Last week, the bakers were overwhelmed by Diagon Alley-inspired tasks, with their wizarding shop-inspired bakes analysed by the judges... but also a full throng of Harry Potter superfans.
So, you'd think with all that stress, we can have a nice, wholesome, relaxing episode this week, right? Right? Wrong!
This week, with one less team in the competition, and a place in a semi-finals at stake, things are getting a little spooky, with Dark Arts-inspired creations and a visit to the Studio Tour's Forbidden Forest to get the contestants in the mood.
We love this good guest
Thankfully, we have a special guest from the Harry Potter family to cheer things up. It's Evanna Lynch! Famed for portraying Luna Lovegood in the films, Evanna is on-hand to support the bakers, alongside looking fabulous in the process. What, no Butterbeer cork necklace, though?
Wingardi-yum Leviosa
Understandably, the baking teams are thrilled, with Lisa tearfully divulging that she is raising her children to have the same kind-hearted energy as Luna Lovegood. N'aww! Okay, now we have something in our eye too.
But not for long! The teams have a long day of baking ahead of them, tasked with creating three-feet tall cakes and other delicious treats fashioned around the darker elements of the Harry Potter stories. Oh, and they also must contain tasting elements comprised of ten layers. And! There must also be an enchanting element, inspired by the levitating charm, Wingardium Leviosa too. Merlin's beard!
One thing's for sure: Aunt Petunia's sugared violet pudding ain't got nothing on this.
Delicious Dolores?
The teams are assigned their Dark Arts themes, ranging from Boggarts, Dementors, Horcruxes and maybe the most dastardly of all: Professor Dolores Umbridge. Thinking about it, this character should lend quite well to a dessert, what with being so sickly sweet and all...
Edible tea cups, pink macarons and even a cake-cat will be on the menu for Zoe and Jordan.
A Riddikulus endeavour
Meanwhile, Mitzi and Lisa are focusing on the defying gravity element of the task (we hope they're holding space for it!) infused into a Boggart. And for these two: that Boggart will be spider-themed. Ron would absolutely concur. In fact, the pair will be paying homage to how Ron manages to banish his Boggart - aka - making the image comical in some way. And what's funnier than a giant arachnid wearing retro rollerskates?
A bit o' help
Elizabeth and Juan, fresh off the back of their back-to-back wins, are conscious there's a 'target on their back'... (making spooky cakes will hardly make them less paranoid, then) and are given another magical advantage. In the famous words of Dumbledore, they discover that 'help will be given to those who need it'.
That help comes in the form of judge Jozef! Brilliantly, Elizabeth and Juan only need this accomplished chef to do a bit of icing for them. Stay humble, Jozef, stay humble.
Broken cake alert!
Lisa and Mitzi soon learn the hard way that attaching rollerskates to a giant edible spider is...actually quite hard! (Who knew?!) leading to our first baking disaster of the episode.
Thankfully, these ladies are professionals, and those cake rollerskates (roller-cakes?) go straight in the fridge. Our Boggart is now a slightly wobbly cake after witnessing this baking misadventure.
Death by chocolate
Over at Miko and Chris's station, the boys are working on a life-like Dementor. And how's this for a flex? They're making its ethereal cloak out of tempered chocolate. Yep, the very thing that makes you feel better after a Dementor attack. Smart.
Miko's passion for hyper-real elements in his baking mean that his Dementor comes out looking worryingly realistic... damn, if we only had that Patronus cake from episode one to conquer it!
Facing their fears
Joined by special guest Evanna, the bakers and judges meet in the Forbidden Forest (as you do) to test out their scary bakes.
Zoe and Jordan's Umbridge cake is pretty in pink, but a few imperfections put them in danger.
Miko and Chris's chocolate Dementor creation comes with a black forrest cake (shouldn't that be black...Forbidden Forest?) and gets a warm reception from the judges. Will it be enough to take them to the semi-finals, though? Or will they get the kiss-off?
Meanwhile, Lisa and Mitzi's wobbly Boggart spider sparks certainly raises eyebrows, but the flavours win over the judges. Carla even does the ol' "it's not good...it's great!" trick - always a classic reality judge move. And it gets us every time!
For reigning champions Elizabeth and Juan, their Horcrux-inspired showpiece features the Hufflepuff cup, an edible version of Nagini and even rotating Basilisk fang. However, Jozef is concerned that the finishing is a bit 'messy'. Hey, wait a minute, didn't you help them make this, sir?
And in the end...
It is Miko and Chris's Dementor cake that takes the top prize, securing their safety for the next episode - and making them real contenders to take the all-important Wizards of Baking Cup.
As ever, we're not going to reveal who goes home here... but it is definitely emotional.
Next week, the remaining teams hit Dumbledore's Office - and must make their biggest, most challenging showpieces yet! Come join us next week for more kitchen hi-jinks!
Spell-binding new competition series Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking to launch exclusively on Prime Video in the UK and Ireland on 17th December.
The show is out now to Max and Food Network - and you can learn more about the show at our handy hub.
