The Great British Bake Off (2010) s09e07 Episode Script
Vegan Week
1 Last time, the push for perfect pastry Hooray! .
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gave Rahul a handshake You are a dark horse, aren't you? .
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and gave Briony Star Baker for the first time.
Ooh, thank you! This is about celebration of pastry, and that is not a celebration of pastry.
No, it isn't.
But it was Dan who left the tent.
Come on, mate.
Never mind.
This week Oh.
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a Bake Off first as eggs and butter are banished Baking's hard as it is.
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for Vegan Week.
Can we have a Kebab Week soon? There's still pastry to be made I don't think that's soggy bottom.
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stiff peaks to achieve Good sign.
Ooh.
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and delicate sponge to stack.
But one baker's dreams are about to topple.
Ooh, it's Oh, it's going! # I'm a happy cow now because it's Vegan Week # There's no dairy or meat # Why don't you chop up a leek because it's Vegan Week? That is really good.
Did you write it yourself? It's a kind of new kind of music.
I call it Moo Wave.
Oh, yeah.
That is a really happy cow.
Can't believe we got Paul and Prue to agree to that.
I know.
I feel sorry for Prue, actually.
She's not the back end? Yeah.
And Paul had beans for breakfast.
Not his usual sausage sandwich? No, it's Vegan Week.
Yeah, the cow said.
# It's Vegan Week Chop up a leek! I genuinely never thought that I would get Star Baker Paul and Prue bringing out Vegan Week on us, for the first time.
They are a dream, aren't they? I had to do, like, internet searches this week on vegetables because, you know, I just don't know this stuff.
Hello, bakers.
Welcome to the tent, and it's a Bake Off first - it's Vegan Week.
So no meat, obvs, but also no eggs or milk or butter or even honey.
I'll tell my mate Ralph.
He'll be well pleased.
Why? He's a bee.
OK.
Er, so for your vegan Signature Challenge, the judges would like you to make eight savoury tartlets with two different fillings.
So you need four tartlets with one filling and four with a different one.
Your tarts must be made with your own variation of a vegan-friendly shortcrust pastry that the judges would never realise were vegan.
No problem at all.
You've got two hours to complete your Signature Challenge.
On your marks .
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get set .
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bake! It is weird being in the Bake Off tent and there's no egg.
I would say we're running around like headless chickens, but no.
Baking's hard as it is, let alone, er, when it's vegan.
We set this challenge basically because it's difficult.
Traditionally you would use butter, you would use eggs to create a beautifully short pastry, but that isn't an option here.
So this is really going to challenge the bakers to create flavours, to create textures.
The most important thing is that these bakers deliver on flavour and we know they can all do that.
Can they do it vegan style? If the bakers were sticking to convention, butter would be the key to perfect shortcrust pastry.
Basically in a pastry, you always need some fat.
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but with a butter ban, a delicate balance of alternatives is essential to provide rich flavour and a golden finish.
So olive oil or coconut oil.
Coconut oil resembles butter in many ways.
I really like the flavour of it.
Instead of butter I'm just using vegetable shortening.
This is just a little bit of turmeric and little bit of chilli.
Just have a little bit of kick to it.
I have a bit of vegetable oil.
I also have some vegan margarine, which I've got in there.
So I'm just bringing it all together now.
This is flour, avocado oil, I've also put some poppy seeds in.
Vegan baking can be as flavoursome as normal baking, so it'll be nice to prove that it can be done.
To prove her point, Briony's first savoury tart will have a rich, creamy filling made with vegan goat's cheese and oat cream while her second celebrates root veg in a rosette sweetened with apple.
These tartlets are beginning to sound a little bit like dessert rather than savoury.
Oh, well, it's got the celeriac and the sweet potato.
It's got mixed spice in as well.
So, no, it is, you know Savoury.
It is savoury but it does, sort of, have a slightly sweeter taste.
But Briony's enthusiasm for vegan baking isn't shared with one baker.
I'm not really into Vegan Week.
It isn't my thing.
Every meal I have contains meat.
Can we have a Kebab Week soon? Despite his misgivings, Jon's given himself a lot to do, making from scratch falafel, hummus, purple mashed potato, sauteed and baked mushrooms, not forgetting his vegan pastry.
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and then you're making various vegan little dishes and plonking them one by one Yeah.
Okey dokey.
Well, I mean, you're certainly having a go.
You're doing a bit of everything.
I'm making a tart for the summer and a tart for the winter.
The tart for the summer is ratatouille.
Just reminds me of home, really.
Hopefully today we can prove that no, vegan is not boring.
Manon's winter tart with flavours taken from her flatmate's favourite vegetarian pie, will be a luxurious chestnut and mushroom filling.
So I want to talk to you, French person Yes.
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with no access to butter or cream or milk or eggs.
I'm surviving.
You're surviving! These pastry cases I'm going to put in the fridge to chill.
If dough isn't chilled, as with non-vegan pastry, the results will be greasy and misshapen.
Whatever you use instead of butter, it still needs to be cold.
The theory's still the same.
Onto the filling.
Chopper's out.
Chopper's ready to go.
What is he doing? So, first filling is called posto, which is a very traditional Bengali food item, like something between pesto and hummus.
And then it's gonna be topped with some roasted vegetable rosettes.
Rahul's happy sticking to flavours from home with his other filling, inspired by the chickpea-based Indian street food dish, ghugni chat.
You seem, er, quite positive this week.
I'm not sure it's positive.
It's just, like, counting my final days.
Let's not go that far.
It's not positive but it's not negative.
It's a step in the right direction.
I don't know.
By the end you're gonna be sort of dancing around tent with gay abandon.
No? Good luck with that.
I'm caramelising the onions with prosecco.
It's really nice, actually.
It's really tasty.
I'm making my falafel.
I've blitzed it down.
Still a little bit of texture to it, which is what I'm looking for.
So hopefully these will crisp up nicely in the fryer.
I have been testing these out on my cousin and my sister.
They are both vegetarian and they would love to go vegan, so the last time I made them, I had a soggy bottom on my tart so they didn't eat them.
If she manages to perfect her vegan pastry, Ruby's planning fillings using butternut squash as well as greens cooked in a dairy-free cheesy sauce, given its flavour with powdered nutritional yeast.
I've eaten yeast.
Right.
Doesn't taste anything like cheese.
Well, have you eaten nutritional yeast? It's, um, interesting.
I mean, I wouldn't eat it just like this but No.
Can I smell it? Yeah, course you can.
Oh, it's quite nice.
Yeah.
It gives it not a bad flavour.
I'm OK, thanks.
I'm trying to give it up.
It's slightly Parmesan-y.
Yes.
OK.
Well, good luck.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank YOU! To create a creamy texture for her fillings, Kim-Joy is turning to tofu.
I'm doing a tofu kind of quiche.
It's like bean curd, isn't it? What is it? Yeah, I love tofu.
It's, like, one of my favourite things.
Just a block of tofu and some soy sauce.
Kim-Joy's also using tofu in her second tart to create vegan mascarpone, finished with an image of a star of a previous Bake Off, the squirrel, complete with nuts! You know, squirrels are cool.
Yeah, I wouldn't say I'm an animal person.
I haven't grown up around animals or anything and I'm scared of a lot of animals, really.
Ha-ha! Pastry chilled and with the clock ticking, the next step is essential if the tarts are to impress Prue and Paul.
If you don't want to have a soggy bottom, which I had last week, we are blind baking today.
You can either put some baking beans or rice or something just to hold it down.
Whoops! Right, so I'll put them in at 180 for ten minutes.
There you go.
Blind baking.
I'll put them on for ten minutes to start.
As blind baking begins I think I'm gonna run out of time today.
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Jon's work is piling up.
I've let the pastry chill and rest in the fridge and now I'm just rolling it out.
So I'm about 15 behind at the moment.
Bakers, you are halfway through.
You have one hour left.
Think you're treating the whole day as a bit too much of a holiday.
It's Vegan Week.
Who doesn't want to relax? Yeah, fair enough.
Drink? Thanks.
Neat absinthe.
Wow! Oh! So I'm making a vegan bechamel.
This is cashew milk.
I feel like it's the closest consistency and taste to milk.
This is my roasted butternut squash.
I've snuck in some chilli flakes but maybe I'll just add in a touch more.
I want it to be punchy.
Are you running out of time? Do you want me to freeze time for you? Oh, if you could.
Could you do that for me? I can do that.
I'm a Time Lord.
Reset the clock or something that they're using.
You can do this.
Now I need to start making the curry.
Chole kubani, which is chickpea curry.
Something smells so good.
Sorry? What's this mound? Mound? Leave the mound alone! What's the mound doing? Is it resting? It's just chilling.
It's like a creature.
If you're a vegan, your mouth will be watering.
I'm just taking out the beans.
Ah! Oh, no! Beans everywhere.
So hot.
Doesn't really look that good, to be honest.
I can't tell why.
I just have a feeling it looks funny.
They look OK.
They've shrunk back a little bit more than they would at home.
I'm going back in.
This is the second stage of my blind baking.
So now this will help dry out the bottom, hopefully, now that I've removed the baking beans.
They are going in for, like, another eight minutes.
How long have we got left? Just deep frying my falafel.
Got some just gone in the fryer now.
They seem to be holding.
I'm making my hummus now.
This is basically plum chutney.
This is tamarind paste.
Like, tiny bit.
It's a very tart flavour.
This is for the tofu part.
Just add Indian black salt.
It smells, like, you know, like sulphur.
Ha-ha! Um, yeah.
Gives sort of an eggyness.
Bakers, you have half an hour, just half an hour.
OK.
No, that's mine! Straight through.
Too hot.
So there is a bit of shrinkage.
I hope that's cooked.
So that's looking OK.
I think they have a bit of colour.
I don't think that's soggy bottom.
They're nicely brown.
The only problem is, like, they're not so even.
I'm just going to put the fillings in next.
Trying to make a vegan tart look pretty.
Basically, I feel they would say, "Oh, it's a bit simple.
" But French food is simple, right? And it's delicious.
Who would have thought you can get a cheese flavour without actual cheese? I am pleasantly surprised.
I'm just popping in the filling, which is the caramelised onion and then in the bottom is, like, a bit of the goat's cheese alternative.
This is the plum chutney I made earlier going in now.
This is my kubani, that's going to go on the top.
What are these little guys? These are mushrooms, chestnuts and bechamel Wow.
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little tarts.
I like those little trays.
They're like little mouse beds.
Little mice beds, oh, yeah! Little bed for mice.
Right, these are going back in.
And back in the oven.
Those will go in probably until a few minutes before the end.
Just a little bit more.
Bye-bye! Looking OK, actually.
Not too bad, but I'm really rushing it today.
I think I've done a few too many elements.
I don't know what's happened to my filling.
I thought I'd done a lot more than that.
It's supposed to be quite filled out.
I've literally run out of filling.
I can imagine this is going to be good for you, Vegan Week? Hopefully, yeah.
I feel like everyone keeps saying that to me.
You look like you might know your way around a vegan restaurant.
But you're not vegan, are you? No! No, but you just have that air about you.
Yeah.
I don't know whether you can put hummus back in the oven but we'll soon find out, won't we? I really don't think I'll be getting Star Baker this week.
Purple mashed potato.
Bakers, you have 15 minutes left.
Just 15 minutes remaining.
Dropped them on the floor.
These are not even bloody cooked.
Just leave them in the oven for as long as I can go.
Tarty.
Good.
I want to get them out the tins but they're just too hot to handle at the moment.
Ow, ow, ow! Think I may have burnt my fingers.
Now we're just making sure that they're looking good.
Let's think about how I am going to decorate.
Just a little bit of yoghurt.
They look amazing.
Thanks, mate.
How long have we got? Bakers, you have five minutes left! Five minutes.
Dammit! OK, I need to start assembling now.
It is going to be really rushed.
Right, coming out now whether it's cooked or not.
It's made of acetate so it's, like, an invisible squirrel.
You don't taste the paprika too much.
