To mark the occasion of Chinese New Year, bakers have been busy stocking shelves and adorning windows with celebratory treats.

Traditionally, the celebration cake of choice for Chinese New Year would be Nian Gao, a sticky food prepared from glutinous rice. Legend has it the dish was once an offering for the Kitchen God, with the aim that his mouth would be stuck with the stickiness of the cake, meaning he couldn’t badmouth the human family.

Now, particularly in the UK, a selection of bakery treats are offered and enjoyed. From biscuits to bread, British Baker rounds up the market:

Biscuiteers

Iced-biscuit specialist Biscuiteers has added a Chinese New Year selection to its range of letterbox biscuits. It features four hand-iced vanilla biscuits, including a Chinese lantern and a pig motif. Rsp: £20.

Hambleton Bakery

Hambleton Bakery in Rutland, Leicestershire, has dressed its windows with a celebratory display. This features giant bread fortune cookies, made with the bakery’s popular white Mediterranean-style baton. The bread contains ancient Chinese proverbs from Confucius; in the same way that fortune cookies reveal sayings. Hambleton has also made small pink pig Manchets & Filled Pastry Rutland Pippins in the shape of pig faces.

Crosstown Doughnuts

Crosstown’s Pandan doughnut has made its return to the line-up to celebrate Chinese New Year. The doughnut is filled with coconut cream custard and topped with pandan icing and a sprinkling of desiccated coconut. It is available individually (rsp £3.95) or as part of a box (rsp £18/6-pack, £32/12-pack), and any box purchased in-store or pre-ordered for collection will come with a traditional red packet, including a voucher for a free doughnut or coffee redeemable at all Crosstown locations.

Cutter & Squidge

To celebrate the year of the pig, Cutter & Squidge has released a limited-edition range of pig-themed bakery treats. This comprises the Fortune Piggy Biskie, Year of the Pig Chocolate & Black Sesame Cake Truffles, Lucky Red Bean Macarons and Lucky Red Packet Black Sesame Shortbread. Also in the range is a Pineapple & Roasted Green Tea.

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