K E Y P O I N T S
- Selasi Gbormittah (series seven), Val Stones (series seven), Paul Jagger (series six) and Beca Lyne-Pirkis (series four) all returned to the tent
- They were set a signature challenge of baking a Christmas yule log, a technical challenge of baking 12 identical lattice mince pies and for the showstopper, a snow globe cake
- Paul emerged the winner after topping the technical challenge and making adorable penguins for his snow globe cakes
- Paul Hollywood told him he had “taken his baking to a whole new level since leaving the tent”, while Noel Fielding called him the “Attenborough of the baking world” given his previous success with his bread lion
S N A P V E R D I C T
The ‘Bake Off’ Christmas special had all the right ingredients for the perfect festive treat.
Not only were fan favourites Selasi and Val back in the tent, but they served up some extra cheekiness as Paul and Prue put them through their paces.
But just because it was Christmas, it didn’t mean the judges were going to go lightly on the bakers, with Paul setting what he called “one of the hardest Christmas challenges” with the snow globe technical.
It provided some classic ‘Bake Off’ innuendo and edge-of-your-seat tension, as they moulded globes out of molten sugar substitutes - something which proved extra difficult watch after a lot a sherries.
The last 10 minutes of the episode saw producers really up the festivities though, as although the contestants were only competing to be crowned Christmas Star Baker, they went all out to create a winter wonderland for the announcement, complete with fake snow, a festive choir and Wizzard.
How warm and fuzzy we felt inside (although those aforementioned sherries probably contributed to that).
Spare a thought for them all though, as the episode was most likely filmed back in the summer, meaning they were probably more roasting than your Christmas turkey in all of that festive knitwear.
B E S T L I N E S
Paul Hollywood to Selasi on his Yule log stump: “How big is your stump?”
Sandi: “That’s not really a question you should ask people.”
Paul to Prue, Sandi and Val while twostepping: “It looks like a girlband from the 50s.”
Paul to Becca on her showstopper: “Overall, I think your globes are stunning.”
Val on her signature bake: “It’s a rough, old log, just like me.”
O U R C H R I S T M A S S T A R
While Paul may have been crowned Star Baker, we all know the show belonged to one woman and one woman only - Val Stones.
She had no shame in trying to bribe the judges with various festive tipples and also enlisted Sandi and Prue to form what Paul Hollywood branded “a 50s girlband”.
And of course, she was still listening to her cakes ❤
