The Great British Baking Show (2010–…): Season 11, Episode 11 - The Great Christmas Bake Off - full transcript

MATT: Wow, Noel,
your make-up is amazing.

You look just like that guy
from Extra Slice.

You mean the handsome Tom Allen?
I don't know his name.

I never watch it.

♪ Dashing through the snow

♪ Though there wasn't any snow

♪ So we've added lots of snow

♪ To make it look like snow

♪ Some bakers from the past

♪ Will compete in this event

♪ We're going to have a blast



♪ In the famous pointy tent

♪ Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells

♪ Jingle all the way

♪ It's a Bake Off Christmas special

♪ That was clearly filmed in May. ♪

ALL: Welcome to
the Great Christmas Bake Off.

For somebody who can't sing,
I thought I did very well, actually.

I thought I did very well.

TOM: What better way
to celebrate Christmas

than with three wise men -
sorry - four bakers

journeying to the tent?

Back we are.

Getting their festive
bake on are Rosie...

Merry Christmas.



..Jamie...

It feels pretty surreal being back
in the tent, if I'm honest.

..James... It's lovely to be back.

..and Ruby. I love Christmas.

In season nine...

I had so many highs and lows.

..she not only managed
back-to-back Star Baker wins...

NOEL: The Star Baker is... Ruby.

..but an infamous structural
disaster.

I don't think you can get much lower
than your cake falling on TV.

Oh, BLEEP.

I still get sent that GIF on social
media, so I cannot get away from it.

Her flair and flavours got her
all the way to the final.

I love you all. Thank you.

MATT: Also returning is
uni student Jamie, from season ten.

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

Despite the odd mishap...

This is another,
not to mince words, failure.

..he charmed the judges.

It was pretty awful. Thank you.

Although his bakes were
less of a hit...

I wish I could say that it looks
dreadful and tastes fantastic.

But... Looks great as well.

..and he went home in week two.

I did leave kind of early
so to be coming back, you know,

I'm really grateful for that.

TOM: He'll be joined by Rosie.

Thinking back
on my Bake Off experience,

I can't forget
throwing my tart on the floor.

But the vet got over her
custard pie catastrophe

and proved a whizz
at creating edible animals...

That's highly impressive.
The whole composition is a triumph.

..and went as far as the semifinal.

You're a very, very clever vet.

MATT: The last returning baker
is James.

Back in the tent for the first
time in three years,

I got my PTSD back again.

He got halfway through
series eight...

I'm a little more confident
than I'm letting on.

..but got his fingers burnt
in Pudding Week.

It's absolutely raw. Look.

It's a bit sickly.
A bit of a failure.

I went week five
and I still had more to give.

So, which baker will land
the ultimate festive accolade...

On paper, I'm the worst here.

I have so much alcohol in my bakes,
and so does everybody,

so as long as you go last,
they'll be in a really good mood.

..and walk away with
the coveted Star Baker crown?

Do I want to win Star Baker?

I'm going to say no.

RUBY: I don't know if anyone's
really competitive,

or maybe they're luring me
into a false sense of security.

Have I been played?

Merry Christmas,
all you Ghosts of Bakers Past.

Welcome back to the tent.

Now, as you know, Christmas
is all about a child being born,

and Noel has just become a father
again, so I am here in his place.

So, for your Signature Challenge,

Paul and Prue would like you to

make 12 festive-themed
miniature panettones.

Your panettones must be made
from an enriched yeasted dough...

Mm, that sounds delicious.

..and must have a highly
decorative finish.

You have three hours.

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

Merry Christmas.

HE LAUGHS

Do you know how to switch this on?

I have no idea!

I'm back. Feels like I never left.

It is so bizarre being
back here at Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

I've never made any panettone,

I've never actually
eaten a panettone.

I have no point of reference.

But sometimes that's good,
because then you're not stressing

about actually making it right.

The signature Christmas challenge
we set the bakers,

they've got to make 12 panettones
in three hours.

What is a panettone?

Think brioche. It's quite light,
slightly chewy, very buttery bread.

If they put too much fruit into
their panettone, it won't rise

quickly enough and they'll end up
with sort of little rock buns.

That's always a danger.
It does slow down the rising.

The thing is, you don't
want a dense panettone.

Panettones are light,
and that's what we're expecting.

The other danger is that Christmas
makes us think of really good booze.

But alcohol slows the rise as well,

so I think they should
avoid alcohol.

And I'm hoping they'll be fantastic
because I love panettone.

No, I've never made
panettone before,

cos I'm not actually
a massive fan of it.

TOM: A panettone dough traditionally
takes a long, slow prove

that can take days.

ROSIE: Trying to make something
with an enriched dough so quickly,

I'm trying every little thing I can

just do to try and help
a little bit.

The liquid you add needs to
be warm to get the yeast working.

It's tough making panettone this
quick, but we'll see how it goes.

Right, let's get this baby mixing.

Hi, Ruby. Hello, Ruby. Hello.

How does it feel being back
in the tent? I'm actually OK.

I thought I was going to be
petrified, but the more that

you look at me like that,

it's kind of bringing back
a bit of bad memories.

I'm starting sweat
a little bit more now!

You've got to go one step more than
you did last time. No pressure, eh?

MATT: Ruby's hoping to secure a win

with chai, cherry
and chocolate panettones,

packed with amaretto-soaked
fruit and spices,

topped with chocolate ganache

and a yet-to-be-determined

set of decorations.

Have you practised this?
I have practised bits of it.

I've practised the bread.
I have done the bread.

The decoration not so much.
Don't want to tell you,

cos it's a secret what I'm
decorating it with on top.

In case you change it? Also cos
I just don't know what it is yet.

THEY LAUGH

Yeah, that makes sense.
Good luck, Ruby. Thank you.

Bye-bye, Ruby. Thank you.

Yeah, it's going good.
My panettones are kneading.

I'm on it this time.

Dough's looking nice
and well-developed,

so I can get it out
and start proving.

Just popping that one in
for its first prove now.

The dough needs to rise in
a perfectly warm, draft-free spot.

I hope my proving drawer works.

Too high a temperature
may kill the yeast.

Too low and the prove will go slow,

eating into the bakers'
precious time.

JAMES: They'll go in for about
20 minutes to start with.

Hi, James. Hello, James.
Hello, Paul.

Hi. Welcome back to the tent.
Thank you.

