The Great British Baking Show (2010–…): Season 8, Episode 4 - Caramel Week - full transcript

GBBO S08E04

Can you guess what I'm thinking?
Probably not. I was thinking,

if we were wasps,
we'd be going crazy right now.

That wouldn't have been my first
guess but I think you're right.

I can almost smell it from here.
Oh, it's heaven.

THEY SNIFF

BOTH: Ah.

It's Caramel Week.

Getting to caramel...

Oh, I love a bit of kneading.

..meant getting past bread...



Put your finger in it.

..and Paul.

I feel like you're trying
to psyche me out.

Despite Steven's comeback
in the Showstopper...

Unbelievable.
It's delicious.

..Julia's stunning toadstool and
snail saw her crowned Star Baker.

No-one's ever done something
like that on Bake Off before.

And, although Liam
struggled again...

Sometimes I just have
to have self-belief.

I couldn't boil an egg at your age.

..we had to bid Flo
a fond farewell.

I've enjoyed the ride.
I've met some lovely people

and I'll remember
that for the rest of my life.

Now, for the first time...



How long have I got left?
You can do this.

..it's Caramel Week.

With a luxurious
layered signature...

I don't think the texture
of anything is right.

..a technical
where the bakers go Dutch...

Waffles, innit?

..and the stickiest showstopper...

..It's all just melting.

..in the history of
The Great British Bake Off.

It's not as much as an erection
as I wanted it to be.

Caramel Week.

Kind of excited
because I love caramel.

Not saying I'm good at it,
but I love it.

This is the week I practised most
and, yeah, it hasn't gone that well.

So, er, yeah, we'll see.

I must have put on a good stone,
and it's all caramel.

The tricky thing about caramel
is pretty much everything!

Our nine remaining bakers
are about to tackle

three increasingly complex
challenges...

SHE EXHALES

..all centred on
the most delicious but fickle

home-baking confection there is.

YAN EXHALES

Morning, bakers,
I hope you're all raring to go.

Now, as you know, I'm part wasp, so,
it's my favourite time of the year.

It's Caramel Week.

For your Signature Challenge today,

Prue and Paul would love you to make
18 millionaire's shortbreads.

They have to be identical,
otherwise Prue will kick off.

Yeah, and nobody wants to see that.

You've got two hours
and 15 minutes

to create
your millionaire's shortbread.

On your marks. Get set. Bake!

How am I feeling about caramel?
Oh, my God!

SHE LAUGHS

Caramel will do what it wants to do.

You've just got to go with it
and hope it works out.

You've got to be careful
making it.

I've already lost fingerprints
from burning myself.

What we're looking for
in a millionaire's shortbread

are three distinctive layers.

A beautiful soft shortbread.
A gooey yet firm caramel

and a gorgeous thin
chocolate coating on the top.

The skill comes in getting
the caramel just right.

It has to be firm but not chewy.

They could put coffee in it
or rum in it or orange in it.

I'm looking for something
a bit special

and I'd like something
I've never had before.

I'm just getting my dough ready.

Most of the bakers have begun by
preparing a traditional shortbread.

So, it's three-two-one. Three parts
flour, two of butter, one of sugar.

But Julia is already tinkering
with this British classic.

I check the nuts are done
by the smell.

If it smells like nuts,
they're done!

Julia's adding pecans to her
shortbread she'll top with a caramel

inspired by her mother-in-law's
lack of a sweet tooth.

My mum-in-law doesn't normally
like shortbreads but she loves mine,

apparently so. Impressive.

So, tell us about
the salted caramel?

I'm adding two teaspoons
of sea salt. Gosh that's a lot.

You'd better get the caramel right
if you have that much.

That's the thing, you kind
of have to get it more salty

than you normally would
for salted caramel sauce.

Well, you seem to be under control
and very calm, Star Baker.

Star Baker!
She's going for the double.

PRUE: Why not?
Good luck, Julia. Thank you.

If it goes wrong,
blame your mother-in-law.

James is also attempting
a pecan shortbread.

But his inspiration is
far from the family home.

So, it's maple pecan.

I used to live in Chicago for three
years. I was going to say, American.

Yeah. So, very American flavours.

They love their tray bakes
and things like this

so I've gone back
to my American roots.

James' pecan shortbread will
be topped with a maple caramel.

And, in another nostalgic nod
to time spent in the Windy City

with his wife Anne, he's hoping
to add a touch of American glamour.

If I've got time, it will be brushed
with a bit of gold leaf.

Need some bling on your shortbread.
What does it taste of?

Never tried it. Try a bit.

Doesn't taste of anything.

Hilariously got gold
on your teeth, ha!

Actual gold teeth.
Am I like Goldie now?

I might take up rapping.

THEY LAUGH

For Tom, shortbread
couldn't be closer to home.

I probably should have
the upper hand, being Scottish.

I don't know that I will.

But even he's going nuts.

I'd normally just make
a plain shortbread.

But I thought it might be nice
to add a bit more crunch.

Tom's making two giant
almond shortbreads

which he'll top with
stem ginger caramel,

and tempered milk
and white chocolate

before cutting them into portions.

It will be a race
to get them in the oven.

And just get it in
and cooled quick enough

to be able to get the caramel on.

Whilst it may be quicker to get
larger shortbreads in the oven...

Right.

The main thing is getting it all
done so I've got time to chill it.

..they may take longer
to cool, layer and cut.

I was going to cut them
but, with this time pressure,

it's basically easier to pop them
out and slide them off.

I'm not good at cutting,
so, I've just decided

to make my life a little bit easier
and just put them in moulds.

But those making
individual shortbreads...

I've got the same amount
in every single mould.

..face layering with caramel,
then, chocolate, 18 separate times.

I don't know if it's the right
technique but I'm going with it.

It's too late to change now.

And Steven's separate layers
will be bigger than most.

They are literally about that deep.

So, it's pretty much a dessert,
not a snack.

His large layer of macadamia nut
shortbread will be matched

with a deep helping
of orange caramel

and a thick chocolate topping
flavoured with coffee liqueur.

Are you enjoying these? I really
like them.

They're quite substantial.
It's a handful for me. And for me.

I think we'll do it with two hands.

Whilst hers may end up
smaller than Steven's...

Let's see the other one.

..Sophie still has size issues.

