'The Great British Baking Show' Season 16 Premiere Brings a New Twist to the Tent

The Great British Baking Show is back for a record 16th season! The series returned to Channel 4 at the top of September, and has rolled right over to Netflix for the weekend, bringing the joys of the tent back to fans a few weeks earlier than usual. Outside the tent, the world is on fire, and world leaders all seem hell bent on making the situation worse. (What in heaven’s name is Starmer doing, y’all?) But inside the tent, it’s all flour and sugar, and a world where eggs arrive by the dozens and milk by the gallon and no one worries how much it costs. 

Of course, there’s one terrible creature inside the tent with the bakers, a thing the show acknowledges in its “Jurassic Bake” opening. This is the second time in two years that the first opener of the season is a parody of a popular film, though unlike last year’s Barbie parody, this one is not a full year late. It also has the surprisingly delightful sight of Prue Leith dressed as the late great Richard Attenborough, beard and all, and it does not escape notice that she and Alison Hammond have 90% of the dialogue as well. (That does mean Noel Fielding’s attempt at a Jeff Goldblum impression is not nearly as funny or cutting as it should be.) However, the true hilarity is the TyrannoPaulus Rex, a CGI-enhanced, inflated dinosaur costume wearing baggy jeans and sporting Game of Thrones White Walker eyes and tiny arms that cannot manage a Hollywood Handshake.

With Paul Hollywood out of the way, let’s meet our dozen bakers for Season 16, which currently includes a man with a mullet, a boy who needs a black sheep to bleat out his swearing, and a token Ukrainian, who is going to be our constant reminder of which of the two major current wars the U.K. public can agree on and which one it can’t.

And with that, it’s time for Cake Week.

The opening challenge for Season 16 is a Swiss Roll, one of the standards of Cake Week (it’s been one of the three challenges for the premieres of Seasons 5, 8, and 12), and, maybe more critically, the Holiday editions of the series, where it shows up as a Yule Log. In this case, the Swiss roll needs to have a discernible pattern (demonstrated by Noel’s oversized jumper) inside when cut, with at least two different flavors of filling. Even though the Signature is important, the judging we’re doing in this first episode is more about how they respond to Alison and Noel (and Prue and Paul).

Let’s see which Swiss rolls come off the assembly line as a perfect swirl and which find themselves cracking under pressure. As always, the Signature is judged on a pass-fail metric.

1. Tom: ‘Tartan’ Roll (Pass): The one with the crush on Paul, his tartan is quite pretty and has a good swirl. The green may not be that appetizing, but Prue approves nonetheless.
2. Jasmine: Lemon & Raspberry Roll (Pass): The lady with the bald head has a gorgeous roll, even if Paul thinks the fruit images are more like peach slices than lemon.
3. Lesley: ‘Lemons & Daisies’ Roll (Fail): Our designated older lady’s roll is pretty flat; she knows she put too much filling in. The flavor saves her.
4. Aaron: ‘Pure (But No) Honey’ Roll (Pass): Our scientist’s outer honeycomb shell design with the bees is adorable, but Prue prefers it without.
5. Nadia: ‘Cherry Amour’ Roll (Fail): Our younger hairdresser’s roll cracked, but she covered it nicely. Sadly, the cake is heavy.
6. Pui Man: Lemon & Matcha Roll (Pass): The former Hong Kong resident’s roll is tapered at the ends and fat in the middle, but the flavor is good.
7. Toby: Rhubarb & Custard Roll (Fail): Mustache Boy’s icing topping can’t hide his swirl’s collapse, but Prue likes it anyway.
8. Jessika: Coconut & Grapefruit Roll (Pass): Despite not believing the tent is real, she did a great design, but it’s not bright enough.
9. Nataliia: ‘Ukrainian Passion Petal’ Roll (Pass): It’s beautiful and it tastes good. She’s going to go far.
10. Leighton: ‘Amalfi Coast Lemon Glade’ Roll (Pass): Our older gentleman had cold butter issues, and it made his roll tough.
11. Hassan: Chocolate, Coffee & Caramel Roll (Fail): Our one true fail of the challenge, it’s a pile of filling with a piece of cake on top.
12. Iain: ‘Fift-Queen’s University’ Roll (Pass): The Irish Mullet did not come to play. Yes, it’s a bit more oval than round, but that’s quibbling.

This is an impressive lineup of Swiss rolls for the first time out. With the sole exception of Hassan, every bake looked passible, even if it wasn't. There’s real potential in this group, as long as the show doesn’t try anything screwy.

This week’s Technical Challenge is set by Paul “Captain Cakeman,” who advises the bakers not to panic when they see the challenge. (Sure, Jan.) The bakers panic anyway when they hear that the test is fondant fancies, which are a light sponge cake filled with jam and butter cream and covered with everyone’s least favorite cake topping. 

However, in a new twist, the semi-useless instructions have been tossed after 15 seasons of us laughing at them. Instead, the bakers get an actual physical example of one, along with a bunch of ingredients (some of which are red herrings), and spend the first five minutes of the challenge reverse engineering it using their own instincts, hence the “Taste & Bake” addition to the Challenge name. (This actually makes the Technical more like the version found in The Great British Sewing Bee, and honestly, is not a bad upgrade.)

Let’s see who gets the recipe and who winds up in the ninth circle of fondant hell.

