Emily Chalk
For Devoney Scarfe, baking is a love language. The Great Kiwi Bake Off contestant grew up with her mum and nanna always having treats hot from the oven.
“Nanna would have a bakery’s worth of treats when we visited – it felt so welcoming,” says the 47-year-old commercial artist, who once made a living making puppets for the popular British animation series Wallace & Gromit, she now runs an advertising agency with her husband Jon, 49.
“At Mum’s, you walk through the door and she’ll say, ‘Right, I’ll just whip up a batch of scones!’ Baking’s a way of showing you care.” Devoney enjoys knocking up “school lunchbox baking”, with tasty morsels like muesli bars and ginger loaves, for sons Otis, 16, and Dash, 14.
“I sometimes think they’d be happier with a packet of biscuits,” she laughs. “But it all gets eaten – sometimes not by them! Once I discovered Otis was trading lunches with a Sri Lankan friend. The friend was getting baking, and Otis was enjoying curries and samosas.”
One of Devoney’s passions is creating pie art – making celebrity and animal portraits on pies. Her Instagram account @DevoneyBakes has more than 15,400 followers, and showcases portraits of Gordon Ramsay, Snoop Dogg, cats, dogs, frogs and snakes. “I invent a new recipe with every pie.”
It’s a far cry from a few years ago. “When I was 40, I went to the doctor with wrist pains,” she explains.
Blood tests and biopsies confirmed she had autoimmune diseases, including lupus – where the immune system attacks its own tissues – and Sjögrens syndrome, which affects parts of the body that produce fluids, like tears and saliva. “I was so tired, I barely left the house,” she recalls.
With diet and medication, Devoney’s health improved.
“I eat heaps of fresh fruit, vegetables and nuts, and if I stay off gluten, I have a lot more energy.”
She also avoids sulfites, found in wine and processed foods.
“Because Sjögrens affects my eyes and sinuses, I get migraines that are painful for days. I’m realistic though, if I have a good Monday to Friday diet, I can relax at the weekend.”
When the chance to apply for Bake Off came up, she took it.
“It’s easy to say no to opportunities for fear of letting yourself down,” she says. “This was a good reminder to do things for the experience rather than the end result. We often get so caught up in what might happen, we don’t take opportunities.”
Even though she made errors she’d never normally make – like forgetting salt and sugar in the bread episode – Devoney has no regrets. “That was so embarrassing, and in front of Peter Gordon and Jordan Rondel! But on a pressured TV set, it’s easy to forget.”
Does she have any regrets?
“Not at all. It was such an adventure. It was fun hanging out with people who share your passions. And I learned so much from Peter and Jordan. It was nerve-wracking feeding them my food – but what an amazing experience just to be around them. They are very impressive humans.
“Being on Bake Off was overwhelming – and it was hard watching my middle-aged self on TV without cringing! – but I love that I stepped out of my comfort zone. It was a good lesson for me going forward – I don’t want to have regrets. Bake Off taught me to be more fearless.”
The Great Kiwi Bake Off screens Thursdays at 7.30pm on TVNZ 1 and on TVNZ+.
Devoney’s chocolate honey cookie dogs recipe
Chocolate dough
- 100g butter
- 90g dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup golden syrup
- 1 egg yolk
- 220g plain flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cocoa
- ½ tsp cinnamon (optional)
- Cream butter, sugar and golden syrup until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk and mix well. Sift in dry ingredients, mixing until it forms a ball. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate overnight.
- Bring dough out of fridge and let it soften. Then roll onto a sheet of baking paper and refrigerate until cold.
Honey dough
- 100g butter
- 90g icing sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 egg white
- 230g plain flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp almond meal
- ½ tsp ginger (optional)
- Cream butter, sugar and honey until light and fluffy. Add egg white, mixing well. Sift in dry ingredients, mixing until it forms a ball. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate overnight.
- Bring dough out of fridge and let soften, then roll onto a sheet of baking paper and refrigerate until cold.
- To assemble, depending on size of cookies, cut a larger oval for the face and a smaller oval for the muzzle. Roll little balls and press into side of head for ears and a tiny ball for the nose. Using a toothpick, press little indentations for eyes.
- Chill in fridge for 1 hour, then bake in a preheated 170°C oven for 12 minutes or until the edges are golden.
