The bespoke cake maker

Debbie Tapp is one of those people who has been lucky enough to turn her passion into her profession. She makes exquisite cakes and came to do this thanks to her daughter who is a wedding planner in Nice.

Debbie says, ‘I’d done all the usual making cakes for my children while they were growing up, but I honestly didn’t know I could do this until my daughter couldn’t find the cakes she wanted for events.'

So Debbie, who has lived in Roquefort for the last twenty years, went to the UK, completed a course and returned with lots of ideas that needed trying out. She worked really hard perfecting her skills until she was happy to produce cakes and then towards the end of 2009 sold her first bespoke wedding cake.

She had a busy 2010 with lots of weddings that called for her special fondant-iced cakes. It seems the more people see her particular style of work the more they want it.

‘Not many people do this in our area,’ she explains. ‘And in fact I’ve started receiving very flattering emails from people asking if I would teach them how to do it!’

So what’s in vogue right now? Do cakes follow fashion?

‘Absolutely,’ Debbie enthuses. ‘Lilac is very popular already this year, as well as gold or silver for the embellishments.’

‘Quite often the bride and groom have an idea of what sort of cake they want or a theme they’d like me to stick to. I usually like to meet them about 5-6 months before the ‘big day’ so we can get to know each other a little bit. That also gives us plenty of time for me to show them drawings of their cake and organise tastings. In an ideal world that much notice works really well, but sometimes I can do it with less notice, it’s just that the summer months get really booked up. ’

What’s the most popular cake you’ve made so far?

‘It has to be The Natalie.’

This pink and brown cake (pictured left) is extremely neat and modern so I can see why brides love it.

How many tiers can you add? How high can you go?

‘If need be as many as five or six, but at that point we can also use non-edible ones for creating the look.’

Debbie clearly loves her job and gets to meet people at a magical moment but I can’t help wondering if it’s really stressful too, with the huge responsibility of getting their cake to them in perfect condition.

Debbie has stories of memorable deliveries and no doubt the last year has been a learning curve. She’s a very good time-keeper and that’s helped when ironing out last minute worries apparently.

One particular story did make me smile though:

‘We’d arrived at Cap D’ail, only to be told that the next part of the journey was to be by speed boat because it was the only way of getting down to where we needed to be. The kind man driving the boat decided to take a little tour showing us a rare fish en route, and had no idea that really my mind was not on that rare fish! We had to leave our shoes on the quayside and hop on to this luxury speed boat while negotiating a large and heavy wedding cake. And then when we arrived, he couldn’t get close enough, so we had to lift the cake over two boats and wade through the water before it reached the restaurant! Gosh we were relieved when it did!’

Wow! Not many people have delivered a wedding cake like that I imagine. That must make car journeys and heat seem quite easy in comparison?

‘Hmm, as long as the roads don’t have too many potholes!’ Debbie smiles.

As far as flavours, what’s the most popular, be that cakes, cupcakes or biscuits?

‘Chocolate is always appreciated and my personal favourite is lemon (which I try to get as close to a lemon meringue pie flavour as possible). It’s a lovely fresh taste. Researching is fun and when I started I tested my flavours on all my French friends. I’m always keen to read about new recipes too and have shelves full of books about cake-making now.’

Debbie allows me in to her specially designed prep room where she is in the middle of creating Winnie the Pooh figures for the top of a mini cake. Each arm and piece of clothing beautifully thought-out and individually made. There are also carefully sculpted two-tone filigree butterflies ready to ‘land’ as the finishing touch to a spectacular wedding cake. The attention to detail is amazing.

‘Have you always had a steady hand and an enormous amount of patience?’ I ask.

Debbie laughs, ‘Not at all. I used to be ok at crafts and sewing, but I really didn’t believe I had much patience.’

I can’t help thinking that when someone is meant to do something (like Debbie clearly is) that their connection with what they are creating is so good, the stress and obstacles just disappear...

Don’t take my word for it though, see Debbie’s work at http://www.debbiescakeboutique.com/

The wedding cakes, which obviously take a lot of work, also make stunning centre pieces, so much so, that guests have had to be dissuaded from touching and poking them in the past!

• Prices for these bespoke beauties start from €8-€10 per person for wedding cakes. Cupcakes require three days’ notice and the minimum order is for a box of eight. They start at €2.50 for cream covering, €3 for fondant icing, €3.50 for marzipan and fondant icing & €4-€4.50 for themed cupcakes – all of which would be a stylish addition to any table.  

And my favourite? Despite it almost looking too nice to break in to, the lilac fondant-iced chocolate flavoured cupcake of course ~ oh and the carrot cake ones too!