Welcome to the show that's seeking out Britain's best young baker.
The bake-off tent is home to the greatest baking battle on Earth.
Of course I want to win. I'm here to win.
I'm pulling out all the stops to get the edge.
32 of the country's finest bakers will be pushed to their limits.
But who will rise...
My sponge is looking brilliant.
..and who will crumble?
Not good!
The bakers will whisk, fold and ice their way through cakes,
biscuits and bread.
Only one of them can be crowned...
Junior Bake Off champion.
If they want that title, they'll have to impress our judges,
queen of cakes Mary Berry...
I just want them to do their very, very best,
and I'm expecting a lot. They'll have to grasp the nettle and get going.
..and master baker Paul Hollywood.
This competition is really tough, and I expect it to be a hard battle,
and why not? The standards should be there.
Wow, that's a lot of baking powder!
'My name is Aaron Craze, and I'll be supporting the bakers'...
This is the chance to pull it back!
..'as 32 are whittled down to just one.'
In today's heat, four hopefuls face two demanding challenges.
First they must show off their technical ability
as they go head-to-head following Paul's own recipe for cheese scones.
In the second, they let their imaginations run wild
as they create a unique cake inspired by today's theme - royalty.
And they've really got to impress, as only one can go through
to the remaining semifinal. But who will it be?
Meet Scott from Kent...
I love baking, because it's creating something,
and it makes you feel proud. I'm quite an experimental baker,
and I don't stick to the books that often. I normally add things.
..Sangita from Bradford...
It means so much to me. I've so much passion in baking,
and I would like to be a business entrepreneur
and own a big bakery.
..Galway from Sutton Coldfield...
I love it when people say good stuff about my baking,
which makes me bake more and more and more.
Of course I want to win. I'm here to win, and I'd love to win.
..and Jim from West Sussex.
It means a lot to me to be taking part in Junior Bake Off.
It means I can take my cooking to the next level.
My passions are food, tractors and baking.
Four passionate bakers, but only one will bake their way to a place
in the semifinal. For the first challenge,
the bakers must bake a batch of nine perfect cheese scones,
following Paul's recipe.
My top tips to make a great cheese scone
is a very light touch when you add the liquid,
and what we're looking for is a very light structure inside.
The four bakers all have the same ingredients,
and all have the same amount of time.
But if they don't follow the method correctly,
they could end up with completely different results.
- Guys, have you washed your hands? - Yeah. - Yep!
Right. Bakers, your cheesy scones are going to be judged
on technique, taste, texture and appearance, OK?
You've got one hour to complete your scones,
and you've got to impress these judges for the first time.
On your marks, get set...
Bake!
The first step is to blend together the flour, baking powder
and butter. These guys know their way round a kitchen,
so if you fancy baking, make sure you ask an adult.
12-year-old Galway started baking when she was just four,
and she has never looked back.
- So, what sort of a baker are you? - Well, confident baker.
I'm very independent. I don't require any help usually.
How are you finding this challenge?
- I've made scones before quite a lot. - Shrug of the shoulders.
Like it, like it. Good luck. If you need me...
Actually, you just said, "I don't need no help," so...
if I see you struggling, I'll just walk by.
The next task is to beat together eggs and milk
and gradually work these into the flour mixture
to make a nice wet dough.
11-year-old Scott loves experimenting at home,
often making up his own recipes.
I'm feeling confident about this challenge
because I've made scones before and I've had a lot of practice, so...
Scott seems to be in control,
but has he already made a crucial mistake?
I'm good at following recipes most times.
Oh, I didn't add the rest of that.
I've forgotten to put the rest of the milk in this.
It might turn out a bit dry. Yep, this is dry.
Yeah, this is crumbly.
But it won't fall apart, luckily.
I can tell by looking at it. It won't fall apart.
But Scott's error hasn't gone unnoticed.
I think it's right to say Scott hasn't got scones on his mind at all.
- He left milk in the jug. - There was a bit of a rush and a panic,
but hopefully his scones'll come out not like biscuits.
Try and get a bit more air in 'em. We'll see what happens later.
With only half an hour to go, our bakers are furiously grating
the key ingredient, cheese. 11-year- old Jim loves using ingredients
from his small family farm, and has been baking seriously
for the last two years.
