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The Great British Baking Show Season 8 Episodes
Season 8 Episode Guide
12 Episodes 2017 - 2018
Episode 1
Cake Week
Fri, Jun 22, 201857 mins
The twelve bakers new to the tent this season initially not only have to contend with the unknown of the pressure in the tent, but also the criticism of one new judge in Prue Leith, a fifty year veteran in the baking industry but who may provide a different perspective than what they already expect from returning judge Paul. For their first challenge, the signature, each baker will make a family-sized cake that will have as its main characteristic some kind of fresh fruit. They will have to contend with how the moisture from said fruit will affect the texture of their sponge. For their second bake, the technical, most are taken back to their childhood in being asked to make twelve mini chocolate rolls, although most admit never having made them in only knowing the prepackaged variety. The final bake of the weekend, the showstopper, has the bakers each making an illusion cake: the cake resembling something totally different than cake. The sponge itself must be the same all through their piece, all decorations must be edible, and the illusion itself must be to scale. What Prue states to the camera is her want for the piece not to be style over substance, meaning that the cake must taste good first and foremost.
Episode 2
Biscuit Week
58 mins
It's biscuit week and Paul and Prue set the remaining 11 bakers three new challenges.
Episode 3
Bread Week
58 mins
The bakers take on Bread Week, tasked with making teacakes in the Signature, cottage loaves in the Technical, and multi-coloured bread sculptures for the Showstopper.
Episode 4
Caramel Week
33 mins
For the very first time on the show, it's Caramel Week, and the bakers and the nine remaining bakers are tasked with making millionaire shortbread bars, tricky Dutch stroopwafels in the Technical, and caramel cakes in the Showstopper.
Episode 5
Pudding Week
58 mins
It's Pudding Week, and the bakers serve up steamed school puddings, molten chocolate puddings, and a trifle terrine Showstopper.
Episode 6
Pastry Week
34 mins
In Pastry Week, the bakers must produce four decorative savoury pies, along with a traditional Portuguese custard tart in the Technical, and a family-sized hand-raised pie in the Showstopper.
Episode 7
Italian Week
58 mins
In the series' first Italian Week, the competition heats up as the bakers take on Sicilian cannoli, margherita pizza, and sfogliatelle.
Episode 8
Forgotten Bakes Week
35 mins
Forgotten Bakes Week revives three forgotten recipes: the Bedfordshire Clanger, the Rum Nicky, and the Savoy Cake.
Episode 9
Patisserie Week
58 mins
In a technically demanding semifinal, the bakers make choux buns, layered Les Misérables cake slices and a sculptural centerpiece out of meringue. Prue and Paul are left with a particularly close decision.
Episode 10
The Final
34 mins
The class of 2017 return for the final Extra Slice, with Paul Hollywood and Aisling Bea.
Episode 11
The Great Christmas Bake Off
57 mins
Four bakers familiar with the pressures of the tent are brought back for what should be a happy occasion of a Christmas themed baking competition. They will all be hungry for the win as none of the four was ever named Star Baker despite each going quite far in the competition in the season they competed. For the signature, they will each be making a yule log, the judges not only looking for something that resembles that log in the forest, but that underneath the decorations has a perfect swirl and a perfect ratio of cake to filling. For the technical, they are asked to make one of the most quintessential of British Christmas goods: twelve lattice topped mince tarts apiece served with a brandy butter sauce. And before the announcement of the winner, the bakers have one last challenge to complete, the showstopper, which may be the most difficult: each to make eight entremets topped with an edible snow globe, which means not only eight identical holiday scenes for the interior of the snow globes but eight crystal clear globes made out of either melted sugar or isomalt, both which can be extremely fragile and temperamental.
Episode 12
The Great Festive Bake Off
57 mins
Four friends of the tent convene for what is the second annual festive new year's edition of the bake off, most seeking redemption for what they consider the specific disasters that led to their demise in the competition the first time around. For the signature, they are to make six identical snowy bombe Alaska tarts apiece, which must include a short crust pastry base, the filling of their choice, and homemade ice cream all topped with a meringue. For the technical, each baker is to make a pistachio kransekake shaped like a Christmas tree, the brief being that the tree must be comprised of exactly twelve rings. The consistency of the beaten egg whites and of the ground nuts are the keys to success. And for the showstopper, each baker is to make a cake evoking an icy winter wonderland. It must be of a centerpiece size and incorporate sugar work as those shards of ice.
