After 14 days
and 28 challenges,
16 bakers
have been whittled down to just four.
Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
You brought the power today.
Ha!
Star baker!
It's like eating silk.
- It's just beautiful. - Oh!
The piping, the fondant work... Wow.
One of my favourite biscuits we've ever had in the tent.
Just one host and two judges...
Determined to find the best junior baker in Britain.
- RECORD SCRATCHES - Wait, a Rocky parody?
That film came out over 40 years ago!
- Told you! - This is daytime, Rav.
There's no room for nuance. Hit it! BELL RINGS
# It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight...#
Faster, Liam! Faster!
# Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
# And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
# And he's watching us all with the eye
# Of the tiger... #
Welcome to the final of Junior Bake Off!
- # The eye of the tiger... # - Harry, what is Rocky?
Don't you start.
Finals! Finals! Finals! Finals!
The finalists have just two challenges remaining...
- Oh, my God! Look at the trophy. - THEY GASP
..before one of them is crowned Junior Bake Off champion.
One of us is taking this.
- Three of us aren't. - HE GROANS
I'm in the finals! Yes! I'm so happy.
- Why is there a laminator? - A laminator?
Maybe it's, like, space food?
I'm quite nervous about being in the final,
but I've been practising loads.
No, we have a dough attachment. It's a dough.
Like Danishes, or something?
I've loved baking ever since I was, like, little.
And little me would not believe that I'm here right now.
Three, two, one, finals!
I think if you have a really good technical,
I'll have that sort of confidence
that I have a pretty strong position to win.
Morning, bakers.
Well done, you made it to the final of Junior Bake Off!
- Oh! - THEY CHUCKLE
- Wow. - And today's technical challenge has been set by Rav.
Rav, do you have any words for the bakers?
Even though it's the final? Remember to chill.
Hmm. Well, it is a technical challenge,
it is judged blind, so, uh...
Look, just go, will you? Should know by now.
I mean, I shouldn't really have to say it every day, should I?
If your technical challenge, Rav would like you
to make her strawberry and clotted cream Danish pastries.
Denmark, of course. Famous for Lego. As in,
"Lego my Danish or I'll tell my mum!"
Your six buttery Danishes must be topped with
an elderflower and strawberry jam and a clotted cream creme mousseline.
You have three hours in which to make Rav's clotted cream
and strawberry Danish pastries.
On your marks,
get set,
bake!
- Ooh! - Ooh! - Ooh.
Fun.
The bakers have all been given the same ingredients...
Oh, we have a vanilla bean pod. I've never seen one.
..and recipe.
Literally, borderline a book.
..to make Rav's strawberry and clotted cream Danish pastries.
"Add the flour, yeast, sugar and salt.
"Drizzle in the melted butter..."
Oh, I'm dropping it everywhere.
"..and then the water, continue to mix until the dough starts to form."
- I've never made Danishes before. - It should be fine.
It bounces back, so now I'm just gonna cover it with my clingfilm.
I'm just gonna let it proof for 40 minutes, now.
Rav, the final technical -
what do we have?
Today, Liam, we have these six beautiful strawberry
and clotted cream Danishes.
Sounds so good.
The magic of this challenge is all in the dough.
Once they've made their dough, they've got to rest it
for a little bit before adding in their butter.
When they add in their butter, they have to make a series of turns.
We want three turns in total.
We want these beautiful defined layers.
And then, after that, are they making a cream?
The bakers will be making a creme mousseline.
They have to also make an elderflower and strawberry jam.
AND, they have to compress some strawberries, which is very chef-y.
In three hours? That is very difficult, Ravneet.
It's the final, Liam Charles.
I'm going to take this one.
Ooh...
That crunch was great.
Oh! The layers...
The pastry is light, it's flaky.
The creme mousseline is creamy. The jam packs loads of flavour.
It's not too sweet. Ah, this is the best technical ever.
I can imagine today, Rav,
that you want these pastries to be shop-worthy?
- Exactly. I want them fit for a king. - Fit for me, then isn't it?
Fit for a king like you, King Charles!
SHE LAUGHS
"To make the creme mousseline,
"heat the milk to just below boiling point in a small saucepan."
"And then, in a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks,
"sugar, salt, and cornflour together to make a smooth paste."
- Hi, Miko. - Hi, Harry.
- So, I've actually never heard of, um, "creme mousseline." - Mussolini?
- So it's my first time. - Mussolini sounds Italian.
- Does it? - Yeah. To me, I don't know.
This seems hot, now.
Once the milk is just below boiling,
pour the milk over the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
- No... - I mean, there's all these different creams.
- Creme pat. Creme Diplomat. - Cream Diplomat. - Creme...
- And now we've got this new one. - You know a lot... Are you a baker?
