Great British Bake Off stars Candice Brown and Nadiya Hussain give us food for thought with their tasty desserts

CELEBRATE the start of a new series of The Great British Bake Off with some tasty treats from some of the show's most memorable stars.

As we get to know this year's batch of bakers, here's some desserts to get you in the mood for Paul Hollywood's put-downs.

Liam Charles’ carrot cake cookies

10

10

Serves: 15

Prep time: 20 minutes, plus cooling and freezing

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Cals: 304/Sat fat: 7g

• 150g cream cheese
• 150g icing sugar
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 350g plain flour
• 1/2tsp baking powder
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• 1tsp mixed spice
• 1tsp ground cloves
• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 100g soft light brown sugar
• 50g soft dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 200g carrot, finely grated
• Zest 2 oranges and juice 1 orange
• 4tbsp walnuts, chopped

1. Mix the cream cheese, 3tbsp icing sugar and the vanilla in a large bowl until combined, then pop in the freezer for 30-45 minutes. Meanwhile, measure your flour, baking powder and spices into another bowl. Beat your butter and both sugars together in a third bowl until creamy. Beat your egg into the butter mixture, then tip in your carrot. Mix together well. Tip your dry ingredients into the carrot mixture and mix slowly to form a dough.
2. Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Weigh your dough and divide by 15. Then flatten them into thin discs using the palm of your hand.
3. Add a generous teaspoon of the cream cheese filling to the centre of each disc and wrap the dough around the filling to seal. Pinch the top and roll it back into a ball, making sure no filling leaks out. Pop the balls on to the tray and flatten slightly. Place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
4. Bake the cookies for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave on the tray for a few minutes to firm up, then transfer to a wire rack to cool further.
5. Sift the remaining icing sugar into a small bowl and mix with the orange juice – you’re aiming for a drizzling consistency. Flick the icing over the cookies and top with the orange zest and walnuts.

• Recipe from Cheeky Treats by Liam Charles (£20, Hodder & Stoughton) —

Candice Brown’s triple-layer berry Victoria sponge

10

10

Serves: 10-12

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Cals: 660/Sat fat: 27g

• 335g self-raising flour
• 335g unsalted butter, softened
• 335g golden caster sugar
• 3tsp baking powder
• 6 large eggs
• Grated zest 2 lemons
• Juice 1 lemon
• 150g raspberries
• 600ml double cream
• 500g fresh strawberries, hulled
• Icing sugar, to finish

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4. Grease three 25cm round, loose-bottomed sandwich tins and line the bases with greaseproof paper.
2. Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the butter, sugar, baking powder, eggs, lemon zest and juice. Mix together until smooth, fluffy and combined. If using an electric mixer, use a medium speed and do not over-mix.
3. Divide two-thirds of the mixture between two of the tins. Reserve five of the fresh raspberries for decoration, then add the rest to the last third and mix through, crushing some of the raspberries as you go. Put this mixture into the third tin. Place the three tins in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes until the sponges are risen and golden and are slightly coming away from the edges (try not to open the oven before the 20 minutes are up). The raspberry sponge may need another 5 minutes. Remove the tins from the oven and turn out the sponges on to a wire rack. Leave to cool.
4. Whip the double cream thick enough to hold its shape – do not over-whip. Spoon the cream into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle.
5. Reserve five of the strawberries for the decoration. Evenly slice the rest of the strawberries. Pipe a layer of double cream on to one of the plain sponges. Top with a layer of sliced strawberries. Spread a small amount of cream on the underside of the raspberry sponge, then place it gently on top of the strawberries (the cream helps the sponges stick together).
6. Pipe a layer of double cream on the raspberry sponge and top this with the rest of the sliced strawberries. Spread a small amount of cream on the underside of the other plain sponge, then set this on top of the strawberries. Push down gently and check the layers are even. Top with any leftover cream, the reserved strawberries cut in half and the reserved raspberries, then dust with icing sugar.

• Recipe from Comfort by Candice Brown (£20, Ebury Press) —

Martha Collison’s pecan praline brownies

10

10

Serves: 15

Prep time: 25 minutes, plus cooling

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Cals: 345/Sat fat: 9g

For the brownies:

• 150g soft light brown sugar
• 225g caster sugar
• 200g butter, plus extra for greasing
• 150g dark chocolate, chopped
• 3 eggs
• 100g plain flour
• 30g cocoa powder

For the praline:

• 50g pecans
• 100g caster sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4, grease the brownie tin and line it with baking parchment and line a baking tray with baking parchment, too.
2. Put all the sugar and the butter in a large saucepan, place over a medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. It should lose its grainy appearance, and the butter will have completely combined with the sugar instead of being a separated layer (this takes a few minutes). Remove from the heat. Add the chopped dark chocolate to the warm sugar and butter mixture and stir it in until it has completely melted. Leave to cool to room temperature.
3. While the mixture cools, make the praline. Spread the pecans on the lined baking tray and bake in the oven for 7-8 minutes until they are golden brown. Tip the sugar into a small, heavy-based saucepan or frying pan and place over a medium heat. Leave the sugar to melt without stirring. After a few minutes, the edges will have started to liquefy. Swirl the pan to distribute the caramelised sugar, which will encourage the remaining dry sugar to melt. When the caramel is a dark amber colour (or 150°C on a sugar thermometer), remove from the heat and pour the hot caramel over the roasted pecans and allow to cool completely.
4. When the brownie mixture is cool enough to touch comfortably, beat in the eggs. Add the flour and cocoa powder then stir briefly to combine. You don’t want to over-beat the mixture or your brownies will become too cakey. Scrape the mixture into the lined brownie tin and spread it out evenly.
5. Remove the praline from the baking tray and blitz in a food processor or bash it with a rolling pin until it resembles a chunky powder. Sprinkle the praline in an even layer over the brownie batter. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is caramelised and golden. It will feel slightly under-baked, but this is what makes the brownie fudgy and chewy. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin, either at room temperature or in the fridge, then cut into squares.

• Recipe from Crave by Martha Collison (£16.99, HarperCollins) —

Nadiya Hussain’s back-to-front cheesecake

10

10

Serves: 9

Prep time: 25 minutes, plus cooling and chilling overnight

Cooking time: 1 hour

Cals: 898/Sat fat: 39g

For the cheesecake:

• Butter, for greasing
• 900g full-fat cream cheese
• 200g caster sugar
• 150ml soured cream
• 3tbsp plain flour
• 3 medium eggs, beaten
• 2tsp vanilla bean paste

For the honey salted caramel:

• 50g butter
• 170g set honey
• 300ml double cream
• 1/2tsp salt

For the tiffin crumble:

• 75g unsalted butter
• 150g digestives, roughly crushed
• 30g demerara sugar
• 50g dark chocolate chips or chunks
• 50g toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C/140°C fan/gas mark 3. Grease the base of a 20cm round cake tin (it mustn’t be loose-bottomed – imagine the leakage!), and line it with baking paper.
2. Put the cream cheese, sugar, soured cream, flour, eggs and vanilla paste into a large bowl and give it all a good mix, just for a minute or so, until it is well combined. You don’t want to mix for too long and incorporate any air. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, tap it on
   the worktop to release any trapped air, then level the surface. Bake on the lower shelf of the oven for 1 hour. As soon as the hour is up, open the oven door, leaving it slightly ajar. Pop a wooden spoon in the door to keep it just open and let out the heat slowly, then turn the oven off. Don’t take the cheesecake out until the oven is completely cold, then put the cheesecake into the fridge to chill overnight.
3. The next day, make the honey salted caramel. Put the butter into a small pan on a medium heat. As soon as it has melted, add the honey and cook on a medium to high heat for 10 minutes until the caramel is a golden brown. If it starts to catch, just turn the heat down slightly. After 10 minutes, pour in the cream, give it a mix and allow it to just come
   up to the boil. Take off the heat and stir in the salt, then set aside.
4. To make the tiffin crumble, melt the butter and pour it on to the crushed biscuits. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes while you take the cheesecake out of the fridge and turn it out onto a serving plate or platter. Add the sugar, chocolate and hazelnuts to the buttery biscuit chunks.
5. Now for the back-to-front bit. Put the tiffin mixture on top of the cheesecake, but not in any neat fashion or packed tightly, just piled on top in peaks and troughs. Reheat the caramel if it has cooled too much, and pour over the cheesecake before serving.

• Recipe from Nadiya’s Family Favourites by Nadiya Hussain (£20, Michael Joseph) —

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Nancy Birtwhistle’s black forest tart

10

10

Serves: 8

Prep time: 15 minutes, plus 1 hour cooling time

Cooking time: 55 minutes

Cals: 632/Sat fat: 25g

For the tart:

• 165g plain flour
• 120g butter, chilled
• 55g icing sugar
• 25g ground hazelnuts, roasted
• 1 egg, beaten
• 120ml milk
• 230ml double cream
• 2 eggs
• 300g dark chocolate, chopped, melted

For decoration:

• Cherries or berries
• Hazelnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Blitz the flour and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and hazelnuts. Gradually add the egg to form a dough then chill for 30 minutes.
2. Roll out the pastry and use it to line an 18cm flan tin. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork, line with baking paper and baking beans, then bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, trim the edges and discard the paper and beans. Return the tart to the oven for 5 minutes so the pastry firms up and turns lightly golden. Leave to cool.
3. Lower the oven temperature to 110°C/100°C fan/gas mark 1/4. To make the filling, put the milk and cream in a pan over a low heat and bring to the boil. Pour in the eggs as you whisk. Add the chocolate, stirring until smooth.
4. Pour the filling into the pastry case and bake for 30 minutes until set. Leave to cool before decorating with the fruit and nuts.

• Follow Nancy Birtwhistle on Instagram and Twitter .