This challenge is bringing my competitive streak to the surface.
I want to win it a lot more than I did yesterday.
Jim Bob! How's it going? How did you get into baking in the first place?
I entered some competitions, and I won a cup
which hadn't been won by a boy or a man
since 1921, when the cup was invented.
Serious? So you've got a pretty good chance of winning this.
- Might do. - Is that how you're going to impress the judges,
- with that sort of skill? - Yeah, I think so.
- You got anything up your sleeve? - Not really.
- No? - Got no sleeves.
12-year-old Sangita taught herself to bake two years ago.
She bakes three times a week, and thinks about it every day.
I'm quite confident. Out of five...
Four? I made cheese-and-red-onion scones
two weeks ago, and it was actually really nice.
If the bakers are following the recipe precisely,
they should get only nine scones out of the mixture.
I've got lots.
Four, eight...
15.
15 scones.
It's a bit more than I expected,
but they'll probably do.
Jim's scones don't seem too bad in consistency,
but he has managed to get 15 from them.
They're going to be more like crackers than they are scones.
Fingers crossed. I think they could be quite thin.
With time pressing on, Scott and Sangita are finishing their scones
- and popping them in the oven. - Lots of parmesan.
But Galway and Jim are out to impress.
They're trying out an advanced technique
they hope will blow away the judges.
I've put my scones in the fridge. That way I can double-glaze them,
which will make them shinier, more impressive.
I'm pulling out all the stops to get the edge.
I'm going to put them in the fridge.
If their double-glazing technique doesn't pay off,
then, they've wasted valuable time.
OK, guys. You've got 15 minutes left to bake.
All Jim and Galway can do now is wait,
knowing that time is rapidly running out.
But Scott and Sangita are racing ahead
to get their scones out with plenty of time to spare.
I'm quite happy about these, because they've turned out quite well,
better than I expected.
Meanwhile, double-glazers Jim and Galway
couldn't be cutting it any finer.
OK, bakers. You've got one minute left to go.
- Are you praying? Were you praying? - No, I'm counting down.
- Oh. Sorry. I thought you were praying. - One, zero. OK.
OK, guys. Time's up.
Please step away from your worktops.
For the first time, our bakers are to be judged
by two of the country's top experts.
The judges are looking for nine cheese scones
with a golden colour and an even distribution of cheese.
I think overall, I'm shocked about how many you've got from the mix.
If you've got a lot, you've made the mix too thin,
but nine is the ideal number that we're looking for.
And here we have nine from Galway.
Independent baker Galway risked her timing
by double-glazing her scones.
But will this set her apart from the competition?
That one is a pretty good example, isn't it?
- Yep. - Nice and brown underneath.
Got a nice texture inside, as well.
Mmm! That tastes really good, doesn't it?
I like the taste. The colour's good. I think you've done extremely well.
Confident Jim has made 15 scones - that's six more than asked for.
But will their taste and texture make up for it?
Now, Jim, are you feeding the 5,000 here?
- 15, maybe. - Why did you do 15 and not nine?
Because I'd already rolled it out, and I didn't realise I'd get 15,
but I did.
Well, considering you've made so many,
they're just smaller. There's nothing wrong with them at all.
Experienced scone-maker Sangita breezed through the bake,
but made more scones than she should have.
Will this count against her?
Again we've got rather more than nine,
and they're not an even height.
- That one, because it's smaller, is slightly over-baked. - Yeah.
Nice and brown underneath.
This one, actually, because it's bigger,
- could have done with a bit longer. - The little ones will be fine,
but the bigger ones will have this issue.
Science-mad Scott sped through the recipe,
but forgot to add all of his milk and eggs.
Will Mary and Paul be able to tell by the taste?
The colour looks OK. You've added plenty of parmesan.
Let's have a look.
- No. For me, it's a little bit tough. - It feels dry in the mouth.
You haven't added all the liquid, so it's made it quite dry
before you've even baked it.
You have completed your first challenge.
You do have one more to face before Mary and Paul decide
who goes through to the semifinal. Fingers crossed, and good luck.
I agree with the judges' comments because...
well, it's just correct, because I forgot to do a lot of things.
I agreed with them that they were a little bit undercooked,
and they needed a little bit more time.