Am I a baker? Who do you think does all the examples
when they talk about them in that separate area?
"Return the mixture to the pan.
"Then heat over a gentle heat until the mixture begins to thicken."
Come on, thicken!
When they're happy with its consistency...
Some of the bottom has just scrambled, but it's...fine now?
..the bakers must take the step
that will transform their custard mixture.
This is the clotted cream. It looks kind of odd, to be honest.
..into a luxurious creme mousseline.
Oh! So, the butter is gonna go in slowly.
So, I'm just going to check the consistency of it.
Hmm. Quite thin. I think it will set. I'm not sure.
It needs to be liquid enough to pipe...
It's nice and smooth.
..but not so loose that it leaks out of the Danish pastries.
That is my one worry. It seems very thin.
Have you made Danish pastries before?
Nope. My mum loves them. Wait...
Is your mum coming to the big do later?
Yes, my mum, my dad, my three aunties...
Wait, ho how old are the aunties?
- 50, one of them is. - OK. All right. Yeah. She got a good pension?
- Sorry! - Yeah, I'm happy with it.
Once they're satisfied with their filling...
- The alpacas, are they back this year? - Maybe. Hope... Are they?
- One of them ended up on the barbecue, last year, actually. - No!
..it needs to chill in the fridge.
OK. Fridge, fridge, fridge.
Umayr, how thin was your mousseline?
Oh, mine was a bit thicker, but I think...
This allows the bakers time to crack on with their pastry...
"Turn the dough out, then, with a rolling pin,
"roll the dough out to a square measuring 20 by 20."
..to achieve the layers that so delighted Liam.
Butter.
The butter needs to be locked into the dough.
We have to fold the four corners in and over the butter.
The dough needs to be my friend, and I need to be the dough's friend.
Pinch, pinch, pinch, pinch, pinch.
Otherwise, the butter will leak out, and we don't want that.
Roll it out to a rectangle approximately 45 centimetres long.
Rolling is a deceptively delicate operation.
Kind of breaking the butter up so it's a bit easier to roll.
Any tears will allow the butter to seep out...
# My dough is starting to split... #
..while a heavy handed approach...
I'm basically beating this up. I'm not that violent, usually.
..will crush the butter and dough together,
then it won't puff up later.
Just got to get those layers in.
Pull this over. There we go.
- Now I need to chill it for 20 minutes. - In the fridge!
- Can't see vanilla. - For the compressed strawberry garnish,
slice the vanilla pod in half.
- Hi there, Umayr. - Hello, Harry.
What are you doing to that stick insect?
- Are you getting the eggs out? - It's not an insect.
- Oh, it's not? What is it, then? - A vanilla pod?
Oh, it's a vanilla pod. Silly me!
Transfer the vanilla sugar into the backpack
and shake it so it coats up all the strawberries.
Use the backpack machine to vacuum seal the bag shut.
I don't think we've ever done vacuum sealing.
- Yeah, it's a fancy contraption. - Yeah.
OK. Vacuum seal.
Ah! Whoa!
- Hey, fun! - We actually had my nan vacuum-packed when she passed.
Sorry for your loss.
We thought it was one of the options at the undertakers,
but it was actually one of the options at the caterers.
We got those two mixed up. Can happen.
OK.
Interesting.
How long do we have left?
I wonder if when I eat a Danish, I can then speak Danish?
What the heck?
That's 90 minutes, bakers. You're halfway through!
- In Danish. - Oh!
- HE WHISTLES - Remove the pastry from the fridge.
Then, with a seam on the left-hand side,
roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 45 centimetres long.
Seam on the left.
Is this the seam?
To achieve a maximally flaky pastry...
Oh, no! It's burst, it's burst, it's burst.
..the bakers must roll, fold, and chill it two more times.
This is actually working beautifully for me.
Hi Kitto, we're doing a Junior Bake Off
talent focus group questionnaire, if that's OK with you?
- Yeah. - Who is the most entertaining and why?
- I think I know the answer to that one. - You!
Yes, of course!
So it goes in for 20 minutes.
In between...
Heat the strawberries, elderflower
and sugar until it reaches 104 degrees.
..they must also make their jam.
Some of them look a bit big.
Out of the whole recipe, this is the only thing I know how to do.
- Who's the most trustworthy and why? - Liam.
I thought we had something here.
I thought we had something special.
104 degrees.
But it needs a little bit of thickening up,
so I'm going to let it boil for a little bit longer.
Who do you relate to the most and why?
- You. - Me? Yeah. OK, that's great. Thanks for taking part.
We are there.
Now I'm on my last fold. How long do I have left?
If I speak Danish when I eat a Danish,
then I wonder what happens when I eat a mandarin.
