Cake! magazine by Australian Cake Decorating Network August 2014 | Page 54

Danielle Gajra
interview with

animals I did as
much research as
possible and looked
at lots and lots of
images of each one
and from various
angles.
For construction
of the animals, the
lion’s mane was hand
piped with royal
icing one strand at
a time. I wanted it to
have the body and
look of a real mane
as much as it could
on a cake.
The elephant’s trunk
was a dummy as
it was too bulky to
create out of cake. I
hit a hurdle as it was
hanging over the
edge the board and
had to work within
the 24ich, so I had
to cut off half way
through and use RKT
with supports inside.
I had to be careful
going through doors
so it wouldn’t get
knocked off!

"I’ve been caking for around two and a half years no w and I’ve been
totally bitten by the bug, I’d say it’s more a lifestyle than a hobby."
Danielle Gajra from Kaykes
My name is actually Danielle Gajra,
I’m also known as Kay Gajra. I
named Kaykes after my son Khalil,
his nickname is Kay. I had a loss
in my life around the time I started
making cakes and it helped me
a lot to deal with it as I could
let my mind imagine anything
was possible and have fun. My
background is graphic design
which I’m qualified in, and I must
say it does help a lot with colours
and shapes and seeing forward into
a design.

I’d say I am most known for
airbrushing and shading sculpted
cakes. I love to make fun cakes
that people can enjoy to look at
and smile. I love animal cakes and
structured cakes, the madder the
better. My vintage circus cake was
for Cake International in Manchester
which was my first ever competition.
The idea came around after
wanting to do a cake with animals
and coming across vintage posters
for the old fashioned circuses of
times gone by. I loved the heavy
deep colours and shading and the
elegance the animals had about
them, so my idea grew from there.

For my structure I used a heavy
duty board so I knew it was stable.
I also added feet so was easier to
move around as it stood around
3 and a half foot tall and 24ich
by 24ich wide. For the structure I
used thread rods with boards and
bolts to make sure it was secure.
The secret is to make sure all
measurements are right and each
element is secure.
The animals were made from
carved dummies and rice krispy
treats as competition pieces in
this decorative exhibit can use
dummies, but all the outer had
to be edible. To create realistic

To cover each
element of the cake
I used fondant,
I find it best for
airbrushing and
moulding into
shapes. I’ve just
started making
my own modelling
chocolate so in the
future I hope to have
a play with that.
In total covering the
cake took me around
2 weeks as had I
to fit it in my spare
time. The actual
airbrushing and hand
painting took me 3
days.