Just a little bit of chopped coriander and chopped onion.
I had to make something pretty.
Buy a stamp and put it on top.
I'm just going to blowtorch them.
I didn't really think about this.
In my head it seemed like a great idea but of course the green stuff's burning.
Pastry case is not cooked.
What's the point of making them look pretty if they're inedible? That's not done very well but, with all the others, it will look OK.
He's holding a little nut.
Bakers, you have one minute.
Just one minute.
One minute?! One VEGAN minute.
Right bakers, your time is up.
That is the end of your first vegan challenge.
Oh.
Whatever.
I don't know what happened.
Just absolutely lost time.
I love the colour, though.
It's so beautiful.
Give me a plus point.
Give me a plus point.
Yes.
Yes.
The bakers' savoury vegan tartlets now face the judgment of Paul and Prue.
Hello.
Hello, Manon.
Hi, Manon.
So, we have the summer tartlet which is a ratatouille and then we have the winter tartlet which is a vegan bechamel with chestnut mushrooms and chestnuts.
It does look very attractive.
The pastry looks nice and even.
It's well baked all the way through.
It's nice.
Cuts beautifully through.
It's very mild Mm-hm, yeah.
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but it is very delicious.
Have you got coconut in there? Mm-hm.
In the pastry.
Coconut really works, doesn't it? That is excellent.
A very good pastry.
I'm glad.
OK, let's look at this ratatouille one.
Yes.
Mm.
It certainly tastes like the south of France.
The pastry's a bit hard, but it's good and it's holding its shape.
Overall, you've done a very decent job.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Consistent in colour.
The shapes are identical, which is a good start.
Yeah.
How did you get on with the cheese mixture because you put in that nutritional yeast? Yes.
It tasted good.
Fingers crossed it comes across well.
Well, I can taste the broccoli and I can taste the um Cheese? .
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broccoli! A bit underwhelmed, actually.
Right, OK.
I was expecting it to have more flavour in that.
Right, OK.
I mean, the pastry's nice and thin.
Yeah.
It's crisp.
But the only thing you can really taste is the broccoli and a bit of chilli OK.
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at the back of your throat.
Let's have a go at the other one.
Yeah.
One thing that winds me up, green on the top of tomato.
I just thought it looked better, you know.
It looks really nice without them anyway.
Yeah.
Quite sweet.
And chilli.
Just a little bit.
Ha, I think a bit more than a little bit! Honestly, I only put in a touch.
I was, like, I don't want to go in too much.
I think, overall, I get the sage.
Yeah.
I get that bit of heat, and then nothing much else.
OK.
That's fine.
This one is like a pesto.
It's just garlic, coriander leaf, cashew nut and poppy seed paste.
Lovely pastry.
Very good flavours.
I wouldn't have put that much filling in.
Maybe even half that would have been plenty.
OK, let's try this one now, shall we? This one is a ghugni chaat which is chickpea curry and underneath there is a plum chutney and caramelised onions.
You can see the pastry is crumbly but it's holding together which is the difficult thing.
Thank you.
Fantastic.
Poetry.
Thank you.
Poetry? It is beautiful.
Wow.
Poetry.
Mm.
It's so delicate.
The pastry melts in the mouth.
Crispy.
And a little hint of spice in there as well.
But the filling with the chickpea is fantastic.
Who would have thought that was vegan? It's almost buttery.
It's so delicious.
It is.
Thank you, Rahul.
Thank you.
Thank you.
She said poetry.
You have some.
Rahul, do a dance or something.
Go on.
Rahul! Rahul! Just feels a bit flexible.
Oh.
Flexible? Flexible pastry.
I'm thinking, rubbery pastry.
Oh, no.
A flexible tartlet.
It's like it's been overworked.
It's so weird, the veg on the top is veg but then you've got this apple underneath which makes it sweet so, no matter what you put on the top, the apple will always win.
OK.
It's an apple pie.
Dollop of creme fraiche and it would be delicious! Oh! Sorry.
This looks better.
This is the poppy seed.
Gives it a bit of colour, too.
Yeah, it does.
Very nice and thin pastry.
I mean, that's amazing.
The onions are the sort of onion you'd put on a hot dog.
Right.
But the overall flavour actually is all right.
I quite like the flavour.
I think the flavour's lovely.
I think there's too much onion.
OK.
Can I ask about the rubbery pastry, or flexible? Was it rubbery or was it OK? Actually, the pastry on that was all right.
OK.
Good.
Are your flexible alarm bells ringing? Yeah.
Thank you.
Where's the rest of it? Uh, I ran out of filling and I drastically ran out of time as well.
I can see that.
Quite unfinished.
It's a bit undercooked under there.
Yes.
OK, let's have a look.
They are a little bit untidy because they're not full, and maybe you chose the wrong size.
They do look a bit of a mess.
It's a bit gluey.
It is very rubbery, the pastry.
It's the flavour of the tomatoes I don't particularly like, it's very artificial.
It's just too heavy.
It's not good.
Let's have a look at the falafel.
The base isn't too bad.
Again, it doesn't look wonderfully attractive, does it? I quite like the flavour of the falafel.
The pastry's still a little bit rubbery.
The potato added to it doesn't really bring a lot, just a little bit of colour.
It's not bad.
It's all right, you know.
Both the flavours are good but too strong.
But also the pastry is very pale and it's really untidy.
This has caught you out a little bit.
Yeah.
It's not your thing, is it? It's not my thing at all.
I would admit to that.
It's very, uh, neat.
Very artistic.
Baked well.
Nice colour.
It's quite nice the, um, layers.
The coconut pastry.
It's amazing.
I think the flavours are great.
You've got the cooling that comes from the tofu before you hit the onion.
It's absolutely delicious.
I'd never have said that would have gone together.
Yeah, I like that one.
Ah, thank you.
Remind me of this one again? Um, so that's got tofu, broccoli, onion, the tomato on top.
It's got a bit of Indian black salt for the egginess.
That's delicious.
The balance of flavour is very good.
Again, the tofu's bringing that little bit of coolness to it.
And the pastry's flaky.
It's buttery.
Thank you.
Very good job on both of them.
Very good job.
Looks good.
Um, hm On Vegan Week? Go on, go on, go on! Oh.
That's really good.
Well done.
Thank you.
I can't believe that.
If anyone was going to pull off a Vegan Week, it was you.
Ah.
Oh, my gosh.
I did not think I would get a handshake.
It's more then relief after that.
It's extreme joy.
The vegan gods got to me.
They attacked me, but I'm still smiling.
They were underwhelmed.
I was underwhelmed, you've just got to kind of pick yourself up and carry on.
The bakers were able to practise for their Signature Challenge but nothing can prepare them for what lies ahead in our first-ever Vegan Technical.
Hi, bakers.
Welcome back to your Technical Challenge which today has been set for you by Prue.
Prue, any advice? Trust me, trust yourselves and it will work.
Ah, it's a sort of trust exercise.
Right, off you two go.
So, for your Technical Challenge today, Prue would love you to make a vegan tropical fruit pavlova.
The judges will be looking for two perfectly piped vegan meringue discs No egg whites.
Yeah.
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sandwiched and topped with coconut pastry cream and tropical fruit.
The meringue must be crispy on the outside but also kind of marshmallowy on the inside.
Ah, lovely.
You've got two-and-a-half hours to complete this challenge.
On your marks Get set bake.
OK, we're in business.
I've made a pavlova.
Never made a vegan pavlova.
Little bit out of my comfort zone with this, but there we go.
To make their vegan meringue, the bakers will need to use aquafaba instead of egg whites.
Oh.
Aquafaba is the preserved liquid of cooked chickpeas.
Tried to make meringue out of aquafaba before but it didn't go very well.
Prue, a vegan pavlova? Yeah.
How does that work, then? Well, you can't use any egg whites so they've been given aquafaba.
What can go wrong? It actually works like meringue but it takes longer to whisk it to a stiff peak.
The other great difference between this and egg-white-based meringue is that this is much more fragile.
It actually cuts a little bit like a traditional meringue.
Nice and light.
Right.
The meringue is different.
It's very fragile.
Melts in the mouth.
The overall texture and taste is gorgeous.
Nice challenge, Prue.
Let's hope they rise to it.
OK.
# Dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah! # First stage is whisk the aquafaba, medium speed, until foaming.
I'm sure it's going to taste everything but chickpea.
Chickpea juice pavlova? Hm.
I like chickpeas in their own right Yeah.
Well, then .
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but when they pretend to be meringue, I'm not sure! I find it amazing that someone sat there and thought, I'm going to whisk the hell out of some chickpea juice today.
I have never tried it before so I'm not sure yet.
Increase the speed to high and whisk to stiff peaks.
I've just added the sugar one tablespoon at a time.
I don't know enough about it to know whether you can over or underwhisk it, like eggs.
When you bring in a normal meringue stiff peaks, you can tip the bowl over your head.
Essentially, you should be able to do the same with the aquafaba.
Is that a meringue consistency? I'm pretty happy.
It's quite thick and glossy.
It is peaked but it was, like, peakier before.
So I don't know if I overdid it a bit.
It's holding its shape.
Good sign.
I'm going to do it again.
It won't take too long.
Then you have to spoon the mixture into a large piping bag fitted with the star nozzle and pipe two 20-centimetre discs with a decorative edge.
Right, let's see what this pipe's like.
Doesn't look like bean water at all.
Um.
Yeah, it seems all right.
It could maybe be a bit stiffer but I think that's the thing with aquafaba.
It feels pretty much the same, if I'm being honest, as a normal meringue.
I don't really know what do to with the edges.
Not the easiest stuff to work with.
You know what? Who doesn't like a little bit of spikey? That'll do.
I just want to pipe it now.
I just can't do Technicals.
I really hate it.
OK.
Now we're going to put it in the oven.
The instructions say bake till crisp and dry and remove from the oven and dry it completely.
Meringue needs to cook for a long time on a low heat.
Definitely baking it for about an hour minimum.
I'm putting it for one hour.
It might even take longer.
My meringues for the aquafaba, I do for 75 minutes.
They want it crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.
I don't actually know how long to bake a vegan pavlova for.
It takes the same as a normal meringue, I think.
Um, I'm just going to follow what everyone else does.
I think it's a pretty tough challenge.
You've had one hour.
You've got an hour-and-a-half.
That's a fact.
Five, make the coconut pastry cream.
I've not made vegan coconut pastry cream before, I have to say.
This is a new one.
There's no instructions on how to make the pastry cream.
It just says, make it.
How should I do this? I'm going to follow what we do when we do a creme patissiere.
For this vegan pastry cream recipe, the rich taste traditionally provided by eggs comes from coconut milk, and its thickness from cornflour.
Bring it to the boil.
Give it a whisk.
Add your sugar.
Mix that in.
Flavours.
You always smash 'em with the flavours, don't you? Yeah, not too much today, though.
Come on, use the force now.
Yeah? Yeah.
The force is strong with this one.
Yeah.
Punch Paul in the face with flavours.
Yeah, I will.
I don't think it can go any thicker, to be honest with you.
Stir in the desiccated coconut.
Like, when you do a custard.
Keep on stirring.
The pastry cream's kind of, um, slightly, weird.
Cool and chill.
Bakers, you have half-an-hour left.
Oh, what are we doing? Feels nice and firm.
It's getting a bit there on the outside but it's not actually crisp yet.
Should I get it out? I don't know.
We have two-and-a-half hours and it's not for nothing.
So, the longer I can leave my meringue inside.
I think I have to switch it off now otherwise it's not going to get cooled and cooked.
I might just turn the oven off and let it dry out in there.
I'm going to get this out, I think.
I'm going to wait until it cools a little bit more.
Turn it out.
Pull it nicely.
OK.
Ugh! OK, that doesn't look very good, does it? No good.
Got to put that back in.
I don't really know how long it's been in the oven.
Maybe needs a bit more crisping.
OK, what am I doing? I need to melt some white chocolate.
It tastes like normal chocolate.
