The Great British Baking Show Season 12 (Bake Off)

Complete season breakdown

Every episode and bake

Series 12 returns to the Bake Off bubble for ten episodes spanning classic cake and bread skills, a first German Week, caramel and free-from baking, and a Mad Hatter final. This guide records the 30 televised briefs and adds one original home-kitchen adaptation per episode.

1. Episode 1 · Cake

   Cake

   Sep 21, 2021

   The opening week miniaturizes decorative rolls, revisits malt loaf with freshly made butter, and asks anti-gravity cakes to hold a precious memory aloft.

   • Signature

     12 decorative mini rolls

     Make twelve decorative miniature cake rolls in two hours.

   • Technical

     Malt loaf with homemade butter

     Bake a malt loaf and serve it with freshly made butter in two hours.

   • Showstopper

     Anti-gravity illusion cake

     Create an anti-gravity illusion cake representing a precious memory in four hours.

   Episode source

2. Episode 2 · Biscuits

   Biscuits

   Sep 28, 2021

   Biscuit week combines lacy brandy snaps, jam-and-buttercream sandwich biscuits, and interactive three-dimensional replicas of childhood toys.

   • Signature

     24 brandy snaps

     Make 24 identical brandy snaps in two hours.

   • Technical

     12 sandwiched jammy biscuits

     Bake twelve matching sandwich biscuits filled with jam and buttercream in one hour and 45 minutes.

   • Showstopper

     3D interactive childhood toy

     Build a three-dimensional biscuit replica of a favorite childhood toy with an interactive element in four hours.

   Episode source

3. Episode 3 · Bread

   Bread

   Oct 5, 2021

   Italian and Greek flavors frame focaccia and chewy ciabatta breadsticks before soft milk bread becomes material for a three-dimensional display.

   • Signature

     Focaccia

     Bake a flavored and decorated focaccia in two hours and 45 minutes.

   • Technical

     15 olive and cheese ciabatta breadsticks with tzatziki

     Make fifteen olive-and-cheese ciabatta breadsticks and a tzatziki dip in two hours.

   • Showstopper

     Themed milk bread display

     Create a three-dimensional themed display from milk bread in four and a half hours.

   Episode source

4. Episode 4 · Desserts

   Desserts

   Oct 12, 2021

   Dessert week moves from crisp pavlova to plated sticky toffee puddings, then wraps multiple dessert elements in a decoratively patterned joconde sponge.

   • Signature

     Decorated pavlova

     Make a beautifully decorated pavlova in two hours and 45 minutes.

   • Technical

     4 sticky toffee puddings with sauce, tuiles, and creme anglaise

     Plate four individual sticky toffee puddings with sauce, two tuile triangles each, and creme anglaise in 90 minutes.

   • Showstopper

     Joconde imprime dessert

     Wrap at least two dessert elements in a highly decorated joconde sponge in four and a half hours.

   Episode source

5. Episode 5 · German

   German

   Oct 19, 2021

   The first German Week starts with two varieties of decorated biscuit, builds an eight-layer chocolate torte, and finishes with grand tiered yeasted cakes.

   • Signature

     24 German biscuits in 2 varieties

     Make twelve each of two German biscuit varieties, all dipped, coated, or decorated, in two hours and 15 minutes.

   • Technical

     Prinzregententorte

     Layer eight thin genoise sponges with chocolate cream, coat with ganache, and decorate with rosettes and tempered chocolate crowns in two hours and 45 minutes.

   • Showstopper

     Two-tier yeast-leavened cake

     Produce a cake of at least two tiers inspired by German yeasted cakes in four and a half hours.

   Make our home version →Episode source

6. Episode 6 · Pastry

   Pastry

   Oct 26, 2021

   Pastry week crosses choux and doughnuts, layers hand-cut baklava into a star, and encloses patterned savory fillings in decorated terrine pies.

   • Signature

     12 chouxnuts

     Make two batches of six glazed or iced chouxnuts, one filled and one unfilled, in two hours.

   • Technical

     Large star-shaped baklava

     Layer filo with pistachio and walnut filling and cut it into a star design in two hours and 45 minutes.

   • Showstopper

     Terrine pie

     Bake a decoratively encased terrine pie with a neat internal pattern in four and a half hours.

   Episode source

7. Episode 7 · Caramel

   Caramel

   Nov 2, 2021

   Caramel Week tests tart filling, layered biscuit bars, and the control needed to enclose a composed dessert beneath a transparent sugar dome or sphere.

   • Signature

     Sharing-size caramel tart

     Produce a decorative sharing-size caramel tart in two and a half hours.

   • Technical

     10 caramel biscuit bars

     Make ten matching caramel biscuit bars in 90 minutes.

