'Bake Off' introduces German week – but did German baker Jürgen rise to the challenge?

The Great British Bake Off held its first German-themed week on Tuesday night, with contestants and viewers expecting it to be an easy triumph for Jürgen.

But despite some of the challenges playing to his strengths, Jürgen didn't manage to win Star Baker.

The honour instead went to Italian baker Giuseppe, with Freya the unlucky baker leaving the competition.

As the theme of the week was introduced, Lizzie summed up the other bakers' feelings by saying: "Jürgen's week. Just another one of Jürgen's weeks. We're just here for the ride, aren't we?"

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The German baker, who lives in Brighton, has been one of the most successful contestants so far, but as his competitors asked him how to say good luck in German he offered a phrase that translated as "break a leg and break your neck" which Freya called "brutal".

Jürgen admitted: "There's certainly a bit of pressure being here in German week and being German."

However, he rose admirably to the first challenge by winning a Hollywood Handshake from judge Paul Hollywood in appreciation of his German biscuits, which were flavoured with tea and coffee.

Jürgen said: "It was pretty overwhelming judging and a handshake... I nearly started to cry right there."

Many of the other bakers also impressed in the first round, with Giuseppe's biscuits labelled "perfect" and Amanda told by Prue Leith that hers were "astonishingly good".

Hollywood warned: "A lot of the bakers are going to be looking at Jürgen to see what he does, but I think they need to concentrate on their own game."

The judge's words turned out to be true in the technical round, a Prince Regent's torte, where bakers had to create an eight-layer chocolate cake.

Giuseppe won the challenge while Jürgen looked a little disappointed to place fourth.

In his own defence, Jürgen said: "I'm not so much into chocolate cakes, when I go to German cafes I usually have cream cakes or Black Forest."

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Unfortunately, the showstopper challenge didn't particularly play to Jürgen's strengths either as he made a slightly dry yeast-leavened cake using the "French slap" method of kneading that apparently over-kneaded the dough.

Hollywood called it "a little bit breakfasty" and told a disappointed Jürgen: "I like it but I don't love it".

Leith stuck up for Jürgen, though, suggesting that he'd been judged to a higher standard this week.

She said: "Because we think Jürgen is so good, when he doesn't do something perfectly, we bang on about it. But that was still a very good yeasted cake."

However, it was eventually Jürgen's rival Giuseppe who triumphed as Star Baker in German week, while 19-year-old vegan baker Freya was sent home.

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