Obviously you need enough time at the end to chill and put the chocolate and build it.
I'm a bit worried actually because it has to set, and it's quite hot.
So I think I have to work pretty fast now.
OK, I think I'm going to take them out because you want it to be chewy, it's a pavlova.
I'm just going to take it out now.
Whatever happens, happens.
I think that's pretty good.
Could be probably neater on the old piping.
I'm really scared about turning it upside down.
Ugh.
Just grab this out.
It's really so delicate.
Ooh.
I'm a bit scared about putting the chocolate on.
OK.
It is fragile but that's what it's meant to be like, isn't it? I'm trying to use the chocolate to fill some of the gaps.
Don't know whether to put that in the freezer.
God, this is terrifying.
I feel like they're dissolving almost.
Bakers, you have 15 minutes.
15 vegan minutes! I'd better get a wiggle on.
I'm going to finish the cream.
Beat the coconut yoghurt and passion fruit seeds into set pastry cream.
Mm.
Gloop.
That's going to be very interesting.
And then pass through a sieve.
This actually looks like pastry cream.
I mean, that does taste delicious.
I have to take them out now.
I don't have time otherwise.
Assembly time.
Place one of the meringue shells base-side-down on the cakestand and spread over half of the pastry cream.
Mine looks really bad compared to everybody else's.
Just wondering how I'm going to decorate this because decorating's not my thing.
I'm going to try to make some little stars.
I don't know what I'm doing! Top with fruits and toasted coconuts.
Going in with some passion fruit.
Yeah, I'm going to cover up my dodgy meringue.
Pavlova is all about mixing the fruits together.
There isn't really a method.
Just looks really old-school.
Place the other meringue on top and repeat.
Mine is very sad looking.
Is that all of it? Please say I've got enough! Argh! Bakers, your time is up! Oh, dear.
Please place your pavlovas behind your photographs on the gingham tablecloth.
You totally nailed that.
I did nail that.
Prue and Paul are looking for two decoratively piped discs of vegan meringue filled and topped with coconut pastry cream and tropical fruit.
They have no idea whose vegan pavlovas are whose.
OK, let's start with this one.
We did ask for decorative meringue not just flat discs.
There's been an issue, whether it broke up when they were moving it, you know Yeah.
.
.
it is quite delicate.
Let's have a look at it, shall we? Yeah.
The meringue's not bad, I just think they weren't delicate enough when they were removing it off the paper.
The fruit doesn't look quite so generous.
Pavlova's indulgent Yeah.
.
.
and that doesn't look indulgent.
Right, that is very impressive piping and the meringue was absolutely properly whipped.
The decoration's indulgent.
It's that pile, isn't it? Marshmallowy inside.
Crispy on the outside.
I like that one.
There's a lot of textures going on in that one.
It's very neat.
Now, this next one, again, lazy with the piping again.
It's cracked a bit there.
There is definition there, though.
Pastry cream is absolutely delicious.
It's very runny, though.
It does mean the meringue will soften.
OK, moving on.
Lost a little bit of definition on the bottom.
Yeah.
I quite like the way the baker has thought about making one bigger than the other.
Mm.
Meringue's good.
Crispy.
Marshmallowy.
I love the definition in this one.
Yeah.
Nice and equal.
Hardly any cracks.
Let's have a look in this.
The meringue's cooked well.
It is very full.
Colourful as well.
Moving on to this last one.
Good attempt at trying to create something a little bit different but they've lost the definition, haven't they? However, it still looks rather nice.
Right.
The meringue's very good.
It's actually quite well cooked all the way through as well.
It's nice, isn't it? Very nice.
Prue and Paul will now rank the pavlovas from worst to best.
In sixth place is this one.
Whose is this? Me.
Kim-Joy, it was just a little bit boring on the piping.
In fifth place is this one.
Who's that? It's me.
Briony.
It's all a little bit flat.
Yeah.
Jon is fourth.
Ruby's third.
So, in second placeis this one.
Pretty good, actually, Manon.
You managed to create a fantastic bake of the meringue all the way through.
Thank you.
Which leaves, of course, Rahul.
Thank you.
Rahul, your pavlova had everything.
It's got beautiful definition, silky-smooth pastry cream, lots of fruit, looks indulgent, tastes great.
Bravo.
I can't believe it.
This is the first time I came first in Technical.
I mean, I made something and the judges liked it, that's a very good thing.
I just get confused I think in Technicals.
I get all flustered.
But I'm trying.
I'd have taken fourth in Technical the first week, but not this week.
Fourth is in the middle but it's the bottom half of the middle, so I'm looking pretty dangerous now.
One challenge remains before Paul and Prue decide who will make the quarterfinal.
Paul, I have to ask you, Vegan Week was something you were looking forward to? Not particularly.
Having said that, and seeing how the bakers have dealt with it so far, it is possible to create some great-tasting food.
Coconut oil seems to be a revelation.
Vegan Yeah, it's delicious and the coconut oil pastry was really good.
This is a tricky one.
Overall, I think you're looking at Manon and Rahul as potential Star Bakers.
All the others are in a little bit of trouble going into the Showstopper.
I think less so Kim-Joy because she did so well in the Signature.
Is there a Paul Hollywood vegan cookbook? Nope.
Hello, bakers.
Welcome back to the tent.
For your Showstopper Challenge today, the lovely Paul and Prue would love you to make a vegan celebration cake that could be the centrepiece at a party, or a happening, if it's the '60s.
The judges are looking for an inventive, visually exciting celebration cake made from plant-based ingredients only.
They can be any shape you like, so from classically tiered to novelty, but they must be utterly delicious.
You've got four hours.
On your marks Get set Bake! Biggest concern is just making sure I get everything done in time.
So I try and work as fast as I can right now.
Yeah.
Feeling the pressure today, totally.
Didn't do well in the Signature.
Bottom of the middle of the pack in Technical.
OK, yes, it's a vegan cake, but there shouldn't be any compromise.
These are very experienced, good bakers.
Every one of them will have made dozens and dozens of excellent cakes.
But they probably will have made them with eggs and butter.
They have to make a cake that is just as tender, just as beautifully risen but without them.
So that means you could use bicarbonate of soda A bit of vinegar helps with the rise.
But they have to get it into the oven fast, otherwise those bubbles come and go.
We want colour, we want personality, but above all I'd like something that tastes amazing.
When I come to judging this, I'm going to judge it exactly the same as I would a non-vegan cake.
I expect it to be that good.
Traditionally in a sponge, eggs and butter are manipulated to give flavour, height and texture.
With none in the tent, it is essential the bakers find harmony in the alternatives if they are to produce a flavoursome, well-structured bake.
The wet ingredients - I'm using a mixture of oil and dairy-free margarine.
Vegan margarine actually works surprisingly well.
Like, you can't really notice much of a difference.
We have some coconut oil, then you have some soya milk.
The wet ingredients are coconut milk, sunflower oil, coconut extract.
It's difficult not using eggs and butter.
Like a lot of vegan cakes, it's more about speed.
Good morning, Kim-Joy.
Hello.
So, Kim-Joy, tell us all about your Showstopper.
I am doing, um, a fox-themed birthday cake for a friend.
Fox-themed? Fox-themed.
Fox-themed.
He likes foxes and that's like You know, people say they're their spiritual animal and stuff.
His spiritual animal's a fox? Yeah.
Decorated with her second woodland creature of the week, this time made from vanilla biscuits, Kim-Joy's two-tiered cake will be flavoured with lavender and lemon curd, inspired by her travels.
Those flavours came from when I went on holiday, I had a lavender-lemon curd ice cream.
And it really was my favourite ice cream ever.
I just feel like I wanted to use those flavours.
So this is an apple spiced cake.
You know like you do carrot cake? The carrots will give it the moisture and the deliciousness.
We're looking for kind of the same texture.
The bottom tier will be a lemon sponge.
The top tier is a chocolate sponge.
I stupidly thought that making two different flavours would be a real good idea.
I just basically got chocolate and orange to celebrate one of my favourite sitcoms, and the cake is called Only Fools Eat Horses.
Hoping to salvage his Vegan Week, Jon's take on the Trotters will be a vegan chocolate fudge cake with orange curd icing, topped with a meringue pineapple, finished with sheepskin buttercream and a hint of leopard print.
Hopefully, it'll show Del Boy's exquisite taste in a vegan cake.
Fancy Del Boy having a vegan cake.
OK, so bicarb reacts with vinegar and give the fluffiness to the sponginess to the cake.
You need to move quite quick cos you can start hearing it bubble.
It's not coming together as well as it did at home, as always.
Time to pour it in.
The reaction's happening right now.
You want that reaction really in the oven.
Yeah, in.
This is going in 160.
20 minutes at 180.
15 minutes and then I'll check them.
I'm just hoping they bake OK.
So they will go in for about 45, 50 minutes.
So that's one big job done.
Hi, Briony.
OK, Briony, tell us, what's the whole theme behind your cake? It's for my little brother who turned 30 last year, because he can't eat dairy, so he eats a lot of vegan food.
The cake I made him for his birthday wasn't as pretty or as lovely as it should have been, so this is the cake that I wish I made him.
It's a bit girlie cos it's got roses on it, but I don't think he'd mind.
In a nod to her brother's love of coffee, Briony's making a mocha cake decorated with hazelnuts, piped chocolate roses and laced with fresh raspberries.
You've chosen quite a lot of rich things, like the mocha, the chocolate, the hazelnut.
These are the overriding flavours and I don't think we're really going to tell much difference between a vegan and a non-vegan.
Well, hopefully.
That's the idea.
I'm making my fake buttercream.
Yeah, buttercream with no butter and no cream.
So it's just vegetable shortening, icing sugar.
What is that made of? What do you think it is? Everything seems to be made of chickpea.
Literally everything is made of chickpea.
Literally everything.
No chickpea in this.
This is buttercream.
I have used some vegan butter How do you cope with him? He's quieter like that.
So these are all natural colours, so we have matcha for the green, turmeric for the yellow, beetroot powder for the pink.
So these are going to be piped buttercream flowers.
Manon's flowers will be wrapped around a three-tiered spiced apple cake.
Each tier will be made up of three layers of sponge.
Yes.
We're going for a big cake.
I'm concerned about time already.
Good morning, Rahul! Hiya.
What are you doing for your vegan celebration cake? This is basically a tribute to my grandma.
My grandfather died in '84.
In India, quite a lot of time when husband die, uh, wife give away quite a lot of different foods, so my grandmother didn't have eggs or meat for the rest of her life after my grandfather died.
So I've never seen her eating a cake.
So it is kind of a tribute for her.
Rahul's honouring his grandmother with two tiers of sandwiched coconut and chocolate sponges, decorated with chocolate shards and soaked in a coconut drizzle.
It's a beautiful idea.
Yeah, thank you.
I'm very close to my grandma.
Yeah, I love my grandma.
She's not here any more, but she loved me a lot.
I mean, yeah.
Rahul's not the only one celebrating cherished memories of family.
This cake is inspired by, and it's for, my cousin.
This is a really fond memory that we both have of a day out with our grandad when we were really young, and it's so simple.
It's just a day that we had with our grandad and we ate loads of ice creams, and it seemed like the best day ever.
Ice cream flavours are at the heart of Ruby's celebration cake, which she's hoping will keep her in the tent for another week.
She's stacking three layers of chocolate sponge on top of three layers of lemon, sandwiched with fresh raspberries and drizzled in chocolate.
Are you dowel-ing it or? Yeah, I'll have dowels in there because it's quite a tall cake so I want to make sure it looks all nice and sturdy.
I don't want any, um, wonky cakes.
Yeah, I'm going to get them out now, I think.
Ta-dah! Good.
They're looking OK.
There's little cracks on the top but it's happened already so I can't change it.
Looking cakey.
Cracky but cakey.
Yeah, they look good.
They have had a little bit of a rise, which is what we were looking for.
Yeah, they look good.
Just checking them all.
Being a bit paranoid.
It is baked.
And look, it's really spongy.
