Celebrate ‘Great British Bake Off”s return with these tasty recipes

Finally, The Great British Bake Off is back, and can we all agree we direly needed this wholesomeness! Nothing’s better than watching the friendly competition of kindhearted bakers revealing their most prized recipes. Meanwhile, nothing’s quite worse than watching The Great British Bake Off with no sweets or easy recipes at home!

As a result of the common need for desserts on hand at all times, we compiled some deliciously remarkable recipes straight from The Great British Bake Off. If you don’t consider yourself the most seasoned baker, don’t worry, you won’t have to face the scorn of Paul Hollywood when you’re done with these recipes.

Prue Leith’s Coffee & Walnut Financier

These coffee & walnut financiers are little sponges baked in a mold to look like gold bars. To add to the effect, the masterful Prue Leith has topped these with tiny pieces of caramel, like flakes of gold. The Great British Bake Off gives this recipe a difficulty level of easy, so don’t stress too much.

Ingredients

• 10 tbsp unsalted butter
• ½ cup walnut pieces
• ½ cup ground almonds
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 cup plain flour
• 5 large egg whites
• ½ caster sugar
• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp white vinegar
• ½ tsp vanilla paste
• 1½ tsp instant espresso coffee powder
• 1 cup icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tbsp heavy cream

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 450°F and melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, bring to a boil until the butter turns golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the butter through a sieve lined with kitchen paper. 
2. Ground the walnuts into a food processor, then add almonds, caster sugar, and flour to the bowl and pulse until combined.
3. Put the mixture into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour the egg whites into the well and gently whisk for one minute before whisking in the brown butter. Divide the smooth, glossy mixture equally into twelve molds.
4. Bake financiers for five minutes, then reduce the temperature to 400°F and bake for another ten minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, then remove financiers from the molds and let them cool on a wire rack.
5. For the caramel, pour sugar into a heavy-based pan and dissolve over high heat, swirling the pan occasionally without stirring. Once the sugar turns deep caramel, pour it onto a silicone mat and let cool.
6. Combine the butter, salt, vinegar, vanilla, and espresso powder in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment, then beat on medium speed until smooth.
7. Add half the icing sugar & half the cream, then beat on low speed for three minutes, until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar & cream and beat for another three minutes. Spoon the buttercream into the piping bag.
8. Using a sharp knife, chop the set caramel into small pieces. Pipe the icing onto the cooled financiers and sprinkle with caramel.

Michelle’s Lemon Tart

Michelle unveiled this scrumptious lemon tart in season 10 of The Great British Bake Off. Another easy dessert, this lemon tart is both simple & impressive.

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 1 ¼ cup plain flour
• ⅓ cup icing sugar
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, cubed & chilled
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 egg

For the filling:

• 5 eggs
• zest of 2 lemons
• juice of 3 lemons
• juice & zest of 1 orange
• ⅔ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup caster sugar

Instructions

1. Sift the flour & icing sugar into a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, rub the cubes of butter into the flour & sugar until roughly combined.
2. Stir in the lemon zest, add the egg, then mix together until it forms a ball of dough.
3. On a floured surface, shape the pastry into a disc, wrap it in baking paper, then chill for at least thirty minutes. Heat the oven to 375°F.
4. Roll the dough out to a circle about 30cm in diameter and about 3mm thick. Use the pastry to line the tart tin, pressing it around the edge. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork. Chill in the fridge for twenty minutes.
5. Line the pastry with baking paper and fill it with baking beans. Place the tin on a baking tray and bake for fifteen minutes. Then, remove the baking beans & paper and bake for a further fifteen minutes.
6. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon juice & zest, orange juice & zest, heavy cream, and sugar using a whisk, until combined.
7. Reduce the oven temperature to 315°F. Pour the filling into the tart case and bake for twenty-five minutes, until just set.
8. Remove from the oven and leave to cool at room temperature, then chill until ready to serve.

Vegan Chocolate Brownies

Fan of The Great British Bake Off but also vegan? No worries, this brownie recipe has got you covered.

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain flour, sifted
• 2 tbs cocoa powder
• 1 cup caster sugar
• ⅓ muscovado sugar
• 450g vegan dark chocolate
• 1 ½ almond milk
• ½ vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• large pinch of flaky salt

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Sift the flour & cocoa powder into a large bowl, then whisk in the sugars.
3. Place 300g of the chocolate into a saucepan with half the almond milk and all of the oil, vanilla, & salt. On low heat, warm the mixture until the chocolate has melted. Whisk in the remaining almond milk then set aside for ten minutes to cool.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the chocolate mixture. Whisk until smooth, then fold in the remaining 150g of chocolate until combined.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared brownie tin and bake for twenty-five minutes.
6. Cool the brownie completely then chill it in the fridge for three hours. Remove it from the fridge and slice it into squares. Remove the squares from the tin and serve.