According to the BBC Good Food website, cake has now replaced 'chicken' as the most searched for food word on the site. Last year, the National Trust tearooms sold 171,000 slices of Victoria Sponge cake and according to www.lovefood.com.
Britain's Top 10 Cakes are:
1. Chocolate Cake
2. Victoria Sponge
3. Black Forest Gateaux
4. Carrot Cake
5. Coffee & Walnut Cake
6. Battenburg Cake
7. Fruit Cake
8. Christmas Cake
9. Banana Cake
10. Angel Cake
Newer flavours like lemon drizzle are also nudging into the list of the nation's favourite bakes.
Great British Bake Off
When TV's The Great British Bake Off launched on BBC2 in 2010, just two million viewers tuned in to watch 12 bakers cooking in a tent. This year, with a move to a primetime BBC1 Wednesday night slot, audience figures have topped 10 million viewers.
The popularity of this programme - coupled with the penny-pinching austerity of the recent recession - is cited by experts as the key reason home baking has taken off in such a big way.
