‘Dessert week – this is what Bake Off is all about!’ enthuses Alison. Served up a little later than usual this year; at this stage most of us would probably sensibly decide to round things off with a coffee or just ask for the bill. After all, over sixty percent of the bakes so far wouldn’t have looked out of place at the end of a meal, and last week’s meringue fest easily filled any pudding-shaped hole very nicely thank you.

Nevertheless, somebody asked for the dessert menu, so we may as well peruse on the off chance of temptation. First up is a Basque cheesecake. Usually celebrated for its starkly scorched simplicity and perfectly pure presentation, it gets the full (and perhaps unnecessary) Bake Off treatment of a ‘highly decorated’ finish.

Toby tops his with tempered white chocolate cups, which are coloured purple and filled with passion fruit curd, like mini mimics of the fruit itself. Prue pops one in her mouth and emits an appreciative ‘mmm,’ whilst the marbled white chocolate and passion fruit cheesecake is judged to be ‘perfectly baked,’ and ‘very rich, but very delicious.’  Paul thinks it lacks a citrus kick and neither judge mentions the unusual addition of crispy sage leaves.

Leaves of a more conventional nature fall upon Iain’s bake as he follows this season’s foliate fashion for leaf-shaped tuiles. The judges agree ‘the bake is good’ on his orange and cardamom cheesecake, but Prue thinks there’s ‘too much zest.’ Paul decides the ‘almost bitter’ tang is the result of overzealous zesting and that Iain has ‘taken the pith.’

‘You like your passion fruit, don’t you!’ teases Paul, as Jasmine reveals that she’s turning again to a favourite ingredient. Added to a mascarpone cream, which she spreads atop her lime cheesecake, then decorates with a pretty mango rose, the ever-dependable baker delivers once more. ‘Very nice,’ says Paul. ‘Very delicious,’ confirms Prue.

Part lace doily, part Curly Wurly, Aaron’s eye-catching and slightly retro chocolate work adorns a deceptively tasteful creation of plums poached in sake syrup on a vanilla and nutmeg cheesecake base. ‘As smooth as anything,’ purrs Prue, whilst Paul admires the ‘perfect wobble.’

‘You always surprise us,’ admits Prue, as she and Paul gaze upon the spectacle that is Tom’s signature bake. Taking the concept of a ‘burnt’ cheesecake to its chic extreme, the all-black dessert features tuile shards and a tempered chocolate lemon filled with curd. ‘You need the lemon,’ confirms Paul, as the vibrant citrus sauce sharply contrasts with the flavour of black sesame, which the judge describes as ‘very much a back note.’ Noel is clearly a fan of the ‘Goth cheesecake,’ but Prue sombrely concludes it’s ‘more exciting to look at than it is to eat.’

From the shock of the new to a cosy old favourite, this week’s technical challenge looks so familiar you’d swear it was on Bake Off only a couple of years ago. And you’d be right. However, back then, the task of producing a batch of Paul’s orange and ginger treacle puddings proved so… well, challenging that only one baker succeeded in serving anything remotely edible. This year, it’s Prue’s recipe (make of that what you will) for orange and cardamom steamed puddings, once again drizzled with golden syrup and served with crème anglaise. Under-steaming remains an issue for the current contingent, with a few soggy cores, but at least this time the puds all emerge from their tins intact and don’t immediately collapse distraught into pools of weeping batter.

‘Pretty well faultless,’ declares Prue of Tom’s puddings, beating Iain who’s once again had ‘pithy’ problems. Aaron comes bottom, followed by Jasmine, with Toby occupying the ‘really quite good, properly steamed’ middle ground.

Now, personally, I think there are some lovely trifle bowls out there. Though I’d always favour Scandi simplicity over cut-crystal kitsch, if it does the job of holding those layers of creamy, boozy lusciousness, in my opinion it’s fit for purpose. Cue the Bake Off producers, mulling over ideas for this week’s showstopper. ‘What if we took the bowl away?’ they say. Behold the freestanding trifle. ‘Why?’ the nation replies.

So, raise a glass of whatever tipple soaks your sponge to our brave quintet of bakers and their seemingly impossible task. ‘You’ve basically made a huge Victoria sandwich,’ scoffs Paul, tucking into Jasmine’s bake. ‘Well,’ say I, ‘she could have made a trifle if you’d given her a bowl.’ Nevertheless, Jasmine’s berry-topped tiers of limoncello-soaked cake, strawberry jelly, vanilla bavarois and lemon curd cream stand up proudly to the judges’ scrutiny. ‘Absolutely delicious,’ says Prue, and Paul agrees it’s ‘a fantastic job.’

Sadly, it’s not so successful a story for the other four. Toby channels his Nanny Mo for a traditional combination of sherry-soaked sponge, strawberry jam and vanilla custard, all wrapped up in a Christmas-themed collar. There are new additions of elderflower cream and a jelly dome in which he artfully injects the red petals of a poinsettia. Heartbreakingly, the jelly splits on unmoulding and Toby sighs, ‘I’m so gutted.’ ‘The elderflower is delicious, but quite strong,’ decides Prue, and Paul decrees the ‘rock hard’ sponge needs ‘more custard.’ However, undoubtedly the most remarkable revelation of the judges’ critique is that Paul has never before seen a strawberry Santa.

Aaron wishes he’d never seen this showstopper brief. The self-confessed trifle hater grimaces through four and a half hours of exposure therapy, hoping that copious amounts of champagne (mostly in the bake) will help. ‘It looks magnificent,’ exclaims Prue, admiring the pristine chocolate-collar-wrapped layers of cake, chamomile custard, peach compote, champagne and elderflower jelly and vanilla Chantilly cream. ‘I have issues,’ confesses Paul, as he picks at elements that are ‘too rubbery,’ ‘too soft,’ and ‘very dry,’ but he concedes that, textural troubles aside, ‘all of it tastes delicious.’

Busy on island hopping excursions, Iain and Tom both miss the boat taste wise. Inspired by the Sicilian town of Taormina, Iain sandwiches crisp cannoli discs between pistachio joconde and strawberry and marsala jelly. His imprinted sponge wrap is beautifully illustrated with a tile design of lemons, but the judges are left wanting when it comes to a citrus kick. ‘Normally we can rely on you to do good punchy flavours,’ bemoans Prue. She likes the cake and Paul likes the cannoli, but she concludes that it all tastes ‘quite pale.’ Heading to Greece for Tom’s trifle of crème de figue-soaked almond sponge, Greek yogurt mousseline, toasted almonds and honey jelly, Prue is wowed by its ‘absolutely magnificent’ appearance. Paul agrees it’s ‘very neat’ but questions if it may be ‘too big’ and, after tasting, decides it’s all ‘pretty bland.’  ‘Love the design… but the flavours and textures are not there for me,’ he concludes.

So, in the absence of any real competition this week, it’s no surprise that Jasmine secures Star Baker for the fourth time. ‘No!’ exclaims Noel, as he’s forced to announce the departure of his ‘short king’ of banter, Iain. And now, after all that sweet stuff, it really is time for a quick coffee before paying the bill. As for a tip? Well, if you want to make a trifle, I’d advise you begin with a bowl.