FAQs

My cakes are decorated using palette knives, which are the same as the knives used by artists to create abstract or dramatic pieces with oils, acrylic or gesso paints. The knives enable me to pick up more material (buttercream or ganache) than would be possible with a brush, so my designs have a 3d quality. 

Good question. I usually recommend that wedding cakes are finished with white chocolate ganache as it is more stable than buttercream and sets firmer. This enables me to  create flowers with more volume than would be possible with buttercream. It also has a more elegant finish than buttercream.

Buttercream is my preferred finish for single tier celebration cakes. It can be painted onto the cake to create all-over patterns or abstract cascades that have a characterful, more casual appearance. Buttercream is also easier to cut and serve, as it is softer, which is better for celebrations where a friend or family member will be given this task! I always use an Italian meringue buttercream, which has a silky smooth texture and is less sweet than American buttercream, which is used to fill and decorate supermarket cakes.

I usually meet a couple on a scheduled Zoom call (or in real life if they are local) to discuss the size and design of their cake. It’s often quite sketchy in the first instance but I usually come away with enough information to submit a rough costing. If the couple has an idea of the flowers they will have, I’ll be able to send an annotated drawing of how I imagine their cake to look. If they like it, they can pay a booking fee to secure their date. I’ll catch up with the couple closer to the wedding to see if anything has changed and to confirm delivery times etc. In the run up to the wedding itself I’ll liaise with the wedding florist to ensure my flowers match theirs!

This depends on  a few things; obviously the number of guests you expect, but also whether your cake will be served as dessert. Generally speaking dessert  slices are twice the size of cocktail portions. Your cake will have to serve 100% of your guests if it is to be served to the table as dessert. If you plan for guests to help themselves to small slices of cake during the evening or with coffee, you only need to cater for 80%.

As a guide, a three tier cake with a base tier of 8in diameter will yield around 100 cocktail portions or 50 dessert servings.

All my wedding cakes are bespoke and will be priced individually. A three tier sculpted ganache cake as described above will cost around £1,000 plus delivery.

No I’m afraid I don’t ever use fondant, which leads us onto the next question…

Again no, as these require the use of modelled fondant (or sugarpaste) to give the cartoony effect that a character or novelty cake requires. It’s worth mentioning that the depiction of a trademark-protected character (Spiderman, Paddington, Bob the Builder, Ailsa etc) is illegal in the UK and I know of cake makers who have been prosecuted for selling cakes that include these figures in their designs.

My celebration cakes are either sculpted with white chocolate ganache or painted with Italian meringue buttercream. They are nearly always floral designs but I can also paint an abstract scene or beloved pet. Get in touch to see examples of these types of cakes.