   • Showstopper

     Domed or sphered caramel dessert

     Create a caramel-flavored dessert covered by a sugar-work dome or sphere in four and a half hours.

   Episode source

8. Episode 8 · Free-from

   Free-from (Quarterfinals)

   Nov 9, 2021

   The quarterfinal removes a different staple in each round: dairy from ice cream sandwiches, animal products from sausage rolls, and gluten from a tiered celebration cake.

   • Signature

     8 dairy-free ice cream sandwiches

     Bake and assemble eight dairy-free ice cream sandwiches in three hours.

   • Technical

     8 vegan sausage rolls with red onion chutney

     Make eight identical vegan sausage rolls and sticky red onion chutney in two hours.

   • Showstopper

     Two-tier gluten-free celebration cake

     Create a gluten-free celebration cake with at least two tiers in four hours.

   Make our home version →Episode source

9. Episode 9 · Patisserie

   Patisserie (Semifinals)

   Nov 16, 2021

   The semifinal demands identical layered slices, a composed Sable Breton tart, and a banquet of individual entremets arranged around an edible centerpiece.

   • Signature

     8 patisserie-style layered slices

     Produce eight refined layered slices in three hours.

   • Technical

     Sable Breton tart

     Top a Sable Breton base with raspberry conserve, pistachio creme mousseline, berries, meringue kisses, and chocolate curls in two hours and 45 minutes.

   • Showstopper

     Themed banquet display

     Create an edible centerpiece surrounded by at least twelve individual entremets in five hours.

   Episode source

10. Episode 10 · Final

    Final

    Nov 23, 2021

    The finalists tackle carrot cake and lightly instructed Belgian buns before showing four baking disciplines in a whimsical sweet-and-savory Mad Hatter tea party.

    • Signature

      Carrot cake

      Make a carrot cake in two hours and 15 minutes.

    • Technical

      12 Belgian buns

      Create twelve Belgian buns filled with sultanas and lemon curd from only two written instructions in two and a half hours.

    • Showstopper

      Mad Hatter tea party display

      Build a whimsical spread of sweet and savory afternoon-tea treats using at least four baking disciplines in four and a half hours.

    Episode source 1Episode source 2

Inspired by the briefs

Bake it at home

These are original Baking Show Guide adaptations for a home kitchen. They are inspired by the challenge briefs, not the contestants' recipes or an official recipe from the show.

Inspired by Episode 5

Six-Layer Prinzregententorte

A home-scaled version of the German torte with thin sponge layers and chocolate buttercream.

Time

1 hr 51 min

Makes

One 20 cm cake, serving 10

Level

Hard

▶View ingredients and method

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 180 g caster sugar
• 180 g plain flour
• 60 g melted butter
• 250 g unsalted butter, softened
• 200 g icing sugar
• 150 g dark chocolate, melted
• 150 ml double cream
• 150 g dark chocolate for glaze

Method

1. Whisk eggs and caster sugar until thick, fold in flour and melted butter, and divide into six equal portions.
2. Spread each portion into a thin 20 cm round and bake at 200 C, or 180 C fan, for about 6 minutes. Cool.
3. Beat softened butter and icing sugar, then add melted chocolate. Stack the six sponges with thin buttercream layers and chill.
4. Heat cream, pour over glaze chocolate, stir smooth, and coat the chilled cake.

This is a Baking Show Guide adaptation with six layers for a domestic oven, not a contestant recipe or an official show recipe.

Draw circles on baking paper to keep every sponge the same diameter.

Open the full recipe →

Inspired by Episode 8

Mushroom Lentil Sausage Rolls

Flaky vegan rolls around a savory mushroom, lentil, and herb filling.

Time

58 min

Makes

8 rolls

Level

Easy

▶View ingredients and method

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 250 g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 200 g cooked green lentils, drained
• 50 g fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 320 g vegan puff pastry
• 2 tablespoons oat milk
• Sesame seeds

Method

1. Cook onion and mushrooms in oil until browned and dry. Stir in lentils, breadcrumbs, soy sauce, and thyme, then cool.
2. Halve the pastry lengthwise and shape filling down the center of each strip.
3. Brush the edges with oat milk, roll closed, seal, and cut each log into four.
4. Brush with oat milk, add sesame seeds, and bake at 210 C, or 190 C fan, for 25 to 28 minutes.

This is a Baking Show Guide adaptation, not a contestant recipe or an official show recipe.

Cooking moisture out of the mushrooms prevents a damp pastry base.

Open the full recipe →

Episode guide sources

Challenge details verified 2026-07-14. thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk, channel4.com, en.wikipedia.org.

Season result

The winner stays hidden until you choose to reveal it.

See every Great British Baking Showwinner, season by season →

Full cast

Everyone recorded for Season 12, listed alphabetically without result spoilers.

Season fact sources

en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org.