Hollywood Handshakes and forgetting the flour: The 5 biggest moments from 'Bake Off' dessert week

It's dessert week in The Great British Bake Off and this time the contestants had pavlovas, sticky toffee puddings and jocondes all on the menu.

While some of the bakers rose to the challenge with professional-standard creations and a Hollywood Handshake, others compared their culinary disasters to a crime scene.

Read more: Bake Off stars call for a return to realistic baking challenges

These were the five biggest moments from week four in the Bake Off tent.

Chigs wins a pavlova Hollywood Handshake

Newbie baker Chigs has been going from strength to strength each week, and in the signature bake he was the only contestant to hold his nerve and produce a perfect pavlova.

His well-risen meringue was topped with mango, passionfruit and blueberries, and was so good it earned him just the second Hollywood Handshake of the series so far.

Chigs said: "I can't believe it, a Hollywood Handshake. My work here is done now."

Paul Hollywood also told Jurgen he had improved on his nightmare bread week, saying: "Jurgen's back."

Meanwhile, the pavlova challenge proved to be an absolute nightmare for everyone else, as Freya's vegan aquafaba meringue turned into a soggy mess and Prue Leith told George of his effort: "I think it looks awful."

Maggie forgets the flour

It's a pretty key ingredient of most sponge puddings, but somehow, experienced baker Maggie managed to miss the flour out of her sticky toffee puddings in the technical challenge.

As she wondered why her sponges were refusing to rise, she said: "I must have left something out but I don't think I did. It's all ticked off."

Luckily, helpful Giuseppe was on hand to tell her: "On the other page is flour."

However, it was all too late for poor Maggie and her puddings, which Hollywood compared to caramelised onion chutney and Leith labelled "a fair old disaster".

Good humoured as ever, Maggie joked: "I made for you a gluten-free sticky toffee pudding."

Read more: All the Bake Off winners and where they are now

The joconde splits the tent

Showstoppers in the Bake Off tent have been getting tougher by the week, and tonight's joconde was the trickiest creation yet.

Bakers had to pipe intricate designs and then bake a sponge over the top of them to make a collar for a layered dessert to sit inside.

Some of the contestants thrived under the pressure - Jurgen, who piped a musical score on his dessert which he later sang during the tasting, revealed he had made something similar before.

He said: "Yes, I did a Star Trek version as a wedding cake. Two starship enterprises kissing on the joconde."

Chigs' unlikely inspiration came from his sister's new bathroom tiles and looked good enough to grace the window of a patisserie, while Giuseppe was told by Hollywood of his joconde based on a wedding cake his father had once made: "You'd serve that in a decent hotel."

However, Maggie had another disaster as she had to bake her joconde twice but it still collapsed and leaked.

Freya's vegan version did not impress the judges, while former Met detective Amanda joked of her leaking joconde as it sat in a red puddle: "This is inspired by a crime scene that I went to when I was very young in service."

Maggie goes home

Sadly, there was only ever going to be one result for Maggie after missing the flour out of her sticky toffee puddings and presenting a collapsed showstopper.

As ever though, she took the news with good humour and a smile.

She said: "The whole thing has been such fun really, and just to have been part of it has been such a joy."

The retired midwife added: "Nothing can beat delivering a baby and bringing a new life into the world, but it comes a pretty close second."

Chigs wins Star Baker

This week's well-deserved Star Baker was rookie contestant Chigs, who only took up baking during lockdown.

After winning a Hollywood Handshake in the pavlova round and then presenting a perfect joconde, he was head and shoulders above the rest.

Shocked Chigs said: "What the hell has just happened?"

Hollywood added: "For a guy who's only been baking since 12 months ago, he's done an amazing job."

Watch: Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith decide who is more intimidating