As we head back into the Bake-off tent for another week, Channel 4 indulges us with dessert week.

With a pavlova signature, a tricky toffee technical and a ready to burst showstopper, it was down to the remaining nine contestants to prove to Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith that they have what it takes to be crowned the winner for the Great British Bake Off 2021. But first, they had to battle through a pile of puddings.

New to the baking world, contestant Chigs was excited for dessert week, joking that the dessert menu is what he looks at first when he steps inside a restaurant. And with that, Week four began…

A sweet signature:

For the signature challenge, the bakers were tasked with making a beautiful pavlova, which had to be perfectly baked, with a shell-like exterior and a soft gooey inside- similar to a marshmallow texture.

Leith’s Top Tip: “The bakers should leave their pavlova in the oven for about an hour and let it cool for as long as they can. Once they control this, the middle is the most challenging bit, so the outside margarine needs to be sturdy enough to hold the baker filling of choice.

Margarine is a delicate and time-consuming process, especially if the bakers fill and mix colours to their pavlovas”.

Pavlova Recipe:

Baking time: 1hr 35 mins 

Hands-on time: 1 hr

Serves 12 

To make the meringues you will need:

• 6 egg whites (For Freya’s vegan alternative, use an Aquafaba)

• ¼ tsp cream of tartar

• 360g caster sugar

• 2tsp white wine vinegar

• 2tsp cornflour 

• 1 tbsp vanilla paste.

Follow the bakers:

1. Heat your oven to 150c, 300f or at Gas 2. While your oven is heating up, cut out an outline you want your meringue to be on baking paper.

2. To make the meringue, you will need to mix the egg whites and the cream of tartar into a bowl. Make sure you whisk for about 4 to 5 minutes so you achieve a foamy texture.

3. Next, add the sugar a tablespoon at a time. Then whisk for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Mix the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla into the mixture and whisk.

5. Spoon or pipe your meringue into the baking paper. (You could be inspired to follow Amanda’s heart shape pavlova)

6. Bake your meringue for 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature of your oven to 140c,275f and Gas 1. You will now bake for an additional 1hr and 25 mins.

7. Once baked. Make sure you leave the meringue to cool.

For this signature challenge, each of the bakers filled and topped their pavlova’s with different flavours.

Baker Maggi kept her pavlova simple, topping it with frozen berries. In contrast, Jurgen followed a Jewish tradition and used the flavour of oranges and dates.

When it came to judgement time, both Crystelle and Jurgen got complimented on their flavours. Whereas Lizzie’s pavlova looked like it belonged in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, said Hollywood.

For baker Chigs, it seems he is living the sweet life as his pavlova was wonderful to both Hollywood and Leith, leading him to be the second baker to receive a Hollywood handshake

“My work here is done”, said Chigs.

A tricky toffee technical:

Pud you believe it, it’s time for the technical challenge…

With no practice, the technical is full of mystery, and for dessert week, it was Leith’s turn to pick the recipe for the bakers.

Before stepping out of the tent, Leith warned that the technical is full of multi-tasking and prompted the bakers to stay organised throughout the bake!

This week’s technical challenge wanted the bakers to make: 4 sticky toffee puddings, with a perfectly baked toffee sauce and crème Analgise.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe:

Baking time: 35 minutes

Hands-on time: 1 hour

Serves 4

To make sticky toffee puddings, you will need:

•115g soft pitted dates.

•140ml boiling water 

•1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

•45g unsalted butter – plus extra for greasing 

•45g caster sugar

•45g dark muscovado sugar 

•1 large egg

•100g self-rising flour

Follow the bakers:

1. Start by putting the dates into a heatproof bowl and pour boiling hot water over them.
2. Add bicarbonate soda. And leave the dates to soften and cool for 15 minutes.
3. Transfer the dates and begin to blitz them in a processor to form a smooth puree.
4. Add the butter and both kinds of sugar into a bowl and beat for 3 – 5 minutes.
5. Beat the eggs until they are combined.
6. Continue to add flour and mix for another 1 minute. (Don’t do what Maggi did and forget the flour…)
7. Add the dates and fold them into the mixture. 
8. For a toffee kick, add toffee sauce into the base of each of the pudding moulds. Then add your batter.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 

When judgement time came around, it was baker Maggi that was in apparent trouble as her puddings were missing the critical ingredient of flour—leaving a toffee mess to be presented in front of her photo. 

