Thanks to an online entry by her youngest daughter Megan, Mrs Roberts will be ditching grass for glaze in the new series of The Great Australian Bake Off on Foxtel.

The 59-year-old will compete against 11 others –  including 29-year-old model Diana, 16-year-old high school student Antonio and 37-year-old Bojan the tow truck driver – to be crowned Australia’s Best Amateur Baker.

Mrs Roberts has been baking since around age 10, about the same time she fell in love with horses.

“I grow my own produce; a lot of citrus and avocados – and I use everything I grow,” she said.

Being on the show has inspired the mum-of-four to be more experimental with her cooking as everything they had to prepare had to be their own recipes which was a new challenge.

The scrutiny of the judges, culinary icon Maggie Beer and acclaimed chef Matt Moran, was sometimes a tad “traumatic” though their critique wasn’t all harsh.

“On one occasion they both said ‘really well done’; and I note that one of the little secret things I used in one of my recipes, which I developed myself, Matt picked up and is using in one of his recipes at Chiswick [restaurant in Woollahra],” Mrs Roberts said.

Instead of culinary inspiration coming from her mother or a book or television chef, Mrs Roberts credits her enthusiasm to former professional golfer Gary Player.

“Gary used to say ‘the more you practice the luckier you get’ and it’s absolutely true when it comes to my baking,” she said.

Over 10 episodes, set in a shed on an idyllic grassy field, the bakers create a series of decadent treats to impress judges.

The contestants have 30 challenges to complete including creating retro deserts like Bombe Alaska, extravagant world landmarks made from biscuit and burgers where the bun is everything.

Since filming of the show wrapped in June, Mrs Roberts said she’s toying with the idea of one day opening some sort of “foodie” venture at her farm in Berry.

In the short term she’s happy to use baking as “therapy” and develop her skills further.

“Since the show I’m so much more comfortable [with making my own recipes from scratch],” she said.

“I’m using macha, the green tea powder a lot, and my new favourite is my macha souffle sponge with savory sour cherry jam and coffee mascarpone cream.

“It’s so easy because I’m a great wine enthusiast and if you think about red wines they have all these difference nuances that work together in the one mouthful. I thought ‘why can’t I transfer that into a cake’, it’s got to be better than eating plain sugar.”

This story first apperared in the Illawarra Mercury