Original subtitles

Noel, Noel!

I got a feeling I'm not in the Bake Off any more.

Are you a Munchkin? No, of course not.

Where are we? How do we get back to the tent? I don't know.

I don't have a brain. That's the QI gig gone.

Look, there's Paul. Paul!

Hi, Noel. Hi, Munchkin.

I am not a Munchkin!

I don't have a heart.

Yeah, that's not going to come as a big shock to people.

Raaarr!

You're bold this year.

Prue, what you doing? I was late.

It's the last costume. Come on.

ALL: # Cakes and quiches and pies, oh, my

# Cakes and quiches and pies, oh, my. #

Wait a second. I can just click my heels together.

It worked!

Are you guys going to start the show or what?

I had some kind of weird dream.

I'm not sure it was a dream. Paul still doesn't have a heart.

Business as usual. Hmm.

NOEL AND SANDI: Welcome to The Great British Bake Off.

So, are you going to wear that for the whole season?

I thought I might, yeah. Yeah, it's a strong look.

I don't think this show can have too much gingham.

Is it weird that I fancy you now?

So do I.

The winner of The Great British Bake Off is...

APPLAUSE

It's our tenth anniversary, but who will be our tenth Bake Off champion?

The first time I saw the tent, I just thought, "What!?"

Just the most surreal thing ever.

It's just insane.

Very nervous. I've watched the Bake Off every season

and to actually be here, I can't quite believe it.

Absolutely terrified.

I baked along with Bake Off last year and now it's there.

It doesn't seem real yet.

Not until Sandi or Noel says...

On your marks. Get set. "Bake."

This year, the Bake Off has gone one better... Really?

..with 13 home bakers from across the country.

Oh, my days.

Tenth year. We're bringing back the baker's dozen.

It could be any point in the next nine weeks

that two people could leave.

I feel like I've got a sweat on.

Last year, the bar really went up.

This year I want to be inspired by those 13 bakers

and I'm longing to taste what they bake.

This year's challenges have been carefully devised to conjure up some

of the most spectacular home baking the competition has ever seen.

I think everyone's feeling a bit worried about being the worst.

I keep forgetting that the technical's a thing, obviously, cos I can't practise it.

Then I'm like, "Oh, my God, the technical, it's something else to think about."

I think baking and being a vet do complement each other.

We use quite a lot of needles and syringes, catheters, bits and bobs.

Some more normal than others.

Will Paul and Prue be impressed with our baker's dozen?

Meeting Paul and Prue is going to be nerve-racking.

My belly's in knots.

I've been up in the middle of the night saying, "I can't do this."

I just don't want to be shaking the whole time.

I once made a wedding cake for someone,

but I didn't even stick around to hear how it went or if it fell.

I wouldn't say I'm a high achiever.

I'd say I achieve certain things in sort of the same way

that you can achieve a hangover.

SANDI: On our tenth anniversary...

Hopefully it'll stay. It hasn't fallen over yet.

..in our biggest competition ever...

Mayhem is the best word for it.

..who will be crowned the winner...

He's doing the Bake Off thing!

Does it work? No. THEY LAUGH

..of The Great British Bake Off?

Oh, the shakes, oh, the shakes.

Let's not drop the cake.

It's faultless, actually.

I'm dribbling.

Prue, you've got to stop saying that.

THEY LAUGH

Once again, we've pitched our tent

at Welford Park in Berkshire, the home of the Bake Off.

We start with Cake Week and over the next two days,

our new batch of bakers will face three challenges,

after which, one of them will be crowned our first Star Baker

and another will have to leave the tent.

Morning, bakers.

Welcome to your very first day in the tent.

How marvellous to see you all looking quite so relaxed.

Now, here is the important thing,

there are 13 of you, what people used to call a baker's dozen.

Well, mainly old people. Old people. I think, yeah.

What it means is that at any point,

two of you might be leaving the tent.

Could be this week. Could be the semifinal. We just don't know.

Now, for your first-ever Signature Challenge,

the judges would like you to bake a fruitcake.

It can be any size, any shape...

But it must contain a significant amount of dried fruit.

Significant. Yeah, more than one currant, I think.

Five? Yeah, five is fine.

Five is significant. Yeah.

Now, as well as being perfectly baked,

it must be beautifully decorated.

You have two and a half hours.

On your marks. Get set. Bake.

Finally doing it, can you believe it? It's madness.

God! I'm freaking out.

I am nervous.

I'm trying to find my measuring thing now.

My God, I'm in a tizz already.

The fruitcake for me is one of those basics of baking.

Pick a great sponge base, fill it with fruit,

but it's about the consistency of the batter.

Too thin, all the fruit will drop down to the bottom.

Too thick, they all stay at the top.

Get the balance right and it will bake beautifully.

They've only got two and a half hours

so they have to get those cakes into the oven, out of the oven

and get it cooled, because we want it decorated as well,

and there's a real danger that they'll be putting icing onto

a hot cake and it'll just melt.

Just trying not to cut myself.

It's really sharp.

Ah, I need a plaster from somebody.

At this stage, I think the bakers will be quite nervous,

but I think every year of Bake Off

the standard's got better and better and better

and I expect this year to be exactly the same.

Hello. Good morning. How are you? Good morning, love.

Right, tell us all about your fruitcake. What are you doing?

So I'm doing, like, a Christmas cake,

it's something my mum used to make all the time when I was a kid.

She'd literally make them in October, like,

soak the fruit beforehand and then keep pouring brandy in them.

So, to speed things up a bit, I've put my fruit over heat

and just let it simmer while I'm getting the cake mix ready.

I do it like you do it. Oh, do you?

I never bother to do it ahead. Yeah.

Amelia is a fashion designer from Halifax

and she's been baking with her mum Julia since she was five.

Lots of washing up for Mum?

Yeah. Great.

Her mum's recipe demands over 700g of mixed fruit,

all infused with orange brandy.

That is definitely a significant amount of fruit.

Yeah, definitely at least four currants.

And, obviously, putting that much fruit in it,

how long are you baking it for?

It's quite a low temperature for about an hour and 15 minutes.

Fingers crossed. Do you think that will be a bit...? Yeah.

It'll be close, but I think it'll be fine.

Have you finished with the brandy now? Not yet. Oh.

But I'll let you know when I have.

Thanks, darling. Good luck. Thank you.

Amelia isn't the only one following in the family footsteps.

This is my grandma's recipe I'm using.

I think she's pleased I'm using it. I don't know.

I don't think she's angry. HE LAUGHS

Five other bakers are ALSO using recipes that have been

passed down through generations.

I'm making Bara Brith Teulu Ni,

which is my family's Bara Brith,

and I brought my own eggs from the chickens that they laid this week.

I'm hoping, secret weapon. They're just super rich and super tasty.

SANDI: Michelle grew up on her parent's smallholding

in Caernarfon, Wales.

She now lives in Tenby with husband Ben,

son Alfie and their three chickens, Chip, Hawker and Blossom.

This is worse than trying to herd the sheep. Come on.

As well as their eggs, she'll use strong tea to soak

the fruit for her family's Bara Brith, giving it an extra kick,

along with an icing made with her husband's favourite Welsh rum.

Oh, my God, my husband actually thinks I look like you.

Wow. We should play a trick on him. Do you think? No?

Don't we look alike? Let's play a trick on him.

What, you go home? Next time you're about to go on holiday.

I'll turn up at the airport, go on holiday with him for three weeks,

see if he notices. OK. Yeah, fine.

