The Great Canadian Baking Show (2017–…): Season 1, Episode 7 - French Patisserie Week - full transcript

Bonjour.

Bonjour.

Bonjour.

Wait, that's it?

I thought for

French Patisserie week,

we were gonna parle

en Francais, n'est pas?

Yeah.

Ca va?

Um, I guess



I got cold feet.

I didn't want to offend anyone

that actually speaks French.

You don't remember any

French from school, do you?

Just very bad

with languages, yeah.

You have other strengths.

It's true.

I can't speak French,

but I can eat French...

patisserie.

Oh...

See what I did there?



It's French Patisserie Week.

Tres bien, mon ami.

Thank you so much.

Last time,

Holiday Week

presented the top five

with their toughest test yet.

I don't understand how

this is holding up right now.

I don't know!

We need a miracle.

Their gingerbread

structures shone brightly...

So the lights inside

are powered by the solar panels.

...and Vandana's

treehouse earned her Star Baker

for the second time.

It just

touches my heart.

Thank you very much.

For others,

the holiday magic was dimmed.

Poor windows.

They're starting to melt.

One baker

over-trimmed.

Less sprinkles will have

make it a bit more elegant.

Another

under-delivered.

Did you

run out of time?

Good luck.

You too.

Terri.

Sabrina survived,

and Terri said goodbye

to the tent.

I feel like I'm gonna go

and it's gonna be like,

"Did I dream all of this?"

Yeah, it's still surreal.

Tonight

the top four will face off

in French Patisserie week.

Today is the day

that's gonna get me into finals.

Not good enough, Jamesy.

Job well done.

Thank you.

But which three

will earn a spot

in The Great Canadian

Baking Show Finale?

Little tense in the tent.

Oh my.

It's the seventh

week in the tent,

and only four bakers remain.

It's semi-finals.

Kinda got this

momentum right now,

and I just want to keep going,

and I just want to see

how far I can push myself

and see how far I can go.

So the pressure's definitely on.

Vandana's

Indo-Canadian flare

has earned her Star Baker

two weeks in a row.

Vandana,

once again you wow us

with wonderful colour

and great flavours.

I think you've

done a spectacular job.

Joining Vandana

in the semi-finals is James.

His impeccable palate

has impressed the judges

week after week.

James, you are

Star Baker!

My number one ambition

when I first got here

was to just not be

the first one off.

But now I've got this far,

I want to get to the final now.

Linda has earned

her semi-final spot

with her calm consistency

and time-tested technique.

I rarely see

a meringue so well done.

It's perfect.

I've been criticised

for playing it safe.

Now that's changed.

There's nothing safe--

no, nothing safe

about French pastry.

Sabrina is

the fourth semi-finalist.

Her creativity

with design and detail

has stood out week after week.

Well done.

Thank you.

These are sensational.

I'm gonna make it

to the finals.

Like, I have to.

That's it.

There's no-- no...

I have to.

Good luck.

Good morning, bakers.

Congratulations,

it's the semi-finals,

which means that it is time

to bake it up a notch.

And it all starts

with your signature bake.

Mille feuille, 12 of them,

in two different flavours.

Your mille feuille

must contain at least

three different layers

of puff pastry

and an irresistible filling.

Bruno and Rochelle will

be looking for beauty

and uniformity.

Bakers, you have two hours

to create a mille feuille

that will propel you

towards the finale.

On your marks...

Get set...

Bake.

Pressure's on.

Pressure is on right now.

Two hours.

Whoo!

A little tense.

Little tense in the tent.

It's the semi-final.

At this stage we know

that our four bakers

are very good with flavours,

but with French patisserie,

technique and finesse

is where we're gonna zero in.

Everybody's got their

head down and just going for it,

I think.

So the

mille feuille challenge,

I want a light, flaky pastry

that my fork will fall through,

I want beautiful

balance of flavours,

I want good ratio of

cream to pastry.

They have to be beautiful.

