What Flora baked: Week one

Great British Bake Off season six kicked off last night, with renegade fresher Flora off to a cracking start.

The first episode was “cake” themed, and saw the bakers making a madeira cake for their signature bake, a walnut classic for their technical challenge and a very pink gateau for her showstopper.

Mary Berry said she didn’t want her madeira “too far away from the classic” and Flora delivered with her blood orange cake, despite the controversial addition of almonds to the cake mix.

The panicked 19-year-old said: “I’m just gonna put it in the oven, hopefully it’s got enough time to cook, fingers crossed or I’ll be in trouble.”

But things brightened up when her cake went down well with the judges. A delighted Flora said: “Paul and Mary liked it, it’s a miracle.”

In the technical challenge our gal came in sixth place, after perfecting a “tricky meringue based icing” for her walnut cake, despite Mary saying “the icing is slightly crystallised.”

In the showstopper challenge Flora went vintage on her black forest gateau showstopper, layering her huge cake with frosting and cherries, trying to avoid it going “a tacky pink”.

Paul Hollywood’s piercing blue eyes bored into the screens of millions as he warned the contestants they needed “a very good sponge”.

She said: “It is very retro, and I wasn’t even there.”

Paul and Mary praised her “very big cake” and said: “The piping all around is sheer perfection.

“It’s moist.”

We saw a snapshot of Flora’s quaint life in Perthshire where “her harshest critics are her younger sisters”. She wears a high necked long-sleeved floral shirt and reveals her bedroom walls are painted pink.

Her main threats will come in the form of Lithuanian body builder Ugne and fellow Scot Marie, who callously stole the title of star baker away from Flora.

Hipster tattooed musician Stu was branded too try-hard and sent home in the first episode, before a preview for next week: Biscuits.

The tent was rocked by scandal already this week when rumours of a leaked winner led Ladbrokes to suspend their bets after 90 per cent of dough was placed on one contestant.

Flora, who said: “My mum said if you get kicked out on the first week don’t bother coming home”, lives to fight another day.