COMPETITIVE cooks concocted a cacophony of culinary creations in a Red Nose charity cupcake challenge.
Students at Haughton Academy, Darlington, swapped pens and pencils for spoons and spatulas in an inter-house bake off competition to help raise funds for Comic Relief.
Inspired by queen of cakes Mary Berry the aspiring bakers rose to the challenge of creating a mouth-watering display of cupcakes that were judged by head of department Gary Taylor and principal of Haughton Academy Rachel Ireland.
Food technology teacher Lesley Watts, who organised the charity challenge, said: “We selected two contestants from each of the school’s five houses and gave them each 90 minutes to produce a batch of 12 cupcakes with the theme of red nose.
“All of our young cooks had to follow a basic recipe but then it was up to them how they decorated their cakes to best represent Comic Relief.
“I’m a massive fan of the Great British Bake Off and the students love it too. There is such a buzz for baking in the whole school and to do a competition like this for charity is fantastic.”
A selection of three cakes were chosen by the judges for tasting, from the ten competition entries, with judges marking the finalists on consistent appearance, professional finish and theme.
Charlotte Davies, of Darlington, was named the winner of the challenge for her strawberry topped creations and was presented with a Thornton’s Easter egg and 50 house points.
“It was a really tough choice to select just one winner,” said Ms Ireland. “We were looking for a cake that was well presented with a red nose theme that was tasty and also had a funny element about it.
“Charlotte’s cake was delicious with a lovely texture and definitely did not have a soggy bottom.”
Charlotte, 15, added: “I was really surprised to win as there were lots of fantastic cakes.
“I like baking for my brother and sister, especially Maids of Honour, but it’s even better to bake for such a good charity like Comic Relief.”
All the cakes made for the competition were sold in school on Red Nose Day to help raise money for the charity.
