Former Great British Bake Off finalist Mary-Anne Boermans is releasing her first book, Great British Bakes.

Available from December (RRP £20) and published by Square Peg,  part of the Random House Group Company, the bakery book uses long-forgotten recipes adapted for 21st century kitchens.

It contains a foreword by Bake Off presenter Sue Perkins, who regards Boermans as “one of the most original and exceptional bakers” she has encountered on the BBC2 series. Perkins also describes the book itself as “impeccably researched and fabulously eclectic”.

The book contains recipes for Welsh honey cake, lace meringues, rich orange tart, butter buns, pearl biscuits and chocolate meringue pie. It also includes stories behind the bakes and of life in Edwardian, Victorian and earlier times.

Formerly a contestant in the second series of Bake Off, Boermans reached the final in 2011. The series was eventually won by Jo Wheatley.

The current series of The Great British Bake Off is aired on Tuesday, 8pm, BBC2.