The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Sophie named best baker after showstopping final
Former army officer dazzled judges with final creation to clinch coveted title
Impressive amateur baker Sophie Faldo has officially been crowned winner of The Great British Bake Off 2017 after a tense final showdown.
The former army officer, 34, was named top baker on the final episode of the Channel 4 contest last night, but the news did not come as a surprise to many fans after new judge Prue Leith mistakenly tweeted the result earlier in the day.
Leith later said she was in “too much of a state” to talk about her misjudgment, putting it down to confusion over the time difference between UK viewers and her location at the time in Bhutan.
But her slip did not overshadow Faldo’s success, and she beat co-finalists Steven Carter-Bailey and Kate Lyon to the top spot after stunning the judges for a 10th week with her myriad culinary skills.
While bread has previously caused her problems on the show, she impressed with her offering of three different varieties for the signature challenge and came second on the ginger biscuit technical.
Her showstopper, a honey bee-themed version of a traditional entremet cake, saw her pull out all the stops as she created set lemon curd, white chocolate and lavender mousse, set honey custard and hazelnut feuilletine from scratch, as well as edible bees and a gorgeous marbled mirror glaze.
Leith described it as “stunning”, “beautiful” and “original”, while cojudge Paul Hollywood said that he “loved it”.
Commenting on her time in the tent, Faldo said: “It was very surreal, and I hadn’t allowed myself to think that I could win it up to that moment in time when they said my name and then the enormity of it hit me.
“I do keep my emotions under control, so there wasn’t really a point in the tent that I would burst into tears. It wasn’t going to happen at the end of the final either, because if anything it was a relief.
“I think I am pretty cool, calm and collected. I don’t mind working under pressure, so being in the tent working under time restraints and the hot weather made me more focused and better organised.
“I am a girl who is pretty unfazed by most things, and I really enjoy throwing myself into the deep end in anything, so the challenges in Bake Off were something I enjoyed, not feared.”