The Great British Bake Off series 9

The ninth series of The Great British Bake Off began on 28 August 2018, with this being the second series to be broadcast on Channel 4. The series is presented by Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig, with judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. This series saw a few changes to the usual format: the first episode being Biscuit Week, the documentary inserts were dropped, and the finale included the competitors doing a technical challenge outside the tent for the first time.
The series was won by Rahul Mandal, with Kim-Joy and Ruby Bhogal as the runners-up.

Results summary

Terry was ill and unable to compete in episode 4, but the bakers agreed he should return to the competition the following week. At the end of episode 4, the judges decided it was unfair to eliminate anyone in Terry's absence. Consequently, two bakers were eliminated the following week.
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Episodes

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Episode 1: Biscuits

Breaking with tradition, this year the series kicked off with biscuit week. For the first challenge of the series, the bakers were tasked to bake 24 regional biscuits that needed to be all identical, and said something about them and a place in the British Isles, in 2 hours. For the first technical challenge of this series, they are tasked to make one of Paul Hollywood's childhood favourites - Wagon Wheels, in hours. Finally, for the showstopper, the bakers had to create a spectacular 3D biscuit self-portrait that needed to be constructed with layers of biscuits and judged while placed upright on an easel stand, all in 4 hours.

Baker	Signature	Technical	Showstopper	Result
Antony	Turmeric and Caraway Goosnargh Cakes	12th	"Kilimanjaro Selfie"
Briony	Apple Cider Empire Biscuits	2nd	"Bristol Biscuit Selfie"
Dan	Lemon and Strawberry Shrewsburys	4th	"New Dad in Palm Springs"
Imelda	Cherry and White Chocolate Oatmeal Biscuits	11th	"Seaside Selfie"
Jon	Aberffraw 'Creams'	5th	"A Sailing Selfie by the Sea"
Karen	Yorkshire Perkins	6th	Rosewater and Cardamom "Holiday Selfie"
Kim-Joy	Orange Blossom York Biscuits	10th	"Me at Miyajima Shrine"
Luke	Yorkshire Gingernuts	8th	"What Happens In Vegas...!"
Manon	Hazelnut Cornish Shortbread	3rd	Matcha and White Chocolate Ganache Japanese Selfie
Rahul	Fennel and Coconut Pitcaithly Bannock	7th	"First Spring in the UK"
Ruby	Masala Chai Devon Flats	1st	"Gingerbread Marathon Selfie"
Terry	Lake District Ginger Shortbread	9th	"Brandy Snap Selfie"

Episode 2: Cakes

For their signature bakes, the bakers were required to create a traybake sliced into 16 identical pieces in 2 hours. The technical challenge was set by Prue, which featured a cake with an unusual ingredient: Le Gâteau Vert, one of French painter Claude Monet's favourite birthday treats, in hours. The cake featured a pistachio genoise sponge sandwiched by a pistachio crème au beurre and covered by a green fondant coloured by spinach. For the showstopper, the bakers were required to create a technically demanding chocolate collar cake, featuring at least two tiers, in 4 hours.

Baker	Signature	Technical	Showstopper	Result
Antony	Cardamom and Coconut Burfi Traybake	9th	Pistachio, Saffron and Rose Cake
Briony	Turron and Orange Traybake	5th	Chocolate Fudge and Salted Caramel Creation
Dan		3rd	Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Birthday Cake
Jon	Lemon Meringue Traybake	1st	Hawaiian Shirt Pina Colada Cake
Karen	Almond and Marzipan Traybake with Rhubarb Jam	11th	Strawberry Fayre Chocolate Cake
Kim-Joy	Pandan Chiffon Cake with Palm Sugar Cream	4th	Yuzu and Raspberry Genoise Cat Cake
Luke	Lemon and Poppy Seed Traybake	7th	Raspberry and White Chocolate Collar Cake
Manon	Rosemary and Honey Traybake	6th	Almond Princess Cake
Rahul	Lemon and Cardamom Traybake	2nd
Ruby	Boozy Black Forest Traybake	10th
Terry	Rum and Raisin Traybake	8th	Champagne and Strawberries Eiffel Tower Collar Cake

Episode 3: Bread

For their signature bakes, the bakers had 3 hours to create a British classic, 12 chelsea buns. In the technical challenge, the bakers, using Paul Hollywood's recipe, were tasked to make a batch of 8 grilled non-yeasted garlic naans, brushed with garlic ghee and topped with coriander, in 1 hour. For their showstopper, the bakers were asked to create a three-tiered Korovai to be elaborately decorated for a celebratory occasion, in 5 hours. Most of the bakers chose the traditional wedding theme.

