The Great Christmas Bake Off: The best festive recipes from the hit show (2024)

Whether you want a simple but scrummy yule log or a showstopper for your table centrepiece, there’s only one way to create perfect cakes that will wow your family and friends at Christmas.

Yes, it’s The Great British Bake Off, and these fabulous festive treats, featuring recipes from Paul and Mary as well as contestants from previous series, including Cathryn Dresser and Edd Kimber, will brighten up any celebration.

Taken from the new book The Great British Bake Off: Christmas, here’s our pick of the best...

Mary's Yule Log

For 8-10 you need

• 33x23cm Swiss roll tin, lightly greased and lined
• Piping bag and star nozzle
• 4 large eggs
• 100g caster sugar
• 65g self-raising flour
• 40g cocoa powder
• Icing sugar, for dusting
• 300ml double cream, whipped

For chocolate ganache topping

• 300ml double cream
• 300g dark chocolate, around 35–40% cocoa solids, broken into small pieces

1. Heat oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Whisk eggs and sugar in large bowl, using electric whisk, until pale, light and frothy. Sift in flour and cocoa and cut and fold together, using a spatula, taking care not to beat any air out of mixture.
2. Pour into tin, spread evenly into corners. Place in middle of oven and bake for 8–10 minutes or until well risen and firm to the touch with sides shrinking away from edge of tin.
3. Place baking parchment bigger than tin on work surface. Generously dust with icing sugar, carefully invert cake on to paper and remove bottom lining paper.
4. Score line with knife 2.5cm in from one of longer edges. Starting with this edge, tightly roll up sponge, rolling up paper inside as you go. Sit roll on top of its outside edge to cool completely.
5. For ganache, heat cream in pan to temperature where you can just keep your finger in it. Remove from heat and add chocolate, stirring until melted. Cool to room temp, then chill in fridge to firm.
6. Unfurl cold Swiss roll and remove paper. Spread whipped cream over surface and re-roll tightly. Cut quarter of cake off from one end, on the diagonal. Transfer the large piece on to a serving plate or board and angle-cut end out from middle of the large cake to make a branch.
7. Put ganache into piping bag with star nozzle. Pipe long, thick lines along cake, covering completely to resemble bark of a tree. Cover each end with icing or leave un-iced if you prefer to see cream. Alternatively, just use palette knife to spread on icing and create rough bark texture with fork. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Edd's spiced chocolate bundt cake

You will need

• 25cm, 2 litre bundt tin
• 200g unsalted butter, diced, plus extra
  for greasing
• 30g cocoa powder
• 100ml hot water
• 200g dark chocolate (60–70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped
• 300g light muscovado sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 175g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 tsps ground ginger
• 2 tsps ground mixed spice
• 1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon
• 40g chopped glacé or crystallised ginger

For the glaze

• 300ml double cream
• 160g dark chocolate (60–70% cocoa solids), finely chopped

1. Heat oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4 and grease the bundt tin well.
2. Put the cocoa into a small bowl and whisk in the hot water. Melt the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove and let cool slightly.
3. Use an electric mixer to whisk the sugar and eggs until thick and pale. With mixer still running, pour in the chocolate and mix in.
4. Whisk flour, baking powder and spices in a separate bowl. Sift over the chocolate mixture and fold together. Add ginger and cocoa mixture. Pour into prepared tin, put it on a baking sheet and bake for 40–45 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out.
5. Stir cream and chocolate over a low-medium heat until smooth and leave to cool.
6. Pour over cooled cake and let it set before transferring to a serving plate.
7. 30x20cm tin (greased and lined) makes 16 slices.

Cathryn's snowy white coconut traybake

For the cake