Original subtitles

This shed is full of Bake Off history. I mean, these plates, they've been on the

wall for at least five seasons.

Yeah, nobody knows who put them there or why.

Maybe before the table was invented.

Yeah, yeah.

So you could eat off the wall.

Fascinating.

And this, this is believed to be the ancient ancestor of the modern bagel.

Wow. Before it evolved its useful hole.

Wow.

This... This is incredible.

This mysterious artefact shows the strange ape creature that is rumoured to

stalk the shed.

Ooh, I... OK.

Very ape-like.

Poorly groomed. Primitive, really.

OK, we get it.

It's History Week.

Last time... It's Great Outdoor Week! ..nature called and the bakers

answered... You can tell I've never done this before.

..in an outdoor extravaganza.

What a spread. This is beautiful.

Nagin packed the best picnic.

That filling was absolutely delicious and the star baker title.

I'm very surprised, but I'm very happy. While Anita left the bake-off campground

for good. That's all good.

I'm going out with a bag and I'm going out with my head held high.

Here we go.

This time. This is the semi-final. Our four remaining bakers are whisked back

in time.

It's history week. They'll test a 300-year-old recipe in the signature.

My tort will light the way.

Face the sugary unknown in the technical. We have a little surprise in

store for you. Are you serious?

And create a showstopper for the history books.

Ouch. We like big bunts and we cannot lie.

To claim a spot in the finale.

Congratulations to our three finalists.

It's history week. Oh, my God.

Semi-finals. Who would have thought?

That's right.

How lucky.

It's the semi-finals. I made it to the top four. I cannot believe it. I'm still

here. We have just a few opportunities left to impress the judges and to make

it to that finale.

Ready to make some history?

I know. Good luck. All the best.

History knowledge might not be my repertoire, but I've got a history of

baking, so I'm hoping I can draw on that in the shed and smash out something

amazing. Are you ready?

Let's do it. I'm ready.

Bakers, give yourselves a huge cheer and pat on the back for making it to the

semi-final.

If you make it through this week, you will be in the running to win the title

of Australia's Best Amateur Baker.

and the chance to win the ultimate baker's kitchen from Smeg.

Also, it's History Week, where you'll be creating bakes from the past.

I love ancient history. The early 2000s, the 90s, I can't get enough.

For your signature bake, the judges would like you to make a Linzer Torte.

The oldest recipe for the Linzer Torte dates back over 300 years, roughly the

same time a lot of Darren's jokes date back to.

Traditionally, a Linzer torta is made up of a jam filling with a pastry base and

lattice top.

Your torta can have any filling you like, but it must have a highly

decorated pastry top.

Bakers, you have two hours and 15 minutes on your marks. Get set.

Bake!

I'm definitely not an expert when it comes to Linzer torts. This is a bit new

for me. I've made a few pastries in my time but the Bake Off shed is really

pushing me to elevate and explore all sorts of different types of pastry.

Four bakers left.

Every bake counts at this point.

It'll be absolutely awesome to make it into the grand finale next week.

Hopefully I can do it.

History Week reminds us that old recipes are not outdated, they're a blueprint.

and a blueprint for innovation.

Once you know the fundamentals, then you can take those skills on and create

something we've never seen before.

The pastry for the tour today is a nutty pastry, so I'm using a mix of hazelnuts

and almonds.

It's very crumbly, it's really hard to handle, but we'll see how we go with it.

My baking hero was my Austrian grandma, my Oma, and her Linzer Torte was

perfectly filled. She always had a tart...

bright raspberry jam, really nutty, buttery pastry.

So I'll be expecting nothing less from the bakers.

The pastry today is super soft.

It's important that it's cooked well enough so it can get out of the tin and

hold the jam where it's meant to be. But obviously you don't want it burnt

either.

I am adding some colour using powder food colouring to retain the consistency

of my dough. I don't want it to make it any wetter.

Hello. Hi. Hi Pam, what are you making?

So I'm going floral. I will have a lattice and then I'm going to have

handmade flowers.

So that's why you've got some green pastry there? Correct, this is for my

leaves.

Pamela's almond and hazelnut pastry will be coloured, then shaped into leaves and

flowers. Her Linzer tort will have a berry special filling in the form of

lingonberry jam.

Instead of using raspberries, which are traditional, I went with lingonberries.

Beautiful berry, but they're a little bit tart.

