It would stand six feet high and every single eye in the room would be focused on the shimmering white wedding cake with swirls and flourishes fit for a king and his bride.
Debbie Turner, of Cakes Galore, based out of Sooke, was asked to design a wedding cake for Prince William and Catherine’s wedding on April 29 by a reporter at the Globe and Mail.
The imaginary cake would encompass all of the traditional elements as well as the personalities of the couple.
Turner began designing the cake on a Monday and was finished on Thursday after sketching every day.
“It was hard,” she said. “A totally different focus, a designer cake is what it is all about.”
Traditionally Royal wedding cakes are white and Turner knew she had to go with that but added some elements which reflect the youthful attitude of the royal couple. “If this couple came to me, how would I cover all the requirements, she asked herself. She looked at the trends and did a lot of research so as not to offend anyone.
“It was really tricky,” she said. “It’s not my cake — it’s theirs. I wanted it to be something they could actually have.”
The cake is white on white, seven tiers high, with each tier and cake flavour different with the exception of the top layer which is a fruitcake and meant to be saved until the christening of the first born child.
Debbie Turner has been turning out cakes for the past 17 years. She is a custom cake baker. She has always enjoyed baking and the wedding cake aspect was a natural progression from the typical birthday cakes she began with.
Now 80 per cent of her cakes are wedding and sculpted cakes and they are not inexpensive.
“I love it! My thing is great presentation and great taste, the more personal the better.”
People are beginning to understand what it takes to make the perfect personal cake and they are willing to spend the money. This may be in part to the popularity of cooking shows, like the Ace of Cakes, Cake Boss and Cupcake Wars on the Food Channel.
While this feature for the Globe and Mail is a thrill for Turner, she has been involved in a couple of other cake events. One was the Battle of the Brides at Mayfair Mall where brides tore into a six-layer wedding cake searching for wedding bands.
“I love all this stuff,” she said.
Learning more techniques and being inspired by “famous” cake bakers and decorators is in her future. She wants to keep growing and working hard.
As for the Royal wedding, Turner plans to stay up and watch, She wants to see it all.
“I cannot wait to find out what they have,” she said. “This challenge has been super fun.”
