The Great British Baking Show (2010–…): Season 11, Episode 10 - Final - full transcript
The season 11 final sees the bakers attempt custard in the signature and multiple baking elements for a show stopping cake.
[Matt] In the beginning...
- [Hermine] Ready, steady...
- Bake.
[Matt] ...there were 12.
- That scares...
- [Sura gasps]
...the bejesus out of me.
[Matt] Now...
[Matt] ...there are three.
[Laura] Oh, my God. [sighs]
It's a nightmare.
It's an absolute nightmare.
- You all right, Laura?
- Jeepers creepers.
- [Laura sighs]
- Come here, Laura.
[opening theme music playing]
[Dave] Good luck, everybody.
- Good luck.
- [Laura] Good luck.
I definitely feel like I'm going
into the final as the underdog.
Confidence has definitely been
one of my big struggles.
[Matt] Laura's Baking Show
began with chaos...
Come on, Freddie, please stay together.
[Matt] ...and was often disastrous.
Didn't press the ice setting.
[Matt] But more than any other baker...
I don't know why you're upset.
That looks pretty neat.
[Matt] ...she's proved she's a survivor...
- Say you like it.
- Actually, I love it. Yeah.
Yes!
[Matt] ...and a star.
Laura...
[Laura] Getting Star Baker never meant
anything to me until I got it,
and then I was like,
"Wow, this is incredible."
[Dave] I never thought
I'd make it to the final.
Some weeks, I thought
I was going week three.
[Noel] From week one,
Dave has been listening...
Let yourself down a bit
on the texture and flavour.
Yeah, okay.
[Noel] ...and learning.
It's seen him become one of the most
improved bakers
in the competition's history.
That is remarkable.
I think you've done an amazing job.
Thank you.
The nerves are more today.
The final is nothing less than perfection.
[Peter] I always wanted to get here.
I think I've always wanted to get here
since I was 12 or 13 or something.
He's the baby-faced assassin.
[Noel] From the off, Peter impressed...
That's a great Battenberg.
Thank you so much.
[Noel] ...consistently marrying
ambitious bakes with flawless flavours.
For such a young head, you seem
to operate at quite a different level.
[Noel] The Baking Show's
youngest ever finalist
secured his second Star Baker last week.
- Peter.
- [all applauding]
[Peter] Youngest finalist is awesome.
Let's take it a step further, eh?
We'll give it a shot.
Hello, bakers, you made it.
You're in the final.
And it's your last
ever signature challenge.
The judges would like you to bake eight
beautifully decorated custard slices.
Noel, are you a fan of custard?
I love custard.
I was very upset
when I heard that General Custard died
at the Battle of Little Cream Horn.
[sighs]
I think you should just leave.
You have two and a half hours.
On your marks, get set...
[Noel] Bake!
[Laura chuckles]
Normally, you do the signature
and it could be your last one.
But you don't know.
And this time, it is the last one.
[Prue] Custard slice.
That sounds very homely, doesn't it?
But a custard slice
is a really difficult thing to get right.
We want a laminated pastry,
which means it has to have those layers.
It's all about the butter.
When we cut into the custard slices,
you want a crispy, flaky pastry,
followed by a silky-smooth set custard.
Hot, hot, hot!
The use of the fridges
today will be critical
to get their custard slices finished.
[Paul] Hi, Laura.
- Morning. Hi.
- Hello, Laura.
[Paul] Tell us about your custard slices.
I am going to try and do refinement today.
I'm doing a yuzu custard slice.
I'm actually turning it on its side.
I love a custard slice,
but when you cut into it and it goes...
- Squish.
- Squishes.
With that, you can cut into it easier.
The resistance is in the custard
to hold it all up.
[Laura] That's the plan.
[Noel] Intricately-piped Chantilly cream
will top
Laura's vertical yuzu custard slice.
The pastry itself...
- [Laura] Yep.
- Tell us about that.
[Laura] I'm doing
a rough puff because of time.
- [Prue] Have you got the butter frozen?
- [Laura] Yeah.
Pastry and heat
do not mix very well at all.
So, I'm quite nervous, to be honest.
[Noel] For speed,
all the finalists are making rough puff.
One of my favourite pastries.
Working it very quickly and doing folds.
So, this will give you the layers.
I'm gonna pop this
in the freezer to chill down.
[Noel] As well as
perfectly laminated pastry,
the judges are expecting
a silky-smooth set filling.
[Dave] Cornflour thickens
and the gelatin
helps it so you can cut it nicely.
But you don't want too much,
'cause you don't want it to be rubbery.
[Laura] Ten leaves of gelatin.
I just can't afford
to have it not set today.
- [Paul] Morning, David.
- Good morning.
- Hello, there.
- Tell us about your custard slices.
So, today I'm gonna do
a caramel latte custard slice.
It's coffee set custard
and there's gonna be
a small amount of caramel on top.
Caramel again.
[Matt] Dave will also add caramelised
hazelnut spikes to a coffee custard slice
that he hopes will set him
on his way to the Baking Show crown.
I can kind of see you as the winner.
- Can you? [chuckles]
- Yeah.
In a small crown, big velvet cape on.
Shouting at lesser bakers. [chuckles]
[comically] Bring me
my velvet baking cape.
- Spatula!
- [chuckles] Spatula!
So excited for you.
When you come out of here,
you've got bambino on the way.
I have a little baby on the way.
[Stacey] Congratulations, Dave,
on making it through to the final.
We are so proud of you.
We know how much
hard work you've put into this.
We all miss you so much. All three of us.
Aw...
And we can't wait to see you again.
It's been so long, but so worth it.
[Matt] None of the bakers'
family and friends
will be able to join
them at this year's final.
But they've all sent messages from home.
Love you loads. Good luck.
Our boy's being born
into my life at its turning point.
I wanna win this for our new family.
A lot rides on today.
Just hoping the coffee
won't be overpowering.
It won't be too much coffee.
I think there'll be just the right amount.
Got 75ml of whisky
going into my crème pat.
[Noel] Flavour comes at a price.
This is not your average custard.
[Noel] The more liquid is added,
the less chance the custard has to set.
[Laura] I'm doing 300ml of yuzu juice
to 100ml of lime juice.
[Noel] And Peter
is making his life twice as hard.
I'm doing two different custards.
A raspberry crème pat, whiskey crème pat.
You have the two-tone colour in there.
[Noel] Speyside whiskey
and a caramelised-porridge-oat topping
will complete Peter's reinvention
of the Scottish dessert, cranachan.
How do you feel about being in the final?
I don't think it's sunk in yet.
I think I'm gonna leave here
and then realise
I was in the Bake Off final.
And realise how awesome that is.
[woman] Hi, Peter.
Many congratulations on making
it through to the Bake Off final!
It's amazing to see how far you've come
from those rainy afternoons
when you were four years old,
making cupcakes with your brother.
I must say, I couldn't have lost
my oven to a better person.
[Matt] For Peter,
this has been so much more
than just a baking competition.
[Peter] This has shaped me.
One of the huge things is dealing
with the biggest time
away from home I've ever had.
At uni, people have travelled the world,
done amazing things,
and I feel sometimes
that I've maybe not experienced as much.
And this... This is something that...
There's a hundred people locked in here.
We're the only 100 people
that have experienced this.
- You're gonna go from here back to uni?
- Yeah.
Are you prepared
for every student to point at you?
That would be weird
if everyone did that.
People will come up to you
and film you on their mobile phones.
- Are you ready for it?
- That wouldn't be... [laughs]
You'll just be out somewhere.
You'll be at a restaurant
and you'll look up
and people will be filming you.
- You're a star now.
- Well, that doesn't sound fun.
- Have a good bake.
- Thank you.
Take it off heat.
I'll whisk in the butter.
[Noel] By adding butter, Dave and Peter
hope to increase
their chances of a set custard.
It means it's gonna be a lot thicker
and should hold its shape in the pastry.
It needs to be to the point
where you can slice through it.
That should do it.
Looks good. Looks good.
[Matt] While their custards chill,
the finalists need to use
every minute to prepare their pastry.
It's really very cold.
[Peter] There's definitely layers
of butter. That'll be fine.
I'm trying to get this rolled
as quickly as possible
and get it straight in the oven.
[Peter] I'm giving the rough puff
a snow of icing sugar.
I'm gonna weigh it down
between two baking sheets.
That's gonna give it
a nice, flat, caramelised crust.
All right, let's go.
[Peter] So, that's in the oven
at 190 degrees for about 25 minutes or so.
Until it's really lovely and golden brown.
[Noel] Someone's in the final.
- That's pretty cool.
- If you can just nail it...
- Yeah.
- ...for three bakes...
- Yeah...
- ...winner.
Change your life, probably.
I know. I like my life, though.
Hi, babe. I can't believe
you've been gone six weeks now.
But it's just as well,
as I've only just finished deep-cleaning
the kitchen from the state you left it in.
I'm missing you so much.
I really hope that you can now see
and believe that you do
deserve to be there in the final.
The whole family
is behind you all the way.
[Noel] The other man
in Laura's life is doting dad, Mark.
How clever are you?
In the final of
The Great British Bake Off.
How have you pulled it off?
I'll tell you how.
You put your very big heart
and soul into all you do.
Believe in yourself, because we all do.
Come on, Laura, you can do this.
There is a big part of me
that's doing it for them,
'cause they're so proud
and they want me to do so well
that, erm, yeah, you don't
wanna let them down, really.
Shall we ask Mr Spoon,
if he thinks you're gonna win?
- Mr Spoon doesn't know the answer.
- [Noel chuckles]
- He does, he's been to every final.
- Really?
Do you think
that Laura's done enough to win?
- [whispers] Oh, my God!
- [chuckles]
He said yes.
- I bet you say that...
- Kiss Mr Spoon.
Come on. Kiss Mr Spoon.
I'm 47.
Oy, time call.
Bakers, you are halfway through.
Halfway through.
As you were.
[Matt] Paul and Prue will be expecting
perfectly baked laminated pastry.
So, I don't know whether it is flaky.
Only time will tell
when I come around to cutting it up.
[Peter] Colour's looking good,
nice and crisp.
[Laura] Hmm,
part of the butter seeped out.
And it's very thick, isn't it?
[Matt] And to transform
their humble custard slices
into decadent, final-worthy delights...
There's two caramels on the go.
[Matt] ...the bakers
will be adding extra textural...
This is my lemon and coconut gel.
[Matt] ...and decorative elements.
Whoa! What is that?
- [Peter] Honeycomb.
- [Noel] Honeycomb.
- It's going back down!
- [Peter] Whoa!
[Noel] What's happening?
- [chuckles]
- It's like a horror film.
[both laugh]
[Noel] It does look like
a '60s Star Trek creature.
I could communicate with it.
[chuckles] Please do.
[yelps and chuckles]
It's telling me
who the winner is. [laughs]
Oh, go on. Go on. Who is it?
[inhales sharply] It's Dave.
Anyway, it'll be good. See you later.
[Noel] Thirty minutes remaining.
[Peter] Okie cokey.
Just need to cut this down to size.
It's just so crumbly.
[Dave] I'm pleased with that.
These raspberries
are gonna be in a lovely little row.
[Dave] Just filling up the custard.
Making it as even as possible.
[Laura] Come on, Laura. Bit quicker.
We're in business now. Raspberry on top.
Just have to jigsaw it back together now.
[Laura] And let it set in the freezer.
A bit worried about time, as always.
It wouldn't really be
my signature challenge, would it,
without a bit of a race to finish.
[Dave] Coming out.
[Noel] It's the moment of truth.
Here we go.
[Noel] Only now will the bakers
find out if their custard has set.
[Peter] Looks nice.
[Dave] The custard has come out
clean and set, which I'm pleased about.
That was the only worry.