And it tastes amazing.

My key ingredient today, the blueberries, are in dedication to my

dog, Hennessy. Blueberries are his favourite treat, so this is my little

celebration to him.

Brandon's hoping his tart with blueberry jam filling will be best in show.

He's using two types of pastry, including a short crust, to make the bow

his dog Henny always wears.

I've been practicing some tricks. Do you want to see some? Yeah, absolutely.

Okay, sit.

That's it. Thank you. Good job. Thank you.

Spin.

Great job.

Thank you.

I've got to leave you, otherwise I'll just stay here the whole time.

I've peeled my peaches but I put some of the skin back in. It adds a little bit

of pectin and also enhances the peach flavour because the skin has a strong

peach flavour as well.

Nagin's hoping her peach, chamomile and honey flavoured jam will cause a buzz.

Her almond and hazelnut pastry with a sting of cardamom will be honeycomb

shaped and topped with a pastry bee.

Is there a danger your filling is going to be the same color as your pastry and

you not get that linser effect, you know, when it's popping out? If it bakes

right, I think there'll be a contrast between them.

The jam's beautifully cooked. I've just given it a little test.

As I've picked it up and drawn a little line, it's not dripping down, therefore

that's the consistency I'm after.

How is this jam progressing?

It's getting there. It needs three more degrees.

Okay, wow. You sound like my parents. Yeah.

Every nurse knows the story of Florence Nightingale. She had a lamp that she

used to help guide wounded soldiers through the darkness.

So I wanted to honour that history today of care and compassion and finding the

light in dark places.

Matt's hazelnut pastry candle decorations will shine a light on the

blueberry and blackberry filling for a bake that is sure to deliver a sweet

triage to the judges.

Quite an interesting technique. You've got lining your tart there. Tell us

about that.

Yes, I'm pressing it in.

My Austrian grandma, she just pressed it in too.

Well,

she wasn't on the semi-final of the Great Australian Bake Off. All I'm

concerned about is you get a nice even base.

You don't want, you know, thick in one part and thin in another because you're

going to get an uneven bake. Yes.

This pastry is very crumbly and that's what gives it that beautiful crumbly

mouthfeel when you eat it when it's baked. But yeah, it takes a lot of

effort to put it in.

The bakers must find the jam's sweet spot.

Too much and it will bubble through the pastry top.

Not enough and the torte will be dry.

I love the flavour of it and I'm ready to put my lattice on the top.

Bakers, you have one hour left.

This is a time we're in a hurry, but you have to remain calm because you can't

break your lattice.

I'm just cutting out shapes.

I've got my candle obviously in the middle and then I've got my rays of

light. This pastry is super delicate and sensitive to heat.

I'm working quickly but my torte will light the way.

This is my honeycomb pattern and I'm building it by just putting hexagons

right next to each other.

These are paw prints.

I wanted to create garden party vibes.

All right, in we go.

Let's bake.

Five minutes left.

Bake, bake, bake, bake, bake.

We don't want a raw bottom.

All right.

Beautiful.

Let's get out.

A great color. It's looking really good, but only Florence knows if it's baked

all the way through, I think.

Time to get some gold embellishments on.

Bakers, you have five minutes left.

Oh my God, Tom.

Why you gotta do me like that, bro?

The last thing is just to get this torta out of the tin. It could be stuck on the

base. It could fall on the floor.

So many bad things could happen.

It is loose.

Uh-huh. Okay.

It's the base part that's the trick.

Ah. are you out of the base it's really soft it's just

gonna crack i have to do it just i can't do anything else

bakers you have one minute left oh it's just so fragile

i've just got to get it on quick quick quick

Seven, six, five, four, three, two,

one. Step away from your tortures, bakers. Well done.

Mine broke.

No.

It'll be fine. Still eat it.

Wow, it looks beautiful.

Good colour on the outside of your pastry. The beautiful flowers added a

level of sophistication.

Wow, Pamela, it's a little bit sharp, but I quite like it.

Perhaps you could have put a little bit more sugar in it, but that consistency

is absolutely spot on, but also it's filled to the top of the tart. It hasn't

evaporated too much. The pastry, really delicious.

And I think what you really succeeded here is using a lingonberry.

It works really well in combination with a hazelnut.

Yeah, and I like it because now I know about a new berry.

Previously, my favorite obscure berry was the going-on berry.