Baker	Signature	Technical	Showstopper	Result
Antony	Decadent Breakfast Chelsea Buns	8th	Chocolate and Orange Adventure Korovai
Briony	Balsamic Strawberry Chelsea Buns	9th	Happily Ever After Korovai
Dan		6th	Wedding Korovai
Jon	Cardiff City vs Chelsea Buns	2nd	Korovai Dydd Dewi Sant
Karen	Peak District Christmas Chelsea Buns	5th	French Breakfast Wedding Korovai
Kim-Joy	Pistachio and Cardamom Tangzhong Chelsea Buns	10th	Orange, Cinnamon and Cranberry 'Kit-ovai'
Manon	Apricot, Cranberry and Marzipan Chai Chelsea Buns	3rd	Fabergé Inspired Traditional Korovai
Rahul	Mango and Cranberry Chelsea Buns	4th	Garden Wedding Korovai
Ruby	Gujarela Chelsea Buns with Dates, Almonds and Raisins	7th	Mama and Papa's Belated Wedding Korovai
Terry	Tangy Citrus Sticky Chelsea Buns	1st	Garden Korovai

Episode 4: Desserts

At the start of this episode, it was announced that Terry was not able to compete this week due to illness. But, with the agreement of all, he would be allowed to come back to the competition the following week. For their signature bakes, the bakers were required to create a meringue roulade in 1 hour and 45 minutes. For their technical challenge, using Prue's recipe, the bakers were tasked to produce a raspberry blancmange served with 12 langues de chat biscuits in hours. For their showstoppers, the bakers were tasked to create a spectacular melting chocolate ball dessert, which is a chocolate sphere that would be melted away with a hot sauce, revealing the dessert hidden inside, in 3 hours. After the three challenges, Briony and Karen were left as the bottom two. However, nobody was eliminated this week, as the judges deemed it would be unfair to send anyone home with Terry's absence. However, this meant two bakers would be eliminated the following week.

Episode 5: Spice

For the signature challenge, the bakers were tasked to bake a ginger cake in 2 hours. For the technical challenge, using Paul Hollywood's recipe, the bakers must create a batch of 12 ma'amoul, an ancient pastry from the Middle East that none of the bakers had heard of, in hours. In the batch, 6 of the ma'amoul must be filled with walnuts and shaped with a mould, and the other 6 must be filled with a date paste and decorated by pinching the dough with ma'amoul tongs. For their showstoppers, the bakers were tasked to create a beautiful, gravity-defying spiced biscuit chandelier to be done in 4 hours. Prue was unwell during the showstoppers round, and as a result, Paul was left as the solo judge.

Baker	Signature	Technical	Showstopper	Result
Briony	Honey and Apricot Ginger Cake	6th	Turmeric Latte Chandelier
Dan	Ginger and Lemon Drip Cake	2nd	Birthday Kaleidoscope for Constance
Jon	Family Christmas Ginger Cake	7th	Birthday Chandelier for Emily's 21st
Karen	Bonfire Night Ginger Cake	9th	Pontefract Girls' School Reunion
Kim-Joy		4th	Christmas Spiced Ice Chandelier
Manon		5th	Art Deco Spiced Biscuit Chandelier
Rahul		3rd	Durga Puja Cardamom Chandelier
Ruby	Jamaican Me Crazy Ginger Cake	1st	Peacock Chandelier
Terry	Caramelised Pear and Stem Ginger Cake	8th	12 Days of Christmas Chandelier

Episode 6: Pastry

For the signature challenge, the bakers were tasked to make 12 samosas—6 savoury, 6 sweet—in 2 hours. The samosas must also be served with a dip to complement them. The technical challenge was set by Prue Leith, and the bakers were required to make 6 puits d'amour, meaning "well of love", in 2 hours. For the showstopper challenge, the bakers were tasked to create a shaped banquet pie that would be beautifully decorated enough to act as a centrepiece at a Tudor banquet in hours.

