The Great Canadian Baking Show (2017–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - Holiday Baking Week - full transcript

It's finally Holiday Week.

Can I just say that I'm

looking forward to this?

You just did,

and I'm way ahead of you.

I'm already on the beach.

I'm going to

miss the bakers.

I wonder what the

theme is this week?

The theme is...



...Holiday Week.

That makes

a lot more sense.

I should cancel the flights.

Yeah, I'm wearing

a bikini I can't return.

It was an honest mistake.

Yeah.

I'm excited!

So am I.

Last time,

British Week got heated.

That is quite hot.

Some hit high notes



in their high tea.

I've never seen

such beautiful cookies.

Thank you.

But Vandana's tea

tray...

That is incredible.

Thank you.

...was the jewel

in the crown...

Vandana.

...finally earning her

the title "Star Baker."

I hate brandy snaps.

Despite

James' struggles,

it was East Coaster Julian...

I feel like

some of your techniques

have let you down.

...who had to

say goodbye.

I'm very proud.

To make it this far, for me,

it was a huge success.

Now it's

The Great Canadian Baking Show's

first quarterfinal.

No pressure!

No pressure, guys!

The five remaining

bakers battle through

three Holiday Week challenges.

Not gonna have

any fingerprints left.

They're all burnt off.

I don't love it.

Who will

keep fighting?

And whose baking adventure

will go up in smoke?

I've never done this.

I'm...

No idea.

Not a clue.

Everyone in the tent

has been Star Baker.

It feels like it could be anyone

to both go forward

and to go home,

so it's...

I was Star Baker

last week,

so I just want to keep

that momentum going.

Quarterfinals is intense.

I have to

kick it up a notch,

'cause the competition

is starting to get stiff.

It's Holiday Baking Week.

It's gonna be super magical.

How can it not?

Right?

The halls are decked.

The tent is festooned.

Our spirits are merry.

It's Holiday Week.

And as excited as we are,

this ain't no vacation

for you, dear bakers.

For your signature challenge,

Bruno and Rochelle

have one thing

on their wish list:

a Buche de Noel,

or Yule Log.

Now, you'll ...

...all be required

to put your own unique spin

on this holiday classic

using the old favourites.

Sponge rolled around

a cream and jelly filling,

covered in chocolate.

The judges will be

looking for nice, tight spirals

of sponge and filling.

And I am looking

for you to make these

as fast as humanly possible

so that I may eat them.

Actually, they have

two and a half hours.

That's also fair.

On your marks...

Get set...

Bake.

I love the tent.

It looks all festive, and yes!

I'm just

waiting for Santa Claus.

Just sayin'.

I'm like

a holiday fanatic.

Around December 1st, I usually

get going for Christmas.

It's Holiday Baking Week.

Five bakers.

Quarter final.

We got high expectations

in the baking, in the flavours.

Woo!

There we go, cracked that one.

That's perfect.

It's exactly what

I intended to do.

The Buche de Noel

challenge is a great one,

but the secret

is a beautiful genoise.

Lovely and moist, easy to roll,

with a delicious creamy filling.

We want it to look

festive and beautiful,

and I think our bakers

will really bring

some of their creativity

into it with decoration.

I'm making, basically,

a vanilla sponge

with candy cane peppermint

chocolate filling...

...which is down there.

If that doesn't say

festive holiday fun...

Do you like candy cane?

...I don't know what.

Yes!

I am making

a pumpkin sponge,

and I chose it because

that's my family's favourite.

Like, they love pumpkin.

They love pumpkin cake,

pumpkin pie, pumpkin whatever.

Linda's

family-pleasing pumpkin roll

will feature caramel

cream cheese filling,

candied cranberries,

and a unique

chocolate bark finish.

I'm going to

make it look like a log,

so it's going to have

cracked chocolate on it,

and then holly leaves

made from white chocolate,

and then my holly berries

to go with the holly leaves.

Most of the bakers

have decided a traditional

genoise sponge will

get them the best roll.

I just find the sponge

is very light, very airy.

But James is

trying something different.

So my sponge

is a joconde sponge,

which is an almond

flour-based sponge,

and I'm going to make the bark

kind of effect

on the sponge itself.

