Get baking for The Great Comic Relief Bake Off

Red Nose Day 2013 is heading your way on Friday 15th March when the great British public will once again be asked to Do Something Funny for Money. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Red Nose Day which has raised over £600m and helped to change lives both in the UK and Africa. In the nation's kitchens, ovens will be fired up and whisks will be at the ready as the great British public goes into baking battle to help raise money for Comic Relief. To inspire the nation to host their own bake sales and raise money for those living incredibly tough lives in the UK and across Africa, 16 celebrities will demonstrate their baking prowess in The Great Comic Relief Bake Off on BBC Two - prepare for a big dollop of laughter to be thrown into the Bake Off mix !

To help the great British public raise a tasty sum, Red Nose Day has come up with the perfect accessories to make life in the kitchen that little bit sweeter.

The Great Comic Relief Bake Off book (£2.50 with at least £2 going to Comic Relief. Available from Sainsbury’s and other good book retailers.)

The Great Comic Relief Bake Off book is packed full of easy, delicious recipes for the nation to try. Featuring 13 of the best recipes from the Great British Bake Off books, such as Squidgy Brownies and Carrot Cake Muffins, this Red Nose Day cookbook could help amateur cooks master baking brilliance.

Emma Bridgewater apron (£12.99 with at least £6.50 going to Comic Relief. Available from Homesense and TK Maxx.)

For those wanting to look dishy in the kitchen this Red Nose Day, there is a specially designed Emma Bridgewater apron which features in the Great British Comic Relief Bake Off.

And providing the icing on top is Queen of cakes and bakes Mary Berry who has offered some useful hints and tips on how to hold the perfect bake sale which include:

1. Ask everyone to get baking too – the more you bake, the more money you’ll make

2. Hold a pay-to-enter bake off competition

3. Download some customisable posters to promote your cake sale

4. Make sure you have a variety of dishes to satisfy everyone’s tastes

5. Ask for a donation each time people go to fill up their plates

The money raised will help to change the lives of disadvantaged people living across the UK and Africa.

If you need some inspiration for what to bake, here's one of the recipes from the book :

Recipe from The Great Comic Relief Bake Off book - Carrot Cake Muffins

You can have all the same flavours and textures of carrot cake in a muffin, plus the sweet cream cheese icing as a surprise filling.

Makes 12 cakes

75g shredded bran cereal

225ml milk

zest of 1 medium orange

120g cream cheese

1 level tablespoon caster sugar

3 large carrots

125g light brown muscovado sugar

200g self-raising flour

1 level teaspoon baking powder

1½ level teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 level teaspoon ground ginger

2 eggs

4 tablespoons sunflower oil

1 Put the bran cereal and milk into a mixing bowl and stir just to mix. Leave to soak for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper muffin cases.

2 Tip half the zest into a large mixing bowl with the cereal and milk and put to one side. Add the cream cheese and caster sugar to the remaining zest in a small bowl and mix well – this will be your filling.

3 Peel the carrots and, using the coarse-hole side of a grater, grate the carrots onto a board. Weigh out 150g grated carrot and add to the large bowl. (Save any leftover carrots for a salad.)

4 By now the cereal will be very mushy. Add the brown sugar and mix well with a wooden spoon. Sift in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger but don’t mix them in just yet.

5 Break the eggs into another bowl and add the oil. Beat with a fork just until the egg yolks are broken up and mixed with the whites. Tip into the big bowl and mix everything together with the wooden spoon.

6 Using a medium-sized spoon, drop a dollop of the carrot mixture into each paper muffin case in the tray. Drop a small spoonful of the cream cheese filling into the middle.

7 Cover the filling with the rest of the carrot mixture, dividing it evenly among the cases. Place in the heated oven and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Check the muffins are cooked by gently pressing the centre of a muffin with your finger – if it springs back then it’s ready.

8 Remove the tray from the oven and leave for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container and eat within 24 hours

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Seriously Good Sauces for a Seriously Good Cause : Comic Relief

Seriously Good Red Nose Day Recipes from Gordon Ramsay

Harry Hill's Nuts !