Baker	Signature	Technical	Showstopper	Result
Briony	Home Comforts	1st	"Down the Rabbit Hole" Banquet Pie
Dan	Festive Samosas	6th	Salmon Coulibiac
Jon	A Romantic Dinner For Two, Samosa Style	2nd	Welsh Dragon Pie
Kim-Joy	Flavours of India	5th	Silke the Vegetarian Mermaid
Manon	Samosas for Mum	4th	"What Has Poppy Eaten?"
Rahul		3rd	Butterfly Pie
Ruby		7th	Kohinoor Crown

Episode 7: Vegan

The remaining 6 bakers were required, in the signature challenge, to make 8 savoury vegan tartlets of 2 different fillings using shortcrust pastry that contained no butter or eggs in 2 hours. For the technical challenge, using Prue Leith's recipe, the bakers were tasked to make a vegan tropical fruit pavlova using aquafaba in place of egg whites to create the meringue in hours. For the showstopper, the bakers were tasked to create a beautiful vegan celebratory cake in 4 hours.

Baker	Signature	Technical	Showstopper	Result
Briony	French Onion Tartlets Celeriac & Apple Tartlets	5th	Hazelnut Mocha Cake
Jon	Garlic Mushroom Tartlets Falafel & Hummus Tartlets	4th	Only Fools Eat Horses Cake
Kim-Joy		6th	Lavender & Lemon Fox Cake
Manon	Summer & Winter Tartlets	2nd	Spiced Apple Cake
Rahul	Coriander Posto & Veg Tartlets Ghugni Chaat Tartlets	1st	Chocolate & Coconut Layer Cake with Raspberry Jam
Ruby	Sage & Butternut Tartlets 'Cheesy Greens' Tartlets	3rd	Chocolate, Lemon & Coconut Cake

Episode 8: Danish (Quarterfinals)

In the quarterfinal signature challenge, the final 5 bakers were tasked to make a rye bread and from it to make 2 types of Smørrebrød in hours. For the technical challenge, the bakers were instructed to make 14 Æbleskiver containing a cinnamon and apple filling, and served with a strawberry jam dipping sauce in 1 hour. For the showstopper challenge, the bakers were required to make a kagemand or a kagekone, a traditional Danish birthday cake made from Danish pastry that resembles a boy or a girl, in hours. The bakers' kagemand/kagekone must be based on someone the bakers recognised and they must use at least three different confectionery making skills within it.

Baker	Signature	Technical	Showstopper	Result
Briony	Spanish & West Country Smørrebrød	1st	Nana Pat Kagekone
Kim-Joy	Bumblebee Eggs & Fish Smørrebrød	2nd	Off to the Opera Kagekone
Manon	Cheese and Fruit Smørrebrød	4th	Birthday Girl Kagekone
Rahul	Smoked Salmon & Roasted Vegetable Smørrebrød	5th	Indian King Kagemand
Ruby	Post-Gym Smørrebrød	3rd	Sister Kagekone

Episode 9: Pâtisserie (Semi-final)

In the pâtisserie semifinal signature challenge, the bakers were tasked to make 24 dipped Madeleines, in 2 designs and flavours, in hours. For the technical challenge, the bakers tackled Prue Leith's complex recipe for Torta Setteveli, a 7-layered cake containing 2 light chocolate genoise sponges, hazelnut bavarois, crunchy praline base and a chocolate mousse, topped with a chocolate mirror glaze, to be completed in hours. For the penultimate showstopper challenge, the bakers were tasked to create a Parisian pâtisserie window containing 36 pâtisserie in 3 types: choux pastry, italic=no and puff pastry mille-feuille, in 5 hours.

