Tiers Of Success Secrets Of A Royal Wedding Cake Maker

FROM THE PHONE CALL TO THE BIG DAY, HERE’S HOW FIONA DID IT

- Lisa Sewards

Fondly known as the Queen of Cakes, Fiona Cairns was responsible for baking the most famous cake in recent history − for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding in 2011. The spectacular eight-tiered, nearly one metre-tall creation weighed nearly 100kg and took Fiona and her team six weeks to make. “It may have been the most stressful thing I’ve ever done, but the hardest thing was walking away from the cake,” admits Fiona. “We’d put so much love, time and devotion into it that it brought us all very close together. So it was a really emotional moment when it all ended − I even cried.”

As excitement surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding reached fever pitch, it’s no wonder that a slice of royal wedding cake can command a small fortune. Some 4000 slices of William and Kate’s cake were sent out as gifts, with one slice selling for more than $11,000 at an auction in California.

“We’d never made a cake like that before,” says Fiona (63), who runs a bakery near Leicester with her husband Kishore. “We’ve been asked to copy it many times, but we’d never ever do that because it was bespoke and unique.”

The elaborate design featured impossibly delicate scrollwork, leaves, sprigs and sprays based on the language of flowers (which explains the symbolic meaning behind different blooms), and even mirrored the intricate lacework of Kate’s wedding dress.

Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan bucked the royal tradition of a fruitcake with intricate icing, instead opting for an ultra-fashionable lemon and elderflower wedding cake with buttercream icing, topped with fresh flowers. It was made by pastry chef Claire Ptak, owner of London-based Violet Bakery.