Johnny Depp cake baked for Cake International competition in Birmingham

Lara Clarke, an amateur baker from Brownhills, West Midlands, UK, has baked an “almost life-sized” Johnny Depp cake for a competition.

Lara Clarke made the Pirates of the Caribbean-inspired creation for the Cake International competition in Birmingham.

She said: “The judges are probably more used to seeing three-tier wedding cakes than giant Jack Sparrows.”

A competition spokesperson said entrants’ creativity was “surprising”.

Lara Clarke, who is entering the 5ft 5 in cake in the large decorative exhibit section of the competition, said she had only started baking two years ago.

“All I’d really made before was some bog-standard banana cake in home economics,” she said.

“The first time I baked a decorated cake was for my mother-in-law’s 25th wedding anniversary. I thought it was rubbish but everybody else seemed to like it.”

Since then, Lara Clarke has baked cakes for family and friends.

Previous efforts have included a 4ft Grinch cake, a motorbike and a cake replica of her mother-in-law.

Lara Clarke, who works for a bingo website, said she learned her skills from watching YouTube videos.

The Johnny Depp cake is the first time Lara Clarke has attempted anything on such a large scale.

“One of my friends was on the phone and said I should enter Cake International,” she said.

“At the time I was watching Pirates of the Caribbean. I was watching Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp, and I thought he would make the perfect cake.

“He wears all these different fabrics, so he has lots of different textures to him.

“He’s just shy of life-size because I was worried we wouldn’t be able to get him out of the door.

“It took me 90 hours to make. We live with my fiancé’s parents and I think they will be pleased to get rid of it.

“When my father-in-law first saw him, he leapt about 10ft in the air thinking we had burglars.”

Lara Clarke has hired a minibus to take Johnny to the competition. The results will be known on Sunday.

She said: “The competition is like the Crufts of the baking world. People like Mary Berry will be there.”

A spokesperson for Cake International said: “There really is no limit to the talent and ingenuity of the competitors.”