SPEAKS MANDARIN
That's 60 minutes, bakers, in Mandarin.
Now, instead of chilling it, I'm going to just start shaping.
The bakers now face the trickiest part of their final technical.
To assemble,
cut six squares measuring ten centimetres by ten centimetres.
Does anybody know what a Danish looks like?
Cos I don't know.
Fortunately, Rav's provided a drawing.
Oh, my goodness. Look at the instructions.
What on earth?
Fold a square in half diagonally.
- So you make a triangle. - Like this.
With a knife, make two cuts starting from the longer edge
going towards the point, but stop before the cut meets.
Let's make sure the edges are nice and neat.
Hey, Aiyla, who is the least entertaining and why?
- A lot of them have said Liam. - I would say Liam.
Take one of the corners of the pastry
and fold it all the way over to the opposite corner.
Fold the other side over the top
so you have a diamond shape with two loops at the end.
Oh, yeah, my loops. There it is.
- These look so bad. - That's fantastic.
And you're happy to be entered into the prize draw?
- Yes, please. - The prize is a stack of Liam and Rav's books again.
- Ah! Yes! - OK.
That's Mummy Danish, Daddy Danish, Baby Danish.
Daddy Danish, where's the Postman Danish.
It's Debbie's father.
The shaping isn't the best, but most of it's getting covered.
Fill the small square in the middle of each Danish
with a teaspoon of Creme Mousseline.
Seems extremely thin, actually,
I'm not sure I cooked it for long enough.
Oh, no, the custard is getting everywhere.
Once filled, the Danish pastries need to briefly prove
at room temperature.
Everyone's Creme Mousseline is really thick, I might restart mine.
It doesn't matter for the actual filling.
When I'm piping on top, I want that lovely ripple shape.
Now it's just waiting and waiting and waiting.
Come on, Mousseline, thicken up. Come on, Mousseline.
Do you want to do the game where you have
- to not open your eyes at the same time? - Oh, yeah.
Pulse.
- Did you just have your eyes open the whole time? - Yeah. - Cheater!
Looks thicker than last time.
- Done. - How long do we have?
So far, I've found I can speak Danish after I've eaten a Danish
and Mandarin after I've eaten a mandarin.
So...
What?
Once proved, place a teaspoon of the strawberry elderflower jam
on top of the Creme Mousseline.
I'm gonna make sure the egg wash is everywhere.
OK, let's go.
Now, I need to bake for 20 to 22 minutes.
Good luck.
All of the butter is basically leaking out right now.
They've kind of dropped to the side.
It's so annoying.
Mummy Danish is looking a bit lopsided.
- Oh, my God, Miko, yours are great. - Thank you.
They look so good.
Oh, look at that. They look fantastic.
I've never had a Danish that high.
No, but Danish people are quite tall, aren't they?
They are, yes!
- How long do we have? - Please don't say five minutes.
Five minutes, bakers. You got five minutes left.
My Danish family.
It smells so good.
Come on. Five, four, three, two...
I never thought I'd be doing this in the tent.
..one, zero.
There won't be any time to cool, so I kind of have to bring them up.
I wouldn't say they're the best.
Like, the filling's kind of oozed out.
One minute, bakers.
Here we go. Time for a bit of a panic.
Pipe a thin, delicate ribbon.
Just go over this one.
- Well, these are probably gonna melt. - I think it's a ribbon.
- She didn't really specify. - Oh!
I am happy.
Oh, the apricot jam!
I'm very pleased, actually.
Get them on.
I don't know if that's delicate, though.
That's it, bakers. Time's up.
- Done! - Step away from your bakes.
Bakers, if you could please bring your pastries forward
and place them behind the photographs of yourselves
ready for judging.
- Well done, everyone. - Everyone's lamination looked great.
- How was it, bakers? - All right. - Yeah? - Good-ish.
That was actually quite fun to make.
Last technical ever.
The bakers' final technicals will now be judged.
Nice to see 'em, it's Rav and Liam.
We were looking for six buttery Danishes
filled with a strawberry and elderflower jam
and topped with a clotted cream Creme Mousseline.
- Should we start there? - Let's do it.
They look well baked.
Gorgeous amounts of lamination as well.
Some of them aren't as well shaped as the others,
but overall, they look pretty good.
Oh, did you hear that?
It's delicious, it's buttery, but with some of the pastry,
it hasn't risen up completely.
So you have a layer that's quite dense.
Some of them look good, but this one there,
the shape looks more like a croissant.
Inside, it's a little bit dense.
The taste of the jam is beautiful
and the Creme Mousseline is gorgeous.
OK, next one.
These look very pretty.
We have even bakes and we can see the lovely layering across the side.
Creme Mousseline is gorgeous, jam is lovely.