It's a joy to be back. Bread to
start with. You staring at me.

THEY LAUGH

No pressure.
Tell us about your panettones.

So I'm going for
a pina colada panettone.

James's cocktail-inspired panettone

will have lime and coconut
flavouring,

pineapple chunks soaked
in lashings of rum,

and come adorned with
pineapple compote

and dried pineapple Christmas trees.

So your flavour's going to
come from the proving?

Some of the proving, but also,
as you bite in, you'll get lumps

of pineapple in there
and bits of coconut,

so they'll also just add to it.

All right, well, nice idea, James.
Thank you. Fingers crossed...

Sounds lovely! ..they're edible
at the end. Good luck.

Cheers. Thank you.

Now just got to live up
to what I promised.

And I've also built myself
a little plan.

I'm a project manager by trade,
so the plan's going to work.

If not, I had no plan,
so if you could edit that bit out,

that'd be great.

TOM: As the panettones prove,

attention turns to festive
decorations.

I might as well get
the decoration on the go

because I don't know what
I'm doing for it.

Just like Christmas, it's going
to be a surprise... for everyone,

me included. Pineapple time.

I'm going to make some little
pineapple Christmas trees.

Welcome to Large Bald Gentlemen
Wear Christmas Shirts.

This week, James is wearing
a reindeer with a Christmas hat.

How about that?

I'm going to decorate my panettone
with little gingerbread houses.

A village for the elves.

TOM: And Rosie's not be only one
crafting gingerbread adornments.

I'm going to start
making my gingerbread.

What I'm doing is, like,
an American football theme,

cos I'm going to try and make, like,

a pitch out of gingerbread
and marzipan,

and then I'm going to
make little helmets

for the top of the panettones.

Jamie's mixed spice and
ginger panettone

will be flavoured with
ginger and dried fruit.

It will be decorated with American
football helmet biscuits

and served on a gingerbread pitch.

How have you got on with
practising with this?

Because it's quite tricky,
panettone.

Yeah, I've been
getting on all right.

Have you been baking since
you've been at university?

Yeah, I've done a few bake sales,
that sort of thing. Have you?

Yeah. Made some cupcakes. They were
50p, so they sold out... luckily.

THEY LAUGH

But, yeah. Looking forward to this.

Welcome back to the tent. Thank
you very much. Good luck. Good look.

Thank you very much.
Merry Christmas.

HE LAUGHS

These will take about
an hour and a half to cook,

so I kind of have to get them in.

The gingerbread gets
about 15 to 20 minutes.

My gingerbread are
going in for ten minutes.

As biscuits go in,
panettone comes out,

as the first prove is up.

So I'm now going to start
mixing in my ingredients

and then get it in
for a second prove,

cos I think the second
prove's the important one -

that's where you really
want it to rise.

I'm going to go in with my cherries.

But the more festive ingredients
the bakers pack in,

the greater the risk of
hindering the yeast

and jeopardising
the all-important rise.

Going to go for
a few extra apricots.

Plenty of rum and pineapple, so
can't wrong with that combination,

I think. I've got a couple of
other rums to cram in there as well.

I'm getting everyone drunk

and no-one'll know
what they taste like.

RUBY: I'm adding my chocolate.
Why not chocolate?

Chocolate is Christmas, isn't it?

ROSIE: These are my dates
that I'm putting in.

At Christmas, there's always
box of dates around,

and they're completely ignored

while there's sort of better stuff.

And then New Year comes around,
and you eat them

and you sort of remember, "Oh, yeah,
they are quite nice, actually."

Rosie's date-laden dough's
got a lot to do,

as her mace-flavoured panettones

will also be packed with
cider brandy-soaked cranberries

and mixed peel.

They'll be topped with cider brandy
snow icing

and a host of miniature
gingerbread houses.

The worst disasters were when
I didn't give long enough

on the second prove and

I made rock cakes that you could
kill someone with.

You're a decent baker, Rosie.
Oh, thank you.

We're looking forward to
some good panettones.

Thank you. Good luck.

Paul just said I'm a decent baker.

I just hope they work.
That's the aim now. We'll see.

I'm just weighing out all
the individual panettones and

I'm going to shape them and
put them in their little pots.

I'm in schedule, I think.
"In schedule"?

Not "on schedule"? On and in.

And in. Around schedule.
All sorts... Around schedule.

Around schedule. Yeah.

It's just a slop, isn't it?
It's super sticky.

ROSIE: I'm going to prove them
in their cases,

and then they've got these to help
them when they rise up,

otherwise they just go,
bluh, over the top,

which is, you know, a bit ugly.

About 75, 80g into each one.

Hopefully,
they're not coming up really high,

they come up to about the top.
Just a little dome.

The rise in the second prove
is critical

if the bakers are to create
the light, soft crumb that

panettone is famous for
and the judges are expecting.

These are going to go in for as long
as I possibly can. That'll do.

HE LAUGHS

So I put it in for about
45 minutes to start.

These, I would like to give them
an hour.

RUBY: 40 maybe, 45 I'd like.

50, let's be honest, I'd like more
time.

ROSIE: We will see. What happens
happens with those now.

I'm really, really hoping today
that they rise and, you know,

a recognisable panettone.

Bakers, you're halfway through.
Yikes.

MATT: I think the right one's
bigger than the left.

Let's do some marzipan.

What? Don't do that.

It's not going to work any more.

Oh, no.

OK, that's enough.
I can't do it any more, Paul.

He must practice that in, like,
the mirror or something at home.

That was ridiculous.

So I'm making the marzipan.

Hopefully it's all going to come
together in a second.

This is the pineapple compote.

So there'll be little diced
bits of pineapple that

look like presents on top.
This will be caramel.

Then I've got royal icing to pipe.

The biggest stress at the moment

is that the panettones aren't doing
anything.

Is yours moving?
Not really, not much.

Gonna look in the drawer for me?
That's not a euphemism, is it?

SHE LAUGHS
Which one? This one here.

You want to just...? Down here?
Is anything happening?

How do you know
when something has been proved?

You've just got to hope and wish.

ROSIE: Absolutely nothing has
happened. At all.

SLIDE WHISTLE BLOWS

Bakers, you have one hour left.

SLIDE WHISTLE BLOWS

Gingerbread are looking pretty good.

Pretty happy with those.
There we go - that's the marzipan.

