麻豆约拍

Hosted by Angus Deayton, Britain's toughest baking competition reaches its first semi-final as, across two of the most demanding challenges yet, two teams of professional pastry chefs duel it out for a place in the grand final.

For their first challenge, in just three hours the teams must each create six exactly identical and multi-layered crown entremet - large circular sharing desserts comprising of many complimentary flavours and textures. At the same time, they have to prepare all the elements needed to perform a spectacular piece of gourmet theatre known as live table plating, creating a dessert drawing on the theme of tropical fruits. At the end of the challenge, the teams are given three minutes to transform their table into a gastronomic work of art, under the unwavering gaze of judges Cherish Finden and Benoit Blin.

For their next challenge the teams are required to display their mastery of one of the most highly regarded skills in patisserie, sugar craft. Over four hours, they must produce a jaw-dropping sugar showpiece, along with three types of delicious confectionery - 240 sweets in total - all reflecting the theme of an English country garden. At the end, the scores are tallied and just one team wins that coveted place in the grand final.