So it's a little bit

fiddly, though.

James' Buche de Noel

will be filled with

a chocolate mousse

and decorated with

chocolate twigs.

The pattern on

his joconde sponge

will give a bark

tree effect.

You're not

gonna finish it...

No.

...with anything else?

No.

So there's

nowhere to hide with that.

No, it's...

you can see the whole thing.

Wood grain in chocolate joconde.

It's gonna be

a two-toned sponge.

Okay.

So the joconde

is the key?

It is, yes.

It is going to be perfect.

I'm making those eggs

whip and whip and whip

until I see it triple

from the volume I started with.

You can see all

the air bubbles in there,

so that's usually a pretty

good sign it's good to go.

This is just

what I'm looking for.

This is gonna be

the bark pattern on my sponge.

The actual sponge

itself will be barky.

Is that a word?

Barky?

Okay.

Have fun.

That part's done.

I'm going to be

watching this sponge.

If your sponge is too dry,

you've overcooked it,

then as you roll it,

it will crack.

I never realized

how much smashing

was a part of my

baking style until here.

So loud!

Candy cane pieces

will add a hit of peppermint

to Terri's

woodland-themed

birch tree

Buche de Noel.

Is there anything

you worry about today?

Um, you know, it is more

a kid-friendly type dessert,

so it's not

overly sophisticated.

I don't have any alcohol in it.

You can always put

a snifter of brandy on the side.

Just on the side

and no one will notice?

All right, done!

Bakers, you have one hour

left to burn those Yule Logs.

Not-- don't actually burn them.

No.

Couple more minutes.

I don't love it.

It's too...

I missed the point

that I wanted to turn it,

so I'm worried it's gonna be

too brown and dry on one side,

and it really shouldn't be.

While everyone checks

the bake on their sponges,

James is going back

to the drawing board.

James, are you

making another sponge?

Yeah,

I'm making a sponge.

It was so much fun

the first time,

I thought I'd just

make another one.

Why, did that

not turn out?

Uh, no, someone forgot

to put the butter in it.

Whose bright idea was it

to do a joconde sponge?

Oh, I remember.

It was my bright idea!

Okay, let's start on

my fillings, 'cause I want that.

The cream filling

should be fluffy enough

to be rolled, but not so soft

that it oozes out.

It's the perfect vessel

for more holiday flavours.

I'm putting my

eggnog into my fillings,

and I'm also serving it.

And eggnog needs to be

super, super, super chilled.

Sabrina's

gingerbread spice roll

will pack a little

Christmas punch

with its rum-infused

eggnog filling.

You know, I've never

had eggnog before.

I'm sorry, you've

never had eggnog before?

Yeah.

There's spoons there.

I love it.

Oh my gosh.

Do we have a convert?

It's not

melting everywhere.

We're gonna go for it.

Feel like it's still

a little too thick,

so we just...

Would you like to try some

chocolate whipped cream?

I would like

to try everything.

What are you making today?

I am doing a chocolate

cherry Buche de Noel.

A chocolate cherry

Boosh ...?

Boosh. Boosh.

...Noel.

I don't know

how to say it in French.

I don't know!

Sabrina back there knows.

Sabrina?

A chocolate cherry...

How do we say it?

Boosh?

Boosh?

Sorry?

Buche de Noel.

Buche de Noel.

Buche de Noel.

Buche de Noel.

Vandana's Yule Log

will be soaked with brandy syrup

filled with chocolate

whipped cream and cherry jam.

The roll is gonna be

the biggest challenge.

The roll is the challenge.

The roll is

coming up, and yeah,

that's the biggest challenge.

I think

I have enough time.

No cracks

we can't hide.

Not a crack to be found.

Sorry, no.

Look at that puppy.

I'm kind of going for

a sushi roll technique here.

I wouldn't treat it

as a master class.

I'm gonna

leave you to it.

A lot of mousse

coming out,

but that's okay.

It's rolled.

Stay.

It's not...

it's not a curlicue, but...

I'm gonna wrap it real tight,

so hopefully that will help it.

Originally

a European tradition,

the Buche de Noel's decoration

is inspired by the beauty

of a winter forest.

