I have a love-hate relationship with custom cakes. The anxiety in the lead up to creating a custom cake, whatever the theme, is PEAK. Why? Because it's custom. Because regardless of the plans, the sketches, the reference images, there's always an element of the unknown which is what freaks me out and excites me in equal measures. Each custom cake is definitely adding to my age.

The anxiety is palpable when it's a custom cakescape. Cakescapes are multiple cakes arranged on one cake board, not as tiers but as individual cakes. It would yield the same portions as a tiered cake but due to having lots more surface area for decoration it allows to create far more interesting aesthetics.

Our customer in Surrey wanted a custom dog agility course themed cake for their daughter Yasmin's 30th birthday party - hosted in a marquee in the woods!

We had Hero sponge layers of Cookies & Cream, Chocolate and Red Velvet. The customer's daughter has three dogs - Pluto who is an agility course champ, Finn who swims, and Pluto the puppy.

We made edible models of all three dogs, as well as one for Yasmin. The detailing included collars and dog tags for each of the dogs, a dog house for Pluto as he's still only too young for the agility course, agility course equipment and a raft for Finn.

Cakescaping isn't just about plonking decorations on. That would look naff. I spent a considerable amount of time planning the buttercream colours and textures, deciding on where to place them on the large cake board and then adding the small but very effective details such as cake pop mounds, buttercream grass and textured waves.

Placing the sculpted sugarpaste cake toppers was the last stage and this is where the cake completely transforms. It is very much an exercise in trust-in-the-process.

I love how this came together. Happy 30th Birthday Yasmin!

Love,

Reshmi xoxo