Lorraine Kelly is on a mission to preserve family baking recipes

Lorraine Kelly is on a mission to save classic bakes at risk of extinction – by creating the ultimate recipe book preserving them.

The nation's sweetheart has teamed up with HP to launch an appeal for Brits to share their family favourite baking recipes. Once submitted, these recipes will then be printed with a HP Smart Tank, bound and collected in a printed archive of treasured family bakes.

Lorraine Kelly launched an appeal for Brits to share their family favourite baking recipes | Will Ireland/PinPep

placeholder image — Lorraine Kelly launched an appeal for Brits to share their family favourite baking recipes | Will Ireland/PinPep

It comes after a study of 2,000 adults revealed the old recipes that could be lost to time, with spotted dick, lemon drizzle cake and even the classic Victoria sponge among the bakes no longer attempted.

Scones (61 per cent), banana bread (64 per cent) and apple crumble (55 per cent) are also among the recipes people have never tried to make. Even fan favourites like chocolate brownies have only been created by 39 per cent, along with chocolate chip cookies (38 per cent) and the classic hot cross buns (11 per cent).

More than half of those polled (51 per cent) believe traditional British bakes are being forgotten, with 67 per cent having a recipe which has been passed down through their family at risk of being lost. Of these, 18 per cent put this down to it being written on a scrap of paper which is falling apart, while 22 per cent said it's just in their heads.

People can submit their own family recipes to be preserved in The National Book of Bakes | Will Ireland/PinPep

Lorraine Kelly, who partnered with the printer brand to raise awareness that people can submit their own family recipes to be preserved in The National Book of Bakes, said: “There's something so special about having an old family recipe, especially when it's written by hand by someone you love.

"On paper it might just look like instructions on how to make a cake, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a piece of family history. Especially if it has been handed down through generations.

"I found my Granny’s recipe for a Dundee cake in one of my old recipe books. It’s a bit battered and tatty round the edges but it’s one of my most precious possessions. I’ve printed her recipe off to keep for myself and to pass copies onto my daughter and my friends and other family members. This will keep it safe and ensure my granddaughter Billie will be able to bake the same cake one day.

"I’d urge everyone to preserve these precious memories by doing the same. It’s quick and easy and a wonderful way to remember those we love.”

The study found 61 per cent of adults think they bake less than previous generations did. Just 11 per cent bake once a week, with 17 per cent admitting they never create something in the kitchen.

Lorraine found her Granny’s recipe for a Dundee cake in one of her old recipe books | Will Ireland/PinPep

Though Gen Z may be bringing baking back, heating up the oven more than twice as often as Boomers (22 per cent versus 11 per cent). As a result, 72 per cent like the idea of preserving important family recipes so they can be passed down to further generations.

Nearly eight in 10 (79 per cent) said printing would be the most effective way to protect these recipes, with a third trusting a printed recipe book most to keep a family recipe safe for future generations.

Commissioned via OnePoll, 42 per cent said their family recipes make them feel connected to their family, while 41 per cent said the same of their childhood.

Jaina Mistry, UK and Ireland home print category manager at HP said: “A family recipe can be incredibly precious, but also surprisingly fragile – scribbled on an old piece of paper, buried in a camera roll or simply remembered by one person. This project is about using print to give those recipes a more permanent home.

"With HP Smart Tank and three years of ink included, we can bring recipes from families across Britain together on the printed page, preserving not just how something is made, but the handwriting, notes and stories that make it part of a family’s history.”