To create

flaky layers,

the bakers will

make puff pastry,

a recipe that requires gradually

incorporating cold butter.

Normally if I

was making puff pastry,

I would go and buy puff pastry.

I'm gonna make

my first fold, roll it out,

and put more butter.

I'm out of breath!

Each time

the dough is rolled out

and more butter is folded in,

another layer

of pastry is created.

And basically I'm just

kind of folding as many times

as I can get away with.

The trickiest thing

is just not to melt the butter.

Keeping the dough cold

is the secret to a good puff,

and that means several

trips to the freezer.

I'll be right back.

Morning, Linda.

Good morning.

How are you feeling

about this semi-final bake?

Very nervous.

You do often

French pastries at home?

Never.

Way out of my comfort zone.

Linda will be

pushing her baking boundaries

with a raspberry

white chocolate combination

and a nectarine cardamom-

caramel mille feuille.

I wish I had a few tricks

for French pastry.

I don't.

How are we doing today?

Pretty good, I think!

You seem very calm.

Well, I've always

wanted to make one of these.

See, I had

the opposite, and said,

"I will never make that.

I will buy it if I have to!"

While the dough

cools in the freezer,

the bakers can get started

with their fillings.

This is a caramel base

that I'm putting in

with the cardamom.

It's an adventure.

This is balsamic

vinegar and blackberries.

Ooh, that's nice.

Strawberry in one,

and pistachio in the other.

Oh my God!

Sorry.

I didn't know there

was anyone behind me!

Morning, Vandana.

Good morning!

Tell us about

your mille feuille.

So I am making

a Rooh Afza cream mille feuille.

It's a really popular drink in

the Eastern part of the world,

and it's actually a combination

of different herbs,

different fruits,

different veggies, flowers.

"Rooh" means "soul,"

and "afza" means "to nourish,"

so it's to nourish the soul.

Nourishing our souls,

not our bodies.

In addition to

her Rooh Afza mille feuille,

Vandana's other pastry

will showcase

lemon-pistachio cream

and fresh raspberries.

I'm making

a lemon curd,

and I'm gonna incorporate that

in some whipped cream.

I feel it complements

my other one--

is a little bit

on the sweeter side;

this one is a little bit

on the sour side.

Yes, I hope the

judges like it too.

Hello, hello!

Bonjour!

So I can smell mango?

Mango, yes.

Nice.

And this is part of your

cream for the filling?

This is one of four.

Sabrina's two

mille feuille will feature

four different fillings.

A summery strawberry-pistachio

and a tropical mango-coconut

confection.

Delicious.

Bakers, you have one

hour left to mille your feuille!

I wanna poke it right now

so that lets some of the steam

out when it puffs up.

Have fun.

Okay, tea break time.

Psht...

Not really.

James is playing

with savoury notes

by filling his mille feuille

with strawberry basil cream

and blackberry balsamic custard.

He'll finish them both

with fondant glaze on top.

So I am doing, um, two

kind of fruity flavours.

The syrup of the basil,

that's gonna go

drizzle on the top?

No, the strawberries are

gonna be soaked in the syrup.

'Cause you know we're

looking for a nice crispiness

on the puff, though.

And a thousand leaves.

A thousand-ish

leaves, yeah.

I'm counting.

Rochelle will be spending

two hours per baker

counting each thousand leaves.

Bake, bake,

bake, bake, bake!

Come on, bake.

Hello.

Hi!

Who are you talking to?

I'm talking to

the pastry right now.

Right, right.

Puff pastry bakes

at a high temperature...

So puffy.

...and the bakers

must keep a close eye

on the oven, to make sure

their mille feuille

comes out just right.

It's not cooked yet,

and I don't want raw pastry.

Nope.

Bakers,

you have 30 minutes,

so keep puffing that pastry

and filling that filling.

Looks a bit crappy,

but that's what we got, so...

Ooh, baked!

It's out, it's out.

I'm very happy that it's out.

Cool off, cool off.

