Ready to Try Some Recipes From ‘The Great British Bake Off’?

You might watch The Great British Bake Off, but have you ever tried to make any of the recipes? You can actually find hundreds of how-to’s for dishes that have aired on the show, including some from the judges’ technical challenges and those created by the contestants.

The official website for The Great British Bake Off is packed with incredible recipes, many of which are surprisingly easy enough to try at home. A few of them require some specific equipment for the best results, but we’ve noted that where necessary.

Note: Ever wondered why it’s called The Great British Baking Show on Netflix? It’s because Pillsbury owns the rights to the phrase “bake off” in the United States, due to its famous annual baking contest. 

Here’s everything you need to test out a few of the most popular GBBO recipes right in your own kitchen.

Sticky Toffee Puddings

Prue Leith’s sticky toffee puddings were a technical challenge during the 2021 season. Sweet, British-style “puddings” are baked in special molds with an ooey-gooey toffee sauce for a sweet and sticky dessert.

To make sticky toffee pudding at home, you’ll need pudding molds, which are specially made and similar to small, deep cake tins. British-style puddings are moist cake-like desserts, rather than the custardy treat that is called pudding in the U.S.

They’re also baked in specialty tins, like these Kitchen Craft Quick Release Pudding Moulds. Made of sturdy aluminum, you can use these for more than sticky puddings. Try them out with other individual treats that require a gooey center, like a chocolate lava cake.

Mini Rolls

Jürgen’s Schwarzwald mini rolls were a German-inspired signature bake from the 2021 competition. Taking inspiration from Black Forest flavors, these chocolate and cherry mini rolls are made with a flexible chocolate sponge, a sweet cream, and rich cherries.

Any type of rolled dessert requires a thin, flexible sponge cake to serve as its base. Baked too thick or too long, the sponge will crack and crumble rather than roll up. Getting the right consistency is partially about the batter, but it’s also about the baking process, which is why a Swiss roll pan is so important to have.

The Wilton Performance Pans Jelly Roll Pan is shallow and rectangular, measuring 10.5 x 15.5 inches. It’s perfect for spreading out batter and cooking evenly, so you get a soft, rollable sponge cake.

Mini Tarts

Leith’s mini vegan chocolate raspberry tarts were a technical challenge with several components. Made from a tricky chocolate pastry shell that’s then filled with rich chocolate ganache and topped with raspberries, these are a real treat, whether you’re vegan or not.

Mini tart tins are versatile and also just a lot of fun to make. While full-sized, more elaborate tarts might be a bit intimidating—especially if you’re new to the baking game—these adorable mini versions allow you to ease into the process.

However, you will need a good set of tart tins, like these from Webake. Made from carbon steel for durability and even baking, these mini tins have removable bottoms, so it’s easier than ever to get your delicate tarts out without any breakage.

Chocolate Babka

Paul Hollywood’s chocolate babka is a loaf of bread with twisting layers of dough filled with rich chocolate hazelnut. It’s somewhat similar to a cinnamon roll, but you just twist the dough into a loaf instead.

For complex loaves like babka, you’ll need a deep, nine-inch loaf pan, like this nonstick option from Cuisinart. It has the depth you need for complex loaves like babka. Made from heavy-gauge, aluminized steel, this pan provides even heat distribution for a steady bake, even on densely layered doughs, like this recipe calls for.

Madeleines

Rahul’s chocolate-dipped orange madeleines were a 2018 signature bake. These delicate treats are baked to the perfect texture, and then filled with a tart, orange curd. You finish them off with a dip in some chocolate, a bit of decoration, and some toasted hazelnuts.

Madeleines look like cookies but are more like small cakes. They also require some special equipment to get that signature, seashell shape.

There’s really no shortcut here; you need a specialized madeleine pan, like this 12-cup option from Bellemain. The carbon steel, nonstick surface provides the perfect shell-shaped ridges for a dozen madeleines. The shallow design also encourages the batter to bake into the signature “puff” on the opposite side.

Cannoli

Sophie’s gianduja cannoli was a signature bake from the 2017 season, and it’s a fresh twist on an Italian classic. The lightly cinnamon-flavored cannoli shells are filled with a chocolate hazelnut cream and not one, but two, Italian cheeses.

Getting cannoli right starts with the shell, so to make this delectable treat, you’ll need a set of cannoli tubes to shape the dough as it fries. You’ll get 15 tubes with near-seamless construction for the smoothest possible wrap. The slanted edges will give you that perfect, classic cannoli shape, and they’ll all slide off easily.

---

If you’re a fan of The Great British Bake Off, it’s time to get serious and make some of those tantalizing recipes in your own kitchen. And don’t stop there! After you have your new specialty tools, try your hand at even more pastries and sweet treats.