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Tafadzwa Zimoyo
“The wedding was superb! Let me show you a photo of the cake” “Here, I brought you a piece of Tino’s birthday cake. You have never tasted anything like it.”
These are the typical comments that people often make after having had the time of their life at a function like a wedding, a birthday party or any other social gathering where cakes are consumed and people carry with them memories of the savoury delicacy wherever they go after the function has become history.

Such praise is what makes the day for the person who would have baked and designed the cakes, some of which have even gone to be award winners, say in bridal competitions where they are adjudged as the cake of the week, cake of the month or cake of the year.

Cake making is an art.

According to United States Cake Boss Buddy Valastro, when dealing with cakes, confidence is the key and nothing can shake one’s confidence like having a failure with a cake into which so much care has gone.

“So perhaps the first thing we ought to do is to try to understand what is actually happening when a cake is being baked – because any interference with this process could end in the failure we all want to avoid!” Valastro was recently quoted during one of his television shows Cake Boss.

While many people think that the best of cakes are produced from the expensive ovens of leading retail shops and supermarkets scattered around, there are however master cake makers and designers who work with very basic tools in ordinary kitchens.

Well, Saturday Lifestyle this week caught up with different cake artists to understand the art.

They have been in the industry for quite long, tasted different cakes and made more than 100 cakes in a year.

But how do they define cake-making and how did the international trends and skills rub off onto them like pollen of a flower in the whole process of cross-fertilising?

Bakes and Drapes cake boss Vimbai Mafachifi said your choice in cake design tells a lot about your personality and sense of style.

“It should reflect you and your good taste. You may choose a sophisticated elegant look or ‘whimsical’ style. It should also fit well with the location, and ambience which you have created for your reception,” she said.

Cake boss from Cake-Link, Edith Gezi (35), a renowned cake maker who has been in the business for 14 years, which translates into just less than half of her lifetime said cakes are her lifestyle.

Edith said the creativity that goes into making a cake sometimes forces her to wake up in the middle of the night or early in the morning to go into the kitchen and work on the idea that would have crossed her mind.

“I religiously regard and follow every thing that comes into my mind to the last detail and this sometimes forces me to drive, say at 3 am to the kitchen just to put the idea into practice and this is how I come up with most of the new designs,” she said.

The affable cake boss said that most of the cakes that she makes are tailor-made mainly to her customers’ specifications, depending on the theme of the event and occasion .

So far, Edith said she has done high profile cakes of which one of her best in 2013 was the cake similar to that of the Britain Royals Kate and William’s wedding.

She said the size of the cake, its ingredients and other accompanying accessories like stands, cutlery, etc determine its budget and timeframe when it comes to baking.

“When I wake up in the morning, I don’t like to sketch down what I have been dreaming about as it takes away the surprise aspect of it so I just do it as it dictates itself to me. It is very difficult to duplicate a cake from a sketch,” she said.

Blessed Cakes owner Kudzai Mapeto (27) said the secret of cake decorating is in being innovative.

“I am one person who is so passionate about the arts. Whenever I think of a new cake design or concept, I capture it on paper and also give it time to develop in my mind and even in my dreams where I converse with the idea,” she said.

Kudzai said she hardly defines cake as art as it all comes easy to her deft hands.

Another cake maker who has been on the scene for the past five years, Knowledge Charangwa of Cake and Deco World of Zimbabwe said she was inspired by Iris Design to venture in the business.

“Cake is my food. The art needs one to be innovative because each day there are new ideas and new styles so if you are stuck in the tradition of the past you won’t make it in business,” she said.

Charangwa added that she went to school to further her baking skills.

This is an industry that demands patience and exactitude as some cakes take months to make. The ingredients have to be measured just so and the instructions followed to the last letter. But most of all, it is a labour of love.

Therefore maybe it is not surprising that this industry  is dominated by women who started off with their simple homemaking skills which they have honed into an art as they go professional.

Cakes costs anything from six dollars for shop bought mass produced cakes to over $20 000 for some of the elaborate concotions that grace some high key events. Most elaborate designs are fruit cakes which get better with time and give the maker ample time to ice them intricatel and in stages as they mature.

Although other alternatives like chocolates in baskets or ice cream creations are often used, most people prefer confectionery creations. It would appear that it is only at funerals that Zimbabweans have not taken to getting a special cake made for the occassion. Which is all good news for the confectioners as weddings, birthdays, branding functions, commemorations and other events keep them busy measuring, mixing, baking and icing.

But it is not all bout slaving away in the kitchen. The job has its fair share of glamour as one gets to hobnob with the elite,even if it is often at a distance.

“Just being able to say I catered for So and So’s function has its own star appeal. And some of the clients ask to meet the cake maker because they are so pleased with the product,” one cake boss said.

But she was quick to point out that it is not just about name dropping, but about building your profile.

“Cakemaking is something that a lot of women and some man do and with an oven and few baking tins, you are ready to go. So you get a lot of people doing it. To stand out as a professional you need to be associated with quality, satisfied clientele. It is no secret that associating with well-known people gets you noticed fast and when you have done a good job, big orders keep coming in,” she said.
So next time you want to glam up your function, call a cake boss.

Willia’s Cake Craft owner, Rutendo Tsodod-Chirenje,