I need this to

cool down so I can start

cutting them up.

It's a challenge.

It's a challenge.

It's a signature challenge.

Ah, yeah.

The cutting

is the scariest part.

You're trying to cut

through layers.

You don't want it to break,

so you need to be very careful.

Ah, f...

How're you feeling?

What's going on?

I'm feeling like

the chances of there being

12 of these things

is pretty slim.

Okay.

Good morning, my darling.

Everyone's

scaring me today.

I'm so sorry!

Ten minutes, bakers.

Ten minutes remain.

Dix minutes pour douze

mille feuille!

Go Linda, go Linda!

I'm going, I'm going.

Yes!

Hide stuff

under other stuff.

Oh, man.

Thirty seconds.

Why... why are

you doing this to me?

Time's up!

Time is up!

Oh, my goodness.

Okay, girlfriend,

I'm done.

Done like dinner, guys.

I'm shaking.

Don't count, don't count.

Counting is rude.

Bruno and Rochelle

will now taste

the mille feuille,

looking for perfectly

cooked pastry

and beautiful fresh flavours.

Sabrina...

we have 12 beautifully

presented mille feuille.

The fact that you did

four different flavours

was very ambitious.

Thank you.

Let's look at the dough.

Looks a little

on the pale side.

I'm thinking maybe it could've

had a bit more time in the oven.

Yeah.

So we have

the strawberry-pistachio.

Strawberry-pistachio.

Let's dig in.

So the dough

is fairly tough to cut

because it's not baked properly.

But your pistachio cream

is very tasty, very smooth.

The strawberry cream

is beautiful.

So, coconut,

mango, and pineapple?

The dough feels

a bit more flaky.

I think you baked

this one a bit better.

Mm-hm.

See,

look at those lovely layers!

Mango was very floral,

very tasty.

Well done.

Thank you!

Hello, Linda.

Hi, Linda.

Beautifully presented.

So we have a

raspberry white chocolate

and orange mille feuille?

Yes.

They're a little pale.

I'm afraid it's

a little bit undercooked.

It's a bit hard...

Slightly.

...to cut it.

Because

it's not baked.

Flavour is great.

Now we're gonna try the

nectarine, cardamom, and almond.

I get a very strong

flavour of the caramel.

Not so much on the cardamom.

Hi, Vandana.

Hi.

Your piping techniques

are as good

as a pastry shop in Paris.

It's very impressive.

Thank you.

And we'll just...

take one.

So you can see it's not baked.

That is borderline done.

It's not completely translucent.

So now we're gonna taste

the rooh afza mille feuille.

Yes.

Little bit

difficult to cut through.

We do have some layers here that

are not quite baked through.

I never had

rooh afza before.

You know, it's so unique,

so magical.

It's not rose,

and it's not a berry syrup.

It's very, very elegant.

I love it.

So now we're gonna taste

your lemon-pistachio

and raspberry mille feuille.

Those flavours are,

again, just beautiful.

Five minutes away from

perfection for the dough itself.

Thank you.

James,

I hope that less is more.

That's what I was going

for, maybe-- less is more.

I don't-- I'm not

seeing the clean edges.

Did you have trouble cutting it?

I did.

It's very-- it's rather flaky,

and so quite a few broke

whilst I was trying

to cut them.

It feels very crumbly

rather than flaky.

So James, you've done

strawberry and basil

mille feuille?

Yes, strawberry and basil

and blackberry

and balsamic reduction.

Very good.

Let's see

what it tastes like.

You know, it's

as French as it can be,

in terms of flavour.

This

tastes sensational.

Thank you.

So now we're gonna

try the strawberry basil.

Strawberry basil.

There is nothing

sloppy in your flavours.

It's clean, classic

strawberry cream.

It's a great mille feuille;

however, it doesn't look

like a mille feuille.

First challenge

of the semi-final,

I just about got away with it,

I think.

Phew!

I can't let down

my guard, though.

Got to kind of...

do pretty well.

This was a tough one.

