‘Icon’: Great British Bake Off fans are already enamoured with ‘Compost Carole’

‘Who doesn’t like coffee and walnuts?’ baker asked. ‘Unless you don’t like coffee and you’re allergic to nuts’

Tuesday 13 September 2022 20:15 EDT

Great British Bake Off 2022: Meet the new contestants

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Great British Bake Off returned for a 13th season on Tuesday (13 September) introducing a whole new cast of bakers.

Some will be forgotten, others will fast become national treasures.

One baker showing the early signs of the latter is Carole, a pink-haired, 59-year-old supermarket cashier from Dorset.

Viewers were told early on that her nickname was “Compost Carole”, as she shares her gardening expertise with listeners in a segment on her local radio station.

The first episode began with a signature bake: 12 identical sandwich cakes. Carole revealed that the name of her signature bake would be, “To Bee or not to Bee,” featuring – you guessed it – tiny bees atop her mini cakes.

Later in the show, Carole made a coffee and walnut cake, posing the question: “Who doesn’t like coffee and walnuts? Unless you don’t like coffee and you’re allergic to nuts.”