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Jelly, candy and sugar are not what you would usually see among layers of sediment, but this competition challenged Dunedin bakers young and old to test their geology.
To finish off the Art + Science Project Exhibition "Earth: Caught in Stone" held last week organisers ran a geology-themed cake competition, titled the Great Rockcake Bakeoff.
Project co-ordinator Pam McKinlay said there were about 20 entries in the competition, and she was happy with the variety of cakes they had received.
The rules of the competition were that the cakes must not use any plastic, and there must be a convincing geological element to the design.
Among the entries were cakes inspired by fossils, the Moeraki Boulders, and geodes.
Participants could enter in person or with a photo online, and there were categories for adults and children.
Ms McKinlay said the children who entered loved learning the science behind their cakes, and it was an effective way to teach geology.
She said it was also a great way to get children to pay attention, as they got to eat cake once they were finished learning.
"What a great way to end an exhibition," she said.
Marion McMullan (9), who took out first place in the children’s category, said she made a test version of her entry beforehand, and it was delicious.
She was looking forward to eating the official entry too.
Her cake was a melting glacier made of blue jelly, meringue, and crumbs.
She had a lot of fun making her cake, and would happily enter in future if the competition was held again.
Andrea Buxton received first place in the adults category with her nautilus cake, Anya McKinney won the teenagers category, and Max Williams (7) won the online category with a Cretaceous cake.