What's a going-on berry?

Not much, berry. What's going on with you?

I can immediately see the story you're telling with Florence Nightingale and

her lamp. You've got a great contrast between that fruit filling and your

sharply cut pastry.

The pastry was delicious. That hazelnut flavour is well-rounded. You get that

lovely nuttiness.

However, the proportion was off.

Matt, that filling's delicious.

Really good texture as well.

but I think you should pre-roll your pastry instead of pushing it in because

you needed a finer base on that.

I love the little details you've added with the paw prints. I think that's

really adorable.

And I love the colour that you've got on the bake, but, you know, a few cracks.

I could taste some of that hazelnut. You've incorporated that really well

into your pastry. Your shortcrust on top was well baked, it was crunchy, and the

filling is delicious.

Really beautiful honeycomb design.

It just hasn't come out exactly how you wanted it.

Bit of the same colour happening here. I would have liked to have seen a bit of

contrast. Unfortunately, the pastry broke.

Chamomile is a very difficult flavour to work with because it's very subtle. It's

a gentle flavour, but comes through after that lovely fruitiness of the

peach. Love the addition of cardamom.

in that pastry. And the pastry on the outside was cooked really well. You've

got a lovely colour there.

Yeah, I mean, honey and peach. I'm just glad you based the flavours off of the

judges' nicknames for me.

The bake didn't go as I planned. I think I was really happy with it until taking

it out of the tin. I have no idea what the technical would be, but I'm going to

give it my best.

That was a lot of fun. I enjoyed that.

It's history week. I wonder if I'm an advantage being the oldest.

Bakers, for your semi-final technical challenge, we have a little surprise in

store for you.

Today's bake has been set by professional cuddler and international

sweetie pie, Darren Purchase.

Darren, any advice for our bakers?

Hold your nerve.

Thanks, Darren. Now it's time for you two to depart.

Good luck.

Good luck.

They get paid for every minute they're in the shed, that's why they walk out so

slowly.

To put you to the test for History Week, we will be staggering your start times

by 15 minutes.

We will reveal the challenge to you individually, so Pamela, Nagin and Matt,

please leave the shed.

Oh, seriously?

Yeah. Dead set.

Come on, Matt.

We're sacrificing him.

Bye.

Do I have to be here alone?

Brandon, Darren would like you to make his passion fruit souffle served with

vanilla ice cream and an almond tuile.

Because of the delicate nature of the souffle, as soon as it comes out of the

oven, it must be served immediately.

Brandon, you have one hour and 45 minutes to make Darren's passion fruit

souffle. On your marks.

Get set.

Bake.

Ooh.

Okay. Having the whole shed to myself, it's such a weird feeling.

It's amazing.

I have made souffle before and ice cream, which is fantastic.

Souffle is quite a tricky method.

I know there's a lot of aeration in it and as it bakes, you want that high rise

and that fluffy texture.

This is my passion fruit souffle.

Oh la la.

This is history week and it gets no more classic than this. We've got a passion

fruit souffle, vanilla ice cream and a tuile which has been scented with

orange. Let's get into it.

That souffle, it's like eating a cloud of passion fruit. It is so light and

airy. It's got this tartness to it but it's also so dreamy and so sweet.

This is a really tricky challenge for our bakers. I want a nice smooth

interior of that souffle and a nice golden crust on the outside.

It's that perfect timing. You can easily under bake it and over bake it. But I'm

not going to tell our bakers how long to cook their souffle for.

You're not making it easy, are you?

There's a bit of heating and cooling with the ice cream mixture, so it's

definitely important to get that one out of the way first.

Ice cream begins with kind of an anglaise mixture. So it's a combination

of the egg and sugar, as well as a hot creamy mixture.

Fifteen minutes have passed, so it's time for Nagin to enter the shed.

Hello.

Nagin, Darren wants you to make his passion fruit souffle served with a side

of ice cream. You have one hour and 45 minutes on your marks. Get set. Bake.

I've made soufflés before, but ice cream is new to me. I think baking soufflés is

kind of deceiving. It might look really simple, but then you have to nail the

texture, you have to nail the cooking time.

And again, don't you think it's really weird it's quiet in here?

I know, I can hear everything you do.

Now it's time for Pamela to dance into the shed.

Ready to shake and bake.

Pamela, it's time to make Darren's passion fruit souffle with vanilla ice

cream. Exciting.

