Original subtitles

Well, I guess this is goodbye.

I can't believe you're leaving.

It feels like the end of an era.

Time to turn over a new leaf.

It's Prue leaf, actually.

Goodbye, Prue.

We'll miss you.

Good luck with the regeneration, yeah?

Regeneration?

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

Good luck, Prue.

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

Oh, good.

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

Wow,

it's Nigella.

Oh, wow.

I'm a massive fan. How do you fancy being the new judge?

What does it involve?

Eating loads of cake.

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

You know... It is the absolute dream. I am in.

Yes! Oh, welcome to the family, Nigella. You're going to love it.

Welcome to the Great British Bake Off.

Oh, I've got goose pimples.

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

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

I'm in a tent!

yes come on thousands applied just

12 of the country's best amateur bakers have made it to the bake

-off tent it feels crazy i'm definitely doing it for all the northerners i'm the

first portuguese on waco spectacular

But this year, you've got to shine like you've never shone before.

The Bake Off. It's audience choice week.

It's full of surprises.

Family members, welcome to the tent.

This is going to be carnage.

Everything they create.

So we've got Sticky Willy and Stinging Nettle in there. We'll be judged by poor

Hollywood. Thank you. That is stunning.

And Nigella Lawson.

Don't let the sugar shout, let it sing.

I'm going in. I can't believe that she has entered the series where I'm going

to be on the show.

Just thrilling.

I would love it if I could get a handshake.

Should I dust off my hands?

Those who rise... Ole!

..will be crowned Star Baker.

It tastes of celebration.

Those who crumble...

Shut the front door! Will have to leave the tent.

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

But only one can be crowned the winner.

I want it at an angle, please.

Of the great British baker.

You didn't need to bring that. Oh, I was just coming to get a handshake from

Paul.

It's cake week and three challenges await.

At the end, one baker will be named Star Baker, while another will leave the

tent. Good luck, everybody.

Ah,

bakers, welcome to the tent.

Big news, everyone. There's a new addition to the tent.

And that new addition is Paul Hollywood's attitude.

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

He's going to be kind. There's going to be a lot of smiling from Paul,

especially through judging.

Isn't that right, Paul?

OK.

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

iconic Nigella Lawson.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Thank you.

Thank you.

OK, for your first-ever challenge, the judges would love you to make a

sumptuous chocolate...

Stout cake. Could there be a more Nigella word than sumptuous?

Go on, Nigella. OK, I want it really sumptuous.

Oh, it's too much for me. I think I might be pregnant.

Your stout cake can be any shape you like, but it must include at least one

filling or topping.

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

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

Come on!

Good luck, bakers.

I'm just feeling so nervous right now. I've got the butterflies going.

But here I am, one of the 12 bakers.

Absolute madness.

Oh, it's a proper lily, isn't it? Going so dulcet here.

It's too much going on. Oh, it is.

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

Thank you. That is quite something.

Thank you.

I think that's nice.

The bakers first and my first.

signature challenge i've made a chocolate guinness cake for many many

years never stopped nigella's got these iconic stout cakes she is the stout cake

queen that's not terrifying at all is it it's such a wonderful mixture of sweet

and bitter the cocoa and that ferrous tang of stout you can afford to let it

have a bit of a savage bite The thing is, it's deceptively tricky because it's

quite a wet mix. It's a long bake at a lower temperature to bake all the way

through. Plenty of cooling time is essential.

Add toppings on top of a warm cake. It's all going to slip, slide and fall off.

Why I love chocolate stout cake so much is it allows plenty of freedom in terms

of flavors.

I am hoping to find that wonderful frisson you can get when people bring

something of themselves to it. You can't just throw chocolates down and bake it

up and say, there you go. This is for Nigella Lawson.

Good morning. Hello. Morning, Shannon. How are you?

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

You are a bit of an inspiration to me. Oh, thank you. I have used your recipe,

but I've kind of adapted it slightly.

It's a little bit of a twist on a black forest gato. When you cut into it, it

should explode out of all this cherry goodness.

A project manager from Gloucestershire, Shannon's been baking since she was

five. She's passing down her love of sweet treats to Sister Georgie. You can

lick the bowl in a minute if you want.

She'll bake her Black Forest Stout cake filled with sour cherry compote in a

bundt tin that's caused problems in practice.

When I turned it out, it was all stuck in the centre because it's quite a moist

cake, it's very wet. Well, cakes that you have to unmould, they can be very

stressful. But I guess if you've got the cherries, you can hide a multitude of

sins. Good luck.

Enjoy it. Sounds like an amazing recipe.

Fingers crossed.

Tom's also banking on Black Forest flavours to help him win Nigella's

heart. We're making a chocolate stout cake and cherry compote, which is going

to have a bit of cherry brandy in there as well. It is going to be a bit goozy.

Hang on one sec.

It's going to be a bit boozy.

A hairdresser hailing from West Yorkshire, Tom learned to bake at the

knee of his two grandmothers, Nanny June and Nanny Lynn.

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

He'll give his stout cake a glow-up with beautifully piped cream cheese icing and

chocolate curls.

You've got slightly mesmerising eyes.

Like a younger Paul, look.

Look at his eyes.

You can have an eye off, Peter.

While Tom tries to woo Paul and Nigella with his pretty peepers, Gary's planning

a bake that could leave them cross-eyed.

In this sponge, it's Guinness. I've got chocolate ganache, and that's got

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

Having retired from a career in textiles, Gary lives in Nottinghamshire,

where he and his wife of 30 years, Donna, keep busy running a small

holding. All right.

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

ingredient he hopes will produce a perfect sponge.

This is mayonnaise.

You don't taste it. It just gives it a nice texture. Yeah, it does make a big

difference. While Gary's Kate celebrates his Uncle Gordon's love of traditional

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

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

Yanis is keen to keep a clear head.

So I am using the 0.0, so it's the non-alcoholic stout. I grew up in

Austria, so I am making an Austrian cake. It's called a Sacher Torte.

It's the best chocolate cake in the world.

A paediatric doctor, Yanis lives in London and loves to unwind, busting out

a bangra.

He'll sandwich apricot compote between layers of stout sponge, covered in shiny

chocolate ganache and vanilla creme diplomat. Oh, hello.

I'm having an appointment.

With the baby doctor.

What's wrong with me? Is he dead?

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

Am I qualified?

Oh, you've got a weak pulse.

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

Clara's cake also celebrates her taste of home. So I'm using a Portuguese stout

beer. It's the best beer. Actually, I don't drink, so I wouldn't know that,

but this is what people say.