I'm making

chocolate twigs.

You're cutting it

on an angle?

Yeah, so that it'll

be like a sawed-off log.

I'm gonna try and make it

look like a birch tree.

So I've made

some chocolate truffles,

and then I'm gonna

make them into pine cones.

I'm making it

look log-like.

Is there anything

I can do to help?

You want to

make pine cones?

It looks good!

Less shaking

would be good, Terri.

It's not bad.

Bakers, you have five

minutes to trim your Buche.

Can we say that

on television?

Not sure.

Okay.

It's got a good spiral,

so that's a good thing.

It didn't crack anywhere.

And that's time, bakers!

Time is up!

Ne touche pas

your Buche de Noel.

Oh.

It's French.

That looks

beautiful, Vandana.

Thanks.

You guys too.

It's judgement time

for the Buche de Noel.

The technical aspect of

the work on the bark is amazing.

I never seen it done so well.

Thank you.

Your ratio from the

filling to sponge is a bit off.

We like to see an equal amount

of filling and sponge.

I would have been

looking for a tighter,

rounder spiral.

I was a bit dubious about

pumpkin roulade, pumpkin sponge.

That's spectacular!

Beautiful

holiday flavour.

Thank you.

On first impressions,

did you pipe the white chocolate

on or did you...

I just

drizzled it over.

At this stage

of the competition,

we're looking for...

Yeah, elevated.

You know?

Completely agree.

Just push yourself.

Beautiful spiral.

Beautiful spiral.

It's clean.

So your sponge, it's light;

you can feel the softness to it.

The cream is a teeny grainy...

Yeah.

...from the sugar,

unfortunately.

Thank you.

That little bird

is spectacular.

Oh, thank you.

It's very

soft and lovely.

There's a bit too much

of the white chocolate

frosting on the top.

It's... it is so sweet.

The sweetness

takes over very quick

and lingers in your mouth.

We need to elevate

the execution a little bit more.

Thank you, Terri.

Thank you.

This is

no ugly duckling.

Beautiful swan today.

I am very

impressed by the fact

that you took

a big risk in design

and in your choice of sponge,

and it paid off.

I'm

a little concerned;

your spiral...

It's more

folded than spiral.

Folded.

Yeah, I mean,

you only have one revolution.

And you

tempered your chocolate?

Well, I melted chocolate,

then I piped those

into ice water.

Very few home bakers

know that technique, huh?

The texture

is very moist,

and it's a nice, clean

flavour with the chocolate.

That's

just delightful.

Thank you.

It's so pretty.

It looks so festive.

The sponge and the cream,

the ratio looks right.

Lovely spiral.

Thank you.

You have

at least two turns,

which is very nice.

It's very moist.

The cream is light.

The sponge is light.

It's delightful,

and technically, it's flawless.

Thank you.

Love

the pine cones too.

Thank you.

Makes me feel

pretty good.

He said "technically flawless,"

so...

As they cut it,

I was like,

"Why is there so much stupid

icing on that cake, Terri?"

I'm not sure what's gonna

happen to the technical bake,

so at least I kind of

have a foot in the door.

Hello, bakers, and welcome

to today's technical challenge.

Bruno and Rochelle,

we'd like to festively

ask you to step outside.

As you know, you'll be

judging this blindly.

Happy Holidays.

Enjoy yourselves.

Rugelach.

Excuse me?

You heard me.

I said rugelach.

It is a Jewish favourite

traditionally enjoyed

at Hanukkah.

These crescent-shaped

pastries

have been around for centuries.

Bruno and Rochelle would

like you to make 32 rugelach.

16 apricot,

16 chocolate.

You will have

an hour and 45 minutes

to complete the task.

On your marks...

Get set...

Bake!

I've never done this.

I'm...

No idea.

Not a clue.

My knowledge

of rugelach

could be written on a very,

very small stamp, I think.

I have a friend that I do

cookie exchanges with,,

who makes them, so I think

I know just enough

to know that I might be

completely screwed on this one.

It's our

Holiday Baking Week

and you've chosen rugelach.

The recipe will test

our bakers' problem-solving,

common sense,

and technical skills.

It's like

a mini croissant.

It is like

a mini croissant.

