Rise to the challenge: my very own bake off | Emma Beddington

For many, baking is therapeutic. But is cooking along with Bake Off really such a good idea?

An acquaintance speculated recently that we would only realise after the fact what kind of mad we went during the pandemic, but I already know: I became Bake Off mad.

I used to love baking, especially the showy kind where you produce something slightly flashy to a chorus of coos of admiration. Mine almost never elicited that reaction - I lack skills, attention to detail and artistic flair - but for a few brief, glorious years when my sons were little, I was a cake magician to them. Anything a bit creative filled them with wonder. I made dragons, cartoon characters and even a giant spider crab.