You have one hour and 45 minutes on your marks.

Get set.

Bake! Let's do it.

I have made souffle before and ice cream before.

It's quite precise and finicky, but we're in the semifinals. I didn't expect

anything less.

So I've just prepared the stand mixer with the freezer bowl. I'm about to

start churning my anglaise to create my ice cream.

It's a beautiful mixer.

The attachment's really cool. I've never used this before.

I am not sure what temperature I have to cook it to because it says cook it until

thickened.

And lastly, it's Matt's turn to start.

Matt, Darren would like you to make his passion fruit souffle served with

vanilla ice cream.

Okay. You have one hour and 45 minutes.

On your marks.

Get set.

Bake.

Okay.

250 whole milk. This is, oh my God, I'm a bit frazzled.

It's a weird feeling being behind everyone. I feel like I have to catch

up.

At least there's people in the shed now.

You know what I find interesting?

It's how much they miss each other. When they were saying goodbye, they're like,

you'll come back.

Yeah, you know, it's weird when people just, like, leave, you know? Yeah.

It would be sad to lose your friends.

For the souffle base, cut passion fruit and scoop out contents into a small

blender, then strain through a sieve.

We have a passion fruit tree at home.

that grows naturally along the fence line. And every time I eat fruits, it's

like the best time of the year. It's like Christmas again.

All right.

My ice cream's in the mixer now.

I usually have beginner's luck when I'm trying new recipes, but it might not be

like that today, so we'll see.

My ice cream curdled.

I cooked it. It was too hot.

Nothing I can do except try again.

It's history week. Of course I've got to whisk this by hand. They couldn't

possibly make it easy for us.

I love passion fruit. I love the flavour. I love the smell.

So I can't wait to try this when it's done.

Let's do this ice cream.

We don't have time to lose.

In we go here.

I have an ice cream going.

Yay.

Make the twill batter.

Okay.

Get off the zest.

Place a small amount of batter into the stencil on a silicon mat on a baking

tray.

All right.

And while they're hot, I'm going to place them on a rolling pin and leave

them to cool. So he wants them in a curved shape.

All right.

It's done.

Yeah, see?

I'm rising like a souffle. You didn't want to miss that.

Because if you miss it then I go back down.

I just need to combine my souffle base with the meringue.

You just want to be folding it over and keeping the mixture light and airy. All

right.

We're making a meringue.

You don't want any of the egg yolk mixed with the egg whites or it won't whip to

a good meringue because of the fat that is in the yolks.

There's a lot of smells going on. As soon as you cut open these passion

fruit, it really hits you. It's amazing.

I'm brushing the bottom in an upward streak, which will help guide the

souffle to rise in an upward direction.

All right, into the oven and bake until golden and risen.

These are brilliant. Can't wait to see how they look cooked.

Darren's recipe doesn't have a cooking time, so the bakers must hold their

nerve long enough for the soufflé to rise without overcooking.

I have two mixes on the go. One is my ice cream, one is my meringue.

My twills are ready.

Wish me luck.

The passion fruit soufflés will sink within minutes of coming out of the

oven.

So the judges are blind tasting them immediately.

Oh, wow.

Wow, Rachel, smell the passion fruit. I love the height of the soufflé. Nice and

flat on top.

There's some good colour around it. It looks well risen.

The baker's done an excellent job here. Inside that souffle, I think it was a

little bit overcooked. However, it was a very good souffle. I thought that

passion fruit flavour was so bright and sunshiny. It was really delicious.

And the ice cream, perfectly smooth for me. And there was a nice crunch to the

twill. Overall, very impressed with this baker.

Gently fold a quarter at a time.

I'm just trying to shape my ice cream in a way that's presentable. I've seen

videos of this, but I've never done it myself.

One and two.

Make a way to be proud.

Well, the soufflé has risen out instead of straight up. I would have cooked it a

little bit further to get that volume.

The texture of the soufflé, it seems a little bit wetter on the palate.

You can taste a little bit more of the egg there.

The tuile, it was just a little bit underbaked. Overall, the baker just

needed to bake the items longer.

Brilliant.

Well, this soufflé has risen.

Not as risen as yours, but there is aeration there.

It hasn't been cooked for long enough, which is why it hasn't risen. Like you

said, you've got to hold your nerve. We're talking about a minute or two

longer in the oven. The ice cream for me was very smooth. It was so creamy.

