Easy bank holiday baking ideas

1. Easy carrot cake

This easy carrot cake is the ultimate weekend bake to enjoy with an afternoon cuppa. The sponge is lightly spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and a hint of orange zest. Spread a generous dollop of frosting over the top and decorate with chopped walnuts.

If you're plant-based, fear not: we also have our vegan carrot cake with coconut and cashew icing to please you. Or find more fun carrot ideas with our collection of carrot cake recipes.

2. Easy cornflake tart

Whip up an easy cornflake tart that'll please the whole family. It's made using simple storecupboard ingredients and shortcuts, such as shop-bought pastry, so it's quick to prepare. Try more sweet tart recipes.

3. Banana oat muffins with mix & match toppings

Kids can get involved with making these easy oat muffins topped with their choice of blueberries, raspberries, date slices or chopped nuts. They make a great addition to a lunchbox, too. Try more budget-friendly lunchbox ideas.

4. Sticky ginger loaf cake

Taking just 15 minutes to prep, this loaf cake is an easy solution for when you need cake in a flash. The stem ginger, honey and treacle ensures a moist and flavourful sponge. Discover more warming cakes with ginger.

5. Raspberry honey flapjacks

Made with just five ingredients, this treat can be ready at a moment's notice. They're freezer-friendly too, so you can can keep some on hand for a sweet pick-me-up at a later date. Discover more flapjack recipes.

6. Vegan banana bread

Use up some blackening bananas with this simple, vegan recipe. Toast thick slices and spread with peanut butter or jam to keep you going over the long weekend.

We also have our classic banana bread if you want to keep things traditional, as well as our collection of banana bread recipes including an indulgent sticky toffee hybrid.

7. Chocolate fudge crinkle biscuits

Our top-rated chocolate fudge crinkle biscuits are brilliant for emergency sweet cravings – they're simple, quick and use storecupboard ingredients. The crinkle effect comes from coating the cookie dough in icing sugar before baking.

For more speedy and simple treats, check out our quick cake recipes, including a microwave coffee & walnut cake and easy chocolate cupcakes.

8. Easy blondies

A batch of these foolproof blondies are guaranteed to brighten the long weekend. The gooey, golden squares are made extra special with moreish chunks of white chocolate dotted throughout. They'll keep in an airtight container for three days or you can freeze them for later.

If you're more into the brownie variety, take a browse through our collection of brownie recipes – it'll be hard to resist making our gooey salted caramel brownies.

9. Classic cheese scones

Switch up the sweet bakes for these savoury cheese scones. Our highly rated recipe is guaranteed to be a hit with the whole family. Use mature cheddar and add a pinch of cayenne pepper for a subtle warming kick. They're great served alongside soups and you can freeze them for later use.

If you're an afternoon tea addict, we've got our favourite non-traditional scone recipes which you'll fall in love with. We do of course have our ever-popular classic scones, piled high with jam and clotted cream.

10. Caramel apple cinnamon buns

Channel the flavours of a toffee apple with these decadent cinnamon rolls, topped with soft cheese frosting and salted caramel. Spread a simple dough with cinnamon butter and stewed apple pieces. Roll into a tight spiral, cut into slices and bake until golden brown.

If you like the sound of the above, we have plenty more sticky and sweet bun recipes for you to enjoy: see our cinnamon pecan sticky buns, sourdough cinnamon buns and sticky date buns.

11. Easy lemon layer cake

Lemon cake was made for afternoon tea on a bank holiday weekend. Golden, citrussy sponge is drenched in lemon drizzle and topped with creamy, sweet soft cheese icing and candied lemon zest.

If you're a big fan of lemon-flavoured desserts, we have plenty more lemon cake recipes for you to try, including these fluffy lemon & poppyseed cupcakes.

12. Chewy chocolate chip cookies

You don't need many ingredients to make this simple cookie dough, which is best left overnight before baking for the optimum flavour and texture. Ten minutes in the oven and you're rewarded with crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside cookies.

Satisfy your cookie craving with our easy cookie recipes, from chocolate chunk pecan cookies to vegan peanut butter cookies and more...

13. Easy caramel cake

This gorgeous caramel cake screams 'long weekend'. Fabulously foolproof and irresistibly indulgent, it's also quick and makes use of storecupboard ingredients. For chocolate lovers, add three tablespoons of cocoa to the cake batter and drizzle over melted and cooled chocolate instead of caramel.

For more gooey caramel bakes, check out our collection of the best caramel bakes including our epic caramel-drizzled banoffee bake and caramel passion fruit slice.

14. School-days sprinkle sponge

This bank holiday, take a trip down memory lane with a classic school-days cake, topped with coloured sprinkles and served with a dollop (or two) of warm custard.

We have plenty more nostalgic retro cakes for you to re-discover: how does this black forest arctic roll sound?

15. Cheese & pesto whirls

These cheesy tear & share whirls are ideal for packing into a picnic. Fill the dough with fresh pesto, sundried tomatoes, grated mozzarella, parmesan and a handful of basil leaves.

Take a look at more of our savoury baking recipes, covering all manner of cheesy bakes such as our cheesy sausage rolls and gruyère & onion tear & share.

Looking for more inspiration? See more ideas...

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