The judges certainly have a sweet tooth for Nadiya, who heads triumphant into next week's FinalBBC/LOVE PRODUCTIONS

The Semifinal introduces the Bake Off tent to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory in the form of three very chocolatey challenges. However, were Charlie to venture into the tent, it would be a far less happy-clappy, psychedelic experience than his original Roald Dahl adventure: if the atmosphere in the Quarterfinal was apprehensive, the tension in the Semifinal could have been cut with a knife (excuse the pun), as friendly chatter is replaced by suspicious glances and self-doubt.

The battle to be in the grand finale kicks off with a chocolate tart as the Signature Challenge. For such a humble bake, there is a disconcerting amount of wannabe finesse: Ian’s homegrown bay leaf serves mainly to showcase his hunter-gatherer skills once again (oh please give me a break already) rather than adding anything to the flavour, while Flora has not learnt her lesson from previous incidents of underwhelming over-garnishments, resulting in an otherwise beautiful tart with macarons on top. Nadiya’s alchemy, on the other hand, earns her the much sought-after Hollywood Handshake: her mystery ingredient, tapioca maltodextrin, turns fat into powder and gives her tart an exciting kick in the form of peanut butter flavouring.

No alchemy can save the bakers from the heat of the Technical Challenge, however: a chocolate soufflé is notoriously the ultimate challenge, and the fall of many an amateur baker. Added stress derives from staggered start times: poor Flora as the first baker alone in the tent is a heart-breaking sight, while Nadiya, true to her signature sarcasm, would rather have another baby than a soufflé in the oven. However, the semifinalists are not in the semifinal without merit, and despite a worrying amount of genuine confusion and panic, everyone’s soufflés rise to meet at least some expectations. Most impressively, even Ian manages to produce an edible result despite suffering a sudden spasm of amnesia and forgetting how to make a crème patisserie.

Like the Technical, the Showstopper has to rise to considerable heights in the form of a three-dimensional chocolate centrepiece. The brief leaves plenty of room for interpretation, with biscuits and an element of white chocolate being the only prerequisites, and the bakers do really embrace this chance to showcase their creative flare. Ian’s creation is perhaps one of the most unique constructions in all of Bake Off history in the form of a fully functional chocolate well with a bucket going down to collect white chocolate drink. Unfortunately, it is a baking, not construction, contest, and the otherwise brilliant idea is lacking in actual chocolate-work skills. This is not the case at all with Nadiya’s blue chocolate peacock, complete with individually decorated tail feathers and a nest full of white-chocolate-covered mini eggs. Now that is what I call a piece of art; perhaps Dorret and her infamous bread version of Tracey Emin’s unmade bed from week three could take a leaf out of Nadiya’s book.

The heat really is on, made manifest in shaky hands and the resultant messy piping and lack of detail in decoration. Nevertheless, at this stage of the competition all the bakes show skill and creativity, even if in a somewhat wobbly form on occasion. None of the bakers really seem deserving of undergoing death by chocolate and going home. The final judgment is a tricky one, and I would be surprised if the dropping of Flora instead of Ian goes down without any uproar amongst Bake Off aficionados. Be this as it may, the Final promises to be a proper fight, with Tamal’s steady skills, Nadiya’s art and alchemy, and Ian’s oh-so-annoying homegrown flavour combinations going to battle against each other.