A pleasure talking to you, and say hello to your husband. I will.

Well, I'll say hello to him when we go on holiday together. OK.

I love a bit of zest.

I am making my Great Grandma Rosie's fruitcake.

I think it does help to have the family connection there.

You feel like they're with you, holding your hand.

Steph's love of baking was inspired by her great-grandma, Rosie.

Steph is from Chester and works at her mum's classic car business.

Can I have one of these?

She's attempting a vintage look for her citrus and apricot fruitcake

with candied oranges and marzipan roses

in honour of her great-grandma, Rosie.

Is your great-grandma still around? She's not, no. Aw.

But she will find anything.

If you lose anything, just get in touch. Really? She's on it.

I've lost a pair of socks, I'm going to come chat with you. Excellent.

I've lost my mind, actually. Um... Um, not sure.

I think that's beyond Grandma.

When it comes to channelling Grandma...

That's the mango.

..Steph won't be alone.

I'm making an updated version of my grandma's, sort of,

basic normal tea loaf recipe.

So I'm adding my own dried fruit.

But what I didn't realise is when you dry it,

just how little it actually weighs,

and so I've just had to dry more and more and more and more of the fruit.

I had to finish it off at work,

so I think they think I'm an awfully crazy person now, but...

Rosie's a vet in Somerset

and when she isn't drying fruit at work,

she proves dough in the warmth of her pet python Minnie's vivarium.

Perfect temperature.

As well as adding her own dried apples, strawberry and mango,

she's also updating Grandma's recipe with Indian chai.

I'm just trying to get as much of the chai flavour as I possibly can.

Rather than trying to make it look super fancy,

I'm going for tasting good, so if that goes wrong, I'm screwed.

One, two, three, four.

As Rosie heads east, she'll have company.

When I go over to India, on all the trains they come through,

like, offering you chai and it's, like, the tastiest thing.

Raised in Perthshire, Michael's mum Nicola and his dad Sam

have ensured his Scottish and Indian heritage were celebrated

in his baking as soon as he could reach the kitchen counter.

You used to be on your climb up. Hmm.

He's aiming high with chai spices, chopped sultanas and apricots

and a piped henna-style decoration that will require a steady hand.

Mum texted me at five this morning saying,

"Be calm, be slow, be confident."

It's going to be fine. It's going to be fine.

I just... Ow, my God.

I've done it again.

I'm so sorry. Michael, again?

For goodness' sake, this is so stupid.

It's the beginning, everybody gets really stressed.

Less haste, more speed. Yes. OK.

This has to be the last one.

I don't have many left.

But the greatest danger in this first fruitcake challenge...

Oh, my God. It's, like, pressure's on.

..is the fruit itself.

Bit more fruit in.

Too much will overwhelm their batter...

I'm getting a bit OCD about my numbers.

..resulting in a stodgy, underbaked cake.

That looks a lot thicker than when I did it at home.

But Dan has made a last-minute change to his recipe.

I've, like, doubled my amount

of fruit in it today. Yeah, significant.

Yeah, you said significant, I thought, "Oh!"

So, literally today you've changed it? I've changed it, yeah.

My concern is whether you're going to have time

to bake this now much bigger cake.

Can I just warn you? This is not a good face, this face here.

Yeah, I can tell.

Dan lives and works in Rotherham

and is a support worker for people with learning difficulties.

That's it - a good, big blob, Dave.

He'll add spiced rum buttercream

and coffee and almond brittle

to decorate his, now much larger, rum-soaked fruitcake.

I feel like you've got no room here to operate. I know.

I know. I feel like you just want to throw all this on the floor.

Watch this. There you go.

Watch this. Watch this.

There you go. Fly, my pretty. Do you know what? That works. Fly.

Look at this. Take your shoes off, get comfy...

..nail this! Thank you, sir.

Whilst Dan's recipe is expanding...

Da-da-da-be-da.

..David's recipe is missing something.

My fruitcake has no fat.

That's unusual. I love healthy baking.

David is from Yorkshire and when he's not travelling the world

working as an international health advisor,

he's fanatical about keeping fit.

Oof! HE LAUGHS

As well as replacing fat with carrot and squash,

David has found another healthy alternative for his fruit.

I'm using dried prunes and figs. It does sound like a cake

that's going to keep you regular if I may say so. Oh, yeah absolutely.

Yeah. Well, yeah, I need that. Good luck. Too much information, David.

Thank you very much indeed. Thank you very much, thanks.

Bakers, you are halfway through your first Signature Challenge.

Wow, first time call of the season.

Was I good? No.

Now it's the point of no return.

I've used this tin before where half of the cake stayed in the tin

and we don't want that to happen today.

That's fruitcake, innit? I don't know what Paul's worried about.

Yeah, I'll show him. HE LAUGHS

The more fruit they've added in order to impress the judges...

Come on, please come out good.

..the longer their cakes will need in the oven.

Just hope for the best.

Low and slow. I'm going to check it after an hour.

160 for about 40 minutes.

In.

Oh, that felt good.

So we're going to set a timer for 50.

Start.

She's in. She's in.

Come on!

But one baker isn't quite ready to hit the oven.

I've just made the marzipan.

Going to make a ring around the middle of the cake.

HORN BEEPS

Phil is a lorry driver from Essex, where he lives with his wife Angela

and two daughters, 16-year-old Lexie and 11-year-old Pippa.

Oh, you want a bit? Tough. Oh!

Ha-ha!

As well as marzipan, he's adding cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg,

allspice and cloves to a fruitcake that's become a family project.

My wife and I have got a really good baking relationship

and she's come up with this, sort of, idea,

so I just do what she says like any normal married man.

This year's first Signature Challenge...

So here we go. Be kind.

..is about to get even trickier.

Check the cakes.

Whilst constantly checking their fruitcakes' progress in the oven...

It's not burnt yet.

..the bakers will now need to use every minute to create

beautiful decorations the judges have demanded.

And Priya is hoping to impress by bringing the inside of

her cake to the outside.

This will look better, I promise.

Priya's an aspiring novelist from Leicester

and mum to two-year-old Kian and four-year-old Liam.

Oh, that's good!

Her cake will be filled with dried tropical fruit

and to decorate she's handcrafting oranges and bananas in marzipan.

What else are you going to make? It's going to be a pineapple.

Pineapple? Eventually. It's like a psychedelic snowman...

It is at the moment, yeah, it looks a bit crazy. ..with a hat.

Look at that.

Alice is also going for a stand-out look with her fruit decoration.

So, making a gingerbread fruit wreath and then I'm just going to

cover the whole thing in gold. It's going to be a bit glitzy.

Alice works at a school in central London as a geography teacher

and uses her baking to help her pupils with their coursework.

So, using your spoons, you are going to be the waves, the erosion.

Snow white royal icing will coat

her Christmassy fruit and gingerbread wreath,

which she's hoping will pack a gingery punch.

And I've added some extra crystallised ginger

cos I absolutely love ginger, so I'm just chucking that

all over the place, really.

Whilst Alice looks forward to Christmas...

I'm doing, like, a Simnel cake.

..Jamie is already celebrating Easter.

It's going to have, like, chicks on it,

instead of just balls of marzipan.

That one's called Barney.

HE LAUGHS

Jamie is currently on a gap year

and lives in Dorking with his identical twin brother Alex,

their mum Charlotte and their baking mentor, dad Pat.

Is that the cake I taught you to make?

No, it isn't.

Jamie's adapted his nan's traditional recipe to create

a double-layered Simnel cake.

