GBBO recipes: Our favourite bakers share their most delicious recipes

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Cut baking parchment discs for the bases of 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins. Butter the tins and lay the papers in.

Break the dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of water on a medium-low heat (the bowl should not touch the water). Once melted, set aside until cool, but not set. Mix the coffee with 3 tbsp of boiling water and set aside to cool.

Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until light and creamy. Beat in each egg, one by one. If the mixture starts to split, add 1 tbsp of the flour to bring it back.

Sift in the rest of the flour, the cocoa powder and baking powder, then fold them in. Be gentle, but make sure the mixture is fully combined, including any flour at the bottom of the bowl. Pour in the melted chocolate and the coffee and fold in. Divide the batter between the prepared tins, smooth it out and bake for 18–20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the ganache by breaking the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Put the cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil. As soon as it’s boiling, tip it into the chocolate and mix. Leave to cool.

Check that each cake is cooked by poking a cocktail stick into the centre: if it comes out clean then it’s cooked; if it’s got cake mix on it, give the cake another 2 minutes before testing again. Take out and set on a wire rack. Once cool enough to touch, pop the cakes out of the tins and return to the rack to fully cool.

Cut each cake in half and save the prettiest layer for the top and set the bottom layer on a plate or cake board. Spread a layer of ganache on the bottom layer, then gently press the next layer on. Build the rest of the layers up, then cover the entire cake with the remaining ganache using a palette knife. Add the raspberries to the top of the cake, if you want. Leave the ganache to set, then eat.

Put the frozen fruit, sugar and water into a medium pan and bring to the boil, then take off the heat. You don’t want the fruit to break down too much but you want to extract as much liquid as possible.

Drain the fruit through a sieve, making sure to catch all the liquid in a bowl. Use the back of a spoon to push through as much liquid as possible. Then leave the liquid to cool completely.

Line a 20cm round Pyrex dish with cling film.

Dip each piece of bread quickly into the fruit juice mixture and place around the edge of the dish vertically, slightly overlapping each piece with the next to prevent leaking. Do this all around the edges – you should have one piece left. Break that piece down to size, then dip it in the fruit juice and place it in the base of the dish. Set aside.

Whip the double cream to soft peaks, then add the golden syrup and mix well. Add the fruit and just ripple through gently.

Put the cream mixture into the lined bowl and spread it level on top. If any of the bread pieces come up higher than the top of the cream, simply fold them over. Cover the top with cling film and place in the freezer for 3 hours.

To turn out, tip on to a plate and remove all the cling film. Cut into wedges and serve.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Melt the butter in the microwave or in a pan over a medium heat and use a pastry brush to grease all the holes of the muffin tray with some of the melted butter.

Place the sugar, flour and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl and combine.

In a small jug, mix the remaining melted butter with the yoghurt, egg and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold them together until just incorporated.

Divide the mixture among the 24 holes in the muffin tray using a teaspoon, then bake for 7–8 minutes or until golden brown and risen.

Meanwhile, spoon the jams into the two piping bags and snip the end off each with a pair of scissors. Remove the hot doughnuts muffins from the oven and roll them in caster sugar, then make a small hole with a skewer in the bottom of each and pipe raspberry jam into the centre of half the doughnuts and apricot jam into the rest. Enjoy fresh from the oven.

Line a baking tray and preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/160C fan

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the coconut and set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add in the egg and beat.

Pour in the flour mixture, and mix through with a spoon until there are no streaks of flour, mix in the chocolate chips, and you are left with a dough. Scoop out balls of dough and place them on the baking tray with at least 1 – 2 inches between them

Transfer the tray to the fridge and chill the dough for 30 minutes or until firm

Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges are firm but the centre is still a bit soft, leaving a tasty, gooey middle

Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool completely and then decorate with some melted white chocolate and toasted coconut flakes.