Billingshurst creative baker sculpts lifelike creations – out of cake

A Billingshurst-based cake maker is rebranding from cupcakes to lifelike sculptured cakes that look too real to eat.
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We have interviewed owner, Clare Francis, as part of our Meet the Owner series.

When did you open your business?

I opened Scrumptious Cupcakes By Clare in March 2016

Scrumptious Cupcakes By Clare is rebranding to include sculpture cakes that look too real to eat.Scrumptious Cupcakes By Clare is rebranding to include sculpture cakes that look too real to eat.
Scrumptious Cupcakes By Clare is rebranding to include sculpture cakes that look too real to eat.

What made you decide to open this business?

I started making cakes after I bought my daughter some cupcakes for her seventh birthday and thought to myself I could do that! I watched tutorials on YouTube and googled everything. I blind tested my friend’s cupcake recipes until I got the best one and went from there and started selling locally.

What does your weekly schedule look like?

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I work most days as there is always someone who needs cake for a birthday or celebration. It’s really important to me that the cake tastes as good as it looks too. I converted a caravan in my garden so that I have somewhere special to design and bake my cakes.

Scrumptious Cupcakes By Clare is rebranding to include sculpture cakes that look too real to eat.Scrumptious Cupcakes By Clare is rebranding to include sculpture cakes that look too real to eat.
Scrumptious Cupcakes By Clare is rebranding to include sculpture cakes that look too real to eat.

What gives you the most satisfaction in this job?

My passion is carving a square /circle sponge into a three-dimensional lifelike cake...that doesn’t look like a cake! A reindeer that I made at Christmas was a real challenge, as the antlers are so spread out from the centre of the cake – it takes a lot of cake engineering to do this!

Where do you see yourself/your business in five years?

I hope to see myself working with luxury event and creative agencies as well as the leading party planners in the UK, creating show stopping cakes that make people wonder if it is actually a cake and edible!

What successes has your business seen so far?

When I started baking professionally, I specialised in making cupcakes and giant cupcakes, but my dream is to be known for the person to go if you want something completely unique and different from what anyone else out there is making. My animal cakes are really popular, especially my cakes that are made to look like someone’s pet. I feel really lucky to be working professionally doing something that I absolutely love doing.

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What is the most challenging part of starting your own business?

I think the most challenging part initially was building up a reputation locally and getting my name out there to new customers. I love making cakes for my private clients – the challenge now is to grow the business to supply to more businesses and corporate clients. I’ve just been accepted on to a website that’s been launched by Alice Fevronia from Bake Off called onthecakestand.co.uk. It’s a place for people to search for independent cake makers in their area.

Visit www.scrumptiouscupcakesbyclare.co.uk/ for more information.

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