It's a proper cake.
It holds quite nicely, so it's quite moist but it's not too stodgy.
Quite claggy.
Really don't know what's gone wrong with those.
Oh, I'm overshooting! Bakers, you're halfway through.
You're halfway Oh, yes! 2-2! 2-2! Right, I can get on with my sugar syrups and my ganache and a million other things.
This is my raspberry jam.
Works really nicely, cos raspberries go well with chocolate.
Raspberries go well with coffee.
They go well with hazelnut.
It goes well with all of it.
It's a very sharp lemon curd.
I don't know if they'll like the tartness or not.
I hope they do.
When finished, each cake should demonstrate decorating techniques fit for a celebration.
They don't all have to be the same.
That's the beauty of flowers, you know, they're never perfect.
It's going to look so pretty.
I'm just making the buttercream roses because roses are favourite flowers of my grandma.
Hey, lovely boy.
Hiya.
You could sound a bit more excited when I turn up.
Sorry? No.
OK.
so now I need to do the biscuits.
It's, like, basically coconut oil and flour and they're quite quick to bake.
My yellow meringue.
The yellow's to make it look like a pineapple.
I like the smells.
What is that? Mocha? Mocha, yeah.
You know who likes mocha, don't you? Who? Paul.
No way.
Yeah.
I often rustle up Paul a mocha.
Do you? OK.
Fun time.
So, this is my favourite moment, decorate and icing the cake.
I'm drenching my sponges in a sugar syrup.
It's a good way to keep your cakes moist.
I think the cake should be quite moist anyway, but obviously the chocolate doesn't have any coconut flavouring in it, so this is like a sugar, water and coconut extract.
I'm putting the jam in between each layer and then there'll be ganache round the outside.
I'm just sort of piping circles of buttercream around and then I'm pouring orange curd in but it's nowhere near set, so hopefully the buttercream will keep it in there.
Buttercream's a bit too stiff at the minute.
This is a vegan ganache.
So it is vegan dark chocolate with a coconut cream.
Just gotta get it nice and smooth as possible.
I'm doing that sort of, like, semi-naked cake.
I love naked cake.
I think it looks really cool.
That isn't looking pretty.
It broke when I was icing it.
So I'm just going to take it off.
I don't know what happens but I look at you and I just want to crush these.
Bakers, you have half an hour.
Half an hour.
See my artistic skills coming out now.
I'd love to get the presentation right.
I'm probably the opposite of Kim-Joy.
Yeah, I think I like the decorating.
It's probably my favourite part of it.
Raspberries on the dark chocolate.
I think they look so pretty.
Everyone's is looking really good at the minute.
I really want this one to look good.
It looked really good at home.
Oh, I love that.
I want a pair of trousers made out of that.
So I'm going to start assembling.
Oh That's terrifying.
which side is the least bad side? It's just extremely wonky for some reason.
I'm going to put all the decoration this way.
I don't know whether I can finish my decoration or not.
I just need to try.
That's it.
Yeah.
Good.
Oh, please.
I've got the wonkiest cake going.
I'm so scared that he's not going to be able to sit on top of it.
Bakers, you have 15 minutes.
15 minutes.
Maybe if I have it facing this way, you can't see a wonk.
I'm quite happy with that, actually.
That'll do.
That'll do, Donkey.
Looks fine.
Yay.
It looks pretty.
It looks fantastic.
Thank you.
You've got a leaning situation.
Where shall I stand so that it doesn't tip over? B, can you help me put this on? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm scared.
You've got dowels in there, haven't you? Yeah.
Then it'll be fine.
I don't think that's going to Uh-oh.
Cake stand is Del Boy's suitcase.
Done what I set out to achieve, I think.
Really starting to panic.
It's OK, you're doing good.
Bakers, you only have five minutes left.
Just five minutes.
Right, I've got some dowels.
Yeah, it needs to be a bit taller.
Really nice.
There? Just a little bittaller Jon.
Taller, Jon.
Go.
Come on, kids.
You can do this, Rahul.
I don't think that's going to stay.
It's literally, like, caved in at the back.
Bakers, you only have one minute left.
OK, do you need help? It's OK, it's OK.
You've got this.
Think I may have done Del Boy proud.
He'd try and sell it for a couple of quid, wouldn't he, anyway? Look at the state of it.
What an absolute state.
It looks terrible.
Melting and breaking from everywhere.
There is it.
It's done.
Oh, that's it, guys.
Oh, I'm so wounded.
I'm sorry, bakers, but your time is up.
Right, bakers, off you go, my lovelies.
That is the end of all your vegan challenges.
Well done.
It just needs to go in the fridge.
Oh, that looks so good.
Mine's bowing out at the bottom now.
Oh, man.
That was awful.
What did you use to stick your cake together? Buttercream, mainly.
It might taste amazing.
Oh Ooh, it's Oh, it's going, it's going.
BLEEP.
It's going to fall.
Oh, God.
No.
I think your cake's just fallen.
Oh BLEEP.
Oh, man.
Oh, my God.
Paul and Prue.
Briony, would you like to bring your Showstopper up, please? Briony, tell us about your Showstopper.
So this is my hazelnut mocha vegan cake with raspberry jam, chocolate ganache, and then there's some buttercream roses.
Well, I must say it looks as neat as a pin.
Thank you.
I do like the look of that.
It's very elegant.
Thank you.
Solid piece, and sits on the plate without a crumb out of place.
Perfect three layers.
Mm.
The raspberry lifts everything, because the mocha's very delicate.
I quite like it.
It's different.
I think you've done a good job, actually Mm.
Thank you.
.
.
on its flavour, texture, look.
It's a very nice cake.
Thank you.
Well done, Briony.
It looks a bit sad.
It's knocked off.
It's very, erm, crude in its decoration.
I quite like the animal print.
It looks like Bet Lynch's skirt, actually.
What's in it? It's a chocolate and orange cake with chocolate sponge, with orange curd in there, and orange buttercream.
Jon, I think your layers are really good.
They're even.
It's a bit claggy.
I enjoy that flavour.
The orange in there's really nice and sharp, carries it through.
I mean, it looks hideous, but the flavour of it is very good.
Thank you.
Cheers.
For me there's a bit too much orange curd, but I think it's a good cake.
Thank you.
It's absolutely beautiful.
Very delicately done.
The naked cake is perfect.
When you get it right, Manon, you really get it right, don't you? Let's have a look inside, shall we? Very neat, coming out.
Looks a bit puddingy.
It does, doesn't it? It's really heavy.
Yeah.
Gluey.
It's not good.
Looks great, tastes awful.
Oh, really? It is like an underbaked cake, and it's quite rubbery as well, actually.
It's like it's been overworked, it's been overmixed.
Apple, I'm certainly not getting.
It's not a good cake at all.
That's a shame.
I love the colours.
I think they're very pretty and subtle and unusual.
If I was going to relate a cake to anyone in this tent, I'd certainly relate this cake to you.
The decoration is exquisite.
You've gone to the trouble of making biscuits too.
It's standing up.
I think it's a nice-looking cake.
Thank you.
Now, this is lavender sponge? Yes.
Very good.
Mm.
Quite powerful lavender.
It is very pudding-like, isn't it? Mm.
But nevertheless, I think the balance between lavender, which is very brave of you to do Phew.
.
.
and the lemon, which is again quite sharp, work together very well.
Well done.
I think that's a really nice cake.
Ah, thank you very much.
Well done, Kim-Joy.
What happened? When I constructed them it was standing OK, then I put it in the fridge and then I left, and when I came back it was OK, let's have a look at it.
I might not put the drizzle as well because I put a coconut drizzle, which actually might have softened the whole thing up.
Well, I think I can see your problem.
I think it could be the drizzle.
It's the drizzle just makes it really soggy, yeah.
It's weakened the whole thing, and you can see where it's compressed in the middle, and the whole thing's just given way.
Collapsed, yeah.
The chocolate is good.
The coconut one has just been drenched.
It's too much.
It actually tastes too much coconut, too.
You were trying too hard to get too much flavour into something that was already big.
You had enough flavour in without any drizzle.
That's just a pity.
It's gonna be a bit difficult to put the best side forward.
Solet's go that way.
Because it's a collapsed mess, it looks I mean, it looks like a disaster.
Yeah.
Right I had to put in quite a few dowels at the end so you'll probably hit a lot of, ah Wow.
It's more dowel than cake.
Yes.
Do you envisage them being eaten together? No.
Either the chocolate or the lemon.
Right.
Mm.
I like that.
Lemony, coconutty.
Delicious.
I like the lemon cake.
I like the flavour of the raspberries in there as well.
And actually, I like the chocolate one too.
They're actually both very good cakes.
I think you got it the wrong way around.
Yeah.
I think if you'd put the chocolate, which is a lot more stable than the lemon Yeah.
.
.
underneath, it would've been fine.
Yeah, I think the sponge in the lemon one, it was really soft.
So it was just a bad judgment.
I'm scrapping at the positives at the minute.
I'm in very dangerous territory.
Vegan Week.
I mean, Paul, you weren't happy before we started.
How do you feel now? A bit disappointed with people.
Mainly Manon.
It was an awful cake and yet it was exquisite to look at.
OK, so is it going to be that the look is one thing but the taste is the paramount thing, because Ruby's? Exactly.
I would have given Ruby's higher marks than Manon's because Ruby's was edible.
It was delicious.
But you can't discount her from the possibility of leaving us.
At the end of the day it failed, and it was her fault.
I think we've got a real problem with the judging.
Coming into the Showstopper, we'd put Briony, Ruby, Jon, and obviously you had to put Kim-Joy in there because she came last in the Technical, in a little bit of trouble.
Briony's saved herself because that cake was pretty good.
The hazelnut, the mocha.
It was a very neat-looking cake.
Kim-Joy saved herself and then some.
We put Rahul and Manon up for Star Baker.
But Rahul has had a hideous Well, you'd say that but actually his cake, the flavour, actually wasn't that bad.
At the same time, I have to put Kim-Joy up as Star Baker as well.
Her fox cake looked great, I thought.
Beautiful colours.
And you know what? The flavour was good.
So I think what you're looking at, Kim-Joy and I would say, you have to say Rahul still up for Star Baker.
And I would say Ruby and Jon Bumping along the bottom.
Yes.
Well, well done, bakers.
Really successful Vegan Week.
Ironically, the Star Baker is someone who brought animals into the tent but in a whimsical, colourful way.
Star Baker this week is Kim-Joy.
Yay! Aww! Foxy baker! Foxy! Aww! Ah, man.
I have to say this gets tougher and tougher every week because we are so fond of all of you, and it is a really a horrible job.
Uh, but I'm afraid the person who's going home is .
.
Jon.
I'm so sorry.
OK.
You did such a great job.
Immensely proud of what I've achieved.
To make it past week one, I was immensely proud.
But to make it to week seven, absolutely amazing.
I think you're brilliant.
Cheers, anyway.
It's been amazing.
Really has.
Oh, Jon.
Ah! I am sad to see Jon go.
He's got such personality.
He's so different from everybody else.
He's actually a very good baker and his flavours are always very, very good.
Well done, my darling.
Congratulations.
I didn't think that would happen.
Star Baker of Vegan Week? I can't believe I'm saying those words! Kim-Joy has done really well to win Star Baker.
I told ya.
I told ya! Overall she was certainly the best on Vegan Week.
Oh, my God.
Are they sure? Like, positive? Vegan Week was hard.
Really, really hard.
Group hug.
Well done, everyone.
Five left now.
Quarterfinal coming up.
I have no idea who's going to win this thing.
Next time Shoomy-shoomy-shoomy-shoomy.
the tent turns Nordic Danish Week! in our first-ever Danish Week No time for tears.
Got to chop.
.
.
with a Signature that bares all Do you want to give me a little tip? a scandalous Scandinavian Technical and ginormous .
.
Nordic pastry Showstoppers.
This is the hardest challenge we've done.
But who will make it through Ooh! to the semifinal of The Great British Bake Off?