Clara lived in Portugal until she was 18.

A marketing graduate, she now calls Hertfordshire home, along with fiancé

Kieran, their dog Gigi and pet pygmy hedgehog, Pika.

She'll add orange zest to her buttercream for an extra burst of citrus

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

I'm going for a sugar dome.

That's very ambitious for a first challenge, and you're confident about it

in the time?

No, absolutely not, not confident at all.

I'm just taking the risk. Hopefully it works.

But before the bakers can worry about decoration, there's cakes to bake.

It's very wet.

Because a stout sponge contains so much liquid, it's in danger of being dense.

Hang on, that's on.

That's a lump there.

To help create the soft and tender texture Nigella and Paul expect, raising

agents must be added.

I'm using baking powder and bicarb. But it's a delicate balance as too much can

affect taste.

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

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

My mum doesn't like any mess in her house at all. If there's a speck of dust

on the floor, she's like, no, no, no, tidy this up, guys. I don't know why

you're doing this to me.

Are you going to clean up?

Yeah, I'm going to do things I like to do.

Moye lives with his mum, Kike, in Essex. A high achiever, he juggles baking,

studying for a political economy degree and training as a competitive sprinter.

And not to his Nigerian heritage, Moye is adding extra-strong Nigerian stout to

his sponge to give his cake an extra kick.

I believe you run.

I do.

What do you do the 100 metres in? 10.76.

10.76?

Yeah.

I'll have a go with you. OK. OK.

Ten seconds.

Not ten minutes.

Ten seconds. Oh, ten seconds.

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

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

If you do it in one big cake, it takes a lot longer to bake and cool. Doing it in

the two tins will cook a bit quicker, cool a bit faster.

But no matter how many sponges the bakers choose... Oh, my God, I forgot

the oven door does that.

..a long and low bake is key.

160 fan. So it takes a whole hour in the oven. Then you've got to cool it for an

hour. I don't know how I'm going to do it. The temptation to reduce baking

time. That is going in for 45 minutes.

And turn the oven off.

180 degrees Celsius.

Could result in an underbaked cake.

Good morning, Danny. Tell us all about your stout cake.

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

Port. Port indeed-a-rooney. Did you just say indeed-a-rooney?

Indeed-a-rooney, yeah.

You're my favourite already.

An administrator at a HGV service centre, Danny lives in Dorset with her

parents, older sister and their three cocker spaniels.

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

You're not having them.

Inspired by her dad's fondness for a port with his pint, she'll add a splash

to her chocolate ganache and top her cake with cream cheese icing.

Cream cheese and stout. Time-honoured partnership.

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

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

I'm a bit bored, really, actually.

You're bored?

Give me a bit more to do. Come on.

Danny's wish is about to come true.

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

have fillings to begin.

I've got to start making a cherry compote. A stout cake is rich and

requires flavours that can cut through.

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

Cherry brandy liqueur, just to add a bit of an extra kick to my compote. I've got

to make the seedless blackberry jam.

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

Here comes podium Nicky!

After hanging up her dancing shoes, Nicky now works in advertising and lives

in London with her partner Tom and daughter Ava.

Nicky's going all out with a stout cake featuring malt buttercream, stout-shaped

tuiles and a tart blackberry jam laced with nostalgia.

This kind of takes me back because when we were younger, my granddad grew

blackberries in his garden. My sister and I used to go out and pick them,

stuff them all in our gob as well before bringing the rest in to him.

While Nicky's Jam celebrates the best of British, these blackberries are good,

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

mango. I am baking a dragon stout cake, which is a homage to the

Caribbean.

Connie lives in London with husband and music teacher Mike.

She's worked for the NHS for the last 20 years and likes to make sure every staff

meeting ends on a high. Shall we have cake?

Yes.

Covered in a rich chocolate ganache, her sponge, which she'll bake in a bun tin,

is full of Caribbean flavour.

This has got dragon stout in it. It's a very traditional Jamaican stout. So are

you bringing Jamaica into your bake? I am. Have you ever been in Jamaica where

you just pick a mango off the tree?

Used to be my mum's front garden. Used to wake up in the morning and go and get

the mangoes off the tree. The best thing ever.

Nothing like it.

Molly's cake is full of happy memories too.

The cream cheese icing I've actually spiced with the same flavours that we

had in one of our tiers of our wedding cake.

It's got cardamom and vanilla in it.

Molly's an accessibility reviewer who volunteers at a local theatre in London

where she lives with husband Ash.

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

is more of a hindrance.

Can I go to the fridge?

No. Baked in a bundt tin, Molly's confident her cardamom spiced stout cake

will impress.

I'm basing it off a Nigella recipe.

I did for my food tech GCSE.

I got a star, so, you know, hopefully I'll get the equivalent in here.

New bakers, you are halfway through.

Oh.

How we come, baby?

The oven business is complete.

They've come out beautifully.

I'm big happy with this.

They look better than they did at home, actually.

But baking their stout sponge... Looking good.

Doesn't you?

..is just the first hurdle.

Ready for the fridge.

Here we go.

The race is now on to start cooling.

Use whatever you've got.

before assembly can begin.

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

stop it from sticking.

Oh, yeah, perfect.

Oh, no.

I'm going to cry in a minute.

Just going to get a breath of fresh air.

Babes, what's happened?

Fell out the oven, Alison.

I went to push it back in and I think it got caught on something and I only had

one glove on. Right.

I should have put both gloves on. And do you know what's weird? It's perfectly

baked. I know, that's the thing. I just looked at it and it's like... Yeah, I

know. Don't worry, you can do it again.

Just 60 minutes remain.

You've got this, babe.

Let's get something done, shall we?

Rather than the bun tin I was using, I'm doing a sandwich cake instead. The cakes

should bake quicker, cool quicker.

As Molly rushes to restart her sponge.

You've got two choices, haven't you? Give up or not. I'm not giving up.

The rest of the bakers are scrambling.

OK, I'm making the sugar dome.

Here we go, here we go. To start decorations and finish fillings.

My ganache. A little bit of port, cheeky bit of port. Yummy.

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

I can do this.

I have to do everything again.

The Swiss meringue, it's finished whipping up. Woo-hoo!

Nice one, Gary.

That's peanut butter, butter cream.

I don't know how much I did. I measure out with my heart.

21-year-old Mo from the West Midlands is this year's youngest baker.

A law student, when he's not buried in books, he's in the gym working up an

appetite.

Mo will sandwich layers of his alcohol-free stout sponge with peanut

buttercream drizzled with salted caramel.

