Storm clouds are gathering and there’s an ominous sense of déjà vu as the sixteenth Bake Off final begins. Persistent memories of series five have echoed throughout the past ten weeks (most notably Iain’s reimagining of his namesake’s Bingate dessert) and now, with five Star Baker accolades under her belt, Jasmine has equalled the achievement of Richard Burr. He went into his final the clear favourite, only to be pipped at the post by the irrepressible Nancy Birtwhistle. So, can Jasmine finally break the record, or will Aaron or Tom prove to be this season’s Nancy?

Well, there are three bakes before Paul and Prue make their ultimate judgement and the first of these is a finger roll. Two batches of six; filled and iced to be precise. Ever cleverly original, Tom plays up the sweet roll’s similarity to a hot dog and pipes frankfurter-like lines of peach and cream cheese buttercream, topped with a mustardy drizzle of lemon icing. His second selection is visually less inventive but clearly aimed directly at Paul’s sweet spot flavour wise – the piña colada.

However, ‘the male judge’ (as Nancy famously dubbed him) is not impressed. ‘I’m really struggling with that bread,’ he admits, and Tom reveals that his accidental use of citric acid instead of salt could be the cause of its solid state. ‘Beautiful’ flavours aside, Prue decides the coconut crème pâtissière and pineapple gel is overwhelmed by rum icing that’s ‘a little too dominant.’ And she adds, ‘the bread is definitely tough.’

‘Chunky little monkeys, aren’t they,’ declares Paul, observing Aaron’s rolls. He claims the bread is ‘too hard,’ whilst Prue deems it ‘quite soft,’ but both agree the fillings of strawberry and rhubarb jam with vanilla crème mousseline and pear and yuzu compote with hazelnut cream are ‘really good.’

Perfectly formed but, according to Paul, ‘quite flat,’ Jasmine’s fancy fingers point in a time-honoured direction. Classic fillings of strawberry jam and lemony cream plus apricot jam with white chocolate crème diplomat are judged to be ‘a decent job’ by Paul, which, translated into Prue’s vernacular, becomes ‘absolutely delicious.’

‘Hump’ is the operative word for the bakers’ last technical challenge as they attempt to construct an ombré-hued tower of madeleines filled with lemon curd. The cakes’ distinctive little mound is, according to Prue, achieved by the ‘shock’ of putting well-chilled batter in a hot oven. Others, like Michel Roux Jr, favour a metal tin and a spot of baking powder. Michel also refers to the desired bump as a ‘nipple,’ but as some of us are still recovering from Paul’s ‘nipple-deep in a pool’ comment about Toby’s bake in week seven, ‘hump’ perhaps provides a less indelible image.

Jasmine soon regrets her eagerness to bake without refrigeration. Aaron and Tom go for the chill, but the insulating properties of their silicone moulds still leaves their madeleines fairly flat. Aaron augments his with an extra shot of lemon curd but Tom nips ahead to claim the top spot. Jasmine falls short of the required thirty-one cakes and comes third whilst Prue laments the fact that none of the finalists have managed to tie a decorative ribbon.

As raindrops continue to drip from the bunting, a brolly-bearing crowd of friends, family and fallen fellow bakers begins to gather outside, patiently waiting for a slice of ‘the biggest cakes in Bake Off history.’ At over 1.2m long, the ‘table runner cake’ is ideally suited for mass catering. And, in another gesture of generosity, the bakers are each permitted to use two ovens; a new concession that is sure to have many a past finalist feeling browned off.

Aaron is soon speeding along with the production of his Darjeeling tea sponge, casually tapping a batter-coated beater on the rim of a glass bowl. ‘Crack,’ the bowl replies, and, just like that, he is thrown off schedule and forced to make another batch. Fortunately, Aaron says he’s made a design choice to go for an informal look, as he layers his sponge with apricot and Darjeeling compote and finishes with piped squiggles of toasted milk buttercream, tuiles and chocolate flowers. ‘I like the component parts, but it looks a little bit rushed,’ says Paul. Prue decides she ‘very much’ likes the flavour, but adds, ‘the cake is a little dry.’

Expertly balancing flavour with a fine finish, Jasmine pairs her cardamom sponge with a raspberry and almond one and layers them with a lemon mascarpone cream filling. Neatly coated in vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream, she tops things off with caramel shards, meringue kisses and rice paper lilies. ‘I think it looks really beautiful,’ exclaims Prue, adding that ‘the flavour of the cake is absolutely lovely.’ Paul agrees and congratulates her on a ‘very delicate cake’ and a ‘great job, well done.’

However, the highest praise seems reserved for Tom, who recreates his Bake Off journey in cake form, including a sponge moss strewn path, mini versions of last week’s controversial chocolate beehive and a raspberry and basil jelly version of the famous cake from the opening titles. Admiring his raspberry chiffon sponge with mango and passion fruit ganache, Prue declares, ‘it looks absolutely stunning’ and ‘tastes amazing,’ and though Paul notes the cake has ‘concertinaed down at the bottom,’ he concludes, ‘you have the style and finally you have the substance as well.’

And, though we finish the series on a cake without tiers, there is no such thing as a tear-free final. Just when it looks as if history will repeat itself, Jasmine finally shatters the curse of season five and secures her well-deserved win. So, with the search for next year’s bakers underway, a fresh gauntlet (or oven glove) is thrown down. As Jasmine sets a new Bake Off record, can anyone out there beat it?