I won't do that again.
Imagine if I dropped it!

These are my little gingerbread
houses.

Cutting them out while it's hot.
It's where the elves live.

Prue actually said that
I look a bit like an elf

because I have very sticky-outy
ears. That's a bit mean, isn't it?

I wouldn't mind being an elf,

and then I could live in the
panettone world of Rosie's elves.

They have risen a bit,
not as much as I would have liked.

Well, they're warm. Need a tiny bit.

Oh, my God.
They haven't really risen.

They've literally done nothing.

My panettones haven't risen at all.

They've had an hour
and they've done absolutely nothing.

Literally nothing.

We're going in.

Good luck. Don't fail me.

SHE SHUDDERS

These need at least 25 minutes.

We'll see what they do.

They've got to go in now or
they're not going to be baked,

but they are going to be rock-solid.

They've done absolutely nothing.

Right, time for a cup of tea.

What's all the panic about?

Bakers, you have half an hour left.

Yikes.
TIMER BEEPS

Everything is getting
slightly more chaotic.

A bit nervous now.

So I'm rolling out my marzipan,
and I'm going to pipe the pitch.

They're a bit messy with the
caramel but, to be honest,

with flat panettones, slightly
messy caramel on my houses

is literally the least of
my worries right now.

I cut them a bit too fine,
so they've dried out super quickly.

Christmas tree forests are all
different sizes, aren't they?

The plan for the decoration
is to wing it.

I'm trying to make a holly leaf

and it's proving to be the most
difficult thing!

These holly leaves are going to
be the death of me.

What sort things do normally
decorate your panettones with?

If that's not a personal question.

No-one decorates their panettone.

No-one even makes it.
You just buy it.

It takes so long to make it.

And let's be honest, Ruby, it's just
a dried up bit of old fruit.

SHE LAUGHS

It's like a Yorkshire pudding that's
been in the fridge for too long.

MATT:
Bakers, you have ten minutes left.

Right, let's get these
panettones out.

They should be cooked.

Oh, dear Lord. I don't know what has
happened,

but they are certainly
not panettones.

RUBY: They didn't rise as much as
I would have wanted.

Time to drench in booze.

This is pineapple rum
and a little bit of black pepper.

These haven't risen.
That's so annoying! Oh, man...

What even is that? They've got,
like, craters in them.

RUBY: Bit of freestyle.

Going to go for some snow now.

This is just to add a little
bit of crunch, the nib sugar.

Well, if anything else,

I've got three balls to
go on top of my panettone.

And I'll say they're baubles.

Bakers, you have one minute left.

Ooh!

Panic time.

Yeah, they look all right.

The saddest elf village.

Bakers, your time is up.

Please step away from your bakes.

I'm hitting the rum in a minute.
HE CHUCKLES

A little snap.
HE LAUGHS

Oh, they look so cute!

Oh, my God, yours look sick!

Not thought about decoration,
my arse!

The festive bakers now face
the judgment of Paul and Prue.

Hello, Ruby. Hello.

They do look lovely. Very pretty.

They're pretty heavy.

They're very stodgy,
but I love the flavour. OK.

Oh, no, what, Paul?

He's just giving that look.
Too much?

There's too much fruit in there.
Right, OK.

Um, it is more pudding-like
than panettone-like.

Right. However, it is delicious.
Right, OK.

And it is a well-baked panettone,
plum pudding, Christmas pudding.

A sort of malt loaf, really.

I mean, your decoration is lovely,
the marzipan is excellent.

Thank you. Yeah, I think
you've done a decent job with that.

It's just the volume of fruit.
OK, I'll take that.

Nice panettone. Thank you.

I must say, it looks wonderful.
Thank you.

The trees are a little bit...

They are different.

Oh, it's like
the 12 nights of Christmas.

They gradually get worse and worse,

and that one's ready
to go out the door. Yeah.

It's New Year's Day.
Trees never look the same.

Exactly, a forest never
looks perfect, does it?

They do taste very coconuty
and very pineappley.

They're too dense and too stodgy.

You get a lot of alcohol and
a lot of things going on in there,

and I think that's probably
retarded the yeast a little bit

and stopped that from growing
as fast as it probably could. Yeah.

It's more cake-like than it is
panettone-like. Fair enough.

What?

Do you want me to
say something about it? Yeah.

Do you like it?
I think it's really nice.

Thank you. I don't think
it was dense. It's a panettone,

which is never very nice, is it?
Don't know why you set it, really.

THEY LAUGH

No, James, it's not
your finest hour, is it? Sure.

Well, they tasted OK.
Thank you. Cheers.

I mean, it's a terrible cake,
but I liked it.

The panettone's down at the bottom

there, isn't it?

It's quite small,
cos it sort of sits inside.

I had some issues.
Underproving is one.

Yeah, potentially.

THEY LAUGH

Oh, Jamie, Jamie!
Oh, Jamie! Oh, Jamie...

They're raw, mate. Ugh.
Have they actually been in the oven?

Yeah, they were in
for, like, half an hour.

I don't actually know what happened.

It just doesn't have enough
liquid in it. OK, yeah.

And that's why it didn't move.

The flavour, actually, is nice.
Mm-hm.

I think the flavour's OK. Thank you.
Thank you, Jamie. Cheers. Thanks.

Thank you, Jamie. Thank you.

I think they look amazing,
like an Alpine ski resort.

It's a whole village,
and it's absolutely beautiful.

The decoration is so exact.

If they taste half as good as
they look, I'll be delighted.

Yeah, the second prove was an hour
and 20 minutes at 32 degrees,

and they didn't budge,
they did not move at all.

The sort of structure and texture
you've got is nearly there.

Your dough needed to be wetter.

And a softer dough would have given
you what you needed,

because you have
a very, very intense flavour,

and sometimes that
fights against the yeast.

But the overall flavour
is indeed pungent,

and it's powerful and I do like it.

The look is perfection.
I really think it's beautiful.

To achieve that in the time is
great. It looks amazing. Thank you.

So much better than I thought.

Like I got away with it, you know,
like a child,

you've done something naughty,
no-one found out.

No, I can't really complain,
they loved the flavours,

even if it was more of a pudding
side than a bread.

I don't care. They still liked it.

A bit deflated, I was hoping
that they would come out better.

Another four hours,
I would've been perfect!

They said that there wasn't
enough liquid in the mix.

