And so, this is how it ends: with a puff of steam from the oven, a shrilling timer, and three bakers.

We started with 12 contestants, and battling it out in the final are Dan, Matty, and Josh. It could be anyone’s game, as all three have won Star Baker twice and all three have received a Hollywood Handshake. Dan is the most experimental of the three, Josh is the most consistent, and Matty is the one most in it for the fun of it all.

So who will win? For the final time this year, let’s bake!

Signature

For the first challenge, the bakers have to make eight exquisite, highly decorative eclairs. They must have two different flavors and two different types of decoration in two hours and 15 minutes. The pastry needs to be puffed up and crisp, with beautiful air-holes that can be filled with cream or custard.

Dan is perhaps saving his experimental side for another task, as his eclair flavors are pretty classic. He’s going for strawberries and cream with jelly, and then salted caramel and mascarpone cream with praline. Choux is one of the first pastries Dan learned to make, which is impressive; I, like many a British student at an all-girls’ school, learned to make shortcrust which we then used for a quiche.

Josh has run out of ingredients from his garden, having brought them all in for previous challenges, so he’s going for tropical coconut, mango, and raspberry eclairs, with his second being coffee pastry cream and dark chocolate.

Matty is taking two traditional desserts and using their flavors for his eclairs. His first set will be Black Forest inspired, while his remaining eclairs are banoffee flavor. And, in the perfect moment for a reveal, Matty tells Alison that he never applied for Bake Off; it’s thanks to his fiancée Lara that he’s here.

Josh is pushing himself and doing two different types of choux; one has a chocolate craquelin topping. He’s pretty calm, but Dan, perhaps in the excitement of being in the final and perhaps because he’s just Dan, forgot to put his icing sugar on his eclairs before popping them in to bake. And this means they might not have the crispiness eclairs need. The icing sugar doesn’t actually matter in the end as Dan ends up leaving his baked eclairs on the tray for too long after pulling them out of the oven, so they go soft.

Josh is first up to be judged, and Paul likes the uniformity of his eclairs. They’re perfectly filled, according to Prue, who says she gets very cross when eclairs aren’t filled properly. (Now we know where Prue’s line is.) Josh’s tropical eclairs are nice but for Paul they’re too sweet, although Prue thinks the flavors are delicate and lovely. His coffee ones are “clever,” according to Paul, and the coffee level is spot on.

Matty’s banoffee eclairs are tasty, but Paul thinks they’re missing the caramel. The Black Forest needs more cherry, but Prue claims the chocolate and booze is good. It’s not the best start for Matty, since caramel and cherry are key components in his two flavors.

Dan’s bakes look the messiest of the three, and Prue thinks he’s attempted too much; it’s good to know nothing has changed for the final. Dan’s pastry is soggy, and while his strawberries and cream eclairs taste nice, the salted caramel and mascarpone ones have a grainy filling.

Technical

Going into the second task, Matty is the only one who’s never won a technical (although Josh only won his first last week). This is his final chance, and to do so he’ll have to produce a perfect batch of nine lardy cake slices. The judges want laminated dough, packed with lots of soaked fruit, and all in three hours.

Lardy cake, which Noel says sounds like it’s from the war, is a British classic, according to Paul. It might be classic, but I cannot remember the last time I saw or heard of a lardy cake. It’s layers of sugar, lard, butter, and fruit. Sounds delightful.

Each baker is using a completely different way to make their dough because—surprise surprise—no one really knows what a lardy cake is. Everyone comes more unstuck during the proving stages. The first prove of this dough can be done in the proving drawer, but the second cannot: The proving drawer will be too warm and will melt the lard, putting at risk the lamination the bakers need to achieve. Matty hesitates about putting his in the proving drawer, but when he sees Dan and Josh going for it, he pops his in as well. He should have listened to his instincts.

Continuing with tradition, the bakers don’t have enough time to cool their lardy cakes properly, and everyone seems a little uncertain. From looks, Dan’s is the worst because it’s burnt on the top and the bottom, but honestly, none of them are fantastic (which is perhaps down to the dessert itself).

Josh has managed good lamination, and his cake feels light. The flavors are there, say the judges. Dan’s got uneven layers, and while it has a nice flavor, it’s too dry. Matty’s is not properly baked, and needed both more proving and more time in the oven as it’s quite raw.

Matty comes in last, Dan takes the middle spot, and Josh is first.

Showstopper

Ahead of the final task, Josh is probably slightly leading, but Dan and Matty are nipping at his heels. Any one of them could win because, as Paul points out, the pressure of the final tends to get to people.

For their final challenge in the tent, the three bakers are asked to make elegant tiered celebration cake inspired by their very first bake, and they have four and a half hours in which to do so. The judges want a minimum of three highly decorated tiers. “This is the biggest bake they will ever do,” says Paul, whose wishlist consists of a lemon drizzle cake.

Paul is in luck, because Dan’s first bake was a lemon drizzle cake, and then a lemon meringue pie. He’s taking inspiration from both to create a triple tiered layered with lemon curd, and he’s also going to make macarons.

Josh’s first cake was a Victoria sponge, as I suspect it was for many people. He’s going for a seasonal celebration of the garden, using lemon curd, rhubarb, strawberry jam, and apple pieces in his sponge. It will be decorated for spring, summer and autumn and will have a biscuit greenhouse on top.