What are we looking

for in the perfect bake?

The recipe asks for

egg wash and sugar on the top.

That's your cue to know

when your rugelach is baked.

They're not too sweet.

They're just delicious.

And beautiful,

clean taste.

They need

to really read the recipe.

Tricky.

There's no

sugar in the dough.

It's an unusual mixture.

Add salt, cream cheese,

and sour cream.

Combine until soft dough forms.

Rugelach's soft dough

is what makes the cookie

so tender and flaky.

So I'm suspecting

we're not supposed to

knead this too much.

I've never

worked with a dough

that has cream cheese in it.

I'm not sure if

it's supposed to be that soft,

but it looks okay to me.

So I think that

looks pretty good.

It feels soft.

It feels nice.

There we go.

I'm just making a disk

like I would with my pie dough

so it's ready to roll

out at the end,

and I think it

told us to do that.

Oh, maybe not.

Right.

So, fillings.

I am

mixing apricot jam

with some finely

chopped almonds.

Can we just talk

about our footwear today...

We're sparkly.

I dressed up for the holidays.

It's the holiday shoe parade.

Right?

Bruno's recipe

gives a list of ingredients

for the chocolate

and apricot fillings,

but the bakers will have to use

intuition to fill in the rest.

We're also

putting in sugar,

cinnamon, chocolate...

it doesn't say how much

of any of them.

I feel like all of it

should go in,

but I'm probably wrong.

This is a bit

of a guessing game.

I have to fill

16 of them,

so I'm thinking I'm gonna

need that much.

Roll out perfect circle.

Oh, I love rolling out

perfect circles...

Not!

12 inches diameter.

Okay...

Well, I'm just gonna

heat it up a little bit,

'cause I'm not really

sure what to do with it.

I don't

want it too thick,

and I don't want it too thin.

I want them to taste

what's in here, so...

just gonna go with it.

The bakers have

been given no instructions

on how to turn

their circle of dough

into 16

crescent-shaped cookies.

No.

I'm wondering if this is

supposed to be like a croissant.

You should see

a hint of the filling,

but it shouldn't be

like everywhere.

I've either

made a rugelach,

or I've made up

a whole new dessert

which is gonna be delicious.

One or the other.

These look very uniform.

Just not sure

that that's the shape

that they're supposed...

I mean...

They kind of look

like crescents, don't they?

They look like...

crescents, croissant-y.

Okay.

That's what I'm going for.

I'm just

doing my egg wash,

and then I'm gonna

sprinkle some sugar.

The sugar and egg wash

will help give the cookies

a golden-brown colour,

and be the clue

that the rugelach

is fully baked.

Next batch.

The top ones

count 15 minutes.

I've had the apricot

ones in for like 12 minutes.

How long are they

supposed to be in there for?

I don't know.

It didn't really tell us.

I'm sorry, what?

What kind of

cruel torture is this?

The cookies need

at least 30 minutes

of uninterrupted bake time.

Terri?

Yeah.

You have 30 minutes.

Everyone else's are in the oven.

Could we

set back the time?

I'll go ask.

Okay, thank you.

Now I'll just sit

and cry as I watch you bake,

possibly in time, possibly not.

What do you think?

I'm just waiting for

them to be a nice golden colour,

I think.

Ooh.

The tricky until-golden.

I mean, there's not

much else I can do now.

There's no

going back now.

That's what I've done,

so there we go.

These are

taking forever.

In this bake,

patience is key,

because every time

the oven door opens,

the temperature drops.

How can something that

small take forever to bake?

Oh, come on.

Cook, cook, cook, cook,

cook, cook, cook, cook.

I don't know.

Bakers,

you have five minutes.

We need a miracle.

All I hear is the

ticking of Linda's clock.

Yeah.

And somehow the tension

is very high around here.

Yeah.

I just don't wanna open

it because of these other ones.

I need

a couple more minutes.

Are we watching

the rugelach channel?

Yes.

I could watch this all day.

Just,

I don't know, sorry.

They've got to

go on the plate now.

I hope they're cooked.

Time's up, bakers!

Please bring your

rugelach to the front.

The judges will now

blind taste the rugelach.