12. Tom: The color looks like blood, and the cake is tough.
11. Pui Man: Completely different color from everyone else.
10. Hassan: Also the wrong color and far too small.
9. Jasmine: Also too small, but not awful.
8. Iain: Mismatched sizes, and there are only eight.
7. Nadia: Far too much icing.
6. Leighton: They’re on the road to correct, just clumsy.
5. Lesley: Prue calls the design “abstract.” It’s a kindness.
4. Aaron: Messy, but consistently so.
3. Nataliia: Correct color, tasty, but small.
2. Jessika: Good height, good color
1. Toby: The closest to correct without going over. Good job, Mustache Man!

Currently, this puts Hassan and Pui Man at the bottom after two rounds. However, of the two, she has more personality, so he’d better come correct for the Showstopper, or Paul will argue to toss him. As for Toby, the bakers start to applaud his first-place finish, only for Paul to snap that he didn’t win, he just failed the least. Rude!

The first Showstopper challenge of 2025 is to bake a landscape cake. Noel and Alison notably do not give any parameters other than not to pick places in the U.K. that are famous for looking like cakes. However, there are some obvious needs here: multiple tiers for carving, a cake that is structural instead of squishy, and a whole lot of decor. 

Since there’s no requirement to make it look illusionary, some bakers are carving the land out of their tiers, while others are merely piping landmarks on the outside of a regular two-tiered cake. The latter is obviously the easier option, but it does mean those who are not as advanced in their cake abilities have an option that won’t result in something downright embarrassing. 

At least, we hope that’s the case. Let’s check out the lay of these lands.

Iain’s ‘It’s All Downhill From Here’: Paul’s voice literally cracks as he calls it incredible. The icing is a bit overwhelming, but Paul admits the stout chocolate cake works best with a mouthful of fruit. Prue looks as if she’d take the whole thing home.

Nadia’s ‘My Island Dream’: It’s so pretty, Paul doesn’t know how to cut it. She suggests swizzling it around... err, swiveling it around? Sadly, the cake is overbaked, and the ocean jelly is more of a rubber block, but it sure is pretty.

Aaron’s ‘Pastel Paradiso’: He had a lot of time management issues, and the cake looks unfinished as a result. Also, the flavors don’t work; it’s too much coconut and not enough of anything else, really.

Lesley’s ‘Dad’s Bob Ross’: A tribute to Bob Ross’ mountain landscapes and happy little trees is sure to bring a smile to our hearts. Even better, the bake is bang on, and so is the flavor. 

Pui Man’s ‘Hong Kong Lion Rock’: The bald mountain of Hong Kong is unfortunately just that, a bald fondant cake, which is not nearly as impressive as the title makes it sound. It’s also heavy, and the flavors aren’t great. 

Jasmine’s ‘Scottish Highlands’: This is a perfect example of the tiered cake with icing piping as a “landscape.” She has a finished, edible cake, but compared to everyone else, a few flat trees and some crooked, oversized mushrooms seem sad.

Leighton’s ‘The Green, Green Grass of Home’: At least Jasmine had decor and straight tiers. This is saggy. Prue looks at it, looks at Paul, and clears her throat, unsure of how to address this. It is quite possibly the meanest thing she’s ever said.

Nataliia’s ‘Ukraine Landscape’: Calling it now, she’s making the Top 5 if not the final. This is the only cake, save for Iain’s, that truly makes an impressive take on the brief. The heart marking Kyiv, nestled in the mountains, is, well, heartbreaking.

Hassan’s ‘Japanese Bamboo Forest’: Points for thinking outside the box, but this isn’t even two tiers of cake. It’s just a misshapen supermarket-style rectangle covered in Kermit-colored icing and a few bamboo-looking fondant sticks stuck in.

Toby’s ‘PB & J-acob’s Ladder’: The cake tiers resemble two distinct cakes, one representing a beach challenge and the other a garden, stacked on top of each other. Also, because his water wasn’t a tennis ball, it all collapsed out before judging.

Jessika’s ‘Birthday Morning’: It’s messy, and the hammock is disproportionately giant (I’m a big girl!, she protests), but it is an actual carved landscape, and that’s not nothing, considering she could have taken the easier route. And it’s tasty.

Tom’s ‘Icelandic Landscape’: Smartly done, he left the layers visible on the side to represent the fjords, and honestly, that’s the way to take the easier path without it looking like a child’s project. The judges are very impressed.

Shockingly (not shocking), Nataliia is Star Baker, which may be the first time in a long while I’ve felt terrific about the show’s choices. Between the genuine talent in the tent this season and the potential for really amazing creations, Season 16 has arrived out of the gate looking stronger than it has in a long while. Leighton, meanwhile, is convinced he’s out, but, lol, not even close, white man. Hassan is sent packing.

At least Hassan’s bakes are bad enough that his early exit doesn’t feel egregious, even if it continues to line up with the show’s tendency to eliminate non-white bakers first since exiting the BBC. Perhaps this is the year we can love The Great British Baking Show wholeheartedly again.

The Great British Baking Show Season 16 continues with new episodes every Tuesday on Channel 4 and Fridays on Netflix. Seasons 1 through 7 are available on Roku, while Seasons 8 through 15 (still incorrectly listed as “Collections 5 through 12”) are accessible on Netflix outside the U.K.