A WEDDING cake proved a slice of heaven for the Angel’s Share Bakery from Richmond – but it was beaten in the final of a culinary talent contest by siblings from a third generation family business.

She hadn’t made the centrepiece of a newlywed’s day since her own nuptials 15 years ago, yet for Alex Franks the brief to create a show-stopping wedding cake was the last ambitious challenge in the six-week Britain’s Best Bakery completion on ITV1.

To secure a place in the final screened this afternoon (Friday, February 14), Mrs Franks and colleague Di Dinsdale prepared canapés for a black tie reception at Henley, and made afternoon tea for Chelsea Pensioners.

“We were told to create a wedding cake and the main theme was pink, like an English rose garden. So we made a four-tiered oval sponge cake with a raspberry and orange, and a pomegranate and lemon filling in graduating shades of pink to give an ombre effect. It should look really, really pretty.”

A couple getting married at the stunning RHS Wisley garden last summer chose the simple, mainly white, design created by brother and sister, David and Lindsay Wright, from the Cake Shop Bakery from Woodbridge in Suffolk.

They truimphantly beat the favourites, French brothers David and Remi Faveau from the Birmingham Bakery, whose icing melted under the sweltering July sun.

“We don’t do cakes and we don’t do pink so we were really proud of ourselves but it was important that that the bride and groom got what they wanted as it’s the best day of their life,” Mrs Franks said.

The duo, based at The Station, in the North Yorkshire market town, were competing against under the watchful eye of judges cake connoisseur Mich Turner and bread expert, Peter Sidwell, on the daytime programme narrated by Coronation Street actress and former Celebrity Masterchef finalist, Wendi Peters.

“We were by far the smallest bakery to get this far and we tried really hard not to repeat anything," explained Mrs Franks who was a regional Masterchef finalist 20 years ago.

"We would have won first prize for the amount of product placement we had for Yorkshire as we love where we come from."

The Angel’s Share is planning to make the most of its success, having launched its website,it is now looking into mail order after receiving enquiries from across the country about its celebrated Cumberland pie.

“The winners got a plaque but we were disappointed that we didn’t even get a certificate at the end – just a bacon sandwich,” she added.