For the inventive bake, I need to keep my standards high,
and bake the best I can.
For the next round I'll have to crank it up a notch,
because I'm not in the lead at the moment,
but I think I can get there if I just bake my heart off.
Bakers, it's time for your second test.
Your task is to make a cake inspired by today's theme - royalty.
Mary and Paul are going to be looking for great ideas,
clever decorating, and most of all, it's got to taste fantastic.
On your marks, get set...
Bake!
The bakers have 90 minutes to complete the cakes
they've been practising at home.
This is their chance to show they have the baking skills
the judges are looking for.
In the first challenge, Scott's scones weren't quite up to scratch.
Every bit counts.
This time he's playing it safe with a twist on a classic royal cake.
- Scott, how's it going, buddy? - Quite well so far.
What are you making for us for this round?
I know it sounds a bit basic, but it's a Victoria sponge
- with butter icing. - Is it because it's a classic English tea cake?
It was made for a queen. That means it can be made for a queen again,
- so it's fit for royalty. - Are you going through to the semifinal?
I might have a chance if I try. My scones definitely haven't won it.
Yeah, but this is the chance to pull it back.
- Yeah. This... - Don't think about the scones.
- This is what's going to win it. - They're 'sgone.
The scones are 'sgone. In the past.
This is where you've got to pull it back.
- Are you going to do that? - Yeah. - Good stuff.
After getting the top comments in the first challenge,
Galway has got high hopes for her royal cake.
I'm making a chocolate-sponge surprise,
and it's fit for royalty because it's got piped rosettes on the top
and special chocolate decorations.
I've been told many times by my family and friends
that it tastes amazing, and it looks amazing
when it's been decorated.
Jim seriously risked running out of time in the last bake,
and it's not something he wants to repeat with his royal cake.
My cake is an orange cake with lavender icing.
I think it's a quite tight time schedule.
I mean, I've got bits of it where I know I've got time,
but there are bits of it where I know I've got to be quick,
otherwise I won't have time.
Ah! Idea!
So quick-paced, this boy, isn't he? He's like a whippet.
Fantastic!
Earlier, Sangita under-baked some of her scones,
and the judges are keeping a watchful eye over her royal cake.
- Sangita! - Hello.
Hi. So, what cake are you making for us today?
I'm going to be making a vanilla sponge
and strawberry buttercream, using fresh strawberries,
- not strawberry extract. - What are you covering the cake with?
Rolled-out icing with the Union Jack.
Are you going to be painting the top of it,
- or using the fruit for the colours? - The fruit. Red for the middle,
raspberries for X bit, and blueberries for the...
- And the white, leaving it as it is? - Yeah. - Oh! That's a nice touch.
With all the bakers making good time,
the cake mixtures start going into the oven.
But Jim has a problem.
What have I forgotten? Something. Um...
Put them in.
HE WHISTLES
Have I forgotten something?
I've just realised that something terrible has happened,
- so I've got to get these out of the oven. - Go, go!
- They're not going to rise. - What have you done?
Vital thing forgotten. Baking powder!
Oh! This is tough. Wow, that's a lot of baking powder!
- How long has it been in there? - Literally a couple of minutes,
- which is OK. - You've got to be careful here, Jim.
- Yeah. - I mean, you've got about an hour.
Is it worth making another one? I'm just throwing it out there.
I can't. It's not worth it.
Now all Jim can do is cross his fingers
- and hope for the best. - HE SIGHS
And with all the bakers' royal cakes now in the oven,
they're all playing the waiting game.
If our bakers think getting judged by Mary and Paul is daunting,
imagine baking for royalty!
I met a baker that did just that.
The royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton
was a glorious event none of us will ever forget,
and their incredible cake was as grand as the occasion itself.
But who was the baking brains behind the masterpiece?
Meet Fiona Cairns, who, along with her crack baking team,
spent eight weeks designing and creating the cake to end all cakes.
'If anyone's going to know about baking for royalty, it's her.'
Fiona! Wow, I feel like I'm in the presence of royalty here.
- Oh, gosh, no! - How are you? - I'm very well.
Now, you made the official wedding cake. What was your inspiration?
Well, the brief came from Catherine.
She had quite an idea of what she wanted her dress to look like,
her cake to look like, the Abbey, and it was all part of a story.
