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Mary Berry may be the queen of cakes but Cardiff baking enthusiasts have proved they also know a thing or two about deserts.

On Saturday, the Great Roath Bake Off returned for its third consecutive year – attracting nearly a hundred amateur bakers all aiming to wow the specially selected panel.

And the judges were not disappointed, praising the standard of cakes from the traditional Victoria sandwiches and chocolate brownies, to an imaginative Roath Park Lake coconut sponge.

The contest was hosted by Roath’s very own Sue Perkins, Wayne Courtney, 38, who got the idea for the charity event held at St Andrew’s Church on Wellfield Road from the hit TV show.

And with prizes, charity stalls, live music performances from The Magic Rooster Brothers and, of course cake for everyone, there was plenty of community spirit.

The judges took four hours to decide their winner, scoring each one according to taste, quality, texture and presentation.

Lisa Watts, 40, from Roath, was eventually named the winner in the best cake category – impressing the panel with her chocolate and salted caramel crunch cake.

She said: “I am really shocked and really chuffed. I came second last year with my walnut tart so thought I would try something more impressive this year.

“I bake just as a hobby, which helps as my husband has a sweet tooth and so does my son.”

Winners of the other three categories were Nato & Co Portuguese Bakery for best professional cake, Bill Ward’s pork pie for best bake, and eight-year-old Molly Spivey who won the Under 16 category for her pomegranate and cranberry white chocolate cake.

Judge Nikki Vivian, from Your Last Mouthful, said: “The pork pie was fantastic and the winner of the cake category was our outright favourite. Last year was really good but this year’s event has been even better.”

While fellow judge Matt Appleby, from hyperlocal blog RoathCardiff, added: “There has been a fantastic amount of entries. The quality was brilliant across the board, really impressive.

“There is a massive interest in baking at the moment. For Wayne to be able to use that love of baking to bring people together and to raise money for charity is amazing.”

Wayne said: “It exceeded what I expected. There were so many entries I had to recruit other judges.

“It was wonderful. Everyone has had a successful day and we’ve raised a lot of money for charity, it has been great. Next year will definitely be bigger and better again.”