The nation's favourite baking contest is about to get a whole lot hotter in the kitchen, as it reaches the quarter-final stage, and just five amateur bakers remain. They've all impressed to various extents during Bread Week - at least sufficiently to make it through - but now their skills are thoroughly tested as they take on enriched doughs. They have a signature bake in which they must work with soft dough to create artful works, a technical that sees them recreate an Eastern European cross between bread and pastry, and a showstopper involving doughnuts.

The three finalists face a Signature Challenge in which they have just three hours to prove they have mastered a pastry technique that usually takes a whole day. They then have to tackle a Technical Challenge without the aid of a recipe, before rustling up a Showstopper that turns sponge, caramel, choux pastry and petits fours into a winning combination.

As week four begins, the bakers must multitask across several baking skills at once.

It's Patisserie Week, and the remaining four bakers will need to demonstrate that they have skills worthy enough to see them through to this year's final. The bakers are challenged to make a signature baklava - two types of any flavour they like, before the technical challenge demands they knock up a German Schichttorte, a cake cooked in stages under the grill to create 20 layers of different coloured sponge. Finally, the showstopper sees the semi-finalists baking non-stop to create two entremets in which they should demonstrate as many personal skills and techniques as they can.

The 12 new bakers don their aprons and head for the iconic tent for cake week.

Three baked cheesecakes make up the showstopper.

The remaining bakers must bake without sugar, gluten or dairy.

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The pressure is on, as the remaining bakers must get to grips with one of the most difficult ingredients, chocolate.

Back in the Bake Off tent, Mary and Paul roll up their sleeves, baking the challenges that they set the bakers in Bread and Desserts weeks of the Great British Bake Off. Paul is in his element as he shows how to make soda bread in under an hour and then bakes baguettes, perhaps the most iconic of all French breads. Mary makes cappuccino creme brulees without a blow torch and creates the classic meringue cake which foxed the bakers in week 4 - the Spanische windtorte. Paul shows us how to decorate a pie and Mary reveals her tip for making a checkerboard cake before going on to bake a tiered white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake.

After the drama and deliciousness of Bake Off, the much-missed Mary and Paul are back to bring a generous dollop of baking cheer to Christmas this year. Step by step, they take us through stunning recipes that all the family can make during the festive season. Mary kicks off with a pavlova wreath and Paul makes a Chelsea bun Christmas tree. Mary makes a decadent trifle layered with fruit compote and Paul puts leftovers to irresistible use with his turkey and ham pie. Mary makes a truly beautiful rosace a l'orange and Paul closes the show with his magnificent towering pandoro.

The baking challenge is back, welcoming the tent's youngest-ever baker and the oldest.

The remaining 11 bakers are challenged to create three-dimensional biscuit scenes.

In week three, the remaining ten bakers get ready to brave bread.

Past halfway in their baking marathon and the remaining six bakers face three European cakes. For their signature challenge the bakers are asked to bake yeast-leavened cakes; a tricky cross between cake and bread that sees some of the bakers opting out of Europe... Mary sets the bakers their most demanding technical challenge yet in which they must make a Swedish princess torte. With 24 different stages and only two-and-a-quarter hours to do it in, the bakers have their work cut out for them, while Sue explores the events that led to the huge array of Danish cakes and pastries in the Danish cake table tradition. And finally, a showstopping finale that puts the hungry into Hungary... The bakers must make their own contemporary version of the dobos torte. Traditionally a multi-layered Hungarian cake, the bakers must go one step further and make a two-tiered dobos torte with an emphasis on all things caramel in every way they can imagine... but whose Bake Off will come to a sweet but sticky end? On your marks, get set... bake!

Presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins set the remaining contestants three tasks involving pastry, beginning by asking them to make signature savoury parcels. For the technical challenge, they must prepare a cake that hails from the Brittany region of France - the kouign amann, which none of the bakers has ever heard of - before creating two different types of eclair in the showstopper round. Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood judge the hopefuls' efforts before deciding who is star baker and who is going home.

In the final masterclass of the series, Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood dust off the flour one last time, creating the signature, technical and show-stopping challenges from the last part of the Great British Bake Off. Mary makes a pair of chouxs with her lemon and raspberry eclairs, while Paul gets fruity with his cherry and chocolate loaf. Paul explains how to stretch your skills to make the technical povitica, followed by his show-stopping raspberry and chocolate doughnuts. And Mary finishes with her elaborate double chocolate entremets that will impress at any dinner party, giving helpful advice to inspire you to achieve the same at home.

Twelve new amateur bakers enter the iconic tent and take on three cake-making challenges.

It is the final, and with just three of the original twelve bakers remaining. The theme for the final is a Royal Bake Off, as the tent plays host to three challenges to impress the Queen.

Almost half way through the Bake Off and the remaining bakers are facing pies and tarts.

Once again taking over the Bake Off tent, Mary and Paul tackle the signature, technical and show-stopper challenges from the second half of the series. Just as the challenges got harder for the bakers, Mary and Paul must also make their more elaborate bakes, showing us how to achieve the perfect results at home. Mary makes a swirling chocolate and orange tart and the most complicated technical challenge of the series, the Swedish prinsesstarta. Paul dusts off his pastry skills making mini sausage plaits and demystifies the delicious kouign amann, which so baffled the bakers in the tent. Finally, Mary constructs her own version of the two-tiered dobos torte, complete with caramel of all kinds, with hints and tips on how to achieve perfection at home.

In the countdown to Christmas, Mary and Paul are getting festive in the kitchen. They have six brand new recipes to bake for the family this Christmas, inspired by rich traditions from all over Europe.

The semi-final sees the bakers tackling three patisserie-based challenges.

This first show uncovers that Queen Victoria is responsible for Britain's wedding cake tradition, that the Puritans tried to ban cake because it was too pleasurable, and that cake baking contributed to women's liberation. The ten bakers tackle three increasingly difficult challenges as their cake-making ability is tested. They start with their signature bake – the cake they love that says something about them. Next up is the technical challenge – a blind recipe for Victoria sandwich that delivers drastically different results. Finally they tackle the ingredient even professionals fear – chocolate. Whose chocolate celebration cake will win the day? And which two bakers will leave the show at the end?

For their first challenge, the bakers were asked to bake 24 cupcakes in two hours. They were allowed to make two different types of cupcakes. For the technical challenge, the bakers were asked to bake a Coffee and Walnut Battenburg cake using Mary Berry's recipe in two hours. The cake needed to have the perfect sponge which held its form (perfect symmetry), distinguish flavours, and a smooth exterior. For the showstopper, the bakers were asked to bake a chocolate tiered celebration cake with elaborate, multi-layer design in five hours.