I brought my one in. What do you think?
Very patriotic. Not sure it's suitable for a royal wedding, though.
Luckily Fiona's got a few tips to help me out.
To decorate the royal wedding cake,
Fiona's team were asked to include 17 different types of flowers,
and they made over 900 individual sugar flowers and leaves.
Now, Aaron, the lily of the valley, which was on the top of the cake,
is one of the most important flowers, and it means sweetness and humility.
- Right. Let's do this. - First of all you've got your icing.
Now, this is flour paste, or you can use a modelling paste.
We're going to make something that's called the Mexican hat.
We're going to make a cone. The top of the hat
is actually the back of the flower. Once you've learnt this technique,
- you can make all sorts of flowers. - If you'd said that,
the technical term like that, I'd have known straight away.
I would've banged two out by now.
There's lots of detail going on here.
One thing for the bakers - is it important
- that it tastes as good as it looks? - Every single time,
even if you're the best decorator in the world.
If the cake is cut and it doesn't taste good,
there's no point in making the cake. They're equally important.
So, what do you think?
I think, Aaron, that that's very good for a first lily of the valley.
I'm going to pop that on. So, I've done one.
She's done about 400, and she can just give me a couple of them.
- I'll only take the little ones. - All right. OK.
- You know what... - I'll make it that one.
The little ones?!
What are your top tips for anyone that's baking a royal cake?
I would say plan, and then practise.
And passion - it's so important to love what you're doing.
There you have it. We've got the three Ps from Fiona.
We've got practice, planning and passion.
OK? So if you stick with those guidelines,
you'll have a lovely royal cake of your own.
Now, I'm going to finish this off. What I'm going to do, though,
as a little gift, I'll leave you that, so when Harry gets married,
- it's ready. - Will he like it? - Yeah. You can go on holiday.
- All right. All the best. - Bye-bye.
With their sponges still rising,
it's time for the bakers to prepare their buttercream fillings,
and it seems like they're making a right royal mess.
It just goes everywhere!
It went everywhere.
I'm guessing it's going to be quite strong.
Mmm! It's good!
Don't you eat the stuff for my cake!
Time is running out, and Sangita and Scott have just enough time
to cool their sponges and apply the decorations.
My sponges are all looking brilliant.
I think my cake's good. It's come out the right colour.
But just like before, Jim and Galway are falling behind.
Their sponges still haven't finished baking.
This is the last two minutes. I'm just taking them out.
They're not cooked yet.
And it's not just time issues Jim has to worry about.
The judges know all about his earlier cake-tastrophe,
and want answers.
- You had a problem with your baking powder. - I forgot it.
Luckily it was only in there for less than a minute,
so I took it out, put the baking powder in.
- What, into the tin? - Er...yes.
I put half in each and mixed it round,
which isn't very bakingly-like.
TIMER BEEPS
- I'm going to check. - You having another look?
Still not good enough.
Jim's problems are mounting up, but can he keep his cool
and rescue his royal cake?
OK. You're down to your last 15 minutes of baking.
I need to add more icing sugar to make it thicker.
Knowing that Scott and Sangita are racing ahead,
Galway and Jim press on with their decorations,
in the hope that this might still give them the edge.
I've chosen flowers for my cake,
because it makes it look even more royal.
With time against all our bakers,
Scott and Sangita's cakes are really starting to take shape,
but Jim's princely patience has finally run out.
He needs to cool his cake fast to have enough time to decorate.
At last Galway's taken her sponges out of the oven,
but Paul's spotted a major problem.
I've just seen her cake coming out. Did you notice it?
- It's got a big sink in the middle. - Yes. My heart sank for her.
It's just what you don't want to happen.
OK, dudes! Five minutes left to go.
Our bakers are working furiously to decorate their cakes
to a royal standard, but for Galway,
things seem to be going from bad to worse.
I'm pasting my buttercream for the filling,
and it's melted a bit round the side
because my cake hasn't completely cooled,
so I've got to hope for the best.
OK, guys, this is it. One minute left to go.
Not good. Um...
OK, bakers, your time is up. Please step away from your worktops.
For three of our bakers, this is the last time
they will face the judges,
as only one can go through to the semifinal.