It's not set. It's not set.
[sighs] This is a nightmare.
This is an absolute nightmare.
What can I do?
Bakers, you have five minutes left.
[Peter] Ooh, careful.
[inhales sharply]
Oh, dear!
[whispers] Oh, no.
[Laura exhales sharply]
Just some piped lines
to make it a bit more pretty.
Judges are definitely expecting precision.
[sighs] This is not going well, is it?
[Peter] I'm happy with that.
That looks good.
Bakers, you have one
minute remaining. One minute.
[Laura] Oh, dear!
I need more time.
This is too warm.
I'm actually just gonna leave them off.
They look good as they are.
Neaten up the custard as much as I can.
[sniffles] "Decorating"
being a loose word.
Oh, I'm so sorry.
Bakers, your time is up.
[Noel] Oh, no.
You all right, Laura?
[Laura breathing heavily]
[sniffles]
[exhales sharply]
[sniffles]
[Noel whispering] Laura...
You know Björn Borg, the tennis player?
He was a good champion
'cause he could forget anything.
- Really?
- So the next point
was always all he would think about.
He'd never think
about anything behind him.
Just go forward.
[whispers] Thank you.
My God, the execution.
I mean, it looks like it's been dropped.
And I just feel so embarrassed.
[Noel] Come on,
you've come back from worse.
- Huh?
- You've come back from worse.
[Matt] It's judgement time
for the final signature bakes.
- Hello, Peter.
- Hello.
They look incredibly good.
Let's hope they taste good.
I do like the look of them.
They're very professional.
I love the way you've got
the raspberries standing in the halves.
[Prue] That's a lovely
flaky pastry, isn't it?
[Paul] You can see all
the layers. It looks very good.
Mmm. The oats are really delicious on top.
They're crunchy, slightly caramelised.
The custard is good. Beautiful flavour
with the whisky and raspberry.
It's probably a little bit thick.
- Okay.
- [Paul] Only a little.
But the saving grace is the raspberry.
Because the raspberries carry more liquid,
so the balance is there.
You thought it through
and ticked every single box.
It's a really lovely custard slice.
- [Paul] Hmm.
- Thank you very much.
I intended for the wobbly lines.
- I like them.
- It's all about wobbly these days.
- Absolutely.
- Wobble, wobble.
[Dave] This should hopefully
have a wobble.
[Prue] That stood up to that.
That is delicious.
The pastry's beautiful and flaky.
A gorgeous coffee flavour going through.
It's a little stodgy, the custard.
- Okay, yeah.
- [Prue] It's still pretty delicious.
I mean, it's not stodgy, stodgy.
And I love the coffee, and it's
a really strong espresso sort of flavour.
[Paul] Well done.
- [Dave] Cheers. Thank you.
- [Prue] Well done.
I'm just so embarrassed to serve you that.
I'm so sorry.
It's so sad.
How much gelatin did you have in?
- Ten leaves of gelatin in the custard.
- Ten leaves?
- It should have set like concrete.
- [Laura] Yeah.
Part of the problem,
it could be the flavours
could have broken it down.
- Okay.
- Yuzu, you've got in there?
- Yeah.
- Put too much flavour
in a custard, it can't set.
[Prue] The flavours
actually sound wonderful.
That's a bit hard.
You've lost a lot of your butter
in your pastry.
So you've lost the colour, as well.
- Mmm.
- [Paul] So it's very hard.
- Mmm.
- [Paul] It's like a cracker
rather than rough puff.
[Prue] Hmm.
The yuzu is very sharp. It is very strong.
And I love the flavours.
But that puff pastry is not good.
Laura, you've had a bad morning,
but it tastes delicious.
- Thank you.
- You could have a great afternoon.
Thank you.
[whispers] You've got two more challenges.
- Just forget it.
- Yeah.
Oh, "bad morning," I think, Prue said.
Which... Yeah, pretty accurate.
I think that was actually very kind.
[chuckles and sniffles]
[Matt] Now the bakers face
their last gingham-wrapped mystery.
It's time for your final
technical challenge,
which today has been set for you
by the lovely Prue.
- Which one's Prue?
- You know, sexy lady.
- All right. And who's the other lady?
- [Noel] It's Paul. I told you about this.
Oh, yeah. They warned me about him.
So, Prue, any words of advice?
Keep your cool
and keep everything else cool.
Use your fridges.
Okay. Off you pop. See you later.
So, bakers,
for your final technical challenge,
the judges would like you each to make
eight little walnut whirls.
Your walnut whirls must feature
a walnut sablé biscuit base,
coffee ganache filling,
surrounded by marshmallow.
And beautifully coated
in tempered chocolate.
You have two hours.
- On your marks...
- Get set...
- Bake.
- Hmm.
Quite excited about this.
Yeah, I like a walnut whirl.
Hopefully, I'll have the tekkers required.
They are delicious.
I think normally they don't tend to have
coffee-infused ganache in the middle.
I hate coffee. I hate the smell of it.
I hate everything about it. [chuckles]
It's the final technical challenges, Prue,
and you've chosen walnut whirls.
It's quite tricky
because it's all very tiny.
[Paul] I love it 'cause you can see
that beautiful biscuit at the bottom
and the ganache
surrounded with marshmallow
and the chocolate on the top.
Mmm, the marshmallow is just set.
It melts in the mouth.
You've got the kick of the coffee,
you've got the walnut
and that soft marshmallow.
- It's delicious.
- It is delicious.
What's the biggest problem gonna be?
The ganache. They have to
have it at the right temperature
that it's soft enough to pipe
but firm enough
to stay in a little pyramid.
Otherwise it'll spread
all over the biscuit.
The marshmallow is a bit tricky.
If it's too sloppy, you'll lose those
characteristic whirly whirlies.
And when you get to covering, again,
you want that chocolate
to be just about to set.
You do know what temperature it is,
don't you?
Yeah, but I didn't know
it was going to be 35 degrees
when I suggested chocolate.
It's hot.
We'll just try and keep everything cold.
[blows raspberry]
I feel like I'm on fire.
Number one says, "Toast the walnuts."
[Peter] Toasty walnuts
smell toasty and walnut-y.
So these are going in the base
of the biscuit.
Chopping these fairly small.
Doesn't give us any instruction,
but it's what I assume
is supposed to happen.
So I'm going with this.
I wanna blitz them
so they're like ground almonds.
Step two,
"Make the sablé dough and chill."
Sablé is a type of biscuit
that I've never made before.
Well, it's like a pastry biscuit, I think.
So that's the sablé dough.
Never heard of what sablé is, but yeah.
[Laura] All right, let's get on
with the chocolate ganache.
- Oh, my God, it's so warm.
- It's very hot, isn't it?
You gotta be cool like The Fonz.
I might put an anorak on in a minute.
Step three, "Make a coffee-infused
chocolate ganache."
[Laura] I don't like coffee.
[Peter] I've got some coffee beans
in cream on low heat.
That's going to infuse
the flavour, hopefully.
I genuinely don't know how to use coffee.
Hot water?
Hopefully, it's infused enough.
[Peter] Ganache should be
silky and smooth. No lumps or bumps.
Heat them with the cream?
"Stamp out eight discs of dough,
then bake."
And what did you think when you heard
you were gonna be making walnut whirls?
- [Dave] I got quite excited.
- Did you get excited?
- [Dave] Yeah.
- We can't see you.
The fact that we gotta cut discs out,
I'm gonna roll it thin.
Sablé likes to be kind of that thick,
but they're really small.
They need to be a bit thinner
to be in proportion.
[Laura] I'll need to get the biscuits out.
Is it eight, that we need?
[Dave] We don't know
how thin they're meant to be,
but that amount of dough,
you'd expect it to be...
I think you're meant to have
a bit more of a biscuit to it.
To be honest,
I probably rolled it too thin.
Why don't I re-roll it?
Because we're going for it.
[Dave] I've set ten minutes.
It may be less than that.
[Laura] I'm bound to mess it up.
Step five, "Make marshmallow."
- Good time to introduce you to Mr Spoon.
- Hello, Mr Spoon.
[laughs]
Go on, ask Mr Spoon...
[Noel] Do you think
Peter's done enough to win?
[whispers] He said yes.
He also said there's never been a winner
who hasn't kissed Mr Spoon.
Go on, just a little peck on the cheeks.
[Noel chuckles] That's in my memory bank
for the rest of my life.
I've not actually made marshmallow before.
I think it's just an Italian meringue
with gelatin in it.
[Laura] It is similar to Italian meringue.
[Peter] When I've made
a marshmallow before,
it's been a Swiss meringue method,
whisking the eggs over bain-marie.
[Laura] Normally, I'd just put
the sugar and water and then heat it
and then the syrup goes in the egg whites.
Yeah. Hot.
Do you want to do the old switcheroo?
- Erm, yeah.
- Yeah?
- Let's do it.
- So we've been freezing tea towels
and then putting them on. It's too frozen.
We'll just roll it up, shall we?
Stick it behind there.
And I'll just do
the rest of the technical like this.
Do it like that, yeah.
[Peter] With the residual heat of the pan,
I've just melted down the gelatin.
Throwing this in with the marshmallow.
Tastes like marshmallow.
[Laura] That's not right, is it?
What is that ball?
The hell?
[blender whirrs]
[Matt] Laura's egg whites
weren't whisked enough
when she added her sugar syrup.
Yeah, that's not gonna work.
[Peter] Some lovely-looking
little cookies.
[Dave] Another five minutes.
I think you're meant to have
more of a crisp biscuit.
[Laura] Well, that's a first.
Oh, please can I start again?
[Matt] Bakers, you have one hour left.
Step six, "Using the large nozzle,
pipe a cone of coffee ganache
in the centre of each biscuit."
[Laura] Give it a quick whizz.
[Peter] I think we're doing pretty well
on the time front.
Whether it's right or not, I have no idea.
I'm happy with it.
I'm happy with that, definitely.
Just being blinded by other people,
what they're doing.
[Laura] We'll add the gelatin.
You need to whisk it until it gets cool.
Look at number eight, "Assemble."
Must have taken her a while to write that.
[laughs]
[Dave] I just need a really steady hand.
That is set.
[Peter gasps] Oh, they're melting.
The meringue's starting
to weep a little bit,
which isn't great.
It could be because I didn't take
the temperature up high enough.
It could also be, it's pretty hot in here.
We'll chill it down in the freezer.
[Noel] Thirty minutes remaining.
Number nine, "Coat the walnut whirls
in tempered chocolate
and top with a walnut half."
[Noel] To highlight the walnut whirls'
iconic shape...
It's quite stiff.
Got some gappage, haven't we?
[Noel] ...the marshmallow should be covered
in a glossy coat of crisp chocolate...
Let's try and temper some chocolate
in 34-degree heat.
[Noel] ...which can only be achieved
with precise heating and cooling.
[Peter] I want to get this
forty-five-ish degrees
and I'm going to throw in
some cold seed chocolate.
And the aim is to take this down
to around 29 degrees or so,
but the current air temperature
is 34 degrees, so that's difficult.
So I've got an ice bath here
because it's so warm.
We're never going to get to 27.
[Peter] It's not coming down
to temperature.
Let's see if we can remedy that.
[Dave] This is starting
to come down in temperature.
[Peter] This has been in the freezer,
so it's cold.
It's gonna reduce the heat.
[Laura] I'll do a seeder method
with the chocolate.
We're just gonna whisk it in.
How long have we got left?
[Noel] Ten minutes remaining.
[whispers] That's love, that is.
That's love.
[whispers] That's acting.
[Laura] Thirty-six degrees in here.
It's not looking great.
If I'm being honest, I'm dissatisfied.
[Laura] We don't want to rush, do we?
I feel that if I pour it over,
it might not get even coverage.
