(4 Oct 2019) LEAD IN: He might not be to everyone's taste, but British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has inspired UK cake makers.
You can grab a slice of BoJo at this year's Cake and Bake Show in London, where the theme is 'illusion cakes' - bakes which are more intricate artistic sculptures than tasty treats.
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Forget waxworks, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been made into a cake.
The almost six-foot (1.8-metre) creation was crafted by UK-based, self-described "Cake Diva," Rosie Dummer. It's on display at London's annual Cake and Bake Show.
It recreates the moment in 2012, when the then Mayor of London got stuck on a zip wire.
Dressed in a suit and helmet and clutching two Union flags, he dangled in midair at an open-air viewing site in London's Victoria Park.
"This one has been a total labour of love, but I've not been conservative with the chocolate. There is loads and loads of chocolate in him, he's one tasty politician," jokes Dummer.
Dummer says the cake took her about a month to make. It's made with "Sweet Success" sponge, chocolate ganache and around 90 kilograms of icing.
It was inspired by the cake show's competition theme - illusion cakes, meaning a cake that looks "anything but a cake."
"This is a showpiece, it's a spectacular. The idea is not just a cake that you eat, it's also a centrepiece," says Dummer.
"So, we love the idea that your cake doesn't only taste good, but it also looks like a little bit of a wow factor and he seems to be doing the trick this one."
"Rosie's (Dummer) cakes are always amazing, but this one of Boris hanging there is particularly spectacular," says visitor Karen Stevens.
"Let's say I'm looking forward to her cutting him up," she laughs.
Competition entrants are embracing the show's illusion cake theme with frogs, parrots and clowns that look good enough to eat. The winners will be announced Sunday (6 October).
Cake artist Zoe Burmester is known for her quirky cake sculptures. Burmester, who runs a UK-based cake studio, specialises in creating cakes that don't look anything like a traditional bake.
"So, this is an illusion cake. So, the idea of this cake is that it's to trick you, right. So, if I have tricked you, then I have done well. But everything here is made from cake," she says.
Burmester says her creation, named "Cheeky Monkey", took her around two weeks to make.
"Essentially, we're making cakes sculptures. So, it's food art. So, it's definitely a crossing between regular cake decorating and just taking it to the next level," she says.
Burmester isn't the only one embracing the illusion cake trend.
Cake artist Molly Robbins is showcasing this Noah's Ark-themed bake.
"I think the boundaries are being pushed every day, technology is advancing, there's more available materials, there's different types of icing, there's different types of air brushes, just to get those realistic textures, the colours," says Robbins.
"Everything is coming on so quickly that we're almost like, as artists, it's so exciting to be able to just make whatever you want."
At The Cake and Bake Show, visitors can have a go themselves in this doughnut decorating area.
They might not be able to achieve the same level of detail, but at least it tastes good.
"I am very proud of my doughnut. It's fab, I'm so pleased," says one visitor.
The Cake and Bake Show runs till 6 October at London's ExCeL exhibition centre.
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