Baking My Winning Cake At Delicious Alchemy HQ

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” As George Bernard Shaw once said.

Baking is a huge passion of mine and always has been ever since I was teeny tiny. It is in the blood and I bake and cook on a daily basis. So when I saw a gluten-free competition and the opportunity to send in photos of my recent bakes it was too much to resist, I am a tad competitive!

Delicious Alchemy’s ‘Gluten Free Magic Bake Off’ showcased a wide mix of bakes which was fascinating and the competition was both fierce and diverse. It was great to see a competition that encouraged people to bake at home and secondly, raised awareness of the increasing demand for gluten-free products.

The competition began to heat up even more as three bakes were voted into the final, mine being one of them. The concluding showstopper challenge was set and the brief was to create a celebration cake, using Delicious Alchemy’s Vanilla Sponge Mix. The celebration and decoration were completely up to us, but it had to be at least two tiers tall and the sponge flavoured. The deadline for submission was 10 days away including the waiting time for the mix to arrive in the post.

I was really excited by this challenge and began to doodle sketches of how I envisaged the finished bake to look. Initially I thought about exploring sugar craft as it is something I have used before when making my daughter’s first birthday cake. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to strip it back and show the sponge off to the best of its ability. My ‘Blooming Lovely Citrus and Poppy Seed Celebration Drizzle Cake was filled with Prosecco Cream and homemade Blackberry Jam’. This grown up rustic celebration cake used seasonal fruit and edible flowers by Maddocks Farm Organics and is perfect for sharing and indulging with family and friends.

And so, the winner was announced. Little old me! I was thrilled to discover that I had won and was going to get the opportunity and privilege to recreate my 4 tier cake at Delicious Alchemy HQ. Nerves were well and truly present as I began to make the 12 separate sponges keeping one careful eye on them baking whilst chatting to everyone present. My main concern was the ovens as you know your own inside out, I admit that I was relieved when the collection was baked! I must have counted many times to check I had 12, not 11 or a bakers dozen! It certainly highlighted to me the pressure bakers must be under on Great British Bake Off.

I really enjoyed the next part as I assembled the cake filled with my homemade blackberry jam and Prosecco cream. I stopped short of bringing a spirit level to check it wasn’t leaning like the Tower of Pisa and gradually placed the blackberries, red currants and physalis fruit (also know as cape gooseberries). The final splash of colour was completed by adding the edible flowers, a dusting of icing sugar and finally the homemade bunting on top.

The icing on the proverbial cake for me was to see it photographed professionally by Simon and Simon Photography and to watch how it was styled in situ, an experience I will never forget. Here are the official photos!