I kind of thought far too long
about the proportions

than one really should.

So, what I've done for
the shortbread is that,

it's about eight millimetres.
About the same of caramel.

Then, it's got just a couple
of millimetres of ganache,

and then a very thin bit
of tempered chocolate on the top.

Sophie's the only baker
attempting four layers,

all aimed at recreating the flavours
of her favourite chocolate treat.

So, I am doing a Jaffa-Cake-inspired
millionaire's shortbread.

Yes! Jaffa! Very excited.

And what shape are you doing?
They are going to be circles.

I'm actually doing it
quite a laborious way.

I'm cutting out the shortbread

and then putting a little collar
of acetate around it,

and then filling it up.
You're making acetate collars?

It's laborious and you tend to get a
little bit of leakage.

It is a good idea cos you will be
able to see the layers.

You'll know exactly what your
proportions are. Yes.

Going in.

Whilst everyone's shortbread
is in the oven,

Caramel Week can start in earnest.

HE EXHALES

All caramel begins with sugar
and precisely monitored heat.

I've done caramel a few times, which
is now going to be the curse of me

because, the second you say that,
it's all going to go wrong.

The bakers now face an agonising
wait for the sugar to melt.

I'm really worrying
about burning the caramel.

That's the most likely thing
to go wrong.

If I go away and do something else
it will just,

by the time I get back,
it will just have gone.

You're leaving it for as long
as you can to get that amber colour

and it's basically playing
caramel chicken. Sounds delicious!

But avoiding burnt sugar
is just the beginning.

Caramel has a very naughty habit
of crystallising.

So, I'm just wiping some
water around the edge of the pan.

So, I'm brushing down the sugar
that's gone up the side of the pan

because, if it crystallises
and then gets back into the caramel,

the whole caramel then just
starts to crystallise as well.

It's very annoying.

If it crystallises, it's game over.

You've got to throw
the whole thing away.

What I'm doing is putting in
liquid glucose which helps

stabilise the sugar molecules so,
hopefully, it shouldn't crystallise.

Well, I've crystallised this.

I mean, it might well come back but
I haven't got time to muck about,

so I'm just going to redo it.

Stacey's second attempt at caramel
will sit on vanilla shortbread

and be topped with
lime and chilli chocolate.

So, I'm putting this
really nice spiced rum

which I stole from the drinks
cabinet. Now, don't drink it.

I'm just going to have a little go.

I'm sorry, darling,
I knew he'd drink it. It's OK.

We're only putting
one tablespoon in.

That's quite a lot of flavours.

I like the idea of
the rum and the lime together

because those two
are a great mixture.

The whole thing tastes very
different with rum in it. Wow!

But actually it works with the rum
I think, but we'll see what you say.

It's like pirate's tears.

Liam's also planning
to flavour his caramel.

Looks all right. But with
something a little less grown-up.

I love the combination
of salt-sweet.

I've been developing it
for quite a while now.

Put it this way, every time
my friend comes to my house,

there's always
a jar of caramel in my fridge.

So, he's been to my house a lot.

Liam's friend Jamie has repeatedly
approved his peanut butter caramel

which he'll sandwich between vanilla
shortbread and dark chocolate.

So, what I've done,
I've made my own peanut butter

and then,
once I've made the caramel,

I'll add a couple of tablespoons
of peanut butter into that.

How does that react
with the caramel?

To be fair, it kind of helps me,

in the sense of getting
the caramel to set.

Like, salted caramel
is pretty sweet as it is.

Like, the salty peanut butter
sort of balances it out.

Got a good feeling about this.

You know what you're good at is
very strong flavours. Thank you.

Bakers! You have one hour left.
Crack on.

Everything's back on track.

Touch wood,
this is looking quite good.

I've got some cream and some maple
syrup and some butter to get into it

and then it'll thicken up.

It gets so hot, it's like lava.
Quite lethal.

Once butter and cream
are added to molten sugar...

..caramel gets
even harder to perfect.

Add the cream in, and then,
I'm going to leave it to boil

roughly ten minutes
so it gets thick and nice.

The judges will expect a caramel
that holds its shape when cut.

It can't be chewy,
you shouldn't be, like, argh!

But it has to be firm enough
so that it doesn't start oozing out.

Unless the mixture is heated
to a precise temperature,

the resulting caramel will be runny.

I've been bringing it up
to a soft boil stage

which is probably around 115, but
I'm going to go a little bit higher.

But, overheat it,
or cook it for too long...

That needs two minutes more.
Just remember that.

..and the caramel will harden.

HE CHUCKLES

This is stressing me out.

And, whilst precision
is important for some...

Need to get to 118 degrees C.

..Yan has other ideas.

Not using a thermometer
may be my biggest downfall.

We'll see. We'll see.

Without the aid of a thermometer,
Yan plans to make a salted caramel

to join a hazelnut
and crystallised ginger shortbread

with a chocolate orange topping.

All I'm using as a guide is that
I know that the amount of butter

and cream that I've used,
if I drive off the moisture,

once all the moisture, which
is why I keep looking like this,

once it stops steaming, that's all
of the moisture gone and it's ready.

Yep. They're looking good.

Nice.

I'm just putting this
in the freezer.

Whilst their shortbread cools,

if they're happy
with the consistency...

You can see it's really
thickening up.

..they can begin adding
their flavours.

Nom-nom-nom-nom-nom.

And, while some are relying
on the classics...

So much salt.

..Kate's up to her old tricks again.

I have got a little herb tree
at home, a little bay tree.

It's had a bit of a haircut
this week

because I've been practising,
so, it looks a bit bare.

Her salted-and-bay-flavoured caramel
will sit on a walnut shortbread

and it's the result
of yet another delve

into her beloved history books.

I chose bay because of
the Roman meaning behind it.

It's like wealth and status,
so it goes. Oh, that's interesting.

Kind of like that herbal thing
with sweet desserts as well.

My instinct is that
too much caramel is too sweet,

maybe the bay is the answer?

Maybe. We'll have to wait and see.

I'll just have to be careful.

I'm going to take
this off the heat now.

Key moment.

I'm going to cool it in here.

I've just put my caramel in,
like, a chilled baking tray

for it to cool down
so it's pipeable.

The caramel took
a lot longer than I'd hoped.

It was just
catching on this hob.

