My Experience Entering Cake International 2025

This November, I took part in Cake International 2025 at the NEC Birmingham — the biggest and most prestigious cake competition in the world. It’s an event I’ve admired for years, and this time I was ready to step into that incredible space filled with creativity, talent, and passion. I entered two categories: a wedding-style show cake and a drip cake for the Bake International section.

The standard of work at Cake International is truly breathtaking. The competition halls are filled with every imaginable style of cake — from realistic sculpted designs and lifesize creations to intricate sugar flowers, delicate cookies, and hyper-detailed decorative pieces. Every single cake tells its own story, showcasing just how diverse and artistic the world of cake design has become.

The judging process is equally impressive. The judges are some of the best cake artists and designers in the world, each with incredible experience in their field. They go through hours and hours of specialist training to ensure they’re all judging fairly and consistently, using the same high standards across every category. Judging takes place on the Friday, long before the public see the results, and it’s done with such care and attention to detail. Knowing that your work is being assessed by the very best makes the experience even more meaningful — and every mark truly counts.

The Main Competition Cake - Wedding Cake

During the month of October I was dedicated to my competition cake, I entered wedding cake 3 tiers or more — weeks of designing, modelling, painting, and fine-tuning every last detail. It was an intense month of long days, but I was determined to bring my vision to life.

When it came time to travel, I wasn’t too worried — I’ve transported many cakes before and I’m always extremely cautious. My Volvo XC90 usually feels like a tank, but even that wasn’t tall enough to fit the full cake once it was assembled! So, in a last-minute change of plan, I had to remove the top tier before setting off.

Setup day was on the Friday, and I arrived bright and early at 8am. I went straight to the desk to collect my numbers and paperwork, then headed back to the car to carefully bring in my cakes. This year, I actually entered two pieces — my main show cake and a drip cake (which, I’ll be honest, didn’t quite go to plan — more on that below!).

That moment when I placed my competition cake on the black tablecloth was emotional. Seeing all those hours of work finally displayed, knowing how much time, thought, and heart had gone into it — I felt proud. My design was unique, intricate, and very me.

I named my cake “Asian Fusion.” I created this design to illustrate the coming together of two cultures and the blending of beliefs. To me, that message feels so important in today’s world, where conflict and division are far too common. It also holds a personal meaning for me — a reflection of my own family, where different cultures come together as one.

When I returned on Sunday and saw that I had received a Silver Award, I was absolutely thrilled. This is the biggest cake competition in the world, and to achieve silver is such an honour. Finding out that I was only a few marks away from gold was both disappointing and encouraging at the same time.

I’ll admit — I do think some of the marking felt a little harsh. My design was unusual and detailed, and I truly felt it deserved gold. But that’s all part of the experience — to take the feedback, learn from it, and come back even stronger next year.

My Drip Cake Entry

Alongside my show cake, I also entered the Bake International competition with a drip cake. For the flavour, I chose chocolate cake with raspberry American buttercream and vanilla Italian meringue buttercream, swirled together to create a beautiful pattern when sliced.

Originally, I wanted to enter my signature chocolate orange cake, but there were restrictions on what we could use — and curds weren’t allowed. Since curd is a fundamental part of that recipe, I decided to rule it out.

I’ll admit, the drip cake was a bit of a last-minute project. I had been so focused on finishing my wedding cake entry that I actually forgot to decorate the drip cake until the night before! So, at midnight, I found myself adding the “drip.” Unfortunately, that didn’t go smoothly — it went wrong three times. I didn’t have enough cream to make a proper ganache drip, so I had to make do with what I already had from covering the cake. I knew it wouldn’t be perfect, but I reminded myself that this was my first Bake International entry and that my priority was my wedding cake.

Despite all of that, I was honestly overwhelmed by my result and the judge’s feedback. In the top three sections, I was actually on track for gold — until my finish marks brought the total down. I received:

• Overall design & concept: 13/15

• External visual appeal: 12/15 (which I felt was fair considering my thick drip!)

• Internal taste, texture & flavour: an incredible 28/30 — I was over the moon!

Where I lost marks was in quality of workmanship (15/20) and recipe & attention to detail (12/20). Now, what you might not know is that for the Bake International entry, you have to include your recipe and method — and in my rush, I completely forgot to include the ganache in mine! Such a silly mistake, but an understandable one given how late I was finishing everything. Unfortunately, that cost me dearly in the final scoring.

Even so, I was awarded Bronze, and was only two marks off Silver — which I’m incredibly proud of considering everything that went wrong! I’ve definitely learned a lot from this year’s experience, and I can’t wait to enter again in 2026, aiming for that gold medal.

Reflecting on the Experience

Cake International is more than just a competition — it’s an opportunity to grow, connect, and push yourself creatively. Standing among so many talented cake artists is both humbling and inspiring. The sheer variety and quality of work on display reminds you just how much artistry and skill goes into cake design — it’s a world where baking meets sculpture, painting, and pure imagination. I highly recommend giving it a go!

This year reminded me why I love what I do. It’s not just about awards or medals — it’s about creativity, storytelling, and sharing something beautiful with others. I’m so proud of both of my cakes, and even prouder of the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

Bring on Cake International 2026 — and that gold!