Need to work a little bit on the presentation.

Thanks for waiting, everyone.

Yeah, no, no, I grab it. I don't know it's you if you serve it.

Explain.

The souffle has risen. There's a nice colour to it. A little bit dipping in

the middle.

The smell of passion fruit has hit me. And a nice generous scoop of vanilla ice

cream.

That was like eating a clout. So light and airy, so fluffy.

Almost like yours, Darren.

That meringue is just slightly overbaked. I would have liked it to be a

little bit softer, but there's not a lot in this.

And that ice cream was very smooth. You can see all those flecks of vanilla in

there. And that twirl was the best twirl of the day. It was nice and crunchy, but

not overbaked.

Darren and Rachel will now rank the bakes from fourth to first.

Bakers, all of you did a fantastic job.

Soufflés are really hard. Took me many years to learn how to make a perfect

one. It was so close between all of you. There was literally nothing in it.

Thanks for making it hard.

In fourth place... No!

Pamela.

You had really good colour on top, but it was a little bit underbaked.

In third position... ..Nageen.

Tangy passion fruit flavour, just slightly underbaked. In second place...

..Matt. Really nice tall soufflé. It could have been a little

bit neater. Which means in first place...

Brandon. Yes.

Mate, that was a great souffle.

Perfectly risen.

Great tang in that passion fruit. Impressive ice cream. That's a great

bake, mate. Well done.

Hearing the judges comment about the perfectly risen souffle has really

reassured me that I just have to believe in myself and I just can't wait to give

it all in the showstopper tomorrow.

Souffle is a classic, but it's so tricky and difficult.

It's not the greatest thing to be last on the technical, but I did learn heaps.

Tomorrow is a new day, a new begin. I'm going to come full of positive energy to

just put my best foot forward, do my best for the judges and hopefully get

into the finals.

Good morning, bakers. It's time for your History Week showstopper.

Showstoppers have been used throughout history to end shows, and without them,

we'd never get to go home.

So thank you, history, for the showstopper. At the end of today, three

of you will be on your way to the finale.

For this bake, the judges would like you to create a decorated bunt cake.

A bunt refers to a ring-shaped tin that originated from a style of cake first

baked in medieval times in Central Europe.

Your decorated Bundt cakes should have a minimum of three tiers, and at least one

must have a chocolate shell.

Judges, how do you like your Bundts?

Make sure you show us vibrant colours, flavours and decoration.

I'll be looking for sharp, clean edges, so grease your tins well.

Bakers, you have five hours to make your decorated Bundt cake.

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

I am so pumped and happy and thrilled and blessed to be here.

I want to do my absolute best, impress the judges and secure a place in the

finale. It will mean the world to me.

Bundt cakes are made in special tins that basically have a hole in the

middle. I've made bundt cakes before, but I've never stacked them and I've

never covered them in a chocolate shell, but I'm excited to do it today.

I'm making my passion fruit curd.

At least one of the cakes has to have a filling today.

So I'm getting onto that as quick as I can. I get in the fridge, get it

chilling while I get my cake mixture going.

The first phase of my bake is creating the jam.

So the pan vanilla jam will be baked into each bundt.

Hey mate. Hello. Hi Brandon, what are you making?

Today I'm making my Harmony in Bloom, which celebrates two ancient tea

flavours.

Brandon's bundt is steeped in history.

He is using hojicha, a roasted green tea, and jasmine tea to flavour his

bunts, which will all be filled with a pear and vanilla jam.

Chocolate and royal icing will decorate the four-tiered Bundt cake, adorned with

wafer paper flowers.

It's wonderful you're incorporating the history of tea.

I much prefer the natural tea leaves.

It tends to be a little bit more subtle, but you get more complexity.

So you're doing four tiers in your Bundt cake. That's massive. I love that you're

doing something a bit extra. Just be careful.

Doing something extra doesn't mean you don't get your bake completed.

Speed chopping pumpkin.

Now we're talking.

I'm going with a pumpkin-flavored tier.

And that's going to be filled with a cheesecake filling. This is one of the

first cakes that I ever baked.

Nagin's base layer will be a spiced pumpkin bundt cake filled with cream

cheese. The top layers will be cranberry and orange cake.

She will hand paint her chocolate shell in the Japanese art style of Kintsugi.