Baker	Signature	Technical	Showstopper	Result
Briony	Mojito Madeleines Espresso Martini Madeleines	3rd	British Tea to French Pâtisserie Window
Kim-Joy	Ginger and Lemon Madeleines Orange Bunny Madeleines	2nd	Flavourite Flavours Window Display
Rahul	Lemon and Raspberry Madeleines Orange Curd Madeleines	4th	Classic Tribute to Pâtisserie Window
Ruby	Pick Your Own Madeleines	1st	Parisian Un Bouquet de Fleurs Window Display

Episode 10: Final

For the final signature challenge, the last 3 bakers were required to make 12 iced doughnuts of 2 types, filled and ring, in 3 hours. The technical challenge was another Bake Off first, where the bakers were asked to carry out the challenge outside the tent. Using Paul Hollywood's recipe, the bakers needed to produce 6 pita breads in 90 minutes, to be served with 3 different dips: baba ghanoush, smoked garlic salsa verde and burnt pepper salsa, using the open campfire set up outside. For the final showstopper, the bakers were asked to create an incredible landscape dessert with at least 3 different elements within it, in hours. During the showstopper, one of Rahul's storage glass jars exploded under the intense heat, which resulted in shards of broken glass shattered all over his bench and potentially contaminated his bakes, requiring clean up from the production team. As a result, he was given an extra 15 minutes for the challenge.

Baker	Signature	Technical	Showstopper	Result
Kim-Joy	Amaretto Diplomat Filled Doughnuts Lemon Ring Doughnuts	1st	Lost City of Atlantis Dessert Landscape
Rahul	Mango Créme Pâtissière Filled Doughnuts Spiced Orange Ring Doughnuts	2nd	Edible Rock Garden
Ruby	Dulce De Leche Filled Doughnuts Raspberry and Cardamom Ring Doughnuts	3rd	Magical Edible Landscape

Specials

The two holiday specials each feature four returning contestants from the series 5–8.
The Great Christmas Bake Off featured Liam Charles, Flo Atkins, Andrew Smyth and Jane Beedle. The special was won by Jane Beedle.
The Great Festive Bake Off featured the return of winner Candice Brown, Steven Carter-Bailey, Tamal Ray and Kate Henry. The special was won by Steven Carter-Bailey.

''The Great Christmas Bake Off''

For the signature challenge, the bakers were asked to create 12 iced biscuits based on the theme of The Twelve Days of Christmas, which can be the bakers' own personal interpretation, in hours. The technical challenge was set by Paul, where the bakers were tasked to produce 6 Icelandic Laufabrauð in hours. The final showstopper challenge gave the bakers 4 hours to make a cake in the shape of a Christmas present that reveals a spectacular hidden design when cut open.

Baker	Signature	Technical	Showstopper	Result
Andrew	'12 Days Home For Christmas' Biscuits	2nd	'Boozy Bauble' Cake
Flo	Spiced Treacle & Ginger Biscuits	4th	'Very Merry Prezzie!'
Jane	'12 Days of Decorating' Biscuits	1st	'Practically Perfect Penguin Present' Cake
Liam	'12 Essentials of Liam' Vanilla Mince Pie Shortbread	3rd	'3-In-1 It's Gotta Be Fun' Cake

''The Great Festive Bake Off''

The returning bakers were tasked to bake an iced stollen wreath for their signature challenge in only 3 hours. The technical challenge was set by Prue, who asked the bakers to make 4 snow eggs crowned with delicate spun sugar cages in hours. For the final showstopper challenge, the bakers were tasked to make a 3D New Year's Resolution Cake, where all decorations must be edible, in hours.

Baker	Signature	Technical	Showstopper	Result
Candice	'Festive' Apple Stollen	2nd	'Wear More Lipstick' Cake
Kate		4th	'Dream Restaurant' Cake
Steven		1st	'Communication' Cake
Tamal	Orange & Rum Stollen	3rd	'Tailor's Dummy' Cake

Ratings

The final was watched by an overnight viewing audience figure of 7.5 million, down from the previous final of 7.7 million and the lowest since 2012. The ratings below are cumulative figures over longer periods, and they include multiple-screen viewing figures, the first year this system was implemented, and the figures are therefore slightly higher than it would have been without the multiple-screen viewing figures.

Episode no.	Airdate	7 day viewers	28 day viewers	Channel 4 weekly ranking	Weekly ranking all channels
1		9.55	9.92	1	3
2		9.31	9.76	1	3
3		8.91	9.35	1	2
4		8.88	9.41	1	3
5		8.67	9.15	1	3
6		8.91	9.30	1	4
7		9.22	9.54	1	3
8		9.69	9.93	1	2
9		9.50	9.70	1	3
10		10.34	10.54	1	2