Comestible Arts

Delighted to have had an inspiring article featured in the Weekend Newspaper about my Perth Cake business, Heaven In A Cake showcasing my journey and dedication to crafting delectable cakes! The feature took place during my rejuvenating holiday on my beautiful island.

The delicious creations of Patricia Nicole

Ephemeral because they are edible, the works of Patricia Nicole, cake artist in Perth - which represent an object, a character, a profession, a passion or even scenes of everyday life are incredibly realistic. This 60-year-old Mauritian, who settled in Australia in the 1980s, made herself known thanks to her cakes which are true works of art, delighting the eyes as much as the taste buds.

For Patricia Nicole, it is not a question of keeping the classic shape of the cake, but of producing artistic creations with reproductions of objects or scenes of life. Thus, combining her culinary talent and her artistic sense, she manages to create artistic masterpieces from sometimes very simple ingredients. Behind each piece, there is an Inspiration or an anecdote. The Jack Daniel Barrel Cake with sugar cubes was for a young person celebrating his 21st birthday. The guitar for a musician who celebrated his 60th birthday and the can of beer for a die-hard fisherman who loves beer.

Among the anecdotes surrounding her creations, there is that of a 16-year-old girl who wanted a cake inspired by her passion for travel and the beach. Patricia Nicole then reproduced a VW Van for her to evoke travel. For her daughter who celebrated her 21st birthday, the cake designer made a cake representing a handbag. The cake, she explains, can be carried like a handbag on the shoulder and opened by letting a roll of banknotes delicately unfold. Cakes are, sometimes, an artistic expression of the personality of their client. The creative at heart can also be inspired by a profession, a passion, a personal history, an encounter.

For a hairdresser who celebrated her 60th birthday, the pastry artist incorporated cotton candy to make a replica of her hair. For each piece, every detail is reproduced with incredible precision, like its emblematic Jack Daniel Barrel, filled with sugar ice cubes, a miniature replica of the legendary whiskey. All images used in her creations are printed on edible paper.

She sculpts edible dreams

Wedding cakes, birthday cakes, engagement cakes and other festive occasions... All her cakes, which at first glance seem too beautiful to eat, are in reality completely edible.

Since she created her company Heaven in a Cake seven years ago, the artist has continued to innovate by integrating all kinds of decorative elements into her increasingly complex and original creations . All these creations are either personal creations or specific requests from its customers. Her mastery of decorating techniques, her meticulous attention to detail and her ability to understand her clients' wishes have contributed to the evolution of his unique style.

Patricia Nicole works alone and organizes herself according to her desires and her schedule. For the moment, she occupies the position of executive assistant and is limited to four or five orders per month. To obtain such a stunning result, the artist devotes hours to her creations. A single small detail can represent an hour of painstaking work. “I spend on average of 5 and 8 hours and sometimes two to three weeks making a cake,” she says. Each step, says the cake designer, is carried out manually. “I use fondant, chocolate modelling paste, silicone molds, specialized equipment, among other things,” says patricia who is currently on vacation in Mauritius. For her, one of her main technical difficulties in obtaining such a result is "finding the time to satisfy customers' expectations. Combining your professional life with the pastry profession is stimulating and energizing. It's always the race against time, however, it is motivating and invigorating and brings personal satisfaction and a lot of peps to my life,” she admits.

Patricia Nicole was born and raised in Mauritius. It was in 1986 that she immigrated to Australia. She was then 21 years old. After completing tertiary studies and gaining professional experience in several companies in Australia, this mother of two daughters now works as an Executive Assistant at Truck Centre in Perth, while also being a part- time pastry expert.

A price to match her talent

This Mauritian discovered her passion for baking at a young age. “I started being interested in cakes when I was eight,” she says. Even at her age, she spent hours experimenting and perfecting cake recipes. "I had a great thirst for learning and designing new recipes and creations. I subsequently made my first 3D cake in 1982 with very limited resources" she says. Her love for the culinary arts was evident. She then decided to perfect her technical skills. “This passion for baking developed into an artistic talent, which pushed me to do research in this field and to create my own company with determination. Making cakes is part of my DNA.

This is how Heaven In A Cake was born, seven years ago, and I immediately realized that there were no limits to achieving success in this field and to giving free rein to my creativity and my expertise, she says.

Each piece she creates is unique and requires several hours of work. Depending on the desired design, her cakes cost between 200 and 1,500 Australian dollars. A price that reflects not only the quality of the ingredients used, but also the art and time invested in each creation.

In order to reach a large audience, Patricia has created a website and has facebook and instagram pages