Kintsugi celebrates perfection and imperfection. So every object has a

journey and when it gets fixed, that's part of its history. And I guess this

really does encapsulate.

your journey in the shed, because even every mistake you've had along the way

brings you to this point.

Lots going on at the moment.

I'm keeping a close eye on my pan vanilla jam.

I've got my milk and jasmine tea bags.

In my first mixer, I whipped up my hotcha cha bundt batter.

And in my second mixer, I'm starting on the jasmine bundt.

Such a large amount of cake today.

There's a lot that's going into all these cakes. There's like flavour

combinations and colours all over the place. There's a lot to keep track of so

I really don't want to make any silly mistakes.

It's really important to grease the tins and make sure you flour them so the

cakes would release easily.

So this is my impossible cake where you bake a flan and a chocolate cake

together and they're gonna invert in the oven.

With different cake batters and multiple-sized bundt tins. Big piping

bag today. All the better to fill my tins with.

The bakers must manage their time and ovens carefully.

Here we go.

Half an hour timer for this one.

You know, the bundt cake is actually based on a historical cake with the very

serious name Gugelhop.

Is that true or are you just messing with me? That's true.

Google Hop? Oh, you haven't heard of the Google Hop? I can't tell if you're being

honest or not.

Oh, I'm being quite honest indeed. I would never joke about the Google Hop.

Okay.

So what I want to do with this cake is not mix my flavours. So I'm going to put

a scoop of each flavour and I'm going to bake them like that.

I don't want the feeling that I'm baking inside my cake to touch the sides

because it might result in an explosion and you don't want that because the

feeling should be hidden inside the cake.

the Bundt pan.

It's very intricate in design so that's why I've used the piping technique.

That way I can get it right into each crevice.

This is passion fruit curd.

It looks red because I wanted an explosion of colour inside my Bundt cake

and it's fireworks themed so what better way to race towards the finale than just

an explosion of colour and flavour.

To create the illusion of fireworks, a small bunt will have a larger bunt and

some mini bunts bursting out of the top with a coconut lime base tier and

pistachio cardamom top tiers, all filled with a passion fruit curd.

Wow. So you're making this even harder, aren't you? Is it going to be too top

heavy? Is there a chance it's going to fall over? There is a chance.

But you know, this is the semi-finals. That's it, 100% mate.

How much do you want to be in finale?

I've had an incredible time so far, but the finale would be just the cherry on

top. I thought you were going to say icing on the cake.

Bakers, you have two and a half hours left, and then this showstopper

challenge is history.

Gorgeous. Beautiful.

Beautiful.

Perfectly cooked. Nice color.

This is my impossible cake.

I just took it out of the oven, and it looked exactly like I was expecting.

See? Last thing I put in was a flange. You can't see it anymore, only the

chocolate cake.

No, I did it.

Yeah, beautiful.

This is my top bunt. So I want this one to look pretty because this one's not

going to hide under chocolate. Ta-da!

Oh, my God.

Oh.

Bit of a tear.

Oh, dear.

Some of the bunt has stuck in the pan.

So it's just caused a tear on my bunt.

My plan is to cover it with chocolate.

No, we need a lot of chocolate.

Pamela. Hello.

Hi, Pamela.

What are you making today? Today I'm making you my groovy cake.

So the Bundt cakes became apparently quite popular in the 60s.

Pamela's groovy 60s bunt cake will consist of an impossible caramel flan

cake sitting on Neapolitan cakes.

She'll be hand-painting psychedelic patterns on her chocolate shell because

this bake is ready to peace, love and bunt, baby, yeah.

Extra level of complexity in this because it probably would be easier if

you painted on that decoration on the outside.

Yeah. And then when you turn it out, it needs to look perfect, doesn't it? Shiny

and beautiful, hopefully.

Well, if you pull that off, it'd be incredible.

Time to do some chocolate dipping.

You get your clean tin and you pour chocolate into it. Then you put your

cooked cake back into the tin and let the chocolate set and you tip it out.

I'm yet to successfully get one of those cleanly out of the tin.

The dark one and you go in.

And we're going in the freezer.

This will hopefully reseal the cracks so you won't be able to see any of that.

I've done that.

Being in the shed with the remaining three bakers, it's such an honour.

I've seen and watched them bake alongside me and everyone in here

deserves to be here.

