Meet the Celebration Cake Business of the Year finalists 2023

This year’s finalists in the Celebration Cake Business of the Year category have a flair for design as well as excellent business prowess.

The category, sponsored by Finsbury Food Group, sought an awareness of trends, customer service and marketing initiatives as well as excellent cake artistry. The latter is demonstrated by the creation of bespoke cakes representing the theme ‘nostalgia’, which will be revealed at the Baking Industry Awards on Tuesday 7 November.

Here are the finalists for Celebration Cake Business of the Year 2023:

Elaine’s Creative Cakes

Previous category champion Elaine’s Creative Cakes is back in the running for 2023. Prior to starting her business 12 years ago, Elaine Hamey was a lecturer at Tameside College where she taught confectionery. She now puts her skills to use in her shop in Urmston, Manchester, from which she creates a multitude of cakes including multi-tiered bespoke wedding cakes to children’s birthday cakes, as well as cupcakes and scones for local coffee shops.

Elaine’s knowledge of the market she operates in really impressed the judges, who praised the personal touch she offers every customer walking through the door. Her cake, due to be unveiled at the Baking Industry Awards, stood out thanks to the sheer number and expert execution of techniques on display.

The Berkshire Bakesmith

The Berkshire Bakesmith, based in Wokingham, is also returning for 2023 having been a category finalist in 2022. Run by Kerry Smith with the help of a part-time assistant, the business is operated from her home – a decision she made to balance the business with life as a single parent.

Kerry said she is not afraid of a challenge and loves working with clients to create a design which exceeds their expectations. She specialises in celebration cakes, which are topped with handmade edible models, but also enjoys working with sugar flowers, isomalt, and learning new techniques.

Her yet-to-be-revealed nostalgic cake took the judges on a trip back to their younger years, and impressed with the use of her signature models and colourful design.

The Cake Illusionist

The Cake Illusionist, run by Hannah Edward-Singh, is new to the category. Having built up her business over the past decade, she now works exclusively with public relations and events clients, specialising in illusion cakes as part of advertising campaigns and press launches.

She works specifically on highly sculpted cakes and prefers to use cake as the base, rather than rice crispy treats, which Hannah admits makes her life more difficult but has helped cement her reputation in the industry. With the decorations being so complex, The Cake Illusionist sticks to homemade, simple cakes underneath.

The bespoke cake she created for the Baking Industry Awards blew the judges away with its realistic elements and intricate design. They also praised the business for its use of social media.