What else do you do apart from baking cakes? What's your thing?

I like doing calisthenics. I don't take it seriously, though. I feel like I've

got commitment issues.

I come with a lot of baggage, but it's like the good baggage, like Louis

Vuitton baggage.

But Mo and his peanuts have competition.

And Gabe isn't pulling any punches.

I've got a peanut butter milk stout. I was just trying to really amp up those

peanut butter flavours.

Gabe lives with partners Ellis and Tyler and their two sausage dogs, Dill and

Sage. An artist by day, by night, Gabe becomes the daddy of Birmingham drag,

Blue Romantic.

How are you all doing?

Gabe will pack his stout cake full of peanut flavour, but despite practice

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

I've never made a stout cake before.

I don't even know what it's supposed to taste like. I've been there going, oh,

this is cracking.

It might actually just be horrible. So, fingers crossed.

Bakers, you have half an hour left.

Cake's in.

I've put them in for 20.

I'm just going to will them to cool down enough.

Chuck some icing on. I'm running out of time.

And Molly's not the only one feeling the heat.

They're cooling, but they're not cooling up quite yet.

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

Right, second attempt.

I cannot disappoint now. I need the sugar dome done.

I'm going to do like a peanut brittle. You can't go wrong with that.

This is the chocolate ganache. I need it to be nice and glossy.

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

Ready? I've made a bit of a boo-boo. My compote definitely needs thicker.

It's just water.

No.

I don't know what this is happening.

Still like a teeny bit warm. It wouldn't be a good idea to use them yet. It's

cool enough.

Right, just putting a little bit of ganache on me sponges.

As Danny starts assembly.

A little bit too much warmth, I think.

Just a little bit of crack at you.

Gary's hot on her heels.

Critical time this now.

This is critical time. Oh, dear. I've got 25 minutes.

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

I'm going to wait.

One more time, just for the roads.

I put six tablespoons of corn flour in this and it's still not thick enough.

Third time is the charm.

I give up.

Let's decorate this cake.

The buttercream is nice and stiff.

There's caramel and chopped peanuts for some texture. In between will be the

apricot compote.

Don't have too much jam. The whole cake itself is sweet enough, right?

With cake construction in full swing.

Looking all right, isn't it?

For the Bunt Brigade... It is quite hot still.

..it's the moment of truth.

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

Please! What if it just goes everywhere?

Really?

Oh, it's ruined, but we can cover that with frosting.

Cutting out the twills.

This is a Swiss meringue buttercream.

We are going to pour ganache on the top.

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

Bakers, you've got ten minutes left.

Oh, no.

The cake's cracking.

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

I might just get them out. My cake's stuck to itself.

Just take... Oh! I think they are literally just baked.

But if I pipe it now, it'll just turn into a gloopy mess.

Yeah, it's too warm.

Can't believe it.

Oh, my God.

I wasn't expecting her to do that.

Right.

Come on.

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

It would look better with the sugar, though.

Bakers, you've got one minute left.

Come on, Gary, you can do this.

Fine-a-roonie. They will melt a bit, but I'll probably ice them. I plan to

hypnotise Paul with this wall when he comes over. Hi, Nigella.

This is the diplomat cream.

Quickly pipe some bits here.

I'm finished.

Put some mangoes round the sides.

He finished.

That's enough.

Makers, your time is up.

Oh.

You did it. Oh, goodness.

Come on. Come on.

We've done it.

Mine didn't go to plan.

You haven't seen mine, have you?

Yeah. Yeah.

For the first time ever, the bakers will now face the judgment of Nigella and

Paul. Hello, Connie.

Hi, Connie. Hi.

When I look at your cake, I just smile. I don't think you could look at that

without smiling.

Got to have some with some mango. I know, he's keeping all the mango for

himself. Thank you.

Flavour-wise, it's fascinating.

The dragon stout gives a kind of liquorice-y taste.

But I think it's slightly overbaked. OK. When we all make a bundt cake, the

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

seizes one. Absolutely.

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

I don't like the look of that. No.

It's more like a trifle. It's the temperature of that cake. That melted

this. And now we dive in.

That touch of red is good.

That's incredible.

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

Overall, I think your flavours are good, but be careful of your planning.

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

I'm a planner scheduler. Wow, OK.

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

Very neat. Very professional, actually.

I love the cream cheese.

I love the cherries as well. The flavours are giving me a lot of

pleasure, but I think you've gone a bit too heavy-handed on the bicarb. OK.

I love the stout on top. A few frosted grapes, then.

Nice, neat layers.

Thank you.

That blackberry jam.

It's brilliant with it.

Flavour-wise, untouchable, but it's overbaked. OK, mother.

That looks rather spectacular.

Thank you. It's very classic.

OK. Oh, it's a big slice.

Oh, yes.

I know you like neatness. I like a bit of goo. You see, that looks

irresistible, doesn't it?

The suspense, Mo. Oh, no.

Sensational. Thank you.

When you have a bit of salt in something, you're just singing a song.

I love it. The flavours are absolutely spot on. Looking forward to seeing what

you're going to do next.

Thank you. I'm in heaven.

Sensational. All right, love.

I like its simplicity.

Stunning. Beautiful.

Beautiful.

You've managed to achieve that blend of the chocolate and the stouts, and I

think the hazelnut works beautifully well. It has a popcorny taste, buttery,

sugary. However, I can taste the baking powder.

Obviously, the most impressive part is not here, the sugar dome. It's the tent.

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

Well, you know, I think the dome knew best, because I don't think a dome

belongs on that cake.

I agree.

This works, the textures are spot-on, but also you've got brightness in the

buttercream. You've got a nice cake there.

Thanks. Well done.

She's had a bit of first aid.

She has indeed.

When I was carving her, she was still hot.

Why did you do it when it was hot?

I just felt pressured for time. You were the one telling me, I'm bored. Oh, yeah,

I'm giving myself something to do.

Right.

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

How long did you bake it for? 45 minutes.

And what temperature?

180. Ooh.

Now, a wet batter really needs a low temperature.

Gotcha. Just be careful of your baking and be careful what you wish for.

Absolutely.

I think it looks amazing.

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

It does.

Your sponge is beautiful. The creme diplomat is nice and light.

Instead of the Schlagobers. The Schlagobers, you know. A little bit more

apricot inside would have been nice.

Yes, I agree. I love the apricot. You want it almost rippled through.

She's jaunty. Yeah.

I think it's pretty bland.

Oh, no.

