The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – The Final – 2025

It seems as if the Bake Off just started and now it is over.

Signature challenge: British iced finger bun. There are 11 online recipes for iced finger buns in our Library.

Darcie: Time, as always, was a factor -for the bakers, but it was not the biggest obstacle that Tom faced. He accidentally put citric acid into his dough instead of salt – the containers looked nearly identical so I could see how the mistake happened. The final is the absolute worst time for such an error to occur but Tom handled it well, soldiering on to produce buns with great flavors but terrible textures. His peach “hot dog” idea was cute. Aaron’s buns were deemed soft by Prue, but Paul disagreed. Both liked the flavors. Jasmine once again received mainly positive comments, with the buns’ texture and flavors striking the right chord. The only thing Paul found fault with was the height of the buns.

Technical challenge: White chocolate and lemon madeleine tower set by Prue Leith. There are 738 online recipes for madeleines in our Library. I added Madeline tower tutorial this recipe as well.

Darcie: This seemed like an afterthought challenge. Maybe madeleine towers are a thing, but I have never seen them served this way, or with icing like this. However, the concept – although seeming simple – proved to be difficult to execute so maybe it was a good choice.

That aside, I felt sorry for Aaron, always a bridesmaid and never a bride. He again came second in the technical, even though his tower looked better than the others. Tom redeemed himself a bit by taking first, and Jasmine was uncharacteristically in last place. None of them achieved the traditional madeleine hump, probably due to the timing.

Showstopper challenge: The largest cake in Bake Off history!

Darcie: Okay, I’m going to say it: Bake Off needs to quit using glass bowls. I realize it’s for aesthetics, but cake batter isn’t that attractive anyway. The bakers shouldn’t be punished because Bake Off makes them use a fragile vessel. I know that this has been an issue at least one other time, when a stiff bread dough caused a glass bowl to basically blow apart. The bowl breaking put Aaron behind, and his final cake was judged to be a little dry while the apricot flavor didn’t come through. Paul also criticized his piping, You could see the crush of disappointment set in after Aaron received the comments and my heart went out to him.

Jasmine and Tom both had visually powerful cakes, and their flavors were spot-on. Jasmine opted for a Swiss meringue buttercream while Tom chose an American style, and their decorating styles were just as different. Jasmine’s had her signature modern, abstract aesthetic while Tom went with an organic vibe, using sponge “moss” and edible flowers. For a minute it looked like he might pull off an upset, but in the end it could only be Jasmine as the winner. Congrats to all the finalists!