Phew!

But I did it.

I have 12 on my plate.

I'm so happy right now.

The pressure's

definitely on in the semi-final.

It is done now!

No more mille feuille.

I'm very

relieved that's over.

I'm glad that this part's...

this part's done.

Bakers, bienvenue

to the technical challenge.

Bruno and Rochelle,

as you know,

you'll be judging this blind,

so we must now bid you adieu.

A bientot.

Au revoir.

For today's technical challenge,

we would love to invite you out

for a night at the opera...

...cake.

Oh my God.

That's right!

It's a complex dessert.

Jaconde sponge,

chocolate ganache,

coffee buttercream,

and chocolate glaze,

all in perfect even layers.

You have 2 hours

and 15 minutes

before you take us to the opera.

On your marks...

Get set...

Bake.

Never done one.

Don't know what it is.

There's lots of components.

It's two pages!

So I've never

made an opera cake.

I know what one is;

I've eaten one.

Hopefully I can

just make it work.

So Bruno, semi-finals.

French patisserie week.

We're asking

our bakers to recreate

the quintessentially

French opera cake.

It's an almond jaconde

that you soak with coffee syrup.

Coffee buttercream,

chocolate ganache

and chocolate glaze on the top.

Knife skills

are also pretty important

in this challenge.

It's crucial.

The knife needs to be long

enough that you cut all at once.

And that's really

the only way that

the bakers can achieve

these lovely clean sides.

The first

thing you notice

is this burst of coffee flavour.

The sponge

is perfectly soaked.

It's not dry, and the chocolate

on the top has to be solid,

so that we get that

final flourish at the end.

The chocolate writing.

One chance.

Opera means elegance, and if

you write "opera" like a child,

your cake's not gonna

look very elegant at all.

You've made it pretty

hard for these semi-finalists.

It's telling me

to start with my sponge,

so I'm getting that done.

This is, like,

now gonna be the...

fourth jaconde sponge

I've made in the competition,

so that's kind of nice.

The opera cake

sponge layers

are made from stiffly beaten

egg whites

and sifted almond flour.

It says divide the two,

so I'm just gonna use

the whole batter

and even it out.

Top and bottom.

For 18.

Bakers, you have

one hour left.

One hour left.

The bakers

will have to multi-task

as they wait for

their sponges to bake.

I'm working on

the coffee buttercream.

This is like a fancy version

of buttercream, I think.

More coffee.

Currently working

on my chocolate ganache.

Two hundred grams

of this dark chocolate.

Two hundred, come on.

There we go.

Pour some hot cream over it...

and that's it!

I'm going to

get my sponge out.

It says cut

the sponge in half...

...cross wise.

Once the bakers

have their sponge ready,

they spread chocolate glaze

to the underside

of their bottom layer.

So this'll be my base,

so I'll have a hard outer shell.

How many layers

are in an opera cake?

I think

three cake layers.

I heard there were ten.

Is there ten?

No, I'm just kidding.

You're messing with me!

Un, deux, trois.

"Brush with a warm

coffee layer."

It should be

evenly saturated.

You want

to taste it, right?

So you have to put enough on,

but you don't want

to sog the cake.

I've had these before,

and they are quite well-soaked,

these layers.

Spread a thin layer

of buttercream.

Precision is key,

as each layer

should be consistently

thin and even.

"Press lightly...

"and brush with coffee

syrup as before."

Fifty steps

in this recipe.

What are we on now?

Well, we're...

just put our third

layer on, so...

Third layer?

Yeah.

"Spread a very

thin layer of buttercream

"on top of the cake.

Thinner than previous layers."

I am tired just reading this.

I'm gonna take a nap!

Oh, I thought you'd come

and finish this for me!

I'm ready

to pour this stuff.

Okay.

Okay, ready?

Yeah.

I don't know if I'm

ready for this!

Okay, go.

Okay, here we go.

Okay.

There we go.

There we go,

there we go.

There we go.

All right.