The peanut does make it a bit one note.

Pipe work, bake, good. But your flavour's just dead.

Cool.

Yanis, can you resuscitate, please? It's dead.

You got a cake out. There's a cake, which is nothing short of a miracle.

Well done for not giving up that. Thank you.

The flavour is lovely.

The cardamom level is spot on.

There is something a bit savage about the cardamom... OK. ..which works well

with it. The bake's good, texture's good. It proves the point, never give

up. Yeah.

Well done, Molly. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Well done, Molly.

Thanks.

I love that scallop waistband.

When you're doing detail that small, you have to be extremely accurate with a

very cool cake. Your cake wasn't cool. That was it. So you were rushing, and

then things started falling apart.

I love the taste.

Those cakes are absolutely delicious. I mean, it's almost mousse. It melts in

the mouth.

And flavour-wise, it's really good.

That's probably the best cake here, I'll be honest. Wow.

Good job. Thank you.

Gary, the best cake here.

Thank you.

I can't believe it.

Honestly, I underestimate myself sometimes, but, you know, this is a

lesson learnt for me today.

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

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

I think it went pretty well.

If I'm being really honest, I was more worried about Nigella's reaction. I got

her approval, so I feel pretty good about it. When Paul said it looked like

a trifle, I just thought, what have I done?

But who doesn't like dry fall?

Didn't go quite to plan. They were actually incredibly nice about it.

Onwards and upwards.

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

Each week, the bakers face a mystery second challenge.

And this one is more mysterious than most.

OK, new bakers, it's time for your technical bake. And this one has been

set by our new judge, Nigella.

Nigella, do you have any pearls of wisdom?

I do, and actually, these pearls of wisdom really could be taken for life

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

Don't let the sugar shout.

Let it sing.

Interesting. Oh!

Oh, maybe not like that.

OK, bakers, as always, this challenge is judge blind, so you may leave the tent.

Bye-bye. Good luck.

As to sugar and the salt leaving... Our judges would love you to bake an

exquisitely decorated coffee and walnut cake.

Your coffee and walnut cake should have a flavoursome sponge, a silky smooth

buttercream and be exquisitely decorated.

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, this is so simple.

Don't be thinking that. You're going to have to work off one of our beautiful

Bake Off illustrations.

Come on. Oh, my God. What in the hell is this?

Behold the masterpiece!

With no written recipe available, the bakers must create their own, using only

the Bake Off illustration detailing a ground walnut and coffee sponge, coffee

American buttercream and walnuts to decorate.

Okay, go back to your benches.

Bakers, you have two hours.

On your marks.

Get set.

Bake. The bakers have been given every ingredient required to recreate

Nigella's coffee and walnut cake.

Single cream.

But the method and quantities... They've given us six eggs.

..are entirely up to them.

I'll do four eggs.

Channeling my inner Nigella. I feel like I have made her a walnut cake before.

I can't imagine a single one of the people in this tent has not made at

least one coffee and walnut cake.

I've not made one before.

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

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

Now, Jella, you've set them this amazing-looking cake with a slight bake

-off twist.

I wanted my first technical challenge to be a cake that is very dear to my heart,

which is a coffee and walnut.

You haven't given them the recipe, you've showed them a picture of what you

want, and after that, it's down to them.

Absolutely. It's quite a...

Basic recipe.

I would expect the bakers to know the basics.

It's a very classic sponge.

Equal quantities of butter, flour and sugar.

But this cake, you would remove some of the amount of flour and replace with

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

Of course. Also, my fear is they're going to go too mild with the coffee. I

use instant espresso and it's incredibly strong.

An honest bit of colour as well. Almost as good as you.

OK. I hope you're hungry. It's going to be a whopper.

Oh, that's delicious.

This is such a great balance between the sugar and the salt. Yeah, sometimes more

is less.

I agree.

This is a bit indelicate, sorry.

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

My strategy is start off with the sponge.

I'm just going to have to try and base it on a Victoria sponge that is poppy

and walnut flavoured.

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

Still a little bit stodged.

What did you say earlier that made me laugh?

Indeed-a-rooney. Indeed-a-rooney.

That was the moment I knew you were going to win.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

I'm going to put some walnuts in there.

The correct ratio of walnuts to flour is key to the cake's success.

I just chose 75 grams. It was really speaking to me. Not enough nuts and the

sponge will lack flavour.

It has to be enough for people to be like, mmm, I love this walnut cake.

But too much and they could end up with a dense, heavy cake, lacking in height.

Because we've got the ground walnuts, I'm going to take out some of the flour.

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

that's right.

I'm going to put some coffee in. And when it comes to the coffee, it's

crucial they get the balance bang on.

I haven't been measuring.

I've just been chucking it in. Two tablespoons of coffee.

A teaspoon and a half.

A pinch of salt.

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

Just a tad.

Give it one last mix.

So have you done a walnut and coffee cake before? I have done, but not in

this condition. Not even a word to read. Nothing, nothing.

He couldn't write the recipe next to it. I'm so sorry.

Need to get the cakes in. Not really spreading, is she?

I'm up here. Right, I'm going to put them in the oven.

No disasters this time.

One. Cook babies.

I've set the timer at 25 minutes.

I'm thinking 18 minutes.

Just got to keep an eye on it. I mean, I'm just hoping it's going to rise.

How did judging go?

Dead. Said it was dead.

Yeah, dead.

But, yeah, I don't know.

They were really loving Gary.

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

in Gary.

They could be related, though Gary is slightly less tanned.

Bakers, you are halfway through.

And this is what you're aiming for, so walnutty.

I'm going to do some coffee American buttercream.

Like the sponge, Nigella's buttercream.

It's all about balance.

Nigella said, let the sugar sing, so I'm listening.

i've not heard anything yet not only do they have to control the sugar and salt

she said something about balancing something i don't know but the all

-important coffee flavor too i just hope that it's got enough punch what i didn't

want to do is put too much coffee in so it's really bitter i put some neat

powder in it i don't want to put no more liquid into it amazing

Essentially some coffee. It's leaking coffee.

You could drink that.

The moment of truth.

They're ready, more or less. It's not done yet.

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

would be a disaster.

They've collapsed a bit.

Oh, my goodness.

Sponges looked baked. Nice and soft. I'm happy with those.

Could have risen more, but, oh, God.

Could be a little dry.

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

them cool down... This buttercream's going to melt, so get them as cold as

humanly possible.

Might do some caramelised walnuts.

What's point sitting around doing that?

You all right, Tom? It's going all right. It seems to be going to my plan.