I think we have to dip it
in the chocolate.
[Peter] I'm disappointed
in how neat they are.
You have one minute left.
[Dave] I like the look
you're getting with the spiral.
Bakers, your time is up.
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight.
Please place your walnut whirls
behind your photographs.
So hot in here that the chocolate's
just melting, isn't it?
[Peter] They look insane, guys, well done.
[Matt] Prue and Paul
are expecting eight walnut whirls
with a crisp walnut sablé base,
rich coffee ganache
and a shiny, tempered chocolate coating
on an iconic whirl of light marshmallow.
- Shall we start with this one, Prue?
- Yeah.
I think it's not quite set.
If it had been a bit chillier...
This might've been a timing issue.
It just hasn't had time
for the chocolate to set.
[Paul] Yeah.
[Prue] Biscuit is delicious.
It could have had
a second longer in the oven.
[Paul] The ganache is quite soft.
Marshmallow is soft, chocolate is soft.
[Paul] It's a timing issue
- to get everything just right.
- [Prue] Yeah.
This one, the chocolate's obviously set,
but it looks as if the marshmallow
was a little soft.
[Paul] You do want those swirls.
The biscuit could have done
with a bit longer.
- I think so.
- [Paul] The ganache is good.
[Prue] Ganache is perfect.
Coffee comes through really nicely.
And there's not too much marshmallow.
[Paul] I do love the look of these.
The swirls are lovely, they are neat.
[Prue] They probably would set...
[Paul] They would've set
if they had a bit longer.
- Listen.
- [biscuit cracks]
[Prue] Lovely crack.
That's the right colour biscuit.
It's good to have a decent lump of biscuit
- to compensate for all that sweet stuff.
- [Paul] Mmm.
[Prue] Mmm.
[Paul] It's got a nice crumble.
The ganache is all right.
It could've been darker,
- but the flavour's good.
- [Prue] Mmm.
- That's beautiful.
- They do look neat as a pin.
I agree.
[Noel] Prue and Paul must now decide
whose walnut whirls are winners.
Right. In third place...
we have this one. Laura.
It just wasn't quite ready, was it?
In second spot...
is this one. Peter. You managed to set it,
but you didn't get that definition
in the swirl.
Which means, Dave, you are the winner.
Not least because
the biscuits were thicker
so that with every mouthful,
you got a good bit of biscuit.
They were absolutely delicious.
Well done.
I just can't believe it.
My last technical,
and I've proved to myself and Prue
and Paul that I can do technicals.
I wasn't expecting to come second.
I thought that I was
at the bottom of the pile there.
When I came first
in the technical last time,
it was like I was
just the best of a bad bunch.
And I was the worst
of a good bunch this time.
So, erm, yeah.
I'm not gonna cry over it.
[thunder rumbling]
[Noel] There's just
one challenge remaining
before we crown the winner
of The Great British Baking Show.
Good luck, everyone.
Can Laura win this?
We've seen stranger things
in the tent before.
I've seen people, it's all theirs to lose,
and when it came to the final challenge,
they lost it.
Could I just say we've written
Laura off quite a few times?
- I do think she's got
- [thunder rumbling]
a huge mountain to climb
because, really, the...
God is very angry
with what you've just said, Prue.
- Listen to that thunder.
- God is agreeing with me.
- Of course He is. He wouldn't dare not to.
- [all laughing]
He doesn't want to get snubbed
from your next dinner party.
None of us do.
He knows it'll be a key party.
Do you think that'll stay in?
Welcome back for your final
showstopper challenge.
The judges would like you
to make a colossal dessert tower
reflecting your personal experience.
Your tower of treats must feature
a large cake at its base,
and then the rest of the tower
must show off
at least three different
baking disciplines.
You have just four and a half hours.
- On your marks...
- Get set...
Bake!
The final challenge, it's their own
personal showstopper, really.
It's a kind of exhibition
at the end of a term
where you show off
everything you've learnt.
A big cake underneath,
and then three other bakes on top.
They can go down the choux, the pastry,
the biscuit, the pudding, the bread.
But all I want is the perfect
of whatever they choose to do.
I'm just hoping
that the bakers go out feeling,
"I did my best and it was bloody good."
- [Paul] Morning, Laura.
- Hello, Laura.
- Morning, Laura.
- Morning!
Tell us about your showstopper.
It's based on a favourite quote of mine
by G.K. Chesterton, which is,
"When it rains on your parade,
look up, not down,
for without the rain,
there would be no rainbow."
[Noel] Laura will attempt
to put her troubles behind her
with carrot-and-walnut cake,
warm and spicy
chocolate-orange Chelsea buns,
lemon macarons, and miniature versions
of her Star Baker-winning key lime tart.
[Paul] Nice choices.
How do you feel about today?
Yesterday was a bit topsy-turvy for you.
Yesterday was just
really not a good day for me,
but I genuinely don't mind what happens.
I just want to do myself proud.
- Just do me one favour.
- Hmm?
Try and keep your bench clean for once.
- I don't think she can do that.
- That's a big ask.
Clean bench, clean mind,
focus on the cake. That's all.
There's method in that chaos, right?
[Matt] For this final showstopper,
more chaos could be on its way
and from an extremely unlikely source.
My dessert tower, I've named it
the Bonkers Bake-off Bubble Cake.
It's to reflect my experience through
the cake being a little bit random,
so it's a bit more out there
than anything I've done.
[Matt] Peter will deliver
a Bonkers Baking Show
with a puffed-rice Christmas tree,
complete with friand Christmas puddings
and biscuit presents
clashing with French lemon
and blackberry choux buns,
and all balanced on
a great British Victoria sandwich.
Like your Chris Hoy cake.
Yes, yeah.
I tried to have a brainstorm thinking
about what my experience has been,
and I kind of came up
with two main themes.
One of them is the challenge
of the uncertainty.
A lot of uncertainty around when we're
coming, what we're doing, the unknown,
and the other aspect
is the joy of it all, you know?
I'm on the Bake Off in the final,
a show that I've watched half of my life,
and, sort of, dreamt about being on.
- Don't say that. I feel really old.
- [laughing]
[Noel] Half of your life
is about five years.
- [Paul] Yeah.
- [chuckles]
[Laura] Let's get it in.
Bit of a whopper, this cake, to be honest.
[Matt] Whilst Laura and Peter
aim to repeat previous triumphs...
[Peter] Absolutely ma-hoosive.
[Matt] ...Dave's strategy
seems a little riskier.
I'm calling my dessert tower
A Tower to Redemption.
I'm gonna do bakes
where I've done badly in some challenges.
I'm doing this to prove to Prue and Paul
that I have got what it takes.
It is a big risk.
The definition of insanity
is expecting different results
from trying the same thing.
It was Einstein that said it.
Dave Einstein.
[Matt] Dave is aiming
for redemption at last
with a new version of his fraisier cake
with amaretto syrup,
an improved chocolate babka recipe,
raspberry profiteroles,
and miniature white-chocolate-
macadamia-nut brownies.
You set yourself a mildly monumental task
of succeeding
where previously you have failed.
- Exactly, yes.
- [Matt] Fortune favours the bold.
So are you gonna have
a holiday after this is over?
We'll probably have a staycation
before little bubba comes along.
Yes! I'd like to be your baby
if you're gonna bake like that.
- That got weird again, didn't it?
- It did get weird, yeah.
- I might leave.
- Could always feed you later if you want.
[Dave chuckles softly]
[Noel] In this epic final showstopper,
baking the largest cakes the competition
has seen so far is just the beginning.
So I'm gonna do my Chelsea buns.
It's in a really lovely enriched dough.
It's got a bit of cinnamon
and some orange extract in there, as well.
If I'm in the doghouse, I normally
make these for my husband.
Apparently, I'm a nagger.
I just say to him, "Well, if you just
did things, I wouldn't have to nag."
[Matt] Laura's not the only one
with an enriched dough
designed to make amends.
Chocolate Week, we did babkas.
I took it out of the oven a bit too soon.
I didn't know the timings.
[Noel] Whilst Dave hopes the
second storey of his Tower of Redemption
will soon be on the rise...
[Peter] To Rowan.
[Noel] ...it's lift off
for Peter's chaos theory.
[Peter] I'm gonna start making
my biscuit dough.
Sort of an American-style
sugar cookie type thing.
[Noel] He's planning to make biscuits
that look like cakes.
[Peter] I've got
an orange-and-chocolate cookie.
It's gonna have a chequerboard effect,
like my orange-and-chocolate Battenberg,
which was my first baking attempt.
The dough looks fine.
I did a very poor job
of flipping one onto the other,
so they're very skewwhiff.
[thunder rumbling]
[Matt] Bakers, you have three hours left!
[Dave] Sponge looks nice and golden,
but not brown like last time.
[Noel] You're what I can only describe
as a man in the zone.
[Dave] Yeah.
But nobody who's won this
hasn't kissed Mr Spoon.
- You prepared to kiss Mr Spoon?
- [Dave] Okay.
Go on, then.
Not there! On his face! [laughing]
What? Where?
It's a family show! Mr Spoon!
- [groans]
- Disgusting.
- [Dave laughs]
- [Noel] Unbelievable.
- He thinks you're gonna win.
- Thank you.
He says if you want his number,
ask the production office.
Yeah.
[Peter] Choux's sounding nice,
but a bit too bubbly.
Choux's a bit too loud there.
Definitely cooked.
Racing through it today. Lightning speed.
I'm now going back
to make my Chelsea buns.
So we've got orange peel, dark chocolate
chips going into the filling itself.
[Dave] Now I'm sorting the filling out,
so they're in sausage shapes.
[Peter] That'll do.
Love watching you work.
Just by eye. No rulers involved?
- I'm not Peter.
- [chuckles]
Peter's part ruler. His leg's a ruler.
He measures stuff as he runs.
[Matt] But Peter's Battenberg biscuits...
[Peter] Oh, my word.
[Matt] ...aren't quite measuring up.
[Peter] Oh, that's really thick.
Erm, probably should've planned this,
shouldn't I?
[Dave] After I've done this,
can start preparing the profiteroles.
[Peter] This looks really bizarre.
[Laura] Really happy with that dough.
I did do this in practice.
I don't know why my head isn't working.
I'm in the final,
that's why my head isn't working.
[Dave] Right, that's that done.
I think we'll do the pastry for my tarts.
[Peter] These Battenberg biscuits
are different to the plan.
Somehow in my head, I don't understand
how to make a chequerboard.
So they're not chequerboard biscuits,
they're now stripy biscuits.
So that's minorly concerning.
[Dave] Let's get these in the oven.
Need to get the Chelsea buns in the oven.
Sleep well, my beauties.
These are the stripy accidents.
[Noel] Peter's Bonkers Bubble Cake
is proving more chaotic than he planned.
I'm gonna try and cut some
to make them look like chequerboards.
Allowing myself to get a bit stressed out.
[Dave] So, I'm piping out the profiterole.
I'm redeeming
myself from the éclairs that I made
in one of the technical challenges.
[Laura] We'll add in the filling
of the lime tarts. They're nice and zesty.
And it just makes
such a difference cooking things I enjoy.
[Dave] This is the craquelin.
When it grows,
it stretches out and goes all crispy.
It can stop the rise,
but hopefully, these are really nice.
Got some chequerboards.
Oh, my word. I think,
I was just being a bit of a silly-billy.
[Noel] Ninety minutes remaining...
Okey cokey.
[Noel] ...and the finalists'
daunting to-do lists...
[Dave] That's done.
[Noel] ...now gets harder to manage.
[Peter] If I run out of time,
it better not be
because I was slacking in the middle.
[Noel] To stand a chance of finishing
their giant dessert towers
in time for judging...
Doing all the cake components
at the moment.
