Rachel Nafi with David Hill, regional manager for Bupa Care Homes

Baking enthusiast Rachel Nafi has proved herself to be a top-tier cake maker in a national competition.

Her recipe for choux buns with rose icing was voted a hit by the public in the Bupa Bake Off, and Rachel, from Greenhithe, will battle it out in the national final this Thursday.

As the winner of the London, South East & Anglia region, she will today go head-to-head with five others in a live final in South Derbyshire.

The Bupa Bake Off champion will see their recipe become the official ‘sweet bake’ for Communi-tea Week (April 15-21), when Bupa’s 300 care homes bring elderly people together at tea-themed events.

Mum Rachel loves French patisserie classics and has been perfecting them since starting an NVQ in patisserie at Barking & Dagenham College.

She said: "When my daughter turned 18 I wanted to do something new and, having always loved baking, decided to study patisserie. I may be one of the oldest people on the course but I’m loving every minute of it and hope to open my own tea rooms in the future.

"This recipe is one I took into the college on a whim and my college classmates Francesca and Kitty encouraged me to enter it into the Bupa Bake Off competition.

"I’m delighted to be in the final – not just because it means people have liked and voted for my recipe, but because supporting elderly people is a cause that’s close to my heart – I volunteer with a local lunch group run by Age UK."

Rachel’s Choux a la Rose will be up against: a white chocolate cheesecake from Scotland; a coffee and walnut sponge in Wales; chocolate and orange cupcakes in the North; a spring-themed tiered sponge in the Midlands; and cherry bakewell cupcakes in the South West.