everything went wrong from the cake itself , to overworking the fondant from adding so much colour . Although it felt like a nightmare , it taught me so many new things which I wanted to try again to put right ! I discovered that I was learning more about cake decorating by sculpting than keeping to basic designs so I decided to continue carving cake as much as I could .
Where do you find your inspiration ?
Everywhere ! It can be a dog walking by in the street , an illustration on a greeting card , a pattern on a dress , a restaurant menu , even an unusual colour will spark an idea for an element on a cake .
What are your top three cake decorating tools ?
Airbrush , dresden tool , paintbrushes
What are your top tips for someone starting out in the cake industry ?
1 ) Start simple - Although you may want to begin carving cake , you ’ ll be surprised at just how much you can learn by covering a simple round cake .
2 ) Take your time - One of my biggest mistakes when I first started cake decorating was poor time management , I always tried to get everything done in a day , but the cakes looked messy and unprofessional . Bake the cakes the day before to allow yourself more than enough time to decorate the next day .
3 ) Keep learning - If you only want to make wedding cakes , learn as much as you can about popular flavours , learn how different sugar flowers are made , which real flowers you can use on a cake etc , and if you have mastered all of that , move into thinking of a way to make your designs bolder , how to make them unusual but staying true to your own style . Never feel like you are limited to what you already know , there is SO much more you can do !
Who are your favourite cake decorators ?
There are so many incredible artists out there , I have many favourites for each style of cake :
Sculpted Cakes : Emma Jayne Cake Design , Natalie Sideserf , Karen Portaleo , Kaykes , Mike McCarey , Callicious Cakes , Incredible Edibles , Artisan Cake Company , Debbie Makes Cakes ...
Wedding Cakes : Sylvia Weinstock , Ron Ben-Israel , Little Cherry Cake Company , Poppy Pickering , Peggy Porschen ...
Cupcakes / Miniature sugar work : The Yellow Bee Cake Company , Mimicafe Union , Sugar High Inc , Haute Sweets , BunsIn the Oven Cupcakery ...
There are SO many people I could list here
Have you ever had a cake disaster ?
Thankfully to this day I have never dropped a cake , but I have had a few disasters , my most recent disaster was last year . I decided to make a competition cake VERY early ( 4 months early ) It was a cake I knew would keep its shape , it would be quick to get done and easy to store , but , I didn ’ t consider the weather ... my house rarely gets warm , even in the summer the kitchen will stay nice and cool , but just as I finished the cake summer struck and we had extreme heat , unbearable , uncontrollable heat , day and night for about 3 days . I checked the cake , it had sunk , the sides popped open and there was no way I could fix it . I decided to wait until the heat had passed and re-made the entire cake . Lesson learnt , do not make competition cakes in the summer !
What has been your most memorable cake to date ?
My giant food cake “ The Big Eater ” - I had been making food cakes for quite a while so I wanted to combine everything as best as I could . I really enjoyed working on it and would love to make something like it again !
You have been very successful in major competitions such as Cake International . What are your tips for getting gold ?
1 ) Time - I believe a competition piece needs a good amount of time spent on it to achieve gold .
2 ) Clean lines - I feel it ’ s really important to enter good clean work , it may take longer to get the cake done , but it ’ s worth it !
3 ) Planning - I always like to make sure I know EXACTLY what I ’ m making for a competition way before the entry deadline , I ’ m not the type of person that works well under pressure , so I like to make sure I have more than enough time to get things made and finished how I would like them to be .
4 ) RULES - Always read the rules at least 10 times ( I know it seems a lot , but I must read them at least 30 times !) Highlight your category , highlight what you ’ re not allowed to use on the cake , and make sure to take note of the board size restrictions . Read everything ! There is nothing more heartbreaking than to see a cake that has been disqualified .