'I went from home baking to winning on an international TV show'

Two baker friends who started making cakes in their home kitchen have now won an international TV competition.

Dusica Roberts, from Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, and Verity Malinowska from Plymouth, took part in the TV series Bake Master Battles, a show on the Canadian Food Network.

The pair said winning the Halloween-themed episode, where they baked a zombie cake sculpture, was a "surreal" and "exciting" experience, as first reported by Burnham-on-Sea.com.

"As a child, you don't think, 'I'm going to make cakes when I'm older and go on international television'," Roberts said.

Helicopter jobs at risk despite £1bn contract

Carnival fan says accessible float ‘undignified’

Mum's plea as rugby player missing for four years

Roberts was a chef before she had children and then decided to bake for them in her home kitchen.

About 15 years ago, she decided to start a cake business, called Dusi-Cake.

She then met Malinowska about 10 years ago at a baking competition hosted in Birmingham.

The pair hit it off and began baking together. They described appearing on the show together as a "very exciting.

"Even being at the airport at 06:00 is very exciting, because me and Dusica absolutely love each other, we just have the most fun," Malinowska said.

"The show itself is amazing, they ran it so smoothly, we really felt we were looked after.

"It's quite intense on set but they just made you feel really welcome and really at ease."

The first challenge of the show saw the pair bake a cupcake display in 45 minutes, while the second was a three-hour battle to create a zombie cake sculpture.

"That could normally take days. Making it in three hours was a lot," Roberts said.

"It was intense. Luckily, Verity and I work really well together.

"We don't even really need to talk to each other, we just naturally come together."

Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X . Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630 .

BBC Make a Difference award nomination 'humbling'

Antique bread oven leaves restorer 'speechless'

Second national award for Somerset cake designer