Rochelle and Bruno will be

looking for consistency

in the shape and in the bake.

We are so impressed

that you all put up

32 rugelach.

Baker number one.

The egg wash is not

distributed properly.

Mine looks

a little raw on the inside.

And see it's quite translucent.

I'm gonna just try

the outer edge of this

and see if it's got

that lovely flaky texture.

The apricot rugelach

is cooked properly.

It's moist inside.

Unfortunately the

chocolate ones are quite under,

so therefore they've

lost that flakiness.

Really, we were looking for

a good 30 minutes in the oven.

Next baker.

The baking might be

lacking some consistency.

Looks like there's

a lot of filling in the apricot

ones too.

Maybe too much filling.

The outer edge looks

a little bit translucent.

Quite raw.

Both rugelach

are underbaked.

Next one.

Oh, these are petite.

Nice shape

on all of them.

Absolutely there is.

Again, not long

enough in the oven.

Mine looks to be

baked a bit longer.

The sweetness

in the chocolate is perfect.

There is a great

ratio of filling to dough.

Overall,

I actually think these

look almost store-bought.

Moving on.

Challenge

in the baking again.

The egg wash wasn't

done properly.

A bit too much

filling in the apricot one.

It's really sort of

oozed out a bit.

Just gently on the chocolate.

It's a lovely spiral...

but translucent pastry.

This one

definitely is raw.

And the last baker.

These are

really quite puffy,

which makes me wonder this dough

might have been overworked.

Could be a bit tough.

Same challenge,

underbaked.

The dough is quite stiff.

It does not crumble very well.

Bruno and Rochelle

will now rank the rugelach

from worst to best.

In fifth place...

Who is this?

A lot of challenge

with the baking.

Baker number four?

You overworked the dough.

And in third place...

Sabrina.

The apricot was done properly.

Chocolate, not as good.

In second place...

Vandana.

A really solid effort.

In first place...

James!

Have you made it before?

I've never even

heard of them before.

Your rugelach

had the best filling

and the best baking.

Woo-hoo!

That's the first time

I've been first in the technical

so that was really nice.

I'm just

letting today go,

and I'm just gonna try

and bring it tomorrow

and hope that that's

enough to stay.

These little chats

are getting harder and harder

because now we have

five exceptional bakers

who have all been Star Baker.

Their skills are

very close to each other.

I think they're

feeling the pressure.

And it's

a quarterfinal.

It's like soccer World Cup.

You need to score goals.

Hello, bakers.

What better occasion to bake

a showstopper than Holiday Week,

and what more festive

a baked good than gingerbread?

Today we would like you

to summon your inner

Frank Lloyd Wright.

Bruno and Rochelle

would like you

to make your dream

gingerbread structure.

Think outside

the edible box.

We want to leave happy and

house poor and hungry for more.

You will have four

and a half hours.

On your mark...

Get set...

Bake!

I make

all my grandchildren

their own gingerbread house--

just a little gingerbread house,

and then they all come and we

decorate gingerbread houses.

I'm just hoping this one

stays together.

In my house, we never

do anything gingerbread-related.

Childhood dreams

happening at 24 years old.

I want the bakers to use

every single minute and second

of this challenge to make

something spectacular.

Decided that that pot

wasn't gonna be big enough.

Our bakers need to

show us their engineering,

their imagination,

and creativity.

But you know what?

I need it to taste great too.

I don't really

have any unique flavours;

I'm just doing gingerbread.

That's it.

Ginger, cinnamon,

clove, molasses.

Oh, I have

lots of spices.

I have cinnamon, nutmeg...

I've got cloves.

I've got all-spice.

I've got cinnamon.

Got everything.

Spice in the wintertime.

It kind of warms you up.

When it

comes to gingerbread,

texture is just as

important as flavour.

I've always just

kneaded it for a few minutes.

James, do you knead

your gingerbread?

I do, and I also

have no idea why I do.

It's a nice-feeling dough,

I think.

You know.

Yeah.

Bigger hands

would be better for this.

Hi, Sabrina.

Hi, hello.

How are

you feeling today?

Very nervous.

I do feel nervous.

Only because I'm doing

a huge structure.

What are you making?

