Bake Off final – as it happened: Rahul triumphs and the four other talking points
Until next year, Paul, Prue, Noel and Sandi
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Your support makes all the difference.Another year, another series of The Great British Bake Off comes to an end.
Despite having multiple catastrophes over the course of the final, Rahul managed to win Paul and Prue's adoration to be named this year's champion. Ruby and Kim-Joy tried their hardest, keeping cool heads throughout, but neither had quite the culinary flair of the winning baking wizard.
The Independent live-blogged along with the episode, which you can read below. Before that, here are the five biggest talking points from the episode.
Rahul's showstopping nightmare
While he may have eventually created a stunning showstopper (made to look like a rock garden), Rahul's final bake got off to a horrific start: a glass jar exploded at his workstation because of the heat, contaminating his ingredients and meaning he had to start all over again. Luckily, Paul and Prue offered him an extra 15 minutes to complete the 200 components required to make the showstopper. Talk about pushing yourself.
The wood-fire technical challenge
For apparently the first time in Bake Off history, the finalists' technical challenge did not take place in the tent, but outside. Under the blazing summer sun, the trio made pitta bread. And under the blazing summer sun, they all struggled, particularly Rahul who didn't quite understand how to manage the fire. When Kim-Joy came out the winner of the technical challenge, she seemed a sure-fire hit to take home the winner's trophy. Of course, her Atlantis-inspired showstopper couldn't top Rahul's (with Paul calling her's "slightly flat").
Ruby, what happened?
Ruby came into the final a firm favourite to win, having astonished the judges by taking home Star Baker the previous two weeks. However, an unfortunate tasting doughnut to start the final, following by last place in the technical, and Ruby was at the bottom of the pack. On the plus side, if any of these finalists are to become a media personality in the near future, it'll no doubt be the charming Ruby.
Another Rahul misstep
Yes, we've spoken about Rahul's disastrous smashed glass incident, and his inability to keep a fire going. But lest we forget that the eventual winner also managed to burst his icing bag while filling up a doughnut, leaving behind a fruity mess. It's bewildering that Rahul has managed to look after himself in the real world at this point.
And that's that
Every time The Great British Bake Off comes to an end the waterworks start going. There are tears galore on screen, and occasionally even some at home. Perhaps the most heart-wrenching moment this year was Rahul's calling his proud mother to say he won. A lovely moment to end the series on. Until next year, Paul, Prue, Noel and Sandi.
Read along as it happened with our live-blog below. Please allow a moment to load.
Bake Off returns next year on Chanel 4.
Hello and welcome to The Independent's Bake Off live-blog, bringing you all the latest from the Berkshire based tent. Tonight, we will discover which of the three remaining bakers will be crowned this year's champion.
↵For those who missed the semi-final, you can catch up on everything that happened here...
With only hours to go until tonight's final, former contestant Terry — the older gent with the wonderful moustache, remember? — has written a letter expressing his thanks to everyone who supported him on the show. Nawwww.
Unlike last year, Prue has managed to go the entire day without revealing the winner! Phew.
The latest from the bookies (because yes, you can bet on who will win Bake Off): according to one company, betting has been suspended on Rahul taking home the winner's trophy. He was on 5/2 odds, ahead of fellow finalists Kim-Joy (3/1) and Ruby (3/1).
So, how did the Bake Off finalists avoid telling letting slip that they spent their summer baking in a tent?
Ruby was asked recently, saying: "I barely told anyone about Bake Off but the trickiest was dodging all the questions from workmates about what I was up to on weekends, where was I always going, why was I always tired.
"I honestly blamed it on weddings. So many Indian weddings. Thank god Indian weddings normally last a week - it was a great alibi."
Some quotes from Rahul: "I used all of my holiday leave this year for Bake Off, which I normally would use for my trip to India.
"I told my colleagues that this year I am not going to India, so will use up my holidays in organising my flat and having long weekend trips to the countryside.
"For friends outside work, the excuse was my high workload which required me to work some of the weekends. The rest of the time I said I was at barbecues or summer parties at work colleagues."
And finally, the most recent words from Kim-Joy, on how she nearly revealed to a friend that she was on Bake Off: "I remember a friend eating one of my practice cakes for the Bake Off, and he said to me it was delicious and I should apply for the Bake Off!
"I was impressed with my rare ability to keep a straight face, as inside I was rolling with laughter! I said to him, 'Maybe next year!"'
Kim-Joy getting ready to watch tonight's final in exactly the way you imagine; with a lot of animal-themed cakes
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