You've got that slight
sheen of sweating. Oh, yes.

Stress sheen.
It is. That's what I call it.

The shortbreads seem
to have cooled down nicely.

Right, it's come to
a nice pouring consistency.

You want really good layers.

I'm just piping it, it just allows
me to get an even amount in each.

It won't be, like, bang on,
because I'm not weighing it.

It's not ideal
but it's what I came up with,

so, I've got to stick with it.
It will be fine.

This is it. Three more to do.

I've got some walnuts.
It needed a bit of crunch to it.

So, I'm going to put it in the
freezer now to set. Hopefully set.

If the bakers attempt
to add their chocolate

before the caramel
has cooled and set...

HE EXHALES

..the distinct layers the judges
are looking for will be ruined.

I'm not patient. That's something I
don't have, unfortunately, patience.

Not my thing.

What are you doing?

I am cooling my caramel a little
bit. Right. In a bowl of ice.

In a bowl of ice. Very, very
rapidly running out of time.

Got to pour the chocolate on.

I'm just putting the chocolate
on top with the coffee liqueur.

It's not going to set.

Just dragging through
and make little hearts.

Slightly overdosed
on the chocolate layer.

So, I need to do it all the same
now, which is really annoying.

I need it to be even.

I just don't think
the caramel's going to be set.

Oh. I just tried to pour my
chocolate into it and...it's split.

Bit of a panic.

HE INHALES DEEPLY

We are really low on time
at the moment.

I've got to get these
in the freezer.

If they come out and they sink,

there's not a great deal
we can do.

We're on the clock here.

How long do we have left?

Bakers, you have ten minutes left.

Ten minutes to bling up
your millionaire's shortbreads.

Ah! Very, very quickly
running out of time.

Let's trial them.

I'll take them out
and put them back in the fridge.

Not sure what's going to happen.
I'll just give them the full tray.

Let's have a look.

If these come out in one chunk...

There we go.

Just worried they might not pop out.

All right.

The caramel's holding.

I wanted to make sure
they set,

otherwise they'll start oozing
out of the sides.

It's very, very hot in here,
and caramel doesn't like the heat.

How are you doing this? Like Banksy?
Like a sort of stencil?

That's what I want. It's Prue.
Wow.

Maybe you are Banksy.
Because no-one knows who Banksy is.

I'm not Banksy. Only a true Banksy
would say he wasn't Banksy.

They're still hot.

Now, I'm just serving them a slab.

I'm just going to shove the rest
on the platter just as they are.

Bakers, that is it! Your time is up.

SHE GASPS

12, 14, 16, 18.

Well, I've only got
two to give them.

Two giant sheets of shortbread
as opposed to 18!

It's judgment time for the Signature
millionaire shortbreads.

Hello, Kate. Hiya.

I do like this pattern on the top,
it's quite delicate,

but it makes it look quite pretty
as well.

It's just that they've run over
the edge a bit.

I think the biscuit's beautiful
and soft, but it holds its shape.

I think you've got
the texture spot-on, actually.

I do like the flavours.

You get a slight aromatic flavour
from the caramel.

That aromatic thing
is actually the bay. Yeah.

I really like it.

There's a huge difference between
the shortbread in these two.

It's quite doughy. Mm.

The flavours are sort of there.
The textures aren't, though. Yeah.

I think your issue is the base -

it hasn't got the texture
of a shortbread. Yeah.

Maybe it's got too much pecan.
It's a little unpleasant.

I do like the design on top. I mean,
you've got some lips there. Yeah.

I'd like to see that nice and flat.

The caramel's bulging out on all
of them, which makes them equal.

PRUE CHUCKLES

I love the shortbread. Very nutty.

Gives it a nice edge, a nice little
bit of crunch to the softness.

The caramel is a little too salty.
OK.

I like the picture of Prue
on the top.

I like the flavours. It's more
toffee-like than caramel.

I don't think that the texture
of anything is right.

The nutty biscuit was quite coarse,

and the chocolate's thick.

That's disappointing.

Obviously they're not identical.

You've had a bit of an issue
with time as well.

But I can see it was going
to be really interesting.

The disc on top of the ganache

on top of the caramel
on top of the biscuit.

It's a four-layer job.

Yes, which probably
didn't help matters.

Mmm. It's very orangey.

The base, it's a bit dry.

However, the taste,
the soft, silky caramel,

with the orange as well,
together, works.

It is delicious.
It is very, very good.

They look hideous...
THEY LAUGH

but they taste amazing.

They're supposed to be identical
and they look pretty identical.

You can see the layers. My issue is
the thickness of that biscuit. Yeah.

It's the overall size of it.

Oh, it drops through
very well, though. Mmm.

Look at that.

Mm. For the first time,
I don't like the flavours. OK.

And I don't like the texture
of that caramel.

It's far too bitter.

I know, but I'll tell you
what, Steven,

I mean, for me, I love that caramel.

I love the bitterness of it.

I don't like really, really sweet
things, and the slight bitterness,

the orangeyness, the macadamia,

everything mitigates the caramel.

They are so pretty,
and they are identical.

They are very neat and very sharp
from the side as well.

The flavours are pretty strong.

The rum comes through
very strongly, the chilli.

It's a grown-up taste, but I don't
really like the rum flavour.

The biggest issue I have is
the depth of that chocolate.

It's too thick.

It looks to me as if you had
a little time problem.

I decided to leave them in the tins

cos I didn't want to have,
sort of, 18 splodgy messes.

Oh, a lovely, cracky top.

The flavour is great.

The caramel is not the right
texture, because it's too soft,

and you didn't finish it.

What's all this? So, do you know
Tetris? Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

So I don't know why,
but I really wanted to

make a Tetris-themed
shortbread...look.

I love the chocolate on top, because
it's nice and neat and flat.

The simplicity of it works.

You've got a few issues with
the caramel pouring out the side.

The proportion's two-to-one.
I like that. Sick.

Can you really eat
that much caramel? Yeah!

LAUGHTER

The peanut butter in there, that's
very clever. It's set beautifully.

It's crunchy enough,
but again, soft enough.

You've got that nice balance
between the two.

But I love...

..that flavour.

Oh, yes!
APPLAUSE

That is crazy!

Oh, my God!
Good job. Thank you.

Well done. Thanks. Well done.

That's mad!

