It’s back!  The Great British Bake Off returns to Channel 4 at 8pm on Tuesday, 13 September 2022!

The programme starts within British Food Fortnight 2022, the national celebration of the diverse, gorgeous, yummy food that the UK produces!  And surely one of the things we do best is Afternoon Tea, with finger sandwiches, cakes, scones with cream and jam galore, and perhaps a glass of bubbly from an English vineyard thrown in?

Anyway back to The Great British Bake Off 2022!  The judges will be Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood, and the hosts are Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas.  And there are 12 new contestants!

One of the things about baking is that for many people, it's a time to link back to those hours whiled away with Mum in the kitchen, making cupcakes and other simple items.  And it's creative, and fun, and you definitely get an end result (even if you don't fancy eating it) one way or another.   

Here are some gift ideas:

How about a Great British Bake-Off Family Planner to see you through 2023?  With photos and recipes, it's also got five spacious columns each month, a handy storage pocket and useful, fun stickers!  All for £10.99 from the CalendarClub.co.uk

 

Great British Bake-Off Family Planner 2022 from the CalendarClub.co.uk

For anyone who loves baking, take a look at this new book, called The Great British Bake Off: A Bake for all Seasons, available from Hive.co.uk .  It's an ode to nature, with bakes created to showcase seasonal ingredients - asparagus in spring, strawberries in summer, pumpkin in autumn (what else, with Halloween on the way?!) and blood oranges in winter.  There are pies, tarts, pastries, breads, loaf cakes and cakes to celebrate!  The book will help you make the most of the offerings from each season. 

The Great British Bake Off: A Bake for all Seasons from Hive.co.uk for £15.69

For dog lovers who adore baking - biscuits for example! - how about this Dogs Extra Large Rectangular Caddy from Emma Bridgewater for £15.00?   It will add colour to a kitchen nicely!  Great for storing biscuits in - yours or the dogs!

This Dogs Extra Large Rectangular Caddy is from Emma Bridgewater for £15.00

If you're inspired by Bake Off to do some baking and cooking yourself, and love trying to do new things, why not treat yourself and a friend to a cookery or baking class?  Get hands on and stuck in!  Cookery class experiences provide a fun and informal way to discover new skills in the kitchen.  Chocolate making, cupcake decorating, bread making, there's a range of cookery experiences available through Virgin Experience Days. 

Cookery class experiences

Fitting things in can be very difficult for people so you could always give them a recipe book - a celebrity recipe book!  Prue Leith, Paul Hollywood and previous judge M

Alternatively, give them something to look forward to for as many months as you choose to - give them a magazine subscription.  Isubscribe.co.uk have a number of Food and Drink magazines you can subscribe to as a gift, including several which focus on baking and cakes!  

Give a magazine subscription

This Personalised Cake Stand is from Getting Personal for £39.99.   Needless to say, it doesn't come with the cakes seen in the photo! 

Personalised Cake Stand

The National Trust Shop (online) has a National Trust Book of Afternoon Tea and its full of absolutely delicious goodies, including a couple of alcoholic treats such as a Champagne Cocktail and a Kir Royale!  It's a great gift for anyone who adores the tradition of Afternoon Tea, as it includes sandwiches, macaroons, savoury snacks and sweet treats, as well  as sample menus for a tea party and also historical recipes which show after afternoon tea was made "in times gone by".  All for £9.99

The National Trust Book of Afternoon Tea
£9.99 from the National Trust

Prezzybox.com have a Personalised Mixing Bowl for £39.99. Personalise the bowl with your own special message which appears on the inside rim of the bowl!  The bowl comes as 24cm in diameter.   Prezzybox do a personalised rolling pin too for £12.99. 

Personalised Mixing Bowl
 

What about giving a Personalised Cake Knife from Getting Personal for £39.99.  Choose a plain or ornate handle, and add a message on to your cake knife in up to 25 characters (you need to be 100% right when you’re doing that so check your spelling, grammar,  capitals etc before you add the gift to the basket.) 

Personalised Cake Knife

What about giving them a voucher to an Afternoon Tea?  Red Letter Days have a huge range of afternoon tea experiences available around the country, with something for practically every budget.  You can just sit, chill and chat and put the world to rights, catch up on gossip - and devour a delicious tea at the same time.   No clearing away or washing up - just you & someone you care about having time with each other.  You can even get themed Afternoon Teas now or combine the tea with an activity such as a spa day. Buy this experience before 31 December 2023, and enjoy 15% off with Red Letter Days!  Just use the code RAHW2023 at check-out (some experiences are excluded from this offer). Devour Red Letter Days' menu of mouth watering Afternoon Tea or Cream Tea experiences. 

Red Letter Days' Afternoon Tea or Cream Tea experiences. 

Virgin Experience Days and Into the Blue have more gift ideas.