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Cupcake Championships Are A Real Picnic For Ria
| Author: annahowelll | Published: 9th July 2012 14:39 |
An intricate cupcake created by Waterlooville cake maker Ria Groves has won a top prize at the National Cupcake Championships 2012.
Ria beat stiff competition at the annual championships in London this week to win the Best Micro-Modelled Cupcake award for her incredible entry, Teddy Bear's Picnic.
The National Cupcake Championships are run by the trade journal British Baker to celebrate innovation and growth in UK cupcake sector. The competition pits home based and artisan professional bakers against café chains and High Street multiples.
Ria, who is totally self- taught, spent 12 hours creating the decorations for her 12 cupcakes which were praised by a celebrity judging panel gathered at the Institute of Contemporary Art in The Mall on July 2.
"I am absolutely thrilled about winning," said Ria. "Getting confirmation from an external body for my work is good."
For her 12 micro-modelled cupcakes (Ria travelled to London with two spare in case of accidents), Ria handcrafted 24 teddy bears, 24 trees, 12 rabbit heads, 12 teapots, 24 tea cups, 24 plates, 72 sandwiches, more than 100 apples, 36 flowers,12 picnic blankets, grass and bushes.
The cupcake bases are a traditional Victoria sponge covered with vanilla buttercream frosting and topped with a fondant disc.
Originally from Slovakia, mother of two Ria moved to the UK in 2004 and worked as a senior nursery nurse before launching Ria's Cakes exactly two years ago this month.
"I wanted a Baptism cake for my children but couldn't find anything I liked and when I did I could not believe the cost. So I decided to do it myself and with a great reaction to my baptism cake followed by making a few cakes for family and friends, Ria's Cakes was born. These days I have at least one cake to make every day and am currently having to turn business away whilst I work out the best route to expand. Typically I have a wedding cupcake stand with 100 cupcakes ordered for every other weekend.
"My speciality is handmade toppers, working with fondant, this means each cake or topper is personal to my clients and if they give me a photo of what they want then I generally am able to get a good likeness. For wedding toppers I match the colours schemes, bouquet, hair style etc."
There were six other category winners and one overall cupcake champion at the National Cupcake Championships, part of National Cupcake Week which takes place from September 17 - 23 2012.
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