"This is baking for you, for me and the people you love for every day of the year," says Nadiya Hussain in her new series, which shares ideas that cover all kinds of occasions, from baked dinners to epic cakes. What she's keen to do is show that baking doesn't have to be difficult or time-consuming - that anyone can find recipes they can make.
In each episode, she shares entertaining stories, from baking disasters of her school days to how her travels have helped inspire her cooking. And as for the cooking: get set for deliciousness. There's everything from meringue lollipops and sensational butterscotch cheesecake bars to savoury bakes such as a twist on quiche that uses layers of scrunched filo pastry as a base. "Everyday baking can be just the most delicious simple cake in the middle of a table with a cup of tea," she says - although it can also be an impressive centrepiece, like her double-layer meringue cake or epic chocolate cookie pie.
In each episode, she also catches up with innovative bakers, from pie maker Nokx Majozi to vegan baker Louise Nicholson.
Here's what you can look forward to.
Episode 1: Afternoon Tea
"When I think about afternoon tea I think kind of really fancy cakes and biscuits and special and beautiful. You know what, it can be all of those things but also simple and easy," says Hussain. Along with meringue lollipops with a colourfully striped crisp shell and raspberry-infused white chocolate centre, a coffee-infused sponge cake with a generous layer of coffee-spiked frosting, and a rhubarb, rose and strawberry baked dessert with scone topping, there are indulgent butterscotch cheesecake coconut bars, made with layers of buttery puff pastry, cheesecake and caramel.
Nadiya Hussain with her butterscotch cheesecake bars Source: Nadiya's Everyday Baking
Episode 2: Speedy Bakes
This week is all about Nadiya's speedy standby recipes "for when you need fantastic food in a jiffy". She kicks things off with a twist on quiche. "If you’re busy, making a quiche just takes too long. But if that's the kind of thing you're after, this recipe will hit the spot any day of the week," she says of her paprika egg filo bake. "As a mum of three kids, as much as I love being in the kitchen, I also need to get people fed quickly and this is the recipe for exactly that." Fill a baking dish with scrunched-up buttered filo, bake for ten minutes until crisp and golden, then pour over the egg, herb and paprika filling and bake again 'til done. "I can guarantee that it will become a staple. I promise you that because this is one that I make all the time." There are plenty of sweet bakes too, including snickerdoodle biscuits with caramel centres and a strawberry and chocolate marbled ice-cream loaf cake. This is a delightful idea where defrosted strawberry and chocolate ice-creams are used in the cake batter.
Nadiya with snickerdoodles, left, and her easy egg filo bake. Source: Nadiya's Everyday Baking
Episode 3: Easy Roasts
This episode is all about easy roasts you can rustle up any day of the week. "With the possible exception of a cake, is there anything more comforting than a roast chicken? I don't think so. And of all the versions I’ve ever made, this is my favourite. It’s the kids' favourite, it’s my husband’s favourite. They love it. It’s packed with flavour," Nadiya says of her kimchi chicken with buttery miso leeks, a one-tray dish that's low on effort, and high on taste. There's also a vegetarian roasted onion curry, pineapple and chilli-marinated lamb ribs and citrus fish.
If you're looking for more savoury baking ideas, try this baked feta with chilli, honey and thyme, from her book Nadiya's Everyday Baking, which has all the recipes from the series and many more.
Baked feta with chilli, honey and thyme Source: Penguin Books / Nadiya's Everyday Baking
Episode 4: Family Bakes
Daughter Maryam joins in for this episode, and declaring herself a "flapjack fanatic", helps make one of her favourite recipes. "Family baking can be every day. It can be simple. It can be stuff that you've done time and time again, but it can still be special. Flapjacks are a staple, a must in our house ever since we've had kids. I have made so many different variations and this one is my favourite," Nadiya says. These oaty, choc-topped bars are buttery and caramelised (with both golden caster sugar and golden syrup in the mix), with a hint of almond extract. But that's not all: "This is not just any old flapjack. It's flapjack with a layer of raspberry jam and then another layer of flapjack. Imagine the surprise when you think, 'Oh, it's just a flapjack,' and then you open it and there's this tangy fruity jammy surprise," Nadiya says of her jam-layer flapjacks. Other family favourites in this episode include a tandoori chicken triple-layer naan sandwich with minty mayonnaise and cabbage; a 'dump it all in' Mexican dinner; and an epic chocolate cookie pie, with a filling of hazelnut spread and crispy wafers in a deep, chewy chocolate chip cookie dough pie crust.
Naduya Hussain and daugher Maryam with their jam layer flapjacks. Source: Nadiya's Everyday Baking
Episode 5: Weekend Breakfasts
From soup to a pretty twist on granola-meets-tart, this episode is all about breakfast ideas for when you can focus on the first meal of the day. "Monday to Friday, it's very much kind of eat, fuel, go, go, go, go. Get stuff done. Weekends for us are about being slow, about taking the two days to kind of just gather ourselves, enjoy each other," Nadiya says. The recipe she shares includes granola breakfast cups (homemade granola turned into small cups, lined with chocolate, and filled with yoghurt, fruit and flowers); easy banana, peanut butter and chocolate roll-ups; chilled kiwifruit soup with crispy coconut croissant bites; and breakfast pizza topped with a tomato and bean base, plus mushroom, sausage and egg.
Granola breakfast cups Source: Nadiya's Everyday Baking
Episode 6: Easy Celebrations
This episode is all about low-stress celebration dishes. There's slow-cooked lamb daleem, a rich, warming dish that's perfect for a gathering on a chilly night; Nadiya's take on a seafood boil, inspired by a visit to New Orleans; a meringue cake, with cream and fruit between layers of sponge cake and meringue, that makes a lovely centrepiece for a spring party; and Nadiya's colourful sprinkle butter babka loaf. "I have made babka loads and loads. It's such an easy recipe. Sometimes they are swirled with chocolate, with cocoa, and sometimes with cinnamon. They're just delicious. What I love is it looks really complicated and really, it's not. You are going to be surprised at how just a couple of rolls, a couple of cuts and a couple of twists can make something so beautiful." This version adds joyful rainbow sprinkles, too. "Fun in every single layer," she says.
Sprinkle butter babka loaf Source: Penguin Books / Nadiya's Everyday Baking