So you get two layers of marzipan and... Yeah, exactly.

..marzipan on the top. Yeah.

Good, I like a lot of marzipan.

How old are you, Jamie? I'm 20.

Does your mum know you're here? She does. I'm allowed out.

NOEL: When it comes to her decoration,

Helena is getting into a different kind of holiday spirit.

I live like every day is Halloween

so I'm doing bat wings made out of sugar.

Try to spookify a fruitcake.

Halloween-obsessed Helena grew up in Lanzarote and now lives in Leeds

with her rescue dog Cato, husband Will and baby daughter Flora.

SHE GURGLES

Oh, Flora will love it.

Her caramel bat wings will decorate

her spooky spiced pumpkin and maple fruitcake,

flavoured with dried prunes and toasted pecans.

They're not right.

It's crystallised, the caramel. What a disaster.

I've never had a problem with caramel.

You've got time.

From one Goth to another, I know you're going to be fine.

I'll be in my coffin if you want me.

I'm just going to start it again.

# I got time

# I got love... #

Henry will only have time for one attempt at his decoration.

This is a royal icing little house to go on the top of the cake.

It's just a bit time-consuming.

Oh, my God, stop shaking.

Henry is studying English Literature at Durham University

and in between his studies, he loves to sing at his local church.

# Shall all your cares beguile. #

He's hoping to hit all the right notes with his take on

a Wood Street cake, an almost 400-year-old recipe

which he'll bring to life with his royal icing house

and piped chocolate trees.

Cos a Wood Street cake looks quite plain,

so I just wanted to embellish it a bit.

I've got to build this, that's another thing.

It looks quite nice, laid out.

I think you've done an amazing job to get it this far.

Look forward to it. Yep. Thank you very much.

Bakers, you have half an hour left.

No-one looked up. No, nobody.

Everyone just went, "We've got watches, what's the point of this?"

TIMER BLEEPS That's yours, Michelle.

I'm just going to have a look.

There's more to baking fruitcake than meets the eye.

It does look done, but now I'm like, "Is it done?"

With so much fruit inside, if they're not cooked for long enough,

the centre could still be raw.

It's brown on top, I mean,

I don't know what it's going to be like in the middle.

But achieving the perfect bake...

Ugh!

..isn't their only concern.

Is yours out the oven yet? No, not yet.

Cos I don't want to leave it too long.

Breathe, you'll be fine.

The bakers need to leave enough time for the cakes to cool

before they can start to decorate.

At home, I iced it when it was still warm

and it just waterfalled down the side, which is not where I want it.

I'm going to go in. I can't wait any more.

I'm going to stick a skewer in to see if it's cooked.

And that should come out pretty much clean,

but if it hits the fruit, you can get a bit of, sort of,

gunky stuff on it. That's really not clean, is it?

No, it's not ready.

Not done, not done, not done. Fail, fail, fail.

Not done.

Oh, it's cooked, it's actually cooked.

Spot on. Oh, yeah!

This is going in the fridge. Immediately.

That's not done.

I perhaps should've been a lot more prepared.

Bakers, just 15 minutes. Urgh!

I feel like I've got a sweat on.

It's happened again.

It's not caramelising, so I thought

I'd just pour the sugar and see if it sets.

If it doesn't work, I'm going to be really gutted.

Oh, the shakes, oh, the shakes.

Look at that, that's an intricate job. Thank you.

But I just need to get this on top of the cake now.

How you going to do it? Um... Just like... up and just pick it up.

Right, is it ready?

It's going to have to come out. I'm not happy.

Pretty certain it's not going to cool in time.

I'm going to pop it in the freezer and I'm going to stab it

with some really cold skewers. It's probably a really bad plan.

We just do strange things to cakes sometimes. Mine's boiling hot.

So as long as it comes out of the tin and then it doesn't

break in half, I'll be fine.

This is the tricky bit.

Let's go for it and see what happens.

Moment of truth.

Oh, yes.

Happy with that.

I'll put them back in the fridge.

Oh, that looks OK!

Why is it not working? Come on.

Oh!

Bit of it got stuck. Argh!

Bakers, you've got five minutes left. Really?

Ooh! My cake's too hot. My cake's too hot.

I think that bit goes there.

I didn't expect to be doing this with basically one hand.

This is just like liquidised sugar. Got to do something.

Then just let the rum icing run down the side.

It's beautiful! Thank you, darling.

I'm just trying to cool it down quickly. It's just so hot.

He's doing the Bake Off thing!

Does it work? No.

THEY LAUGH

It's already melting.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Cake's still too hot, so it's pulling the cake apart.

No, no, it's bending.

Dammit. They've gone, "Vmmm."

I'm popping this on.

Give me one sec, cos my hands are shaking.

Oh, God, I can feel my heart pounding out of my chest.

Do you want a hand? If you can make the brittle, brittle.

Oh, balls.

The worst has happened.

HE LAUGHS

Oh, my God. The actual worst.

Bakers, your time is up.

That's it, end of your first challenge.

Oh.

Please place your cakes at the end of your benches.

First one, bagged.

You've nailed that.

Not good.

What a mess.

Urgh.

The word "infuriating" does not sum up that feeling.

SANDI: The bakers will now face the judgment of Paul and Prue

for the very first time.

Hello, Priya. Hello. Hi, Priya.

For subtitling services, contatct: waqas.zahoor89@gmail.com

I love the decoration, it's simplistic but effective.

NOEL: I'm getting Wham video.

Yeah, Club Tropicana. Yeah.

Let's have a look inside.

Wow. Looks like a good piece of cake. Lovely colour.

I think you've got what you asked for. Oh.

It's light, very summery.

The tropical fruits in it give it that gorgeous citrus flavour.

I think it's a well-baked... Original. ..different cake.

Thank you. Thank you. Excellent.

WHISPERS: Nailed it!

It's got a very Easter feel, hasn't it?

Have you made eye-less chicks?

He didn't want them to see the horror of your judging.

It holds together beautifully.

That is delicious.

It is mostly marzipan, which I love.

The fruit content in there is perfect.

That's a great bake. It's a great flavour.

Well done. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Absolutely destroyed that.

There was a hut but it's now a little bit of a wreck.

My hands were a bit shaky.

I saw it. It looked amazing.

It looked beautiful.

More important is the bake.

Henry, you have made a very good cake.

Oh, thank God.

I think the texture's beautiful, it's well-baked.

I think it's a great cake. Yay! Thank you.

Lovely definition, great colour.

I like the stars as well.

Did that bit stick a bit? A little bit, yeah.

Well, you can't say there's no fruit in there.

It's very moist, but I think the flavour is absolutely lovely.

It screams Christmas. That's a great tea loaf.

Well done.

Ah!

Do you know? I think it looks absolutely beautiful.

I like the way you've iced between the ridges

which you've got out of the tin perfectly.

Oh, my goodness. Marzipan right down the middle.

Perfect.

Quite spicy.

And that's all you get. You don't really get the fruit.

Just think the flavours are slightly out of balance.

OK. Thank you. Thank you.

So close.

I had trouble with the decoration. Just could not work it out.

If it's not right, don't put them on. Lesson learned, yeah.

It's very spicy. It's almost savoury.

I quite like it, actually.

I've never had anything like it before.

When you put the icing on, was the cake still warm, I take it?

Yes, it was. Which is why the drip hasn't really worked.

But, I think it looks attractive, good colour.

Oof. That's not the noise you want to hear, is it? No.

"Urgh!"

Texture is a little bit tough for me

but I think the flavour is fantastic.

