Self-taught Crawshawbooth baker wins gold medal (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Self-taught Crawshawbooth baker wins gold medal

9:00pm Thursday 14th March 2013 in News

A SELF-TAUGHT baking maestro is on the rise after winning a gold medal at an international cake-making event.

Molly Robbins, daughter of radio presenter and actor Ted, beat off 200 competitors to land the prize at the Cake International exhibition in Manchester.

The 22-year-old, from Crawshawbooth, impressed judges in the sculpted novelty cake category with her impressive crocodile concoction.

The former Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School pupil spent 30 hours in the kitchen creating her highly-detailed delicacy.

She said: “It’s just a passion of mine really. I do cakes for friends and family at weddings and birthdays.

“I trained as a special effects make-up artist, but I’ve always done a lot of art and design so I think that’s where the creativity comes from.

“I did the whole thing myself, although my mum (Judy) cleans up!”

Mary Berry, the baking queen from hit television series Great British Bake-Off, was among the industry experts in attendance at Event City to see Miss Robbins claim her prize. She claimed £50 this time, but hopes to go one better at the next Cake International event, organised by the International Craft and Hobby Fairs, in London next month.

The former Miss Burnley finalist, a Manchester Metropolitan University graduate, said: “I want to win the Best in Show award.

“There are only four events a year so I need to come up with something really good.

“I’ve got an idea in mind and it’s going to be following a similar animal theme, something unusual with an interesting texture.

“Unfortunately you can’t really eat the cakes when they’re done because it takes so long to make them they normally go stale.”

Writer, actor and comedian Ricky Gervais praised Molly’s cake designs on Twitter.

On seeing the crocodile design he tweeted to his 4.2million followers that it was ‘absolutely brilliant’.