Image from GBBO Facebook page
That's right, folks!
Tonight sees the return of my favourite show on TV - The Great British Bake Off.
In essence it is a baking competition for amateur home-bakers, who each week are challenged to bake their way through signature bakes, skills tests and show stoppers, with a Star Baker being crowned each week. At the end of every episode one of the contestants leaves the competition until just three bakers remain in the grand-final.
I've been a huge fan of the show since its first series back in 2010, and through this little ol' blog of mine I have been lucky enough to meet, work with and get to know some of the contestants from previous years, including Edd Kimber who won the first ever series in 2010, the super-lovely Holly Bell who was runner-up in 2011, and Frances Quinn who won series 4 back in 2014.
Edd Kimber and myself, baking on a farm in Cambridge together for Flora.
Holly Bell and myself, baking in London together for Whitworths
As a keen home-baker I find the GBBO hugely inspiring. Sometimes, I watch and feel as if I could totally give the contestants a run-for-their-money and other times I admit defeat and sit and wonder at their incredible baking, flavour and design skills.
If you haven't watched before then I urge you to give it a go tonight - even if you don't feel like you're "into baking", you are more than likely into eating delicious home baked goods, and so you'll be sure to enjoy plenty of mouth watering viewing. Saying that, I do strongly urge you to watch each week with your own homemade bake to enjoy while you watch, otherwise you'll find yourself in some sort of messy hangry-cake-rage every Wednesday evening, and no one wants that!
Image from GBBO Facebook page
Bake Off wouldn't be Bake Off without the utterly fabulous presenters Mel and Sue, I adore their humour and think they bring an absolutely necessary element to the show, it would suffer hugely in their absence.
Naturally, the judges are vital too: the lovely legend that is Mary Berry, and Mr Silver Fox himself, Paul Hollywood. They work so well together, have a crazy amount of chemistry and I get the impression they all have a whale-of-a-time filming each year.
In readiness for the return of my favourite series I have been updating my bakeware collection courtesy of House of Fraser and their capsule baking collection from Dickins and Jones, isn't it pretty? My kitchen has never been so well equipped...
I'm hoping that the return of GBBO and the arrival of these fab new baking accessories and linens will spur me on to get my baking mojo back...I've not done a huge amount since Connie came along, its pretty hard to find the time to fit in any baking on top of everything else.
The Dickins and Jones capsule bakeware collection including 'Farmers Market' linens range all from House of Fraser.
I thought that in order to get your baking juices flowing in readiness for tonight's show that I'd share with you some of my favourite bakes/recipes from here on my blog...
Which will you bake first?
Just click on each picture to access the recipe/original post...
These are just a taster of my faves from the blog... I've got a long 'to bake' list of new recipe ideas that I'm dying to try, so watch this space and hopefully I'll share some new recipes with you all soon.
Enjoy tonight's show my lovelies - I'm off to one of my girlfriends houses to watch with my closest mates, while we all enjoy sharing #cakefordinner (sometimes it's just got to be done!)
Mrs B
xxx