Mildred's The Carr's World Fairy Cake Champion

A RETIRED administration officer is the official Carr's World Fairy Cake Challenge winner for 2009.

Mildred Gavican, 63, flew off with the trophy and a luxury weekend hotel break at the Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel at Windermere in the Lake District.

“I feel shocked and stunned but absolutely over the moon,” declared Mildred, who has been baking cakes since she was a little girl.

“I had quite a few attempts to get my fairy cake just right as it is quite difficult to get a big fairy cake that is still quite light in texture.”

Free range eggs from her two pet hens - Bella and Veronica - also helped, she said.

“They live at a friend's house in the country and produce wonderful eggs with creamy deep yellow yolks,” added Millie, from Carlisle.

Carr’s Flour ran the competition in conjunction with the Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel which donated the prize and hosted the August 19 event.

Caroline Dale, retail manager for Carr’s Flour, explained how the company was launching a new premium self-raising flour in September.

“Home baking is definitely growing in popularity once more and the Carr’s World Fairy Cake Challenge - which is to become an annual event - is all about celebrating British baking,” she said.

“The entries were of a superb standard and I am sure our new flour will help amateur bakers up and down the land to make even lighter, tastier cakes and puddings.”

Alison Magee-Barker, manager of the Lindeth Howe Hotel, former home of Beatrix Potter, helped judge the eight finalists’ entries.

“It was a very difficult decision but Mildred’s beautifully decorated cake took her past the finishing line in first place,” she said.

Pictured above - Left to right: Lindeth Howe head chef Marc Guibert, Carr's Flour retail manager Caroline Dale and Lindeth Howe manager Alison Magee-Barker hold up the top four cakes.

The competition was overshadowed by a public row with the Guinness Book of World Records which refused to create a separate category for the world’s biggest fairy cake.

Guinness officials insisted a fairy cake is the same as a cup cake and must be measured against the world record of a 150lb cup cake made in America.

But Carr’s argued that fairy cakes are quite different, much lighter in texture, and decided to create its own world record category for fairy cakes.

Carr’s Flour publicist Alan Air was disappointed with the Guinness ruling.

“Cup cakes are very much a United States invention and whilst a 150 lb monster helps to illustrate why Americans believe bigger equates with heavier it does little to help us celebrate the lightness of fairy cakes - a quintessentially delicate British tradition,” he said.

Mildred’s winning fairy cake measured six inches by six inches and weighed just over 1 lb.

Mildred also won a year’s supply of Carr’s self-raising flour.

View The World Fairy Cake Challenge Photo Gallery