Amanda, George and Freya suffered from a lack of bake time. All producing an underbaked sponge. 

On the other side of the judging table, Chigs, Lizzie and Jurgen wowed with a perfectly baked toffee sponge complemented with an excellent sauce consistency.

A spongey showstopper:

For this week’s showstopper, the bakers had to make a celebratory multi-layer joconde.

• Joconde: A light almond sponge cake, which is also known as La Joconde in French. A cake named after the Mona Lisa.

Being the last challenge for the bakers in dessert week, each of the baker’s showstopper needed to be highly decorative to impress.  Crystelle said, “It needs to be as decorative as the Mona Lisa.”

With a sponge collar made out of a joconde sponge, each baker had to imprint a design into the sponge while working on other components like jelly’s and moose’s, all in the tight four-hour time limit. Whether that was a design of a Liverpool skyline like Lizzie’s showstopper or inspiration from Chig’s sister’s bathroom tiles?

Chocolate Joconde Recipe:

Bake time: 12 minutes

Hands-on time: 3 hours

Serves 12. 

To make the joconde you will need:

•25g cocoa powder 

•70g unsalted butter 

•5 large eggs 

•200g ground almonds

•170g icing sugar

•40g plain flour 

•180g egg whites

•30g caster sugar.

Follow the bakers:

1. To start, mix the cocoa powder and the melted butter to create a smooth paste.
2. Beat eggs with almonds, icing sugar and flour for 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Add your cocoa paste to the mixture and beat again, so both elements are combined.
4. Next, whisk egg whites for 3 to 5 minutes till foamy.
5. Add the caster sugar and continue to whisk – this will create a meringue.
6. A third at a time, add the meringue to the almond mixture earlier created.
7. Remember to fold this…
8. Heat your oven at 180c, 350f or Gas 4.
9. Spread the mixture into the pattern of choice. And place in the oven for 15 minutes.
10. Remember to let it cool before incorporating any other components like mousse or jelly.

For baker Jurgen, not only did his design look the part, but it also sounded the part too. He had inspired his showstopper on a piece of music, signified by adding a classic Tudor flavouring. 

With a disastrous technical, Maggi wanted to keep her showstopper simple to reduce the pressure… Hopefully, this technique will keep her in the tent another week?

With nine bakers remaining, bakers Chigs and George are attempting to do a two-tier sponge… This means there is double the amount of pressure for these two to stay in the tent another week.

As the showstopper tensely came closer to the end, it was bakers Amanda and Maggi that seemed to had got themselves in a leaky situation. It looks like four hours isn’t enough time in the tent for some of these bakers.

With the final bake of week four over, it was judgement time for the baker’s decorative showstoppers.

“Bakers, bring your showstoppers to the front of the tent.”

Jurgen and Giuseppe were amongst some of the bakers in the tent to have thrived within dessert week. 

Leith commented on Jurgen’s showstopper, saying it was “luxurious and creamy in taste”.

Paul said that Giuseppe’s sponge was “beautiful and had great flavours.”

For Lizzie and Crystelle, elements seemed to attract the judges taste buds, but they’re still needed some improvements.

Paul mentioned that Lizzie’s “textures were wrong, but her flavours were nice.”

Sadly, for Amanda, Maggi and vegan alternative baker Freya, dessert week couldn’t leave the tent quick enough.

Yet a baker that had certainly impressed this week was Chigs. Leith commented, “All your elements work, and it’s perfection. I don’t normally like black forest gateau, but I like that!”

Time to say goodbye:

With week four drawing to a close, it was time for Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding to announce who would be awarded star baker and who sadly would be leaving the tent.

This week Lucas got the enjoyment of awarding star baker. For dessert week, it was technical winner Chigs that earned star baker this week. The excitement flourished through the tent with the overjoyed Chigs, “To get a Hollywood handshake and star baker, it’s just unreal”.

Unfortunately, Fielding had to turn the tent into an eight-baker competition, which it was Maggi that was the fourth baker to leave the tent.

She commented: “It has been such good fun and a complete joy. To stay four weeks is a true achievement.”

Next Week: It’s German Week!