OK, thank you.

I think it's a great looking cake, actually, great colour.

Very nice. It's a juicy cake. It's delicious.

Isn't it? The apricot comes through beautifully.

I just want to pick up that slice and walk out of here. Go for it.

I can't. I've got a few more people to judge. I was going to say

you've got a few more left.

The cake looks a little bit sad.

It does. A bit flat.

Shall we have a taste of it?

I'm hoping it'll be lovely anyway.

Cinnamon. Hmm. You've gone a little bit overboard with that.

It's very chewy, that hints at being underbaked. Hmm.

Back to the drawing board.

It's a lovely looking loaf.

Very good marzipan. Maybe slightly too much almond essence.

The moistness, great. The texture is perfect.

I think if you'd pulled back on the almond essence,

you would've had a perfect loaf.

You'd hang that on a door, wouldn't you?

Well, it is a wreath. Christmas time. Christmas wreath.

I love ginger. Yeah, it's got a kick to it.

It has. The crystallised ginger is beautiful.

You could've pulled back a little bit on the other ginger.

Nice idea. Sometimes, going back to basics... Yeah.

..don't try and overdo something. Yeah.

The decoration is beautifully done

in spite of having your fingers up.

It's like a pincer.

I think the flavour is absolutely lovely. Oh.

I think you've created a very good tea cake.

Well done. Thank you.

Not bad considering you've only got one finger.

You look a bit nervous.

Yeah, can't see why.

Well, it certainly does look a bit rustic.

You added more fruit to this, didn't you?

Yeah. I'm going to check to see whether you managed

to bake that all the way through.

I'm not sure. That's a big slice.

I'm afraid he was right.

Oh, my God. That's raw.

The alcohol you've got in there actually tastes quite nice.

I think your flavours are good, I just think your baking's way out.

I knew that. Thanks for confirming.

That went well.

I think he said the flavour of the booze was good.

That's all I heard.

It went really well!

I'm absolutely buzzing.

I really hope my great-grandma Rosie was looking down on me.

I think she was there.

Kind of a bit shocked. That was all right.

Next one, try not to cut off any more limbs.

I'm really chuffed.

I feel like I'm in a good place going to the technical.

What's the worst that could happen?

NOEL: The bakers were able to practise their fruitcakes,

but their next challenge is their first gingham-shrouded mystery.

SANDI: Hello, bakers, and welcome to your very first technical challenge,

which today has been set for you by Prudence. Any advice?

The secret of success is accuracy.

Yeah, I have that on a tapestry.

NOEL: As ever, your Technical Challenge will be judged blind.

So, we're going to have to ask Prudence and Paulette

to leave the tent. Yeah, off you go.

Do you know what they're up to?

Paul's bought two leotards and a pommel horse.

Ah, PE lesson.

Right, so for your Technical Challenge,

Prue would like you to make six identical angel cake slices.

Each made of three layers of Genoise sponge.

Now, the sponge layers must be sandwiched with a silky

smooth Italian meringue buttercream.

Your angel cake slices should be topped with icing and feathered.

Whatever that may be.

Feathers on cakes. You've got an hour and three quarters.

On your marks. Get set. Bake.

Oh, God. I didn't want a Genoise sponge and what have we got?

Genoise sponge.

I love an angel cake

but I like the cheap one, like, the 50p job.

But, like, this is a proper one.

SANDI: To make the angel cakes, the bakers have all been given the same

ingredients and Prue's complex 15-stage recipe.

This is a bit, as they say, technical.

It's so complicated.

There's a lot of room for error here, huge error.

Great choice, Prue.

Angel cake slices for the first technical

these bakers will have to face. I am feeling a little mean.

It sounds simple enough but the point is it's a Genoise sponge

and it's really easy for that mixture to become flat.

If they over-mix, it's not just volume they'll lose -

the texture becomes rubbery and it has to be light.

Now let's have a taste.

Takes me back, actually, to when I was a kid.

You get the raspberry, you get the lemon.

I've just got a vanilla one.

The flavours are delicate but strong enough.

I think they taste delicious. I think it's a great challenge.

We don't know what the bakers are like.

We're beginning to get to know them and I think that's

a pretty cruel Technical Challenge. Great, though. Great, though.

You like a bit of cruelty. I do, yeah.

That starts them off on the right foot.

First, fold the foil paper to divide the cake tin

into three even sections.

Got some maths in here.

So, it could go brilliantly,

or it could go horribly.

It's a little bit of origami at the moment.

Because of my signature this morning,

I've definitely got a lot more pressure.

But, luckily, the instructions so far look pretty clear.

So far. I'm only on step one.

Right, so for the Genoise, tip the eggs and sugar into a bowl,

whisk the mixture until it reaches 43 degrees.

I've never made a Genoise, dammit!

NOEL: If the bakers don't whisk for long enough...

This is where I get a good strong arm.

..they won't get enough air into the Genoise sponge to create

the volume that Prue is expecting.

When I've made Genoise in the past, it just ends up like a...

..hard like a slipper. Oh.

OK, how many angel cake slices have you made in your lifetime?

Uh, none. None. No, none, none, none. That's because you're 12.

Do I look that young? That's why I get ID'd.

Is that what it is? Everywhere I go. Do you? Yeah.

I got ID'd in Arizona. It was very dark.

Just saying. It was really, really dark.

43 degrees. We are done. Come off.

Whoo. Whisk the mixture into ribbon stage. Fine, OK.

We're going to go fast.

It only takes a while.

When you lift up the whisk

and you draw it over the batter, it leaves, like, a ribbon effect.

I kind of think that's ribbon stage.

This, I think, is perfect.

Meanwhile, divide the flour

and the butter evenly between three small bowls, one, two, three.

I've literally got a thousand bowls on my place.

SANDI: Prue is expecting three layers of Genoise sponge...

So, we've got lemon, raspberry and vanilla.

..each with a different colour and flavour.

NOEL: It's like that thing where you go, "WHOO, whoo, whoo..."

Have you made these before? Tried Genoise once and botched it.

Don't say that on the camera. Too late.

Good luck. Thank you. Whoo.

It doesn't tell us how much of the vanilla or raspberry or anything.

So, you're just going to have to judge how strong

you think the flavour should be.

We don't want it to be lacking.

Teaspoon.

Cup and a half?

Going to go half.

Ah, go on, two.

OK, so, raspberry flavouring and pink food gel.

I don't know how much of that.

I'm thinking quite a pale pink.

Looks good enough to me.

I'm not going to put all of the lemon zest in.

It's a big lemon so that's still quite a bit.

Oh, that is a lot of yellow. Orange, yellow. It's a spectrum.

Working with one bowl at a time, sieve the flour over the egg,

add the butter and fold it through.

So, you fold it really gently cos you've whisked all the air into it.

You don't want to knock it out.

Just trying not to over-mix it but just want to get the colour

to spread throughout.

Gently, gently. Don't upset the judges.

I don't know if I've over... over-whisked it or not

but it's gone flat, basically.

What's wrong? It's just got, it's got no air in it.

This is going to be as flat as a pancake.

I need to start again.

I don't know how to make this app work.

Oh, it's cos it's a Technical Challenge.

Bakers, you are halfway through.

So, pour the three batters into the sections of the tins

and then bake it.

If you look at the yellow one, it's half the volume of the pink one.

But I don't have time to do it again.

I'm just redoing my sponges.

I don't know why this is confusing me so much.

I'm going in.

How long for?

No, there's no telling us.