I'm making

Rockefeller Centre.

How high

is it going to be?

This high!

Okay.

That's how high

it's gonna be, yeah.

I'm not going for

the full New York.

No, no, I can't.

Uh-huh.

If you could do 142 storeys,

that would be wonderful.

Yeah, maybe, yeah!

Sabrina's towering

gingerbread replica

will capture the spirit

of holidays in New York City

with a decorated

Christmas tree

and candy ice rink

featuring skating

ginger people.

My mind has

it all put together, but...

You can do it.

Yes, of course.

Yeah, I'm gonna do it.

It's fine.

Good girl.

Quarterfinal.

No pressure!

No pressure, guys, no pressure!

I have never

seen her like this,

so I'm gonna pull us out.

Oh, let's go.

I think actually

building a house

might be easier than this.

This one's

actually for my son, Niam,

and we've got a lot of

trees in our backyard,

so I've always thought it

would be the coolest thing

to make a treehouse back there.

And I have no idea to make an

actual treehouse, so I thought,

I'll make a gingerbread

treehouse for him.

Vandana's candy-coated

playhouse will be supported

on a gingerbread tree trunk,

nestled in a garden

featuring all of

her son Niam's

favourite toys.

It's a treehouse,

so I have to make sure

that the house is not

actually on the base, yeah.

That's clever.

I love it.

That's amazing.

Just

hoping everything...

I like it.

...stays put.

I like that

you're pushing yourself.

The bakers now

cut their gingerbread dough

into pieces using

elaborate templates.

Any mistake at this stage

could impact construction.

Nine by, what are these?

Four.

So let's do 12

and then a 6, yeah.

Who wrote these directions?

Yeah, that was me.

I'm probably making, for

just the gingerbread and house,

and the structure itself,

about 15 templates to cut.

It's kind of ironic.

Everyone probably expects me

to be making some themed

thing for my children,

but I'm actually

being selfish today

and this one is

straight out for me.

Terri is using

gingerbread to build her dream,

a farmhouse

and animal sanctuary

with chocolate shingles

and sugar cookie

creatures.

My dream has always

been to get an old farmhouse

on an acreage where

I can get all my stuff.

And I can have

all the animals I've wanted

and rescue the ones

that nobody else wants.

I've got an idea.

You can bring the bird

from the Buche de Noel

and put him somewhere there.

Where is it?

Is it still in my fridge?

Maybe I ate it.

That's all right.

Since I have all

the time in the world,

I'm going to put

all the individual nails

into the gingerbread house.

It was like four and half days

we were allowed for this, yeah?

Nail holes

aren't the only detail

on James' gingerbread eco-home.

He'll also have

a green roof,

worm compost,

and working

solar panels.

I've built

some solar panels so...

you can see actually

they're glowing in the lights.

Oh, boy.

And then they're

gonna go on the roof,

and then it's gonna light

from the inside.

Are these edible...

These are not...

not at all edible, no.

There we go.

What are you making?

I'm making the house,

and then I'm gonna add

my glass to the windows.

Great.

Good morning, Linda.

Hello, Linda.

Stained glass!

I smashed

these candies up.

What?

So what, does it melt down

and then forms an actual, like,

a little pane of glass?

Like a little

pane of glass.

Linda's candy-stained

glass windows

will go into a gingerbread barn

with cookie deer,

piped Christmas trees,

and fairy lights.

Fudge.

I forgot to set

the timer on that.

Damn, now I've

got to do it over.

You're okay, Linda.

You've got this.

I didn't reset the timer,

and all of a sudden...

Gingerbread!

It's burning!

It's mine!

Oh!

How'd it get to 540?

Ooh!

Agh.

Ooh!

James, you did a Linda.

I take it we don't

have fire insurance.

We can have...

We all have our houses

too big these days, I think.

So I'm saying goodbye

to the extension

and just concentrating

on the main house, so...

But I made chocolate soil.

That looks terrific.

That looks kind of cool,

doesn't it?

Yes!

I've never

made that before.

Bakers, you might want to

double-check those blueprints.

You have one hour left.

Last ones.

Oh... okay.

That's not too bad.

That's good.

I'm happy

with the thickness.

