DJ and presenter Clara Amfo has talked of looking forward to trying her luck with pies, pastries and pithiviers ahead of the new run of The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer.
The 37-year-old star, who hails from Kingston-upon-Thames, has admitted she wasn’t going into the tent with any illusions that she’d be wowing with their ways when she competes against other celebrities.
For she admits that despite having previously competed on Celebrity MasterChef, she isn’t full of confidence about wowing with her wares when it comes to the crucial tasting time.
And if she could dip into her celebrity phonebook and rope in some musical stars to help her whip up her creations, she knows exactly who she would turn to.
“That’s a really good question! I think I’d go with Little Mix, because they’re great, and also I’d have three extra pairs of hands to help me out.”
Clara’s clearly thought this idea through, as she’d have a ringer in the mix, so to speak…
“Jade was Star Baker when she was on, so that would be a great advantage!” Clara recalls, thinking back to last year’s contest.
In the penultimate of five heats for the show’s fourth charity series last March, Jade had to create Cocktail Fondant Fancies, a Cherry Lattice Pie and, for the showstopper, a very challenging sounding 3D Biscuit and Meringue scene.
But up against comedian and presenter Katherine Ryan, rapper KSI and presenter and documentary maker Stacey Dooley, it was Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall who took the coveted Star Baker apron.
But without those star helpers, Clara was definitely feeling the pressure ahead of her day of baking.
“I’d be really unhappy if I was asked to bake macaroons,” laughs Clara, when quizzed about the potential challenges that would be presented to the contestants.
“They’re not really my idea of a sweet treat anyway, and they seem so complex to make. That’s a whole level of stress I could do without.”
Life’s always busy for Clara, who co-hosted this year’s Brit Awards along with Maya Jama and main host Mo Gilligan.
In preparation for the rigours of the competition she has been trying out some recipes at home, in the hope it might give her more of a chance to shine. However, after starting filming she admitted that nothing really prepares you for the pressure on the day itself.
“I tried doing my biscuits, but it’s not really the same as doing it at home,” she reveals. “You’re in your own kitchen, and you’re maybe messaging your mates or you’ll put on a podcast, it’s nothing like having to perform under pressure in THE tent.”
Even though she doesn’t expect to dazzle with her dishes, taking part in the show is a delight for Clara. Partly because she has always been a fan of the programme, but also as she is famous for having a sweet tooth, so will be in her element surrounded by cake.
“Oh god yeah!” grins Clara. “Everybody knows the way to my heart is through cakes and sweet stuff. I got sent a red velvet cake by a singer and it had piped on it in beautiful red icing, “When I’m mad, I eat cake”.
But that doesn’t mean she’s planning on knocking off her show-stopper in a few minutes and then sitting and eating it for several hours…
“Oh no! I’m going to plan and time everything very, very well, because every second counts. I have said that about cooking, but technically baking falls into a different category."
"I find baking such a joy, because I get to look forward to the sweet treat at the end of the rainbow.”
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for SUTC starts on Tuesday 22nd March on C4 at 8pm.
For more information on how you can bake and raise funds for Stand Up To Cancer, go to https://www.standuptocancer.org.uk/fundraise/bake-off
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