Oh, my days, Paul Hollywood
shook my hand

cos I baked something really good.

I was like...

Crazy, crazy.

It was all right, wasn't it?

SHE GIGGLES

I added quite a lot of complexity
to that one, and stupidly,

obviously I should have just, you
know, kept it really, really simple.

I'm still irritated at myself,

cos I know I can finish it
and I know I can do it well.

Do you know what, the scariest thing
in there was disappointing them.

Because...

..it's the best feeling in the world
when they like it.

So...

Caramel Week isn't about to get
any easier.

Right, bakers, time for
your Technical Challenge,

which has been set for you today
by Prue.

Prue, what caramel trickery
have you conjured up?

We're asking for a Dutch treat.

A Dutch treat.
Yeah, I had one of those once.

I can only remember the first bit
of the weekend!

LAUGHTER

Off you go. Hold hands. Skip away.

So cute.

Right, for your Technical Challenge,
Prue would like you to make

12 stroopwafels.

"Stroop" is the Dutch for "syrup".

And "wafel"...

..means "waffle". Yeah.

LAUGHTER

You've got an hour and 45.

On your marks. Get set.
BOTH: Bake!

A stroopwafel.

Never heard of them before
in my life.

Uh... Well, I know they're Dutch.
That's about it.

Well, they're very flat, sort of
caramel waffles, aren't they?

Well, I'll give it a crack.
If it doesn't work out then, yeah,

I didn't really know
what it was supposed to be like!

Prue, why have you chosen
a stroopwafel?

Because, with any luck, none of
our bakers will have made one.

Oh, you're cruel!

And they have yeast in them,
which is unusual in a waffle,

but because they're so thin,
if they don't have any yeast

it's just too brittle.
If they overcook the waffle,

they'll also be so brittle,
they'll break anyway.

They've got to get it exactly right,

and that is the colour
they're looking for.

The caramel inside should be
very, very thin.

When you break it like that,
that caramel should stretch a bit.

Ah, that's perfect.
Mmm. They're great, aren't they?

The trick is, you have to go
low and slow

so that you don't get grainy sugar.

There are plenty of things
that can go wrong,

and they've only got one
to practise on. Wow.

Brilliant. I'm beginning to feel
a bit mean now!

No, don't.

I've just read the recipe
about 12 times.

So I'm making a dough by rubbing
the flour and butter together,

which I've done.

Some yeast, cinnamon and sugar.

Get it in there, give it a mix,
and then add the wet.

I'm going in with my hands, now.
Going in. I have washed them.

These waffles I've made before
would be like pancakes,

and now we have a dough.

I've never used a yeasted product
that I haven't kneaded,

so I'm just going to give it
a little knead.

Two more for luck.

I'm now resting for 30 minutes,

and then I'm going to start
the caramel.

"Make the caramel by melting
the sugar and the butter."

A bit sparse!

Sometimes you can stir it,
sometimes you can't.

I'll probably give it a stir anyway.

It's hard to tell if it's up
to the right temperature,

as we don't know
what the right temperature is.

"Cook to the right
correct consistency."

I mean...what the hell
does that mean?

For stroopwafel caramel,

if the sugar isn't melted slowly
over a low heat

before the rest of
the ingredients are added,

it will become grainy and won't
have its unique stretch.

Not loving it.
JAMES SIGHS

I can't figure out
whether it's smooth or not.

I just feel like
it's a little bit grainy.

Maybe they won't notice...the
judges? They will notice.

When caramel was invented,
do you know what it was used for?

An adhesive. Leg waxing.

Ooh! Yes! Oooh!

Well, they still call it
sugar waxing. Yeah, absolutely.

I like that you know
about leg waxing.

Of course I know about leg waxing.

I know about lots of things.

That's not caramel.

I decided to make a second caramel.

I'm just going to see what happens
if I do one more.

How's your second one looking? It's
still a little bit grainy, but...

WHISPERS: I don't know, I don't know.

My round two is
the same as round one.

This is absolutely rank.

I'm not happy with the caramel
at all.

It's horrible. I mean,
I would not want to eat this.

I honestly have not a clue
how to make that right.

SHE SIGHS

Bakers, you have one hour left.

Right. On with the dough.

We've got to split the dough
into 13 balls.

"Make the test one by placing the
ball of dough in the waffle maker.

"Press down and bake."

Prue's recipe allows
for just one practice waffle.

This is really nerve-racking.

The fact that we've only
got enough mixture

for one mistake is not very good.

So how long do I cook these for?

God forbid it should tell you!

Are you supposed to leave it like
that, or is it locked, or what?

I'm doing two minutes,
and then I'll see.

But the thing is, if you cook them
too long, they're going to burn.

Argh! I need to take it off.

Why is that not opening?
It must have a lid.

Here, give me that. Give me that.
There you go.

Goodness sake!

Good at baking -
not very good at the tools!

Cor, they don't cut easily, do they?

Seriously, to be a baker you need
to be really muscly.

How are you meant to cut these?

I'll have to use a sharp knife.

Ow! Ow!

I don't get how it's meant to
split in two.

The trouble is you haven't
got that many to test with.

No. What a nightmare.
Not cooked.

I wonder if I'm overbaking it.
Yeah, a bit overdone.

They're kind of bendy. Waffles are
not meant to be, like, crisp.

I'm just toasting them both sides,
so they're nice and crispy.

Mmm!

The stroopwafel is
a Dutch national treasure,

the biscuit equivalent
of Rutger Hauer.

But it had humble origins,

before racing to success
with the film Blade Runner.

Oh, no, wait, that was Rutger Hauer.

Here's a film about stroopwafels.

The Dutch city of Gouda is
known for its namesake cheese,

but is equally celebrated for its
distinctly patterned stroopwafel.

The earliest reference to
the stroopwafel was in 1784,

when it was branded "armenkoeken",
meaning "poor person's biscuit",

made up of stale bakery leftovers
stuck together with caramel.

But it's since evolved
into a national delicacy.

Mike van den Berg's family
have been making them since 1864.

Nice. Nice sticky handshake. Yeah!

Is that from all the stroopwafeling?
Yeah.

This is the machine
for baking the stroopwafels.

We open it... Wow, that's hot.
Yeah. 200 degrees Celsius.

200?! Yeah.
OK, so don't lean on that. No!