But is it going to Nigella's plan? Well, if Nigella wanted it to go to her plan,

then she should have left as well.

I'm just chilling now.

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

really overwhelming.

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

Bakers, you've got ten minutes left.

The cakes are cold, which is good.

The tiniest bit warm in the middle.

Right, crumb coat.

Come on.

Walnuts will cover a lot of scents.

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

Definitely too crumbly. Not too big, not too small.

So now I just need eight rosettes. I'm trying to copy the picture on the board.

This is so scary.

How long do we have now?

Bakers, you've got one minute left.

Oh, my gosh.

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

They're getting worse.

Put these whole walnuts on. I think they'll add an extra je ne sais quoi.

Oh, my God. Goodness me.

Bakers, your time is up.

Ta-da!

I'm happy.

If you squint, it looks the same.

Please bring your coffee and walnut cake to the front and place them behind your

photograph. Oh, yeah. Well done, bakers. They all look decent, don't they?

Smashed it!

It's time to judge the bakers' first technical challenge.

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

What we were looking for was an intense coffee and walnut sponge, a lustrously

smooth American buttercream, decorated as per that beautiful illustration, and

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

of the coffee with just enough salt. But I'm impressed.

It's a beautiful sight.

I quite like the look of this. It's a nice colour. It is.

Nice and even layers.

It's really lovely. The coffee could be a bit punchier. I'm gonna... Don't

forget, pace yourself.

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

This is very neat.

The flavour's fantastic.

The cake itself has a little less sugar, which is working. Yes, it's deliciously

soft. I think it's been powdered too much. Yeah. It's overbaked. It feels

drier. Got the coffee. Lovely amount of salt there. Got the salt.

May I just say I love salt because it's a bit like putting lemon in something

savoury that often makes everything come to life.

The height is good and the height work is good. It's a beauty.

I'm not getting much coffee. No, it's a bit sweet.

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

It's a nice bake, though. The height of this is quite low. Yeah.

The bake is all wrong. It's raw.

The salt levels are quite high on that one as well. No complaints from me.

Good height on this one.

Pipe work's not bad.

This one has got a lovely nuttiness.

Also hasn't got too much sugar.

If you had more filling, it would work better.

But it's a lovely light buttercream.

I like the idea of caramelisation of the nut. Do the nuts need to be sweeter?

I don't think so. It looks beautiful.

Wow, that's dark.

That is good.

That's got a coffee hit.

I love the taste.

Might have been wrong on that nut. It works. That's a good cake. It is a nice

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

Neat on the top.

There's something weird about the texture.

And it does need salt. Yeah, it does.

Very neat.

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

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

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

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

I am smiling. It's your charm.

I think it's slightly overbaked. The sponge is quite soft. It could be the

nut size is huge.

Maybe it needs more butter.

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

would like to have seen just a bit neater.

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

Wow. Far too salty.

I mean, it may be just over.

Oh, dear.

It's a pity.

This one, a bit pale. The crumb is a bit all over the place. There's a bit of

anxiety emanating.

I'm not getting anything in that cake.

Considering you had some real powerful flavours. Yes.

OK, this is going to be interesting.

Nigella and Paul will now rank the coffee and walnut cakes from worst to

first. In 12th spot, we have this one.

Molly, they had no flavour.

In 11th place, Danny, there was a bit of a texture issue, but some good flavour

going on.

In 10th spot, we have this one. Shannon, the flavour of the coffee was all right,

but the bake was poor.

In 9th spot is Moyi.

Clara's eighth, Yanni's seventh, Connie's sixth, Nicky's fifth and Moe

takes fourth.

In third place, Gabe.

Great flavour.

In second spot, this one. Whose is this?

Gary. Very well done. A well-balanced cake.

The sponge was very good. Thank you. First place.

Congratulations, Tom.

That was my dream cake.

Thank you.

I've got snacks.

I can't believe I did it. I followed my nanny Lynn's method.

Everybody's going to be so proud of me at home.

I couldn't wish for a better day, really, could I? I think I'm just aware

that I'm on the chopping block at the moment.

It's disappointing, but tomorrow I've just got to go in there with the

attitude that it's going to save my bacon and hopefully that's exactly what

it will do.

Nigella, how have you found being in the tent?

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

The standard is incredibly high.

Who is standing out? We've got the youngest baker in the tent, Mo.

His signature was off the scale. He was fourth in technical as well, so I

actually think Mo's in a very good position. And Tom?

Absolutely smashed the technical.

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

Alongside... Gary, his sponge was the best one in the tag yesterday.

Who do you think needs to really watch themselves when it comes to the show

stuff? I think Molly, Danny and Shannon. She struggled in the technical and she

was way down in the signature.

Danny's down there as well. Molly obviously had an issue with Fez cake,

dropping it. But her sense of flavour is fab. And then came last in technical.

But although she came last, it's also important for them to learn none of us

are finished articles.

I mean, speak for yourself, Nigella.

Ha ha ha ha!

Hello, bakers. Welcome back to The Tent. It's time for your Showstopper

Challenge. And today, the judges don't only want you to bake a cake, but they

want you to be a cake. Paul and Nigella would love you to create a self-portrait

cake, which should consist of at least two tiers. You can use any decorative

style that you wish for your portrait.

The sponge, the filling and the flavours are entirely up to you. You've got four

hours for this.

On your marks. Get set.

Bake!

positive after my incident yesterday.

Positive vibes?

I do not want any more cracks. No more cracks for me.

The first showstopper, I think, is a really interesting one. I'm really

looking forward to seeing the baker's artistic skills.

When I first read portrait cake, I thought, oh, my God, I'm creative, but

I'm not artistic.

Even if you're not the Picasso of patisserie, what I want is a bit of

personality, some wit.

It could be a caricature, it could be a print, a mosaic, but being a tier cake,

structurally, it's got to be sound.

Choose a robust sponge, married up beautifully with... fillings,

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

But whatever flavours are in the cake, there's probably a limit a palette wants

to take in at one time.

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

Good morning, Molly.

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

That's good. Going to make things excellent today. Now, this is a very,

very encouraging sight for me. You like lemon? I love lemon. Good.

Lemon's my favourite too.

Molly's lemon and mango portrait cake will be wrapped in knitted pattern

icing, a nod to her favourite hobby, and she'll paint her portrait in colourful

buttercream. Are you doing hair as well?

Yeah, I've got to put the red hair in. Absolutely.

It sounds great. The flavour's all spot on. I hope you enjoy it.

