Yorkshire's Bake Off star Freya Cox reveals her favourite contestant this year as her book Simply Vegan Baking is published

Freya Cox, who was born and bred in Scarborough, has always had a passion for writing and baking, so after her experience on the Channel 4 show, she was inspired to write her first book centred around vegan recipes ideal for people with a sweet tooth.

The Yorkshire baker, who is now 20 years old, made history when she appeared on the show last year as the first vegan contestant and was also the youngest baker to compete in that series.

The aim of her book titled Simply Vegan Baking, she tells The Yorkshire Post, is to not only appeal to vegans but also appeal to people who are curious about the vegan lifestyle or those who wish to get into veganism.

“I wanted my first book to be about classic bakes that people may struggle to find the vegan version of because I think there’s not that much out there and I think a lot of the time people are just looking for a place to start,” Freya said.

“But I also wanted the book to be [illustrated] with very bright colours, beautiful prints and all the pictures [in the book] are incredible, it’s got a retro vintage theme.

“It’s more interesting than just a standard recipe book; it reflects me as a person with all the wacky colours and I really love it.”

The book has a variety of vegan recipes catered for all and its purpose is to provide aspiring bakers with easily accessible recipes with simple ingredients.

“It has seven chapters with pretty much everything I think you’d ever want,” she said.

“It’s got loads of different cakes, a big Black Forest gateau that’s on the front which I absolutely love, all different cupcake and muffin recipes, loads of different types of biscuits.

“It also has [recipes for] different types of bread, cinnamon rolls, tray bake pastries and desserts.

“Another of my favourite recipes is the mint chocolate ice cream sandwiches, so easy and you can make them at home without an ice cream maker, they’re really accessible.”

The Yorkshire baker admits that for years she has tried many different vegan sponge cakes and chocolate cakes that she never liked the taste of. It’s not until she perfected her vegan Black Forest gateau that she found a vegan cake she loved.

For this reason, this is her favourite recipe in her book.

“This cake is my favourite. It’s also a little bit similar to the cake I baked on the first week of Bake Off. Paul absolutely loved that,” Freya said.

“It’s quite an easy thing to make but it looks really [elaborate].”

Local fans of Freya will be pleased to know that one of her recipes in the book is inspired by a famous Yorkshire scones served at her favourite tearoom cafe.

“I’ve got Yorkshire rascals which are from my favourite tearoom, Bettys,”

“Me and my family have grown up loving them so the book includes my take on a vegan version of Fat Rascals.

“They are very Yorkshire; people who aren’t from Yorkshire don’t seem to understand what they are and I absolutely love them. They make me really proud to be from Yorkshire.”

She has had some help with the recipes from fellow former Bake Off contestant Maggie, who would test a few of the recipes from the book.

Freya and fellow GBBO contestant and now best friend, Lizzie Acker, have been watching the latest series of the show and live streaming their reactions to the episodes on TikTok.

She says that she loves all of the contestants this year but is particularly backing one baker in the tent.

“I love all of them, but I’m rooting for James. He seems so lovely, genuine and talented,” she said.

“He’s got a really cool job; henever I hear it, I don’t really know what it is but it sounds interesting.

“Though you never really know this early, it changes weekly. All of the bakers seem so friendly and creative. I think they’ve cast some great characters with loads of talent.”

Having experienced being the youngest contestant on the show, Freya has some advice for young aspiring bakers who compete on the show in the future.

“Don’t take things to heart, don’t get really stressed out by it, enjoy your experience there,” she said.

“Stand by what you love to do because baking is subjective, people like different things and if you really love what you bake then nobody can take that away from you.

“You just can’t get caught up in ‘oh I have a lack of experience because I’m so much younger than them’. We’re all inspired by each other.

“I've learned so much from the bakers on the show last year, but they have also learned from me, different vegan tips and I think we can all help each other.”

Freya will be signing books at various locations across the country between October 15, 2022 and January 16, 2023.

You can purchase Freya’s new book Simply Vegan Baking on Amazon.co.uk/Amazon.com, at Waterstones, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Bam! Books-A-Million and Booktopia.