Okay, I like

how this is going.

I like how this is going.

Yeah.

I stopped breathing

for about 15 seconds

during some of this.

Job well done.

Ah, thank you!

Like a boss.

Once the layering

is done and the glaze poured on,

the cake must be chilled

in preparation for cutting.

Bakers,

you have 15 minutes left!

At some point,

I have to write the word "opera"

in cursive, so I'm gonna

just quickly design

what I think "opera" in cursive

might look like.

Two more minutes

to take my cake out,

and during that time

I'm heating up my knife

because it's a frozen cake.

It's just easier to get through

and have a nice clean cut

with a hot knife.

Look, ah!

If that's not a clean edge...

I'm happy, I'm happy.

We have to pipe words?

Dear Lord!

One minute, bakers!

You can do it!

Ugh, God.

I hate this.

Okay,

let's go give this a go.

It's kind of

got a wavy pattern.

Not bad!

Bakers, your time is up!

Step away from the opera cakes!

Bakers, please

bring your opera cakes

up to the gingham alter.

Bruno and Rochelle

will be looking for even layers,

a moist sponge, smooth edges,

and a clean presentation.

Number one.

Um, the first

things that strike me,

I can see the hands

mark on the glaze.

There's a nice

fingerprint there.

It's bit of a shame

because the glaze is beautiful.

And I have to say

that that writing is excellent.

The cutting

on the side...

two side looks quite good.

So the lines are well-defined.

A beautiful sponge,

but too dry.

You wanna see the sponge

soaked in coffee syrup.

Opera number two.

Glaze looks beautiful.

The writing looks clumsy.

In the cutting,

very rough on those two sides.

Beautiful

layers inside.

The sponge,

there is definitely more

coffee syrup into it.

However,

still just not enough.

Third cake.

The glaze is lacking uniformity.

But, huge props

for this cursive writing.

The exposed edges of this opera

are beautifully defined.

The sponge

is magnificent.

What I like about

this opera cake

is its overall stronger

flavour coffee.

And our last opera cake.

The glaze has

got a beautiful shine.

The writing...

it clearly shows

a lack of practice.

And you only get

one chance, unfortunately.

Lovely thin

layer of chocolate...

on the top and the bottom.

It's lacking

coffee flavour.

Bruno and Rochelle

must now rank the opera cakes

from worst to best.

In fourth place,

who is this?

Vandana.

The writing

and the lack of syrup--

you don't give us

enough moisture

to have a burst of flavour.

And in third place?

Linda.

Your writing let you down

on the visual,

and of course we just

needed a bit more moisture.

And in second place?

Sabrina.

Glaze was amazing.

The writing, you nailed it.

Thank you.

However,

the lack of moisture

took away a winning cake.

And in first place?

James, well done.

Your writing

is really well done,

and this cake was the

moistest of the bunch.

This makes me feel

a little bit more comfortable

going into the Showstopper.

I made it

in second place.

I'm...

I'm good with that.

I'm happy.

Last is not ideal, no.

I'm just gonna brush it off

and really bring it

for the Showstopper.

I survived.

Tomorrow, we'll see.

Before Bruno and Rochelle decide

which baker is going home,

and which three will

make it to the final.

Okay, so at this point,

it is really anyone's game,

isn't it?

We've got

four incredible bakers.

They are so

close to each other.

All of

our bakers struggled

a little bit with

the mille feuille challenge.

They were all

under-baked a little bit.

Except James.

Except James.

Did it matter that James

didn't get all 12 mille feuille

on the plate?

The flavours made up

for the lack of numbers.

In the technical challenge,

they all fell short

on the coffee soak,

but they were all superb.

There is so much

riding on this.

Bonjour, bakers.

You are now just

one challenge away

from The Great Canadian

Baking Show finale!

And in order to secure

one of those coveted spots,

you are going to have to

"tower" above the rest today.

Bruno and Rochelle

would like you to make

a delicious tower

of cream puffs.