Matty is playing with fire and making a genoise sponge for his bottom layer, which is risky because it’s so light and could be crushed easily. The chocolate genoise will have brownie pieces in the buttercream (yum), and he’ll also make a lemon and rosemary Victoria sandwich.

Dan is behind, because he’s got about 50 things to do. Josh is also still making his biscuit greenhouse, but he has some backup plans because he’s going to remain as unflustered as he ever has in the tent. Matty has a brief moment of panic when the sponges for his middle tier turn out to be underbaked when he cuts into them. He pops them back in for five minutes at a really high temperature, and then plans to put them in the freezer. That is an…interesting strategy.

The macarons Dan has baked also look dodgy; they’re both soft and crumbling. He takes a few moments to consider what he wants to do, moving on to his chocolate collar in the meantime; the one for the bottom layer goes on well, but it’s too short for the cake. Following that mistake, he opts for putting the macarons on, but I really, really don’t think he should have. Years of watching cooking shows has taught me that if something isn’t made properly, don’t add it on.

The tension is palpable as the bakers finish up, but they give each other warm hugs when they’re finally done and the relief of getting through is clear on their faces. Josh’s cake is far and away the best looking. If it was purely based on looks, he’d win. If it tastes good as well, he’ll definitely win. On the other end of the scale, Dan knows that he has messed up too much and is completely out of the running.

Indeed, Paul declares that Dan’s macarons are “terrible” and that he shouldn’t have put them on. That’s what I said, and therefore Bake Off should be inviting me to be the next judge. Prue thinks his cake needs more lemon, which isn’t great for a lemon drizzle cake. His bake is good though, says Paul. The positive feedback is little consolation.

Matty’s cake is leaning to the side a bit, but the colors look good, and Paul likes his decoration. His chocolate sponge is super light when Paul cuts into it, and upon tasting it he says it’s a “great cake” and “more-ish.” Matty’s Victoria sponge finds fans in Prue and Paul; Prue loves the jam, and Paul enjoys the sponge. Prue thinks his bake is almost perfect; it’s just the lean that’s letting it down. He’s still fighting hard.

Paul thinks Josh’s pipe work isn’t neat enough; and I think he’s just fussing (I know that’s his job.) Prue thinks the jam is perfect and likes his sponge, but neither she or Paul are getting the apple he’s included. And Paul thinks his rhubarb and strawberry cake needs something more. His lemon curd tastes great but his cake might be overbaked. Paul says “boring” is too strong a word for what Josh has produced, but he’s basically calling Josh’s cake boring. That’s super harsh, maybe a bit too harsh and simply for drama’s sake?

So it’s between Josh and Matty for the winner; Dan just made too many mistakes. There’s really nothing between Josh and Matty if you look across the three tasks, but the emphasis will be slightly more on the showstopper for this final week. Matty takes the showstopper based on taste, Josh takes it based on looks. It’s a baking challenge, so taste surely has to be more important, but you never know with these guys.

As the bakers spend time with friends and family in the garden, the judges have their final discussion. Prue thinks Josh’s showstopper wasn’t up to his usual standard, but he’s still in line because he had a good first day. Matty is the opposite; his showstopper has pushed him into the running.

And so now it’s time for the announcement. And the winner is…Matty!

That is a slight surprise, but week after week Matty has grown as a baker. He’s always taken things in his stride, trusted his instincts most of the time, and smashed it out of the park with flavors. Matty says he never really thought he could be on the show, let alone win it. It’s the first time we’ve seen him get really choked up, but the show ends on a still of his lovely smile.

And so, that brings us to an end. Goodbye to the tent for another year; I’m off to eat cake.

Stray observations

• This is the episode in which we get some lovely insights into our bakers and their home lives. We hear from Matty’s fiancée Lara and his parents John and Denise, who are so cheery; you can definitely see where Matty gets his smiles and his happy attitude from. We discover that Dan has been keeping his participation in the competition a secret from his young and very adorable children, who are completely unimpressed with him, while his mum Pat is super proud and describes Dan as a “whirlwind” and “cheeky” when he was younger. Josh’s parents Paul and Julie reminisce with him about his beloved grandmother, who wanted him to apply for Bake Off in 2019. Thank you Josh’s nan, we owe you!
  
• My favorite bit of Bake Off is always the end credits of the final episode, when we find out what all the contestants have been up to this year. A quick summary: Nicky and Saku went on a road trip, and Keith took them to his fave beach. Rowan graduated, and Tasha, Nicky, and Cristy helped him celebrate. Dana organized a Bake Off night out, while Amos and his partner Andy met up with Nicky. Abbi is still foraging, and Tasha judged her office Bake Off. Cristy’s youngest child has started nursery, so she has more time to bake, and Josh won a trophy for his giant marrow. Dan was forgiven by his sons for keeping his time in Bake Off a secret, and Matty and Lara are getting married in June 2024.
• Alison has been an absolute revelation this season. She’s injected the show with a much-needed bolt of joy, and her presence has reinvigorated Noel, who has done a better job this season than in the others he’s been hosting.
• In the final judging discussion, Alison asks if she can announce the winner, and Noel tells her she can as it’s probably her last year. It’s a joke, but I do wonder if it’s a big hint that this is Noel’s last year presenting. Let’s keep an ear out for that announcement, shall we?
• Thank you to everyone who has joined in with predictions and comments. I think if there’s two takeaways, it’s that we all loved Saku, and all thought Tasha was a shoo-in for the final.