Helen & Douglas House charity launches virtual bake-off for Oxfordshire residents and beyond

Whip out your wooden spoon, bring out your baking bowls and make a stir to celebrate National Baking Week by taking part in their virtual bake-off – Bake it ‘til you make it. Get a slice of the action, where muffin ventured muffin gained and the winner bakes all on October 18.

All entrants will have the opportunity to show-off their virtual baking skills to a panel of judges including two judges who featured on Channel 4’s Extreme Cake Makers, Karisha Pithwa from Crème De La Cakes and Molly Robbins from Sugar and Crumbs and Emily Martin from Bicester, a 14 year old up-and-coming baking star who has raised over £4,700 for Helen & Douglas House, by baking cakes in memory of her friend Izzy who died at the hospice.

All adult entrants will get a free baking box from Britain Loves Baking or a Little Cooks Co baking box for children, to practice their baking skills before the big day.

One winner from each category; junior, amateurs and professionals will be chosen.

Anyone interested can download a Bake it ‘til you make it pack, which provides recipes and ideas for the bake-off.

To enter the bake-off a £15 donation to Helen & Douglas House is required for junior entries and £20 for amateur or professional entries and in return each entry will get a free 'Baking Box' as a little gift to practice baking. Each person who enters will need to bake a cake, cookies, cupcakes or cake decoration sugar modelling (open for the professional category only).

To find out more and how to download a bake-off pack go to https://www.helenanddouglas.org.uk/event/bake-it-til-you-make-it/

All submissions for the competition will need to emailed. Each contestant must submit approximately 10 photos to show every angle of the bake. They will need short videos to show the baker putting it in the oven and one taking it out of the oven. Each person who registers will be sent a drop box link, which will need to be submitted by 7pm on October 18.

All three winners will receive an exclusive baking kit consisting of baking and cake making gadgets including a food mixer, to whip up more tasty treats, worth £250 each. There are also prizes for the top fundraisers too.

Karisha, Molly and Emily, will be judging the bakes on appearance, originality and difficulty and will decide who will be the star bakers.

Nathan Best, aged 8, from Banbury is cared for by Helen & Douglas House and one of his favourite activities in baking.

Children like Nathan love baking when they stay with Helen & Douglas House. Cooking with the care team or teacher helps the children’s cognitive development. It encourages children’s thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. It also allows children the opportunity to use the knowledge they have and apply it by counting, measuring, following a sequence, following directions, and cause and effect.

Helen Burgess, founder of Little Cooks Co, said: “We are thrilled to support Helen & Douglas House and love that they are encouraging children to develop their passion for baking. Little Cooks Co cooking kits are designed to be fun and healthy, and particularly this winter, home cooking with the right ingredients can be a fantastic way of helping our bodies fend off the winter bugs”

Manjeet Pabla from Helen & Douglas House said: "Our ‘Bake it ‘til you make it’ virtual bake-off competition is a great way for people to show off the baking skills they have developed during lock down and challenge their friends and family to compete against them. With our shops only just re-opening and our mass participation events have been cancelled because of COVID19, so we need your help more than ever."