Also known as

the croquembouche.

This iconic French dessert

is composed of

cream-filled choux pastry balls

piled high and

bound in spun sugar.

The judges are looking for

you to put your own unique spin

on a Christmas tree

croquembouche,

using unique flavours

and dazzling decorations.

Bakers,

you have four hours.

On your marks...

Get set...

Bake!

I am focused.

I'm just gonna get in my zone,

and I'm just gonna bake,

and not put egg shells in!

In the croquembouche.

Around the bend

is the finale.

Today, somebody goes home.

Oh...

That's not my freezer!

A croquembouche

is a spectacular French dessert.

It is going to challenge

our bakers to the core.

I want elegance and uniformity

and a beautiful Showstopper.

How are you going to

build your Christmas tree today?

With...

with hope.

With

a lot of hope!

With hope and sugar, yes.

I think

on the croquembouche,

the biggest challenge

is the build itself.

If the choux pastry

are under-baked,

they will get mushy

and collapse.

I'm starting

with my choux paste.

It is actually quite

a thick batter.

When it bakes,

it actually bakes hollow.

The croquembouche's

choux pastry

is made by melting butter

in hot water.

As soon as it

starts to kind of boil,

then I'm gonna take it off

the heat for a minute.

Next, flour

is added and mixed

until a thick paste forms.

I'm trying

to get the batter

just so it doesn't

stick to the pot.

Ah!

Kind of know when

it's ready when I can't

do it anymore.

Now I'm gonna

put it into the mixer...

'cause I have to cool it off.

Once the pastry is

cooled, egg yolks are mixed in,

one at a time.

You're looking for

a somewhat sticky dough.

Looks the way

it looked at home,

so that's always a good thing.

When the mixture

is glossy, it's ready to pipe.

It's looking pretty good.

Yeah, yesterday, not my thing,

but I've made lots of

choux pastry,

so I'm okay with this.

My family loves cream puffs,

and I make them

every once in a while.

Yeah.

Linda's family loves

the elegant flavours

of her mascarpone

and coffee croquembouche.

It will be wrapped in spun sugar

and feature

white chocolate decorations.

How are you going to

make this Christmassy today?

I'm putting

stars and doves and...

Can't wait to see it.

The bakers

will need at least 100

individual cream puffs to build

a tall and sturdy croquembouche.

Oh, I'm planning

on making way more than 100.

52, 54, 56, 58, 59.

Sabrina's

French-inspired

vanilla mousseline croquembouche

is decorated with hand-piped

white chocolate snowflakes.

I'm gonna

cook them at...

...425.

Choux pastry has to

be cooked at a high temperature,

so that it puffs up

and becomes hollow

as the moisture evaporates.

They're puffing.

I'm relieved.

Yeah, I know most other

people are in the oven, but...

I've got time.

James!

Hello.

You're using

your time wisely today?

There's

a lot to pack in,

so I'm trying to use

every moment I have.

That's wise, because

your time management is, uh...

something we've picked up on.

Semi-final.

It's go big or go home.

James' coconut custard

Christmas tree croquembouche

features chocolate ganache,

raspberry glaze,

and nougatine stars.

They puff up,

but I'm going quite small,

so they're gonna be

quite small ones.

I think I've got time.

Just make sure

they're baked...

I'm not gonna fill them

until they're completely cool,

so I think I'll give them

a little bit more time.

So next we're gonna

wrestle up some custard.

I am working on

my pastry cream,

which is gonna be a mousseline.

Just whipping up my egg yolks

with some sugar,

and now I'm gonna

sift in some flour.

Oh, yeah, done.

This smells really nice.

This is my

orange pastry cream.

I'm-- just keep whisking it.

It's pretty much done.

So I'm making

my second filling.

This is cocoa powder

and icing sugar.

They're flavours that, for me,

they remind me of the holidays,

and I love the two combined,

so that was a lot of the

inspiration for those flavours.

