Steven Carter-Bailey Tells All About The Great British Bake Off - Exclusive Interview

How long have you spent, max on a cake?

Oh my goodness. I think the longest I ever took was probably the first wedding cake I did. But I was so inexperienced that everything took three times as long ... I made it slowly over the course of four weeks, but I was working during the day and then the evenings. That was 150 individual sugar roses that were decorating a cake. I think from an all-in-one, end-to-end process, [it] was the Rubik's Cube cake. Which was, I think, four days.

You made a cake for Ian McKellen for his birthday. Tell me the story behind that.

It was through a friend ... Obviously, I knew that it was his birthday coming up and I said, "I'd love to make him a cake." Just the chain of events kind of happened in the background, and my friend comes in and said, "He'd love it. He would love to have a cake for his birthday." [Ian McKellen] was celebrating his 80th birthday with a tour across the country that goes into different theaters and giving a performance. I was going to the one at the [Harold] Pinter Theater in London, and I said I would present it to him there. I knew that he loved chocolate cake so I made him a blue and gold chocolate cake. I was so overwhelmed. I think he's probably the only person I've ever had, like celebrity fear.

I was so just confused, baffled, amazed, shocked, and stunned into silence. Because, I mean, this is Gandalf! As well as this incredible Shakespearian actor who has, I think he had 65 years on the stage at that point. He's just the most incredible character. But he was so polite, he was so kind. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have that picture [on Instagram]. He asked me for a picture. Because I was just so gobsmacked. I stood there like an idiot, really, just for like 10 minutes while he spoke to me.

What's the story behind your picture with Jonathan Van Ness from "Queer Eye"?

I'm good friends with Tan France ... Tan was touring the U.K. with his book and he'd said, "Oh, you know Jonathan's coming over to do the same, why don't you surprise him with a cake?" The look of, like pure joy on Jonathan's face is genuine. Because he didn't know I was coming. I'm sure Tan must've told me that he loved — cinnamon buns, is it?

So I designed a cinnamon bun cake for him. And I had been working with his P.A. secretly in the background. At the end of the show, I walked into his dressing room and was just there with the cake. He's so sweet and kind and loving, and he's everything that you see and more. He's very affectionate. He was so touched that somebody had done that. He's one of those people that has never lost touch with reality through the fame process. He's still a young boy who had a cake.

What made the difference [the last time you applied]? What made the season that you were on be the season that you were on?

I had actually been kind of coerced into doing it by a colleague at work. She told everybody that I was going to do it, so I kind of had no choice. I applied and to be honest ... I think that had a drink when I applied. I don't know if it was a mistake because it was a digital application. I don't know what my application said ... But I was probably very descriptive in my application. To be honest, I didn't think much of it when they called. I didn't think much of it when they called the second time, because we'd been through this before. Then they called me back for an interview and I thought, "Oh, here we go. This could be different." And then three months later, I'm standing in front of the camera.

Having gone through the prep process twice for a show like this, can you give some insight into what it's like prepping for "The Great British Bake Off"? 

The prep is the hardest thing I've ever done ... So from application through to completion, "The Great British Bake Off" has been compared to a dissertation for a post-degree. Achieving a diploma or a college degree, it's hard work. It's just constantly there at the forefront of your mind. The application process is not tough, in that it's hard to do. It's just constant questions, interviews, questions, interviews, credit checks, police checks, health checks, psychiatric checks, ability checks. You're constantly going down in front of cameras, [getting] checked for stress levels. Could you cope in a strenuous environment? How would you deal with press hatred? How would you deal with being with the parishioners of the street? There's this huge, like prep for it when you get there — and then you get on the show.

 You get your phone call [saying], "Congratulations you're one of the 12 bakers this year." Then the real work starts.

That kind of stress level and anxiety you've talked about — is that something that is just inevitable for a part of these food competitions?

I think it's a very hard topic to sort of comment on because I agree that there needs to be more done. I don't know what more could have been done for the contestants in the run-up to it. I just think the thrill and the idea of being on the show was so great I would never have questioned it. Even now, I look back and think I would do it again ... I would just be kinder to myself. I think [it's] like any stressful situation, [like ] if you were going for a job, or if you were trying for a baby or something. Because it's such a wonderful potential outcome. Everybody roots you and says, "Come on, you can do this, you can do this. You've got this." So in your mind, anything other than perfection then becomes a failure.

I didn't see that not winning was an option. I felt like I put so much pressure on myself that it got to the point where I broke down. And the final episode, I had probably the worst anxiety attack I've ever had and had to be talked down off a ledge. Sandi Toksvig, in fact, found me outside the tent halfway through the bake and had to kind of coerce me to come back in. Because I just broke down. Because, in my mind, I knew I wasn't going to win. And so I couldn't see another option.

I think one of the producers had said that, "He's gone. He's just walked out." ... I asked them to remove this bit. But you know, I really was at my lowest point. And I think it's a joint responsibility. It's very easy to get swept up in the romance of something like this. Because I didn't know what I was getting myself into, originally. I think halfway through the show, I thought, "Oh my God, this is huge. This is going to be the biggest show on television this year." And the nerves got bigger and bigger. Because I wasn't frightened — I wasn't nervous — in the first few episodes because we were pre-filming. It didn't register, because I didn't have an audience. I thought, "Well, it doesn't matter."

