Having been on the receiving end of the judge’s comments, Great British Bake Off finalist Laura Adlington enjoyed the opportunity to turn from contestant to judge in a baking competition to support her local hospice.

Laura, who comes from Gravesend, presided over the challenge, using the rainbow symbol as a theme.

Recognised as a sign of hopefulness, inclusivity and the ability to stretch from one place to another, Laura agreed that the theme brilliantly summed up all that ellenor does in supporting those with life-limiting illnesses and their families.

Laura, who now lives in Halling, said: “Wow, I was genuinely blown away by all the competition entries, not only for their creativity but also for their consideration of colour and the ingredients they chose.

"Each competition entry came with a personal story about ellenor, and why the hospice was so important to them, which made the competition even more poignant.

"We had some incredible interpretations of the theme, each with their own personal touch and it really was very difficult to judge as all the entries were so beautiful."

Without the ability to taste the cakes, given the current situation, Laura used her knowledge of the flavours that the ingredients would have, together with their visual appeal and eventually decided that Della Caws’ masterpiece would be the winner.

Her cake encapsulated not only the rainbow theme, but also Christmas, when the competition was running.

The three-tiered creation had gingerbread Christmas trees, with multi-coloured presents around them, snowman faces with rainbow-coloured hats, and hearts in all the colours of the rainbow.

She topped the cake off with a heart featuring the ellenor name.

Della was thrilled to have been chosen as the winner and, when she found out, she said: “Thank you so much. I know of ellenor because you helped my friend’s granddaughter to be able to stay at home while she was being treated for leukaemia and so I wanted to enter the competition to say thank you for supporting her, and others, when they need help the most."

Della won a KitchenAid blender, donated by Hydraulic and Engineering, together with a signed copy of the Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice.

Runner-up was Lucy Toulson, who created a single tier cake decorated with seven colours of buttermilk icing together with multi-coloured swirls, and the ellenor logo to top it off.

This cake caught Laura’s eye due to the clever way that the seven colours of icing each had a distinct layer, together forming and huge explosion of colour.

Lucy said: “I hadn’t baked for a while, but I couldn’t pass up on the ellenor bake off competition.

"My cake was in honour of my dad, who passed away in March 2020 after a battle with prostate cancer.

"Ellenor supported my dad by providing a nurse to visit him and providing equipment so he could stay at home where he wanted to be.

"As well as that, ellenor also gave invaluable advice and support to my mum and us as a family.

"We are very grateful for everything that you did and hope ellenor can continue providing support for other families in need."

Lucy will receive a luxury Waitrose food hamper.

Senior fundraiser officer Jemma Kemp said: “Thanks again to everyone who joined in with ellenor’s cake challenge – and rest assured, as everyone enjoyed it so much, it won’t be long until we do another one.

"This is an extraordinary and very difficult time for charities like ellenor who rely on public awareness and, together with that, donations just to keep offering the services that we do.

"Thank you to all those who support us and, if you haven’t yet, please take a look at our website, ellenor.org, to find information about us and any future events that ellenor has planned."

Read more: All the latest news from Gravesend

Read more: All the latest news from Dartford