So, put it there in the middle,
and then we wait for 35 seconds.

Mike's bakery now uses machines
to mass-produce his stroopwafels,

but I'm learning the old school way.

Shall I cut that? Yeah.
I'll cut that baby open.

Yikes!

OK... And then we take the caramel.

It's quite gloopy, isn't it? Yeah.

Mike's caramel is
a closely guarded secret,

but traditionally,
a Dutch stroopwafel caramel

uses molasses or dark treacle

heated with sugar, butter
and cinnamon.

Mmm. They're good when they're warm,
aren't they? Yeah, yeah.

How many of these do you make a day?

25,000 waffles. 25,000?!
Yeah. Wow.

Well, if you want, I could stay on.

I reckon I could do
at least...four an hour. Yeah!

The stroopwafel - the rags to riches
tale of how bakery leftovers

glued together with caramel became
the national cookie of Holland.

The next 12 stroopwafels must be
presented to Prue and Paul.

Ooh, that's better.

It does look better. Beautiful.

A bit brown on the outside.
I think that's all right.

This is like a little Smash alien!

I love those guys!
They were excellent.

What happened to them? One advert
and they never worked again.

Yeah, one-hit wonders!

One of them went on to do films.

One's just a bin...in South London!
Yeah!

I'll have to start taking them off,
getting the next one on,

then cutting and filling.

Really grainy caramel going on here.

I'd have just put it in the bin
if I was at home,

but I need to serve something.

So, I'm just sort of making sure
I get it right up to the edges.

It's very nice.

I want to try and keep them
quite tight and neat.

Waffles, innit?

I'm making another caramel
because this is just...disgusting.

Grainy, grainy, grainy.

I might have to go
for a third time.

So I've done high heat -
let's try low heat. Uh...

Bakers, you've got 30 minutes left!

Amster-damn, that's gone quick!

How many more have I got?
Two, four, five...

Six, eight, ten.

God, loads more to do.

Multitasking.

I've got to get
a bit of a shifty on now.

I've only got five.
I am always rushing in this tent.

This isn't going
to be all right too.

I still don't know
how to make it right.

You can do this, you can do this,
you can do this.

Do you want to press down on that?
Yeah, I'll press down on that.

Oh, it's hot!

Well, this one's burnt.
That is not good.

That's not very pretty, is it?

Ugh! Come on!

Right, bakers, I know there's still
a lot to do,

but you have...
Five minutes left!

We've got five minutes?!
You can do this, bakers.

Yes! Come on.

Best out of a bad lot.

Going to the wire.

Honestly, this is just gross.

This is it, my last one. I'm fine.

OK, gorgeous bakers,
I'm afraid your time is up!

SHE SIGHS

The judges are not going
to like any of that.

Troops, we need to see your stroops.

Bring up your stroopwafels and place
them behind the photo of yourself.

Paul and Prue are expecting

12 identical firm
but flexible stroopwafels,

filled with a stretchy caramel, and
they won't know whose is whose.

Let's start with this one.

Thickness-wise, they're about right,
aren't they?

And they're all the same colour.

Shall we crack one? Yeah.

Right texture.

But the caramel's not right. The
caramel's not right. Very grainy.

Right, shall we look at this one?
They are all the same.

The texture of the waffle is good.
It's quite firm, but it's flexible.

It tastes rather nice.

Same problem - it's very grainy.

Wow. It's identical to
the first one!

Now these look like
they've been slightly overdone.

They're quite dry. It breaks
very easily, doesn't it?

It doesn't bend at all. No,
and I think it's very grainy.

Yeah, it is - it's just sugar.

They look beautiful, but this
one's got too much filling in,

and it's all at one side.

Very grainy on the sugar again.

Did none of you get
the caramel right?

Colour? Quite mottled, aren't they?

Much too much filling.
This is, again, too grainy.

I'm really looking forward
to getting one right.

The waffle's good.
A nice bend to it, that one.

Mmm. Very grainy on the sugar again.

It's a pity, because the waffle
is perfect. Mm...

Whoever this is
struggled with the cutting.

These ended up being cut by a knife.

How about the middle?
Same old problem.

This is going to be tricky,
judging this lot!

They're all pretty much even,

there's a couple of little darker
ones there.

Not much of a bend there, is there?

Grainy.
This is the one I pray will work.

It's probably
the worst one we've seen yet!

It's an enormous amount of sugar.

Slightly over-baked,
it breaks very easily.

Yes. A bit of a mess.

So even if somebody wins,

it's not going to be
a complete triumph, is it? No. No.

So, who deserves to claim
a bittersweet victory?

In ninth place...

these stroopwafels.

They're overbaked and, as you know,
your caramel is very grainy.

Eighth spot is this one.

Yan, overbaked,
and the sugar wasn't melted.

In seventh spot is this one.

There's too much caramel inside,
and it's very grainy.

NOEL: Kate is sixth, Tom, fifth,

and Sophie is fourth.

PRUE: Number three.

Liam. They look beautiful,
a bit unevenly filled,

and the caramel is grainy.

In second place is this one.

Got a little bit of a bend to it,
which is good, nicely shaped,

colour's fairly even,
but grainy sugar.

Which leaves number one,
which is Stacey.

Stacey, they are
beautifully coloured,

just the right flexible texture,

you filled them very neatly, but you
failed on the graininess.

I mean I'm pleased, obviously, that
I'm not the worst of a bad bunch.

I'm the best of a bad bunch.

However, you know, it
would've been nice to get first

after everybody did really well!

Not brilliant for anybody.

If I'm going to be safe, I really,
really need to perform tomorrow.

It's kind of the worst
I've done so far.

I just hope that tomorrow
I'm going to be good.

There's extra pressure on me now.

I'm not giving up.

Never give up.

WHISPERS: Never surrender!

One challenge remains before
Paul and Prue choose their

fourth Star Baker, and the next
person to leave the Bake Off tent.

Caramel week. Total triumph?

I think in the millionaire's
shortbread,

we had a lot of triumphs.

In the Technical Challenge, however,
we had a lot of failures.

I know we're trying to draw a veil
over the Technical,
but Stacey did come first.

She's doing well, I think. I mean, I
loved her millionaire's shortbread.

And the other one I think is doing
really well is Liam.

I always love Liam's flavours.