My main motivation to be on Bake Off is to find baking buddies.

find friends that are passionate about the same things and I've definitely

found that.

Matt is a sweetheart and my bestie here in the shed.

He is adorable.

I am proud of him. He has bloomed since we started this whole show and I'm

rooting for him. He's my boy.

Pam has taught me to have fun at all costs.

Even when things don't go your way, just have fun and learn and grow the game.

We've been together since like day one and I just love the flavours she uses.

She always just brings... Are you talking about me?

100%. Great memories, great friends, great bakes. I've had

incredible time in this shed so far.

Nasty bake-off effect.

Bakers, we like big... Bunsen, we cannot lie.

You have 30 minutes left.

So many more things to do.

Oh, that was loud.

Beautiful. Oh, my God.

Ta-da!

Ouch.

Ta-da!

I'm out.

And it's shiny and it's beautiful.

Oh, my God.

Yes.

Yes.

What a relief.

Amazing.

Time to get some color on.

I love bringing just fun and joy to my bakes. What more fun than a big

fireworks display?

A bit of that chocolate cake has come through to the surface, and you can just

see it showing there.

So I might just play around with some colour and try to paint it.

So you're looking to showcase the Japanese art of Kintsugi, repairing

something that's broken with gold. Are these your repair cracks?

Yeah, I was actually hoping it'll crack when I'm taking it out of the tin.

So I'm actually repairing it, but it unfortunately didn't. You're a victim of

your own success here.

I've got some wafer paper moisturizer and I've mixed it with a water-based red

food gel.

The spray curls up the edges which gives you a more realistic petal shape.

I love them. They're cute, aren't they?

My little firework explosions.

Five minutes, bakers. This can't be happening.

So I have to be as intricate as I can and at the same time.

Just be quick.

Decorate like crazy.

I don't think the judges will be able to tell it was a crack, but it definitely

looks great as it is now.

Does it feel and looks groovy?

Piping on the city skyline with the firework going off above the city.

This is my last chance to get through the showstopper to make it into the

finale.

Oh my goodness.

Made a mixture of gold luster and I'm camouflaging the bit that have come

through.

It's just greenery.

I can't believe it, time is flying.

I've not felt pressure like this before.

Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two,

one. Step away from your buns, bakers. Well done.

That's it.

Finished.

Oh, my God.

Good job.

Come on, my boys.

Bakers, congratulations on your beautiful bunts.

Brandon, please bring your bunt to the front.

It's like it's a puppet.

Brandon, this is stunning.

The gold elevates it, gives it a little bit of elegance.

You've got lots of detail and you've shown great skill in... piping,

chocolate work and even those flowers are really creative on the side.

This is your Ho Chi Cha Bundt. I love Ho Chi Cha tea.

I do get some accents of toastiness and caramel from that tea but it's so hard

to capture it because it does have a subtle flavour.

Lovely texture and great sweetness.

The second layer is a jasmine bun with a pear and vanilla jam.

You have really succeeded in using jasmine tea in this bun. It is

beautifully perfumed and it pairs so lovely with the pear and vanilla.

I'm a groovy baby.

Love the psychedelic design, love that 60s vibe.

Can I get a piece?

Very sad.

Definitely get that flower power vibe with all the daisies on the front there.

All in all, it's a very cohesive design.

This is your impossible cake.

What a clever idea.

There could have been a bit more caramel, but I love the texture and the

combination.

This is your Neapolitan Bund.

I think when you pushed it inside your Bundt tin with the chocolate, you needed

to push it a little bit further just to extrude that chocolate up the sides a

little bit more because it's very thick underneath.

I think the chocolate really stood out. It's a classic for a reason because

those flavours go really well together.

It's a very organic feel.

I love the colour combination you've used and the textures you've added with

the soil here, you've got the roots.

I do notice that some of the chocolate work is a little bit cracked.

This is a study in perfect imperfection. I love the gold parts which reference

the Kasugi detail.

I would have liked just a little bit more decoration on the bottom.

This is your cranberry bunt.

Cranberries added a real vibrancy. The bunt was slightly overbaked and

therefore a little dry.

The cranberries have sunk to the top of your bunting. If you roll your

cranberries in a little bit of flour before you fold it into your batter,

sometimes that can eliminate that.

This is your pumpkin spice cheesecake bunt.

The pumpkin cake was delicious.

The cinnamon, that was really warm.

For me, that was my favourite.