.
gave Rahul a handshake You are a dark horse, aren't you? .
.
and gave Briony Star Baker for the first time.
Ooh, thank you! This is about celebration of pastry, and that is not a celebration of pastry.
No, it isn't.
But it was Dan who left the tent.
Come on, mate.
Never mind.
This week Oh.
.
.
a Bake Off first as eggs and butter are banished Baking's hard as it is.
.
.
for Vegan Week.
Can we have a Kebab Week soon? There's still pastry to be made I don't think that's soggy bottom.
.
.
stiff peaks to achieve Good sign.
Ooh.
.
.
and delicate sponge to stack.
But one baker's dreams are about to topple.
Ooh, it's Oh, it's going! # I'm a happy cow now because it's Vegan Week # There's no dairy or meat # Why don't you chop up a leek because it's Vegan Week? That is really good.
Did you write it yourself? It's a kind of new kind of music.
I call it Moo Wave.
Oh, yeah.
That is a really happy cow.
Can't believe we got Paul and Prue to agree to that.
I know.
I feel sorry for Prue, actually.
She's not the back end? Yeah.
And Paul had beans for breakfast.
Not his usual sausage sandwich? No, it's Vegan Week.
Yeah, the cow said.
# It's Vegan Week Chop up a leek! I genuinely never thought that I would get Star Baker Paul and Prue bringing out Vegan Week on us, for the first time.
They are a dream, aren't they? I had to do, like, internet searches this week on vegetables because, you know, I just don't know this stuff.
Hello, bakers.
Welcome to the tent, and it's a Bake Off first - it's Vegan Week.
So no meat, obvs, but also no eggs or milk or butter or even honey.
I'll tell my mate Ralph.
He'll be well pleased.
Why? He's a bee.
OK.
Er, so for your vegan Signature Challenge, the judges would like you to make eight savoury tartlets with two different fillings.
So you need four tartlets with one filling and four with a different one.
Your tarts must be made with your own variation of a vegan-friendly shortcrust pastry that the judges would never realise were vegan.
No problem at all.
You've got two hours to complete your Signature Challenge.
On your marks .
.
get set .
.
bake! It is weird being in the Bake Off tent and there's no egg.
I would say we're running around like headless chickens, but no.
Baking's hard as it is, let alone, er, when it's vegan.
We set this challenge basically because it's difficult.
Traditionally you would use butter, you would use eggs to create a beautifully short pastry, but that isn't an option here.
So this is really going to challenge the bakers to create flavours, to create textures.
The most important thing is that these bakers deliver on flavour and we know they can all do that.
Can they do it vegan style? If the bakers were sticking to convention, butter would be the key to perfect shortcrust pastry.
Basically in a pastry, you always need some fat.
.
.
but with a butter ban, a delicate balance of alternatives is essential to provide rich flavour and a golden finish.
So olive oil or coconut oil.
Coconut oil resembles butter in many ways.
I really like the flavour of it.
Instead of butter I'm just using vegetable shortening.
This is just a little bit of turmeric and little bit of chilli.
Just have a little bit of kick to it.
I have a bit of vegetable oil.
I also have some vegan margarine, which I've got in there.
So I'm just bringing it all together now.
This is flour, avocado oil, I've also put some poppy seeds in.
Vegan baking can be as flavoursome as normal baking, so it'll be nice to prove that it can be done.
To prove her point, Briony's first savoury tart will have a rich, creamy filling made with vegan goat's cheese and oat cream while her second celebrates root veg in a rosette sweetened with apple.
These tartlets are beginning to sound a little bit like dessert rather than savoury.
Oh, well, it's got the celeriac and the sweet potato.
It's got mixed spice in as well.
So, no, it is, you know Savoury.
It is savoury but it does, sort of, have a slightly sweeter taste.
But Briony's enthusiasm for vegan baking isn't shared with one baker.
I'm not really into Vegan Week.
It isn't my thing.
Every meal I have contains meat.
Can we have a Kebab Week soon? Despite his misgivings, Jon's given himself a lot to do, making from scratch falafel, hummus, purple mashed potato, sauteed and baked mushrooms, not forgetting his vegan pastry.
.
.
and then you're making various vegan little dishes and plonking them one by one Yeah.
Okey dokey.
Well, I mean, you're certainly having a go.
You're doing a bit of everything.
I'm making a tart for the summer and a tart for the winter.
The tart for the summer is ratatouille.
Just reminds me of home, really.
Hopefully today we can prove that no, vegan is not boring.
Manon's winter tart with flavours taken from her flatmate's favourite vegetarian pie, will be a luxurious chestnut and mushroom filling.
So I want to talk to you, French person Yes.
.
.
with no access to butter or cream or milk or eggs.
I'm surviving.
You're surviving! These pastry cases I'm going to put in the fridge to chill.
If dough isn't chilled, as with non-vegan pastry, the results will be greasy and misshapen.
Whatever you use instead of butter, it still needs to be cold.
The theory's still the same.
Onto the filling.
Chopper's out.
Chopper's ready to go.
What is he doing? So, first filling is called posto, which is a very traditional Bengali food item, like something between pesto and hummus.
And then it's gonna be topped with some roasted vegetable rosettes.
Rahul's happy sticking to flavours from home with his other filling, inspired by the chickpea-based Indian street food dish, ghugni chat.
You seem, er, quite positive this week.
I'm not sure it's positive.
It's just, like, counting my final days.
Let's not go that far.
It's not positive but it's not negative.
It's a step in the right direction.
I don't know.
By the end you're gonna be sort of dancing around tent with gay abandon.
No? Good luck with that.
I'm caramelising the onions with prosecco.
It's really nice, actually.
It's really tasty.
I'm making my falafel.
I've blitzed it down.
Still a little bit of texture to it, which is what I'm looking for.
So hopefully these will crisp up nicely in the fryer.
I have been testing these out on my cousin and my sister.
They are both vegetarian and they would love to go vegan, so the last time I made them, I had a soggy bottom on my tart so they didn't eat them.
If she manages to perfect her vegan pastry, Ruby's planning fillings using butternut squash as well as greens cooked in a dairy-free cheesy sauce, given its flavour with powdered nutritional yeast.
I've eaten yeast.
Right.
Doesn't taste anything like cheese.
Well, have you eaten nutritional yeast? It's, um, interesting.
I mean, I wouldn't eat it just like this but No.
Can I smell it? Yeah, course you can.
Oh, it's quite nice.
Yeah.
It gives it not a bad flavour.
I'm OK, thanks.
I'm trying to give it up.
It's slightly Parmesan-y.
Yes.
OK.
Well, good luck.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank YOU! To create a creamy texture for her fillings, Kim-Joy is turning to tofu.
I'm doing a tofu kind of quiche.
It's like bean curd, isn't it? What is it? Yeah, I love tofu.
It's, like, one of my favourite things.
Just a block of tofu and some soy sauce.
Kim-Joy's also using tofu in her second tart to create vegan mascarpone, finished with an image of a star of a previous Bake Off, the squirrel, complete with nuts! You know, squirrels are cool.
Yeah, I wouldn't say I'm an animal person.
I haven't grown up around animals or anything and I'm scared of a lot of animals, really.
Ha-ha! Pastry chilled and with the clock ticking, the next step is essential if the tarts are to impress Prue and Paul.
If you don't want to have a soggy bottom, which I had last week, we are blind baking today.
You can either put some baking beans or rice or something just to hold it down.
Whoops! Right, so I'll put them in at 180 for ten minutes.
There you go.
Blind baking.
I'll put them on for ten minutes to start.
As blind baking begins I think I'm gonna run out of time today.
.
.
Jon's work is piling up.
I've let the pastry chill and rest in the fridge and now I'm just rolling it out.
So I'm about 15 behind at the moment.
Bakers, you are halfway through.
You have one hour left.
Think you're treating the whole day as a bit too much of a holiday.
It's Vegan Week.
Who doesn't want to relax? Yeah, fair enough.
Drink? Thanks.
Neat absinthe.
Wow! Oh! So I'm making a vegan bechamel.
This is cashew milk.
I feel like it's the closest consistency and taste to milk.
This is my roasted butternut squash.
I've snuck in some chilli flakes but maybe I'll just add in a touch more.
I want it to be punchy.
Are you running out of time? Do you want me to freeze time for you? Oh, if you could.
Could you do that for me? I can do that.
I'm a Time Lord.
Reset the clock or something that they're using.
You can do this.
Now I need to start making the curry.
Chole kubani, which is chickpea curry.
Something smells so good.
Sorry? What's this mound? Mound? Leave the mound alone! What's the mound doing? Is it resting? It's just chilling.
It's like a creature.
If you're a vegan, your mouth will be watering.
I'm just taking out the beans.
Ah! Oh, no! Beans everywhere.
So hot.
Doesn't really look that good, to be honest.
I can't tell why.
I just have a feeling it looks funny.
They look OK.
They've shrunk back a little bit more than they would at home.
I'm going back in.
This is the second stage of my blind baking.
So now this will help dry out the bottom, hopefully, now that I've removed the baking beans.
They are going in for, like, another eight minutes.
How long have we got left? Just deep frying my falafel.
Got some just gone in the fryer now.
They seem to be holding.
I'm making my hummus now.
This is basically plum chutney.
This is tamarind paste.
Like, tiny bit.
It's a very tart flavour.
This is for the tofu part.
Just add Indian black salt.
It smells, like, you know, like sulphur.
Ha-ha! Um, yeah.
Gives sort of an eggyness.
Bakers, you have half an hour, just half an hour.
OK.
No, that's mine! Straight through.
Too hot.
So there is a bit of shrinkage.
I hope that's cooked.
So that's looking OK.
I think they have a bit of colour.
I don't think that's soggy bottom.
They're nicely brown.
The only problem is, like, they're not so even.
I'm just going to put the fillings in next.
Trying to make a vegan tart look pretty.
Basically, I feel they would say, "Oh, it's a bit simple.
" But French food is simple, right? And it's delicious.
Who would have thought you can get a cheese flavour without actual cheese? I am pleasantly surprised.
I'm just popping in the filling, which is the caramelised onion and then in the bottom is, like, a bit of the goat's cheese alternative.
This is the plum chutney I made earlier going in now.
This is my kubani, that's going to go on the top.
What are these little guys? These are mushrooms, chestnuts and bechamel Wow.
.
.
little tarts.
I like those little trays.
They're like little mouse beds.
Little mice beds, oh, yeah! Little bed for mice.
Right, these are going back in.
And back in the oven.
Those will go in probably until a few minutes before the end.
Just a little bit more.
Bye-bye! Looking OK, actually.
Not too bad, but I'm really rushing it today.
I think I've done a few too many elements.
I don't know what's happened to my filling.
I thought I'd done a lot more than that.
It's supposed to be quite filled out.
I've literally run out of filling.
I can imagine this is going to be good for you, Vegan Week? Hopefully, yeah.
I feel like everyone keeps saying that to me.
You look like you might know your way around a vegan restaurant.
But you're not vegan, are you? No! No, but you just have that air about you.
Yeah.
I don't know whether you can put hummus back in the oven but we'll soon find out, won't we? I really don't think I'll be getting Star Baker this week.
Purple mashed potato.
Bakers, you have 15 minutes left.
Just 15 minutes remaining.
Dropped them on the floor.
These are not even bloody cooked.
Just leave them in the oven for as long as I can go.
Tarty.
Good.
I want to get them out the tins but they're just too hot to handle at the moment.
Ow, ow, ow! Think I may have burnt my fingers.
Now we're just making sure that they're looking good.
Let's think about how I am going to decorate.
Just a little bit of yoghurt.
They look amazing.
Thanks, mate.
How long have we got? Bakers, you have five minutes left! Five minutes.
Dammit! OK, I need to start assembling now.
It is going to be really rushed.
Right, coming out now whether it's cooked or not.
It's made of acetate so it's, like, an invisible squirrel.
You don't taste the paprika too much.
Just a little bit of chopped coriander and chopped onion.