Seven minutes, eight minutes. Something like that and check it.

I don't know. I'll just keep my eye on it.

I'm a bit worried cos it's so thin, it is so easy to over-bake it.

I'm nervous, I'm nervous.

SANDI: And in time-call news...

Bakers, you've got half an hour left. What?

That's all from us.

Oh, that's no good, is it? I'm going to run out of time.

I need to make the Italian meringue.

I actually know how to make that.

Slowly pour the hot syrup onto the egg white.

Then she says, "Add the butter until the buttercream is smooth and thick."

Should go nice and glossy. Looks OK at the moment.

I've come to love you, Jamie, cos I think you might need it.

Yeah, it's failed again, so... What went wrong?

It turned out like this. OK.

And then I tried to make it again. A bit lumpy.

And then it got even worse so now I'm actually...

It is a bit lumpy, darling. It's, it's rubbish.

It's not even worth putting that in.

I'm only doing two layers.

These have been in for 12 minutes.

Yeah, I'm getting it out.

I don't know if this is meant to look like this.

I said I putting them in the oven for ten minutes.

It still says ten minutes.

I never started the timer.

Oh. They look a bit like an Aero.

They're about twice the height of mine.

Seriously, my sponge is like rubber.

It looks all right, actually.

So, sandwich with buttercream.

This is not buttercream. This is meringue. So bad.

I've not had any angel cakes before.

Hopefully, this is right.

It's not looking quite right. But I'm making the buttercream.

I'm going to do nothing.

Cover with the white fondant icing and feather with the pink.

I'm not sure whether to ice it and then cut it,

or to cut it and then ice it.

I'm going for ice then slice. It says to do that.

I'm being very obedient.

Five minutes left.

We've got five minutes?

Don't panic! Don't panic!

Look at that. They might actually refuse to try it.

I literally wouldn't be surprised.

It is rubber. I'm not even just saying that.

It is rubber.

So, I've got to draw some lines.

I've never feathered before.

The secret to feathering is a sharp cocktail stick

and wet icing.

Mine has gone mental.

What the hell did I get myself into?

My hands are shaking a bit.

Bakers, you have one minute left.

No! Oh, my days.

My hands are shaking so much.

It's going to get chucked in the bin.

Like, literally that's inedible.

If it fell on the floor, it'll bounce right back.

I can say with confidence I won't be winning this challenge.

Cut it into six, right? Enough for everyone.

NOEL: Bakers, that is the end of your Technical Challenge.

Oh, well. Well done, everybody.

Please bring your bakes up to the table and place them

in front of your photograph.

They're not going to eat it. It's inedible, like, literally.

Dan, do you want to swap?

Prue and Paul will now judge the bakers' first Technical Challenge.

They're expecting six identical angel cake slices,

filled with silky Italian meringue buttercream,

and topped with a feathered fondant icing.

OK...

It's lost all the height, and the spring in the sponge.

And that red is too much.

Where's the silky smooth Italian buttercream? That's melted.

It's not there. It's melted out.

Flavours are there, but it's like rubber.

If I dropped that on the floor, it'd bounce up and hit me in the face.

This one's feathering's better.

However, still not as high as they should be.

Your flavours are there.

They had too much icing on the top, I think.

Moving on, these look all the same.

I mean, that is much higher, isn't it?

And it's pink, rather than red.

It's got nice flavours in there.

Yeah, that's not bad.

I think this is another - not to mince words - failure.

Where's the bottom layer? It's missing one.

CONTESTANTS LAUGH

Do you know, it actually tastes rather nice?

We're missing a layer, and rubbery to taste as well.

This looks a little bit more delicate.

There's a bit of height to that sponge. And everything is pastel shades.

Mmm. This tastes delicious.

Yeah, and the raspberry one's OK.

Right. I like the feathering on this.

Yeah. They are fairly equal.

Buttercream's good. Nice flavour.

OK, moving on again. It's very thin. It's lost all its height.

But the buttercream looks beautiful.

They're not bad. Hmm, a bit rubbery.

This looks quite delicate. However, the two sponges look the same.

And the lemon should have a little bit of colour.

Hmm, it's a bit tough. Hmm, it is.

Now, I like the feathering on that one. It's very neat.

And that looks jolly tough.

It's just dried a bit on the edges, but it's not that tough.

Talk about neat - that's not.

The sponge is OK, but they're still not high enough.

The flavours are OK.

Moving on, it's the highest one. The highest, which is really good.

And soft.

I mean, it's hideous fondant on the top.

It's a very good cake there.

Then you move on to this.

Lots of buttercream, not bad feathering.

Flavours are all right. It's certainly got the height, that one.

Last but maybe least, we've got very thin layers again.

It's nice, shiny fondant.

Quite tough. Very tough.

SANDI: Prue and Paul will now rank the cakes, from worst to best.

This - number 13.

Who's responsible for it?

Jamie, it was pretty awful.

Thank you.

Twelfth spot is... this one. That was me.

Not surprised, blood red in the middle, and a bit rubbery.

Number 11 is this one.

Michael. Sorry.

It tasted nice, but they were pretty uneven.

NOEL: David is tenth. Ninth, Dan.

Eighth, Phil. Seventh, Priya.

Sixth, Michelle. Alice is fifth.

And Amelia is fourth.

Now, number three was this one. Stephanie.

I mean, your icing was terrible...

Thank you.

..but the flavour matters more than anything.

And number two...

..is this one.

Um, not bad at all.

Nice bit of feathering, nice and equal, and the buttercream was good.

Which means that this one is number one.

Henry, well done!

Very good feathering, and excellent in every way, really, so well done.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

To win at the first Technical, that feels just quite... quite pleasing.

Second, awesome. Chuffed with that.

After this morning, I needed that.

I sort of feel that I've clawed my way back,

and I'm not bottom-bottom any more.

The Technical was supposed to be the one that saved me.

It didn't quite, so it's all on the Showstopper tomorrow.

If that doesn't go well, I'm a goner.

I knew, midway through, that I was going to come last,

but I just wanted to get something fairly...

well, it wasn't even respectable, was it? - something on the plate.

SANDI: Just one challenge remains,

before the first Star Baker is crowned,

and one baker will have to leave the tent.

Hello, bakers.

It's time for your first ever Showstopper.

So, today Paul and Prue would like you to make a birthday cake,

but not just any old birthday cake.

They want the birthday cake you dreamt of as a child.

The cake that I dreamt of as a child had marzipan arms,

and we just held hands together.

That's nice. Yeah.

Weirdo. OK, the flavours, fillings,

and decorations are entirely up to you,

but please remember it is a Showstopper,

it needs to be spectacular and sizeable.

You've got four hours.

On your marks. Get set. Bake.

Ooh. Every minute, there's, like, 100% always something to do.

It's going to be full-on, a crazy four hours.

Mayhem is the best word for it.

We will see.

Time will be their enemy.

It's all about colour, it's about detail, it's about wow.

They've got to show us what they can do.

That's going in t'oven.

You're kidding me?

Oh, wow, you're joking. It's not funny.

I'm rather hoping for some originality.

Children dream a lot.

I want them to try to remember what they dreamt about.

But, as always, what matters far more than anything

is the quality of the cake.

The flavours should be real and punchy.

It has to be delicious.

I think it gives us a chance to dig around in the bakers' skills,

and find out a little bit about our baker's dozen.

Good morning. Hi. Hello, Helena.

So, it's obviously chocolate cake.

Tell us what you're going to make with the cake?

It's, er, a fairy garden.

