Leicester is home to the worst cake bakers in Britain, according to a new study, which also reveals Brits’ most common baking fails. 

Researchers asked the nation about their baking skills, with 66 per cent of those from Leicester admitting their cakes are usually a ‘disaster’, compared to the national average of just 43 per cent.

In second place is Birmingham where 64 per cent of people admit their baking skills leave a lot to be desired, followed by London (third, 59 per cent). In joint fourth place, it’s Leeds and Liverpool, where 58 per cent of locals declare their bakes ‘disastrous’. 

Fifth in the ranking is Glasgow, where 57 per cent say they are cake-baking amateurs, followed by Nottingham (sixth, 56 per cent), Manchester (seventh, 52 per cent), Norwich (eighth, 51 per cent), and Sheffield (ninth, 49 per cent).

Elsewhere, the study, which comes ahead of the return of hit series The Great British Bake Off, found that Brits’ most common baking fail is dealing with unrisen cake batter. A third of respondents (33 per cent) have faced this issue. 

The second most common baking fail is burning the top of the cake (20 per cent). It’s followed by taking a cake out of the oven with a soggy bottom (third, 19 per cent), which can mean the oven’s temperature was not high enough or the cake was not baked for long enough. 

Other baking fiascos include making cakes with a rock-hard sponge, dealing with melted icing, facing sunken sponges, and making cakes that are bone dry (all 15 per cent, joint fourth). 

More patisserie fails include fruit sinking to the bottom of a bake and making a cake that’s too thin to cut in half (joint fifth, both 11 per cent), the study of 2,000 people has revealed. 

And 10 per cent of Brits have made cakes with lumpy, un-sifted flour (sixth). 

The art of baking appeals to a wide audience, with almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of those surveyed saying they find baking shows like the Great British Bake Off inspiring. 

But despite this keen interest, more than half (53 per cent) of Brits are forced to throw out their bakes because they’re inedible, the findings show.

Almost a quarter of Britons (23 per cent) have ended up buying a cake and passing it off as their own, the study reveals. 

While 39 per cent claim their cake creations are so bad, they could not even consider posting them on social media.

More than a third (34 per cent) of respondents said trying to decorate cakes was ‘stressful’, while 55 per cent blamed their oven not being at the right temperature for their baking disasters. 

The research was commissioned by Samsung’s Series 7 AI Oven, which has an internal camera and burn detection function.

Gino Grossi, from Samsung UK, said: ‘Our research says that over 55 per cent of the nation has blamed their oven for their baking disasters, while 70 per cent feel having smarter tech in the kitchen would help improve their baking skills.’

Just seven years after the greatest day in their history, Leicester suffered one of their worst of modern times.

Despite the unrest last summer, relegation should have been unthinkable for the seventh-best paid squad in the Premier League, coached by a proven top-flight boss in Brendan Rodgers.

Yet a series of errors from the boardroom downwards contributed to this debacle.

Leicester will conduct a review of what went wrong but expectations need to be reset immediately. The club who won the title seven years ago and FA Cup two years ago is no more.

A complete reset is required and everyone at the club must change their mindset. Here Mail Sport looks at three key steps to take.

Act decisively

There is no benefit to James Maddison and Harvey Barnes reporting for duty at the start of pre-season when everyone knows they want to leave and that Leicester need to sell them.

It will muddy the waters for a new manager trying to build a squad to win immediate promotion, and affect his attempts to forge a strong team spirit within a new group of players.

While transfer negotiations are rarely simple, both players have suitors and crave Premier League football. So this is the time to establish the nature of the market, have pragmatic discussions and get a deal done.

Leicester will likely not receive the same fees they would have banked had Barnes and Maddison been sold last summer. But these are the gambles clubs must take and this time, Leicester lost out.

They are now a Championship side and will be treated as such. Second-tier clubs are very rarely involved in £50million transfers and the sooner the Foxes understand this, the better.

Hold talks with Vardy

Although his powers are waning, Jamie Vardy did enough in Dean Smith’s eight-game spell to show he is still a dangerous striker – and this will remain the case at a lower level.

If he still has the appetite, Vardy – who is comfortably the club’s highest-paid player – will be a key man in the Championship, while also retaining a link to the glory days of the Premier League title in 2016 and FA Cup victory five years later.

Yet the Championship is a long haul and though nobody doubts Vardy’s professionalism and work ethic, he may need a serious think about what lies ahead. 

This is a genuine Premier League great. Does he really want to spend the last year of his contract travelling to Plymouth and Rotherham for midweek away fixtures in winter, a scalp for centre-backs not fit to lace his boots?

On the other hand, what better way to cement a legacy than to lead Leicester back to the top flight in the final year of his contract? Vardy’s place in Leicester’s history is assured but this would be a wonderful final chapter.

Back the coach

Dean Smith will hold talks with chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha and director of football Jon Rudkin on Tuesday. Smith won promotion to the top flight with Aston Villa four years ago but his last bid to do so ended with the sack at Norwich last season. He is a good manager but his credentials are far from impeccable.

Rudkin and Srivaddhanaprabha – known as Khun Top – will have plenty of voices in their ears at this time, from inside and outside the club, and all pushing their own agendas.

Some will favour an experienced, ‘big name’ like Rafael Benitez. Others a younger candidate with a bold, clear style, in the mould of Vincent Kompany at Burnley. Other still will push managers who understand the Championship and its unique demands.

Whoever it is, Khun Top, Rudkin and recruitment chief Martyn Glover must be fully behind him and be prepared to build a squad he can work with successful. Otherwise, another long season awaits.

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