The icing on the cake&

Kylie Malin | 28th May 2008

EVERY bride knows the feeling they want everything to be perfect for their big day, and Annette Dudley of Eltham was no different.

She knew what she wanted in a wedding cake, and couldn't find it in Taranaki enter Annette's Cake Design.

"I decided to take some night classes and I found I really enjoyed it. I knew there was a market for wedding cakes in the area so I decided to go for it," she said.

She designed her first wedding cake for a friend, and the three-tiered cake adorned with ribbon and fresh flowers is now one of her most popular designs.

Three years on, and Annette has seen her cake design business flourish from humble beginnings.

"During the height of the wedding season I could be doing three to five cakes a weekend. Each cake takes two to twenty hours to complete. Luckily, most people come to me with a concept, my job is to design and make the cake they want."

Over the course of her cake-making career, Annette has made beautiful, wacky, colourful and classic cakes and attends to every one with the same precise detail.

"I create the cakes in stages. It is important to get it right. I have a lot of books with design ideas to help people find the perfect cake," she said.

Annette is responsible for the cake from the word go she bakes and decorates.

"I make all the cakes myself, as well as completing the decorating. The client gets to choose everything, including the cake flavour."

Now she has a few years experience behind her, Annette is revelling in her business and recently attended the Wedding Expo in New Plymouth.

"I had a site featuring a number of my cake designs. They were well received and I am getting bookings well into 2010."

Though relatively young, Annette's Cake Design is growing in leaps and bounds.

If you have been searching for someone to create your dream wedding cake, it might be Annette Dudley.