One thing we beans truly relish is a spot of healthy rivalry. We’re a competitive bunch, you see. Woe betide anyone caught in the crossfire of, say, a genteel game of French cricket. One cross word or a perceived lack of respect for the rules of the game, and things can get pretty ugly pretty quickly, let me tell you.

There’s the time Fiona threw Susan through a plate glass window during a dispute over the Grand National sweepstake; the time where Fiona jabbed an intern in the ribs with a driver during a particularly heated round of Top Golf, and who could forget the time when Fiona cut the brakes on my car following a prolonged and intense game of shuffleboard, in which I was the righteous victor. (Fiona has asked me to point out that only one of these statements is true*).

Anyway you get the point, no one likes to lose, and when it comes to showing off our baking skills the ante is upped tenfold. So it was with great aplomb that four of our best bakers took to their respective kitchens to mark Great Ormond Street’s #bakeitbetter week with (what else?) a head-to-head bake-off judged by our very own Gregg Wallace and Jon Torode, the aforementioned CEO & Founder Fiona and MD Susan.

The format was simple: One week, four bakers, four unique creations, two judges, one aim: make a shed load of cash for Great Ormond Street (and gorge ourselves on cake). We even went to the trouble of recording everything for posterity via the Jellybean vlog. Take a look below.

Monday saw new bean Nat present her canine-themed creation to the judges:
WATCH NAT GET JUDGED

Tuesday was the turn of Alex with a totally on-brand Camp Coffee and Walnut Cake:
WATCH ALEX GET JUDGED

Wednesday saw another newcomer, Ellie, step up to the plate with an angioplasty-inducing-yet-decadent peanut butter and chocolate tart:
WATCH ELLIE GET JUDGED

On the final day, Cass showcased her baking prowess with a knock-out ‘Secret’ Chocolate & Orange Cake:
WATCH CASS GET JUDGED

On Friday it was left to our esteemed and by now extremely bloated judges to decide on a winner:
WATCH THE FINAL VERDICT

Throughout the week, Twitter users were invited to pip for their favourite baker in a very special people’s choice award, using a bespoke hashtag. For every vote, we donated £1 to the cause, a total which Fiona has kindly agreed to double. We’re pleased to announce that we raised a grand total of £200 for Great Ormond Street so they can continue the sterling work. Thank you Fiona, and to everyone that voted!

In the end the judges opted for Cass’s delicious creation, while Nat scooped People’s Choice. Well done to both bakers and commiserations to our two runners-up. Now it’s time for the gym to work off all those calories.

*not really!