Kate, it sort of feels to me like
she's one of those steady horses

that sort of comes up on the inside.

If Kate pulled off a great
Showstopper, she could be
Star Baker, couldn't she?

Yes, she could, I mean,
I think she did...

I think she came
sixth in Technical.

I think her Signature was very good.

So, yeah, I think she is
in a good position.

Who are we worrying about?
Tom? Not his finest week.

His actual millionaire's
shortbread tasted fine.

The problem is it was still
in the whole tray.

James was certainly
in difficulty with his.

I mean, the base was awful.
NOEL: OK, what about Yan?

Because I loved her little Banksy
stencils of the Queen.

PRUE: I think she spends a lot
of time over-complicating things.

The flavours were fine, but I just
thought all the textures were

slightly off and she came eighth
in the Technical.

So, again, she's
in a bit of trouble.

Hello, lovely bakers, and welcome to
your Showstopper challenge.

Today, Prue and Paul would love you
to make a caramel cake.

So, it needs to be
a one-tier cake

with three layers
of delicious sponge,

any filling you like, and don't
forget it's a Showstopper.

We want to see some powerful
decoration.

You've got to show us some mad
skills on the caramel front.

And there must be some spun sugar,
cos we are crazy about the spinning.

You've got 3? hours.

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

After yesterday, caramel is
obviously a sensitive subject
for everybody.

We've got to bring it home today,
because we are all at risk.

All it takes is one
unset load of caramel

and that's the end of
your time here.

This is their chance to really go
to town and show us what they know

about that beautiful thing
called caramel.

There may be caramel in the icing,
there'll be caramel in the fillings,

and there'll certainly be caramel
in the decoration.

But there's obviously a danger
that it will be too sweet.

You sometimes need another flavour,

so that your palate is distracted
from the pure sugar.

I would concentrate on making a
beautiful cake first and then

go to town with the sugar work.

Make that cake dance.

It is Caramel Week,

so I think the emphasis will be on
the caramel decoration.

Morning, James. Hi, there.
Hello, James. Right.

Tell us all about your
caramel cake.

So, the sponge is a caramel flavour,

so it's got dark muscovado sugar
in there.

I've left it a bit gritty, so you
get little spots of it through,

so you get that little toffee taste.

Oh, a bit like the Technical
Challenge, nice one.

James will layer his sugar-flecked
cake with buttercream and praline

before decorating with six different
caramel elements.

I've got sugared hazelnuts,
peanut brittle, sesame brittle,

spun sugar springs, a little basket,
and some honeycomb.

This is a huge amount of sugar work.

I think I can cheat a little bit
with the spun sugar,

in that I can dip my nuts

and then use the leftover
to do the spinning, so...

I don't think you should say
"dip your nuts" on television.

Certainly not in caramel.
But thank you, anyway.

Thank you very much. Cheers.

Like James, Liam is also going
for a big sugar hit.

I'm just pouring my black treacle
into my sugars and my butter.

Yeah, all the good stuff.

Liam's dark caramel sponge will be
offset with ginger and cinnamon,

and decorated with spun sugar,
praline and a spiced caramel drip.

What's a spiced caramel drip?

So, it's like a really
trendy thing that...

Yeah, it's a trendy thing!

It's literally just a salted
caramel but, like,

you can drip it on the side,
so it looks like a drip effect.

Oh, it runs down. Yeah.
It's very, like, artsy.

Whilst Liam is using spice,

Kate is using fruit
to enhance her caramel flavours.

I'm doing a toffee apple cake
and I've got dried apples.

I want quite a caramel-y,
apple-y type of flavour

and the dried stuff seems
to give that more, like,

treacly sort of flavour.

Kate's toffee apple cake is
a big hit with her family

on Bonfire Night,
although there's usually a fight

about who gets to eat
the spun sugar fireworks.

The emphasis will be, obviously,
on the decoration,

but it's a baking competition,
so it's got to be about
the cake as well.

Tom is also using fruit
to flavour his sponge.

I'm doing a hummingbird cake,

which is banana and pineapple.

Oh, delicious! I do actually bake
this quite often,

but I normally do it as cupcakes,
like little muffins?

Tom will decorate his upscaled
sponges with just two

types of caramel - a praline
and a spun sugar nest.

Are you using caramel in anything
else at the moment?

No, I'm not. Just in those two?
Just those two.

Don't put the fear of God in him
straight away!

Give him a minute.

Thank you very much indeed.
Thank you. Good luck. Good luck.

Er, it's really important that I get
this spot-on, actually,

after yesterday. Erm, Paul was
sort of questioning whether or not

I had enough caramel in it,
but I'm hoping the nest is just

going to be, sort of, perfectly
formed and he'll be happy with that.

We'll see.

But in order to have enough time
to perfect

the all-important caramel work

the bakers need to get their
sponges into the oven.

I really need to impress them today,
so when they cut into the cake

visually it's got to be good
and it's got to taste good.

So, I'm going to do a tiger-stripe,
orange and chocolate cake,

so when you cut into it,
it looks like tiger.

Yan's tiger-striped sponges will be
decorated with a caramel rainforest,

featuring praline trees,
a sugar-spun canopy

and a caramel waterfall,

complete with honeycomb rocks,

and a praline forest floor.

I am ambitious, but usually, I mean,

it looks better in my head sometimes
than translated onto a plate,

but if I held back
it wouldn't be a Showstopper.

Right, I'm going to go in
with the cakes.

That should bake in like
half an hour.

Great. Sponge in the oven, done.

That's one job out the way,
but there's still plenty to go.

I'm just trying to get as many jobs
on the go at the same time as I can,

cos I'm going to have to be really
efficient with my time today.

I've got my caramel sauce
going on there,

and then I've got the Italian
meringue for the buttercream.

I did Italian meringue buttercream
for my first signature,

which is the one that got me the
handshake, so I'm doing it again.

NOEL: Sophie's handshake-winning
buttercream

will sandwich her
hazelnut sponges,

which she'll cover in a chocolate
mirror glaze

and four different types of caramel.

Not trying to be funny, you know
when we did the Signature Challenge

only yesterday
and you ran out of time?

Yeah. Erm, how you going to do this?

Maybe, if we leave you alone,
do you think? OK.

NOEL: Stacey has also taken on an
ambitious amount of caramel work.

