Bakers on the GBBO have bowled us over with gingerbread houses, stollen castles, and replicas of the Coliseum and the Moulin Rouge, but how do architects compare when it comes to constructing with cake?
The Great Architectural Bake Off took place on Saturday as part of the London Festival of Architecture. For the third year running, some of the most prestigious names in architecture were invited to recreate the world’s most iconic buildings out of cake.
The winners were Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners for their inventive gingerbread reconstruction of the former bullring Arenas de Barcelona – check out that detail!
Read more: Great British Bake Off kitchen schemes
The theme of this year’s festival was ‘Memory’, and bakers were asked to produce creations exploring this theme. Each team was provided with basic construction tools and building materials – sponge ‘bricks’ and icing ‘mortar’. They then brought their own additional ingredients that they hoped would help them to wow the judges.
Participants were encouraged to be as experimental as possible with their use of edible ingredients, and they certainly didn’t shy away from the challenge. Entries this year included impressive cake versions of St Paul’s Cathedral, Battersea Power Station and Stonehenge.
St Paul's Cathedral by Squire and Partners
Battersea Power Station by Wilkinson Eyre
Stonehenge by David Collins
WATG & Wimberly Interiors received an honourable mention for their edible replica of the Cathedrale de Brasilia, created with marbled sugar glass.
Read more: Decorating ideas to steal from the GBBO tent
The cakes were judged by experts and industry leaders from the food, design, and architecture worlds. This year’s panel included renowned author and design critic, Alice Rawsthorn, Rose Carrarini, founder of Rose Bakery, Bella Younger of Deliciously Stella, Harriet Thorpe of Wallpaper* and Daniela Puga, Architecture Curator at the Barbican.
Ashley Fauguel, organiser of WATG’s Great Architectural Bake Off, said: 'Year-on-year the competitors have delighted us with their imagination and skill and we feel that this year’s entries have been exceptional.'
'We were impressed with the bakers’ innovative technique and attention to detail and we expect next year to raise the bar even higher.'
Read more: Baking fails that take the (badly iced) cake
This year's entries were pretty spectacular so we can't wait to see what's cooked up next year!
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