Who left The Great British Bake Off tonight? Recap as ninth baker leaves after series 16 semi-final
The Great British Bake Off has confirmed its ninth exit - but who left? 🍰📺
- It was semi-final week on The Great British Bake Off.
- Our remaining amateurs faced patisserie themed challenges.
- But who did not make it through to the final?
The Great British Bake Off has reached the sticky end of the competition. It is just over seven days until the next champion is crowned by Paul and Prue.
Four amateurs were left heading into this week’s semi-final, but only three spots in the grand finale were up for grabs. It means that one favourite would just fall short at the last hurdle.
Heading into week nine, a firm favourite to win was named by the bookies. Long-time watchers will not be surprised by who is the frontrunner.
But what happened in Bake Off’s 2025 semi-final? Here’s my full recap for week 9:
What week was it on The Great British Bake Off?
The semi-final brought back another old classic in the form of Patisserie Week. After a few curveballs throughout the season, Channel 4 is leaning on the tried and tested in the final stages.
Across three challenges, the bakers will take on three challenges based all around Patisserie. From serving up cream horns to tackling sugar glass domes and a showstopping macaron sculpture.
Who was in the Bake Off semi-final?
After eight weeks of fierce competition, the cast had been reduced to just four bakers. The 2025 semi-finalists were:
- Aaron
- Jasmine
- Toby
- Tom
Remind yourself of who missed out on a spot in the semi-final last week here. It was a heartbreaking exit for viewers.
What happened on The Great British Bake Off this week?
Noel’s voice-over before the semi-final had even begun promised that this is the “closet” ever on the show. So, it set the expectations pretty high right from the off - time to lock in!
Alison started out with a tribute to the four remaining amateurs. Who is chopping onions right now?
For the signature challenge in the semi-final, the amateurs had to bake two batches of six highly decorated cream horns - queue the puns. Prue described it as a “difficult” challenge, especially as it involved rough puff.
Paul explained how the warm weather in the tent could cause trouble for the bakers. The temperature had the potential to mess with their pastry.
Speaking to Jasmine, Mr Hollywood promised that the critiques would be harsh since it is the semi-final. Sound the foreboding alarm, could that be a bit of foreshadowing?
The temperature did prove to be a big challenge as the amateurs found themselves with an extra hurdle to cross. Although it does beg the question, why don’t they have portable air-con in the tent?
In the technical, which was set by Paul, the amateurs were required to make a framboisier cake with a sugar glass dome. The challenge was described as the most complex of the series so far.
It wasn’t just the weather that had the bakers sweating, this tough task had them fretting. They didn’t have a particularly detailed set of instructions and the mousseline had a few of them scratching their heads.
The recipe also involved a delicate sugar dome, which had huge potential to catch them all out. Which bakers would crack under the pressure? Sorry, had to channel the Bake Off puns on that one.
Tom had a disaster as he cracked his dome while trying to put it in the fridge. He declared the dome just ‘had to go’. But the others also had their own struggles in the challenge.
For the showstopper, which was the last chance for the bakers to impress and secure a spot in the 2025 final. They had to make a macaroon showcase, at least 45cms high and everything had to be edible.
Paul warned it was all about “getting the right bake”. Prue added that it is very “difficult to achieve”.
The judges were also looking for “baking perfection” - no pressure then. As a tangent, we once got macaroons from a Raymond Blanc shop and it cost about £20 for six - never touched one since.
Befitting the warm weather, Jasmine had opted for a Christmas tree themed design. While Aaron tried to create a sloth, in tribute to his boyfriend and Toby was trying to make crates of lemons.
Aaron had struggles with his first batch of macaroons, while Tom’s also didn’t fare so well. Jasmine and Toby seemed to be making early strides with the showstopper.
Who was Star Baker in week 9?
Jasmine’s signature bake impress yet again, with the bake and the flavours being praised by Prue. She didn’t quite get a handshake from Paul, but it was a strong star.
Could she be on for a fifth star baker out of nine? Aaron also impressed with his baking skills on the cream horn, although his flavours didn’t hit it out the park with Prue.
Amid a troubled technical challenge, Jasmine impressed, albeit she didn’t manage to make a sugar dome. She walked away at the top of the leaderboard on the technical.
Tom turned things a bit around after his struggles in the signature. He finished in second place in the technical - although like Jasmine he didn’t manage a sugar dome.
In the judging for the showstopper, Jasmine’s macaron Christmas tree impressed once more. Paul described her dark chocolate ones as “delicious”.
She won her fifth star baker award of the season - a joint record.
Who left The Great British Bake Off this week?
Toby and Tom looked in the biggest trouble heading into the judging for the signature bake as the warm temperature put a wrench in the works. Their cream horns looked a tad worse for wear even before being judged - and Toby felt his were under-baked.
Despite Paul being impressed with the look and a bit of the lamination, it did turn out to be ever so slightly underdone. The flavour was described as “lovely” by Prue, however, the texture was off.
Both Prue and Paul liked the fillings of Tom’s first horn, but like Toby the bake was criticised. It was described as being “too dry” and a bit “cake like” by the judges.
The technical proved to be a brutally hard one for the bakers and there was plenty of room for error - see the section above. Toby’s mousseline failed to set and it left him in trouble.
Unsurprisingly, Toby was in fourth place, being described as a ‘bit of a disaster’. While Aaron ended up in third place - as he also had some troubles with his mousseline not fully setting.
It meant heading into the showstopper, Toby was looking like the baker at the biggest risk of going home. But there was still one more bake to go.
During the showstopper bake, both Aaron and Tom had struggles with making their macarons. Could it spell trouble for them?
Despite tasting delicious, Prue declared that Aaron’s weren’t his ‘best macarons’. While Paul said the macarons weren’t to the standard expected - eek!
Having been in trouble heading into the showstopper, Toby appeared to turn things around and Prue described his creation as a “good job”. His chocolate macrons in particular wowed the judges.
Tom went ambitious with his beehive creation and it did look “astonishing”, in the words of Prue. But Paul said he “couldn’t accept that” because of how chocolatey it was, instead of macaron focused.
The bake was also found to be “soft” and needed longer in the oven. Although the flavours were praised - he told his fellow bakers that he felt “chopped down like a tree”.
Alison described it was the ‘toughest’ decision of the season. She revealed that Toby was going home and missed out on the final
Full line-up for The Great British Bake Off final
Once the sad news of the latest exit was out of the way, your attention might be turning to the final in seven days’ time. The line-up for the conclusion to series 16 includes:
- Aaron
- Jasmine
- Tom
When is the Great British Bake Off final?
The show will return for one more episode in series 16 in a week. the final is set to take place next Tuesday (November 4). Just like the previous weeks, Bake Off will start at 8pm for its big final.
It will be broadcast on Channel 4 and can also be watched live on the broadcaster’s on-demand app (formerly called All4/ 4oD). The Bake Off final is due to run from 8pm to 9.15pm next week.
See who the bookies have as the favourite to win The Great British Bake Off in series 16. The frontrunner has been named.