I had a fairy garden as a child.

I have one now.

You've got a what, sorry? A fairy garden, now.

You've got a furry garden? Fairy g... is it my accent?

Oh, a fairy garden.

What did you think she said?

Well, like fur? Furry garden?

No, fairy garden!

Oh, Paul, I know what you're thinking.

SANDI: Helena's perfectly-manicured "fairy garden" will be covered

in green desiccated coconut grass and chocolate tree bark.

So how big is your, erm, fairy garden?

NOEL LAUGHS

You're going to put these two, and then these two...?

Correct, yeah. So it's a fairy mountain.

Yeah, yeah. It...

Oh, God, I can't do it.

SANDI: Helena's not the only baker...

Better not put my hands in there.

..away with the fairies.

I am making a ty tylwyth teg, which means "fairy cake" in Welsh.

Featuring a toadstool house, built out of carrot cake,

Michelle's inspiration also comes from childhood fantasies

of fairies living at the bottom of the garden.

My sister and I, we always found that really magical.

It's something that reminded me of my childhood,

so it's something I want to do today.

Steph's Showstopper is based on a childhood memory

she'd rather forget.

It is a really sweet picture.

I loved ice cream. But I'm a little bit accident-prone, so...

You dropped it? ..splat. Yeah.

NOEL: Carved out of coconut and raspberry ripple cake,

Steph's hoping her giant upside-down ice cream

won't slip through her fingers a second time.

Have you practised this?

I've done it in varying degrees of success,

so one extremely good, but one less good,

with a small amount of sinkage.

There's no real going back at this point, I've just gotta hope.

SANDI: The taller the Showstopper...

Something like that, hopefully. Substantial.

..the more robust the sponge will need to be,

to hold the weight of the bakers' supersized creations.

I'm putting things like glycerine inside,

trying to do things to make it a very moist cake,

but it's still solid, so it can stand up on itself.

It's a balance.

For her ambitious three-tier design...

A lot of cake mix.

..Priya's not taking any chances.

It's quite a simple batter.

It just needs enough structure for me to be able to carve

bits of it off, without it all falling apart.

NOEL: Priya's sturdy chocolate and orange sponge

will be shaped and decorated to look like a child's pop-up storybook.

I've always loved books.

When I was younger, I used to write my own little stories.

The Easter Bunny Who Lost His Eggs, and Sally Sue's Glasses.

I took the trouble to, er, put "copyright" and an ISBN number.

What sort of ten-year-old does that?

There you go, that was me as a child.

English Literature student Henry...

I've made quite a few birthday cakes at uni.

I was in the year where everyone's got their 21st,

so the kitchen's been carnage.

..is also drawing on his lifelong love of books.

I've based it around The Magic Faraway Tree.

It's a really freaky book, reading it now. But I loved it as a child.

Are you doing any of the weird characters? Weird-character-face.

There's Moonface... I'm not doing Moonface.

Based my career on Moonface.

Henry's magic tree will stand in its own three-tiered,

triple-chocolate magical wood.

I've tried to get the sort of woodland berry flavours into it,

and it shouldn't be too sweet either,

cos children's birthday cakes can be sickly. Tone that down a bit.

Somewhere between a child's dream and this judge's taste buds.

That was the plan.

NOEL: One baker indulging in his childhood self is Jamie.

It's like a salted caramel sponge,

with salted caramel buttercream and caramel sauce.

I guess it's my favourite flavour, as I was younger.

My twin brother, Alex, likes this as well.

It's kind of a cake for all of us.

Based on his family's beloved Schnauzer dogs,

cartoonish canine fondant features will be the icing

on Jamie's dream birthday cake.

I haven't gone really big, it's just a single tier,

but I should have enough time to get it all done

and not be rushing around, like I was yesterday.

I don't know why, my butter's like, really stiff.

I don't think I added too much flour.

I don't know why it would be like that.

Oh, my goodness. I forgot to add the eggs!

Rosie, I forgot to add my eggs.

Oh, no. Can you add them now?

No, I have to start again.

It's not worth the risk, is it?

No wonder I was like, urgh, it was like mixing concrete.

Wow, already messed up.

That's good, isn't it?

Bakers, you only have three hours left.

I thought he was about to say minutes, for some reason.

That first hour went like that.

This is like deja vu, isn't it?

Whilst Jamie has to start his cake batter once again...

Are you warm? You are warm.

..everyone else is ready to begin baking.

Straight in.

So I'm just going to do two at a time.

But with multiple cakes

needed to construct their spectacular creations...

Two down, two to go.

..most are having to bake in batches.

And now I'm going to do that all over again.

With so much cake to support, Alice is baking some reinforcements.

I'm just making some lemon butter biscuits,

which are going to form some walls and a roof for my sweet shop.

Both my parents are dentists

so, as a kid, sweets weren't really on the menu.

Alice will be decorating lemon-and-raspberry-flavoured sponge

to look like a sweet shop with its own iced biscuit canopy.

I have to be quite careful it's strong enough

that the roof doesn't collapse.

A bit of a sag in one of my practices so

need to make they are structurally sound.

To avoid total collapse without

scaling back on the size of their Showstoppers...

It is literally just marshmallows and Rice Krispies.

..Amelia, David and Phil

are all using a lightweight cake alternative.

Because it's easy to mould and I haven't got to make another cake,

so I'm just shaping the nose cone for the rocket.

Hoping to blast himself back up the scoreboard,

Phil's towering rocket-shaped and sherbet-flavoured

sponge cake will be a nostalgic nod to the 1969 moon landings.

There's a great story of when the Russians

first sent a satellite into space. It was called Sputnik.

The first one the Americans sent in, it crashed immediately,

and they called it Kaputnik, which I quite like.

Amelia is trying to figure out how to avoid a Kaputnik of her own.

I am doing a carousel cake, and there might be a tube in the middle

of the carousel, depending on time and my nerves and everything else.

Inside Amelia's carousel will be red velvet sponge and she's hoping

to have pink candy horses, merrily going around her precarious pole.

The, like, logistics of sticking it, balancing my cone on top,

yeah, it's just stressful.

David's Showstopper...

It's gonna be scary.

..is just as intimidating.

It's gonna be a snake, basically. Snake? Yeah.

When I was a kid I had an albino Burmese python.

I had a garter snake.

I had a slow worm.

Some of us have got snakes, some of us have got worms, Paul.

Fiercely protecting an egg full of baby jelly snakes,

David's terrifying chocolate and orange snake cake

will be complete with a tongue, fangs, and snakeskin.

I'm going with netting from a packet of oranges and then spraying it.

I saw it on a make-up programme. Someone was doing a snake.

It looks a bit like when they shed their skin, doesn't it?

Yeah, so I might just put that at the side afterwards then.

Good luck. Brilliant, thank you very much.

Bakers, you are halfway through, halfway through.

Argh.

Two hours left!

Let's hurry now a bit.

I've done about 20 minutes' work.

I had kind of safety net, which has all been used up, probably.

But looking better than before.

They're coming out now.

Must not drop the cake.

While the first batch of cakes are coming out of the oven...

And so far, so good.

..there's still plenty more to be baked.

Got my biggest cakes out of the oven.

My little ones are in the oven.

And if keeping track of multiple baking...

Chill out.

..and cooling times isn't hard enough...

What was that timer for?

..they've still got to find time to make dozens of decorative elements...

This is probably going to make a mess.

..to turn their childhood dreams into reality.

I am making a jungle cake.

This is going to be my tree,

which I am relying on for, like, the whole cake, really.

