She won over fans for her cute animal-inspired bakes on the show back in 2018, making the final alongside Ruby Bhogal and eventual winner Rahul Mandal.

“I try to not be a perfectionist – a lot of people tell me, ‘You’re a perfectionist!’ It’s a compliment, and it’s all meaning well because they mean you’re paying attention to details, which is a good thing.

“But I see paying attention to details as a different thing to being a perfectionist… Being a perfectionist is inside of you, where nothing’s ever good enough and you’re constantly critical of what you do.”

That’s why Leeds-based Kim-Joy, 33, tries not to strive for absolute perfection – as she knows that can often lead to you feeling “bad about yourself” if you bake something that’s not up to scratch.

Ultimately, the best thing to do is find a recipe you want to eat – whether that’s custard tart, lemon meringue pie, sprinkle sponge – anything. One thing you won’t find in the book are bananas, which Kim-Joy isn’t really a fan of (“so I’d never make anything like a banana sponge”).

Baking really is as simple as this: “You want to eat something tasty” – and go from there.


Magic Forest thumbprint cookies

Credits: PA;

Ingredients:

(Makes 16)

200g salted butter (or use 80%-fat vegan butter), softened at room temperature, cubed

90g caster or granulated sugar

½tsp freshly ground cardamom (increase to 1tsp if using pre-ground cardamom as the flavour isn’t as strong) (you can also omit this if you prefer)

1tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

280g plain flour (or use a gluten-free flour blend plus ¾tsp xanthan gum)

100g of your favourite jam (use apricot or sweet marmalade for the bees; any red-coloured jam, such as strawberry or raspberry, for the mushrooms; add green food dye to apricot jam or sweet marmalade for the frogs)

To decorate:

Flaked almonds (or you can pipe wings on after baking using white icing)

40g icing sugar

Black food dye

Method:

1. Line a baking sheet with baking paper or a silicone mat.

2. Add the butter, sugar, ground cardamom and vanilla to a large bowl and beat together with a spoon or spatula until smooth and spreadable.

3. Add the flour (or flour plus xanthan gum) and mix until just combined. The dough should be slightly sticky, but soft and easy to handle.

4. Divide the dough into 16 roughly equal pieces, then roll each piece into a rough ball and flatten with the palm of your hand.

5. Arrange on the prepared baking sheet. If making the bumblebees, press each cookie with a finger or a measuring spoon to create roughly oval-shaped indents in the centre of each, then press on flaked almond wings, just above the indent. To make the mushrooms, press the cookies with your fingers to create the top of the mushroom, then press to create the stalk using a chopstick or similar. For the frogs, press each cookie to create a round indent, then use your fingers to press and create two smaller indents above for the eyes.

6. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, or in the freezer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 140°C fan.

7. Using a small spoon, add a little jam/marmalade to each indent (depending on which design you are making – see photos), so that it is flush with the surrounding cookie. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until ever-so-slightly browned at the edges. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

8. Meanwhile, make the quick icing to decorate. Whisk together the icing sugar and one teaspoon water, then add black food dye to colour. Transfer to a piping bag and cut a small tip. For the bees, add half a teaspoon of the white icing to a small piping bag and cut a tiny opening on the end. Mix the remaining icing with black food dye to colour. Add three-quarters of this icing to a piping bag and cut a slightly larger opening (this piping bag is for the bee stripes). Add the remaining quarter to a third piping bag and cut a tiny opening (this is for the eyes/mouth). For the mushrooms, you only need white icing, so just put this straight into a piping bag. For the frogs, keep two-thirds of the icing white. Dye the remaining third black. Put in separate piping bags.

9. Once the cookies have cooled, you can finish decorating! Use the photos as a guide, but feel free to add your own flourishes. Store in an airtight container for one to two weeks.


Peanut butter and oat bear cookies

Credits: PA;

Ingredients:

(Makes around 10 chunky cookies)

110g salted butter, at room temperature, cubed

120g peanut butter

170g light brown sugar

1 medium egg

1tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

130g traditional chunky oats

100g plain flour (or use a gluten-free flour blend with a pinch of xanthan gum to make gluten-free)

1 square of dark chocolate, to decorate

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C fan. Line a large baking sheet (or two smaller ones) with baking paper.

2. Cream together the butter, peanut butter and light brown sugar until smooth.

3. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix until combined.

4. Add the oats and flour (or flour plus xanthan gum), and mix until there are no more visible bits of dry flour or oats. Avoid over-mixing! It should come together as a thick dough that will feel sticky, but isn’t difficult to shape as long as you focus on using the palms of your hands to shape/press.

5. Shape the bears by pinching off a golf-ball-sized piece (about 50g) and rolling it between the palms of your hands until smooth and round. Place on the prepared baking sheet and press down with your palm to flatten slightly. Add smaller round balls for the ears (no need to flatten these), and add an oval-shaped piece for the nose. Repeat to use up all the dough. Make sure you leave a generous space (around the size of half a cookie) between each cookie, as they spread when baking.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops have cracked and the edges have browned slightly.

7. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for around 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

8. To decorate, place a square of dark chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in five to 10-second bursts, stirring well after each burst. Once melted, use a chopstick or paintbrush, or any similar-shaped tool, to dip into the chocolate and use to add the eye and nose details.


Lemon meringue pie bubble bath

Credits: PA;

Ingredients:

(Serves 12)

For the base:

260g Biscoff biscuits (or digestives, graham crackers or ginger biscuits; or use gluten-free biscuits)

120g salted butter, melted

For the lemon filling:

5 medium egg yolks (reserve the egg whites for later)

1 x 397g tin of full-fat sweetened condensed milk (make sure it’s full-fat!)

Zest of 4 medium lemons

120ml of lemon juice (from around 4 medium lemons)

1⁄8tsp salt

For the meringue topping:

5 medium egg whites (reserved from earlier)

250g caster sugar

½tsp cream of tartar

To decorate:

Yellow, orange and black food dye

Or use toy ducks!

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.

2. First make the biscuit base. Use a food processor to blitz the cookies to the consistency of fine breadcrumbs, or place the cookie inside a sealed plastic bag (or similar) and crush them with a rolling pin. With this quantity, it’s easiest to do this in smaller batches. Add the crumbs to a mixing bowl along with the melted butter. Mix until all the crumbs are evenly coated and the mixture resembles fine sand.

3. Tip the mixture into a 20-centimetre loose-bottomed tart tin with sides two and a half-centimetres high. Use a drinking glass (or any cup with a flat base and straight sides) to firmly pack in the crumbs, ensuring you cover the base and sides in a roughly even layer. Place on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes, then set aside while you make the filling. After baking, reduce the oven temperature to 160°C fan.

4. Meanwhile, make the lemon filling. Add the egg yolks to a large mixing bowl and pour in the condensed milk. Whisk together until smooth and combined. Add the lemon juice and zest and salt, then whisk again until just combined. The mixture will thicken slightly as the lemon juice reacts with the condensed milk.

5. Pour the mixture over the baked base and bake for 20-25 minutes. If you gently tap the top using your finger or a spoon, it should feel firm rather than liquid-y, but still with a wobble. Place the tin on any heatproof surface, leaving the pie in the tin (don’t take it out yet) whilst it cools to room temperature, then cover and place in the fridge for at least three hours.

Tip: You can bake the lemon filling the day before and store in the fridge overnight. Then on the day you want to serve the pie, follow the recipe from step 6 onwards.

6. Just before serving, make the meringue topping. Add the egg whites and sugar to a large, heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a pan filled with barely simmering water, ensuring the bowl does not touch the water. You want around three centimetres of water in the base of the pan. Whisk until all the sugar has dissolved (the meringue should be hot to the touch and will feel smooth and not gritty between your fingers) or the mixture reaches 70°C. Then add the cream of tartar and whisk on high speed until it is glossy and reaches stiff peaks.

7. You can decorate with toy ducks (skip to the next step, if so) or meringue ducks. To pipe the ducks, spoon a generous heaped tablespoon of meringue into a piping bag and cut a medium opening. Then place a teaspoon of meringue in a second bowl, add orange food dye and stir to combine. Transfer to a piping bag and cut a small opening. Place a large dessertspoonful of meringue in a third bowl, add the yellow food dye and stir to combine. Transfer to a piping bag and cut a large opening. You should now have three piping bags: one plain, one yellow (the largest one), and one orange (the smallest one).

8. Push the base of the tart tin upwards, allowing the sides of the tin to come away. Slide a cake lifter (or similar) underneath the tart to separate it from the base, then slide onto a serving plate. Spoon the remaining plain meringue (or all of the meringue, if not piping the ducks) over the lemon filling. Spread it all the way to the edges of the crust, then pile it higher in the centre. Using the back of the spoon, create swirls and peaks in the meringue. You can also use a blow torch to add a little bit of colour, although this is entirely optional as the meringue is already baked.

9. To decorate, finish with toy ducks, or use the piping bags to pipe your ducks onto the pie. Use the yellow meringue for the main duck body: squeeze, then gradually reduce pressure on the bag while pulling the bag away to create the larger head and tapered tail. Use the orange meringue to pipe a little beak on to each duck. Then use the white piping bag to pipe bubbles all around. Dampen the tip of your finger with a little water, then gently tap down any unwanted peaks. For the eyes, use poppy seeds or similar, or pipe them. To pipe the eyes, take a small amount of the remaining meringue and mix with black food dye. Transfer to a piping bag and cut a very small opening, then pipe on small dots. You barely need to squeeze the piping bag (if at all) – just a tiny dab is all you need.

Bake Joy: Easy And Imaginative Bakes To Bring You Happiness by Kim-Joy is published by Quadrille