I love a sweet, baked treat. Unfortunately, in the past, I’ve been known to enjoy them rather more often than is probably good for me. In fact, I’m sure there have been times where cakes, biscuits and pastries have formed the staple of my diet!

I’ve noticed though that mass-produced, shop-bought goodies never taste as good as homemade versions do, and sometimes, don’t even taste very nice at all (not that that’s stopped me eating them!).

With this in mind, and inspired by this years’ series of the Great British Bake Off, I’ve broken out my rolling pin and substituted lots of shop bought ‘treats’ with occasional homemade ones.

I’m a believer in the legend that is Mary Berry’s philosophy when it comes to baking: don’t try to reduce the calories by cutting out fat or sugar; instead, reduce your portion size. To help me to do this, I’ve been sampling each of my bakes, enjoying one or maybe two portions over a couple of days, but giving the rest away to friends, family and colleagues.

I was originally only planning on baking whilst the GBBO series was on but I’ve really enjoyed trying new recipes and looking forward to my home-baked treats has helped me to resist the temptation to succumb in shop-bought items. So I’m looking forward to keeping my baking going over the next few months.

Have you got a favourite baked-treat recipe? I’m always looking for inspiration so please share your favourites in the comments section.

Thanks for reading,

FFF