And I love the flakiness you get in the middle of your pastry.
Last one.
Some of them look slightly tight,
so I wonder if they were proved for long enough.
Your Creme Mousseline, great texture,
but the jam, for me, is a little bit too sweet.
You might have cooked it out for way too long.
There is quite a heavy dough layer at the bottom.
They haven't grown as much as they could have.
But, yeah, good attempt.
OK, last technical, finito.
I think this was better baked.
Rav and Liam will now rank the Danish pastries
from last to first.
Yeah.
In fourth place, we have this one. Kito.
The texture of your Creme Mousseline was really good,
but your jam was a little bit too sweet.
- and your pastry was slightly underbaked. - OK.
In third place, we have this one.
Miko, they were very neat, but the dough was a bit doughy.
In second place, we have this one.
Umayr, this one here is a bit of a mess,
but the rest? They were neat.
They were baked really well and the flavours were spot-on.
- Thank you. - Which means in first place,
we have Aiyla.
The dough was baked perfectly.
Really light, really flaky.
And we really liked your Creme Mousseline. Well done.
Well done, bakers.
Come and have a look at each other's Danish pastries,
and we'll see you shortly for the showstopper challenge.
It all tasted really nice, to be fair.
On the final technical, I got first place.
It was like, what?
- Did you see the results of the survey? - They haven't gone through.
You'll be the first to know. It'll all be available on Ceefax.
I got second, so I'm quite happy with it.
I can almost feel the trophy now.
I'm obviously a bit disappointed with the result, coming last,
but all up to the showstopper now.
The showstopper is all that remains...
Good luck, guys.
..before Rav and Liam decide
who will be this year's Junior Bake Off champion.
Welcome back, bakers.
It's your last ever bake in the tent.
And for an awe inspiring, jaw dropping,
and potentially Junior Bake Off winning showstopper challenge,
Rav and Liam would like you to bake
a three tier cake inspired by your very best summer's day out.
Your cake must have at least three tiers,
and each tier must consist of two layers
of sponge and one filling.
The flavours are entirely up to you, but must be inspired
by your favourite picnic treats and seaside snacks.
Whelk buttercream, anyone?
You have three hours in which to make your
My Best Summer's Day Out cake.
On your marks...
..get set...
..bake!
- So, who do you think's gonna win? - It's too close to call.
It's all about the final showstopper.
I'm making a California inspired beach day out cake.
Today is my perfect summer day out. Because we get to see
who will be crowned the winner of Junior Bake Off.
I am starting with caramel and the raspberry coulis.
There's no room for error.
Oh, jeez!
Everything has to be perfect.
The bake, the decoration, the overall aesthetic.
It has to be spot-on.
Oh, my God. I was forgetting to stir this.
I want to see tall structures.
And most importantly, I want to eat very well baked cake.
I'm using the juice of a lemon.
We'd like to see some classics, but they should be dialled up...
Whipped egg whites for my zebra cake.
..by adding things in like zest...
I think I dropped a seed in.
- ..different types of fruits... - I found it.
What I do want is for every tier to be a different flavour.
I don't want to be bored.
Lemon, strawberry, sweets.
Stacking cakes can be very risky, so they have to make sure
that all of their cakes are the right texture.
This section is very fluffy.
I'm really happy with how it's looking.
Because what we don't want, for it to fall apart.
Sorry, this is kind of crystallising. Wait.
Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no.
It has to scream summer!
I mean, look at the sun today, man. It's nice.
I'm gonna restart it.
It's just annoying because it's a bit of a waste of time.
Aiyla, tell us about your summer day out tiered cake.
The top layer is gonna be a circus tent.
And then the middle layer is going to be
a zebra cake with caramel sauce,
buttercream, caramel drizzle and popcorn.
And then the bottom layer is going to be
a black cocoa cake with a cookies and cream cinnamon buttercream.
- Wow! - No pressure, but that's really ambitious.
Today is a day where I'm going to bring it all out.
Aiyla's big top will be a quadruple layer confetti cake
kept moist with sour cream,
while the black cocoa cake will mimic a famous
chocolate biscuit snack,
but hopefully without the brittle, biscuity texture.
And when you stacked your cakes, were they stable?
Yeah, yeah, they were stable.
I hope you've got enough time to pull it all together,
- decorate it. - Me too. - Because I'm excited about eating it.
- Good luck. - Thank you.
Let's put it in now. Let's put it in.
We don't know if there's zebra stripes yet until we cut into it.
Aiyla's zebra cakes...
Rav and Liam will be the first to see.
..aren't the only ones...
..that will reveal their secret pattern...
So the bottom tier is going to be
an American flag when you cut it open.
..when sliced at the judging table.