Clinging on to Rosie's chocolate tree will be a fondant monkey

and our second coiled snake.

A familiar sight for our baking vet.

Someone once brought in a giant snake in my last job,

and it wrapped itself around my boss's computer. Oh, wow.

Yeah, I was literally going, uh,

do I have to replace the computer if the snake squishes it? Uh...

How, how do you persuade a snake to let go of a computer?

Just sort of waited and sort of pulled its tail a bit

and, you know, gently, and hoped.

Wow. It let go. It was fine.

These are gold bars made of cinder toffee,

because when I was wee, I had a pirate party and my mum made

this amazing treasure chest cake. So, I'm going to give it a go myself.

Michael's treasure chest will be heaving with cinder toffee gold

and precious gems made out of molten sugar.

Right, here we go.

It sort of needs to fill to the very top,

cos otherwise you don't get the full gem effect.

Ooh, nearly.

Ruined.

Right, I need to just move on.

Not only does Michael's treasure need to set,

it's also at risk of being plundered by Dan.

I'm baking a pirate island cake.

I've just heard what Michael was doing.

I didn't copy it.

Dan's pirate island will be formed from five tiers

of lime and coconut sponge.

And after a disastrous first day,

he's hoping he won't have to walk the plank.

You've pulled it out, haven't you? For this one. I'm trying.

You don't want to go home first, do you?

No, I definitely don't.

If you go home first, I will pull the tent down.

We'll do it together. That's it.

We'll graffiti Paul's car.

Let's do that. We'll hide Prue's glasses.

So, Prue, dream birthday cake Showstopper.

I mean, I think it's a great challenge, because I think it

allows the bakers to really bring their personality out.

The only big issue I think they're all going to have

is finishing it off, cos the last thing we want is just the sponge

with no decorative element to it.

It's the decoration that will let them down.

I haven't actually finished the whole thing decorated at home.

I've always been about 20 minutes over.

Pressure's on now to make sure I do.

Bakers, you have one hour remaining, one hour!

Argh.

Just enough time for me to do my fringe.

One hour is a bit tight.

Starting to feel the pressure.

It's good, came out clean. So, let it cool before I put the fondant on.

So are you happy?

At the moment, yeah.

I'm, like, maybe a bit behind now but I hope it works.

If you want me to push anyone's cake on the floor, just let me know.

Dan's looking too comfortable.

Dan, all right, I'll push it on the floor. See you in a bit.

I think I need to start assembling. Everyone else is starting to begin.

Only when all of their cakes are cooled...

Been in the fridge for 45 minutes, so they're nice and cold now.

..can construction begin...

Not too much of a problem. Just do that.

Once it gets iced that should be all right.

..and the strength of their sponges will be put to the test.

There you go, you would never know.

I dropped my cake. You OK?

No.

Oh, my God.

I think it's OK.

Oh, I think I've got a stress hernia.

If the bakers don't carve...

This is the book, so it'll be, like, sloped on the edges.

..stack...

I'm slicing the top so that the cake is level.

..and shape with precision...

I just don't want it to go too deep that it's going to collapse my cake.

..their entire Showstopper structures could collapse.

Vanilla buttercream going between the layers.

Let's just hope they glue it together.

So I'm putting the passion fruit curd on to sandwich.

I hope the passion fruit's going to pack a punch but we'll see.

I'm just doweling the cake,

which means, when I come to stack it, it won't collapse.

Have to quite careful with this.

It's just a bit wobbly.

If that doesn't stay up then the whole thing will fall down.

So, going to shove these in there.

Can't do it.

Sorry.

I'm covering this in white fondant,

just going to airbrush the colours onto it.

Cos I'm doing quite a simple cake,

I think it needs to look almost perfect.

Oh, no. Calm down, calm down, calm down, calm down.

This is the nose cone.

Just trying to use my hands.

This is a tiny little thing so I've got to be careful with it, really.

Bakers, you have half an hour, just half an hour.

I can do it in half an hour, I can, I can.

Just add the final layer and then it's decoration.

How much I do depends on how much time I have.

This is the last mountain, but I am worried now about time.

I didn't realise we had as little left.

Getting there.

My tree is rubbish. It's the worst tree I've ever made.

But I'm going to have to do my best to try and fix it.

I'll put the biscuits in.

So you're going to split the dog's head open and confetti's going to come out.

You know that Rosie's a vet, right? You've got to stitch it back up again.

I really don't have time to fix it.

This is my isomalt waterfall, which might not have worked out.

Start again.

It's... upright.

It's whether it can hold.

Stay.

Hasn't fallen over yet.

Looks a bit unstable to me.

Might have to deconstruct it until I'm ready.

It's all right.

No pressure.

Bakers, you have ten minutes left.

Just throw food colouring at it. It will be fine.

That's what I'm doing.

Michelle, do you think you're on time? No. Close?

Um... no.

Panicked a bit now. Mine doesn't really look like a birthday cake now, does it?

Oh, God, I don't know if I'm going to have time to put

the tube in the middle. So this is now going to sit on there.

Yesterday the chicks didn't have eyes,

but dogs definitely have to have eyes.

Hey, you did a waterfall.

Ish.

Hopefully it'll stay.

Bakers, one minute remaining.

Urgh.

That was a happy sound.

Urgh. Urgh.

Oh, my days.

Don't worry, it's only our childhood dreams on the line.

I'm not sure I can do anything else, can I?

Oh, don't run out of icing now.

Come on.

I need to just pipe the face.

I'm out of time. So annoying.

Don't think they're going to stand.

I done it.

Done it. Right, beautiful bakers.

Your time is up.

All your first bakes are over.

You did it. Oh, my God.

That is not what I want to see when I turn round.

Woof-woof!

Dan, that looks sick.

Don't. I feel sick.

It's judgment time for our bakers' dream childhood birthday cakes.

Michelle, would you bring up your birthday cake, please?

Wow, it's absolutely exquisite.

I like the detail and it's neat.

It's tidy.

Well, now it's just gotta taste good.

It is a carrot cake with orange cream cheese frosting.

It's a great looking carrot cake.

I'm dribbling.

Prue, you've gotta stop saying that.

I mean, I'm absolutely salivating.

I think it's wonderful. Oh, thank you.

The balance of spices that you've put in is perfect.

It's nice and moist inside there, and the design as well.

It's faultless, actually.

Faultless. Faultless.

Thank you, thanks very much. Well done.

Faultless.

SHE SIGHS

It's very delicate. It's very charming.

Let's see what it tastes like, shall we?

Wafts of chocolate, it's just terrific.

It is a fantastic sponge.

The depth of flavour is beautiful.

You've got coffee in there,

which actually blends beautifully with the chocolate.

I think you've done a good job with your fairy garden.

Thanks.

Don't start.

That doesn't look like a book. Yeah.

This is just a little bit clumsy but I love the concept.

I've made a chocolate orange sponge and chocolate orange buttercream.

If I hadn't just had a better one,

I would've said it was an excellent cake, but this is slightly drier.

If you'd spent less time with the cake in the oven, and more time

getting it finished, you probably would've been all right.

It's really impressive and it didn't collapse.

It didn't collapse, no.

Some of it's a bit rough and ready, but let's see what it tastes like.

Very light sponge.

That is a beautiful cake. Thank you.

When you do hit the raspberry, it is deliciously balanced.

It's a bit simplistic, but I think you've done well.

It's so effective.

Makes me feel quite nostalgic.

I can remember 1969 even if you boys can't.

First man on the moon, 1969.

