Cakes & Sugarcraft contributor, Laura Dodimead, won the Christmas-cake-decorating competition on Channel 4 TV show Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas, which aired on 1st December.

The candidates were asked to submit a Christmas cake design that was ‘unseen and original’. After sending in an idea for ‘The Xmas factor’, Laura discovered that she had been chosen to compete in the show. The competitors had four and a half hours to decorate a 20.5cm (8”) round dummy cake using any edible medium.

Filming was a long and very hot process which took place at one of Kirstie’s homes in Devon. Laura said ‘we were filmed by at least two cameras all day and there was a constant string of questions we had to answer while we were working. It was very stressful as I've never done a timed competition before, so the pressure was very much on and the heat in the room was astonishing.’

‘Kirsty was so lovely and very funny. The judge, Ceri, was also lovely and said some amazing things about all of our cakes. She said that I had managed to do so much work in such a short space of time, that the santas all had their own personalities and that she loved my tattooed santa because he made her laugh. That was music to my ears as I put a lot of thought into how they would look and, with limited time, I wasn't able to animate them as much as I wanted.’

‘I was really in shock when Kirstie said I was the winner. I've never won anything in my life and just couldn't believe it. The standard of cakes was high so I didn't think I stood a chance. My trophy has pride of place on my shelf; it’s so cute and I am very proud of myself. Hopefully I will be invited back this year to keep hold of my title!’

Congratulations Laura on your well-deserved win!