I had to make something pretty.
Buy a stamp and put it on top.
I'm just going to blowtorch them.
I didn't really think about this.
In my head it seemed like a great idea but of course the green stuff's burning.
Pastry case is not cooked.
What's the point of making them look pretty if they're inedible? That's not done very well but, with all the others, it will look OK.
He's holding a little nut.
Bakers, you have one minute.
Just one minute.
One minute?! One VEGAN minute.
Right bakers, your time is up.
That is the end of your first vegan challenge.
Oh.
Whatever.
I don't know what happened.
Just absolutely lost time.
I love the colour, though.
It's so beautiful.
Give me a plus point.
Give me a plus point.
Yes.
Yes.
The bakers' savoury vegan tartlets now face the judgment of Paul and Prue.
Hello.
Hello, Manon.
Hi, Manon.
So, we have the summer tartlet which is a ratatouille and then we have the winter tartlet which is a vegan bechamel with chestnut mushrooms and chestnuts.
It does look very attractive.
The pastry looks nice and even.
It's well baked all the way through.
It's nice.
Cuts beautifully through.
It's very mild Mm-hm, yeah.
.
.
but it is very delicious.
Have you got coconut in there? Mm-hm.
In the pastry.
Coconut really works, doesn't it? That is excellent.
A very good pastry.
I'm glad.
OK, let's look at this ratatouille one.
Yes.
Mm.
It certainly tastes like the south of France.
The pastry's a bit hard, but it's good and it's holding its shape.
Overall, you've done a very decent job.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Consistent in colour.
The shapes are identical, which is a good start.
Yeah.
How did you get on with the cheese mixture because you put in that nutritional yeast? Yes.
It tasted good.
Fingers crossed it comes across well.
Well, I can taste the broccoli and I can taste the um Cheese? .
.
broccoli! A bit underwhelmed, actually.
Right, OK.
I was expecting it to have more flavour in that.
Right, OK.
I mean, the pastry's nice and thin.
Yeah.
It's crisp.
But the only thing you can really taste is the broccoli and a bit of chilli OK.
.
.
at the back of your throat.
Let's have a go at the other one.
Yeah.
One thing that winds me up, green on the top of tomato.
I just thought it looked better, you know.
It looks really nice without them anyway.
Yeah.
Quite sweet.
And chilli.
Just a little bit.
Ha, I think a bit more than a little bit! Honestly, I only put in a touch.
I was, like, I don't want to go in too much.
I think, overall, I get the sage.
Yeah.
I get that bit of heat, and then nothing much else.
OK.
That's fine.
This one is like a pesto.
It's just garlic, coriander leaf, cashew nut and poppy seed paste.
Lovely pastry.
Very good flavours.
I wouldn't have put that much filling in.
Maybe even half that would have been plenty.
OK, let's try this one now, shall we? This one is a ghugni chaat which is chickpea curry and underneath there is a plum chutney and caramelised onions.
You can see the pastry is crumbly but it's holding together which is the difficult thing.
Thank you.
Fantastic.
Poetry.
Thank you.
Poetry? It is beautiful.
Wow.
Poetry.
Mm.
It's so delicate.
The pastry melts in the mouth.
Crispy.
And a little hint of spice in there as well.
But the filling with the chickpea is fantastic.
Who would have thought that was vegan? It's almost buttery.
It's so delicious.
It is.
Thank you, Rahul.
Thank you.
Thank you.
She said poetry.
You have some.
Rahul, do a dance or something.
Go on.
Rahul! Rahul! Just feels a bit flexible.
Oh.
Flexible? Flexible pastry.
I'm thinking, rubbery pastry.
Oh, no.
A flexible tartlet.
It's like it's been overworked.
It's so weird, the veg on the top is veg but then you've got this apple underneath which makes it sweet so, no matter what you put on the top, the apple will always win.
OK.
It's an apple pie.
Dollop of creme fraiche and it would be delicious! Oh! Sorry.
This looks better.
This is the poppy seed.
Gives it a bit of colour, too.
Yeah, it does.
Very nice and thin pastry.
I mean, that's amazing.
The onions are the sort of onion you'd put on a hot dog.
Right.
But the overall flavour actually is all right.
I quite like the flavour.
I think the flavour's lovely.
I think there's too much onion.
OK.
Can I ask about the rubbery pastry, or flexible? Was it rubbery or was it OK? Actually, the pastry on that was all right.
OK.
Good.
Are your flexible alarm bells ringing? Yeah.
Thank you.
Where's the rest of it? Uh, I ran out of filling and I drastically ran out of time as well.
I can see that.
Quite unfinished.
It's a bit undercooked under there.
Yes.
OK, let's have a look.
They are a little bit untidy because they're not full, and maybe you chose the wrong size.
They do look a bit of a mess.
It's a bit gluey.
It is very rubbery, the pastry.
It's the flavour of the tomatoes I don't particularly like, it's very artificial.
It's just too heavy.
It's not good.
Let's have a look at the falafel.
The base isn't too bad.
Again, it doesn't look wonderfully attractive, does it? I quite like the flavour of the falafel.
The pastry's still a little bit rubbery.
The potato added to it doesn't really bring a lot, just a little bit of colour.
It's not bad.
It's all right, you know.
Both the flavours are good but too strong.
But also the pastry is very pale and it's really untidy.
This has caught you out a little bit.
Yeah.
It's not your thing, is it? It's not my thing at all.
I would admit to that.
It's very, uh, neat.
Very artistic.
Baked well.
Nice colour.
It's quite nice the, um, layers.
The coconut pastry.
It's amazing.
I think the flavours are great.
You've got the cooling that comes from the tofu before you hit the onion.
It's absolutely delicious.
I'd never have said that would have gone together.
Yeah, I like that one.
Ah, thank you.
Remind me of this one again? Um, so that's got tofu, broccoli, onion, the tomato on top.
It's got a bit of Indian black salt for the egginess.
That's delicious.
The balance of flavour is very good.
Again, the tofu's bringing that little bit of coolness to it.
And the pastry's flaky.
It's buttery.
Thank you.
Very good job on both of them.
Very good job.
Looks good.
Um, hm On Vegan Week? Go on, go on, go on! Oh.
That's really good.
Well done.
Thank you.
I can't believe that.
If anyone was going to pull off a Vegan Week, it was you.
Ah.
Oh, my gosh.
I did not think I would get a handshake.
It's more then relief after that.
It's extreme joy.
The vegan gods got to me.
They attacked me, but I'm still smiling.
They were underwhelmed.
I was underwhelmed, you've just got to kind of pick yourself up and carry on.
The bakers were able to practise for their Signature Challenge but nothing can prepare them for what lies ahead in our first-ever Vegan Technical.
Hi, bakers.
Welcome back to your Technical Challenge which today has been set for you by Prue.
Prue, any advice? Trust me, trust yourselves and it will work.
Ah, it's a sort of trust exercise.
Right, off you two go.
So, for your Technical Challenge today, Prue would love you to make a vegan tropical fruit pavlova.
The judges will be looking for two perfectly piped vegan meringue discs No egg whites.
Yeah.
.
.
sandwiched and topped with coconut pastry cream and tropical fruit.
The meringue must be crispy on the outside but also kind of marshmallowy on the inside.
Ah, lovely.
You've got two-and-a-half hours to complete this challenge.
On your marks Get set bake.
OK, we're in business.
I've made a pavlova.
Never made a vegan pavlova.
Little bit out of my comfort zone with this, but there we go.
To make their vegan meringue, the bakers will need to use aquafaba instead of egg whites.
Oh.
Aquafaba is the preserved liquid of cooked chickpeas.
Tried to make meringue out of aquafaba before but it didn't go very well.
Prue, a vegan pavlova? Yeah.
How does that work, then? Well, you can't use any egg whites so they've been given aquafaba.
What can go wrong? It actually works like meringue but it takes longer to whisk it to a stiff peak.
The other great difference between this and egg-white-based meringue is that this is much more fragile.
It actually cuts a little bit like a traditional meringue.
Nice and light.
Right.
The meringue is different.
It's very fragile.
Melts in the mouth.
The overall texture and taste is gorgeous.
Nice challenge, Prue.
Let's hope they rise to it.
OK.
# Dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah! # First stage is whisk the aquafaba, medium speed, until foaming.
I'm sure it's going to taste everything but chickpea.
Chickpea juice pavlova? Hm.
I like chickpeas in their own right Yeah.
Well, then .
.
but when they pretend to be meringue, I'm not sure! I find it amazing that someone sat there and thought, I'm going to whisk the hell out of some chickpea juice today.
I have never tried it before so I'm not sure yet.
Increase the speed to high and whisk to stiff peaks.
I've just added the sugar one tablespoon at a time.
I don't know enough about it to know whether you can over or underwhisk it, like eggs.
When you bring in a normal meringue stiff peaks, you can tip the bowl over your head.
Essentially, you should be able to do the same with the aquafaba.
Is that a meringue consistency? I'm pretty happy.
It's quite thick and glossy.
It is peaked but it was, like, peakier before.
So I don't know if I overdid it a bit.
It's holding its shape.
Good sign.
I'm going to do it again.
It won't take too long.
Then you have to spoon the mixture into a large piping bag fitted with the star nozzle and pipe two 20-centimetre discs with a decorative edge.
Right, let's see what this pipe's like.
Doesn't look like bean water at all.
Um.
Yeah, it seems all right.
It could maybe be a bit stiffer but I think that's the thing with aquafaba.
It feels pretty much the same, if I'm being honest, as a normal meringue.
I don't really know what do to with the edges.
Not the easiest stuff to work with.
You know what? Who doesn't like a little bit of spikey? That'll do.
I just want to pipe it now.
I just can't do Technicals.
I really hate it.
OK.
Now we're going to put it in the oven.
The instructions say bake till crisp and dry and remove from the oven and dry it completely.
Meringue needs to cook for a long time on a low heat.
Definitely baking it for about an hour minimum.
I'm putting it for one hour.
It might even take longer.
My meringues for the aquafaba, I do for 75 minutes.
They want it crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.
I don't actually know how long to bake a vegan pavlova for.
It takes the same as a normal meringue, I think.
Um, I'm just going to follow what everyone else does.
I think it's a pretty tough challenge.
You've had one hour.
You've got an hour-and-a-half.
That's a fact.
Five, make the coconut pastry cream.
I've not made vegan coconut pastry cream before, I have to say.
This is a new one.
There's no instructions on how to make the pastry cream.
It just says, make it.
How should I do this? I'm going to follow what we do when we do a creme patissiere.
For this vegan pastry cream recipe, the rich taste traditionally provided by eggs comes from coconut milk, and its thickness from cornflour.
Bring it to the boil.
Give it a whisk.
Add your sugar.
Mix that in.
Flavours.
You always smash 'em with the flavours, don't you? Yeah, not too much today, though.
Come on, use the force now.
Yeah? Yeah.
The force is strong with this one.
Yeah.
Punch Paul in the face with flavours.
Yeah, I will.
I don't think it can go any thicker, to be honest with you.
Stir in the desiccated coconut.
Like, when you do a custard.
Keep on stirring.
The pastry cream's kind of, um, slightly, weird.
Cool and chill.
Bakers, you have half-an-hour left.
Oh, what are we doing? Feels nice and firm.
It's getting a bit there on the outside but it's not actually crisp yet.
Should I get it out? I don't know.
We have two-and-a-half hours and it's not for nothing.
So, the longer I can leave my meringue inside.
I think I have to switch it off now otherwise it's not going to get cooled and cooked.
I might just turn the oven off and let it dry out in there.
I'm going to get this out, I think.
I'm going to wait until it cools a little bit more.
Turn it out.
Pull it nicely.
OK.
Ugh! OK, that doesn't look very good, does it? No good.
Got to put that back in.
I don't really know how long it's been in the oven.
Maybe needs a bit more crisping.
OK, what am I doing? I need to melt some white chocolate.
It tastes like normal chocolate.
