A self-taught baker has created a stunning life–sized model of Swan Lake – using tens of thousands of RICE KRISPIES.
Talented Emma Morris, 46, spent eight days baking and icing a 2ft-high swan – complete with a 5ft 4in model ballerina.
The delicious designs, which are entirely edible, are made from 80kg (1,76lb) of Rice Krispies, 30kg (66lb) of sugar paste and 30kg (66lb) of modelling paste.
The impressive swan, which has a wing-span of 1m (3ft 2in), and the human-sized ballerina are also embellished with over 500 crystals.
The tasty treats are made of Rice Krispies instead of cake, in order to preserve them – and Emma still has a 4ft Avatar she created two years ago in her living room.
The model of Swan Lake‘s Odette is one of hundreds of creations at this year’s Cake International display Birmingham’s NEC.
The show is billed by organisers as the UK’s biggest, with up to 30,000 visitors expected.
The mum-of-four, who runs Emma Jayne Cake Design in Aberdare, South Wales, thought of the design after a visit to Ireland when she saw swans gliding across a lake.
Emma, who has two daughters aged 23 and nine, and a 26-year-old son, said: “I’ve been in business for five years and I stumbled into cake making really.
“My husband Owain is a fitness instructor for the Army, but he helps me out with the business.
“We’ve been doing it for the last three years. The first year we did an Avatar sculpture and that made a huge impact so we’ve been invited back ever since.
“Last year I did a 6ft 4in Maleficent figure and I wanted to do something that would allow me to reuse the Rice Krispies and framing from that design.
“My husband and I went to Ireland in January and we saw some swans in a park and I was in awe of their gracious beauty.
“The minute I saw them, I knew they would be the inspiration for my next cake design.
“The swan took four days and the ballerina figure took another four days, which was made up of two days for the framing and then another two days for the fondant and icing.
“It was a nightmare trying to transport them here. We hired a van with a special lift because the ballerina is so heavy.
“But, when we arrived part of her leg had been damaged so we had to repair it. I had to reapply fondant on its legs.
“Sponsors covered the cost of the materials and the framework is reused from my Maleficent figure last year.
“I’ve had a lot of help from people and it’s really nice to think people are willing to help.
“In May, I was nominated in the New York Cake Show for one of the top ten international cake artists. I was the only one from the UK so that was an amazing honour.
“I was chuffed to bits with that. I was so shocked and proud of my hard work.”
Another impressive design was the brainchild of Lara Mason, 30, from Brownhills, West Mids., who took four weeks to make a cake depicting Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka from Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
It is the fourth time the customer service adviser has taken part in the exhibition.
She said: “It is so addictive. I don’t know what it is. Everyone starts throwing ideas around. It’s such a buzz to be involved.
“I chose Gene Wilder because it would have been Roald Dahl’s 100th birthday this year so it was a bit of a nod to that.”
Organiser Melanie Underwood, the editor of Cake International magazine, said people travelled from across the country to display their creations.
She said: “The standard this year is amazing. There are some really incredible pieces.”
