The Frostery:
Where Dreams Come to Life
by Suzanne Thorp
grew up in the baking industry. My parents owned their own bakery, and so the majority of my school holidays were spent making pies and small cakes! I studied physiology and pharmacology at university, but the pull of the icing bag was too much and my life became all about cake and what I could create out of it.
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My husband and I opened The Frostery three years ago in the pretty village of Uppermill, Saddleworth. Since then, I have designed hundreds of one-of-a-kind celebration cakes and become renowned for designing cakes that tell stories. I love the emotional reaction my customers have when they see a cake I have made for them. I feel very privileged to have an insight into their lives, and it's exciting to be given the challenge of representing their special occasion in cake.
We have made cakes for high-profile events, television programmes, and celebrity parties all over the country, and every commission takes a lot of consideration and time; but the recent challenge of decorating an egg that was inspired by Faberge for 'Cake Masters' magazine was my biggest one to date! I love Faberge, and the intricate detailing suits my style of cake decorating; but choosing to decorate an egg that would be open to reveal the 'surprise' was something I hadn't done before. My egg took over 100 hours to complete. I hand-cut 400 sugar clover leaves, made the fairy out of sugar and chocolate, and added a hand-painted plaque of British Queen of Cake Mary Berry. The egg then went on display at the Cake International exhibition in London.
This coming year is very exciting with more bespoke commissions and a new programme of master classes to be launched at the end of the summer. We are also working on some on-line tutorials that we hope will be ready towards the end of this year.
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