‘The Great British Baking Show’ Winner Speaks Out After Dramatic Finale

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Great British Baking Show, Collection 13, Week 10]

After ten weeks of rising tensions and flattened sponges, the Great British Baking Show‘s 16th season (labeled as Collection 13 on Netflix) came down to three finalists: Jasmine, Tom, and Aaron.

The three remaining bakers were tasked with the usual Signature, Technical, and Showstopper challenges. First up, for the Signature, they had to create the classic British iced finger bun, followed by a tower of French delights in the Technical. Then, in the hardest Showstopper of the season, the finalists had to make the largest cake in GBBO history.

All three bakers had highs and lows throughout the finale. Tom’s hot-dog-inspired iced finger buns were criticized for the bread being too “solid,” while Prue Leith said Aaron’s rolls were “too soft.” Meanwhile, the usually perfect Jasmine had her buns criticized as “quite flat.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Great British Bake Off (@britishbakeoff)

The Technical also proved tricky for frontrunner Jasmine, who fell short of the specified 31 cakes. However, she redeemed herself in the Showstopper, creating a cardamom sponge with raspberry, almond, lemon mascarpone, and vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. Leith called the cake “beautiful” and praised its “absolutely lovely” flavor.

Aaron and Tom both created incredible cakes, too, with Tom, in particular, receiving high praise from Paul Hollywood and Leith. However, when it came time to choose the winner, there was only one choice. Jasmine, who tied the record for most Star Bakers this season with five, was declared the latest winner of the Great British Baking Show.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Great British Bake Off (@britishbakeoff)

“Oh my goodness I am just so overjoyed!” Jasmine said following her victory. “When I was in the middle of exams and trying to bake while I was trying to learn, it’s been so much. But I have done it and I am just so unbelievably happy and to have done it with such an awesome group of people.”

Hollywood shared his thoughts, saying there was no point in the season he thought Jasmine was close to going home. “And that’s unusual, and to win five Star Bakers and then win overall that’s never happened before,” he continued. “She has done an incredible job all the way through the Bake Off this year. She is a worthy winner and she is the best one we have seen for quite a while actually.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Great British Bake Off (@britishbakeoff)

Related

Prue Leith Reveals She Took Weight Loss Meds & Was Shocked by Results

“The thing about Jasmine is that she has been steady all the way through, almost unheard of to be so consistent and so good,” Leith added. “She is an extraordinary girl.”

Speaking to Channel 4 after the finale, Jasmine opened up about her experience on the show and how proud she felt appearing on television as someone with Alopecia.

“If I had told myself three years ago that I would be going about my life without wearing a wig, with no hair, I would have laughed and said, ‘don’t be ridiculous,'” the 23 year old medical student said. “I could never have imagined being on the Bake Off, let alone doing it with no hair.”

She added, “Life with alopecia has definitely been challenging at times. I am still very much in the process of learning to love it. But I am getting to the point where more days than not, I am actually really enjoying looking a bit different. Having Alopecia has (and is) changing my perception of what beauty is. Being authentically yourself, the way you were made to be, is so much more beautiful than trying to look like everyone else around you.”

What did you think of the Great British Baking Show winner? Did your favorite win? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.