Wearing oven gloves as a family is proving the icing on the cake for Blomquists Bakery owners Sue and David Blomquists, who won five awards at the New Zealand Bakery of the Year Awards.

The Blomquists' bakeries in Mount Maunganui and Greerton took out silver for their gingerbread house, pecan pie and bread display; as well as bronze for a carrot cake and decorated cake entries, at the recent awards.

New Zealand Bakery of the Year Awards judges Renny Aprea and Brent Hughes viewing Blomquists Bakery's ‘opera cake' entry.

New Zealand Bakery of the Year Awards chief judge Mike Meaclean.

The winning cakes are on display at the Greerton Blomquists Bakery.

A total of 12 entries were judged last Sunday at the Fine Food Show at ASB Showgrounds, with winners awarded last Monday at a grand 1920s themed event at Pullman Hotel in Auckland.

Having entered only a few times before, Sue feels proud to have picked up five awards and says it's the first time they've won this many prizes in the cake category.

'I think this year it was a team effort. The whole bakery got involved,” says Sue, who is particularly proud of the younger team members.

'Chantelle took out silver for the Bread (Sandwich) display and Hayden our apprentice took out the silver for his pecan pies – we couldn't be happier for them.

'When you enter these awards you can't do it by yourself. It's a lot of work so you all have to get involved and get behind it.”

Sue says being a family business is one of the main ingredients to a successful bakery.

'If you look at the overall winner Heaven's Bakery, that's a family business as well and Ten O'clock Cookie [Bakery Café], they always do very well and they're a family business as well.

'The previous winners from the year before were a family business as well – even the grandparents got involved in that one.”

What else makes a successful bakery? Hard work and passion, says Sue, who has been in the bakery business with her husband for 25 years.

'You just have to live and breathe the industry.”

The team are proud of the gingerbread entry that took 60 hours of baking and decorating.

'It's a gingerbread casing, but there's lots of icing and everything's handmade and made from icing. So it was a big job but a lot of fun.”

Sue hopes to have a gingerbread range ready for this Christmas.

Blomquists Bakery also won fourth place in the creative section, with Melody's Bakery New World in Palmerston North taking out the category.

Second place in the creative section was awarded to Ten O'clock Cookie Bakery Café in Masterton, with third place awarded to Heaven's Bakery in Hawke's Bay, which also took out the national title of Bakery of the Year.