Baking has been known to improve mental well-being as the process can be very therapeutic. In fact, Google Trends revealed that in the last year ‘baking recipes’ has increased in searches by 56% reaching 8,900 searches on average each month.
With more star bakers set to make their mark with showstoppers as Great British Bake Off returns to our screens, home bakers will likely be even more inspired to make their own creations.
The beauty of baking is that there is a recipe for everyone, no matter how they want to express themselves. Whether intolerant to gluten or suffering from nut allergies, all bakes can be easily adapted to meet someone’s dietary requirements.
But what baked goods are most popular among Brits right now?
We analysed 200 popular baking recipes using Google searches to find out what the British public is looking to bake, including “strawberry swiss roll recipeâ€, “pineapple upside down cake recipe†and “Victoria sponge recipeâ€.
We then calculated the difference in monthly searches between August 2021 and August 2022, to reveal which recipes are rising in popularity and which aren’t hitting the sweet spot.
The top 20 fastest rising bakes in the UK
1. “Fruit pavlova recipe†– 800.00%
2. “Blackberry and apple crumble recipe†– 128.00%
3. “Fig rolls recipe†– 108.00%
4. “Orange syrup cake recipe†– 100.00%
=4. “Coffee and pecan cake recipe†– 100.00%
6. “Pear crumble recipe†– 90.00%
7. “Apple turnovers recipe†– 89.00%
8. “Pear tart recipe†– 84.00%
9. “Chocolate chip cookies recipe†– 83.00%
=9.“Blueberry muffins recipeâ€- 89.00%
=9. “Apple cake recipe†– 83.00%
12. “Apple pie recipe†– 82.00%
13. “Apple crisp recipe†– 81.00%
14. “Toffee pavlova recipe†– 75.00%
15. “No bake cookies recipe†– 56.00%
16. “Lemon meringue cake recipe†– 55.00%
=16. “Bread and butter recipe†– 55.00%
18. “Butterfly cupcake recipe†– 51.00%
19. “Banoffee pie recipe†– 50.00%
=19. “Meringue roulade recipe†– 50.00%
Fruit pavlova is the fastest rising baking recipe in Britain
The classic fruit pavlova takes the number one spot as the most popular bake of 2022. Searches for the “fruit pavlova recipe†had increased in the last year by 800%, going from ten searches a month to 90.
The super simple dessert is piled high with seasonal fruit making it the perfect recipe for all times of the year. Made with only meringue, cream and fruit of your choice this can be whipped up in an instant, with the majority of the ingredients most likely already in your cupboards.
Classic British staples such as “fig rolls†and “blackberry and apple crumble†are also firm favourites as the two sweet treats made it into the top 10 with the crumble seeing a 128% rise in searches in the last year.
Lemon meringue cupcakes are facing a soggy bottom
A classic take on the lemon meringue pie, these cupcakes have seen a mighty 86% drop in searches within the last year.
The tangy lemon sponge with the sweet filling of lemon curd and a crunchy topping of meringue is usually a popular summer recipe. Similarly, confetti cake and devil’s cake aren’t proving as popular anymore with both seeing a dip in searches by over 50%.
Sal Hanvey, a nutritionist at YorkTest, commented on the findings: “It’s surprising that a refreshing dessert such as fruit pavlova has come top place as a sweeter pudding such as devils cake would be expected.
“The good thing with this recipe is that it’s so simple to make and can be made any time of the year by adding seasonal fruits. As fruit is the star ingredient this can be a lighter pudding choice for those who don’t fancy a heavier dessert. Adding fruits such as berries are high in vitamin C, antioxidants and natural sugars which can add nutritional value.
“With autumn fast approaching and Great British Bake Off back on our screens, this is the perfect time to be inspired by new recipes. However, it is interesting to see the classics such as confetti cake and gingerbread loaf cake decrease in searches. It will be exciting to see what the bakers of this season of GBBO will bring and the trends we will start to see.â€
Methodology
To reveal which recipes had the highest and lowest drop in searches, YorkTest used monthly Google search data from Google Keyword Planner.
These searches were filtered to the United Kingdom overall, and also each individual state.
The average monthly searches were taken from August 2021 and August 2022, to establish the difference in interest in the last 12 months.
