When you see something posted on Facebook that looks as delicious as the cakes made by floral cake artist Sarah Walters, who owns ‘Cakes by the Bunch,’ we just had to find out more.
How did you first get into baking cakes?
I’ve always enjoyed baking. My mum, who sadly died recently, taught me to bake when I was just a child. In my younger days, I baked celebration cakes for friends and family and moved on to making wedding cakes, including my own. Then I had children, and barely had time to brush my teeth, never mind bake a cake! However, as they all started school, the baking bug found me again and I started baking for our school’s bake sales. I discovered that I really enjoyed making cupcakes and started making these in bulk for school.
And what lead you to floral cakes?
Until recently, I’d only decorated cakes with fondant icing, for me, the buttercream was just something that I stuck cakes together with. However, I’d always struggled to get a really professional finish with fondant and, being something of a perfectionist, I didn’t find it very satisfying. Quite by chance, about a year ago a video popped up on my social media feed of someone piping buttercream flowers onto a cupcake and I was instantly hooked. I set to watching more videos and dusted off the few piping tips that I had lurking in the back of a drawer. As I began to experiment, I found that not only did I really enjoy the different piping techniques, but that I was quite good at visualising flowers that looked good together.
You make your cakes look incredibly realistic – are you also a keen gardener or flower arranger?
In a word, no! I love having flowers in both the garden and house, but I find arranging the buttercream sort far easier than the real thing! However, I have always been quite artistic, and I have a good eye for colour and design which definitely helps when designing a bouquet or cake.
I’ve seen that it’s important to you that your cakes are not all style and no substance! What’s the secret to the perfect bake?
You’re right, it is really important to me that my cakes taste at least as good as they look. I always try to bake for longer at a lower temperature – my cupcakes are baked for around 20 minutes at 150 degrees. And my best baking tip is that the freezer is your friend. I discovered quite by accident when baking a wedding cake a few years ago, that freezing cakes seems to improve both the texture of the cake and the moisture level. For this reason, I freeze every single cake that I make.
What is your most requested cake at Cakes by the Bunch?
My cupcake bouquets are by far my biggest seller. They really do make a fantastic statement and are so different from the usual celebration cakes. I have also recently introduced a loaf cake, baked in the tray you take it home in. The finished cakes look a bit like a window box, and they are proving extremely popular. They are also probably my best value cake – important when everyone is having to tighten their belts – and work out at just £2.50 per slice.
How do you fill your time when you are not baking?
As you can imagine, running ‘Cakes by the Bunch’ does take a lot of my time. However, I am also a busy mum to three young boys and work part-time in our local school. With the little bit of time I have left, I help to run Abingdon Operatic Society and also perform with them on stage from time to time. You may have seen me on stage recently in Me and My Girl and I am also involved in our Easter production, Carousel.
For more information and to order please visit @cakesbythebunch on Facebook or Instagram or contact Sarah at abingdoncakesbythebunch@gmail.com