If I ever make panettones again,
which I won't,

I'll know for next time!

MATT: The bakers now have
another chance to demonstrate

their festive baking skills.

Well, bakers, it's time for
your Christmas technical,

which today has been set by Prue.

Any advice, Prue?

Believe it or not, this works.

Merry Christmas.

THEY LAUGH

Well, thank you very much, Prue.

As ever,
this challenge is judged blind,

so we shall ask the judges
to leave the tent.

You two, off you go.

Where do you think they're going?
Fight club.

Oh! But they're not supposed to
talk about it. No. Fair enough.

For your Technical Challenge,

Prue would like you to make

a quick Christmas pudding

with mincemeat made from scratch.

I don't think I've ever had
anything made from scratch before.

Oh, it's delicious.
Yeah, scratch is very moreish.

Also, you should serve,
with your Christmas pudding,

an orange-liqueur creme anglaise.

Bakers, you have one hour
and 15 minutes.

On your marks. Get set. Bake!

Crikey.

A Christmas pudding in an hour
is crazy.

It's a great challenge, though.

I have made
a Christmas pudding last year,

and then I vowed to
not ever do it ever again.

I've never made Christmas pudding
before.

HE LAUGHS

Has Prue actually lost it this time?

An hour and 15
to make your Christmas pudding?

But, hey, Prue did say it works.

So, Prue, you've chosen
a Christmas pudding,

which I thought takes
hours and hours,

as the Technical Challenge.

It doesn't take hours and hours.
It's cooked in a microwave.

It's exactly the same ingredients
that you'd normally have,

but everything is speeded up.

So how long is it for
the cooking time of this, then?

35 minutes altogether,
half of it on low,

half of it on medium - about.

That looks soft enough, doesn't it?

It does, doesn't it?
It smells very festive.

You know, we always say
that a perfect creme anglaise

should just coat
the back of the spoon.

Mm! The citrus, the fruit.

There's such
a Christmassy flavour to it.

The thing is, it is quite filling,
Christmas pudding,

so we've got to go back in
and have four of these.

That's fine.

"For the fruit,
mix together the ingredients,

"cover bowl with clingfilm and
put in a microwave on high power."

There you go. Simples!

I think Prue's on the naughty list
for this one.

She's been a bit naughty,
cos she hasn't put timings on it.

What a stitch-up, guys.
What a stitch-up!

There's no timings for any of it,
like none.

70g of molasses. It definitely
smells like Christmas.

It smells lovely.

So this is all the fruits,
the sultanas, raisins,

currants, mixed in with brandy
and orange juice as well.

So it's all just
soaking into the fruit. Lovely.

Normally, you'd steam them
for about four hours.

Not the best telly, probably.

Oh, no, I've seen worse shows
than that.

Not on this channel, of course.

I think they are saying
to microwave just because

it will help the fruit
soak all the booze.

It's just a quicker way.

Going to start
with a minute and a half,

and see if it looks warm enough
and take it from there.

Two minutes, sweet.

Go... Go.

Right, for the pudding.

So this is a lot of
the other ingredients.

That should bring it together.

I'm just adding
a teaspoon of cinnamon.

They've actually told us
the amounts of spice to put in.

Very, very unlike them.

I'm making breadcrumb.

I've only just noticed
this loaf of bread on my surface.

I was like, "Breadcrumbs, right,
which pot are they in?"

MATT: Your Instagram blew up
after you were on this show.

Everybody's talking about Jamie.

At university, did everyone
freak out when they seen you?

Nothing crazy,
Winchester's a small place.

Are you the most famous person
in Winchester? No, no! Who is?

A guy from Made In Chelsea
walks around Winchester.

So you're the second most
famous person in Winchester.

I don't... I don't know, you can
say that if you want. I will.

I'm not going to say that.

You're the second most
famous person in Winchester.

It's quite hot now.

So that's taken in most
of the liquid now, I think.

The fruit has kind of...
I think it's done it's fruity thing.

So I just put the bicarbonate
of soda in. Oh, my goodness me.

HE LAUGHS

Ooh! Does fizz a bit, doesn't it?

Just stirring in the bicarb,
which is already reacting.

"And then mix well until combined."

So I'm now mixing all the butter,
breadcrumbs, a couple of eggs,

flour, the cinnamon, mixed spice
and then warm fruit.

It smells lovely.

Pretty wet.
Just need to mix it in properly.

Fill half the pudding bowl
with the mixture,

then sit the candied clementine
in the centre.

Sounds like Heston Blumenthal,
doesn't it, ?

"Cover the remaining mixture,

"cut a disc of greaseproof paper to
fit the top of the base and cover."

It's got to the bit where you cook
it, and it just says,

"cook it on low for... and
then cook it on medium for..."

Medium-low for ten, I think.

Let's see what happens.

I've shoved it in for ten minutes,
and then I'm going to poke it,

and then I'm going to shove it in
for a bit longer

on a bit higher,
and then poke it again.

And then still have no idea.

I put it on for five minutes on low,

and I want to put it
on five minutes on medium.

Medium-low,
I'm going to go for ten minutes,

and then hit it up to the next level
for another ten minutes.

How long have we got left?

Bakers, you have... How long?

Uh, 30 minutes-ish.

30 minutes-ish left!

I am going to get on
with the creme anglaise.

There's no method for this.
It's just "make it".

It's like a custardy sort of thing.

Right, um...

I'm going to heat the cream
and the milk in a pan.

We're left to thicken this
just with egg yolks.

So it's going to take quite
a while to thicken, I think.

So beat up the eggs until
they are kind of quite pale.

It certainly warms you up
on Christmas Day.

I've got wrist strain
from doing that.

HE LAUGHS
I'll have to go and see the medic!

Ruby, how does it feel to be
back doing a Technical Challenge?

Absolutely dreadful. Why?!

Oh, my God, it's the stress,
I don't know what I'm doing!

You're always saying you're
stressed. You never seem stressed.

It all seems perfectly under
control to me. What's worrying you?

Who's microwaved a pudding before?

Look, it's just a bit of bread
and a few currants,

ding it in the microwave...
You seem a lot easier to please

than Prue and Paul, though.
That's why I'm not a judge.

It's looking wet.

I'm going to put it on
for another ten minutes on medium.

It's still really wet,
so I'm going to crank it up.

Up to medium.

