Cake Decorators Spotlight - Priya Maclure, Sugarpot

Priya Maclure runs her beautiful cake business Sugarpot in Sydney, Australia.  Browsing through her portfolio is a real joy - her cake designs are bold, colourful, and elegant.

I first came to know Priya's work through various cake collaborations and since then, I have been delighted when one of her newest cakes pops up on my Facebook timeline.

Knowing Priya uses Pettinice, I have asked her to pick five of her favourite cakes and write a little bit about them.  

It is with great honour we feature Priya in our Cake Decorators Spotlight.  Enjoy!

 

Priya hand piped the texture on the bottom tier of this cake.  For a fondant option to recreate something similar, see Priya's exclusive Pettinice tutorial for creating a textured petals, which you can place in layers for a similar mood.

Every year I set aside a few weeks to come up with designs and techniques to showcase. This is mainly influenced by trends and styles that promise to linger and make themselves known over the year. - Priya Maclure, Sugarpot (Sydney, Australia)

In 2008, my very first introduction to fondant was Bakels Pettinice! Over the years it has stood by my side, helping bring my creations to life. Being locally made, I love the fact that I know exactly how it will behave with Sydney weather changes; be it hot, humid or cold, this fondant adapts. I find it does not easily become soft when overworked, which saves on sticky situations!

 

The best part is how Pettinice retains colours and does not fade with time. My confidence and comfort in Pettinice extends to the fact that I've also found a way to adapt the fondant into gumpaste, giving me the stability I need when creating my flowers.

I would describe myself as mainly self taught and over the years I have supplemented my learning by attending a few cake decorating classes with international cake decorators to try and learn new techniques and perfect some old ones.

When I think of my designs, I would say I am heavily inspired by nature and fabric, and most of my creations are humble examples of that.

Nature of Love

The design for this first cake featured was heavily inspired on a piece of fabric I saw. It was my first ever show piece; I wanted this cake to encompass my vision and showcase my skills.

I chose black as my contrasting colour and Pettinice was the fondant that I used to cover the two pleated tiers. The alternating tiers were covered in Ivory Pettinice, and then hand painted with 2D and 3D elements in the form of flowers and painted birds.

Pettinice held the colours so strong that even to this day, three years from the time it was created, the fondant is still vibrant and deep.

Bishop's purple!

My love for working with colours tends to stand out a bit more and this is evident from the cake below. This was created for a 21st birthday for a young lady who loves purple. The design for this cake was inspired by the purple pleating and ruffles on her dress. Her only requirement was that I incorporate orchids into the design ad this is what I came up with. 

The best part is how Pettinice retains colours and does not fade with time. Pettinice held the colours so strong that even to this day, three years from the time it was created, the fondant is still vibrant and deep. - Priya Maclure, Sugarpot (Sydney, Australia)

The wired leaves and all the accents were made with Pettinice.  The glitter lifts the design and adds a touch of elegant bling to the cake.

Pettinice fondant is also the perfect medium for creating pleats, which I used on both tiers to give the illusion of movement as the tier sizes were dainty at 5" and 7" cubes.

To achieve this deep purple, I added a small amount of pre-coloured Blue Pettinice to give the purple a bit more depth and richness.  

Pink glimmer

Turning 50 calls for a special cake and this was what the client had in mind. The brief was simple: to incorporate her love for shoes, pink and roses.

I love creating tiered cakes, but every now and then I get asked for a design, which pushes me out of my comfort zone, and this was one of them.

 

Prior to this cake, I had never created a freestanding completely handmade shoe! My gumpaste which is created using Pettinice fondant enabled me to try my hand at this.

Unsure of the availability of cutters, I decided to cut the pattern free-hand for the shoe (including the sole and top). Necessity is the mother of invention and this project was a testament to that. Using card stock I shaped the drying platform for the gumpaste sole and heel. The roses, leaves and berries were also created using gumpaste.

Immaculate trio

The inspiration for this trio of cakes came from a wedding dress I spotted while researching online. 

 

 

I chose to brush pearl finish on to the tiers with different textures to add further depth and interest to the set.

This design incorporated rich layers of ruffles -- with each cake featuring a different style -- and adorned with lace and silver jewels.

Wanting to recreate the luxurious feel of satin material, I brushed pearl luster finish on to the tiers with different textures to add further depth and interest to the set.

For the three tiered cake, I brushed pearl luster dust with quick strokes. For the smaller satellite cakes, I brushed the luster evenly.

The ruffle rosettes were also made differently; some with softened edges, while others with a lace like feel to them. This I did using piping tips in varied shapes.

Bold fushia

Every year I set aside a few weeks to come up with designs and techniques to showcase. This is mainly influenced by trends and styles that promise to linger and make themselves known over the year. This pretty cake is part of my 2016 collection.

Rich textiles like suede and velvet, the opulence of gold paired with the simplicity of flowers are making big waves this year and I tried to incorporate that into this design. Dabbling with the idea of making a sugar flower wreath, I took this opportunity to pair it with this two-tiered cake. 

A big thank you to Priya for sharing insight on some of her cake creations.  We look forward to seeing your future Pettinice cakes!

See Priya's Pettinice exclusive textured tutorial here. 

Find Priya online: