Great British Bake Off 2023: Who was crowned the winner?

What did you miss?

Matty has been named the winner of The Great British Bake Off 2023 after a knockout showstopper.

With a three-tiered chocolate cake that is gushed over by Paul and Prue, Matty saved his very best for last and is awarded the much-coveted trophy by Alison Hammond in front of his family.

That's not all though, the closing credits reveal that Matty and his partner Lara are set to marry in June 2024!

What, how, and why?

Dan looked to rule himself out of contention early on after having a poor signature challenge after overthinking his eclairs with Paul pulling him apart on a number of technical issues and his pastry also coming out soggy.

The technical challenge was a lardy cake which precisely zero people in the tent other than Prue and Paul had ever heard of before. As the name suggests, actual lard is involved – in case you thought this show could get any more unhealthier.

And if his signature hadn't let him down then the technical properly knocked Dan out of the running. Ahead of the showstopper, it looked as if Josh narrowly had his nose in front after Matty finished third.

For their showstopper, the guys have to make a three-tiered celebration cake that is inspired by their first ever bake but still flash enough to win the entire contest.

It's a tense affair as nothing seems to be going right for any of the guys. There is undercooked bakes, races against time and a macaron disaster for Dan.

Matty's showstopper, as pretty as it is, has a leaning problem but that is the only blemish as the judges call it the perfect bake and ultimately, it's the brilliance of his last bake on the show that pips Josh to the post who's final creation was deemed a bit of a let down.

In the early weeks of the show, nobody could have envisioned Matty taking home the trophy but the underdog visibly got better and more confident throughout the show and proved that you don't have to be the most consistent baker to win.

After winning, Matty said: “I don’t know what to say, everyone said you should go on Bake Off and I thought it was a throwaway comment and never really listened to it. I never thought I would be on the show let alone win it!”

What else happened on Bake Off?

You know its serious business when we don't open with a pun-filled skit, instead we get a recap of Dan, Matty and Josh's Bake Off journeys so far before getting right into the final signature challenge of the series which is to make eight eclairs that are two different flavours.

“Remember guys this is the final. So the judges would like you to bake in the nude,” jokes Noel before the guys start their bakes.

All three have received the famed Hollywood handshake this series and there's a jovial atmosphere between the finalists as footage of them working away is intercut with clips from their families.

According to Matt's partner Lara, he doesn't know if he's good at baking or not while Dan has been doing all his Bake Off practice in secret after his kids have gone to bed.

We also get an extended segment on Josh's late nan who encouraged him to apply for the show but sadly died before he got to the tent.

Did it wrap things up neatly?

With Matty was declared the winner of The Great British Bake Off 2023 that's the end of the show for another year. And a deserved winner we have too.

As expected, Alison Hammond has proven to be a good addition to the show which is never going to reinvent the wheel at this point but is still excellent comfort TV.

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