Great British Baking Show season 13 premieres on Netflix

The Great British Baking Show is back on Netflix for season 13 and while it’s been less than a year since the season 12 finale, it feels like it’s been forever. But Noel, Matt, Prue, and Paul are finally back along with 12 new bakers.

The episode started off, as always, with the Signature Challenge and as it was Cake Week, the challenge was to make 12 cake sandwiches. The bakers really showed off unique flavors of their cultural backgrounds in this challenge.

But not everyone had a good time of it. Some didn’t have enough time, some had issues with their icings, and some had dry cakes or cakes that weren’t baked enough.

Next up was the Technical Challenge (my favorite part!). This time it was all about the purely American cake: Red Velvet. A few of the bakers clearly knew what they were doing but others…did not. Cream cheese frosting was runny, cakes were underbaked, and the proportions of cake to frosting were off (at least according to Paul and Prue).

But who came out as number one? It was Syabira! Red velvet was one of the first cakes she ever made so she was very familiar with it and it showed. Her cake looked delicious!

Great British Baking Show is back for season 13

On to the Showstopper! The bakers were asked to make a 3D recreation of a house that held special meaning to them. And it had to be made primarily out of cake.

Some made their current homes, some made their childhood homes from their hometowns, and some recreated their granny’s house. Considering this was just the first week, the level of creativity and skill was truly brilliant.

Who became the first Star Baker of season 13? That was Janusz! He really showed his Polish heritage throughout the episode and his recreation of his mom’s house was a thing of beauty. It was detailed and gorgeous!

Unfortunately, someone had to go home. This week, it was Will. He just couldn’t catch a break. He couldn’t get his buttercream right in the first challenge, he was kind of middle of the road in the Technical, and he overbaked his cakes in the Showstopper.

Next week, it’s all about biscuits (or cookies for us in the US).

What did you think of the season 13 premiere of the Great British Baking Show? Do you have a favorite yet? Let us know in the comments below!