Finalists named for Celebration Cake Maker of the Year 2024

A proud ethereal stag, Mother Nature, a happy kingfisher amidst a woodland scene, and detailed English garden rose make up the beautiful creations by the finalists in Celebration Cake Maker of the Year 2024.

Sponsored by Finsbury Food Group, the category is aimed at celebration cake businesses who can demonstrate outstanding cake artistry skills, awareness of current trends, and customer service.

As part of the judging process, the businesses shortlisted were asked to create a cake around the theme ‘nature’. All four finalists’ cakes will be on display at the Baking Industry Awards at the Royal Lancaster hotel on Thursday 24 October.

Here are the four cake makers vying for the trophy:

Bombshell Bakes

Claire at Bombshell Bakes started her business in 2018 by selling brownies and cakes but grew the offer to include afternoon teas and elaborate celebration cakes over the years. A trained patisserie chef, she says ‘flavour is at the foreground’ of the Bombshell Bakes offer with her bestselling cakes being sticky toffee, lemon & blueberry, and carrot cake.

Over the next few years, she has ambitions to expand with a shop, move from her current Cupcake Stand to a food truck, and expand her team.

She drew inspiration for her ethereal stag cake from the four elements displaying different techniques for each. Her design includes the use of wafer paper, pastillage, palette knife painting, and modelling chocolate among others.

The stag “absolutely catches your eye” said the judges, who praised the attention to detail and execution of techniques right down to the ‘galaxy’ painted in the stag’s eyes.

Caketastic Creations

Johanna at Caketastic Creations is no stranger to this award, having previously secured the trophy in 2022 for her Platinum Jubilee themed cake. Her journey in cake decorating started in 2011 after she was made redundant from her job as a clinical researcher in oral health. Now, she makes luxury celebration cakes from a shop in Middleton, Manchester.

Buttercream and fondant covered creations are her specialty alongside 3D sculpted cakes with a wide range of flavours to choose from including sticky toffee, choc orange, raspberry ripple, and orange Madeira, to name a few.

Her specialist skills can be seen throughout her entry. The creative process led Johanna to be inspired by Mother Nature, whose face is featured at the top of the cake. Below it are different examples of habitats including a seascape, woodland, and the grasslands of Africa. There are numerous hand-moulded and hand-painted animals, including a whale painted with cocoa butter, as well as shaped wafer paper to add texture.

The sheer volume of different elements and models on the cake was described by the judges as “seriously impressive”, with particular praise given to the attention to detail on the turtle, octopus, and giraffe models, which were beautifully hand painted.

Elaine’s Creative Cakes

Elaine has returned for another shot at the trophy having been a finalist last year and taking home the title in 2018 with an oceanic themed masterpiece.

Her skills come from decades of experience – she started decorating cakes at 18 years old before progressing to become a lecturer in the artform at Tameside College. She formed Elaine’s Creative Cakes 13 years ago, operating a shop in Urmston, Manchester from which she creates bespoke celebration cakes, as well as cupcakes, and baked goods for several local coffee shops.

Having perfected the under the water theme previously, Elaine sought inspiration for her nature-themed cake from sources closer to home, resulting in a woodland-inspired scene complete with kingfisher, mouse, and other critters. She embraced techniques including airbrushing, hand painting, brush embroidery, modelling, and more.

“Every single element has been thought about meticulously,” noted the judges, who praised the innovative use of materials to achieve a realistic effect (such as the use of semolina on sugar paste to make the bulrushes).

Little Barn Cakes

Debbie has been running Little Barn Cakes for the past decade, building a loyal client base for her celebration cakes as well as running cake decorating courses through her cake studio. She ‘can make anything from a cake’ with a tractor, laced up boot, and prancing horse among recent creations.

Her specialty, however, is producing realistic, handcrafted sugar flowers – a skill which she also teaches. A sugar flower-topped Garden Party Cake also saw Debbie secure a trophy in the Occasion Cake category at the Britain’s Best Cake competition earlier this year.

She drew inspiration from her garden for the nature-themed cake, which lends itself perfectly to her specialty. The resultant design features a rose in an embossed planter complete with patio stones, trowel, and creatures. The flowers are made from homemade sugar paste and meticulously painted. Debbie also utilised wafer paper, hand-modelling, and hand-painting as well as stencilling to create other elements, with several items such as the bugs, glazed for added realism.

“Those flowers are so realistic they would look at home in any garden,” stated one of the judges. They also praised Debbie’s use of texture in items such as the planter and paving stones, which really levelled up the design.

Join us for a night of celebration

The winners will be revealed at a black-tie ceremony on Thursday 24 October at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. The ceremony, hosted by a yet-to-be-revealed celebrity, will also feature a presentation for the Outstanding Contribution to the Baking Industry, sponsored by Délifrance.

Tickets for the awards are available now via the Baking Industry Awards website. Individual tickets cost £330+VAT and a table of 10 costs £3,300+VAT.

The event includes a dazzling drinks reception, a three-course dinner with wine and coffee, and an afterparty complete with snacks and entertainment to help you celebrate into the early morning.

Get your tickets here: https://bakeryawards.co.uk/live/en/page/attend