A woman is giving away her £260,000 home for a recipe

Erin Allard in front of her home, which she is giving away in a dessert contest

(Rockford Investments, LLC)

If you've got an amazing dessert recipe it could win you a $400,000 (£260,000) house after a woman came up with a novel approach to selling her home – by running a pudding contest.

Erin Allard, of Jackson, California, was inspired by a B&B owner in Maine who earlier this year held an essay competition to find someone to take over the business.

The 26-year-old said: "Jackson is a lovely, rural town and the real estate market is fairly slow. This home is valued much higher than the median home price there, so I felt it would take even longer to sell.

"I was challenged by my professional coach to come up with a creative way to market or sell the property, and I recalled a B&B in Maine that changed hands recently. I put my own spin on it to come up with the recipe variation."

(Rockford Investments, LLC)

So how does it work? Well, every entrant has to submit their own handwritten dessert recipe and pay a $100 entrance fee. Erin is hoping to get 3,000 to 5,000 entries, which means she could make a bit under or over the asking price.

To keep it fair, a panel of judges including professional chefs and baking bloggers will decide the winner.

The recipes will be judged on uniqueness, how inspirational they are, how clear the instructions are, creativity and crowd appeal.

And the prize? A beautiful Craftsmen four-bedroom, two-bathroom 2,267 sq ft house surrounded by trees and gardens.

But the bad news if you're not a US resident is, you aren't eligible to enter.

"The interest has been phenomenal," Erin added. "I've spent many 12-hour days sitting in front of my computer responding to inquiries and questions, and it's been so much fun. People are really excited about the contest."

Erin has set up a website and Facebook page for the competition. Entries must be received by September 7.