'Mary and Paul will judge their royal bakes
'on ideas, presentation and taste.'
First to face the judges is Sangita.
Her Union Jack vanilla sponge with fresh-strawberry buttercream
went without a hitch. But will Paul and Mary give her cake
the seal of approval?
The problem that we've got, using the sugar paste
on the outside, then putting liquid on the top,
because the fruit itself will bleed, and that's what's happened.
- The idea is very, very good. - It does look royal. - It does.
It's a very good sponge. The chopped- up fruit you put in the buttercream,
the juice has gone into the sponge
and made it really extra-soft, hasn't it? It is very, very tasty.
I love strawberry sponge, so it ticks all the boxes for me.
Despite adding his baking powder late,
Jim created an orange cake with a lavender buttercream,
decorated with edible flowers and white-chocolate sticks.
But will his cake's striking looks and bold flavours
make up for his mistake?
OK, I know there's a cake in here somewhere.
I think the outside looks great.
The ideas that you had are very good.
- The orange is coming through. - Um...
Too much baking powder. I'm getting quite a zing coming through now.
The baking powder is the overwhelming flavour.
That's the biggest issue that you have.
Hoping to put his cheese scones behind him,
Scott's created a twist on the traditional Victoria sponge
using buttercream, fresh fruit and gem sweets.
Will his royal cake turn his fortunes around?
I think it looks like a crown. You've done a good job.
I like the way you've done the top. You've got a lovely pattern,
- but you've got icing down the side. - Yeah. I tried to wipe it off.
Great sponge! I think you've got a lovely flavour. I really do.
Galway made the perfect cheese scones,
but hit problems when her chocolate-sponge surprise
took too long to bake and sank in the middle.
Can her royal cake still seal her place in the semifinal?
Visually there's a few problems. There's a dip in the sponge.
The cake is a five-egg mixture,
and it's a little bit too much mixture to go into a 20cm tin,
so it's took longer than you thought it was going to to cook.
The actual cake tastes really good.
Your icing, it does taste a little of raw cocoa.
It's gone a little bit grainy in the buttercream itself.
Guys, thanks for all your hard work. You've done very well.
Mary and Paul now have to go away to make the tough decision
on who goes through to the semifinals. Good luck.
But what exactly are the judges thinking?
I mean, I like this. Sangita's done a strawberry gateau, essentially.
The sponge is baked well.
The fresh strawberries folded into the buttercream has worked,
- cos you get that strawberry flavour. - And when you look down on it,
you've got the Union Jack. Looks very royal.
When Paul told me that he really loved my cake,
I felt so ecstatic inside,
and I was so happy that at least he liked my cake.
When we move on to Jim, he's executed the outside,
and thought about it extremely well.
But there was problems with the sponge.
He's put quite a lot of himself in that. It was very original.
I thought the judges' comments were fair,
and I did make a few mistakes. I hope they can see through that
and see that I'm a good baker.
When you move on to Scott, this particular cake's really nice.
The flavour of the raspberry and buttercream was very good.
He had a few issues with the scones, and ended up with that,
so I think Scott's done really well.
I think I have done enough to get through to the semifinal,
because I've worked quite hard with the cakes,
and I've got my decoration right.
The scones, this morning, of Galway were very good.
She's a good all-rounder, but I think this afternoon,
- she's had some big issues. - Um, unfortunately
it took rather a long time to cook, so there's a dip in it.
I know what she was trying to achieve. It was just within reach,
but the whole thing comes collapsing down.
They liked the flavour, but the presentation wasn't the best.
I think it will be quite close between me and the other contestants.
Mary and Paul have made their decision,
and the person that's going through to the semifinal is...
- ..Sangita! - THEY CHEER AND APPLAUD
I am very surprised to get through to the semifinals.
I was just not ready for it.
Her cake was baked well, and that cake represented Britain.
She'd got very good scones to start with,
and when you looked at Sangita's cake, the Union Jack -
couldn't be more royal than that.
I'm really happy. Really, really happy.
So, Sangita has made it to the semifinals.
But how will it be next time, when four new bakers battle it out
in two of the toughest tasks yet?
It's pink-velvet cake now. I've changed the name.
I might not have enough time.
I'm hoping the judges will enjoy eating it.
Ooh! Straight in the face.
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk
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