GREAT British Bake Off judge Prue Leith praised a Lake District delicacy after it won a national award.

Grasmere Gingerbread was lauded by the TV chef, a judge for the Delicious Magazine Produce Award.

The chewy bake was among only eight national winners when it scooped a prize in the From the Earth Artisan category

The Bake Off star said the gingerbread was ‘amazing: firm and chewy when cold, crumbly and soft when warm’.

A spicy-sweet cross between a biscuit and a cake, the product was invented in 1854 by Victorian cook Sarah Nelson.

It is still made fresh every day to her secret recipe inside The Grasmere Gingerbread Shop - her former Church Cottage home in Grasmere.

Joanne Hunter, fourth generation owner, said: “It’s amazing that Grasmere Gingerbread continues to be celebrated 165 years on from its creation by a truly inspirational lady.”