Dust off your stand mixer and grab a spatula – the Great British Bake Off is back! We can’t wait for Paul, Pru, Sandi and Noel to bring us more dough-based exploits. But we’ve also missed the beautiful Bake Off tent, which just happens to be a mine of decorating inspiration.
Here are just a few Great British Bake Off decorating ideas we’ve picked up over the last nine series…
1. Bunting makes everything better
Even when it’s chucking it down outside, the reams of patriotic bunting make everything seem bright and rosy inside the tent. Well, unless you’re Howard from Series 4 and Deborah has just stolen your custard.
2. There’s nothing more satisfying than ingredients stored in jars
Though it probably originated from Aunty Beeb’s strict rules on product placement, we can’t help but envy how all the contestants’ ingredients are neatly decanted into Kilner jars. We're glad Channel 4 is sticking with it.
If you decide to do this at home, remember that good labelling is crucial. Mistake plain flour for self-raising, and it’s likely your cake will go the way of Iain Watters’ Baked Alaska in Series 4. There really was a lot of baking scandal that year!
3. We’d all love our own Bake Off island unit
Can you imagine how the newbie contestants felt as they first took their places at the now-iconic workstations? All we’re thinking is how much we’d like an island in our kitchen. Complete with a state-of-the-art oven, warming drawer, and enough cupboard and drawer space to store all our baking bits, obvs.
4. The kitchen table is a great place to sit and think
Whenever Mary and Paul needed to make a key decision – whether that’s what to set for the technical challenge or who to send home – they retreated to their trusty wooden table. And it seems Pru finds it a similarly eye-opening spot.
Of course, some choices are easier than others. But sending ‘Stormin’ Norman Calder home in Series 5? After he made Farthing biscuits and spelt out B-A-K-E in semaphore? That must have been tough...
5. A fridge can be a Showstopper
Almost as devastatingly handsome as Mr Paul Hollywood, the retro Bake Off fridges generate as many oohs and aahs as the bakes themselves.
Not only are they a key bit of baking kit – where else would you turn if you needed your crème pât chilled in a hurry? – they also go to show that a humble kitchen appliance can be more than functional.
6. The copper trend has reached the tent
Look to the back of the tent and you’ll spot copper jelly moulds, pots and even the odd kettle displayed proudly on shelves and walls.
We imagine it makes the bakers feel more at home – well, as ‘at home’ as its possible to feel with a camera in your face and Noel lurking in the background, part presenter, part Goth Detective, part marigold-munching baker's buddy.
More Bake Off: Take a tour of Welford Park – home of the Great British Bake Off tent
The Great British Bake Off is back on our screens every Tuesday night at 8pm on Channel 4.
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