Vandana's mint

chocolate and orange cream puffs

will come together in her

starfruit-topped croquembouche

sprinkled with silver leaf.

Hi, Vandana.

Hi!

How are we doing?

Just making

a croquembouche.

Just making perhaps

one of the most difficult things

we've ever asked you to make.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, those are nice.

Those are nice.

We like those.

What is the biggest

challenge for you?

To fill these

all on time.

How many do we have here?

Uh, about 130.

Oh my God.

Filling

the cream puffs one by one

is a fiddly job.

This is the worst part.

This is time-consuming.

But

it's a crucial step

before building

the croquembouche.

Fill like a million

cream puffs at like 20 a second.

This is gonna be

too slow, too slow!

Not gonna get these

filled in time.

Bakers,

one hour to the tower!

I'm working on

ten million things at once.

I don't want to

run out of caramel.

It takes quite a bit of

time to get it going.

So I'm just doing

a couple extra pots,

just in case, 'cause sometimes

it gets hard and all of that.

Come on, come on,

come on, come on.

The caramel will be

the mortar as they build

their cream puff towers.

This is what I'm going to

dip them in to build my tower.

It's just

a waiting game.

Puff pastry and sugar

are not ideal construction

materials, really.

This would not be

considered to code, I think,

anywhere in the country.

While they wait

for their sugar to melt,

the bakers must create

ambitious decorations

if they want to secure

their place in the final.

I'm just experimenting

a little bit with my star.

They're going

all over my croquembouche tree.

Thirty minutes, bakers!

Thirty minutes,

so get croque-ing!

Foundation of a house,

it holds everything up, so...

that has got to be

exactly right,

otherwise it's all

gonna come tumbling down.

Are you feeling

a little pushed for time?

Uh, always.

But it's okay, I'm gonna do it.

You're on track?

Okay.

I guess.

What would happen

if Dan or I

happened to scuttle off

with one of them?

That would be fine.

Oh.

I think I have enough.

Are you 100% sure?

I have lots.

Oh, yes, Linda.

Yes, yes, yes.

Come on,

come on, come on.

We need sugar, guys!

We need sugar!

Well, my sugar all,

like, set up too much,

so I need another batch, so I'm

just waiting for another batch.

Come on,

come on, come on!

Can't go till it's ready.

Oh, Jesus.

Ten minutes, bakers.

Ten minutes remain.

I gotta fly now.

Gotta fly now.

Okay, I have

one pot of sugar left.

It's got to work

all the way to the end.

I don't think I can

now get to the middle

with what I have left.

Not good enough, Jamesy.

Not good enough.

Seven minutes,

my lovely bakers.

Seven minutes.

Ran out of sugar again.

I just need caramel.

Has anyone got

any spare caramel?

Okay.

You are a super star.

Thank you.

No problem.

I have made

a miscalculation.

That is the last one,

and it's not closed on top.

It's cute, it's cute.

This is my nougatine.

Sometimes you've just gotta

improvise, you know?

Bakers, 10 seconds left in

this last semi-final challenge.

Five, four...

...three, two, one!

I think this

sets a whole new standard

for croquembouche, really.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Ugh, my God!

If I go home

this week and you don't,

I'm gonna beat you up!

Duly noted.

And Bruno and Rochelle must

judge the bakers' creations.

They are expecting

perfectly baked cream puffs,

delicious flavours,

and beautiful decorations.

Okay, Sabrina.

Sabrina, we asked you

to up your skill level

when we did the

gingerbread challenge...

And you have.

Phew!

The chocolate decorations

are quite impressive.

The spun sugar

is just delightful.

It's a little

on the lopsided side.

But it's a Showstopper.

Let's see if you

got your choux paste right.

The bottom

is cooked properly.

The top is cooked properly,

but the middle is not.

Okay.

What did you use

to stiffen your pastry cream?

I used flour.

Flour.

So, what I can taste

in my mouth is flour.

You have to activate the starch,

which means we have to

take it to 100 degrees.

It's a good tip.

