GC : I’ve found that a lot of cake trends in the UK actually originate in Australia. Novelty and fondant cakes are still really popular in the US possibly because of influencers like Yolanda Gampp - creator of How To Cake It. I really like her stuff!

GC : The drip cake trend started in Australia, it was mainly focused there before it started to edge it’s way towards Europe and now America as well. I’ve noticed that American cake decorators are still using fondant, they play with textures in fondant but they do tend to be more classic with their designs – especially with wedding cakes. Fondant sugar flowers are still popular in America whereas Australia and Europe tend to experiment more with buttercream.

GC : Fondant is sweeter than buttercream so it could be that the cake market in America prefers fondant over buttercream because its sweeter, even the American style buttercream, is a lot sweeter than the recipe I use which is Swiss Meringue Buttercream. The other American influencers I follow tend to use flavours like Peanut Butter and Oreo – which are almost sickly sweet compared to the traditional Victoria Sponge or Lemon Drizzle!

GC : Buttercream textures and the big Fault Line effect! I love the idea of playing with different textures of buttercream and I am a fan of the Fault Line but it seems to be everywhere now! I do like the idea of creating different layers of buttercream, or even carving in to buttercream. I think that’s a really cool trend! Someone who did it really well was @tortikannuchka on Instagram.

GC : Ooh that’s a tricky one! Do ermaids count? I think an ‘Under the Sea’ theme will be the next big animal trend; seahorses, mermaids, crabs.. I’m not sure about the rest of the industry but airbrushing on buttercream is something I want to experiment with!

GC : My absolute favourite piping tube is PME13 – it’s my go to for finishing touches, sticking on sprinkles, small decorations and covering imperfections. I think it’s because of the depth of the points on the nozzle as well as the star shape - it allows me to get the perfect amount of icing for little stars or rosettes!

GC : Aw thank you, I have a couple of tips…. Natural light – preferably with a reflector, these are cheap on Amazon if you don’t have one already. And secondly I would say definitely try and use the same background or style to your images, that way it’s more attractive to a new audience viewing your profile and they will be more inclined to look at all of your content rather than just images that stand out!

GC : I am guilty of following the trends on Instagram, seeing what other people are doing, as far as cake design… I’m not a big fan of novelty cakes but if I want to jump on a trend then I will adapt other designs and put my own spin on them e.g. the unicorn cake trend – I wasn’t a fan of the animated eyes so I created my own design using soft tones and tempered chocolate!

GC : Another one is the Fault Line cake, I saw a lot of people using sprinkles and I wanted to be a bit different so I pressed edible flowers and stuck them in the middle to create the gapped effect… I did a YouTube video to show how I did this!

I like to experiment with using different textures and materials within cakes that most other decorators wouldn’t use. I originally studied patisserie and within that I learnt to adapt traditional recipes to make them modern and sellable!

GC : Okay so, I trained as a pastry chef at Le Cordon Bleu and once I graduated from there I began to get people asking me for cakes, I guess because people don’t really tend to order desserts – they order cake so you naturally make what customers want to buy! But because I studied patisserie I still follow a lot of patisserie chefs which has really inspired me to start creating sugar creations and applying these to cakes – you see this more in desserts but not so much in cakes.

GC : Hmm well to learn cake design I think it is very important to try and attend as many workshops as you can – you really only learn so much from YouTube! Apart from that practise practise practise(and a dash of patience)!

When influencing on Instagram, a big thing I’ve learnt is that it’s important to be as transparent as you can! A lot of people are scared of sharing their recipes but I think it’s important if you want to be seen as an influencer and reach a wider audience. A lot of people are surprised that I actually make cakes to order as they assume I’m just an influencer and a YouTuber but it’s about word of mouth and building a good reputation for your brand.

For example, from sharing my recipes I’ve been invited to attend events to represent a variety of brands and I’ve been given different opportunities that I would never have had if it wasn’t for people sharing my recipes, apart from that I think it’s about content and engagement so keep connecting with brands and other influencers to gain a bigger following!