This virtual baking competition will have you cooking up cakes worthy of the Paul Hollywood handshake.

Bored of making banana bread for the zillionth time? Wanna flex your muscles in the baking department? Then look no further than The Big Birmingham Bake. 

As the country’s only live baking competition, the event, inspired by The Great British Bake Off, has already been making waves around Birmingham (as we saw for ourselves during our review). And now it's taking things up a notch - rising to the occasion if you will -  by bringing the contest to your home. 

That's right, the pastry pros are sweetening your lockdown with three weekly bake-at-home classes in an effort to get you out of your bedroom and into the kitchen. Posting videos on their Instagram and Facebook pages, the chefs use easy to follow steps and simple ingredients that are bound to be lying around the house - so no need to be popping out the shops. And with everything from three-ingredient brownies to homemade lemonade and even peanut butter dog treats on the menu, there’s plenty to keep you entertained.

But where’s the competitive aspect I hear you ask? Or maybe that’s just my self-isolation insanity kicking in. Send over a snap of your sweet treat to the online team and you could win the glory of being star baker and a gift voucher for two - worth £85 - to their live class later in the year.

On your marks, get set...bake.

Looking for tickets to the live event? Get your vouchers here.