I don't know, I'm going to do
another 15 on medium, I think.

Right, let's deal with this.

I love custard,
even the rubbish kind.

It's just starting to bubble.

Oh, we're starting to thicken.

I prefer a runny custard
than a thick custard.

I don't know how thick
they want their creme anglaise.

It's personal preference, innit?

Creme anglaise, you just want it
to coat the back of a spoon,

I'm pretty sure it is.

What you've got here
is looking a bit like...

..it's going to end up looking
like cheese on toast.

Oh, I haven't stirred it.

Do you know if this is heatproof?

If I'm honest with you,
and I hate to be,

I think that's
the last of your worries.

This looks like
a student flat right now.

Bakers, you have ten minutes left!

Ooh, hoo!

Oh, my God. What?

I don't know that it's ready.

It actually looks cooked.
It's a miracle.

I'm just going to have to go for it,
aren't I?

Right, what have we got here?

Looks all right.
It's a little spongy.

It's risen up a little bit.

I don't know of any test

for a microwave Christmas
pudding being done.

It's out. It is out.

You're going to have to get
your skates on, pal.

I reckon that'll be good enough.

Just pass it through a sieve,
get any lumps out.

It's not really lumpy,
but it's not perfect.

It looks like it's split, and
I don't know how to recover that.

I'm such a numpty.

Going to turn it. Ooh!

Ooh, very ungraceful.

Ah...

I don't know if I'm happy with it.
I'm happy it came out of the bowl.

Oh, you beauty!

It looks like a Christmas pudding.

Thank God. Happy days.

Now I'm going to spend
six minutes arranging my holly.

Bakers, you have one minute.

Right.

There's a Christmas pud!

Looks good.

Bakers, your time is up!

HE EXHALES SHARPLY

Please bring your Christmas puddings
awkwardly to the gingham altar

and place them behind
your beautiful photographs.

The judges are expecting
perfectly baked Christmas puddings

full of flavour
with an orange creme anglaise.

OK.

Let's have a look at this one.

It's nice and sharp, the line down
the bottom is nice and sharp.

It feels OK. It looks really good.

Well, there's the clementine there.

Looks perfect.

I'm going to pour a bit
of creme anglaise on there.

Actually, it's rather good.
Very good.

I think that's delicious.

It's really quite light.

There's nice balance, isn't there?

And the creme anglaise...
The creme anglaise is very good.

OK, moving on to number two.

This looks a little bit lighter,
doesn't it?

Looks as if it broke
a bit coming out.

Yeah, it's not mixed well enough.
See these bits here?

Let's have a look inside.

This feels a bit more firm.

I like the fact that you can see the
fruit separately from the cakey bit.

It's not just solid fruit.
It's a little bit more rubbery.

Too long in the microwave, yeah.

And we have scrambled egg as well
for creme anglaise.

It's split.

Yeah, it's split quite badly.

That's a shame.

OK, let's move on to number three.

This is quite smooth,
colour's a little bit darker.

This feels a bit rubbery too.

It's breaking apart very easily.

That's a little bit overcooked
for me.

It's just slightly overcooked.
But lovely flavour.

Flavour's fine.
Very good creme anglaise.

The creme anglaise is nice, though.

OK, last and hopefully not least...

This has got a very big dip
in the middle.

It has, and there's a bit of a soggy
bit there in the middle as well.

Let's have a look inside here.

Now, that holds together...
Yeah, nicely.

..not bad.

This is a bit...
just on the turn, look.

It's not actually split,
but it's about to.

That one's not bad, that.

Not quite as cooked as the other
two, so it's got more to it.

It holds together better,
doesn't it? More pudding-like.

OK, this is interesting. This
is going to be really difficult...

It is going to be difficult.
..because they're very good.

Paul and Prue will now rank the
Christmas puds from worst to best.

In the fourth spot,
we have this one.

Jamie, overcooked,
and your creme anglaise is split.

And in third spot, we have this one.

Ruby, this is a little bit stodgy,
which I think is from overcooking.

In second spot, we have this one.

It's actually pretty good,
it's been cooked well.

It's probably needed a couple
of minutes with the top bit.

It's just a little bit raw at
the top, but otherwise pretty good.

Thank you.

Which means...
Rosie has the best one.

It was absolutely perfect.

I would've loved that
for my Christmas pudding.

Really, really, really happy
with that,

especially winning one
where everybody's done well.

Cooking everything in a microwave,
an odd Bake Off challenge,

the microwave challenge.

Third sounds great to me,
so I'm going to say, "I was third."

If anyone asks
how many people were there,

I'm just going to say,
"I was third."

I did come last, which is not
where wanted to come.

It was looking so good and then...

I'm not crying, by the way,
I've just got an itch in my eye.

Day two of the baking festivities,

and it's the final challenge
before Prue and Paul

decide who will be crowned winner
of the Great Christmas Bake Off.

I think after these
first two challenges,

you can see some of them have just
become a little bit more polished.

Some of the bakers haven't, um...

Are there any that have got worse?

I wouldn't say worse.
OK, just checking.

I would say "not better".

Who is surprising you the most?

Rosie is doing very well. I think
she did well in the signature.

She won the technical.

Ruby's signature
was very, very good as well.

It did slip a bit -
third place in technical.

But, on the other hand,
James has lifted himself up.

Does Jamie have no chance?

At the moment, I would say
Jamie is out of the picture. Aw.

What would have to happen is
the other three don't turn up,

or the other three
all do incredibly badly.

Well, Merry Christmas to us all.
What a year it's been.

It's nice to be back in the tent,
our safe place.

And, Prue,
may I say how wonderful it is

that you finally
stopped dyeing your hair

and you're letting the natural blue
come through.

Good morning, bakers.

Welcome back to the tent
for your showstopper challenge.

Prue and Paul would like you
to make a spectacular illusion cake,

representing your ultimate
Christmas Day feast.

The judges are looking for
a deliciously deceptive display,

which includes
one large centrepiece cake.

And an array of
realistic-looking edible delights.

Oh, I love realistic-looking food,

like when a apple
looks like a apple.

Oh, yes, it's so clever.

And a sharon fruit looks just
like my mum's friend Sharon. Oh.

You have four hours.

On your marks. Get set. Bake!

I have got a lot to do,

but this is the last showstopper
I'm ever going to do,

so, you know,
you've got to go for it.

