Two Magpies Bakery stole the show at Britain’s Best Cake 2026, walking away with four category awards plus the overall title for its Miso Caramel Hazelnut Brownie.
It marked the second time in just three years that a nutty brownie from Two Magpies Bakery claimed the title of Britain’s Best Cake – the East Anglia chain previously won in 2024 with its Salted Caramel & Almond Brownie.
The collective noun for magpies is a mischief, but there was no mucking about by Two Magpies Bakery as it collected a haul of four wins in the Brownies & Blondies, Gluten Free, Mini, and Vegan categories.
Its latest champion bake came ahead of a field of more than 110 entries spread across eight categories, also including Celebration Cake, Classic Cake, Modern Cake, and Traybake.
When asked how they’d managed to double up on Britain’s Best Cake trophies with two nut-based brownies, Two Magpies Bakery business development manager Shelby Barritt joked: “Well we’re nuts!”, adding that they were very excited to win.
The product is described as a dark and milk chocolate brownie with a topping featuring toasted hazelnuts, sea salt, and miso caramel shards – it’s also gluten free.
Its recipe had taken a few months to perfect, revealed Two Magpies Bakery catering & events manager Michelle Wade, noting they had struggled to stop the miso caramelising too much in the oven. “We eventually did it in a way that added the miso paste into caramel shard and laid it on top so that as it bakes it goes into the brownie with the hazelnuts toasting on top,” said Wade. “We’ve got a blend of chocolates inside so that its rich but still creamy,” she added.
Judges picked out the brownie from the other category champions based on the fact it had a “really good depth to it, was made with quality ingredients, and had a bake profile that was perfect”.
Britain’s Best Cake 2026 – sponsored by Dawn Foods, Kluman & Balter, Rainbow Dust, Shuffle-Mix, and St. Ewe Free Range Eggs – was held on Monday 13 April at the NEC Birmingham as part of the UK Food & Drink Shows.
It was the third edition of the competition, with the previous two events won by Abba Cakes’ The Chocolate Cake (2025) and Two Magpie Bakery’s salted caramel & almond brownie (2024).
The judging panel consisted of: Amy North, editor at British Baker; Chris Parrington, technical and development manager, Kluman & Balter; Dan Riley, deputy editor at British Baker; Emily Anderson, product development manager at Cooplands; Kevin Sargent, senior product development manager at Co-op; Kyle Rodgers, commercial director at Rainbow Dust; Michelle Philips, founder of Mimi’s Bakehouse; Matthew Haynes, concept manager at Park Cake Bakeries; Mike Holling, head of sales at Bakewell Bakery; Naomi Griffiths, lead baker & patisserie chef at Iâl Bakery; Nigel Cave, innovation manager at Mademoiselle Desserts; Rebecca Tonks, founder and CEO, St. Ewe Free Range Eggs; and Robin Loud, application chef at Dawn Foods.
“Britain’s Best Cake aims to find the finest cakes the nation has to offer, and in doing so we can celebrate the attention to detail, creativity, and hard work put in by cake makers day in and day out,” said British Baker editor Amy North. “After a hard day of judging, I truly believed we achieved that.
“We have been blown away by the reaction to the competition in its third year. The judges truly had their work cut out to find the winners across the eight categories. Their expertise and attention to detail paid off meaning we have a stellar line-up of worthy winners.”
Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals will also be awarded across the categories. This will be announced on the British Baker website at midday on Friday 17 April.
Find the full list of category winners below:
Brownies & Blondies
Winner: Miso Caramel Hazelnut Brownie, Two Magpies Bakery
A fudgy chocolate brownie with toasted hazelnuts and umami rich miso caramel, is how East Anglia-based Two Magpies Bakery describes its award-winning product. A “superb brownie” full of great tastes and textures is how the judging panel did. They praised the “wonderful bitter notes” from the miso caramel, noting the “genius touch” of adding the caramel shard before baking, and highlighting the contrasting bite added by the hazelnuts on top.
Celebration Cake
Winner: Mango & Passionfruit Cake, Patisserie Valerie
Patisserie Valerie aimed to create a “true summer delight” with this creation. The cake features four layers of plain sponge generously sandwiched with a luxurious mango & passionfruit cream, as well as a blend of real mango pieces and passionfruit puree. This is hand-coated with a marbled Swiss meringue buttercream, mango-coloured and white buttercream kisses, passionfruit puree and mother-of-pearl sprinkles. Our judges felt the summer vibes, praising the balance of fresh cream and sour, tangy fruit, adding that the “aroma was fresh, fruity, and inviting” while the sponge was light and airy – “a true delight to eat”.
Classic Cake
Winner: Chocolate Ganache Cake, Vivi’s Cakery
The “absolutely exquisite visuals” on the outside of the Chocolate Ganache Cake were matched by “defined and even layers” on the inside, coupled with an incredible eating experience. The five-layer chocolate cake is filled with whipped milk chocolate ganache and covered with dark chocolate ganache, dusted with cocoa for an elegant finish. The judges were impressed by the beautifully smooth ganache which balanced well with the dark, rich sponge.
Gluten-Free Cake
Winner: Gluten Free Millionaires Cake, Two Magpies Bakery
“You wouldn’t know this was gluten free,” beamed the judges who described it as “faultless”. It comprises a gluten free chocolate sponge cake layered with caramel filling, gluten free shortbread crumb, caramel buttercream and a whipped chocolate ganache icing. The shortbread crumbs throughout the cream brought a spot of texture to the eating experience, while the drip effect on the outside and beautiful piping brought the wow factor visually.
Mini Cakes
Winner: Mini Lemon Loaf Cake, Two Magpies Bakery
Another triumph for Two Magpies Bakery came in the form of its Mini Lemon Loaf Cake. The individual lemon sponge cakes are soaked with lemon syrup and topped with lemon curd, lemon buttercream, candied lemon, edible flowers and a meringue kiss. It “hits all of the notes”, according to the judges, who described the lemon as “tart but never overpowering”.
Modern Cake
Winner: Pistachio & Cherry Cake, Uptons of Bassett
This nutty and vibrant cake has ground almonds and pistachios in it, and a hefty sprinkling of dried cherries and pistachios on top. “It is a destination cake,” declared one judge. “This is the type of cake that you would travel for.” The panel added that they “loved the texture, loved the innovation, and loved the thought that’s gone into it”, noting the delightful eating experience and the way the flavours layer beautifully.
Traybake
Winner: Sticky Date & Hazelnut Flapjack, Sweet Treats By Martin Frickel
An indulgent flapjack with a base note of coffee, chocolate and toasted hazelnuts complemented by sweet sticky dates hidden throughout, all smothered in plant-based 54% dark chocolate ganache. The coffee really cuts through the sweetness, according to the judges, who liked the combination of the smooth chocolate, sticky flapjack, and bite of the hazelnuts.
Vegan Cake
Winner: Vegan Miso Caramel Banana Cake, Two Magpies Bakery
Completing Two Magpies Bakery’s triumphant run is the Vegan Miso Caramel Banana Cake. The cake is made with brown sugar, miso paste, olive oil and apples all topped with an oat streusel and finished with a vegan caramel drizzle. The miso and banana flavours were “beautifully balanced” meaning the cake felt like a treat but wasn’t too sweet. The streusel topping added a “great crunch”.
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