The pressure was ON this week – it was the final! How did our finalists do? Who took home the iconic cake stand?

Keep reading to find out.

Signature Bake – 8 Eclairs

Mmm, eclairs. Dan’s eclairs were made with strawberries and summer fruit punch jelly, as well as salted caramel mascarpone cream. Josh made coconut mango and raspberry eclairs, as well as mocha eclairs with a mix of coffee and chocolate, and Matty made black forest and banoffee eclairs. So, we had a nice selection here.

Stress levels were high in the tent. Whilst Dan’s bakes were in the oven, he realised he forgot to sprinkle them with icing sugar, which helps the eclairs to feel crisper on the outside. Understandable, he started to worry, but he still checked in on his fellow bakers to make sure they’re okay!

Let’s get started with what the judges thought.

First up was Josh. Paul said his eclairs were “pretty uniform” and all the same size. Prue said they’re perfectly filled, with delicate and delicious flavours, whereas Paul felt they were a bit too sweet. The mocha eclairs had a better response – Paul thought they had the right level of chocolate and both him and Prue loved them!

Matty’s eclairs were approved, Prue thought they had a decent amount of booze, but could have done with more cherries. Paul said he is missing caramel, but the level of bananas was pleasant, and the eclairs were crisp and firm!

Paul felt that Dan’s eclairs were messy, and the judges also pointed out that the eclairs were soggy. Paul wasn’t quite convinced by the flavours, but Prue thought they were lovely.

Winners: Josh and Matty

Could do better: Dan

Technical Challenge – 9 Lardy Cakes

Bakers were asked to make a batch of nine lardy cake slices. Matty had never heard of it, and Josh had never seen one before!

Probably not one of the most exciting challenges, but there was a lot of kneading, patience and waiting for the dough to prove and bake.

So, what was the verdict?

To sum up – it wasn’t the easiest of challenges for any of the bakers. Bless them. But it wasn’t as disastrous as the orange and ginger treacle puddings during Dessert Week!

Josh’s cakes were described as “sort of square” and the judges enjoyed the flavours. Dan’s cakes were caramelised and overbaked, and they felt it was dry. Matty’s cakes were quite raw, and the judges told him he needed to bake them for much longer.

Winners: Josh was in 1st place

Could do better: Matty came last in 3rd place, followed by Dan in 2nd place

Showstopper – 3-Tiered Celebration Cake

For the final Showstopper, and their final ever Bake Off challenge, bakers were asked to make an elegant tiered celebration cake. They were asked to draw inspiration from their very first bake and elevate it to the next level!

Dan made a triple lemon drizzle cake topped with French meringues, white chocolate collars and lemon macarons. Josh baked a triple stacked Victoria sponge cake in honour of his nan, with rhubarb and strawberry jam, apple jam and lemon curd, with a biscuit shed on top to celebrate his garden. Matty stacked a cake for the first time, with chocolate genoise sponges, French buttercream and crumbled brownie, and lemon and rosemary with summer fruit jam.

The heat was on. One of Matty’s sponges were underdone, so he quickly put it back in the oven. Josh couldn’t rely on his home-grown strawberries, and Dan had some troubles with his macarons. They were all worried about not having enough time.

Now, let’s see what the judges thought!

Dan’s cake looked lovely, however the white chocolate shield around his cake cracked, and his macarons were underbaked. Paul said he felt they ruined the cake. The judges loved the sponge though, even though it needed more lemon; however he really did try his best. He jokingly said “there’s work to be done for next week then”, ha!

Matty’s cake had a prominent lean, which he playfully said was “dramatic effect”, but it looked stunning! Other than that, the feedback could not have been better. The judges loved the flavours, the presentation – absolutely everything! It brought back some nostalgic memories for Paul.

Finally, Josh’s cake was ready to be judged. The judges loved the shed biscuit at the top. His cake looked amazing, but Paul did point out that “the pipe work is not very neat”, and both judges said they couldn’t taste the apple. Despite Prue saying it tasted nice, the judges agreed that “it needed something more”. Paul said the sponge was slightly overbaked and wanted to see more of Josh’s Bake Off journey represented in the cake. He said the cake was on its way to “boring” and Prue said “it’s not your best shot”. It was like a dagger to the heart! He tried his best, but let’s see what the result was…

Winners: Matty

Could do better: Josh and Dan

Highlights

Seeing all the bakers at the end, before the winner was announced was lovely!

Great British Bake Off – Winner

The winner of The Great British Bake Off is… Matty! The underdog has only gone and done it. He may have never won a Technical Challenge, but he’s been Star Baker twice, had a Hollywood Handshake, and pushed himself every single week to be the best baker he can be. Well done Matty!

We hope you enjoyed our review for The Great British Bake Off Final! Leave a comment below to let us know what you thought, and what your highlights are this series.

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