Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of the subscription box and I’ve written about them before, here and here.

But when I saw this one I actually bagged the PR company for a sample. As a Great British Bake Off mega fan I was all over the Bake Box!

It’s a brilliant concept and one that will work for amateur bakers everywhere. For £14.99, twice a month you get a box full of baking paraphernalia and six recipes. Each box has a theme – there’s been Paris, spots and stripes, the up-coming teddy bear’s picnic and flowers which I got.

You really do get value for your money with this one – this is what came in my box.

I decided to start easy with the gorgeous rose cake – a relatively simple recipe although sadly I couldn’t find freeze-dried raspberries anywhere in Belfast.

I liked the recipe and when I had stopped arguing with my oven everything happened exactly the way it was supposed to. I even made my first attempt at marbling. I broke the rules a bit and used the shimmer dust meant for another recipe on the cake to add to the pinkness. But how pretty does something so simple look?

I think this was great value for money – you get lots of stuff in the box and recipes that vary in complexity so as your confidence grows you can bake more challenging recipes.

And if you can resist the teddy-bear’s picnic Bake Box then you are a stronger person than I!