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7 June 2019

Dentists may not love it, but ‘cake culture’ – sharing sweet treats with your workmates in the office – continues to spread like melting butter over a warm croissant.

Here are ten of Anna’s best past-bakes:-

In her place of work in Forres, Anna has a great reputation for making decorative cakes.

“This was a 16th birthday cake reflecting the loves of the recipient: One Direction; Converse AllStars; make-up; and Justin Bieber.”

Anna says, “It’s more about the decorating for me than about the baking.

“This was for a former colleague’s son who is a DJ and lover of Stone Island clothing.”

“This was my entry into a local competition run by the local newspaper, The Northern Scot, to raise money for Marie Curie at a Great Big Tea Party.

“It was 2012, so the theme was Jubilee/Coronation-related. I won second prize.”

“Cake decoration takes me completely out of myself; I go into this zone of nothing else really matters.

“A friend/colleague’s father-in-law is a plumber who is a big fan of the local football team in Keith (The Maroons), hence the back page of the newspaper [in the photograph]. The ‘builder’s bum’ was artistic licence!”

A 40th birthday cake for a close friend’s sister who loves champagne.

“There are parallels to be drawn between baking and my job. Getting an animal ready for an op, you want to have everything there that you need because, once it’s anaesthetised, you can’t leave it. You need to go through the process in your head and get all the bits and bobs together.”

“Where it all started. May 2012 was my parents’ golden wedding anniversary and I wanted to create a replica of their wedding cake. This is the result; alongside is their actual wedding cake.”

“Baking, the decorating side of it, really came to me after my father passed away, so it’s like a form of therapy for me. It’s quite close to my heart, so it’s something I really put a lot of love into. A lot of passion goes into it: focusing; getting it right.”

“The happy couple wanted a Lego-themed wedding cake. They found one online and I copied it. They provided the topper and were really pleased with the final cake.”

“This was a joint cake for a shopping-obsessed daughter and her sewing-loving aunt, turning 18 & 60 respectively.”

“My 18th birthday cake for my Manga-loving nephew. The various badges around the cake reflect things he likes, e.g. Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Bernie Sanders (my nephew is half-American) and Family Guy.”

“Tony, my partner, is a big Thin Lizzy fan who wants to play guitar but hasn’t got round to it yet! So I thought a cake version of Phil Lynott’s bass guitar might inspire him!”