Pastry

With only six bakers left in the tent the stakes are getting higher and this week they face pastry. The remaining bakers bring the old fashioned suet pudding bang up to date, banishing nightmares of stodgy school dinners for good with their range of creative signature suet puds, from 'spotted dick with a kick' to fig roly-poly. Delving further into the history of suet takes us to the Isle of Mull, where the clootie dumpling has been at the heart of the community for centuries. The technical challenge this week proves to be hell on earth, as the bakers are set one of Mary's choux pastry recipes and they must make eight perfect religieuse. These are delicate choux buns filled with crème patissiere, topped with shining ganache and balanced delicately one on top of the other. As they reach the end of their pastry marathon, the bakers reach the showstopper and must make three different types of perfectly puffed pastries. One type must be filled, another must be iced and the third is up to them. From palmiers to cream horns, they have just four hours to impress the judges. On your marks...get set...BAKE!