Israeli cuisine made a surprise appearance on The Great British Bake Off last night when one contestant came up with an imaginative response when asked to make a European-inspired cake.

Kate Henry, a 41 furniture restorer from Brighton, prepared an Israeli babka for the judges on the BBC 1 reality cooking show.

Ms Henry said she had been inspired by fond memories of a visit to Israel in her youth.
She said: “I spent some time there as a teenager and had a wonderful time.”

But she explained that she had given the recipe her own twist, with dark chocolate, sour cherries and pecans, because she “didn’t like their cakes very much”.

She said the cake fitted the European brief the contestants had been given because Israel “is in the European song contest”.

Sadly for Ms Henry, the Bake Off judges complained that her babka lacked a smooth top, while the crème patissiere filling was not set and the inside of the dessert had collapsed.

The Great British Bake Off has four more episodes to run. The final will be broadcast on October 9.