How's it going to stand up there? Because it looks a bit top heavy.
- Oh, wrong way round. - Oh, wrong way round.
Yeah, of course it is.
- So you've got a, what is it? - It's a California...
- Oh! - Santa Monica beach. - Yeah, lovely.
America. Make America cake again. Is that it? Yeah.
Big orange cake with a buttercream comb over.
Satire is not dead.
Miko hopes to trump the other bakers through sheer scale.
The base will be red, white and blue velvet cake.
Pecan pie flavours will fill the middle, and chocolate and lime,
the third tier.
Three stacked chocolate lava cakes will provide even more
vertical real estate.
The whole idea of molten lava cake is that it will melt.
- Yeah. - So if you put something on top, it will just...
That is true.
- So I'm gonna see what happens. - Have you practised?
I've only practised it once,
and I haven't practised any decoration.
- OK. - You've got a lot to do. Yeah. - Yeah.
Do you have a plan of action?
So if you stick to it, you'll be fine.
- It looks good. - Thank you. - Nice one.
The value of sticking to a plan...
Just making sure I don't read this bit.
I get nervous and stressed
and sometimes I just read the wrong thing.
..shouldn't be underestimated.
Oh, no!
I forgot to put the sour cream in the cake.
Without the sour cream,
Aiyla's sponges might not achieve the light, fluffy texture she wants.
I don't know why. The one time I didn't tick something off.
Then it comes and bites me in the back.
It's very annoying.
Having been bitten once in the caramel department...
Oh, sorry, the lid wasn't on.
..Kito can't afford not to remake it.
The favourite part of my bake is the salted caramel cake.
That's really yum.
Because it's the hero flavour in one of his layers...
I can take this thing off now.
..all of which are aimed squarely at the judges' sweet spots.
Liam does like caramel and chocolate, so that's quite good.
And Rav also likes fruity, floral flavours.
OK, I'm gonna put these in now.
So I'm hoping to tick both of their boxes.
Kitto's ideal summer's day involves surfing the West Country waves,
stopping intermittently for ice creams of mint chocolate chip,
raspberry ripple and salted caramel.
Jump scare.
We've had the results of the survey,
and it looks like I might be able to be a judge and a host.
Is that enough butter in there?
- It does puff up a lot. - Does it? - Yes, a lot.
It can't be as bad as it looks, can it, judging?
- Let's find out. - Is this going to be high enough?
- Yes, yeah. - OK.
- Are you sure about those flavour combinations? - Yeah.
Might be too dry.
He's being a busybody. He's being a busybody.
- Kito, this sounds delicious. - Thank you.
How are you feeling about the presentation,
getting your decoration good? Do you have enough time?
I'd say that I do have enough time.
Oh, God. Sorry. Oh, my God, I'm clumsy.
Yeah, that needs a bit more. Sorry.
We want your showstopper to be neat today.
Yes, I'm hoping to make it as neat as I can.
Oh, shoot!
Crappity, crappity! I forgot the frozen raspberries.
That would have been a disaster.
I'm not sure they are baked. They need two more minutes.
I feel like the sour cream did actually make an issue,
but I'm not sure.
Oh, my gosh, I have to hurry.
Baking three types of sponge...
Black cocoa. It's what's
in the very famous cookies and cream biscuits.
..requires the bakers...
Chocolate cake's ready.
..to manage their time expertly...
- Do you have to come and watch? - I'm happy with them.
I'm judging by eye.
..with any slip ups...
Oh, there's a massive lump in the middle.
..potentially costing them dear.
The butter's evenly.
They don't have great structure, but I'm going to take them out.
Umayr has found an elegant way around this problem.
The lemon and blueberry cake is in the oven, so I'm on track.
Kind of.
He's making just two flavours of sponge.
- Hi, Umayr. - Hello, Harry.
Well, it's our last day together.
- I'm gonna miss you, bro. - Me too, bro. - Yeah.
Harry Hill just called Umayr "bro."
Tell me about this best summer's day out cake.
Best summer's day out cake is inspired by a day out
last year when we went Bosnia with my family and cousins.
I've never been to Bosnia. What's that like?
It's quite nice, actually. We went rafting,
so I just thought I might as well bring it to life in a cake.
Umayr will liberally cover his cake in fondant to depict the mountains
and river that featured in his rafting adventure.
A chocolate and hazelnut cake will sit on top
of two lemon and blueberry cakes.
So how come you've decided to make two tiers of lemon and blueberry?
It's just easier.
And lemon and blueberry is the colours of the flags
of Bosnia as well.
But because it's the final,
maybe the third tier could have been a different flavour?
Um, I think I would, yeah, but because of time.
- He seems chill. - Yeah.
- Keep calm and carry on. - We like it. - Nice one, bro.
