Gluten Free Magic Bake Off 2016 – THE RESULTS

"Drama. Betrayal. Bakewell tarts. The last eight weeks in the Great British Bake Off tent have been fraught with behind-the-scenes drama, as everyone's favourite gently competitive baking extravaganza found itself at the centre of a bidding war. As the news broke that GBBO was moving to a new home with Channel 4 (to audible gasps in the Delicious Alchemy office), followed by the departures of Mel, Sue and our beloved Mary Berry, nothing seemed certain.

Thank goodness, then, for our Gluten Free Magic Bake Off bakers! Week on week you have wowed us with your fantastic free from creations, and we'd like to say a massive THANK YOU to every one who took the time to send in their bakes. You have inspired us so much, and proved yet again that you don't need gluten to bake up a storm with the best of them.

So, to our finalists. Here's a little refresher of the entries that made the final, before we jump straight into their final Showstopper Challenge! Hannah Willis (of The GF Redhead) made this fabulous Raspberry and Blueberry Drizzle Bundt Cake, Carly Talbot (of GFreeB) wowed us with these Portuguese Egg Custard Tarts, and Denise Mills created this decadently delicious Thorntons Celebration Cake. All three of these entries received enough votes to go through to the GFMBO Showstopper Challenge, where the bakers were tasked with creating a three-tiered celebration cake using our Vanilla Sponge Mix. Here is what they made...

Hannah Willis - Raspberry & Coconut, Blueberry & Lime, Cranberry & Orange

Hannah's centrepiece is decorated with berries and filled with a different flavoured buttercream between each layer! A sprinkling of icing sugar and some pretty ribbons completes the effect.

Carly Talbot - Pumpkin, Orange Zest & Cardamom, Apple & Sumac, Stem Ginger & Dark Chocolate Chip

Carly's semi-naked cake is decorated with homemade macarons, edible flowers and gingerbread leaves for a deliciously and delicately spiced treat.

Denise Mills - Treacle Toffee Apple Dribble Cake

Denise has created an autumnal masterpiece decorated with apple buttercream, toffee apples and a treacle sauce. Needless to say, deciding between these inspired entries was no mean feat. There was an awful lot of to-ing and fro-ing, but we eventually came to a decision.

Congratulations to...

CARLY! Her attention to detail, complex flavours and stunning decoration really wowed us. She has won a gluten free afternoon tea for two, plus an overnight stay in a hotel and a hamper of our gluten free goodies. She will also be invited to recreate her bake here at Delicious Alchemy HQ where it will be photographed professionally. Congratulations also to our runners-up, Hannah and Denise! It was an extremely close call and we were so impressed with their entries - both of them will receive hampers stuffed to the brim with Delicious Alchemy treats as a big thank you.

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So that's it for another year! Thanks again to all of you for joining us. If you're feeling inspired, why not get started with creating your very own Gluten Free Magic... and watch this space for more competitions!"