Well spiced, nice and moist. That addition of the cream cheese in the

middle is really excellent.

I like the... Oh, they're very cute. Thank you.

It's an explosive display.

You've certainly captured the movement and the fun of a fireworks night.

I... Love the colour combination here. It's really bright, it's exploding. The

way you've expressed it in your brushstrokes. I think you've kind of

nailed this kind of rainbow explosion idea.

This is your pistachio and cardamom bundt cake.

That pistachio sponge is really delicious. Nice and moist. Good spice in

there with the cardamom. Just think you needed a little bit more passion fruit

curd.

This is your coconut lime bundt cake.

I love that lime and coconut.

The lime really shines through. It's like fireworks with that zestiness and

then the coconut comes through. The texture of the cake is delicious.

You've matched the presentation with the flavours. Thank you.

Who wants tea? Oh yeah.

A history week for the books. The history books!

It wasn't just history week, it was also the semi-final.

Such an exciting semi-final. The drama of the soufflé, us eating it live, the

tension, it was prickling in the air there and you could feel the energy of

the bakers. We started off with a great bunch of amateur bakers but been

distilled down to four of the very best. They've all done amazingly well and the

margins are so small.

Matt's signature, that Linzer tour with the Florence Nightingale story, that was

excellent. His soufflé did come second. It was well risen and the tuile had a

lovely snap to it.

Matt's showstopper, it was very bright and colourful. He did that little

skyline on the bottom, you had the chocolate.

Matt had really great cardamom flavour in his sponge and I thought the colour

was amazing.

Well, Brandon's signature was ambitious. He had two pastries. He came first in

technical again.

You can definitely tell he's made soufflés before.

And then he had the showstopper. I loved the way he did this chocolate blue

marbling. That looked very elegant.

Pamela's torte was beautifully decorated. They have lovely design on

there. It was really yummy.

She went for lingonberry, which was a nice twist on it, which contrasted

really well against that colourful pastry work she did with the flowers.

I thought Pamela's Showstopper was awesome. Loved that impossible cake.

Something risky to try, and she absolutely pulled it off.

The Gein had a beautiful signature filling. It was the peach and chamomile,

very subtle, didn't contrast against the pastry. But otherwise, the flavour was

delicious. The Showstopper, unfortunately, that cranberry cake was

very dense, quite heavy. But in contrast, that pumpkin cake was

delicious with the cream cheese filling.

I did really like her beautiful design, you know, that homage to kintsugi.

It was really beautifully decorated with the gold.

Each of the bakers have their qualities.

They have each developed in so many ways in the shed. At this point, for me, it's

really about the whole experience, every bake, so it's never easy.

Well, no matter the outcome, all of them should be really proud of themselves.

Well, look, in honour of History Week, why don't we take a second and just...

Set the table for our ideal historical dinner party.

I think I would invite Cleopatra. Then I'd invite Julius Caesar. Let's see him

talk. I'd like to see if she was in love.

Darren, do you have anyone you'd like from history?

David Bowie.

I'll let you know if that changes.

Bakers, congratulations on an incredible semi-final week that will definitely go

down in Bake Off history.

I'm thrilled to reveal this week's Star Baker.

This person has wowed us with their baking stories bursting with colour and

flavour. And we've loved watching their passion for baking ignite.

Tonight's Star Baker and the first person through to the finale is...

Which means I have the difficult job of saying farewell to one of our friends.

This person's imagination and creativity have shone bright in their thoughtfully

crafted bakes.

We'll miss their warm energy and smile.

We're sorry to say goodbye to... Nigain.

My experience in the bake-up shed has been truly magical.

I've learned a lot of new things. I learned a lot about myself and I'm so

proud of how far I've come.

Nagina's brought so much joy, warmth and positive energy into the shed, as well

as delicious flavours.

Everyone is going to miss having her around.

Congratulations to our three finalists, Brandon, Pamela and Matt.

Oh my God, I was not expecting these. I'm just like a dad who wanted to make

cool cakes for his kids. This is ridiculous.

I'm speechless.

Words cannot explain how I'm feeling at the moment. I'm just over the moon.

I just can't contain it.

It feels like yesterday we just started all this.

It's just a dream come true to be here. And now I'm just over the moon excited

about next week. I can't wait to share that shed with Matt and Random and have

my family cheering for me outside. That would be the best part.