It's no cakewalk!

Culinary art

Edible sculpture’ is what Deepali Agrawal likes to term her cakes as. “My creations always tell a story. It’s not just characters sitting on a cake. I try to create action and some kind of movement in my cakes. As an artist, that’s very important to me,” says the accomplished entrepreneur who has beautifully blended her love for baking with art. So fine is her attention to detail that one can actually feel the character of Captain Hook coming to life in ‘Jake and the Never Land Pirates’ cake.

Since young age, Deepali was inclined towards art — she had sketched Disney characters all over the walls of her room. Enamoured by her mother’s elaborate 3D cakes, she also developed a love for baking. Later, she went on to pursue a degree in Fine Arts and excelled in the field. “After graduation, I got married and moved to the US. I regularly watched TV shows like ‘Cake Boss’ and ‘Ace of Cakes’ which inspired me to bring both my passions (for art and baking) together and create something wonderful. After several trials and reading about baking and decorating, I made a Disney mermaid themed fondant cake for my daughter’s third birthday which received immense appreciation.

That’s when I began to make decorative cakes. Friends also asked me to bake for their kids’ birthdays and soon, I started receiving orders,” says Deepali. “I moved to Bengaluru in 2012 and started with orders for friends here who absolutely loved my cakes. Work kicked off and there has been no looking back ever since!” she adds.

The 32-year-old specialises in 3D fondant creations, inspired by cartoon characters, fairytales and floral designs. And her portfolio is as varied as it is fascinating. Ask her about some of the most interesting themes she has worked on and she recalls, “There was the ‘Madagascar’ cake where the animals’ expressions and features were really detailed and unique, you could count their teeth as well! For the ‘Kung Fu Panda’ cake, I found the character structurally challenging to construct and went through videos and pictures before coming up with the design. I also remember creating a junior detective cake for this girl who loves reading detective stories and used symbols inspired by Sherlock Holmes. Another one is something close to every girl’s heart — a spa-themed cake, wherein three girls pampering themselves with beauty treatments were depicted.” Her most difficult assignment was an ‘Angry Birds Transformers’ cake where she had no clue of what it was and had to go through the entire game to come up with something that pleased the client.

However, an eye for detail is not all that makes her cakes special. They taste just as good as they look, says Deepali. “I make fondant from scratch, unlike many other bakers who use the readymade one, and source a lot of material like real Belgian chocolate from outside. Also, I prefer not to repeat the same design. If I have worked on a particular theme before, I remodel it for another client.”

She usually restricts herself to two orders a week and is happy with her pace. “It’s not just a business for me. My cakes are made with a lot of passion and I like to customise according to the client’s taste. It gives me a high when people tell me that the cake tasted even better than what it looked!,” smiles Deepali. For details, visit
her Facebook page — ‘Paaliz Cake Art’.