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Baker creates gingerbread model of Ely Cathedral

John Devine/BBC Owen Angier in a white woollen jumper, he is to the right of a model of Ely Cathedral made from ginger bread, with white Royal icing piped around windows and doors. Owen has dark hair across his forehead, and wears glasses with black frames. A white tiled kitchen wall is behind him and a grey splash back guard is behind a cooker hob.John Devine/BBC
Owen Angier says he was delighted when The Great British Bake Off commented on his creation on social media

A man who loves to bake has created his most ambitious project to date, a nearly 60cm (2ft) long gingerbread model of Ely Cathedral.

Owen Angier, 23, who lives in Littleport near Ely, Cambridgeshire, said he usually bakes something special for Christmas and this year he thought he would pay homage to the local landmark.

The apprentice nurse at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge said he was delighted when he posted pictures of his model online The Great British Bake Off commented, "Wow, so impressive".

"I just hope to have caught even just a smidge of the building's splendour in my creation," he said.

John Devine Ely Cathedral in Gingerbread, made by Owen Angier, the model is nearly 60cm (2ft) long and just over 30cm (1ft) high. It has white icing around the doors and windows, and he melted boiled sweets to make edible stained glass windows.John Devine
Mr Angier said he melted some boiled sweets to make edible stained glass for the windows

Mr Angier said that Ely Cathedral had such "magnificent architectural beauty" that he thought what better way to pay homage to it and challenge his baking abilities than by building a model in gingerbread form.

"I wanted to capture some key features of the cathedral's exterior," he said.

"Particularly the octagon, which stands central to the cathedral.

"The cathedral itself has so many astounding features, and while I would have loved to have included all of them, it was definitely necessary to take some artistic liberties in this format," he said.

John Devine/BBC Gingerbread model of Ely Cathedral sitting in a living room, with a Christmas tree and decorations seen in the background as well as leather sofa and chair.John Devine/BBC
Mr Angier says he does not particularly like eating gingerbread, but plans to take it into work for colleagues to enjoy with a coffee

Mr Angier said the project took him a day, from planning out the template, to baking each piece and piping.

The one issue Mr Angier now has is that he does not particularly like eating gingerbread.

He said he will eventually break the model up and take it to work so colleagues can enjoy a piece of Ely Cathedral with their coffee.

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