Shannon's also hoping to win over the judges of a cake full of fresh flavour.

I'm a bit of a zesty girl, so I'm going to be extremely lemony. Easy peasy,

lemon squeezy, as they say.

Pardon the pun.

She'll stack layers of lemon sponge and lemon curd to create the canvas for her

fondant face.

My partner, when he's seen it in practice, he said it looked like Tracy

Beaker, and I also forgot the eyebrows, so don't let me forget the eyebrows

today. Not to be outdone in the citrus states.

Gary's bringing something extra to the lemon party.

It's going to be lemon and lime. The lemon sponge will be lemon zest.

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

And also, I'm going to add lemon extract. That's going to go into the

buttercream. Gary will pipe buttercream decoration to bring his countryside home

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

Hi, Gazza. How we doing?

You're having a good week. It's going to be a good show, stuffer. Yeah.

Don't jinx it. I'm not going to jinx it.

We both know what we're talking about.

Also, there's some young ones in here, so I guess they're slightly looking to

you. I do have to keep control of them, you know. Who's the naughtiest at this

look?

Janice. She's a rascal.

What about this one?

Well, she's not far behind.

She's lovely, isn't she? Yeah.

Good morning, Danny.

Good morning.

i am so so so excited to show you my bog your bog my bog water this

cake is vegan and this is all stuff i foraged myself yeah so we've got sticky

willy and staying nettle in there sticky what sticky willy it's the weed that

sticks to your clothes do you ever call anything sticky willy

Danny's vegan portrait cake celebrates her love of foraging and fixing old

electronics with chocolate computer chip decorations and a jam filling made from

foraged flowers.

Magnolia petals.

Oh, wow.

Magnolia's got a very gingery flavour.

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

Good luck, Danny. Thank you. Thank you. Tom's gone digging for ingredients too.

I decided to go for carrot cake.

And looking to build on yesterday's triumph in the technical, he's spicing

things up.

Cinnamon is the predominant spice.

It's warming like a hug in a bowl.

Fashioned from fondant, Tom's cartoon-style portrait will sit atop

layers of spiced carrot cake and salted caramel.

That was cool yesterday, right? You need a handshake now, don't you?

I do want something from Nigella. I don't think I'll be satisfied just by a

little handshake of Paul.

What do you want from Nigella? I'll get it. I'll go through a bag.

I want, like, a little Nigella air kiss, a look of Pauline.

Fierce. Fierce. Fierce. Diva.

We are making the batter of the bog water.

However they choose to flavour their sponge... Zingy. We want it a bit zingy.

..it must be deliciously light... Holding in the flour.

..yet robust enough to support the weight of their fillings and portrait

decoration. Can I ask you a question?

Of course.

Why do you sit?

Because that's... You're going to beat a living day like that now, aren't you? I

am. Just pour it in.

And while most of the bakers have gone for a classic Victoria sandwich-style

sponge... Yanis is risking one of the lightest in the baking world.

I've decided to use a chiffon sponge today. It's meringue-based, it's full of

air. He'll sandwich whipped pistachio, ganache and cherry compote between

layers of delicate chiffon sponge to build the backdrop for his ambitious

pointillist portrait.

Pointillism is an art form where tiny dots of colour merge together and form a

picture. It normally takes two hours, so the strategy is to do the cake as quick

as I can.

These will be going in the oven.

All right, I'll up. With so much sponge to make... One.

..batch baking... Two.

..will be key to a successful showstopper. The six tins so far, three

a week to go in. But that's just the first test.

This is magnolia pestles.

The bakers must also juggle jams, compotes, curds and buttercreams.

Oh, my God.

Catastrophe.

But for Yanis, fillings will have to wait. He's forgotten to add meringue,

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

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

besides time, but time is the hardest part.

This is the hibiscus curd that I'm making.

This sponge is the bacon, I think.

Oh, my... It's not been on for the whole time.

The only baker planning a 3D portrait, Moyi will spread hibiscus curd between

layers of brown sugar sponge.

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

Looked like they're fine. That was my main worry, like, because they were

sitting there for so long.

That's some hibiscus, orange zest and sugar, so the hibiscus curd. It's based

on a Nigerian drink called zobo, one of my favourites, and my auntie used to

always make zobo.

My cake is flavoured with the thing I like to drink in drag most, which is a

marg, particularly a spicy marg.

Gabe will recreate a spicy marg in cake form, but it's the reveal of his drag

alter ego, Blue Romantic, that he hopes will steal the show.

I've got, like, a little mirror that I'm going to be making out of isomalt. I'm

going to smash it, and behind it will be my face, all hand-painted.

Go on.

It's got to be blue. It's going to be groundbreaking.

I don't know about you, I'm feeling a bit tired. Should we get some help?

Yeah. Danny!

Can you do a time call for us? Yeah.

Come on.

Halfway through. We don't ask many people to do this. I'll shout bakers and

get their attention.

Bakers! You are halfway through!

She's so good!

We're going to be out of a job.

Juan Mui and Yanis wait for their cakes to bake.

That time is so important for me. I'm going to just have to be really fast

from now.

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

Oh, get on it. I need to get the cakes out the oven.

Two cakes, three, there's more coming.

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

I'm happy with those.

I think that's done. Thank you.

A nice golden colour.

That's from all the spices.

Five. Hello, Paul.

Six. Three going in.

Three top tiers. I'm covered in sunflowers. It's my favourite flower.

Got my little mascot there as well.

Covered in fondant sunflowers, Nicky will stack no less than nine layers of

sponge, packed full of cherry jam, chocolate buttercream and Kirsch soap

cherries. I've got a lot going on. I know I can report mine.

That's all I expect. I am a bit anxious. That's a lot of cake.

She's got a lot of personality, Nigella. While Nicky's throwing the kitchen sink

at her cake... I just hope the flavour's good. You're going to enjoy it.

..Mo's hoping less is more.

I'm keeping it pretty simple with lemon sponge and blueberry compote. I thought

that's a bit boring because I'm looking around and people are doing, like, God

knows what.

Mo's cake, a classic combination of lemon sponge and blueberry compote, will

feature a self-portrait of his pet cat Simba. I thought it was a boy. It turns

out it was a girl because she might be pregnant.

Oh, my gosh. So you might have some kids. I'll have one if you don't want

them. Is that right?

Yeah, that's right.

I think having my own portrait is a bit narcissistic. I'll happily do a portrait

of my dog. This is Gigi.

A collection of her favourite things.

Clara will immortalise Gigi's paw prints in buttercream, paint her portrait in

the style of Van Gogh and build books from her pistachio and cardamom sponge.