Basically, I was reading my little
boy The Hungry Caterpillar,

so I had an idea of doing a theme of
the life cycle of a butterfly.

Sitting on a caramel-glazed
chocolate and coffee cake

will be Stacey's ode to
The Hungry Caterpillar -

a 30cm-high centrepiece

constructed from spun
and moulded sugar.

That seems quite intricate
for caramel.

I did a practice on Friday,

and right at the end of the 3?-hour
challenge, bang.

Just as long as it doesn't fall
over, it'll be fine.

Let's check my cake.

OK, I think this is done.

Oven off, thank God for that.

It seemed to rise nicely, so it
should be nice and fluffy.

Got a bit of sinkage in the middle.

Don't know why, maybe a bit too much
baking powder.

Why is it so flat?

They're bad cakes. Really bad cakes.
I'm going to make them again.

I think I'm going to remake them.

Oh, James. James, it's
falling apart. Me and you both.

Bakers, we are halfway through,

halfway through your
Showstopper Challenge.

I don't want to be the timings guy
again, you know?

Not what I want. Granulated sugar...
Just getting some caramel on the go,

to just get a start on my
decorations.

This is my first caramel, for my
shards and my spun sugar.

Julia's spun-sugar dome will sit
atop her poppy seed sponge,

along with caramelised walnuts
and dramatic decorative shards.

My sugar kind of crystallises,
so annoying.

Thing is, I don't stir it,
don't do anything to it at all,

and it just goes...
SHE BLOWS A RASPBERRY

Going back in with number two.

Please be OK. Please be OK. Going to
crack on with the sugar work there.

It's a race against the clock again.
The focus for me is solely
on caramel.

I've got to get this, get the
caramel absolutely right.

In fact, as I'm doing one thing,
I'm weighing up the ingredients

for the next thing and the next
thing and the next thing.

NOEL: As usual, Steven's going
all-out for his Showstopper,

creating a caramel crown encasing

a mirror-glazed red velvet cake.

I do love the royal family. They
are... They are my second family.

So, Your Majesty, I present to you,

today, the Crown Jewels in sugar.

Just take the heat out the pan
so it stops cooking.

That's come out a lovely colour.

Oh! Heavy pans.

Worked first time, so I'm dead
chuffed with that.

I'm spilling this round just to get
it relatively thin, then it'll set,

and I'll just lift it off the
paper, and snap it into pieces.

I'm just making my macadamia nut
brittle. Sesame seed brittle's next.

This is going to be the almond,
praline trees.

This is for the firework going on
top of the cake, the decoration.

I like things to be bright
and colourful.

NOEL: Oh! What's that, pea soup?

This is going to be...
Washing-up liquid?

This IS part of a tree and it's
burning. OK. So, let me just
quickly...

It looks hot, that. I'm going
to get out your way.

You're all right. I just need to
pour it into a jug. Basically, my

face is all I've got...
There's no jug, there's no jug.

You need a jug.

Jug, anyone?

Is this big enough? Thanks.

I found that in a bin outside.

Do you know how much I care
at the moment?

JAMES: Back on track.

The cakes are definitely
better than they were,

but they're still not exactly
what I would like.

OK, bakers, we've got half an hour

before we stop the show
to show your Showstopper.

I'm trying to caramelise my nuts,

well, just do whatever I can with
them, really.

Loads of stuff to do. I haven't got
any room for error here.

I'll just do
a few more toffee apples.

Just filling my egg moulds
with the caramel.

The only thing I've got to do left
is spun sugar which is

a necessary requirement.

Spun sugar is a bit of
a patisserie chef kind of thing.

And if there's one thing that spun
sugar does not like,

it's heat and moisture, so we
are all up against it, today.

You've got to be part baker,
part artist, part engineer.

As you flick the fork back and
forward, it solidifies in mid air,

and just makes a little sugar
string.

It's a weird sensation,
to think this is sugar.

It feels like an old lady's hair
full of hairspray.

No, this is just not
stringing at all.

NOEL: Bakers, you have 15 minutes
left to spin, spin sugar.

I'm just going to make
a cage using a ladle.

Handy bit of plumbing pipe
that I found in the garage.

I'm hoping the nest is just
perfectly formed,

and that I can prove to the judges
that I'm not bad at caramel.

Very messy job.

Quite a lot of sugar in
your hair. Yeah.

Is that supposed to be in there?
Well, I'm thinning anyway.

But, that's a quick way to replace
hair that's lost, spun sugar.

You could just have spun sugar
hair, yeah.

Spun sugar ponytail.

We could sell them, Noel and
Steven's sugar spun ponytails,
?3.99.

Right, bakers - ten minutes to go.
I know you can do it!

Come on! Right, cakes are cool.
I'm going to ice them.

It's never going to be super, super
polished, because I can't do that.

I think I might be quite
a good plasterer, actually.

I'm just good to go round the edges
and encourage it to drip.

Sometimes, it can just look like a
hot mess, so I don't want that.

YAN: I'm trying to get as smooth
a finish as I can.

Kind of sexual, isn't it?

Ah! Yeah, it's not supposed to look
like that.

It's supposed to be all
on the sides.

This is my apple
on top of the firework.

Thing is, it's just getting so hot,
it's getting very sticky.

I just want it to stick, I just want
it... I just want to get on.

My fingers are so sticky.

This is going to be fun.

It's stuck, probably because
the caramel is so bad.

It's not as much of an erection
as I wanted it to be.

My spun sugar, it just didn't work,
so at least need to do something...

Do not move! Bakers!
You have five minutes left. Five.

This is going to be
the canopy of the tree.

It's not working. Right, my gorgeous
bakers, you have one minute.

Please don't forget that your spun
sugar must be on your cake.

Everything's going, "bleurgh".

Oh, mine's just sticking
and melting. So is mine.

Bakers, your time is up.

The spun sugar's just going,
"bleurgh".

SANDI: It's time for the
caramel showstoppers

to face the judgement
of Paul and Prue.

Sophie, would you like to
bring up your caramel cake?

Very, very elegant.

Thank you. Obviously,

humidity has attacked the caramel
cos the nest was much bigger.

But beautiful mirror glaze.

Oh.

Hazelnut chocolate.

What's not to like? Yeah.

The light buttercream you've got
in there, as well, is delicious.