I've got about, probably eight,
nine elements to make.

Four hours is not
a long time at all,

so fingers crossed
we'll get through it all.

I have practised elements of this,
I might just do it.

Might. It'll be a Christmas miracle
if I do.

The showstopper challenge
we set the bakers

is they've got to make
a festive feast illusion cake.

The real danger
with an illusion cake

is that it becomes style
over substance.

They mustn't be too clever
for their own good.

It's still got to be
a delicious cake.

You've got to dedicate
a lot of time to the decoration.

So the idea is,
get your sponge done,

get it cooled,
and then spend three hours possibly

decorating this
to make it look amazing.

It's a tricky challenge.

This is the last showstopper
for 2020.

And it's not been the
greatest year for everyone.

So I really hope it's a good one,

and it would be lovely
to go out with a joyous bang.

MATT: The bakers are
creating multiple elements.

Smells nice.

With time against them,

they must get the masses of
tasty cake mixture they will need...

The coffee just brings
the chocolate flavour out.

It's not actually a coffee cake.

..mixed up and in the oven pronto.

The main flavour of my cake
is cardamom sponge.

It's going to be really luxurious,
really delicious.

My illusion cake today
is going to be a baked cola ham,

which is a chocolate
cola flavoured cake.

I'm going to have marzipan
carrots, amaretti cookie potatoes,

truffle Brussels sprouts, Yorkshire
puddings that are sweet and spicy.

So it will be
a full-on Christmas feast.

James really has
got his work cut out.

His illusion ham centrepiece
will come with all the trimmings,

including white chocolate
ganache peas,

cranberry and port compote
in an isomalt dish

and rosemary caramel gravy.

Is this your schedule?
Uh, yes, it is.

This is very impressive.

It mainly says "make" and "bake".

Very technical.

It's going to be really tight.

When I did this in practice,
I had a minute to spare.

Good luck.
Thanks very much, guys. Cheers.

All right, these go in the oven.

All right, in we go.

These are going in.

I just popped it in for 25 minutes.
I'll check it then.

Now it's roast potato time,
cos they're amaretti,

they'll crack a bit on the top,
a bit like a proper roast potato.

So I'm making shortbread,

which is going to make
my sandwiched biscuit tarts.

A new Rubes invention!

This is the mixture
for my cheesecakes.

So it sort of looks a little bit
like a Yorkshire pudding.

I'm making my batter for churros.

Jamie! Hiya, how are you?

Right, tell us all
about your illusion cake.

The idea is to do a twist
on, like, a turkey dinner,

so I'm going to do
a fried turkey bucket.

A fried turkey bucket?

You know, a fried turkey bucket.

You know, Prue, you go for
a fried turkey bucket sometimes.

Is this your Christmas festive meal?
Well, no, it's not.

I'm doing a twist because...
But it's what you'd like it to be.

..yeah, everyone's doing
Christmas dinner,

so I thought,
"I'll do a twist on it."

It's going to be fried turkey,
not chicken.

Right.
So how is it going to look, than?

I'm allowed to tell you
it's chocolate.

As opposed to? Well, it's meant
to be in illusion, isn't it?

Built of chocolate sponge
and brandy buttercream,

Jamie's illusion
takeaway turkey bucket

will also have the judges gorging
on chocolate mousse milkshakes

and churro chips.

It sounds really delicious,
but I don't like the theme at all.

Oh, really? You may not know this,

but in Japan, a lot of Japanese
go to a very famous takeaway

for buckets of chicken
Christmas Day.

Are you basing it on that, Jamie?
Uh, yeah.

That ties in as well,
my research told me that.

Good luck, then, Jamie. Yeah, thank
you very much. Thank you. Cheers.

There is one baker who's chosen
to present their fake turkey cake

in a classic style.

I'm making a very traditional
Christmas dinner,

roast turkey with all the trimmings.

It is quite ambitious.

I just really, really want
to finish it.

Pulling out all the stops,
Rosie's turkey centrepiece

will come with burnt
Basque cheesecake Yorkshire puds,

two types of veg and double spuds,

with caramelised sponge
roast potatoes

and champagne and
white cacao mousse mash.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, you have
mashed potato and roast potato?

Double carb? Ditto!

Really? You'll have mash
and roast potatoes?

Is there anything
that's not beige on your plate?

Excuse me, this is about
Rosie's illusion piece.

Sorry, I was distracted
by so many carbohydrates.

I started putting on weight just
at the mention of so many of them.

Right, good luck, then, Rosie. Look
forward to it. Thank you very much.

Ooh, cake timer.

Right. Going to come out
with the cake.

Yep, they're nice,
they're just dry enough on the top.

Just let them cool a bit,
then I'll tip them out.

They are looking OK.

I think they're fine.

Oh, yeah.

MATT: The sponges may be done,

but in this most complex
of challenges,

the bakers have multiple
illusion elements to create.

Are my spuds done?

I'm going to fry these churros.

Smells like fish and chips,
doesn't it?

HE CHUCKLES

This is agar-agar, which is like
a vegetarian setting agent

for my chocolate spaghetti.

Hi, Ruby. Hello.

Tell us all about
your illusion cake, please.

So, my illusion cake
is a breakfast fit for an elf.

So it's a scene from one of
my favourite Christmas films,

and he's sat at a table
eating a bowl of "cereal",

and it looks disgusting,
but he's having a great time.

MATT: Made of cardamom sponge
and Swiss meringue buttercream,

Ruby's cereal bowl will be topped
with white chocolate spaghetti

and dark chocolate
truffle meatballs.

It'll come with chocolate ganache,
shortbread slop tarts

and a rice puff elf hat
for good measure.

I'm not going to say it's going to
look like you want to tuck into it,

but I quite like that,
because it will be delicious,

it will taste great.

OK, thank you very much, Ruby.
Thank you very much.

I'm making two different batches

of salted brandy truffles
at the moment.

The dark chocolate
will be the sprouts.

I do like sprouts. I actually do.

I've got white chocolate ganache
with peppermint in.

Get it cooled,
and then melon-ball it

into little Brussel sprouts shapes.

This is for the sweetcorn.

What do you think Prue Leith
has for Christmas dinner?

I reckon there's ham,
turkey and beef.

Ham, turkey AND beef?

When you say beef,
do you just mean an argument?

I don't know, Prue's pretty tame.

