Head to Bendigo, Victoria on March 14 and you’ll be in for a treat.

Not only will the All Seasons Hotel play host to the Baking Association of Australia’s (BAA) Victorian Baking Show, but the nation’s contenders for the Australia’s Best Hot Cross and Australia’s Best Vanilla Slice titles will also be present.

All eyes will be on Northend Bakehouse to see if they can continue their history-making run after claiming both the vanilla slice and hot cross bun titles in 2024 and 2025. It was also the third consecutive time the Shepparton bakery had won the vanilla slice trophy.

When acknowledging the feat, Northend Bakehouse owner Matt Aylett said the win was the result of a lot of hard work and perfecting the recipe.

“There’s not a lot you can change when it comes to the recipe. But getting the recipe and consistency right is something we’ve always tried to perfect; making it light and fluffy and creamy, and obviously that you can bite through it without having it oozing and ending up on your lap. But we haven’t even worried about the flavour and taste of it in recent times. We know that’s already good,” he said.

“But it’s just getting that perfection each time. Making sure all of your lines perfectly straight, up and down, front to back, left to right. Make sure everything’s perfect and there are no crumbs leftover.”

Further information and nomination forms for the Victorian Baking Show are available on the BAA website.