THEY say the proof is in the pudding.

In this case it was in the Lemon Drizzle that bakers Debbie and Tegan Thomas showed the world that gluten-free is every bit as good as your standard mouth-watering cakes.

The mother-and-daughter have been drawing sweet-toothed diners to their tea room and gallery in Earlston for over two years.

As well as gluten-free the majority of their delicious delights are also dairy free and vegan friendly.

And when it comes to taste... the judges at this year's Scottish Baker Awards in Glasgow couldn't tell the difference.

Debbie and Tegan's Lemon Drizzle cake was shortlisted in the finals after being nominated by their growing number of customers.

And they came home with the Regional Silver Medal.

A delighted Debbie told us: "What makes this special is that the judges didn't know our cake was gluten-free and yet it still won an award.

"All tasting is done blind with no details of the product being provided.

"We were up against some of the biggest and best established bakers in Scotland with their cakes."

Gluten free off-the-shelf bakery products have been notoriously unappetising for many years.

But the Thomas & Ethel Tearoom has rescued the reputation of gluten-free since opening in March, 2015.

Debbie added: "Most of our customers come to use, not because they are gluten intolerant but because they like our coffee and they like our cakes.

"The comment we get almost every day is that 'you can't tell it's gluten-free'. This has been proven at the Scottish Bakers Awards.

"We have customers from as far away as Glasgow, Aberdeen and Livingstone who make regular trips to the tearoom."

The Scottish Baker Awards are now in their sixth year.

Both Debbie and Tegan attended the awards ceremony in Glasgow.