I think it's a joint responsibility. "The Bake Off," or "The Great British Baking Show" is one of the kindest shows. And we are all there for one another, and I had a fantastic support network. The problems for me started when I stopped using that support network. I didn't have a very supportive partner at the time. I stopped talking to my sister, who's my mental support. And I shut off and became almost recluse in the last few episodes. I wasn't sleeping ... There was too much pressure to film in such a short amount of time. And I did say that to them. I said, "Look, the reason I'm under so much pressure is because we finished one episode and I've got three or four days to turn around two new recipes." Which, by the way, would decide whether I win or lose.

But I think there are other shows, especially over here, that are guilty of pushing a forced reality, making people feel that perfection is the only option. They're setting ... unachievable beauty standards for the public. I don't agree with that. But this is baking.

What's one British dessert that people in the United States need to know more about?

Well, I'm going to give two, actually. The first one is Eton Mess. I'm sure it's well known over there, but Eton Mess is essentially meringue, crumbled meringue, whipped cream, whipped soft Chantilly cream, and fruits or fruit coulis, like strawberry. It comes from Eton school, but it's the most British dessert you could possibly find. There are others from around the British Isles, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, but as far as British desserts go, I think that is the one.

Second, I would love for Americans to appreciate what we do — what we do is suet in the U.K. Suet, I'm sure you know what suet is, but it's an alternative fat. Essentially it's used more in steamed puddings — very, very, very heavy, dense, rich pies and steamed puddings, and those jam roly-polies, which sounds nice. But when I describe it, it's like beef fat pastry roll with jam and steamed. I kind of see why people probably might not want to try it. But I would, I implore anybody to try it at least once. Maybe a lemon steamed pudding ... Actually, obviously if you're living in Arizona, Texas in the summer, or California, you might not want a really heavy pudding. But maybe in the Midwest from November onwards, you might. They might appreciate it more when it's cold and you want something really heavy and comforting.

Sounds like maybe a Thanksgiving dessert.

Yes, exactly. It's a holiday dessert. In fact, I use it in my Christmas puddings.

And [is there] a U.S. dessert that you are particularly fond of?

 Oh my goodness. I love cream pies. I did a Martha Stewart coconut cream pie and Ina Garten I think, did a peach. Peach and something cream pie? And then a chocolate cream pie. The whole cream pie family is always a winner. Always, always a winner. But I have to be careful because I'm gluten-free so I don't eat gluten. I always looked for alternatives for things like crusts and things like that. I love that. I've got a nice, old 1950s American diner cookbook. I adore [it] because it's so classic and you know, simple flavors like blueberry pie, cherry pie, things like that. So yeah, a cream pie because we just don't get those kinds of things over here. But Americans, interestingly, are miles ahead on gluten alternatives in baking and cooking.

Yeah, this is something we're really good at I think.

I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about coming to visit because I was visiting San Francisco a couple of years ago and I stayed with my aunt and uncle, and there was no concern. All the bread was good, or the biscuits — the snacks, the crackers — everything's gluten-free. Trader Joe's just kind of was my home for that week. And, I had no problem. Then I've got the American — this is my kind of Bible — America's Test Kitchen gluten-free cookbook. There's nothing like it over here. You're gluten-free over here [in the U.K.], you'd go hungry.

 Can you tell us what you think is the biggest mistake people make when making baking cakes? And also if you can, off of that, give our readers any baking tips?

Okay, I'm going to be very honest. I try to offer help and advice to anybody who asks me, and that includes a lot of American and Canadian followers. I can guarantee if something has failed in terms of baking, I can guarantee that 90% of the time it's because cup measurements were used. It's such an inefficient and irregular way of measuring baking ingredients. That doesn't mean for cooking, because cooking is different. A cup is a sort of a vague amount. I know that you would say it's 225 milliliters or grams, for example. But it's so hit and miss that it can literally be the difference between a failure or perfection. I would always, always, always weigh out using digital scales. It's just as simple as cup measurements because I think you can still get everything in one bowl, but I just wouldn't use cup measurements anymore because to me they don't work. I've tried them and I don't get a consistent enough result.

And I would also check your ovens for heat consistency. Because, again, older ovens misfire. And whilst the dial might say 375, it might be 400 in there. It might be 325 in there. I would always get a little oven thermometer that you can put into the oven. That's a good tip for consistency. And always, always, always follow the recipe to the letter. ... So when I design a recipe, I don't just pick numbers out of my head and go, "That'll work." They are tested between five and 15 times for consistency, for different oven types, for flavor. 

I'm sure there are people I have over here who consider themselves lucky — apparently that they get to taste these things. I give away a lot of food and I ask for feedback, honest feedback. And I'm lucky that I have that sort of group of friends who will be honest to say, "This is a little dry." The work that goes into a recipe is done to make sure that you're fail-safe. I would always, always follow a recipe. But also have fun. And give yourself a lot more time than you [usually] allow yourself, because it does not take half an hour to get a cake ready. It's a lot longer.

If you want to keep up with the amazing cakes that Steven Carter-Bailey is whipping up in the kitchen, be sure and give his Instagram a follow. You won't regret it.