The quickest and easiest bakes to try in halls

With the Great British Bake-off returning to our screens, we thought we'd share some of our favourite easy bakes!

All these tasty treats are quick, easy and best of all, don't use many ingredients.

Banana Bread

Since the start of lockdown banana bread has been a hugely popular treat and for good reason, it's so easy yet delicious! It only uses 7 ingredients including eggs, bananas, butter and flour and takes just over an hour to make. Check out this recipe for simple banana bread from BBC Good Food.

Top tip: Throw in some chocolate chips or your favourite nuts and top with melted chocolate or caramel sauce.

Cookies

If you thought banana bread was simple then you’ll be surprised at how little effort is needed for making cookies from scratch. All you have to do is make some dough, roll it into balls, place on a baking tray and shove them in the oven. Then when they’re done, hand them out to your new flatmates. Here's everything you need to know to make perfect chocolate chip cookies!

Top tip: Freeze any left-over cookie dough in balls in your freezer. That way, you just need to put them in the oven whenever you fancy a tasty treat.

No-bake cheesecake

If the prospect of making a cheesecake is daunting then you should give a no-bake cheesecake a go as it’s a lot less difficult. It doesn't call for eggs so there’s no danger of you over-beating them which can easily be done, and of course, it doesn't need to be cooked! This is a great light dessert and the best part is you get to choose your own filling. Take a look at this recipe for a tangy and refreshing no-bake orange cheesecake.

Top tip: Turn your favourite chocolate bar into a cheesecake, check our Jane Patissiere's selection for some inspiration.

Brownies

Want to impress your new flatmates? You can’t go wrong with brownies. These scrumptious little delights are a winner and are bound to leave smiles all round. This recipe for the ultimate brownies uses 3 different types of chocolate, butter, eggs, flour, caster sugar and cocoa powder – so it shouldn’t break the bank either!

Flapjack

If none of the other bakes takes your fancy then you should give a flapjack a go. This tasty snack is made with just 4 ingredients – butter, porridge oats, golden syrup and brown sugar. It takes half an hour from start to finish and once it’s done you can divide it into little chunks to share among the flat.

Don’t forget you can add your favourite flavours to these recipes to spice them up and give them your own personal touch.

On your marks...Get set...BAKE!