[Noel] ...they'll need
to begin construction
whilst also finishing
their showstopper fillings
and remaining treats at the same time.
[Dave] Moving on to brownies.
Making me hungry, all this baking.
[Peter] They're not very
even and smart, but...
[Laura] They're good.
The middle's come up.
Didn't roll them very tightly.
[Dave] They're looking good.
[groaning] Hot.
[Dave] The judges said
that my brownie was like a tray bake.
So no tray bake today.
The one thing that scares me a lot
is all the structural stuff.
[Peter] On top,
we have a puffed rice cone.
[Laura] I need to get on
with that structure soon,
so that
I'm not flapping at the last minute.
[Peter] Oh, no!
Dang it.
How long have we got?
Bakers, you've got one hour left.
One hour. That's right. One hour.
Jeepers creepers.
[Matt] If the time
pressure wasn't enough...
Sixteen more minutes for the brownies.
[Matt] ...guests have begun arriving at
the most exclusive garden party of 2020.
Everyone in our bubble
who was locked down and worked so hard
to make the Baking Show happen this year
has been invited to see
who will be crowned champion.
[Peter] I feel like I can do this.
- [Noel] You all right time-wise?
- [Laura] Don't know.
I'm going as quick as I can.
- This will be ready when it's ready?
- Yeah.
This is the fraisier cake now.
So I need to get this done,
and then I need to start my nougatine.
[Noel] Now,
there's another task on the list.
[Laura] Gotta do my nougatine
but don't wanna do it.
Just hate that kind of thing.
[Noel] Without nougatine...
Gotta take this up to 180 degrees.
[Noel] ...the finalists' dessert towers
will have nothing to support the treats
that will stack on top of their cake.
So now I'm making
little Christmas pudding friands.
I need to make caramel, though.
Fearful that we might run out of time.
[Dave] I'm not fazed
by the amount of stuff going on.
It's going well.
I'm going into, like, stealth mode now.
I just need to hurry up a bit.
How long have we got left?
[Matt] You have half an hour left.
Serious.
[Laura] Come on.
[Dave] It's hot enough.
The nougatine ready to work with.
[Peter] Ideally, I'd just sit over this,
but against better judgment,
I will do two things at once.
Come on, Laura. Don't slack now.
Come on.
[grunting]
[Peter] My friands are gonna have
the taste of the festive season.
That will do.
I just need enough time
to put the treats on.
Bakers, you have 15 minutes left.
This is the time to pick up the pace.
You can do this, kids.
[Peter] Yes, we can.
[Laura] I hate this stuff.
Sod it, sod it.
The treats are all over there.
- How long we got left?
- Five minutes left.
I'm not gonna get it all on.
I need more time.
So tense.
Oh, crumbs.
[Dave] I'm pleased with how it came out.
[Peter] Unfortunately,
slapdash is our friend today.
We're going for random vibes.
[Laura grunting] Oh.
Oh, it's too big. Argh!
I've some spare cake cards.
If you need to use them,
they're on this stall.
They're gonna knock me off points
'cause I haven't made it.
- Just need more time.
- Bakers, you have one minute left.
[Dave] Go on, Peter.
Need a hand at all?
I'm all right. Thanks though, Dave.
[whispering] Careful. Take your time.
Oh, well done, Peter.
Thank you.
Your time is up.
[sighs]
- [Noel] Well done, bakers. You did it.
- [all clapping]
[cheering]
- Taken years off me and Matt's lives.
- [chuckles]
The stress.
[Noel] Well done, gents.
- [Dave] Group hug.
- [Laura] Well done.
[Matt] It's judgment time
for this year's final showstoppers.
Laura, would you like to bring up
your showstopper, please?
Individually, if we had a plate
with the key lime pie on
and a plate with the bun on
and a plate with the cake on,
I'd have gone, "That's nice."
I think individually,
they'd probably look better.
- [Paul] Let's look at the base.
- [Laura] It's a carrot and walnut cake
with a cinnamon-orange
cream cheese filling.
- That's beautiful.
- Thank you.
[Paul] Nice, moist,
full of flavour, full of texture.
- Perfectly baked.
- Heavenly cake.
- [Paul] Mmm.
- Thank you.
[Paul] Let's have a look at the key lime.
I put a bit of stem ginger in the filling.
Flavours are amazing in it.
I love the zing coming from that lime.
Tell us about this...
Chocolate and candied orange peel
Chelsea buns.
Nothing wrong with your baking, Laura.
I like Chelsea buns sort of
stretchy and squashy in the middle.
[Paul] The flavour is fantastic.
[Laura] And then the lemon macarons
are filled with lemon curd.
Great flavour, delicate.
[Prue] I love the soft middle.
You are such a good baker
and you're so good at flavour.
- Thank you. Thanks so much.
- [Paul] Thank you.
- Well done, Laura.
- Well done, Laura.
Thank you.
[exhales]
Peter, would you like
to bring your showstopper up here?
- Scary...
- You all right?
Yeah. Once I get it up, it'll be...
good to go.
I like the Christmas theme on the top.
That looks quite festive, doesn't it?
It's a battle of everything.
[Prue] I think it looks lovely.
[Peter] At the bottom,
it's a Victoria sandwich
with a strawberry jammy cream
in the middle.
Delicious flavour.
I think the flavour
and the texture is perfect.
A little drier than I thought.
You need that lovely,
thick layer of creamy strawberry.
[Peter] In the middle,
lemon and blackberry choux buns.
Blackberry is delicious.
Sharp on both, blackberry and the lemon.
It's lovely
and silky smooth inside, as well.
The choux is nicely baked.
Craquelin's worked.
I love the little Battenberg biscuits.
They're softening a bit,
but they're delicious.
- [Paul] Let's have a look at the...
- [Prue] Friands.
That's a bit disappointing.
It's got that doughy texture.
It's a bit stodgy.
[Prue] But all in all,
I think it's a good effort.
- Thank you, Peter.
- Thank you very much.
[Dave exhales]
[softly] Well done.
- Well done, Peter.
- Thanks, Dave.
Dave, would you like to bring up
your showstopper, please?
It really looks original,
enticing and very well designed.
Dangerous at the same time,
'cause what you've done is
pick things that you think
you could have done better.
So these are now perfect.
[Prue chuckles]
- [laughs]
- Just say yes.
Yes.
[Paul] Let's see the fraisier cake.
[Prue] My goodness. Look at that filling.
That is a luxury slice of cake.
This is tender as anything.
It's really lovely.
[Paul] I think it's delicious.
Beautifully light, summery cake.
- Let's look at your brownie.
- [exhales]
- This is macadamia nut and...
- [Dave] White chocolate,
and there's
dark chocolate chunks inside, too.
What we were complaining about last time
was that they were cake-like
rather than gooey.
Gooey, yeah.
Oh, I hit goo. That's better.
[Prue] That's gooey.
[Paul] You got that
light crack on the top.
You got texture and good flavour.
So they're all right.
Let's have a look at these.
[Prue] Babkas.
Last time, you struggled with a babka
because you didn't understand
what you were asked for.
Yeah, I think I took them out
of the oven a bit too early.
Ironically, you brought these out
a bit too late.
[Prue] Just what I was gonna say.
[Paul] The flavour's good,
but the dough is tough.
It should be more open than that.
Okay, let's try these choux buns.
Straightaway, they're too flat.
I also think you didn't bake them
for quite long enough.
They weren't crispy.
[Prue] They're also not helped
by having a wet filling.
Cream needed to be a bit thicker.
[Paul] Brownies, check.
Your main fraisier cake, check.
Your profiteroles and babka cakes...
still need work.
But I also think that fraisier cake is
one of the nicest things I've eaten.
- That was heaven.
- [Dave] Thank you.
- Thank you very much.
- [Paul] Well done.
[softly] Well done.
I just don't know if I've done enough.
Prue wasn't so keen on the friand.
It was a bit stodgy,
but I still love a bit of stodge.
[Laura] Having just had that feedback
and it being better than I expected,
I'm now really gutted
that I didn't do better yesterday
because I feel like
I could have done it, maybe.
I think it's definitely gonna be
between Peter and David.
And I think Dave is gonna just nab it.
[sighs] Bricking it.
I think it's gonna be so close
and we can't do anymore now.
It's all up to the judges.
[all cheering and clapping]
[Matt] Whilst the finalists join
their fellow Baking Show bubblers,
Prue and Paul have
an enormous decision to make.
You said this was delicious four times.
I'll say it again.
It was utterly delicious.
You said that was heavenly. [chuckles]
The base cake on every one of the bakers
was some of the best examples
of those cakes I've ever seen.
At the beginning of the day,
you said Laura would have to excel.
Her flavours were beautiful
on every single layer.
[Matt] But she's not in the running
to be the winner,
but the other two are.
[Prue] They are so close
because the two sponges
are both perfect.
Then we've got to judge on
the other three things.
You said this was excellent,
this was excellent.
These two could be improved.
Two of Peter's
that you thought were excellent,
two that could be improved.
They're neck and neck.
- How do you...
- It's a draw.
How on earth do you come to a decision?
This is as close to a draw
than I've ever seen.
Wow.
[all cheering and clapping]
Bakers, would you like to come
and join us, please?
[all cheering and clapping]
Congratulations on reaching the final.
Usually, you'd be here with your family,
but this year, you're here
with a different kind of family,
the amazing bubble who came together
to make this show.
And I would just like to say
a huge thank you
to everybody who worked on it
and in particular, to the medics,
to the cleaning team
and to all the staff here at the hotel
who've looked after us.
- Thank you so much.
- [all cheering]
So, it's time to find out who has won
and the judges have said
it was the closest final they've ever had
and the hardest decision
they've ever had to make.
Okay, the winner is...
- Peter.
- [all cheering and clapping]
[indistinct chatter]
It's bloody mental.
[Paul] You're the winner, mate.
Well done, bro. Amazing. Amazing.
No, I can't quite believe that I'm here.
- Thank you, Matt.
- Congratulations, Peter! Amazing! Amazing!
[Peter] I can't believe I made it here.
I can't quite believe
that the show happened.
This is gonna be
a really huge chapter of my life.
Erm...
And...
What a way for it to end.
How close was it with David and Peter?
It came down to little bits of crisp
on a choux bun.
It came down to flakes
in a rough puff pastry.
It was honestly that close.
Peter should be exceptionally proud.
He's the youngest winner we've ever had
and the first Scottish winner
we've ever had.
[Prue] I'm terribly proud of Peter.
I feel as if he's my grandson
or something,
because he's such a nice guy...
I want a picture with you.
[Prue] ...and he's so eager to learn.
You can't not like him.
At my age, you feel they're all
my children or grandchildren
or maybe even
great-grandchildren. [chuckles]
[Dave] I gave Peter a good run
for his money, but he really deserves it.
I'm not disappointed at all.
If someone told me that
I would be a runner up,
I'd take that all day long.
Overjoyed and then bittersweet
because it's over,
but also looking forward to going home
and I'm just really made up
I got some flowers, to be honest.
And you really couldn't ask
for a better winner.
Like, he really does deserve it.
My flatmates told me
there's a really nice shelf
in our new flat that I can shove it on.
I wanted this a lot. [laughs]
When I was 12, watching the show,
it got me into baking, big time.
And... I think that was series three.
That's my favourite series
of the Bake Off.
James got to the final
and John won that one.
I've re-watched that series like,
probably eight or nine times.
I mean, I'm a Bake Off nerd. [laughs]
I think 12-year-old Peter would be in awe.
I think I'd believe it,
but I'd be
just the most excited, giddy kid,
which I feel like I am right now.
I am that excited, giddy kid.
[Paul] Go and show it off to that lot.
[all cheering]
[uplifting music playing]
- Hey, Andrew.
- [Andrew] Hey.
- Is everyone there?
- Yeah.