If she had beef with you, Jamie,
you'd know about it.

She's got Paul on her side -
he's got very stocky legs.

He walks like he's just got
off a horse. No comment.

So this is my chocolate spaghetti.

I really hope this works,

because without that,
there's basically nothing.

Oh, my God. Did it hit anyone?! Woo!

Bakers... You... are...

..half... way... through!

Yikes. Everything, basically,
is what I've got left to do.

It is like Christmas Day.
You've got just as much to do.

Time to ice this bad boy.
HE CHUCKLES

This festive feast illusion cake,
I think they have to be

very, very, very creative
and artistic to get it right.

You need quite a firm sponge
to carve. There is a lot of turkey.

They've all chosen a variety
of different things,

from spaghetti, meatballs,
we've actually got a full roast.

Yeah, we've got two proper
Christmas dinners with all...

We've got a bucket of fried turkey.
I know - well, that's Jamie.

I think he really would
rather go to a very famous

takeaway for his Christmas dinner.

I'm going to put a fondant over it.

This is raw turkey skin.

Good, I'm quite pleased with it.

It's not going to win any
competitions in a beauty contest.

It just needs
a bit of make-up on it.

How good are they going to look,
this is the thing. Yeah, exactly.

You know, the illusion
has got to look like

what they're setting out to do.

Nice spuds.

Later, I'll give them
a little brush with butter,

make them a little bit darker.

They look pretty good, don't they?
Chips.

I think they're going
to feel the pressure.

Certainly, it's going to matter
for at least three of the bakers

today to see who's going to win.

Kind of want it a bit marbled,
a bit like ham is.

Jamie, do you want a top-up on your
tan while I've got the brown out?

HE LAUGHS

Jealousy's ugly, James.

It's Christmas.
We'll leave them alone now

and see what they can come up with.
OK.

This is for my elf hat.

It's become like a melty mess.

This is Swiss meringue.

This will make my champagne
and white chocolate mousse,

which is mashed potato.

I'm confusing myself so much
at the moment.

This is my chocolate mousse
milkshake.

Not on my rec...
Oh, it is on my recipe.

That's a nightmare, that is.

Bakers, you have one hour left.
One hour!

It's getting serious now.

This is chaos.

JAMES: It's going to be tight.

Now, that's a proper
Yorkshire pudding.

I think I'm happy with these
cheesecakes. Yeah, they'll do.

Um, uh... somewhere to put them.

Pink ketchup. I think
Prue will prefer it that colour,

it'll look less fake.

The technique for this
is hope and pray.

You are the only person in here
who's been a star baker,

and the only person here
who's made it to the final.

WHISPERS: Stop it!

So you've got to be
the favourite today.

No, I'm most definitely not.
You can't be flapping.

All right, the carrots are done.

Now on to making my peas.

I'm making potatoes.

It's nice when you finish
the little elements.

They're really little tiny things,
but then they're done.

This is my elf hat.

Ah! Or is it not glueing on there?

Now I'm going to carve
a drumstick shape.

Noticing that about you -
obsessed with fried poultry.

That looks really good,

and I know the Colonel
would be delighted with that.

If only he'd share with his
recipe with you, but he will not.

It's a secret recipe.
It's a secret recipe.

But it is... finger-licking good.
Mm.

Bakers, you have 30 minutes left.

Imagine having only half an hour.

Oh! This has stopped being fun
a long time ago.

Panic time.

It's looking OK. Disaster averted.

What would Christmas Day be
without a surprise?

And James has one for the judges.

So I've also hid a real sprout,

and I've just dipped it
in the chocolate as well,

so hopefully I'll be able to sneak
it in and they won't spot it.

This is for the sweetcorn.
I'm going to give it some grooves.

Rosie, for a vegetarian, you've done
pretty well at making a meat feast.

What about if
I was not a vegetarian,

is it just a bit rubbish?
Then it just suggests to me

that maybe you've been lying
about being a vegetarian.

Everyone likes
a turkey-flavoured cake.

Don't leave us alone. Don't leave us
alone with it, Rosie, we'll eat it.

It's now the bakers must
complete their magic act...

I've got to construct it now.

..pulling off an illusion
that tricks the judges

into thinking their Christmas feasts
are anything but cake.

Lots of focus now.

It smells delicious.

JAMIE: Yeah, they look all right.
Yeah, I'm happy with that.

ROSIE: Have I got everything?
This is my massive paranoia.

That does not look appealing
in the slightest.

I literally can't remember
which one's the real Brussel.

I reckon it's that one.

Little sticker to put on the side,
Bake Off Bucket and Fried Turkey.

ROSIE: I need to season,
season things, and gravy.

Right, we are getting there.

Sprouts, Brussels, carrots, peas,
Yorkie puds, gravy.

You can't skimp
for a Christmas dinner.

I don't have fried chicken on
Christmas Day. That would be stupid.

I've just got to pour my gravy.
I think that's it.

Here you go.

Bakers, your time is up.

Please step away
from your showstoppers.

A little bit messy,
but I'm pretty happy.

HE CHUCKLES

Sure, it does not look great,
but it will be delicious.

Fingers crossed.

It's clever, it's clever.

It's very clever and it's very witty
and it's unusual.

It just has to taste good now.
Yes, indeed.

What sponge did you use for this?

It's cardamom sponge.

Vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream

and some fresh raspberries
running through it.

That sponge is lovely.
The sponge is delicious.

Perfect. It's a nice cake, actually,
blended together.

Mm. These biscuits look good.

Breaking very easily.

They're really nice. The chocolate's
just soft enough. Yeah.

Biscuits are beautiful. It's very
delicate and melts in the mouth.

Clever. What's the spaghetti like?

It's strange, cos it's
quite rubbery, isn't it?

Actually, the spaghetti melts
in your mouth. It's fine.

Do you know, Ruby, I think
you've done a fantastic job.

Your baking is terrific. Thank you.

Overall, you've come up
with some really neat ideas.

Very good. Thank you. Thanks
very much. Well done. Thank you.

What a relief!

It does look like fried turkey.
Big lumps of turkey.

Big lumps of it, yeah. Slabs.

That's rather impressive, isn't it?

A bit thick, that fondant
round the edge.

It's odd for me to say this,

cos there's so much buttercream
and icing,

but the cake itself
is not very sweet at all.

