A FOURTH-YEAR medical student at Oxford University who bakes to de-stress from her doctor duties has become a finalist in a vegan baking competition.

Sasha Gill, 21, is among 13 finalists in animal rights group PETA's fifth annual contest to find the best vegan baker in the UK.

Wowing the judges with her light-as-a-feather lemon drizzle cake, Sasha added a twist to the classic recipe which got her through to the final stage of the competition.

She said: “I added extra virgin oil with rosemary which makes it floral and earthy, and not too sweet.

She added: “I was a vegetarian first - I came to the UK from Singapore and it is easier to be vegetarian here - five years ago I became vegan.

“My mum is a huge baker, I learnt most skills from her. It’s about trial and error.”

Although it only takes seconds to scoff the delectable goods, Ms Gill said baking vegan does have its difficulties.

She added: "It’s tough because stuff doesn’t always work out, it’s about trying, sometimes it’s not good which is frustrating. But it’s so satisfying when you get it right.”

Ultimately, creating cruelty-free goods was very rewarding, she said.

The medical student added: "My friend is allergic to eggs, so I made him a meringue pie with the water from a can of chickpeas - he loved it, he was so happy.

“It’s about experimenting, you learn so much.”

Ms Gill, whose favourite dessert is a carrot cake, has checked out some of the competition but wants them all to do well as their entries looked 'delicious' she said.

Growing up, she especially loved her granddad’s Sugee cake, a signature dish that he cooked at special family events.

She made her own version of the Singapore Eurasian favourite, adding a vegan yoghurt instead of egg yolk, and her granddad was very impressed with the result.

Ms Gill will be writing a recipe book, to be published next year.

PETA director Elisa Allen said: “Sasha is already a winner in our eyes because she's shown that vegan baking is a piece of (egg- and dairy-free) cake!

"We were so inundated with terrific cruelty-free dishes that it was almost impossible to narrow the entries down to just 13 finalists"

PETA stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Voting has now closed and the organisation will choose the winner based on several factors, including vote count, and will announce the results by Friday, October 27.