I'm happy with

how durable it feels.

The candy wants--

still wants to stick.

It has to be cooled.

Sugar that's just been

cooked with a little water

and a little corn syrup

to the hard-crack stage.

I'm making

sugar glass windows,

and it's also gonna be used

as the glue so it, like,

sets rock hard.

It's like using superglue.

Bakers will either

use melted sugar

or royal icing

as their adhesive.

I'm looking

for glue right now.

White glue...

that tastes good.

But the end goal

is the same...

sturdy, balanced structures.

I just want to really

reinforce my joints.

I'm gonna have to

stick this in the fridge,

'cause my poor windows,

they're starting to melt.

I don't understand how

this is holding up right now.

I am available for home

installations if anyone wants.

As you can see, the quality

of my workmanship is excellent.

Poor windows.

Maybe I'll just tell them

it's an old farmhouse

and they haven't redone

the windows yet.

Got a little

crack in it.

Of course it has to crack here.

Just a little

shingle repair.

A little roof repair here.

Why doesn't that piece fit?

Fudge.

Bakers,

you have 15 minutes.

15 minutes.

With the

foundations built,

the bakers can now focus

on the many details

that will bring their

gingerbread worlds to life.

What do you need?

I've lost my leaf.

My leaf, uh...

piping tip.

I don't know how

you could have lost it.

Yeah, I have no idea.

Like, I had such a

well-ordered work station.

I'm not gonna have

any fingerprints left.

They're all burnt off.

Worm composting.

Terri, this looks great.

I mean,

everything's melting,

but it's-- the house

is standing, so...

So you know, what are

you gonna do?

You have one minute left!

They don't want to stand.

I could've done a better job.

Well done.

Thank you.

And with time to spare.

And then let's throw

a few more flowers on

and we'll, I think,

be pretty much ready.

Let's see.

Ugh, what a mess.

I have never had so much trouble

doing a gingerbread house

in my life.

Bakers, time is up.

Hands off your houses.

Holiday Week is done!

Oh, my God!

Look at those hands.

Great, sticky hands.

It's time

for the judges

to do their home inspections.

This will the bakers'

last chance

to impress Bruno and Rochelle

before they decide who

moves on to the semi-finals

and who will be home

for Christmas.

Vandana, would you

very gingerly, please,

bring up your gingerbread

treehouse.

This one's

called Niam's place,

and Niam is my little boy.

He's three years old.

I'm

actually speechless.

I just want to become

very, very, very small,

jump into the garden,

and start to play around.

I've never

seen anything like it.

Your attention to detail

is spectacular.

Tell us about the-- your

rock gardens, your ponds here.

Yeah, I've

used a hard candy.

So it's blue raspberry

is the ponds,

and the window glass is

watermelon-flavoured

candy, so...

What I admire

the most is that

a lot of bakers will have

created something bulky

and strong at the base.

You did choose

the most difficult way.

Very elegant.

The spice

is fantastic.

Like, I can taste the clove.

It's verging...

Mm-hm.

...on overbaked.

Mm-hm, yeah.

But very crunchy.

Just touches my heart.

It's so beautifully...

it's amazing.

Good job.

Well done.

Thank you very much.

Your windows, you

probably did have an issue with

the sugar syrup being too thick.

You know, it might be

a fixer-upper,

but I'm seeing so many

different elements here,

and I think that

that's really brave.

I'm impressed

by the tile work,

but you have a little

too much decoration.

Less sprinkle would have

make it a bit more elegant.

The gingerbread has

gorgeous spice, lovely texture.

Well done.

James, if

you could bring

your gingerbread shed

up to the front.

Technically,

this is very impressive.

Your glass is exceptional.

These straight edges

on your bake are fantastic.

Your piping, you have been

practising, and it looks

really, really good.

It's streamlined.

It's minimal,

but it's very clever.

So the lights inside

are powered by the solar panels

on the roof.

Oh!

Now, to scale,

the worms are a bit big.

They're juicy worms.

They're juicy worms.

It's got

a beautiful snap,

and I get heat from the ginger.

Cookie is a bit crunchy,

but otherwise, quite good.

What I like about this

is you can teach

about the importance of saving,

sharing, thinking

about the future,

and that's a beautiful

story for me.