Like silk.

Delicious.

I'm very impressed with the eggs.

They've got salted caramel inside?

Yes, they have. Yep.

SHE LAUGHS

How can you eat that much caramel?

Paul? It's a skill.

That is magnificent.
Thank you. Thank you.

It's a little bit...

..on the simplistic side.

You have spent so much
time on all the extras,

and they're not really
part of the cake.

The flavour's lovely.

Real caramel taste.

I like the brittle.
Feel it in your teeth.

It tastes like you've
overmixed the sponge,

cos it's a bit rubbery.

I think it looks really appetising.

And I love this drip
effect, as well.

It works, you know?

Great colour on that cake.

What's so good is the contrast of
the buttercream and the cake.

Hm.

Gingery, treacly.

Lovely.

The bake is good.
The texture's good.

I think you should be very proud
of yourself with that cake.

I love the colours, I
love the butterflies.

It's just wonderful.

The cake, however...

The icing on that cake, more
specifically, is too thin.

It's just run off.

It looks slightly slimy,
rather than luscious.

Delicious chocolate cake.

Texture's perfect.

It's got a delicate flavour in
there, and it's baked well.

My big issue is the finish.

The shards are nicely done.
They're nice and thin,

and I bet they're cracky.

But on the walnuts, I think your
caramel was a bit too thick.

I actually love the taste of the
cake, I think it's beautiful.

And the poppy seed
really works in it,

I think you've created
quite an elegant cake.

You've ticked all the boxes.
Well done. Thank you so much.

And I think that is fantastic.

The spun sugar, the toffee, the
caramel river.

Genius, yeah. Very original.

So, we've got an animal print
in the middle of our cake.

Wow. It's very clever.

The sponge is a little bit tough.

Love the flavours. It's that blend
between

the chocolate and the orange,

works really well.
It is slightly over baked.

It looks like something out of Game
of Thrones. It is very, very clever.

The mirror glaze is absolutely
extraordinary. It's so shiny.

The, um... OK.

How do you get in there?

Crunch.

Oh, look at that.

The cake is far too stodgy.

It's too solid.

Overall, a bit disappointed.

I think the look's great,

but inside, that's the issue.

You've got the spun
sugar as the nest

and you've got a bit of
nut brittle on the side.

It's quite basic, isn't it?

Because this is a caramel cake,
the centrepiece should be caramel.

Although, they're very
pretty, the flowers,

I think they've not
done you a service.

OK.

Oh, Tom.

It's gooey. It's under baked.
It's got no crumb.

How did you manage, with those
beautiful ingredients,

to create that?

Did you make it at home?

Yes. But as muffins.

So, I think just because they're
smaller, they cook better.

In hindsight, as a cake, probably
not the right recipe to use.

The butter icing's nice.

HE LAUGHS

That's something. It's got passion
fruit. And I'm glad to see

you've left the pips
in, which I love.

I like the crunch.

There are so many colours in there,

and they're really clear and bright.

I love the toffee apples.
They look great.

I just can't wait to
try this, actually.

Wow. Wow.

Wonderful apple flavour.

Really good and light.

Wow, that's beautiful.

The apple, I've just had a big
piece of apple with the cake,

that's delicious.

And actually, the cream cheese
frosting when you eat it together,

again, another level.

But the apple is masterful in there.

And the cake is sensational.

Very well done. Well done.

Very well done. Thank you
very much. Thank you.

What did you think of their mad
caramel skills?

I was really impressed with the
imagination of what they did.

Kate did very well.

Do you know, I think that was the
best-tasting cake.

I asked her for the recipe cos

I have got to know how
to make that cake!

And Liam stayed up there, didn't he?

He did. Again, beautifully spiced

and with a hint of ginger that sits
on your tongue at the end.

It was very, very good.

When you look at the people that
were in a little bit of trouble,

I'd say Tom. That, unfortunately,
was not a good cake.

I felt for him, though...

Oh, I feel for him, too. ..cos I
think he knew he had an off day.

James's cake was dry.

He went caramel on everything,
but the problem was,

he didn't put the caramel parts
on the cake.

It's like you're having a bag
of sweets with your cake.

Well, we don't envy you having
to decide,

but what Noel and I
both want to know is

how sick you're feeling, Paul.

Oh, dear. The amount of sugar!
LAUGHTER

I crave a bag of crisps.

Oh, good. Something healthy to get
yourself back on track. Yes!

Well done, bakers,
on your caramel crusade.

Now, this week, I've got the great
job of announcing Star Baker.

And the Star Baker this week made
some pretty fine shortbread,

but in the Showstopper,
produced a cake so banging

that the judges wanted the recipe.

Set off the sugar fireworks,
cos this week's Star Baker is...

..Kate.

Are you joking me?

Well done! Amazing. Well done.

So, that means I get to do the next
bit, which I absolutely hate,

but I'm afraid somebody has
to leave the tent.

And the person that we are saying
goodbye to today is...

..Tom. I'm so sorry.

Justified!
HE CHUCKLES

It was a bad cake.
It was a terrible cake.

Unlucky, buddy. No, no, it's fine.

Disappointed to be leaving,
but I did a really bad cake,

and everyone else did
excellent cakes,

and I think it's totally fair.

I'll miss ya.

Poor Tom, because he really did make
a mess of it.

That cake was raw.

It was just an off day for him,
but, unfortunately, in Bake Off,

one slip and that's it.

You were a little bit lucky.

Yes, I know.

Scraped through again.
I need a beer!

I'm sad for Liam, cos he thought he
was going to get Star Baker.

Oh, my days!

You want to stay up there. Yes.
Because you really are flying.

So close.

Didn't expect that at all.

I'll be walking around all week
with, like, a massive smile.

That cake was fantastic. Thank you.
It really, really was.

Kate's apple cake, today, was,
I think,

the best cake I have ever eaten
in my life.

Hey, Mum, you OK?

Guess what? I got Star Baker
this week!

CHEERING ON PHONE

Next time, it's puddings.

A steam-powered signature...

Argh! ..a technical meltdown...

Oh, they look horrible.
That's absolutely raw, look.

..and a Showstopper... Oh, look!
..not to be trifled with.

Massive disaster.
Dribbling, it's dribbling loads.

I don't like rubber. Disappointing.

HE SIGHS

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