James, I got to applaud

you that no matter what,

you keep pushing it.

You keep trying to make it, and

somehow you deliver something.

Uh, it's more like

a hive rather than a cone.

Yes.

Maybe

chocolate ganache

is not such a great thing

to try and glue

with a really hot caramel.

Yeah.

You wanted to deliver

something that was ambitious,

something that pushed you.

You knew your

time-management skills

were going to be challenged.

They were, but guess what?

Your star is made of nougatine.

That is incredible.

It's excellent.

Okay.

You know,

raspberry, vanilla...

And the chocolate.

And the coconut.

We never had to

complain about your flavours,

but the final product lacks

elegance and sophistication.

Vandana,

your croquembouche, please.

I think the colours

are very nice.

The structure is a bit

too narrow at the base.

Okay.

But it is beautiful

and very inviting.

The first thing

I noticed is the choux

could've been baked

a little bit more.

They're soft.

Good pastry cream.

Good orange flavour.

I'm gonna try the second one,

the chocolate mint.

The chocolate

filling is delicious.

Your choux pastry,

I think that's really

let you down today.

Otherwise, you got it.

Thank you.

Linda...

this is spectacular.

It's sophisticated.

Very elegant.

You know me,

I love a bit of sparkle.

I love the finish on the choux.

The choux has puffed.

It looks, to me, visually, like

you've baked them properly.

It's really classy.

It just looks beautiful.

They are so well cooked

that you're able to put a nice

amount of filling inside.

It is such

a subtle coffee flavour.

Just speaks to

the elegance of this.

You've nailed it on every point.

Thank you.

Bruno and Rochelle

must now decide

which three bakers will

move on to the finale.

Let's talk about this last

challenge, the Showstopper.

Clearly, Linda

rose to the occasion.

Oh, she did.

She nailed every aspect

of this challenge.

Perfect bake,

beautifully decorated,

gorgeous tastes and flavours.

And today, we could see

the pride in what she delivered.

Let's move on to Vandana.

She's

definitely got skills,

and she's the cool cat

under pressure.

Sabrina.

She really

stepped up today.

We can see she's got a beautiful

eye for detail and decoration.

She's certainly grown

in this competition.

Then we come to James.

His croquembouche

may have just

missed the mark visually.

You know,

James took a huge risk

with that croquembouche today.

He's very creative.

James

challenges himself,

and he does exceptionally

well at that.

All right, on that note,

we will leave you

to make an incredibly

difficulty decision.

Today, I get

the very distinct pleasure

of announcing our

last Star Baker

before we enter the finale.

This person bakes with not only

knowledge and experience;

they also bake with love.

Congratulations...

...Linda.

You're Star Baker!

As we know,

one person will not be moving

forward into the finale.

And unfortunately,

that lovely and talented

person is...

...James.

I'm sorry, James.

It's okay.

It's okay.

James, no!

Fantastic to have

actually made it here,

and to have got to

the semi-final.

Thanks a lot.

I made it

most of the way,

and certainly a lot further

than I ever thought I would.

So, yeah, it's been great.

Good job.

I'm so devastated

to lose James today.

He has brought so much joy

and humour to the kitchen,

and, you know, today

was really tough.

Well done.

Thank you.

I'm Star Baker

this week...

which is amazing!

Thank you.

Thank you.

Linda's croqeumbouche

was a real Showstopper.

If I was walking

down the street in Paris

and I saw this croquembouche

in the windows,

I would have stopped

and buy it.

Finale!

Oh my goodness, I'm so excited!

Top three, top three.

That's all I can say.

Wow!

I came here to be

in the final, and I'm...

I'm... I...

Next time,

it's the finale.

I think

I'm on Team Vandana.

If I had to throw it out

there, I'd say maybe Sabrina.

I'm gonna

edge towards Linda.

They're all so great.

I don't know

who's gonna take it.

Three bakers remain,

but only one can win

the ultimate prize!

The winner of The

Great Canadian Baking Show is...