Bake Your Own GBBO Stunner

With series 13 (that’s a baker’s dozen!) of the Great British Bake Off on the horizon, we look back at some of our favourite bakes from over the years and share how to make them at home…

Die-hard Bake Off fans will know exactly who we’re talking about when we say Lion King. Paul Jagger knocked our socks off with his Bread Lion in series 6 (some say he was robbed of Star Baker…). Practice your bread animal making skills with this cute collection. (Psst! The Turbo Cuisine will help you bake up the perfect homemade bread).

Winner of series 9, Rahul Mandal’s Garden Wedding Korovai helped earn him the top spot in Bread Week. Make it yourself and enjoy it with a morning coffee.

Talking of bread, let’s take a moment to praise Steven Carter-Bailey (series 8) for his knockout loaf-shaped Baker’s Lunch illusion cake complete with BLT and bread knife – superb! You too can have a go at this mind bending chocolate hazelnut delight.

All was also not as it seemed with Selasi Gbormittah’s Vegetable Patch savoury tart in series 7. This cute and clever allotment-shaped, edible soiled-topped creation was in fact a delicious veg-stuffed tart.

We love everything Liam Charles makes, that baker has a magic touch! They may not be his most eye-catching creations but it’s Liam’s Peanut Millionaire’s Shortbreads that we’ll be making time and again.

Dave Friday’s Waiting for Tacos coffee-flavoured iced biscuits from series 10 are some of the prettiest biccies we’ve ever seen and helped earn him Star Baker. Have a crack at them with this recipe and bake them in record time with the Optigrill Snacking & Baking accessory.

Mixing two classic puds to create something extra special, Nancy Birtwhistle’s Summer Pudding Alaska from series 5 is still a wonder to behold. Luckily, the recipe features in The Great British Bake Off: Big Book of Baking so you can try it out for yourself.

How to take a tart from tasty to terrific? Add macarons like James Morton (series 2) for his Rose, Raspberry and Macaron Tart. Get a slice of the action with this recipe.

Flo Atkins’s One in a Melon cake in series 8 is one bake we’ll never forget. With its decorated fondant ‘rind’, deep red sponge and chocolate chip ‘seeds’, the watermelon shaped (and flavoured!) marvel bore an uncanny resemblance to the real thing.

Perfect for a summer celebration, Steph Blackwell wowed the judges in series 10 with her magnificent Sour Piña Colada cake. Paul proclaimed he’d never tasted anything like it. Create your own show stopping version and crown yourself the winner!

The 13^th series of GBBO is set to hit our screens in September. We can’t wait to see what spectacular creations it has in store…