A Scottish teenager who has become one of the favourites to win this year's Great British Bake Off has taken an early lead in the first episode.

Flora Shedden, 19, from Dunkeld in Perthshire, who has already proved her baking skills in a successful blog, impressed the Bake Off judges last night [wed] in the first series of challenges, which included making the perfect Madeira cake and black forest gateau.

Flora, who is about to study history of art at St Andrews, is the youngest ever contestant to appear on the show, which is now in its sixth year, and one of two Scots appearing this year – the other is 66-year-old Marie, who is also from Perthshire but learned to bake while living in Paris.

Flora told the show that she regularly cooks for her parents and two younger sisters. "I have been baking since I was tiny – I have no memories of not baking," she says. "I think my family have reached the point that they are sick of my baking, but they are complimentary when they need to be."

Flora also said she relished the challenge of producing a showstopper for judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood. "I quite like to bake a good showstopper, a centrepiece," she says. "And everything is challenging in its own way."

The 19-year-old is the latest in a number of Scots who have appeared in the show. Last year, 67-year-old Norman Calder, from Portnockie in Moray, became something of a cult figure with his no-nonsense approach to the kitchen.

In 2012, medical student James Morton from Hillswick, Shetland, also appeared on the show and came close to winning. Known for his colourful Fair Isle jumpers, he made it to the final but was beaten by law graduate John Whaite. Morton, who started baking with his gran when he was a youngster and is the son of Scottish broadcaster, writer and musician Tom Morton, has since gone on to publish cook books.

If the bookies are to be believed, Flora could prove just as successful and has a good chance of taking the title. Marie, who works as a patissier in Paris, is favourite to win with odds of 3/1 at Ladbrokes, but Flora is 6/1 with 37-year-old nurse Alvin at 5/1.

The first contestant to be voted off last night was professional musician Stuart Henshall who failed to impress with his experimental take on a Black Forest Gateau, which he made using beetroot, although he said he did not plan to adopt their more traditional recipes in the future.

"I will make Black Forest Gateau my way," he said, "In the show I covered it in Italian meringue and put beetroot in it. Maybe I should have made it in more a traditional way for Mary, she is awesome and I have followed her recipes for years - and Paul's - but hey, I'm not that traditional myself. They are both inspirational, and my personal heroes - even if they didn't like my cake."

He admitted he was disappointed to be the first to go. "I felt disappointed in myself initially after leaving in the first episode, as I felt I didn't perform as well as I could. I just hope I don't disappoint people in my life - but it's onwards and upwards."

Henshall got off on the wrong foot by giving his signature bake Madeira cake a thick caramel glaze which stuck Hollywood's teeth together, and the judge told him, "The flavours are all wrong really."

He also struggled in the technical challenge with several failed attempts to make the caramel for his walnuts. His decoration of one solitary walnut prompted Berry to comment: "I've got a feeling there may have been a disaster".