Now, I know, Paul, it's not completely baked. I don't like that he's here.

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

cake.

While Mo and Clara are putting pets in their portrait, Connie's features an

animal a little less common.

This is an elephant.

My inspiration is a trip to Thailand. We visited an elephant sanctuary.

Built from chocolate sponge and berry compote, Connie's cake will feature

chocolate elephants roaming freely through green edible moss foliage and

bright blue buttercream.

The blue depicts the water in Thailand.

Right, we're going to war.

Me and you, Connie.

That's it. Oh, you're doing blue as well? Battle of the blues.

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

As the bakers start to stack sponge and fillings... Oh, yes!

This is a jammy jam.

..every minute matters.

Bit rushed.

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

..the quicker they complete their canvas... Oh, come on!

..the longer they'll have to perfect their all-important portrait.

It feels quite ten-sinnier.

Come on, Den. And after yesterday's warm cake collapse, Danny and her dows are

under extra pressure to ensure her vegan sponge stays upright.

I'm begging you, honey, please.

But she's not the only one struggling.

Oh, that's hot.

Mui and Yanis are falling behind.

The oven definitely helped me out. Those extra 20 minutes of the cake schooling,

the cake's been cool by now. I wanted this cake done in two hours, so I have

one hour and 15 minutes left to decorate.

I'm going to have to paint like a maniac.

Bakers, you have one hour left.

As the bakers push to finish their portrait cakes, the tent is missing one.

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

I'm actually really upset because Shannon is, like, the first time closest

here. Get better, darling.

See you, Shannon.

Yeah, sending her lots of love.

We'll keep the tent warm for her.

But for the remaining 11 bakers... My poor hand's cramping up. ..cake assembly

is in full swing.

It's in the spice in my spicy mug cake.

Oh, so much going on. Are you OK?

Oh, my God, not really.

Are you under pressure?

Yeah. This is my pause.

Yes. And obviously the most important part is self-portrait. This has got to

be you on a cake. We are fondanting.

Hopefully see a portrait appear. It's my little me.

The colours are mixed, so I'm just putting them all in bags. Going to get

the face done.

Breathe, Nicky. This is wafer paper.

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

While the rest of the bakers begin fleshing out faces... Who wouldn't want

a fondant face mask?

with his cakes now cool the hibiscus curd is slightly leaking out but we've

got curd at least moe is finally making headway the next i was looking hectic to

get like a head shake carve it it's called the head of heritage because it's

like a head of me and it's like based on my nigerian heritage i've got modeling

chocolate to cover my cake i have to work fast

And he's not the only one. Oh, I'm not happy with the timing at all.

Already an hour behind schedule, Yanis is only just starting his time-consuming

pointillism portrait.

I think it's doable.

Depends how crazy Yanis is feeling tonight.

If Yanis is crazy, he's going to achieve it.

Bakers, you've got half an hour left.

Oh, God. Come on, come on. This is speed decorating.

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

If it gets too much of a lean on, I will cry. I simply have to hope that she

holds.

What stage are we at now? I just unmoulded my mirror.

Behind it will be my face.

I love that.

It's a bit shakier than I would like.

It looks disgusting.

No, it does not.

You're so harsh on yourself.

So good.

Yeah, it looks just like me, doesn't it? How are you feeling, baby? I'm a little

bit stressed for time.

Is this you when you're stressed?

Um, yeah.

You're so chilled out. You know why? He's in pole position.

Yeah.

I'm just going to put fruit around.

In this one, the fig is kind of meant to be like a fruit of paradise.

Oh, that's going to look banging.

This is my other favourite hobby, knitting.

That's turned out really well.

Look at Moye.

Are you OK?

Are you rushing?

I'm rushing, but I can do it.

Uh, elephant.

Oh, God.

I'm regretting everything.

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

You have five minutes left.

Portrait, portrait. There's a portrait.

Where's my portrait?

I'm just going to try and stick it on.

This looks incredible.

You chose one of the hardest things to do. I don't know why I did this to

myself.

Is this your hair? It is.

That looks great.

He's got this.

That's my mirror.

Get in there.

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

My nose person.

Come on, then. Let's finish this.

You've got one minute left.

OK.

Those are just the face markings I'm adding. So good, with the gold on it.

Oh, come on.

I'm just going to freestyle the rest, cover it with a lot of buttercream.

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

Bakers, your time is up. Please step away from yourselves.

Oh, God!

Yeah.

I'm happy with it.

Incredible. Come here.

I'm not doing that again.

My poor baby.

Oh, my poor baby. What are you doing?

OK, bakers, that's your showstopper done. If you'd like to step outside and

we'll bring you back in for judging. Go and have a cup of tea. You deserve it.

Oh, thanks.

Well done.

Well done, Gary. Thank you.

Yay!

Are you happy with him?

Yeah. Yeah, I'm actually... Whose cake is that?

Danny's cake.

No, no, no, don't, don't, don't, don't.

She's going to go. She's going.

I can't even watch.

Oh, no.

Oh, no.

I'm so sorry.

Oh, come here, come here, come here. Oh, baby. What did we say in the beginning?

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

Oh.

It's time to judge the baker's self-portrait cakes.

Danny, it's time for your showstopper. Do you want some help?

Oh, yeah, please.

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

You could definitely say that. She had a lazy lean-on and then the big old tumble

came. A riot of green.

She is magnolia jam and she also has stinging nettle and sticky willy in her.

The magnolia in there is not carrying much flavour.

sponges as well. They're a little bit dense. I'm surprised it collapsed

because it's quite robust.

It's a very robust sponge.

Well, I think a difficulty with vegan baking, without the eggs, you are

missing a certain amount of glue.

It's a shame it collapsed, but you did give us a cake, which is a good thing.

Thank you so much for the feedback.

Well done.

Is that Paul?

That's Paul.

It's very neat, but we almost saw this in the signature as well, you know, a

two-tier piping around the outside. You've stayed in your safe place.

I don't see it as playing it safe.

It's playing to your strengths.

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

I like the cake. I think the flavours could have been brighter.

You are a very, very good baker, but if you're trying to push your flavour, push

it a little bit more. OK, will do.

That looks amazing.

It is fantastic.

He's going in.

Wow. I wasn't expecting that.

It's the hibiscus curd that I put in the middle. And the flavour is meant to

represent a Nigerian drink called Zobo.

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

However, your sponges are overbaked.

Flavour-wise, though, stunning.

Well done.

Well done.

That looks amazing.

