NOTHING brings a smile to your face like the smell of a homemade cake baking in the oven.

It’s something I used to do as a child with my mum and now, as a parent myself, with my own children.

But there has been something of a resurgence in home-baking in recent years, with the younger generation among the biggest fans.

A study released by Leisure Range Cookers to coincide with this week’s National Baking Week showed that 16 to 24-year-olds are six times more likely to bake something from scratch every day compared with any other age group.

The poll of more than 1,000 people in the UK and Ireland found that the older generations bake less regularly with nearly a fifth baking no more than once a month.

In addition, the survey showed that the south west is one of the top five baking regions in the UK, along with the North West, Northern Ireland, Wales and the Midlands.

So just why are we dusting off our aprons and baking trays all of a sudden?

Luke Stuart set up White Pepper cookery school in Lytchett Matravers a year ago, responding to just such a demand.

“Baking is such a great family activity,” he said.

“It can include all members of the family and the ingredients don’t have to cost very much, which is great.

“The weighing and measuring of the ingredients is also a good introduction for children and helps with their maths skills.

“Baked items make really good presents for people as well.”

White Pepper runs a huge range of cookery courses including a meat kitchen, cupcake camp, professional cakes, children’s workshops and seasonal sessions.

And Luke firmly believes the seasons affect our desire to bake.

“I think it’s a seasonal thing,” he said.

“As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, it’s a warm activity.

“To bake at home is a nice autumn or winter activity.”

TV has also played a huge part in our new-found love of baking, with shows like The Great British Bake Off inspiring would-be domestic gods and goddesses to try their had at culinary skills.

According to Leisure Range Cookers, 77 per cent of Britons now create both sweet and savoury delights in the comfort of their own kitchen, with six out of ten people questioned agreeing that making something from scratch tasted better than shop-bought food.

The passion for baking has even inspired a new fundraising initiative for Dorset charity Diverse Abilities Plus, which looks after children and adults with learning and physical disabilities right across the county.

A new cookbook, entitled Scrumptious Home Baking, has just been produced by the charity, featuring favourite recipes of supported families, as well as celebrities including Blue’s Duncan James and TV presenters Chris Jarvis and Dermot O’Leary. The charity’s fundraising manager Helen Alexander said she hoped the project would also encourage families to spend more time together.

“Life can seem so hectic and stressful, finding quality time to spend with our families doing an activity the whole family can enjoy is difficult,” she explained.

“Even more so for some of the families supported by Diverse Abilities Plus who have children with profound and complex physical and learning disabilities.

“However, one activity that seems to bring the whole family together is baking.

“So many parents and children are discovering a passion for baking, often mums are re-igniting baking skills they learnt from their parents at a young age and are passing on their skills and enjoyment to their children, often with granny joining in too.”

Helen added that baking was in fact a great activity for people with profound disabilities to stimulate all the senses including the aromas, the array of sounds from mixers, seeing the end result and, of course, the taste.

A spokesperson from Leisure Range Cookers said it was no surprise that the younger generation had grown up as baking fans.

“The younger generation has grown up watching a host of TV chefs; they are on first name terms with the likes of Gordon, Jamie and Nigella.

“Homemade can also mean more economical, and we often see consumers going back to basics during a recession.

“These factors combined have fuelled a generation of food lovers, interested in doing it for themselves as part of their everyday life.”

l Scrumptious Home Baking is available from November priced £9.95. Visit diverseabilitiesplus.org.uk to find out more.