Baking extraordinaire Laura Adlington was given the coveted title of star baker on this week's episode of the Great British Bake Off.

The Gravesend -born baker stunned judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith with her botanical themed Garden of Kent caged tart show-stopper.

After a strong start to the competition, this week saw Laura cement her name as a one to watch.

In the signature round, the bakers were challenged with making a Cornish classic, the humble pasty.

Laura, who lives in Halling, chose to fill hers with leek, potato and pancetta which garnered high praise from the judges with Prue dubbing the goods as "heaven."

Paul said: "I think you've got the perfect blend there of ingredients, the texture and flavour is spot on – well done."

The next round, which saw the bakers take on a technical challenge, the group had to make six éclairs, three with a raspberry filling and three with salted caramel.

An always stressful and confusing task, Laura finished sixth out of eight.

Prue described how her pastry was not baked enough whereas Paul praised the pastries for having decent flavours.

Some would say the show-stopper challenge was a technical in itself, as the bakers had to use every inch of accuracy to create a sweet tart entrapped beneath a highly decorative pastry cage.

However, Laura, 31, smashed the challenge with Paul telling her how she had excelled herself with her key-lime tangy flavour and intricate design.

He said: "I think it's highly impressive; the tart underneath looks very, very, nice.

"I think the decoration is beautiful. Overall I think it tastes amazing, looks good, I think you've excelled yourself."

Next week, it's Japanese week, a first for Bake Off.

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