- Good luck. - Thank you.
That's the batter for the chocolate and hazelnut cake.
Oh, it's leaking.
While juggling their batters and cakes...
Phew!
..the bakers also need to make headway...
I just need to make a jam and loads of buttercream.
..on everything else...
Cherry jam and cream cheese, Swiss buttercream,
molten lava cake, and more.
..starting with the sumptuous fillings...
They're complaining that I'm doing two tiers
of lemon and blueberry cake.
So mean!
..and silky smooth buttercreams.
So I'm just making my Swiss meringue buttercream at the moment.
..that they hope...
Oh! I always have to crack one of them.
..will elevate their showstoppers.
Needs to get to 60 degrees so it's food safe.
- Multitasking again. - I'm gonna whip it up now.
There's so much going on.
Well, it's the last challenge of the final,
and who better to entertain us than my son Gary from my first marriage?
- Hello, Daddy. - Hello, Gary. Tell us a joke.
OK. Daddy, Daddy, daddy.
I recently met up with my first wife.
What are you talking about, Gary? You're only 12.
- Funny joke, Daddy. - I see. - She came round about tea time,
and I got a delivery
- from international parcel delivery service based in the States. - FedEx?
No, I only gave her a cup of tea!
90 minutes, bakers!
- Oh, my gosh. - You're halfway through.
I need that to hurry up, though a lot.
We need to work on that, don't we, Gary?
I think so.
Take that, Rav! It isn't half.
Rav and Liam have demanded perfectly baked cakes.
Test it maybe?
When the bakers are confident they've achieved this...
Oh!
- Right, in the freezer you go. - ..they must chill them quickly
so they don't melt the fillings during assembly.
- Have you seen Harry anywhere? - No, I haven't.
Nowhere.
Had problems with under bakedness before,
so I sort of wanted to redeem myself in the final.
Hello!
- Hi, Aiyla. - What are you doing behind a tree?
Just got an interest in horticulture.
The lemon and blueberry sponge. It's looking quite good.
The cake's not gone according to plan.
It's really dense.
Oh, my God, I want to cry. See? It's so dense in the middle.
It needed the sour cream, basically.
I feel like my chances of winning are slipping away from me.
I'm going to start stacking these on now
onto the cake board.
As the grand final approaches its climax...
I'm running out of time
and I'm not having that happen to me.
..Aiyla has no choice...
That's really dense.
..other than to make the best of her sponge.
- It's a bit slanty. - And she's not the only one...
They're coming out brown,
but I don't know if that's because of the colour of the cake.
- ..with cake trouble. - Chocolate cake. Oh.
That is flat as a pancake.
How long do we have?
Let's have another joke from my son, Gary.
Hello, Daddy. Off you go, Gary.
Yes, well, I recently bought a jumper
made from the skin of a rodent
but, because it was a V neck, the bottom half of my face was cold.
Chin chiller? No, gerbil.
- 60 minutes, bakers. - What? - You got 60 minutes left.
I need to assemble my cakes literally urgently.
That is really not neat. It's going to have to go on.
This is falling over.
Hi there, Kitto. Tell me about this best day out of yours.
We are going to go to the beach and we're going to go surfing.
I've done that a bit.
I've never managed to stand up on the...
- What's the trick? - So you're paddling.
What? Should I be standing on your back?
- No, no, I'm not the surfboard. - Are you not the surfboard?
Yeah. So you're paddling, and then you just...
- ..like that. - The jam is good. I'm just going to add it onto the cake.
Ooh.
But the waves in Dorset are horrible.
LOUD THUD
Oh, she's throwing her toys out the pram.
OK! Cakes, cakes, cakes.
They're cool enough now.
So I'm just doing my salted caramel drizzle sauce thing.
Oh! It's cracking.
Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
Some of the buttercream has melted.
I'm just going to hold it together. Cookies and cream filling.
It's your final bake in the tent, of course, Miko.
Yeah, it's my final bake in the tent.
- You made some memories. - Made a lot of memories.
I haven't made as many memories as I thought I'd make.
What do you mean by that?
I can't remember some of the memories that I've made.
- That's my problem. - Do you have a bad memory?
Well, I don't know. I can't remember.
Now I'm assembling my chocolate and hazelnut cake.
As Umayr moves on to his top tier...
It's breaking, man!
..the others enter full decoration mode...
This is me making the coral.
Come on, my cake.
So this is for the chocolate lava cake.
..and Miko still has some baking to do.
Seven minutes.
30 minutes, bakers, you've got 30 minutes left.
Oh, my goodness gracious me.
Structure is so important with tiered cakes.
- FART NOISE - Excuse you!
- Bit rude! - The trees are made out of fondant.
