It was a first for the series
The Great British Bake Off has crowned its series 15 winner, as the final episode of the 2024 season aired tonight (November 26).
After last week's elimination, Christiaan de Vries, Dylan Bachelet and Georgie Grasso (the first Welsh person ever in a Bake Off final, Alison noted) competed for the grand prize. In the end, it was Georgie who was named the ultimate Star Baker.
So, what went down? Things started with a surprisingly tough Signature: 24 scones – both pronunciations were used – with 12 savoury and 12 sweet, made with a filling to complement each batch.
Christiaan went for curry and coconut scones, while Dylan opted for strawberry and salmon, and Georgie decided on Greek and afternoon tea. All of them did well, but no one received full-on praise without some critique.
The Technical required the trio to each make an afternoon tea display, consisting of four lemon sandwich cakes, four strawberry tarts, and four platted egg and cress rolls.
Dylan got rather stressed, and it was reflected in him coming last. Georgie just missed out on first place due to some overbaked tartlets, meaning that Christiaan had won his first-ever Technical.
Finally, the Showstopper challenged the bakers to create a decorated hanging cake fit for a garden party, with three tiers and two fillings, and it needed to be "exquisitely decorated".
Georgie's cake was made with lemon, strawberry and champagne, with some mascarpone and elderflower thrown in for good measure. The champagne also gave Georgie something to drink as she was going.
Christiaan went with lemon and poppyseed, with a mixture of raspberry jam and liquorice, and a little bit of lemon thyme and cardamom in there, too
Dylan's flavours include Earl Grey tea, candied orange and mascarpone. He also decided to use genoise sponge, which is very light, and something Paul warned against, as the cake might not be sturdy enough to hang without it all falling apart.
Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood said the mix of Dylan's flavours weren't quite perfect, but Paul (whose tongue had turned blue from the cake) called his creative recipes "fascinating".
The judges were highly impressed with Georgie's "delicious" flavours, and impressed by the size and shape. Christiaan impressed with his extravagant presentation and unusual combination, but it was slightly too strong for Prue and a bit overbaked for Paul.
Surrounded by the eliminated contestants and all their friends and families, Georgie was crowned the winner.
"Can't believe that I've won it. It's just incredible," she said. "It just means everything, I've been so self-doubtful... but for one I thought, 'I'm just gonna go for it.'
"I'm so proud of myself."
