It arrived on a billowing cloud of whipped cream and swiftly established itself as BBC2's surprise ratings hit. Now, after weeks of crisp, buttery pastry and delicate, scented mouthfuls, The Great British Bake Off reaches its finale.
Almost 4 million viewers a week have been following the fortunes of perhaps the most unlikely reality show stars ever – charming, polite and extremely talented. While the celebrity version of the BBC's former culinary powerhouse MasterChef has found itself relegated to the daytime schedules, the gentler Bake Off has become BBC2's most watched programme.
On Tuesday night viewers will step inside the baking marquee, with its heritage colours, bunting and nostalgic decorations, for the last time. Set among green manicured gardens, with an interior Cath Kidston would approve of, it may seem homely – but the baking inside is anything but.
The competitors have been whittled down to three women: Holly Bell, Jo Wheatley and Mary-Anne Boermans, each apparently more interested in the gentle bounce of a perfect sponge than television fame.
Bell, who works in advertising, began baking in earnest while on maternity leave, while Wheatley was encouraged to enter the competition by her three sons; Boermans says she has more than 700 cookery books. Each will have to bake for a street party of friends and family tonight, creating such gorgeous morsels as mini rhubarb and strawberry cheesecakes and millefeuilles.
The Bake Off format is not complicated. Every week the competitors have baked around a theme – cakes, bread, pastry, astonishingly butter-laden patisserie – survived a tough technical round, and produced two jaw-droppingly delicious bakes of their own design.
Some of them have been astonishing. Boermans' apple and rose tarts looked dainty and delicious; Wheatley's rum and raisin cheesecake a fluffy quilt of sweetness. And not content with building an enormous great croque-en-bouche far beyond most mortals' capabilities, Bell then lifted hers up to reveal a gingerbread house sitting inside it. And she didn't even win that round.
Judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood come from the tough-but-fair school of television experts. There is little emotional discussion of the contestants' journey to get this far in the competition, it is entirely about the bake. Hollywood needs to just tap a loaf to determine what exactly is wrong with it, while Berry can spot an incorrectly rolled roulade at 20 paces. Both provide masses of hints and tips for getting it right.
And it appears that viewers are taking them to heart. Rather than merely revelling in towers of sponge and raspberry mousse as constructed by somebody else, The Bake Off has also apparently prompted viewers to return to the kitchen.
John Lewis reports that since the show began in mid-August, sales of cake tins and muffin trays have risen by 15%, and cookie cutters and cake stands by 10%.
The winner of last year's show, Edd Kimber, has recently published a cookbook, The Boy Who Bakes, and teaches monthly macaron classes in London, explaining how to create the perfect tiny, meringue mouthfuls that had BBC2 viewers transfixed.