You can see it's you.

It's an almond chiffon sponge layered with cherry compote and whipped

pistachio ganache.

You've overbaked the chiffon, but the flavour is fascinating.

First, you feel a bit like I'm having a slight experience here, and it feels

like it's too much, and then it does come together. I enjoyed it. I just

think your sponge is a little bit dry.

I wouldn't have recognised that as you.

There was supposed to be some more stuff on there, so I'm sorry, I kind of went

at a time. But I love the elephant.

That blue is beautiful.

Like the earth and sky.

Delicious. That compote works beautifully well with the sponge. And

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

Thank you.

I'm going to give that to you as a present because you said you love

elephants. I do. Thank you, darling.

Gabe, are you ready?

I'm ready.

Let's do it.

Yeah!

Where's your portrait?

There is a mirror on the front of the cake.

Usually my drag persona isn't around, so you have to get into that mirror before

you can see it.

Oh, that is clever.

That's so cool. Oh, my gosh.

It's rather profound, actually. That's beautiful.

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

Yeah, very much so.

Before you dig in... Right.

So it's orange sponge with citrus curd and orange buttercream.

The citrus is really in your face. I love it. I think the flavour is

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

They're all overbaked. Right. It is a pity because the flavours are so

fabulous.

I think it's charming. I mean, you can see it's you.

So I've got chocolate, cream cheese frosting, black cherry jam, Kirsch

cherries. There's also chocolate in that.

That's one big chocolate cake. There's so many things going on in there, it's

very difficult to concentrate on one thing. What's interesting is you're so

exuberant, and this is a bit over the top, because you were, you know,

overexcited to do everything.

Did it say that in your school reports? And a whole lot more.

LAUGHTER

Impressive. It's really lovely. I mean, the Van Gogh style doesn't quite do

justice to your personality.

It's a bit more melancholy.

Is the top one, which is the raw one, in the middle?

No. Paul, bad manners to bring that up. OK. It's a pistachio sponge with a hint

of cardamom and almond liqueur cream cheese.

I really like the pistachio cake, but the cardamom, I didn't get too much of

that. I love the flavours. Maybe just a bit more sharpness to balance the

richness.

It's fabulous.

It just makes you smile, and I am very interested to taste it. My showstopper

is traditional carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting and a salted caramel

sauce.

Why?

There's quite a bit of cinnamon.

Cinnamon can bring a bit of fire.

I like that.

Just be careful with some of the rising agents. It just sits at the back of your

tongue. But otherwise, fantastic.

I mean, it's really fabulous.

Thank you. You're welcome.

Straight up, you see it's you.

Thanks. Love the pattern.

That is so gorgeous.

Knitting, there's something very cosy about it. So this is lemon and vanilla

sponge, white chocolate ganache and a lemon and mango curd.

I think that's a beautiful cake. It's light.

It's tart in the right places, and the sponge is beautifully baked. I could

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

No, I mean a pinch, but it's beautiful. There's confidence in your cake, and

it's lovely to see because you have had a bit of a tough time of it. Yeah. Well

done.

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

Simba. It's a good-looking cat. What type of cat is it?

I don't know. Ginger.

Right.

Thanks for that, Mo.

Well, it's a good-looking cake.

It's very Dutch Old Master in the colours.

OK.

It's lemon sponge with a blueberry compote and a cream cheese filling.

That's spot on.

It's beautiful.

That's what you talk about, simplicity.

Everything goes together really well. It's been thought through.

And I can sit there and eat all that. Well done. Thank you.

Thank you.

What am I?

I'm feeling pretty good.

I'm quite happy with where I am. If I do it, it's a nice start, like, a nice

vibe.

Paul, he said I'm a good baker.

Well, they get star baker.

I'm not 100% confident about that.

Possibly Mo now.

They were amazing, weren't they?

That went OK.

I'm happy with that. They seem to like it.

I don't know what will happen, but I don't think I could have hoped for much

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

I have had two catastrophic failures.

I'm on the chopping block this time.

Oh, I need a lie down after today.

How do you feel? I feel so happy. I say that even though I have got sugar

poisoning.

So, our very first show stuff, but you've only got 11 bites because,

unfortunately, Shannon had to go home. Before we came into this challenge,

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

Danny's cake was in trouble before it fell. But I have to say, I was thrilled

that Molly came back from the signature and the technical challenge.

So for me, Molly's brought herself up. I think Nigella and I will have to have a

chat afterwards, but I think Star Baker is a bit more clean-cut. I think you've

got Tom, Gary and Mo.

I love what Tom does. I love his flavours.

Gary did well. I think he's got a lot to show. But then Mo comes along.

A little bit of magic. It's extraordinary, but I have to say, I did

really love Gabe's. You got a little bit emotional?

I thought there was something really wonderful about that mirror that you

cracked. Do you think one day your true self will emerge through a mirror fall?

And it'll be Gary.

Yeah.

Well done bakers that was an amazing week I've got the great job of

announcing star Baker and the star Baker this week is

No

Unfortunately,

I have the sad job of announcing which Baker is leaving

The first baker leaving the tent is... No

-one! Oh, shut the front door!

You are all safe and well done.

What just happened? Actually, what just happened?

Um... I... I shouldn't be here!

No mistakes. No mistakes. I want to see a step up.

Absolutely. I am so happy, so relieved.

I nearly cried with relief. I really did. Because apparently I cry at

everything at the moment. So that's what the tent does to you.

We had a very difficult decision to make because Shannon was unwell and had to

leave. It seemed the fairest thing to give everyone a chance, go into next

week and prove themselves then.

It's so nice, no-one going home, cos I'm just getting to know all these people

and everyone's dead nice.

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

Well done, Gary. That was close.

They'd come up to me and they said, ''Oh, well, that far, that far.'' But I

think Mo's showstopping is amazing.

Mo, we're the winner.

Great job.

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

More of the same.

It's quite a confidence boost. I took a lot of pride in the fact that I'm self

-taught. This is an acknowledgement that you are pretty good.

Yeah, it's nice.

Next time... It's biscuit week.

Is that good, darling?

With a super-sized signature... Who doesn't love a big American cookie? The

bigger, the better.

..a tiny technical... Reveal the ice gems!

Oh, my God!

And an intricate showstopper. Does it look like I'm as a hick? It's not good.

That sees a few bakers crumble.

Do you eat biscuits?

No. Not really.

They're really old people thing.

Are you a star baker in the making? If you'd like to apply for the next series

of Bake Off, visit channel4.com forward slash take part.