Quite bitter, isn't it?
Yeah. Oh, goodness me.

Not good. No. No, it's OK,
it's not bad. OK.

It's not a bad cake. It's just...
It's bitter, which I didn't expect.

The churros actually
look like churros.

Rather than chips. You should have
had a smooth piping nozzle.

I can't resist them.
They are the most delicious things.

I liked yours. And the mousse...

This is a very strange
Christmas feast.

Oh, I love that.

Yeah, it's very good. Oh, yay.

I think it's a clever design,

and you did complete what you said
you were going to do.

It's astonishing. It's incredible.

You see a lot of novelty cakes
out there, and this qualifies

as some of the professional levels.

This is really, really good.
Thank you.

Some of the best illusion stuff
we've seen in the tent.

I think it's wonderful.
I love the Yorkshire cheesecakes

and, do you know what,
I can't help myself,

I just want this
to be mash and gravy.

THEY LAUGH

It's delicious as mousse.

It is amazing, cos you do think
it's going to be mash.

Oh, it's lovely.

My main cake is
chocolate orange sponge

with a Swiss meringue buttercream.

Oh, beautiful. Look at that.

They're beautifully neat.

You seem to have a similar
consistency all the way through.

The citrus flavours
that you've got in there,

that orange really lifts it.
It's quite a light sponge as well,

isn't it? There's not too much
of the sugar paste on the outside,

which is nice. It's neat.

I really think the texture
is absolutely lovely,

and I love the buttercream.

I want to try this cheesecake.

It's lovely.

Amazing job.
Really, I can't fault it.

If I'm going to be really picky,
the Brussels sprouts don't really

look like Brussels sprouts.
The colours are wrong.

But the overall look, and the gravy

and the mash and the turkey -
superb. A big success.

Terrific success. Thanks very much,
indeed. Thank you. Well done.

Well done, Rosie.

Forgot this, too.

APPLAUSE

I've not done that before.

Well done, bakers.

Now, if you want to step outside,
we're all going to sit down

and talk about you
behind your back.

CHEERING

Here to witness
the Star Baker announcement

are a limited number of friends
and family for cake and bubbly

in their socially-distanced bubbles.

Well, that's the bake to go out on,
isn't it?

Finally got a handshake. Literally
couldn't have been any better.

Perfect way to end.

I'm chuffed with that.

There were some mixed comments
but there was nothing horrendous.

Think Prue warmed up a bit.

She didn't say anything bad
about the way it looked, really.

Fantastic judging. Lovely
comments from both Paul and Prue.

I love that Prue got
the real Brussels sprout.

Payback after a full season
of Bake Off.

Prue said my baking was terrific,
and I will take that.

I always wanted to impress Prue
last year, and I've done it

at Christmas time,
so what a lovely little present!

Well, well, well. 'Tis the season
to be jolly, and we have been jolly.

We have.
I'm now feeling slightly sick.

Well, you did eat a lot.
You really gorged yourself there.

I did. I did.

I thought the effect everybody
set out to do they accomplished,

and that's a big thing.

It's nice to see they've all
improved since they left the tent.

So, who's in the lead here?
Who's in the running?

I think Rosie's edged it
coming into today,

but has she done enough to win it
altogether after the Showstopper?

I don't know. I thought Ruby
has a really good chance.

She let herself down a little bit
on the Technical, but she did bounce

back on the Showstopper today.

And I think James has done enough
as well. He's got better.

You know, even Jamie...
Leave it out, will you?

I know Jamie won't make Star Baker,
but the truth is that

if you look at that lot,
it's all worth the calories.

Well, there's only one Star Baker,

but there's also one star presenter.

And that is dear Tom Allen, who
so kindly joined us. Thank you, Tom.

Oh... Well, it was my pleasure.

There was no room at the inn, so
they said, "There's a tent round

"the back. Would you like to go
and present there?"

You've been amazing filling in.
I have, haven't I?

I've been like a delicious
buttercream. Not as tasty as Noel.

No, I'm not as tasty as Noel.
You're right.

I'm a bitter bit of cake,
and I don't mind that.

CHEERING

Bakers, thanks so much
for returning to the tent.

You've all been amazing
but, of course,

there can only be one winner.

So it is my pleasure to announce
that the winner

of The Great Christmas Bake Off
is...

..Rosie!

CHEERING

I can't really believe it, to be
honest. I'm so happy, so happy.

It's just the perfect end
to a lovely couple of days.

PRUE: Well done, Rosie.

A round of applause
for all of our bakers.

I'm so pleased for Rosie,

because she never won
Star Baker and, of course,

she never had a handshake, and she
achieved both of those things today.

♪ Silent Night

♪ Holy night

♪ All is calm

♪ And all is bright... ♪

Oh, end of a fantastic day!
Paul finally liked some of my bakes,

so it's a win!

♪ Round yon virgin... ♪

Paul and Prue were actually
really nice to me!

Turns out there can be miracles
at Christmas after all.

♪ Holy infant

♪ So tender and mild... ♪

A great Christmas Bake Off and,
actually, the standard has been

excellent all the way through.

And even Jamie got better and better
coming into the Showstopper.

♪ Peace... ♪

I'm feeling really happy
and I'm really happy for Rosie.

She definitely deserved it.
Definitely feel proud of myself,

cos I managed to get invited back.

Been a pleasure, been my pleasure

to be invited back in and
to be part of Christmas Special.

♪ Said silent

♪ Silent night

♪ Holy... ♪

It's been a really tough year
for so many people.

I just hope that everybody
who watches Bake Off feels

the same as I do.

It isn't the real world.
The real world's tougher out there,

but it's a moment when you can
just relax and enjoy yourself.

♪ Sleep in heavenly... ♪

It's lovely to get the bakers
back in the tent

and I hope it'll put a smile
on everybody's faces.

Merry Christmas.

♪ ..peace. ♪

CHEERING

Yeah!

Next time...

I woke up this morning and
I just felt physically sick.

..we're celebrating the New Year...

I've come back to haunt you.
I'm so weird.

..with a festive baking frenzy...

I recommend you use
something called an oven.

..taking on a fruity Signature...

I'm just having a squeeze
of your plums.

..a street-food Technical...
This is hell.

..and a Showstopper
for a big birthday.

My 21st was in 1975.

Who will be the first
Star Baker of 2021?

It's harder than it looks, actually.

PFFT!