Exactly. And I watched him land.

It is a good design, however, it is leaning.

This is sherbet, isn't it?

Mm-hm. For me, it's a little too sweet.

It needs more sharpness to balance out the sweetness.

I would never have thought of that for a cake.

The design is spectacular.

I think you've done a good job.

It's a good thing you've got the blackberries there,

because it's quite a sweet cake.

You want that rich chocolate.

If you never had that blackberry in there, I wouldn't like it at all.

You've been very restrained about the colours.

This is a classy grown up's version of a child's dream.

Did you run out of time? Yeah.

I expected a little bit more than that.

But let's see what it tastes like.

It's a red velvet cake with white chocolate ganache and raspberry jam.

It's a pretty claggy cake.

It doesn't taste good, actually.

I see what you're going for, but I think you're slightly off the mark.

I love the idea that you dropped it.

Yeah. Which happens always when you've got children on the beach.

Always. Yeah.

That's a crumbly cake.

It's raspberry ripple and coconut.

It must be a bit over-baked cos it's a little bit dry as a result.

Yeah, OK. Flavours are good.

Concentrate on your baking.

OK.

I think it looks absolutely amazing.

It's charming. I think it's a fantastic looking cake.

The egg has something in it as well.

Oh, it's baby snakes.

Oh, wow.

Brilliant and creepy. In a good way.

That's a very nice thin layer of icing, well done.

That is a beautiful cake.

You have the chocolate, you have the citrus.

It all marries up lovely,

and to finish it off looking like that, well done, David.

Very, very good cake.

I think it's a little bit simplistic for me.

OK. A bit clumsy.

Well, I very seldom disagree with Paul but I love the exterior.

Tell us all about your birthday cake.

It's a red velvet cake with an Italian meringue buttercream.

Nice equal layers.

The cake's baked beautifully.

The Italian buttercream is silky smooth.

I think the interior, for me, works.

The exterior doesn't.

OK.

Oh, my goodness. Looks great.

I think you've ended up with a design

that any kid would be happy getting on their birthday.

Remind me of those flavours again.

It's a chocolate and coffee sponge with salted caramel buttercream.

It's a great looking sponge.

I like the texture. But I think it needed a bit more chocolate.

It's good, just think about your flavours.

I like the gold bars.

Very good. Like a couple of big kids.

Well done, Michael. Thank you. Thank you.

It's a waterfall.

Very beautifully done. It's clever. It's very clever.

I mean, I could see kids going for that straight away.

It's lime and coconut cake

with coconut buttercream and passion fruit curd.

Strong coconut.

Where's the passion fruit?

It's in the curd. It's there.

It's so slight.

There's more of it in the middle.

BAKERS LAUGH

It's not there either.

If you go further up, there's more.

Get it?

Not really, no.

Your flavour ideas were sound, but you're not bringing it through.

But the design I think is very, very good.

How many sponges are in there? Four.

And you got salted caramel in between each layer?

Yeah, it's like a... HIGH-PITCHED: ..car... Ooh, crikey.

How old are you? That's embarrassing.

Is your voice breaking?

Finally.

Uh, yes.

So it's got buttercream and caramel sauce between each layer.

Mine looks pretty good. Oh, I see.

They're your dog biscuits. Yeah.

Actually those biscuits are really nice. Are they? Mmm. Nice.

One mouthful's lovely. It's like eating a toffee.

Yeah. But a whole slice would be overwhelmingly salted caramel.

Your cake's over-baked.

There's not a lot of finesse about this cake.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Well, that didn't go well, did it?

I guess you don't really know until you're under pressure,

what it's going to be like.

Uh...

I don't know what to say.

Hold on, hold on.

Faultless.

Paul said he didn't like my cake during cake week.

Staying in this competition now would mean everything.

I need a lifeline. Throw me a bone.

I'm just prepared for the worst and if it happens, it happens.

Oh, my God, I don't want to get filmed with tears in my eyes.

So cringe, isn't it?

Prue and Paul must now decide who will be our first Star Baker

and who will be leaving the tent.

That was amazing. I thought they really came into their own.

Their personalities started to come out.

When we walked into the room

it was just this sea of amazing Show Stoppers.

My favourite is still the first one. Michelle's cake. Michelle's.

She did OK in the Technical. She did well in the Signature

but this has elevated her, so she's up there or thereabouts.

I think Steph deserves a mention up there as well.

Steph's cake was pretty good.

Third in Technical, she did pretty well in the Signature too.

But Henry who had done brilliantly in the Technical. Yeah.

Not so pleased?

Henry had a good day yesterday,

but today, he's not done so well. No, he hasn't.

People, for me, who are in a little bit of trouble, I have to say Jamie.

His Signature was good but he was bottom of Technical.

Today he struggled with the Show Stopper.

Dan, because I was trying to hunt down the flavour,

although the design was pretty good.

You've had 13 pieces of cake, are you all right?

No. Not quite.

Well done, bakers.

That is your first week in the tent successfully completed.

Sigh of relief, I'm sure.

And I have to tell you, Paul and Prue say the standard

has been incredibly high, so well done.

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

The person who is Star Baker this week is...

Michelle.

Yes. Oh!

Woo!

Amazing. Thank you.

So that leaves me with the horrible job of sending somebody home,

and I have to say, even after the first week,

it is incredibly difficult.

But I'm afraid one of you has to depart and that person is...

..Dan. I'm so sorry.

Hey, don't worry. I know, mate. I know, mate.

I had a bad week.

Definitely I'll take away the friendships.

What are we going to do without you?

Can't imagine how everyone's bonded. It's so strange.

Oh, Dan! Aw!

He's such a beautiful man. Aw!

I'm not going to miss the baking under pressure,

just going to miss everybody in that tent.

Sorry, mate. No, no, it's all right. Sorry.

He's a great baker, Dan, but unfortunately,

it all boiled down to his Signature Bake,

and it was that that was the cause of him going.

Pick it up a bit, all right. Yeah, yeah. It was really close.

I thought it was going to be me.

I'm looking forward to coming back and almost starting again.

Convince people I can bake.

Yeah, but, when you come on and you can't even bake a cake properly

doesn't look good, does it?

Oh, my God. You must be so pleased. I can't get over it. I'm so shocked.

I never, ever thought I'd actually get on the Bake Off.

So, to get Star Baker, I'm just so proud.

I don't know what to say.

I'm just happy.

Well done, Michelle.

Thank you so much.

I want the recipe, please. Oh, thank you.

You know, this is the tenth anniversary of Bake Off

and what a way to start.

That Show Stopper was pretty well the best cake I've ever eaten.

I've got something to tell you. Yeah?

I'm still in. Yes!

And, uh, Prue Leith wants my carrot cake recipe. Michelle!

Uh, and I'm Star Baker.

Oh, my God!

I couldn't be prouder. Do you know what, I knew you could do it.

I've had a cry as well.

Yeah, I'm close to that as well.

Group hug, group hug, group hug, get 'em in. Get 'em in.

Aw!

Next time...

Ooh. ..we're baking biscuits.

Praying.

..with a Signature Bake completely covered in chocolate...

Oh!

..a classic old school Technical...

Doesn't look very appealing, does it?

..and the most intricately detailed giant biscuit sculptures

the Bake Off has ever seen.

I'm making an organ.

But who will be our second Star Baker...

No pressure at all.

..and whose Bake Off...

Oh, it's off.

..is about to crumble?

It's getting stickier and stickier.

I still kind if can't feel that I can do it.

No!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media