Obviously you need enough time at the end to chill and put the chocolate and build it.
I'm a bit worried actually because it has to set, and it's quite hot.
So I think I have to work pretty fast now.
OK, I think I'm going to take them out because you want it to be chewy, it's a pavlova.
I'm just going to take it out now.
Whatever happens, happens.
I think that's pretty good.
Could be probably neater on the old piping.
I'm really scared about turning it upside down.
Ugh.
Just grab this out.
It's really so delicate.
Ooh.
I'm a bit scared about putting the chocolate on.
OK.
It is fragile but that's what it's meant to be like, isn't it? I'm trying to use the chocolate to fill some of the gaps.
Don't know whether to put that in the freezer.
God, this is terrifying.
I feel like they're dissolving almost.
Bakers, you have 15 minutes.
15 vegan minutes! I'd better get a wiggle on.
I'm going to finish the cream.
Beat the coconut yoghurt and passion fruit seeds into set pastry cream.
Mm.
Gloop.
That's going to be very interesting.
And then pass through a sieve.
This actually looks like pastry cream.
I mean, that does taste delicious.
I have to take them out now.
I don't have time otherwise.
Assembly time.
Place one of the meringue shells base-side-down on the cakestand and spread over half of the pastry cream.
Mine looks really bad compared to everybody else's.
Just wondering how I'm going to decorate this because decorating's not my thing.
I'm going to try to make some little stars.
I don't know what I'm doing! Top with fruits and toasted coconuts.
Going in with some passion fruit.
Yeah, I'm going to cover up my dodgy meringue.
Pavlova is all about mixing the fruits together.
There isn't really a method.
Just looks really old-school.
Place the other meringue on top and repeat.
Mine is very sad looking.
Is that all of it? Please say I've got enough! Argh! Bakers, your time is up! Oh, dear.
Please place your pavlovas behind your photographs on the gingham tablecloth.
You totally nailed that.
I did nail that.
Prue and Paul are looking for two decoratively piped discs of vegan meringue filled and topped with coconut pastry cream and tropical fruit.
They have no idea whose vegan pavlovas are whose.
OK, let's start with this one.
We did ask for decorative meringue not just flat discs.
There's been an issue, whether it broke up when they were moving it, you know Yeah.
.
.
it is quite delicate.
Let's have a look at it, shall we? Yeah.
The meringue's not bad, I just think they weren't delicate enough when they were removing it off the paper.
The fruit doesn't look quite so generous.
Pavlova's indulgent Yeah.
.
.
and that doesn't look indulgent.
Right, that is very impressive piping and the meringue was absolutely properly whipped.
The decoration's indulgent.
It's that pile, isn't it? Marshmallowy inside.
Crispy on the outside.
I like that one.
There's a lot of textures going on in that one.
It's very neat.
Now, this next one, again, lazy with the piping again.
It's cracked a bit there.
There is definition there, though.
Pastry cream is absolutely delicious.
It's very runny, though.
It does mean the meringue will soften.
OK, moving on.
Lost a little bit of definition on the bottom.
Yeah.
I quite like the way the baker has thought about making one bigger than the other.
Mm.
Meringue's good.
Crispy.
Marshmallowy.
I love the definition in this one.
Yeah.
Nice and equal.
Hardly any cracks.
Let's have a look in this.
The meringue's cooked well.
It is very full.
Colourful as well.
Moving on to this last one.
Good attempt at trying to create something a little bit different but they've lost the definition, haven't they? However, it still looks rather nice.
Right.
The meringue's very good.
It's actually quite well cooked all the way through as well.
It's nice, isn't it? Very nice.
Prue and Paul will now rank the pavlovas from worst to best.
In sixth place is this one.
Whose is this? Me.
Kim-Joy, it was just a little bit boring on the piping.
In fifth place is this one.
Who's that? It's me.
Briony.
It's all a little bit flat.
Yeah.
Jon is fourth.
Ruby's third.
So, in second placeis this one.
Pretty good, actually, Manon.
You managed to create a fantastic bake of the meringue all the way through.
Thank you.
Which leaves, of course, Rahul.
Thank you.
Rahul, your pavlova had everything.
It's got beautiful definition, silky-smooth pastry cream, lots of fruit, looks indulgent, tastes great.
Bravo.
I can't believe it.
This is the first time I came first in Technical.
I mean, I made something and the judges liked it, that's a very good thing.
I just get confused I think in Technicals.
I get all flustered.
But I'm trying.
I'd have taken fourth in Technical the first week, but not this week.
Fourth is in the middle but it's the bottom half of the middle, so I'm looking pretty dangerous now.
One challenge remains before Paul and Prue decide who will make the quarterfinal.
Paul, I have to ask you, Vegan Week was something you were looking forward to? Not particularly.
Having said that, and seeing how the bakers have dealt with it so far, it is possible to create some great-tasting food.
Coconut oil seems to be a revelation.
Vegan Yeah, it's delicious and the coconut oil pastry was really good.
This is a tricky one.
Overall, I think you're looking at Manon and Rahul as potential Star Bakers.
All the others are in a little bit of trouble going into the Showstopper.
I think less so Kim-Joy because she did so well in the Signature.
Is there a Paul Hollywood vegan cookbook? Nope.
Hello, bakers.
Welcome back to the tent.
For your Showstopper Challenge today, the lovely Paul and Prue would love you to make a vegan celebration cake that could be the centrepiece at a party, or a happening, if it's the '60s.
The judges are looking for an inventive, visually exciting celebration cake made from plant-based ingredients only.
They can be any shape you like, so from classically tiered to novelty, but they must be utterly delicious.
You've got four hours.
On your marks Get set Bake! Biggest concern is just making sure I get everything done in time.
So I try and work as fast as I can right now.
Yeah.
Feeling the pressure today, totally.
Didn't do well in the Signature.
Bottom of the middle of the pack in Technical.
OK, yes, it's a vegan cake, but there shouldn't be any compromise.
These are very experienced, good bakers.
Every one of them will have made dozens and dozens of excellent cakes.
But they probably will have made them with eggs and butter.
They have to make a cake that is just as tender, just as beautifully risen but without them.
So that means you could use bicarbonate of soda A bit of vinegar helps with the rise.
But they have to get it into the oven fast, otherwise those bubbles come and go.
We want colour, we want personality, but above all I'd like something that tastes amazing.
When I come to judging this, I'm going to judge it exactly the same as I would a non-vegan cake.
I expect it to be that good.
Traditionally in a sponge, eggs and butter are manipulated to give flavour, height and texture.
With none in the tent, it is essential the bakers find harmony in the alternatives if they are to produce a flavoursome, well-structured bake.
The wet ingredients - I'm using a mixture of oil and dairy-free margarine.
Vegan margarine actually works surprisingly well.
Like, you can't really notice much of a difference.
We have some coconut oil, then you have some soya milk.
The wet ingredients are coconut milk, sunflower oil, coconut extract.
It's difficult not using eggs and butter.
Like a lot of vegan cakes, it's more about speed.
Good morning, Kim-Joy.
Hello.
So, Kim-Joy, tell us all about your Showstopper.
I am doing, um, a fox-themed birthday cake for a friend.
Fox-themed? Fox-themed.
Fox-themed.
He likes foxes and that's like You know, people say they're their spiritual animal and stuff.
His spiritual animal's a fox? Yeah.
Decorated with her second woodland creature of the week, this time made from vanilla biscuits, Kim-Joy's two-tiered cake will be flavoured with lavender and lemon curd, inspired by her travels.
Those flavours came from when I went on holiday, I had a lavender-lemon curd ice cream.
And it really was my favourite ice cream ever.
I just feel like I wanted to use those flavours.
So this is an apple spiced cake.
You know like you do carrot cake? The carrots will give it the moisture and the deliciousness.
We're looking for kind of the same texture.
The bottom tier will be a lemon sponge.
The top tier is a chocolate sponge.
I stupidly thought that making two different flavours would be a real good idea.
I just basically got chocolate and orange to celebrate one of my favourite sitcoms, and the cake is called Only Fools Eat Horses.
Hoping to salvage his Vegan Week, Jon's take on the Trotters will be a vegan chocolate fudge cake with orange curd icing, topped with a meringue pineapple, finished with sheepskin buttercream and a hint of leopard print.
Hopefully, it'll show Del Boy's exquisite taste in a vegan cake.
Fancy Del Boy having a vegan cake.
OK, so bicarb reacts with vinegar and give the fluffiness to the sponginess to the cake.
You need to move quite quick cos you can start hearing it bubble.
It's not coming together as well as it did at home, as always.
Time to pour it in.
The reaction's happening right now.
You want that reaction really in the oven.
Yeah, in.
This is going in 160.
20 minutes at 180.
15 minutes and then I'll check them.
I'm just hoping they bake OK.
So they will go in for about 45, 50 minutes.
So that's one big job done.
Hi, Briony.
OK, Briony, tell us, what's the whole theme behind your cake? It's for my little brother who turned 30 last year, because he can't eat dairy, so he eats a lot of vegan food.
The cake I made him for his birthday wasn't as pretty or as lovely as it should have been, so this is the cake that I wish I made him.
It's a bit girlie cos it's got roses on it, but I don't think he'd mind.
In a nod to her brother's love of coffee, Briony's making a mocha cake decorated with hazelnuts, piped chocolate roses and laced with fresh raspberries.
You've chosen quite a lot of rich things, like the mocha, the chocolate, the hazelnut.
These are the overriding flavours and I don't think we're really going to tell much difference between a vegan and a non-vegan.
Well, hopefully.
That's the idea.
I'm making my fake buttercream.
Yeah, buttercream with no butter and no cream.
So it's just vegetable shortening, icing sugar.
What is that made of? What do you think it is? Everything seems to be made of chickpea.
Literally everything is made of chickpea.
Literally everything.
No chickpea in this.
This is buttercream.
I have used some vegan butter How do you cope with him? He's quieter like that.
So these are all natural colours, so we have matcha for the green, turmeric for the yellow, beetroot powder for the pink.
So these are going to be piped buttercream flowers.
Manon's flowers will be wrapped around a three-tiered spiced apple cake.
Each tier will be made up of three layers of sponge.
Yes.
We're going for a big cake.
I'm concerned about time already.
Good morning, Rahul! Hiya.
What are you doing for your vegan celebration cake? This is basically a tribute to my grandma.
My grandfather died in '84.
In India, quite a lot of time when husband die, uh, wife give away quite a lot of different foods, so my grandmother didn't have eggs or meat for the rest of her life after my grandfather died.
So I've never seen her eating a cake.
So it is kind of a tribute for her.
Rahul's honouring his grandmother with two tiers of sandwiched coconut and chocolate sponges, decorated with chocolate shards and soaked in a coconut drizzle.
It's a beautiful idea.
Yeah, thank you.
I'm very close to my grandma.
Yeah, I love my grandma.
She's not here any more, but she loved me a lot.
I mean, yeah.
Rahul's not the only one celebrating cherished memories of family.
This cake is inspired by, and it's for, my cousin.
This is a really fond memory that we both have of a day out with our grandad when we were really young, and it's so simple.
It's just a day that we had with our grandad and we ate loads of ice creams, and it seemed like the best day ever.
Ice cream flavours are at the heart of Ruby's celebration cake, which she's hoping will keep her in the tent for another week.
She's stacking three layers of chocolate sponge on top of three layers of lemon, sandwiched with fresh raspberries and drizzled in chocolate.
Are you dowel-ing it or? Yeah, I'll have dowels in there because it's quite a tall cake so I want to make sure it looks all nice and sturdy.
I don't want any, um, wonky cakes.
Yeah, I'm going to get them out now, I think.
Ta-dah! Good.
They're looking OK.
There's little cracks on the top but it's happened already so I can't change it.
Looking cakey.
Cracky but cakey.
Yeah, they look good.
They have had a little bit of a rise, which is what we were looking for.
Yeah, they look good.
Just checking them all.
Being a bit paranoid.
It is baked.
And look, it's really spongy.