Erm...
- I just won the Bake Off.
- [all cheering]
[chuckles]
[closing theme music playing]
- [Hermine] Ready, steady...
- Bake.
[Matt] ...there were 12.
- That scares...
- [Sura gasps]
...the bejesus out of me.
[Matt] Now...
[Matt] ...there are three.
[Laura] Oh, my God. [sighs]
It's a nightmare.
It's an absolute nightmare.
- You all right, Laura?
- Jeepers creepers.
- [Laura sighs]
- Come here, Laura.
[opening theme music playing]
[Dave] Good luck, everybody.
- Good luck.
- [Laura] Good luck.
I definitely feel like I'm going
into the final as the underdog.
Confidence has definitely been
one of my big struggles.
[Matt] Laura's Baking Show
began with chaos...
Come on, Freddie, please stay together.
[Matt] ...and was often disastrous.
Didn't press the ice setting.
[Matt] But more than any other baker...
I don't know why you're upset.
That looks pretty neat.
[Matt] ...she's proved she's a survivor...
- Say you like it.
- Actually, I love it. Yeah.
Yes!
[Matt] ...and a star.
Laura...
[Laura] Getting Star Baker never meant
anything to me until I got it,
and then I was like,
"Wow, this is incredible."
[Dave] I never thought
I'd make it to the final.
Some weeks, I thought
I was going week three.
[Noel] From week one,
Dave has been listening...
Let yourself down a bit
on the texture and flavour.
Yeah, okay.
[Noel] ...and learning.
It's seen him become one of the most
improved bakers
in the competition's history.
That is remarkable.
I think you've done an amazing job.
Thank you.
The nerves are more today.
The final is nothing less than perfection.
[Peter] I always wanted to get here.
I think I've always wanted to get here
since I was 12 or 13 or something.
He's the baby-faced assassin.
[Noel] From the off, Peter impressed...
That's a great Battenberg.
Thank you so much.
[Noel] ...consistently marrying
ambitious bakes with flawless flavours.
For such a young head, you seem
to operate at quite a different level.
[Noel] The Baking Show's
youngest ever finalist
secured his second Star Baker last week.
- Peter.
- [all applauding]
[Peter] Youngest finalist is awesome.
Let's take it a step further, eh?
We'll give it a shot.
Hello, bakers, you made it.
You're in the final.
And it's your last
ever signature challenge.
The judges would like you to bake eight
beautifully decorated custard slices.
Noel, are you a fan of custard?
I love custard.
I was very upset
when I heard that General Custard died
at the Battle of Little Cream Horn.
[sighs]
I think you should just leave.
You have two and a half hours.
On your marks, get set...
[Noel] Bake!
[Laura chuckles]
Normally, you do the signature
and it could be your last one.
But you don't know.
And this time, it is the last one.
[Prue] Custard slice.
That sounds very homely, doesn't it?
But a custard slice
is a really difficult thing to get right.
We want a laminated pastry,
which means it has to have those layers.
It's all about the butter.
When we cut into the custard slices,
you want a crispy, flaky pastry,
followed by a silky-smooth set custard.
Hot, hot, hot!
The use of the fridges
today will be critical
to get their custard slices finished.
[Paul] Hi, Laura.
- Morning. Hi.
- Hello, Laura.
[Paul] Tell us about your custard slices.
I am going to try and do refinement today.
I'm doing a yuzu custard slice.
I'm actually turning it on its side.
I love a custard slice,
but when you cut into it and it goes...
- Squish.
- Squishes.
With that, you can cut into it easier.
The resistance is in the custard
to hold it all up.
[Laura] That's the plan.
[Noel] Intricately-piped Chantilly cream
will top
Laura's vertical yuzu custard slice.
The pastry itself...
- [Laura] Yep.
- Tell us about that.
[Laura] I'm doing
a rough puff because of time.
- [Prue] Have you got the butter frozen?
- [Laura] Yeah.
Pastry and heat
do not mix very well at all.
So, I'm quite nervous, to be honest.
[Noel] For speed,
all the finalists are making rough puff.
One of my favourite pastries.
Working it very quickly and doing folds.
So, this will give you the layers.
I'm gonna pop this
in the freezer to chill down.
[Noel] As well as
perfectly laminated pastry,
the judges are expecting
a silky-smooth set filling.
[Dave] Cornflour thickens
and the gelatin
helps it so you can cut it nicely.
But you don't want too much,
'cause you don't want it to be rubbery.
[Laura] Ten leaves of gelatin.
I just can't afford
to have it not set today.
- [Paul] Morning, David.
- Good morning.
- Hello, there.
- Tell us about your custard slices.
So, today I'm gonna do
a caramel latte custard slice.
It's coffee set custard
and there's gonna be
a small amount of caramel on top.
Caramel again.
[Matt] Dave will also add caramelised
hazelnut spikes to a coffee custard slice
that he hopes will set him
on his way to the Baking Show crown.
I can kind of see you as the winner.
- Can you? [chuckles]
- Yeah.
In a small crown, big velvet cape on.
Shouting at lesser bakers. [chuckles]
[comically] Bring me
my velvet baking cape.
- Spatula!
- [chuckles] Spatula!
So excited for you.
When you come out of here,
you've got bambino on the way.
I have a little baby on the way.
[Stacey] Congratulations, Dave,
on making it through to the final.
We are so proud of you.
We know how much
hard work you've put into this.
We all miss you so much. All three of us.
Aw...
And we can't wait to see you again.
It's been so long, but so worth it.
[Matt] None of the bakers'
family and friends
will be able to join
them at this year's final.
But they've all sent messages from home.
Love you loads. Good luck.
Our boy's being born
into my life at its turning point.
I wanna win this for our new family.
A lot rides on today.
Just hoping the coffee
won't be overpowering.
It won't be too much coffee.
I think there'll be just the right amount.
Got 75ml of whisky
going into my crème pat.
[Noel] Flavour comes at a price.
This is not your average custard.
[Noel] The more liquid is added,
the less chance the custard has to set.
[Laura] I'm doing 300ml of yuzu juice
to 100ml of lime juice.
[Noel] And Peter
is making his life twice as hard.
I'm doing two different custards.
A raspberry crème pat, whiskey crème pat.
You have the two-tone colour in there.
[Noel] Speyside whiskey
and a caramelised-porridge-oat topping
will complete Peter's reinvention
of the Scottish dessert, cranachan.
How do you feel about being in the final?
I don't think it's sunk in yet.
I think I'm gonna leave here
and then realise
I was in the Bake Off final.
And realise how awesome that is.
[woman] Hi, Peter.
Many congratulations on making
it through to the Bake Off final!
It's amazing to see how far you've come
from those rainy afternoons
when you were four years old,
making cupcakes with your brother.
I must say, I couldn't have lost
my oven to a better person.
[Matt] For Peter,
this has been so much more
than just a baking competition.
[Peter] This has shaped me.
One of the huge things is dealing
with the biggest time
away from home I've ever had.
At uni, people have travelled the world,
done amazing things,
and I feel sometimes
that I've maybe not experienced as much.
And this... This is something that...
There's a hundred people locked in here.
We're the only 100 people
that have experienced this.
- You're gonna go from here back to uni?
- Yeah.
Are you prepared
for every student to point at you?
That would be weird
if everyone did that.
People will come up to you
and film you on their mobile phones.
- Are you ready for it?
- That wouldn't be... [laughs]
You'll just be out somewhere.
You'll be at a restaurant
and you'll look up
and people will be filming you.
- You're a star now.
- Well, that doesn't sound fun.
- Have a good bake.
- Thank you.
Take it off heat.
I'll whisk in the butter.
[Noel] By adding butter, Dave and Peter
hope to increase
their chances of a set custard.
It means it's gonna be a lot thicker
and should hold its shape in the pastry.
It needs to be to the point
where you can slice through it.
That should do it.
Looks good. Looks good.
[Matt] While their custards chill,
the finalists need to use
every minute to prepare their pastry.
It's really very cold.
[Peter] There's definitely layers
of butter. That'll be fine.
I'm trying to get this rolled
as quickly as possible
and get it straight in the oven.
[Peter] I'm giving the rough puff
a snow of icing sugar.
I'm gonna weigh it down
between two baking sheets.
That's gonna give it
a nice, flat, caramelised crust.
All right, let's go.
[Peter] So, that's in the oven
at 190 degrees for about 25 minutes or so.
Until it's really lovely and golden brown.
[Noel] Someone's in the final.
- That's pretty cool.
- If you can just nail it...
- Yeah.
- ...for three bakes...
- Yeah...
- ...winner.
Change your life, probably.
I know. I like my life, though.
Hi, babe. I can't believe
you've been gone six weeks now.
But it's just as well,
as I've only just finished deep-cleaning
the kitchen from the state you left it in.
I'm missing you so much.
I really hope that you can now see
and believe that you do
deserve to be there in the final.
The whole family
is behind you all the way.
[Noel] The other man
in Laura's life is doting dad, Mark.
How clever are you?
In the final of
The Great British Bake Off.
How have you pulled it off?
I'll tell you how.
You put your very big heart
and soul into all you do.
Believe in yourself, because we all do.
Come on, Laura, you can do this.
There is a big part of me
that's doing it for them,
'cause they're so proud
and they want me to do so well
that, erm, yeah, you don't
wanna let them down, really.
Shall we ask Mr Spoon,
if he thinks you're gonna win?
- Mr Spoon doesn't know the answer.
- [Noel chuckles]
- He does, he's been to every final.
- Really?
Do you think
that Laura's done enough to win?
- [whispers] Oh, my God!
- [chuckles]
He said yes.
- I bet you say that...
- Kiss Mr Spoon.
Come on. Kiss Mr Spoon.
I'm 47.
Oy, time call.
Bakers, you are halfway through.
Halfway through.
As you were.
[Matt] Paul and Prue will be expecting
perfectly baked laminated pastry.
So, I don't know whether it is flaky.
Only time will tell
when I come around to cutting it up.
[Peter] Colour's looking good,
nice and crisp.
[Laura] Hmm,
part of the butter seeped out.
And it's very thick, isn't it?
[Matt] And to transform
their humble custard slices
into decadent, final-worthy delights...
There's two caramels on the go.
[Matt] ...the bakers
will be adding extra textural...
This is my lemon and coconut gel.
[Matt] ...and decorative elements.
Whoa! What is that?
- [Peter] Honeycomb.
- [Noel] Honeycomb.
- It's going back down!
- [Peter] Whoa!
[Noel] What's happening?
- [chuckles]
- It's like a horror film.
[both laugh]
[Noel] It does look like
a '60s Star Trek creature.
I could communicate with it.
[chuckles] Please do.
[yelps and chuckles]
It's telling me
who the winner is. [laughs]
Oh, go on. Go on. Who is it?
[inhales sharply] It's Dave.
Anyway, it'll be good. See you later.
[Noel] Thirty minutes remaining.
[Peter] Okie cokey.
Just need to cut this down to size.
It's just so crumbly.
[Dave] I'm pleased with that.
These raspberries
are gonna be in a lovely little row.
[Dave] Just filling up the custard.
Making it as even as possible.
[Laura] Come on, Laura. Bit quicker.
We're in business now. Raspberry on top.
Just have to jigsaw it back together now.
[Laura] And let it set in the freezer.
A bit worried about time, as always.
It wouldn't really be
my signature challenge, would it,
without a bit of a race to finish.
[Dave] Coming out.
[Noel] It's the moment of truth.
Here we go.
[Noel] Only now will the bakers
find out if their custard has set.
[Peter] Looks nice.
[Dave] The custard has come out
clean and set, which I'm pleased about.
That was the only worry.
It's not set. It's not set.
[sighs] This is a nightmare.
This is an absolute nightmare.
What can I do?
