There is an opportunity for schools across Teignbridge to take part in a competition to win a visit to Buckingham Palace by making a special birthday cake for the Queen.

After the hugely popular Cook for The Queen competition for children that was held for the Diamond Jubilee, the organiser, Love British Food, is inviting schools to join in this summer’s Royal celebrations and commemorate Her Majesty’s 90th birthday by making a Cake for The Queen.

The Queen’s official 90th Birthday is being celebrated on the weekend of June 11 and 12. It begins with a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, followed by Trooping the Colour on Saturday. The finale takes place on the Sunday when the Mall will be transformed for Britain’s largest street party yet.

Communities across the country will be celebrating this historical occasion in many wonderful ways and schools are invited to join in the national celebrations by holding a fun birthday party, the centre piece of which will be a special birthday cake for the Queen made by the children themselves. The more delicious, the healthier and the more spectacular the better!

The competition sets a specific challenge: as well as making a cake that is spectacular to look at and is decorated in a manner fit for Royalty, it must be made with healthy ingredients. The healthier, the fresher and the more local the better. This is an opportunity to teach children that there are alternatives to sugar! We want the delicious flavours of the ingredients to sing out in your cakes and for sugar and marg to take a back seat, said a spokesman.

Photos of the top five winning cakes will be made into a montage and presented to the Queen as a birthday souvenir and the winning school will be treated to an exclusive trip to Buckingham Palace, during British Food Fortnight (September 17 – October 2).

IF YOUR SCHOOL IS TAKING PART PLEASE LET

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How to take part

Taking part is easy. The competition is open to any group of children of school age and all you have to do is:

Adapt a traditional cake recipe using healthy and/or local ingredients or create your own brand new recipe. Eating healthily doesn’t mean you have to give up all things nice, in fact it is an opportunity to discover new, delicious ingredients to use. For example, did you know…

Beetroot, courgette and carrots are all examples of vegetables that can be used in cakes?

White refined sugar can be replaced with honey, fruit syrup or seasonal fruit?

There are many delicious local butters available to use in place of margarine.

Bake and decorate the cake in a manner fit for the Queen.

Share and eat the cake – have a Royal Birthday Party for the class or the whole school. You could make it a fancy dress party with all the children dressing up to commemorate different features of Her Majesty’s reign: The Queen as a child, her wedding, Coronation, overseas tours, her love of horses and her famous corgis.

Send us: up to five photos of the cake, of the children making it and your Royal Birthday Party, plus a description of the recipe and ingredients you used and how and why you adapted it.

Who can take part?

The competition is open to any group of children of school age (primary and secondary) in the UK. The group should have an adult as a coordinator / point of contact.

How to Enter

To enter, send your photos and a description of what you did, including your cake recipe to [email protected] [email protected]> by July 15. Don’t forget your name, your school or group name and a contact telephone number.

Winners will be notified w/c July 18 and the prize tour of Buckingham Palace will take place during British Food Fortnight (September 17 - October 2).

For more information about Cake for the Queen visit the Love British Food Website: http://www.lovebritishfood.co.uk/british-food-fortnight/cake-for-the-queen.