Well done.

Wow.

This scale is obviously...

Massive.

...massive.

Oh, did you

run out of time?

No, I just

decided not to...

decorate the back, yeah.

Okay.

I think

both Rochelle and I

would have loved to see

a bit more technique.

For example,

you could have showed off

your chocolate skills

and a beautiful ice rink effect

by making candy glass.

Just push

yourself a bit harder.

Don't hold back.

It's very well done.

Oh!

It's very tasty.

It's very good.

Thank you.

It is just

stunning in the details.

You've

actually done paving.

You've done lighting.

You've done tiling.

You've done some mending.

The way you have incorporated

tiny little electrical lights

into this is so creative.

That was a new challenge.

You've not

done that before?

No.

Never.

That such

an amazing baker like you

can still push themselves

to go above and beyond

is beautiful.

It's very tasty as well.

Exceptional.

What moves you about

pulling this off today?

I guess it's just

who I am.

It's absolutely

who you are.

Great job.

Let's start with the people

who have really

risen to the occasion.

Linda.

Linda did

an exceptional job,

and she knew it.

She was so chuffed with herself

for pulling off this

grand illumination.

And Vandana created this

whole world to get lost into.

And you can look, every corner

has some handiwork on it.

The strawberries

in the strawberry patch.

Did you notice them?

Yeah.

And James, less details,

but a beautiful concept

and great story.

You asked something

of him which was to

really show technique,

and I think

it looks like he really

brought it.

Oh, he absolutely did.

Let's move on

to Sabrina and Terri.

Terri had a great idea.

However, she encountered a lot

of technical difficulties.

Too crowded.

Too many candies.

Too many piping.

It was lost.

I just

feel with Sabrina,

we didn't see enough

technique from her this week.

We could see her take

a few more risks.

I think we have

a tough decision to make.

I think we do.

They're all clearly

very good bakers,

and it's gonna be hard

to send somebody home.

Very hard.

So on Holiday Week

it's always better to give

than receive, and this

week I get to give someone

some very good news.

This week's Star Baker is...

...Vandana, for the

second time in a row.

Thank you.

Unfortunately I have

to deliver the lump of coal

this week.

Good luck.

You too.

And it is with

a very heavy heart

that we say goodbye to...

...Terri.

Thanks, guys.

Thank you.

It's okay.

It's okay, it's okay.

Thank you so much.

We're gonna miss you.

You darling...

I feel like I'm gonna go

and it's gonna be like,

"Did I dream all of this?"

Yeah, it's still surreal.

Thank you, guys.

I'm leaving happy.

I mean, I get to see

my girls too, right?

So I'm happy and I'm

proud of myself.

Don't give up, okay?

Don't give up.

Yeah, I made it

to the quarterfinals.

That's good.

It was a very

hard decision to make.

That's okay.

That's okay.

You know, for us judges,

we have to look at

every single aspect.

But she got everything

to be proud of.

Vandana, Star Baker,

second week in a row.

She so deserved it.

Congrats.

She created

a whole enchanting world

with that treehouse.

I just wanted to climb

the ladder, open the door,

and sit in it.

Star Baker twice, yes.

That's a lot to absorb.

Definitely a lot to absorb.

It's really exciting

going into the semi-finals.

I couldn't be happier right now.

I mean, yeah.

You know, you put

your soul on the line there,

but they seemed to think

that was pretty special.

So that's, that surprised me.

Surprised me.

I'm lost for words.

I think I made it through

the skin of my teeth.

So... relieved.

Semi-finals.

You guys bring it, okay?

Bring it, bring it, bring it.

No words.

I really don't.

Agh.

Next time

it's the semi-finals.

Pressure

is on right now.

I am focused.

And the bakers must

take on French patisserie.

You do often

French pastries at home?

Never.

Nope.

I like

how this is going.

Job well done.

Oh, my God.

Oh!

Little tense in the tent.

Only three

can make it to the finale.

Today is

somebody goes home.

Not good enough, Jamesy.

Today is the day

that's gonna get me into finals.

And one baker

will bid us adieu.

It's all gonna

come tumbling down.

Oh, man.