Bakers, you have five minutes left.
[Peter] Ooh, careful.
[inhales sharply]
Oh, dear!
[whispers] Oh, no.
[Laura exhales sharply]
Just some piped lines
to make it a bit more pretty.
Judges are definitely expecting precision.
[sighs] This is not going well, is it?
[Peter] I'm happy with that.
That looks good.
Bakers, you have one
minute remaining. One minute.
[Laura] Oh, dear!
I need more time.
This is too warm.
I'm actually just gonna leave them off.
They look good as they are.
Neaten up the custard as much as I can.
[sniffles] "Decorating"
being a loose word.
Oh, I'm so sorry.
Bakers, your time is up.
[Noel] Oh, no.
You all right, Laura?
[Laura breathing heavily]
[sniffles]
[exhales sharply]
[sniffles]
[Noel whispering] Laura...
You know Björn Borg, the tennis player?
He was a good champion
'cause he could forget anything.
- Really?
- So the next point
was always all he would think about.
He'd never think
about anything behind him.
Just go forward.
[whispers] Thank you.
My God, the execution.
I mean, it looks like it's been dropped.
And I just feel so embarrassed.
[Noel] Come on,
you've come back from worse.
- Huh?
- You've come back from worse.
[Matt] It's judgement time
for the final signature bakes.
- Hello, Peter.
- Hello.
They look incredibly good.
Let's hope they taste good.
I do like the look of them.
They're very professional.
I love the way you've got
the raspberries standing in the halves.
[Prue] That's a lovely
flaky pastry, isn't it?
[Paul] You can see all
the layers. It looks very good.
Mmm. The oats are really delicious on top.
They're crunchy, slightly caramelised.
The custard is good. Beautiful flavour
with the whisky and raspberry.
It's probably a little bit thick.
- Okay.
- [Paul] Only a little.
But the saving grace is the raspberry.
Because the raspberries carry more liquid,
so the balance is there.
You thought it through
and ticked every single box.
It's a really lovely custard slice.
- [Paul] Hmm.
- Thank you very much.
I intended for the wobbly lines.
- I like them.
- It's all about wobbly these days.
- Absolutely.
- Wobble, wobble.
[Dave] This should hopefully
have a wobble.
[Prue] That stood up to that.
That is delicious.
The pastry's beautiful and flaky.
A gorgeous coffee flavour going through.
It's a little stodgy, the custard.
- Okay, yeah.
- [Prue] It's still pretty delicious.
I mean, it's not stodgy, stodgy.
And I love the coffee, and it's
a really strong espresso sort of flavour.
[Paul] Well done.
- [Dave] Cheers. Thank you.
- [Prue] Well done.
I'm just so embarrassed to serve you that.
I'm so sorry.
It's so sad.
How much gelatin did you have in?
- Ten leaves of gelatin in the custard.
- Ten leaves?
- It should have set like concrete.
- [Laura] Yeah.
Part of the problem,
it could be the flavours
could have broken it down.
- Okay.
- Yuzu, you've got in there?
- Yeah.
- Put too much flavour
in a custard, it can't set.
[Prue] The flavours
actually sound wonderful.
That's a bit hard.
You've lost a lot of your butter
in your pastry.
So you've lost the colour, as well.
- Mmm.
- [Paul] So it's very hard.
- Mmm.
- [Paul] It's like a cracker
rather than rough puff.
[Prue] Hmm.
The yuzu is very sharp. It is very strong.
And I love the flavours.
But that puff pastry is not good.
Laura, you've had a bad morning,
but it tastes delicious.
- Thank you.
- You could have a great afternoon.
Thank you.
[whispers] You've got two more challenges.
- Just forget it.
- Yeah.
Oh, "bad morning," I think, Prue said.
Which... Yeah, pretty accurate.
I think that was actually very kind.
[chuckles and sniffles]
[Matt] Now the bakers face
their last gingham-wrapped mystery.
It's time for your final
technical challenge,
which today has been set for you
by the lovely Prue.
- Which one's Prue?
- You know, sexy lady.
- All right. And who's the other lady?
- [Noel] It's Paul. I told you about this.
Oh, yeah. They warned me about him.
So, Prue, any words of advice?
Keep your cool
and keep everything else cool.
Use your fridges.
Okay. Off you pop. See you later.
So, bakers,
for your final technical challenge,
the judges would like you each to make
eight little walnut whirls.
Your walnut whirls must feature
a walnut sablé biscuit base,
coffee ganache filling,
surrounded by marshmallow.
And beautifully coated
in tempered chocolate.
You have two hours.
- On your marks...
- Get set...
- Bake.
- Hmm.
Quite excited about this.
Yeah, I like a walnut whirl.
Hopefully, I'll have the tekkers required.
They are delicious.
I think normally they don't tend to have
coffee-infused ganache in the middle.
I hate coffee. I hate the smell of it.
I hate everything about it. [chuckles]
It's the final technical challenges, Prue,
and you've chosen walnut whirls.
It's quite tricky
because it's all very tiny.
[Paul] I love it 'cause you can see
that beautiful biscuit at the bottom
and the ganache
surrounded with marshmallow
and the chocolate on the top.
Mmm, the marshmallow is just set.
It melts in the mouth.
You've got the kick of the coffee,
you've got the walnut
and that soft marshmallow.
- It's delicious.
- It is delicious.
What's the biggest problem gonna be?
The ganache. They have to
have it at the right temperature
that it's soft enough to pipe
but firm enough
to stay in a little pyramid.
Otherwise it'll spread
all over the biscuit.
The marshmallow is a bit tricky.
If it's too sloppy, you'll lose those
characteristic whirly whirlies.
And when you get to covering, again,
you want that chocolate
to be just about to set.
You do know what temperature it is,
don't you?
Yeah, but I didn't know
it was going to be 35 degrees
when I suggested chocolate.
It's hot.
We'll just try and keep everything cold.
[blows raspberry]
I feel like I'm on fire.
Number one says, "Toast the walnuts."
[Peter] Toasty walnuts
smell toasty and walnut-y.
So these are going in the base
of the biscuit.
Chopping these fairly small.
Doesn't give us any instruction,
but it's what I assume
is supposed to happen.
So I'm going with this.
I wanna blitz them
so they're like ground almonds.
Step two,
"Make the sablé dough and chill."
Sablé is a type of biscuit
that I've never made before.
Well, it's like a pastry biscuit, I think.
So that's the sablé dough.
Never heard of what sablé is, but yeah.
[Laura] All right, let's get on
with the chocolate ganache.
- Oh, my God, it's so warm.
- It's very hot, isn't it?
You gotta be cool like The Fonz.
I might put an anorak on in a minute.
Step three, "Make a coffee-infused
chocolate ganache."
[Laura] I don't like coffee.
[Peter] I've got some coffee beans
in cream on low heat.
That's going to infuse
the flavour, hopefully.
I genuinely don't know how to use coffee.
Hot water?
Hopefully, it's infused enough.
[Peter] Ganache should be
silky and smooth. No lumps or bumps.
Heat them with the cream?
"Stamp out eight discs of dough,
then bake."
And what did you think when you heard
you were gonna be making walnut whirls?
- [Dave] I got quite excited.
- Did you get excited?
- [Dave] Yeah.
- We can't see you.
The fact that we gotta cut discs out,
I'm gonna roll it thin.
Sablé likes to be kind of that thick,
but they're really small.
They need to be a bit thinner
to be in proportion.
[Laura] I'll need to get the biscuits out.
Is it eight, that we need?
[Dave] We don't know
how thin they're meant to be,
but that amount of dough,
you'd expect it to be...
I think you're meant to have
a bit more of a biscuit to it.
To be honest,
I probably rolled it too thin.
Why don't I re-roll it?
Because we're going for it.
[Dave] I've set ten minutes.
It may be less than that.
[Laura] I'm bound to mess it up.
Step five, "Make marshmallow."
- Good time to introduce you to Mr Spoon.
- Hello, Mr Spoon.
[laughs]
Go on, ask Mr Spoon...
[Noel] Do you think
Peter's done enough to win?
[whispers] He said yes.
He also said there's never been a winner
who hasn't kissed Mr Spoon.
Go on, just a little peck on the cheeks.
[Noel chuckles] That's in my memory bank
for the rest of my life.
I've not actually made marshmallow before.
I think it's just an Italian meringue
with gelatin in it.
[Laura] It is similar to Italian meringue.
[Peter] When I've made
a marshmallow before,
it's been a Swiss meringue method,
whisking the eggs over bain-marie.
[Laura] Normally, I'd just put
the sugar and water and then heat it
and then the syrup goes in the egg whites.
Yeah. Hot.
Do you want to do the old switcheroo?
- Erm, yeah.
- Yeah?
- Let's do it.
- So we've been freezing tea towels
and then putting them on. It's too frozen.
We'll just roll it up, shall we?
Stick it behind there.
And I'll just do
the rest of the technical like this.
Do it like that, yeah.
[Peter] With the residual heat of the pan,
I've just melted down the gelatin.
Throwing this in with the marshmallow.
Tastes like marshmallow.
[Laura] That's not right, is it?
What is that ball?
The hell?
[blender whirrs]
[Matt] Laura's egg whites
weren't whisked enough
when she added her sugar syrup.
Yeah, that's not gonna work.
[Peter] Some lovely-looking
little cookies.
[Dave] Another five minutes.
I think you're meant to have
more of a crisp biscuit.
[Laura] Well, that's a first.
Oh, please can I start again?
[Matt] Bakers, you have one hour left.
Step six, "Using the large nozzle,
pipe a cone of coffee ganache
in the centre of each biscuit."
[Laura] Give it a quick whizz.
[Peter] I think we're doing pretty well
on the time front.
Whether it's right or not, I have no idea.
I'm happy with it.
I'm happy with that, definitely.
Just being blinded by other people,
what they're doing.
[Laura] We'll add the gelatin.
You need to whisk it until it gets cool.
Look at number eight, "Assemble."
Must have taken her a while to write that.
[laughs]
[Dave] I just need a really steady hand.
That is set.
[Peter gasps] Oh, they're melting.
The meringue's starting
to weep a little bit,
which isn't great.
It could be because I didn't take
the temperature up high enough.
It could also be, it's pretty hot in here.
We'll chill it down in the freezer.
[Noel] Thirty minutes remaining.
Number nine, "Coat the walnut whirls
in tempered chocolate
and top with a walnut half."
[Noel] To highlight the walnut whirls'
iconic shape...
It's quite stiff.
Got some gappage, haven't we?
[Noel] ...the marshmallow should be covered
in a glossy coat of crisp chocolate...
Let's try and temper some chocolate
in 34-degree heat.
[Noel] ...which can only be achieved
with precise heating and cooling.
[Peter] I want to get this
forty-five-ish degrees
and I'm going to throw in
some cold seed chocolate.
And the aim is to take this down
to around 29 degrees or so,
but the current air temperature
is 34 degrees, so that's difficult.
So I've got an ice bath here
because it's so warm.
We're never going to get to 27.
[Peter] It's not coming down
to temperature.
Let's see if we can remedy that.
[Dave] This is starting
to come down in temperature.
[Peter] This has been in the freezer,
so it's cold.
It's gonna reduce the heat.
[Laura] I'll do a seeder method
with the chocolate.
We're just gonna whisk it in.
How long have we got left?
[Noel] Ten minutes remaining.
[whispers] That's love, that is.
That's love.
[whispers] That's acting.
[Laura] Thirty-six degrees in here.
It's not looking great.
If I'm being honest, I'm dissatisfied.
[Laura] We don't want to rush, do we?
I feel that if I pour it over,
it might not get even coverage.
I think we have to dip it
in the chocolate.
[Peter] I'm disappointed
in how neat they are.
You have one minute left.
