THE NEW series of The Great British Bake Off continues tonight – and one contestant will be hoping to impress the judges once again.

Jurgen, an IT professional from Sussex, clinched the coveted star baker title in the first episode of the baking show.

The 56-year-old, originally from the Black Forest in Germany, was praised judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith for going back to his roots and creating Black Forest-flavoured mini rolls.

The Argus: Jurgen from Sussex won star baker in the first episode of the seriesJurgen from Sussex won star baker in the first episode of the series

This week will see the contestants take on a new signature, technical and showstopper bakes.

In the first episode, passionate amateur bakers rose to the challenge in cake week as they baked signature decorative mini rolls, a “teatime classic” technical and gravity-defying showstoppers.

Tom from Kent became the first to leave the series after failing to impress the judges.

The Argus: The Great British Bake Off Judge's were impressed with Jurgen in the first weekThe Great British Bake Off Judge's were impressed with Jurgen in the first week

The 28-year-old software engineer admitted his showstopper was “a bit of a disaster”.

In the technical round, the contestants were tested with malt loaf, a bake set by Prue who admitted it was a “really old fashioned recipe”.

Finally, the showstopper saw the contestants go to new heights as they had to create an “awe-inspiring” anti-gravity illusion cake, which was decorated to represent a precious memory.

The bakers had four hours to create cakes that appeared to defy gravity by suspending part of the bake in the air.

The task drove tensions high within the tent and two cakes could not quite survive the pressure.

The first episode of the 12th series saw the return of judges Paul Hollywood and Dame Prue Leith, and presenters Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding, back in the famous tent.

Paul, who has been a judge since the show first aired on BBC One a decade ago, said the standard this year is “the highest I’ve ever encountered”.

He said: “It starts like that and ends like that, so it’s pretty constant all the way through. I think the semi-final was harder (to judge), to pick the three for the final.”

Restaurant Prue, who joined the show as a judge in 2017, said: “We did have very good bakers in the final.

“If I had to choose one episode that I would say you have to watch, it’s the semi-final. They were they were so good that we had no idea who was going to win.”

The Great British Bake Off continues at 8pm on Tuesdays on Channel 4.

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