Who Will Win The Great British Bake Off Series 16?
The Great British Bake Off is down to its final three - and there is a clear favourite on betting sites .
Tuesday night's semi-final saw Jasmine win her fifth Star Baker of the series - equalling Richard Burr's record for the most titles in Bake Off history, after he won five during 2014's fifth series.
It was Patisserie Week for the semi-final, but Toby was sent packing after what host Alison Hammond described as the "toughest decision across the whole series so far".
He began the episode feeling "nervous" about his chances, and he fell down on his Technical creation, which completely collapsed and looked more like a puddle.
Earlier in the Signature, Toby told how he had used judge Paul Hollywood's rough puff pastry recipe to practise, but it didn't go well, so he switched to Gordon Ramsay's recipe.
However, judge Dame Prue Leith said Toby's Signature hadn't been baked enough, and he regretted moving away from Paul’s recipe.
He finished fourth out of four in the Technical and while Paul loved his chocolate macarons in his Showstopper, he found his lemon ones too dry.
Toby was in tears after being told he had missed out on a place in the finale, and Jasmine also shed a tear that he wouldn't be in the final alongside her.
Jasmine Odds-On For Final Win
At the end of the episode, Jasmine said the judges were "quite pernickety" in the semi-final, but she had plenty to cheer about in the latest episode.
Despite it being the semi-final, it was a routine victory for the amateur baker.
Before deciding who had gone home, Paul insisted nobody had hugely impressed him in the Showstopper, but Jasmine was definitely through to the final - and they were choosing between the other three, Toby, Aaron and Tom, to go out the tent exit door.
Jasmine got off to a perfect start in her Signature, in which the contestants had to make six cream horns.
The Great British Bake Off Winner Odds:
Contestant | Odds | Probability |
Jasmine | 8/15 | 65.2% |
Tom | 15/8 | 34.8% |
Aaron | 2/1 | 33.3% |
Prue said her horns were "simply delicious", and said she had done a "really good job".
She finished first in the "most complicated" Technical of the contest so far - which required the amateur bakers to make a French framboisier cake - despite giving up on making a sugar dome after three failed attempts.
The judges said her 30 filled macarons in the Showstopper were "neat as a pin".
Quite simply, Jasmine deserves to win the final for her performances so far, and she is 8/15 on entertainment betting sites to do so.
But it doesn't always work out like that in Bake Off.
In 2014, five-time Star Baker victor Richard didn't end up winning the series, with Nancy Birtwhistle crowned season five champion instead.
Teary Tom 'So Lucky' To Be In Final
Tom looked like he was heading home at the end of Tuesday's episode, after he was in tears at his Showstopper feedback.
At the top of the episode, Paul told him he had been "hanging on" by his fingernails in recent episodes.
And he didn't get off to a great start in Patisserie Week when Paul said his cream horns were "too dry".
In the Technical, Tom smashed his sugar dome when putting it in the freezer, but he still finished second in the challenge.
Tom appeared to have pulled out all the stops for his beehive Showstopper, which had a hive made of chocolate and bees made from macarons.
His effort looked hugely impressive, and Prue described it as "absolutely astonishing".
However, Paul wasn't in such a generous mood.
The judge said he "couldn't accept" the positivity surrounding Tom's creation, because it "isn't Chocolate Week".
Paul insisted Tom's macarons were too flat and he criticised their cookery.
Afterwards, Tom felt "chopped down like a tree" because of the feedback, and he burst into tears.
However, he has a place in the final.
After being told he had made the finale, the amateur baker insisted he was "so lucky" to still be in the competition and broke down in tears again.
He is 15/8 second favourite on betting apps to triumph, just ahead of 2/1 third favourite Aaron.
'Pastry King' Aaron Progresses
At the beginning of the semi-final, Aaron was determined to "fight to the bitter end" in the competition.
He had big expectations on him going into Patisserie Week, with outright favourite Jasmine describing him as a "pastry king".
Aaron lived up to his nickname in the Signature, after he was praised for his pastry cooking in the first challenge.
But he finished third in the Technical after it split and fell apart.
Lots of Aaron's macarons burst in the oven during the Showstopper challenge, and he had to bin them and start again.
Some of his completed macarons were falling off his sloth Showstopper at one stage, and the judges said they were "not the best" macarons he has made.
Despite that, Aaron refused to fall apart, and it wouldn't be a huge surprise if he excelled in the final and was victorious.
It's all to bake for in Tuesday's finale.
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