Land Rover Defender inspires giant cake

A giant cake has been made in the shape of a Land Rover by an award-winning amateur baker from the West Midlands.

Lara Clarke, from Brownhills, has previously made near-life-sized cakes of Hollywood stars Johnny Depp and Jennifer Lawrence.

Her latest creation, baked to celebrate the Defender model, fed 2,000 people at an event at the factory in Solihull on Monday.

The half-scale replica weighed 600kg and featured working headlights.

Comprising 32 sponge cakes, 50kg (110 lbs) of butter cream, 20kg (44 lbs) of ganache and 50kg icing, it took her 150 hours to produce.

Ms Clarke said the bake was so heavy it had to be delivered by fork lift truck.

"We arrived by van and everyone was coming round to have a look," she said.

"They couldn't believe it was a cake. There was plenty to go round and everyone on the factory floor got a piece."

It was baked to celebrate the two millionth Defender rolling off the production line - the figure includes its predecessors the Series I, II and III models.

The cake weighed about 600kg and had to be moved by forklift

Lara Clarke said she previously made a cake in the shape of an engine to mark the opening of JLR's new plant

Ms Clarke said it started after she tagged JLR in a tweet about a small Land Rover birthday cake.

"They got in touch and asked if I could make a cake in the shape of an engine to mark the opening of their new engine plant.

"A woman then asked me if I could make a Land Rover cake.

"It was originally meant to be quite small, but I asked them if they wanted something that would really impress people."

Ms Clarke with her 2013 Cake International entry, a near life-sized Jack Sparrow

Ms Clarke said she was getting married in October, a week before the Cake International competition at Birmingham's NEC.

Rather than enter this year, she said she planned to bake "the best wedding cake that's ever been seen".