I'm going to put some of the decorations that I've already made,
just to bring it to life a bit more.
I've got my mini hamburgers. These are so cute.
I hope this American cake doesn't let me down.
I'm really nervous about them cutting into the flag.
Oh, my days! H, H!
It's a Harry Hill raft, everyone!
Is it stuck on a bit of mud?
No, it's getting ready to go into the water.
Oh, it's getting ready to go in the water.
Yeah, yeah, I get it now. Yeah.
It looks like sand, right? I'm making such a mess.
The beach is messy anyways.
Salted caramel Swiss meringue buttercream.
Liam is going to be so happy with all this caramel.
As their tiers take shape...
The atmosphere in the tent is quite stressed
because everybody had something that has gone wrong.
..the bakers can begin the serious business...
Come on, get in. They'll burst through.
- ..of stacking. - Is that in the centre?
Oh, my God, it's not even in the centre.
15 minutes, bakers.
- Oh, my sugar! - Final stretch. Here we go.
You've got 15 minutes left.
My heart palpitations are too much. I can't even breathe.
Oh!
Whoa!
Get in there. Why is it not going in?
Yes! Stressful.
It's going to fall over. I can tell it is.
That looks really messy, but oh, well.
- Think California, Miko. - Thinking Californian.
Tell me that's not supposed to be
the top of my head in a roll neck jumper.
Aiyla, your cake is falling.
Is it falling?
Oh, sugar. Yeah, it is.
Oh, oh, oh!
I saved the enemy.
Please stay up. Oh, my God, it's going to fall over. Oh, my gosh.
I think it's possibly enough to win, when I look around.
Oh, Miko, that looks jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring
- and potentially Bake Off-winning. - Maybe.
- Is there a third layer? - Yeah, there is a third layer
which I'm trying to get on now.
It's cracking so much.
Um, it just looks so bad.
Five minutes, bakers.
- OK, let's make the wave now. - You've got five minutes left.
Don't think this is much of a lava cake.
I think it might be overbaked.
That's not going to stay in. That would be better.
This is going to go right down to the wire here.
- Don't collapse. - I know this isn't a winning cake.
Everyone's is so neat and mine looks like a complete and utter mess.
Oh, this kind of looks like a barrel, kind of.
One minute, bakers, you've got one minute left.
Shush, Harry, man.
Hot, hot, hot.
Gold piping on the bottom here.
Oh, I should have started this earlier.
Oh, it might work. It might just work.
Oh, no! OK, one second, this is falling out.
Let's not do that.
Here's tiny baby me doing my tiny baby surfing.
Do I just put them next to it like that?
That's it, bakers. Time's up.
Oh, my God!
Step away from your bakes.
It's...
..over!
- Oh, beautiful. - Oh! - Thank you. APPLAUSE
- Please. - Standing ovation! - I'm wasted on this show.
- Kitto, I love yours. - Yeah, no, it's not good.
- It looks so good! - Oh, my gosh.
I've enjoyed myself so much.
Today is just really, really fun and amazing and exciting.
I love the molten lava cake ice cream.
- It looks so good! - It's not much molten, though.
I'm not so sure about being the winner,
but I'm just hoping that they'll like it.
And then that's it.
Off you go and we'll see you shortly for judging.
Everyone's got really nice designs, so it's going to be tricky
for the judges, I think.
I am very worried about the stability of the cake.
If it falls over, my heart will break.
As the bakers await judging,
their friends and families have started to arrive.
We are Team Aiyla.
We think she was always meant to get this far.
She's always capable of it.
So we're just proud that she's here.
And we're proud that we get to come here and support her.
I think it's made him believe that there's no barriers.
And if you put the effort and work hard,
you can achieve whatever you want to achieve.
It's really amazing that she's got this far
and this is a one-of-a-lifetime chance for her.
All the bakers deserve it, so whoever wins will be delighted.
But, of course, we would love Kitto to win.
It would be the cherry on top of the cake.
Kitto, could you please bring
your Summer Day Out tiered cake forward for judging?
Blimey, it's heavy!
Oh, the shells are falling off.
Kitto, tell us about your Summer Day Out tiered cake.
My Summer Day Out theme is a surf cake.
I think it's some of your neatest work
- you've ever produced in the tent. - Thank you.
I like the different textures,
the different techniques that you showed off.
- Slightly lopsided, though. - Yeah. - Just a little bit.
Very top, it is a mint-choc-chip cake with a mint buttercream.
- Beautiful. - Looks baked.
It's a raspberry apple cake with raspberry jam.
And then there's a salted caramel cake
with a salted caramel buttercream.
OK. Your mint chocolate chip, I love that sponge.
It has a really deep chocolaty flavour.
Your raspberry ripple,
it's well baked and nothing's too sweet, which I really like.
