Battle royal at the great Shropshire bake off

A dozen of the best bakers in the county met at Brompton Cookery School, near Atcham, for the inaugural against the clock competition, which raised money for carers in the county.

Just like the hit BBC show, contestants had to bake a cake in just an hour-and-a-half under the watchful eye of expert judges.

Celebrity chef Marcus Bean, Great British Bake Off runner-up Brendan Lynch and Shropshire WI member Jane Taylor then scrutinised each cake before eventually selecting a winner on Sunday afternoon.

First prize went to Katie Hincks, of Harmer Hill, near Shrewsbury, who made a mint and chocolate cake with a chess board style middle.

The 38-year-old tested the cake on her colleagues at the Solihull hotel where she works.

"I was surprised and delighted to win," said Miss Hincks, who won a blender for her efforts.

"I made the cake a few times in preparation to get it just right and tried it out on my colleagues.

"There was a chess board style cake in the Great British Bake Off and that was with vanilla and chocolate.

"I decided to do something similar but by changing the ingredients slightly."

But Miss Hincks' preparation could all have been in vain as she thought she was going to have more time than she was actually given.

She said: "I thought it was going to be two-and-a-half hours and then realised it was actually one-and-a-half so it was panic stations a bit."

She added: "It has been a really good event and I hope they do it again next year."

Second place went to 59-year-old Lesley Eyre from Burlton, near Wem, who made a similar chocolate and orange chequered cake.

She said: "We really had to motor with just 90 minutes on the clock. I would normally leave it out for an hour but it had to cool in 20 minutes.

"I ended up taking it for a walk around the grounds just to try and get the temperature down.

"I really enjoy baking and this competition has been marvellous."

Caroline Bailey, meanwhile, was delighted to pick up third place.

The 43-year-old mum from Copthorne, Shrewsbury, impressed judges were her lemon and poppy seed sponge.

Mrs Bailey was up until 11.45pm the previous night practising her topping – and her efforts paid off. She said: "The pressure was on but actually the atmosphere was lovely. Everyone was so nice – we felt more like a team than competitors. It has been a brilliant event and it's been good to support a charity."

Twelve people took part in the first round of the competition on Saturday.

They were whittled down to eight, all of whom returned on Sunday to make the same cake again in the same competition conditions.

Marcus Bean, of ITV's This Morning, said the standard of entries had made life difficult for the judges.

"We were looking for flavours and textures as well as creativity and originality," said the Shropshire chef, who runs The New Inn pub and restaurant in Baschurch with his wife Jenny.

"The top three were very close indeed. All of the cakes were really amazing but Katie just edged it. Being the first year that we have done this, it could have been a disaster but it has gone really well."

The event was organised by Shropshire Rural Community Council to raise cash for its carers appeal. All of the cakes made in the bake off were later cut and sold.

Experience

As well as the bake off people had the opportunity to enter their home bakes into a WI-style competition which had five categories including cupcakes, Victoria sponge, biscuits, and sweet and savoury pastry. The top three entries were selected in each category with medals for the winners.

Brendan Lynch, a finalist in the 2012 series of The Great British Bake Off, said he had been impressed with his visit to Shropshire.

Mr Lynch, from Sutton Coldfield, said that the Shropshire Bake Off had been similar to his experience on BBC.

"It was similar in pattern," he said. "The only difference was that there weren't the interruptions with mini interviews taking place in between.

"It was very well organised and it was a pleasure to be there."

Other attractions yesterday included birds of prey displays by Feather Perfect Falconry as well as artisan food and craft producers selling their wares.

Organiser Elodie Home, of Shropshire Rural Community Council, hailed the event a success.

She said: "It was really good. We had a lot more competition entries than we anticipated. Everyone in the bake off seemed to enjoy the experience."