The Great British Bake Off 2022 week 5 theme: Dessert Week - what is the signature, technical and showstopper?

After a new and controversial theme last Tuesday with Mexican Week, tonight’s episode of The Great British Bake Off sees the return of a classic - it’s Dessert Week! Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will judge the best sweet treats and choose the star baker from the remaining eight contestants. The pair will also pick a contestant to send home based on the weakest performances across the signature, technical, and showstopper challenges. This is what to expect from Dessert Week on Channel 4 tonight:

What happened in The Great British Bake Off week 4?

Week 4, Mexican Week, was a brand new addition to the Bake Off roster, and it was not without controversy -  some viewers took issue with presenters Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas’ stereotypical outfits, complete with sombreros. The episode also featured contestants constantly mispronouncing the names of Mexican foods including guacamole and pico de gallo. It also saw Fielding ask, "Is Mexico a real place?" to which Lucas responded, "I think it’s like Xanadu."

The signature challenge was to bake a pan dulce, the technical required the contestants to make tacos, and the showstopper was a tres leches cake. Mexican Week also saw a double elimination with Rebs and James being sent home, whilst Maxy was picked as Star Baker.

What is Dessert Week?

Dessert Week is a Bake Off staple, and offers all manner of possible baking challenges because there are so many beloved British and international desserts. Last year Dessert Week featured a pavlova signature, a sticky toffee pudding technical, and an imprimé showstopper.

What are the Week 5 challenges?

The Signature

This week’s signature is one from the archives, as the bakers must whip up a steamed pudding - a challenge which was previously featured in Pudding Week back in season 8 in 2017.

The Technical

For the technical, the bakers will have to make a perfect lemon meringue pie with very little instruction to go off. The recipe sheet reads: ‘make a lemon meringue pie’ so the bakers will have to come prepared. It’s also Prue’s favourite dessert, so she will be on their case if their bakes are not perfect.

The Showstopper

The bakers will be challenged with creating a sponge cake with a hidden surprise inside it. The Showstopper is the one challenge where the bakers can most let their personality come through in their creations and go off script, as long as what they bake looks and tastes good, and fits the basic brief.

When is The Great British Bake Off on TV?

Week5 of The Great British Bake Off will air on Channel 4 at 8pm on Tuesday 11 October. Episodes are released at the same time weekly and will be available to watch on All 4 shortly after they are first broadcast. An Extra Slice will air at 8pm on Friday 14 October, and Jo Brand will be joined by Prue to take another look at Dessert Week, and Tom Allen will judge the audience’s bakes.