[Dave] I like the look
you're getting with the spiral.
Bakers, your time is up.
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight.
Please place your walnut whirls
behind your photographs.
So hot in here that the chocolate's
just melting, isn't it?
[Peter] They look insane, guys, well done.
[Matt] Prue and Paul
are expecting eight walnut whirls
with a crisp walnut sablé base,
rich coffee ganache
and a shiny, tempered chocolate coating
on an iconic whirl of light marshmallow.
- Shall we start with this one, Prue?
- Yeah.
I think it's not quite set.
If it had been a bit chillier...
This might've been a timing issue.
It just hasn't had time
for the chocolate to set.
[Paul] Yeah.
[Prue] Biscuit is delicious.
It could have had
a second longer in the oven.
[Paul] The ganache is quite soft.
Marshmallow is soft, chocolate is soft.
[Paul] It's a timing issue
- to get everything just right.
- [Prue] Yeah.
This one, the chocolate's obviously set,
but it looks as if the marshmallow
was a little soft.
[Paul] You do want those swirls.
The biscuit could have done
with a bit longer.
- I think so.
- [Paul] The ganache is good.
[Prue] Ganache is perfect.
Coffee comes through really nicely.
And there's not too much marshmallow.
[Paul] I do love the look of these.
The swirls are lovely, they are neat.
[Prue] They probably would set...
[Paul] They would've set
if they had a bit longer.
- Listen.
- [biscuit cracks]
[Prue] Lovely crack.
That's the right colour biscuit.
It's good to have a decent lump of biscuit
- to compensate for all that sweet stuff.
- [Paul] Mmm.
[Prue] Mmm.
[Paul] It's got a nice crumble.
The ganache is all right.
It could've been darker,
- but the flavour's good.
- [Prue] Mmm.
- That's beautiful.
- They do look neat as a pin.
I agree.
[Noel] Prue and Paul must now decide
whose walnut whirls are winners.
Right. In third place...
we have this one. Laura.
It just wasn't quite ready, was it?
In second spot...
is this one. Peter. You managed to set it,
but you didn't get that definition
in the swirl.
Which means, Dave, you are the winner.
Not least because
the biscuits were thicker
so that with every mouthful,
you got a good bit of biscuit.
They were absolutely delicious.
Well done.
I just can't believe it.
My last technical,
and I've proved to myself and Prue
and Paul that I can do technicals.
I wasn't expecting to come second.
I thought that I was
at the bottom of the pile there.
When I came first
in the technical last time,
it was like I was
just the best of a bad bunch.
And I was the worst
of a good bunch this time.
So, erm, yeah.
I'm not gonna cry over it.
[thunder rumbling]
[Noel] There's just
one challenge remaining
before we crown the winner
of The Great British Baking Show.
Good luck, everyone.
Can Laura win this?
We've seen stranger things
in the tent before.
I've seen people, it's all theirs to lose,
and when it came to the final challenge,
they lost it.
Could I just say we've written
Laura off quite a few times?
- I do think she's got
- [thunder rumbling]
a huge mountain to climb
because, really, the...
God is very angry
with what you've just said, Prue.
- Listen to that thunder.
- God is agreeing with me.
- Of course He is. He wouldn't dare not to.
- [all laughing]
He doesn't want to get snubbed
from your next dinner party.
None of us do.
He knows it'll be a key party.
Do you think that'll stay in?
Welcome back for your final
showstopper challenge.
The judges would like you
to make a colossal dessert tower
reflecting your personal experience.
Your tower of treats must feature
a large cake at its base,
and then the rest of the tower
must show off
at least three different
baking disciplines.
You have just four and a half hours.
- On your marks...
- Get set...
Bake!
The final challenge, it's their own
personal showstopper, really.
It's a kind of exhibition
at the end of a term
where you show off
everything you've learnt.
A big cake underneath,
and then three other bakes on top.
They can go down the choux, the pastry,
the biscuit, the pudding, the bread.
But all I want is the perfect
of whatever they choose to do.
I'm just hoping
that the bakers go out feeling,
"I did my best and it was bloody good."
- [Paul] Morning, Laura.
- Hello, Laura.
- Morning, Laura.
- Morning!
Tell us about your showstopper.
It's based on a favourite quote of mine
by G.K. Chesterton, which is,
"When it rains on your parade,
look up, not down,
for without the rain,
there would be no rainbow."
[Noel] Laura will attempt
to put her troubles behind her
with carrot-and-walnut cake,
warm and spicy
chocolate-orange Chelsea buns,
lemon macarons, and miniature versions
of her Star Baker-winning key lime tart.
[Paul] Nice choices.
How do you feel about today?
Yesterday was a bit topsy-turvy for you.
Yesterday was just
really not a good day for me,
but I genuinely don't mind what happens.
I just want to do myself proud.
- Just do me one favour.
- Hmm?
Try and keep your bench clean for once.
- I don't think she can do that.
- That's a big ask.
Clean bench, clean mind,
focus on the cake. That's all.
There's method in that chaos, right?
[Matt] For this final showstopper,
more chaos could be on its way
and from an extremely unlikely source.
My dessert tower, I've named it
the Bonkers Bake-off Bubble Cake.
It's to reflect my experience through
the cake being a little bit random,
so it's a bit more out there
than anything I've done.
[Matt] Peter will deliver
a Bonkers Baking Show
with a puffed-rice Christmas tree,
complete with friand Christmas puddings
and biscuit presents
clashing with French lemon
and blackberry choux buns,
and all balanced on
a great British Victoria sandwich.
Like your Chris Hoy cake.
Yes, yeah.
I tried to have a brainstorm thinking
about what my experience has been,
and I kind of came up
with two main themes.
One of them is the challenge
of the uncertainty.
A lot of uncertainty around when we're
coming, what we're doing, the unknown,
and the other aspect
is the joy of it all, you know?
I'm on the Bake Off in the final,
a show that I've watched half of my life,
and, sort of, dreamt about being on.
- Don't say that. I feel really old.
- [laughing]
[Noel] Half of your life
is about five years.
- [Paul] Yeah.
- [chuckles]
[Laura] Let's get it in.
Bit of a whopper, this cake, to be honest.
[Matt] Whilst Laura and Peter
aim to repeat previous triumphs...
[Peter] Absolutely ma-hoosive.
[Matt] ...Dave's strategy
seems a little riskier.
I'm calling my dessert tower
A Tower to Redemption.
I'm gonna do bakes
where I've done badly in some challenges.
I'm doing this to prove to Prue and Paul
that I have got what it takes.
It is a big risk.
The definition of insanity
is expecting different results
from trying the same thing.
It was Einstein that said it.
Dave Einstein.
[Matt] Dave is aiming
for redemption at last
with a new version of his fraisier cake
with amaretto syrup,
an improved chocolate babka recipe,
raspberry profiteroles,
and miniature white-chocolate-
macadamia-nut brownies.
You set yourself a mildly monumental task
of succeeding
where previously you have failed.
- Exactly, yes.
- [Matt] Fortune favours the bold.
So are you gonna have
a holiday after this is over?
We'll probably have a staycation
before little bubba comes along.
Yes! I'd like to be your baby
if you're gonna bake like that.
- That got weird again, didn't it?
- It did get weird, yeah.
- I might leave.
- Could always feed you later if you want.
[Dave chuckles softly]
[Noel] In this epic final showstopper,
baking the largest cakes the competition
has seen so far is just the beginning.
So I'm gonna do my Chelsea buns.
It's in a really lovely enriched dough.
It's got a bit of cinnamon
and some orange extract in there, as well.
If I'm in the doghouse, I normally
make these for my husband.
Apparently, I'm a nagger.
I just say to him, "Well, if you just
did things, I wouldn't have to nag."
[Matt] Laura's not the only one
with an enriched dough
designed to make amends.
Chocolate Week, we did babkas.
I took it out of the oven a bit too soon.
I didn't know the timings.
[Noel] Whilst Dave hopes the
second storey of his Tower of Redemption
will soon be on the rise...
[Peter] To Rowan.
[Noel] ...it's lift off
for Peter's chaos theory.
[Peter] I'm gonna start making
my biscuit dough.
Sort of an American-style
sugar cookie type thing.
[Noel] He's planning to make biscuits
that look like cakes.
[Peter] I've got
an orange-and-chocolate cookie.
It's gonna have a chequerboard effect,
like my orange-and-chocolate Battenberg,
which was my first baking attempt.
The dough looks fine.
I did a very poor job
of flipping one onto the other,
so they're very skewwhiff.
[thunder rumbling]
[Matt] Bakers, you have three hours left!
[Dave] Sponge looks nice and golden,
but not brown like last time.
[Noel] You're what I can only describe
as a man in the zone.
[Dave] Yeah.
But nobody who's won this
hasn't kissed Mr Spoon.
- You prepared to kiss Mr Spoon?
- [Dave] Okay.
Go on, then.
Not there! On his face! [laughing]
What? Where?
It's a family show! Mr Spoon!
- [groans]
- Disgusting.
- [Dave laughs]
- [Noel] Unbelievable.
- He thinks you're gonna win.
- Thank you.
He says if you want his number,
ask the production office.
Yeah.
[Peter] Choux's sounding nice,
but a bit too bubbly.
Choux's a bit too loud there.
Definitely cooked.
Racing through it today. Lightning speed.
I'm now going back
to make my Chelsea buns.
So we've got orange peel, dark chocolate
chips going into the filling itself.
[Dave] Now I'm sorting the filling out,
so they're in sausage shapes.
[Peter] That'll do.
Love watching you work.
Just by eye. No rulers involved?
- I'm not Peter.
- [chuckles]
Peter's part ruler. His leg's a ruler.
He measures stuff as he runs.
[Matt] But Peter's Battenberg biscuits...
[Peter] Oh, my word.
[Matt] ...aren't quite measuring up.
[Peter] Oh, that's really thick.
Erm, probably should've planned this,
shouldn't I?
[Dave] After I've done this,
can start preparing the profiteroles.
[Peter] This looks really bizarre.
[Laura] Really happy with that dough.
I did do this in practice.
I don't know why my head isn't working.
I'm in the final,
that's why my head isn't working.
[Dave] Right, that's that done.
I think we'll do the pastry for my tarts.
[Peter] These Battenberg biscuits
are different to the plan.
Somehow in my head, I don't understand
how to make a chequerboard.
So they're not chequerboard biscuits,
they're now stripy biscuits.
So that's minorly concerning.
[Dave] Let's get these in the oven.
Need to get the Chelsea buns in the oven.
Sleep well, my beauties.
These are the stripy accidents.
[Noel] Peter's Bonkers Bubble Cake
is proving more chaotic than he planned.
I'm gonna try and cut some
to make them look like chequerboards.
Allowing myself to get a bit stressed out.
[Dave] So, I'm piping out the profiterole.
I'm redeeming
myself from the éclairs that I made
in one of the technical challenges.
[Laura] We'll add in the filling
of the lime tarts. They're nice and zesty.
And it just makes
such a difference cooking things I enjoy.
[Dave] This is the craquelin.
When it grows,
it stretches out and goes all crispy.
It can stop the rise,
but hopefully, these are really nice.
Got some chequerboards.
Oh, my word. I think,
I was just being a bit of a silly-billy.
[Noel] Ninety minutes remaining...
Okey cokey.
[Noel] ...and the finalists'
daunting to-do lists...
[Dave] That's done.
[Noel] ...now gets harder to manage.
[Peter] If I run out of time,
it better not be
because I was slacking in the middle.
[Noel] To stand a chance of finishing
their giant dessert towers
in time for judging...
Doing all the cake components
at the moment.
[Noel] ...they'll need
to begin construction
whilst also finishing
their showstopper fillings
and remaining treats at the same time.
[Dave] Moving on to brownies.