It's a proper cake.
It holds quite nicely, so it's quite moist but it's not too stodgy.
Quite claggy.
Really don't know what's gone wrong with those.
Oh, I'm overshooting! Bakers, you're halfway through.
You're halfway Oh, yes! 2-2! 2-2! Right, I can get on with my sugar syrups and my ganache and a million other things.
This is my raspberry jam.
Works really nicely, cos raspberries go well with chocolate.
Raspberries go well with coffee.
They go well with hazelnut.
It goes well with all of it.
It's a very sharp lemon curd.
I don't know if they'll like the tartness or not.
I hope they do.
When finished, each cake should demonstrate decorating techniques fit for a celebration.
They don't all have to be the same.
That's the beauty of flowers, you know, they're never perfect.
It's going to look so pretty.
I'm just making the buttercream roses because roses are favourite flowers of my grandma.
Hey, lovely boy.
Hiya.
You could sound a bit more excited when I turn up.
Sorry? No.
OK.
so now I need to do the biscuits.
It's, like, basically coconut oil and flour and they're quite quick to bake.
My yellow meringue.
The yellow's to make it look like a pineapple.
I like the smells.
What is that? Mocha? Mocha, yeah.
You know who likes mocha, don't you? Who? Paul.
No way.
Yeah.
I often rustle up Paul a mocha.
Do you? OK.
Fun time.
So, this is my favourite moment, decorate and icing the cake.
I'm drenching my sponges in a sugar syrup.
It's a good way to keep your cakes moist.
I think the cake should be quite moist anyway, but obviously the chocolate doesn't have any coconut flavouring in it, so this is like a sugar, water and coconut extract.
I'm putting the jam in between each layer and then there'll be ganache round the outside.
I'm just sort of piping circles of buttercream around and then I'm pouring orange curd in but it's nowhere near set, so hopefully the buttercream will keep it in there.
Buttercream's a bit too stiff at the minute.
This is a vegan ganache.
So it is vegan dark chocolate with a coconut cream.
Just gotta get it nice and smooth as possible.
I'm doing that sort of, like, semi-naked cake.
I love naked cake.
I think it looks really cool.
That isn't looking pretty.
It broke when I was icing it.
So I'm just going to take it off.
I don't know what happens but I look at you and I just want to crush these.
Bakers, you have half an hour.
Half an hour.
See my artistic skills coming out now.
I'd love to get the presentation right.
I'm probably the opposite of Kim-Joy.
Yeah, I think I like the decorating.
It's probably my favourite part of it.
Raspberries on the dark chocolate.
I think they look so pretty.
Everyone's is looking really good at the minute.
I really want this one to look good.
It looked really good at home.
Oh, I love that.
I want a pair of trousers made out of that.
So I'm going to start assembling.
Oh That's terrifying.
which side is the least bad side? It's just extremely wonky for some reason.
I'm going to put all the decoration this way.
I don't know whether I can finish my decoration or not.
I just need to try.
That's it.
Yeah.
Good.
Oh, please.
I've got the wonkiest cake going.
I'm so scared that he's not going to be able to sit on top of it.
Bakers, you have 15 minutes.
15 minutes.
Maybe if I have it facing this way, you can't see a wonk.
I'm quite happy with that, actually.
That'll do.
That'll do, Donkey.
Looks fine.
Yay.
It looks pretty.
It looks fantastic.
Thank you.
You've got a leaning situation.
Where shall I stand so that it doesn't tip over? B, can you help me put this on? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm scared.
You've got dowels in there, haven't you? Yeah.
Then it'll be fine.
I don't think that's going to Uh-oh.
Cake stand is Del Boy's suitcase.
Done what I set out to achieve, I think.
Really starting to panic.
It's OK, you're doing good.
Bakers, you only have five minutes left.
Just five minutes.
Right, I've got some dowels.
Yeah, it needs to be a bit taller.
Really nice.
There? Just a little bittaller Jon.
Taller, Jon.
Go.
Come on, kids.
You can do this, Rahul.
I don't think that's going to stay.
It's literally, like, caved in at the back.
Bakers, you only have one minute left.
OK, do you need help? It's OK, it's OK.
You've got this.
Think I may have done Del Boy proud.
He'd try and sell it for a couple of quid, wouldn't he, anyway? Look at the state of it.
What an absolute state.
It looks terrible.
Melting and breaking from everywhere.
There is it.
It's done.
Oh, that's it, guys.
Oh, I'm so wounded.
I'm sorry, bakers, but your time is up.
Right, bakers, off you go, my lovelies.
That is the end of all your vegan challenges.
Well done.
It just needs to go in the fridge.
Oh, that looks so good.
Mine's bowing out at the bottom now.
Oh, man.
That was awful.
What did you use to stick your cake together? Buttercream, mainly.
It might taste amazing.
Oh Ooh, it's Oh, it's going, it's going.
BLEEP.
It's going to fall.
Oh, God.
No.
I think your cake's just fallen.
Oh BLEEP.
Oh, man.
Oh, my God.
Paul and Prue.
Briony, would you like to bring your Showstopper up, please? Briony, tell us about your Showstopper.
So this is my hazelnut mocha vegan cake with raspberry jam, chocolate ganache, and then there's some buttercream roses.
Well, I must say it looks as neat as a pin.
Thank you.
I do like the look of that.
It's very elegant.
Thank you.
Solid piece, and sits on the plate without a crumb out of place.
Perfect three layers.
Mm.
The raspberry lifts everything, because the mocha's very delicate.
I quite like it.
It's different.
I think you've done a good job, actually Mm.
Thank you.
.
.
on its flavour, texture, look.
It's a very nice cake.
Thank you.
Well done, Briony.
It looks a bit sad.
It's knocked off.
It's very, erm, crude in its decoration.
I quite like the animal print.
It looks like Bet Lynch's skirt, actually.
What's in it? It's a chocolate and orange cake with chocolate sponge, with orange curd in there, and orange buttercream.
Jon, I think your layers are really good.
They're even.
It's a bit claggy.
I enjoy that flavour.
The orange in there's really nice and sharp, carries it through.
I mean, it looks hideous, but the flavour of it is very good.
Thank you.
Cheers.
For me there's a bit too much orange curd, but I think it's a good cake.
Thank you.
It's absolutely beautiful.
Very delicately done.
The naked cake is perfect.
When you get it right, Manon, you really get it right, don't you? Let's have a look inside, shall we? Very neat, coming out.
Looks a bit puddingy.
It does, doesn't it? It's really heavy.
Yeah.
Gluey.
It's not good.
Looks great, tastes awful.
Oh, really? It is like an underbaked cake, and it's quite rubbery as well, actually.
It's like it's been overworked, it's been overmixed.
Apple, I'm certainly not getting.
It's not a good cake at all.
That's a shame.
I love the colours.
I think they're very pretty and subtle and unusual.
If I was going to relate a cake to anyone in this tent, I'd certainly relate this cake to you.
The decoration is exquisite.
You've gone to the trouble of making biscuits too.
It's standing up.
I think it's a nice-looking cake.
Thank you.
Now, this is lavender sponge? Yes.
Very good.
Mm.
Quite powerful lavender.
It is very pudding-like, isn't it? Mm.
But nevertheless, I think the balance between lavender, which is very brave of you to do Phew.
.
.
and the lemon, which is again quite sharp, work together very well.
Well done.
I think that's a really nice cake.
Ah, thank you very much.
Well done, Kim-Joy.
What happened? When I constructed them it was standing OK, then I put it in the fridge and then I left, and when I came back it was OK, let's have a look at it.
I might not put the drizzle as well because I put a coconut drizzle, which actually might have softened the whole thing up.
Well, I think I can see your problem.
I think it could be the drizzle.
It's the drizzle just makes it really soggy, yeah.
It's weakened the whole thing, and you can see where it's compressed in the middle, and the whole thing's just given way.
Collapsed, yeah.
The chocolate is good.
The coconut one has just been drenched.
It's too much.
It actually tastes too much coconut, too.
You were trying too hard to get too much flavour into something that was already big.
You had enough flavour in without any drizzle.
That's just a pity.
It's gonna be a bit difficult to put the best side forward.
Solet's go that way.
Because it's a collapsed mess, it looks I mean, it looks like a disaster.
Yeah.
Right I had to put in quite a few dowels at the end so you'll probably hit a lot of, ah Wow.
It's more dowel than cake.
Yes.
Do you envisage them being eaten together? No.
Either the chocolate or the lemon.
Right.
Mm.
I like that.
Lemony, coconutty.
Delicious.
I like the lemon cake.
I like the flavour of the raspberries in there as well.
And actually, I like the chocolate one too.
They're actually both very good cakes.
I think you got it the wrong way around.
Yeah.
I think if you'd put the chocolate, which is a lot more stable than the lemon Yeah.
.
.
underneath, it would've been fine.
Yeah, I think the sponge in the lemon one, it was really soft.
So it was just a bad judgment.
I'm scrapping at the positives at the minute.
I'm in very dangerous territory.
Vegan Week.
I mean, Paul, you weren't happy before we started.
How do you feel now? A bit disappointed with people.
Mainly Manon.
It was an awful cake and yet it was exquisite to look at.
OK, so is it going to be that the look is one thing but the taste is the paramount thing, because Ruby's? Exactly.
I would have given Ruby's higher marks than Manon's because Ruby's was edible.
It was delicious.
But you can't discount her from the possibility of leaving us.
At the end of the day it failed, and it was her fault.
I think we've got a real problem with the judging.
Coming into the Showstopper, we'd put Briony, Ruby, Jon, and obviously you had to put Kim-Joy in there because she came last in the Technical, in a little bit of trouble.
Briony's saved herself because that cake was pretty good.
The hazelnut, the mocha.
It was a very neat-looking cake.
Kim-Joy saved herself and then some.
We put Rahul and Manon up for Star Baker.
But Rahul has had a hideous Well, you'd say that but actually his cake, the flavour, actually wasn't that bad.
At the same time, I have to put Kim-Joy up as Star Baker as well.
Her fox cake looked great, I thought.
Beautiful colours.
And you know what? The flavour was good.
So I think what you're looking at, Kim-Joy and I would say, you have to say Rahul still up for Star Baker.
And I would say Ruby and Jon Bumping along the bottom.
Yes.
Well, well done, bakers.
Really successful Vegan Week.
Ironically, the Star Baker is someone who brought animals into the tent but in a whimsical, colourful way.
Star Baker this week is Kim-Joy.
Yay! Aww! Foxy baker! Foxy! Aww! Ah, man.
I have to say this gets tougher and tougher every week because we are so fond of all of you, and it is a really a horrible job.
Uh, but I'm afraid the person who's going home is .
.
Jon.
I'm so sorry.
OK.
You did such a great job.
Immensely proud of what I've achieved.
To make it past week one, I was immensely proud.
But to make it to week seven, absolutely amazing.
I think you're brilliant.
Cheers, anyway.
It's been amazing.
Really has.
Oh, Jon.
Ah! I am sad to see Jon go.
He's got such personality.
He's so different from everybody else.
He's actually a very good baker and his flavours are always very, very good.
Well done, my darling.
Congratulations.
I didn't think that would happen.
Star Baker of Vegan Week? I can't believe I'm saying those words! Kim-Joy has done really well to win Star Baker.
I told ya.
I told ya! Overall she was certainly the best on Vegan Week.
Oh, my God.
Are they sure? Like, positive? Vegan Week was hard.
Really, really hard.
Group hug.
Well done, everyone.
Five left now.
Quarterfinal coming up.
I have no idea who's going to win this thing.
Next time Shoomy-shoomy-shoomy-shoomy.
the tent turns Nordic Danish Week! in our first-ever Danish Week No time for tears.
Got to chop.
.
.
with a Signature that bares all Do you want to give me a little tip? a scandalous Scandinavian Technical and ginormous .
.
Nordic pastry Showstoppers.
This is the hardest challenge we've done.
But who will make it through Ooh! to the semifinal of The Great British Bake Off?