The flavour of your caramel cake I love.
But for me, the sponge is just slightly overbaked.
But I think it's a really good spread
of three different cakes altogether
because every single one tastes really unique.
So overall...
- ..you've done very well. - Thank you. - Thanks.
- Nice one, Kitto. - Well done, Kitto.
There we go.
I like the contrasting colours,
textures and the way that you've managed
to give it more height with these molten cakes on top.
Overall, it's a great design.
Ooh.
So the top one...?
Chocolate cake with lime cream cheese frosting.
- Great. It's a nice little cute cake. - Yeah.
The middle tier is pecan pie-inspired cake
with pecan filling.
Really nice layers there.
The bottom tier is red velvet, blue velvet and vanilla.
- Yeah. - SHE SIGHS
I really like how you've constructed this American flag in the cake.
Thank you.
The chocolate cake is like a lovely chocolate lime cloud.
Gorgeous. And the pecan is my favourite.
- There's so much pecan texture in there. - Thank you.
I think the velvet cake is my favourite.
With the addition of the cherries
and this beautiful design, smashed it.
- Thank you. - Well done, Miko.
God bless America!
THEY LAUGH
- Well done! - Thank you!
The fondant work is so neat it tells the story.
Thank you. The top tier is a chocolate hazelnut cake
with chocolate buttercream.
That looks pretty fudgy there.
And there's two layers of lemon and blueberry cake
filled with lemon buttercream and blueberry jam.
I really like the lemon and blueberry.
I like how punchy that blueberry is.
One of them is slightly under compared to the other,
but they're really good cakes.
And your chocolate hazelnut,
even though I love how rich it is,
it's borderline raw.
It needed ten more minutes in the oven for me.
- Thanks, Umayr. - Thank you.
I think it's not your neatest work.
- But it's so fun. It screams funfair. - Thank you.
- Ooh! It's gigantic! - Great layers, though.
Thank you. The middle layer,
you have a zebra cake with a caramel sauce and buttercream,
- caramel and popcorn. - Look at that.
- Wow, look at the zebra stripes! - That's really cool.
And the top layer is a confetti cake with a whipped lemon
mascarpone filling and macerated strawberries.
- Wow! - I say! - Wow, look at that.
It might look slightly messy and a little bit disorganised
on the outside, but the inside is really triumphant.
The zebra cake is gorgeous.
- I'm obsessed with this. - Thank you.
And the chocolate one looks hefty.
THEY LAUGH
OK. I like every single cake.
There is something there for everyone.
Your chocolate sponge, it's fudgy, it's rich.
If anything, I think it could have just done with
a bit of salt or something, just to, like, lift it.
And then you have your zebra cake.
The flavour profile is really good.
The confetti cake is maybe my favourite one.
It's not your, like, standard confetti cake
that's like really sweet and sickly.
I think you've done such a good job in your three hours.
Thank you.
Well, bakers, it's now up to Rav and Liam to decide
which of you is the winner of Junior Bake Off.
SHE SIGHS In the meantime,
go and join your family and friends and we'll see you shortly.
- Thank you. - Well done, everybody.
APPLAUSE
CHEERING
I really hope that I'm in with a chance of winning
because it would just be so amazing if I do.
Kitto!
I think I've got a chance. I'm so proud of how far I've come
from stepping into the tent to now being on the final,
baking a cake in three hours.
- It's crazy. - I can't believe you're here!
Liam said that I smashed it.
So, even if I win or don't win, I'd still be really happy.
Red carpet treatment, yeah?
Now everything's up to the judges, and I can't wait
for the judges' result.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Thank you so much.
And welcome to the final of Junior Bake Off 2025.
It's... CHEERING
Yeah. Let's meet the finalists.
The winner of Junior Bake Off 2025 is...
..Aiyla.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
- Well done. - Well done. - Well done.
- You did so well. - It was very close.
- We had a lot of fun, didn't we? ALL: - Yeah.
I'm the winner of Junior Bake Off! I can't believe it.
- For you. - CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Aiyla had to be our winner.
She came first in the technical. And that cake was perfection.
Every single layer was well thought-out.
It was well baked and it tasted incredible.
To achieve what she did in three hours as well.
Yeah, she deserved to win.
Aiyla should be very proud of herself. She did deserve it.
Her bake today was amazing.
I'm going to miss you guys.
I've enjoyed everything about this competition.
And I've got to meet so many people.
And I have so many friends now. So, yeah, overall, it was amazing.
You did really well today.
I'll definitely take away that I am more resilient
than I actually think I am.
I can't believe it.
I'm ready to celebrate. Yeah, guys, winner!
Yeah!
- Well done, though. - You did really, really well.
Are you a star baker in the making?
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