Making me hungry, all this baking.
[Peter] They're not very
even and smart, but...
[Laura] They're good.
The middle's come up.
Didn't roll them very tightly.
[Dave] They're looking good.
[groaning] Hot.
[Dave] The judges said
that my brownie was like a tray bake.
So no tray bake today.
The one thing that scares me a lot
is all the structural stuff.
[Peter] On top,
we have a puffed rice cone.
[Laura] I need to get on
with that structure soon,
so that
I'm not flapping at the last minute.
[Peter] Oh, no!
Dang it.
How long have we got?
Bakers, you've got one hour left.
One hour. That's right. One hour.
Jeepers creepers.
[Matt] If the time
pressure wasn't enough...
Sixteen more minutes for the brownies.
[Matt] ...guests have begun arriving at
the most exclusive garden party of 2020.
Everyone in our bubble
who was locked down and worked so hard
to make the Baking Show happen this year
has been invited to see
who will be crowned champion.
[Peter] I feel like I can do this.
- [Noel] You all right time-wise?
- [Laura] Don't know.
I'm going as quick as I can.
- This will be ready when it's ready?
- Yeah.
This is the fraisier cake now.
So I need to get this done,
and then I need to start my nougatine.
[Noel] Now,
there's another task on the list.
[Laura] Gotta do my nougatine
but don't wanna do it.
Just hate that kind of thing.
[Noel] Without nougatine...
Gotta take this up to 180 degrees.
[Noel] ...the finalists' dessert towers
will have nothing to support the treats
that will stack on top of their cake.
So now I'm making
little Christmas pudding friands.
I need to make caramel, though.
Fearful that we might run out of time.
[Dave] I'm not fazed
by the amount of stuff going on.
It's going well.
I'm going into, like, stealth mode now.
I just need to hurry up a bit.
How long have we got left?
[Matt] You have half an hour left.
Serious.
[Laura] Come on.
[Dave] It's hot enough.
The nougatine ready to work with.
[Peter] Ideally, I'd just sit over this,
but against better judgment,
I will do two things at once.
Come on, Laura. Don't slack now.
Come on.
[grunting]
[Peter] My friands are gonna have
the taste of the festive season.
That will do.
I just need enough time
to put the treats on.
Bakers, you have 15 minutes left.
This is the time to pick up the pace.
You can do this, kids.
[Peter] Yes, we can.
[Laura] I hate this stuff.
Sod it, sod it.
The treats are all over there.
- How long we got left?
- Five minutes left.
I'm not gonna get it all on.
I need more time.
So tense.
Oh, crumbs.
[Dave] I'm pleased with how it came out.
[Peter] Unfortunately,
slapdash is our friend today.
We're going for random vibes.
[Laura grunting] Oh.
Oh, it's too big. Argh!
I've some spare cake cards.
If you need to use them,
they're on this stall.
They're gonna knock me off points
'cause I haven't made it.
- Just need more time.
- Bakers, you have one minute left.
[Dave] Go on, Peter.
Need a hand at all?
I'm all right. Thanks though, Dave.
[whispering] Careful. Take your time.
Oh, well done, Peter.
Thank you.
Your time is up.
[sighs]
- [Noel] Well done, bakers. You did it.
- [all clapping]
[cheering]
- Taken years off me and Matt's lives.
- [chuckles]
The stress.
[Noel] Well done, gents.
- [Dave] Group hug.
- [Laura] Well done.
[Matt] It's judgment time
for this year's final showstoppers.
Laura, would you like to bring up
your showstopper, please?
Individually, if we had a plate
with the key lime pie on
and a plate with the bun on
and a plate with the cake on,
I'd have gone, "That's nice."
I think individually,
they'd probably look better.
- [Paul] Let's look at the base.
- [Laura] It's a carrot and walnut cake
with a cinnamon-orange
cream cheese filling.
- That's beautiful.
- Thank you.
[Paul] Nice, moist,
full of flavour, full of texture.
- Perfectly baked.
- Heavenly cake.
- [Paul] Mmm.
- Thank you.
[Paul] Let's have a look at the key lime.
I put a bit of stem ginger in the filling.
Flavours are amazing in it.
I love the zing coming from that lime.
Tell us about this...
Chocolate and candied orange peel
Chelsea buns.
Nothing wrong with your baking, Laura.
I like Chelsea buns sort of
stretchy and squashy in the middle.
[Paul] The flavour is fantastic.
[Laura] And then the lemon macarons
are filled with lemon curd.
Great flavour, delicate.
[Prue] I love the soft middle.
You are such a good baker
and you're so good at flavour.
- Thank you. Thanks so much.
- [Paul] Thank you.
- Well done, Laura.
- Well done, Laura.
Thank you.
[exhales]
Peter, would you like
to bring your showstopper up here?
- Scary...
- You all right?
Yeah. Once I get it up, it'll be...
good to go.
I like the Christmas theme on the top.
That looks quite festive, doesn't it?
It's a battle of everything.
[Prue] I think it looks lovely.
[Peter] At the bottom,
it's a Victoria sandwich
with a strawberry jammy cream
in the middle.
Delicious flavour.
I think the flavour
and the texture is perfect.
A little drier than I thought.
You need that lovely,
thick layer of creamy strawberry.
[Peter] In the middle,
lemon and blackberry choux buns.
Blackberry is delicious.
Sharp on both, blackberry and the lemon.
It's lovely
and silky smooth inside, as well.
The choux is nicely baked.
Craquelin's worked.
I love the little Battenberg biscuits.
They're softening a bit,
but they're delicious.
- [Paul] Let's have a look at the...
- [Prue] Friands.
That's a bit disappointing.
It's got that doughy texture.
It's a bit stodgy.
[Prue] But all in all,
I think it's a good effort.
- Thank you, Peter.
- Thank you very much.
[Dave exhales]
[softly] Well done.
- Well done, Peter.
- Thanks, Dave.
Dave, would you like to bring up
your showstopper, please?
It really looks original,
enticing and very well designed.
Dangerous at the same time,
'cause what you've done is
pick things that you think
you could have done better.
So these are now perfect.
[Prue chuckles]
- [laughs]
- Just say yes.
Yes.
[Paul] Let's see the fraisier cake.
[Prue] My goodness. Look at that filling.
That is a luxury slice of cake.
This is tender as anything.
It's really lovely.
[Paul] I think it's delicious.
Beautifully light, summery cake.
- Let's look at your brownie.
- [exhales]
- This is macadamia nut and...
- [Dave] White chocolate,
and there's
dark chocolate chunks inside, too.
What we were complaining about last time
was that they were cake-like
rather than gooey.
Gooey, yeah.
Oh, I hit goo. That's better.
[Prue] That's gooey.
[Paul] You got that
light crack on the top.
You got texture and good flavour.
So they're all right.
Let's have a look at these.
[Prue] Babkas.
Last time, you struggled with a babka
because you didn't understand
what you were asked for.
Yeah, I think I took them out
of the oven a bit too early.
Ironically, you brought these out
a bit too late.
[Prue] Just what I was gonna say.
[Paul] The flavour's good,
but the dough is tough.
It should be more open than that.
Okay, let's try these choux buns.
Straightaway, they're too flat.
I also think you didn't bake them
for quite long enough.
They weren't crispy.
[Prue] They're also not helped
by having a wet filling.
Cream needed to be a bit thicker.
[Paul] Brownies, check.
Your main fraisier cake, check.
Your profiteroles and babka cakes...
still need work.
But I also think that fraisier cake is
one of the nicest things I've eaten.
- That was heaven.
- [Dave] Thank you.
- Thank you very much.
- [Paul] Well done.
[softly] Well done.
I just don't know if I've done enough.
Prue wasn't so keen on the friand.
It was a bit stodgy,
but I still love a bit of stodge.
[Laura] Having just had that feedback
and it being better than I expected,
I'm now really gutted
that I didn't do better yesterday
because I feel like
I could have done it, maybe.
I think it's definitely gonna be
between Peter and David.
And I think Dave is gonna just nab it.
[sighs] Bricking it.
I think it's gonna be so close
and we can't do anymore now.
It's all up to the judges.
[all cheering and clapping]
[Matt] Whilst the finalists join
their fellow Baking Show bubblers,
Prue and Paul have
an enormous decision to make.
You said this was delicious four times.
I'll say it again.
It was utterly delicious.
You said that was heavenly. [chuckles]
The base cake on every one of the bakers
was some of the best examples
of those cakes I've ever seen.
At the beginning of the day,
you said Laura would have to excel.
Her flavours were beautiful
on every single layer.
[Matt] But she's not in the running
to be the winner,
but the other two are.
[Prue] They are so close
because the two sponges
are both perfect.
Then we've got to judge on
the other three things.
You said this was excellent,
this was excellent.
These two could be improved.
Two of Peter's
that you thought were excellent,
two that could be improved.
They're neck and neck.
- How do you...
- It's a draw.
How on earth do you come to a decision?
This is as close to a draw
than I've ever seen.
Wow.
[all cheering and clapping]
Bakers, would you like to come
and join us, please?
[all cheering and clapping]
Congratulations on reaching the final.
Usually, you'd be here with your family,
but this year, you're here
with a different kind of family,
the amazing bubble who came together
to make this show.
And I would just like to say
a huge thank you
to everybody who worked on it
and in particular, to the medics,
to the cleaning team
and to all the staff here at the hotel
who've looked after us.
- Thank you so much.
- [all cheering]
So, it's time to find out who has won
and the judges have said
it was the closest final they've ever had
and the hardest decision
they've ever had to make.
Okay, the winner is...
- Peter.
- [all cheering and clapping]
[indistinct chatter]
It's bloody mental.
[Paul] You're the winner, mate.
Well done, bro. Amazing. Amazing.
No, I can't quite believe that I'm here.
- Thank you, Matt.
- Congratulations, Peter! Amazing! Amazing!
[Peter] I can't believe I made it here.
I can't quite believe
that the show happened.
This is gonna be
a really huge chapter of my life.
Erm...
And...
What a way for it to end.
How close was it with David and Peter?
It came down to little bits of crisp
on a choux bun.
It came down to flakes
in a rough puff pastry.
It was honestly that close.
Peter should be exceptionally proud.
He's the youngest winner we've ever had
and the first Scottish winner
we've ever had.
[Prue] I'm terribly proud of Peter.
I feel as if he's my grandson
or something,
because he's such a nice guy...
I want a picture with you.
[Prue] ...and he's so eager to learn.
You can't not like him.
At my age, you feel they're all
my children or grandchildren
or maybe even
great-grandchildren. [chuckles]
[Dave] I gave Peter a good run
for his money, but he really deserves it.
I'm not disappointed at all.
If someone told me that
I would be a runner up,
I'd take that all day long.
Overjoyed and then bittersweet
because it's over,
but also looking forward to going home
and I'm just really made up
I got some flowers, to be honest.
And you really couldn't ask
for a better winner.
Like, he really does deserve it.
My flatmates told me
there's a really nice shelf
in our new flat that I can shove it on.
I wanted this a lot. [laughs]
When I was 12, watching the show,
it got me into baking, big time.
And... I think that was series three.
That's my favourite series
of the Bake Off.
James got to the final
and John won that one.
I've re-watched that series like,
probably eight or nine times.
I mean, I'm a Bake Off nerd. [laughs]
I think 12-year-old Peter would be in awe.
I think I'd believe it,
but I'd be
just the most excited, giddy kid,
which I feel like I am right now.
I am that excited, giddy kid.
[Paul] Go and show it off to that lot.
[all cheering]
[uplifting music playing]
- Hey, Andrew.
- [Andrew] Hey.
- Is everyone there?
- Yeah.
Erm...
- I just won the Bake Off.
- [all cheering]
[chuckles]
[closing theme music playing]