Great British Bake Off tonight – layer cakes, iconic chocolate cake, sponge showstopper

Great British Bake Off returns tonight for its first episode from the 2023’s series featuring cake recipes.

Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood are back as judges on The Great British Bake Off airing on Tuesday evenings from 8PM on Channel 4.

Paul and Prue are accompanied by GBBO hosts Noel Fielding and, new for this year, Alison Hammond.

The new series has welcomed 12 of the best budding bakers in the UK to the show, going on a journey to whisk, bake, knead, ice and beat their way through 10 weeks of testing challenges.

At the end of each week judges Paul and Prue will decide who’s eliminated and who is the week’s star baker.

To begin the series, the bakers face the daunting task of impressing the judges during Cake Week.

Their first challenge is to craft an impeccable vertical layer cake in the signature bake. Following that, the gingham cloth conceals the ingredients for the inaugural technical challenge recipe, a well-known chocolate cake.

Lastly, the showstopper round tasks the bakers with creating a sponge masterpiece featuring a variety of animal designs, allowing them to showcase their architectural talents.

Twelve bakers. Three challenges. Who’ll be the first Star Baker and who’ll be the first to leave the tent?

You can meet the brand new Great British Bake Off 2023 contestants here.

See the latest action from the tent and find out who leaves when the Great British Bake Off continues this evening from 8PM on Channel 4.

Alongside the main show spin-off series The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice takes place hosted by Jo Brand, airing on Thursday nights on Channel 4.

You can watch and catch up on all the episodes online via the All 4 player.