overall, Tom, I think you've done a great job.

Thank you.

It's a work of art, isn't it?

It is, it's quite impressive.

That paper's really worked, hasn't it?

It's highly effective.

You've decorated it really well.

Clever the way you've designed the structure to allow for tiers.

It's a almond sponge cake with a cherry compote.

Mo, that's delicious.

It is so light and you're carrying

a beautiful flavour of almond in there as well.

And with the cherry together, it's a great combination.

I could've done - maybe I'm just greedier than Paul -

with more cherry so there was a bit of sharpness

but in terms of execution, it's lovely.

Thank you.

My issue is it just looks like a cake.

Mm-hm. I absolutely agree.

However it is the most beautiful cake.

Thank you. That wasn't the brief.

But let's have a look, shall we?

Agh!

Yeah, well, it needs to sit slightly lower on the head -

it wouldn't have wobbled as much.

That cake's delicious.

Thank you. It's a great cake.

It's really sensational. Thank you.

However, for me, I didn't think you met the brief.

I think it needed to look more like a hat than a cake. But well done.

Thank you.

It really does look like it's been knitted.

It's amazing.

I'd like to have seen it sitting on the head a bit more.

Oh.

Ah, OK.

It's got four sponges, different shade of orange,

there's orange ganache.

The sponges are delicious.

I think the chocolate tastes lovely with the orange.

I don't know if it's quite the right texture I need with

the ganaches inside. Inside, yeah.

You need to make that a little bit lighter.

It's about texture and contrast.

It's untidy.

But it kind of works.

If that's your idea of messy... It's really elegant.

That's all I'd say.

I love it. It's just fabulous.

The flavours are pistachio, rose and a bit of chocolate.

Rose is such a difficult flavour to do

because you want to feel the air is perfumed as you eat,

and it is really like that, and I love that.

The choux however is a little bit dense.

Your biscuit, it's been overworked quite dramatically.

Yeah. Watch your textures.

Yeah.

I'm impressed cos the overall design is fantastic.

You know exactly what it is.

It has your signature ebullience.

But...

What's it taste like?

Ooh!

It's a gingerbread and lime sombrero

and mojito choux buns

with craquelin on top.

The overall flavour of that biscuit is delicious.

Thank you, Paul.

The choux's delicate as well.

I want to mix the two.

Do you mind if I use the biscuit

to scoop out a bit of the filling? Knock yourself out.

See that's lovely. It's just joyful. Ah.

But then, that's you.

It's a Bengali groom's wedding crown.

I'd love to wear that. Altogether it's fabulous.

I like the symmetry. It works.

The flavour for this is of a mango lassi.

I love the flavour. The mango works really well.

It's a very soft filling. So for me, this is perfect.

It's a bit hard actually that pastry.

Maybe I'd like to see something a little bit bigger.

Is that four and a half hour's work? I don't know.

It's baked for a short king so...

So, this is inspired by one

of my favourite Formula 1 drivers.

In a way, those look like sequins those little dots.

I like the little etching work in there.

Thank you. It is clever.

The orange is definitely coming through.

I like that citrus kick

but the Earl Grey is so subtle

that you're sort of hunting for it. The sponge is dense.

OK. It's heavy. Yeah.

I thought the flavours were lovely.

If it had been say a lighter cake,

that would've offered relief.

I think the design is great. Enchanting.

The colour is very good,

the piping work is good.

But I expected more to it.

It's like one wall of biscuit that's been decorated.

Right.

Love the biscuit. I think it's slightly overbaked.

I like that you've taken the biscuit that far.

The royal icing does slap you

with sweetness. It works as a pairing.

I didn't hit any jam.

Oh, it's just dotted in there. Yes.

If you see a little... Can you see, there's a bit there?

You need a lot to sort of make that count really.

It is basic in its approach,

but it has worked as a design. So well done.

Catwalk with me, guys.

Work it, girl.

You didn't need to bring that.

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

This is my pina couture handbag.

It looks so gorgeous.

It looks lovely with its sort of crocodile markings.

And obviously it works, you can carry it. It's heavy.

Very. Women's handbags tend to be very heavy.

Oh, right.

It's a pina colada cake.

We've got coconut and a pineapple sponge.

What you've produced is absolutely delicious.

With that pineapple together with the coconut,

and the bake on that sponge is fantastic,

because it's moist, it's buttery.

To have a cake that looks kind of dense

and compact like a small handbag, and then once you go in,

it's so light, it's so wonderful.

That is some achievement.

Exceptional. Well done. Thank you.

I'm really happy.

I was worried, and I actually baked it quite well.

I think I'm safe.

I'm just going to be quite sad to see someone go.

I don't really want to think about who's going home.

I know someone's got to leave, I just hope it's not me.

I just seem to have lost my knack

for sponges, unfortunately.

I think I'm probably going home.

It just shows we can rely on

the audience to give us a fantastic week.

I think it's amazing, particularly with

the Showstopper. I really thought this is impossible. Yeah.

But the bakers did brilliantly.

Who is in line for Star Baker?

After the showstopper, I would say Connie and Clara.

Both really created spectacular tasting cakes.

Moyin - the critical thing in this is a wearable bake. Yeah.

It didn't look like something you'd wear.

It did look more like a cake than a hat.

Which is a shame because he was

definitely in the running for Star Baker.

He was, and I mean I think he's slipped down because of that. Oh.

Who's potentially in the bottom?

Before we came in, it was Molly and Shannon. I think it still is.

Shannon. For four and a half hours,

a biscuit with royal icing.

Charming though it was, you've got to do something that's

a bit of a Showstopper for the Showstopper.

I was happy overall with Molly's look of the baseball cap. Mm.

But the textures weren't right which was a real shame.

I suppose the standard is high so you have

to send people home who are talented. Yeah.

Well, that's what Nigella and I are going to have a chat about. Yeah.

OK, would you like me and Noel to be involved at all?

No.

Well done, bakers.

Audience Choice Week was absolutely wild.

You did amazingly.

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

And the Star Baker is...

...Clara.

Woo!

Well done, Clara.

Unfortunately, I have the awful job

who is going to be leaving.

The baker leaving the Bake Off tent is...

...Shannon. Oh.

Oh.

Oh, Shannon.

It's horrible.

It's hard to put into words, like, what this has meant to me.

I've become myself, if anything.

I've let go of any persona of who I wish I was, or whatever.

I've really just been me. So life-changing.

That is the word.

Life-changing.

I don't want to say bye to any one

but...

Oh! Yeah.

My darling!

Bye-bye, Nigella.

I can't get used to it -

the fact that someone has to go home.

But someone has to go home.

Can I have a handshake to say bye? Absolutely, yeah.

Wooo!

PAUL LAUGHS

Shannon is such a lovely lady but, unfortunately,

she was bottom in the Technical, struggled in the signature,

and in the Showstopper didn't quite do enough.

So, overall, I thin it's not been her best week.

Shannon! Shannon! Shannon! Shannon! Shannon! Shannon!

Well, I'm just giving you a quick call

to let you know I got Star Baker.

BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP!

You cannot say that on TV!

Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

I've just realised what's happening.

Oh, my God, I'm so sorry!

Next time...

Don't let him psych you out. He's the expert.

...it's Bread Week.

Bread is super boring.

You've destroyed Paul!

But who can reinvent the classic garlic bread?

I'm using 12 bulbs of garlic.

Who'll be congratulated for their celebratory Showstopper?

The flavours are so beguiling.

And will anyone survive...

I think they need to be flatter, maybe?

...Paul's technical challenge?

What we're looking for,

it's not this.

Are you a Star Baker in the making?

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