Mother takes on Cake Boss UK

Maria's children and 'Pinkie' the My Little Pony cake

A 29 year-old Mother of three has been in the press this week after she revealed her 4 foot 3 inch My Little Pony cake which fed 900 people.

Maria
(Courtesy of SWNS Media)

Maria Young, of Dorking, Surrey spent a week making the cake during the evening for her daughter Emily’s eighth birthday. Speaking to Kelly Kooks Maria said: “I had a few days of not doing it, I had to rebuild some and with all my normal mummy duties could only spend the evenings doing it.” In total she spent over 35 hours making the cake her daughter wanted to be ‘big enough to ride’.

Making the cake came with several challenges and Maria would constantly have to run to the shops to buy more ingredients. In total the cake used 86 eggs, 26kg of icing and 32 boxes of Rice Krispies. It cost £160 to make and contained over 250,00 calories.

“The Rice Krispies fell to pieces a couple of times before I realised it was too hot in our home and had to turn the heating off and open the windows to keep it cool”

Maria herself has no baking qualifications and has learnt many of her techniques over the past year from American TV programmes, “I love Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss, I would love to be able to produce something half as good as them one day.” She regularly makes cakes for her family and friends and would love one day to turn her self-taught hobby into a business.

Big cakes are not new for Maria after making a two foot high and four foot wide dinosaur cake for her son last year, it was after that her daughter wanted a slice of the action for herself and said she wanted a cake taller than her.

“I love making big cakes, I would love to make a life sized person. The bigger the better I say.”

‘Pinkie’ the pony has been featured in both Maria’s local press and the national press and has certainly made a talking point and has even lead her to a potential magazine deal. “I have been shocked by the whole response. To me it’s just a cake”.

Have you made any cakes like Maria’s? Tweet your pictures to @Kelly_Kooks

The Last Meal

It is impossible to think what life would be like knowing that your death was imminent. The ‘Last Meal’ tradition offers death-row prisoners the chance to request a final meal the day before their execution of whatever they want*. The tradition is believed to stem from the Christian story of ‘The last supper’ and is still practiced across America.

Food photographer Henry Hargreaves used the stoppage of the ‘Last Meal’ in Texas as a way of exploring through photographs what it is that people want in their last moments of life. He asked whether or not the meals that these inmates were choosing showed something about their personality and why they committed the crimes that they did.

“I felt it could be a really interesting idea to try to represent visually. Researching this topic strangely personalised these people for me and for a moment was able to identify with them through the common dominator of food.”

In the series of photographs Hargreaves details the names, ages, where they are imprisoned, crimes committed and the method in which they are to be killed. He then details the meal itself and gives some additional information about the person if it relates to the meal they have requested.

This unique experiment and insight inspired me to think about those last few moments and what it is that makes people choose the meal that will be there last. With this in mind I asked people what they would choose as their ‘Last Meal’ and why.

Rose Atherton

-28

-Sales Assistant

-Brighton

-Enchiladas

-Sponge cake

-Cup of Tea

“It was one of the first meals my girlfriend and I had together when we first started dating”

 

Rachel Cummins

-21

-Student

-Sheffield

-Kedgeree with extra sea food

-Chocolate banoffee pie

-Champagne

“My Dad only makes kedgeree on Boxing Day so its something special to me”

Annie Moore

-21

-Florist

-Kent

-Herby lamb steak, sweet potato fries and vegetables

- Milk chocolate fondue with fruit

-Red wine

“I had that meal on a romantic night in with my boyfriend and I love fruit but also love chocolate so the fondue just makes sense”

Lisa de Garston

-51

-Business owner

-Kent

- Thai Curry

-Toast with butter, brown sugar and lemon juice

-Fresh lemonade

“I don’t really have a favourite pudding but the ultimate comfort food for me is toast”

Alex Martin

-19

-Student

-Leeds

-Roast Dinner

-Banoffee pie

-  Bottled Corona

“A roast because I have the fondest memories of enjoying it whilst family members are crammed round the table on a Sunday. It’s simply the best family food”

I found the results heart warming as each person chose their meal to be one that comforts them or has a special memory linked to a loved one, instead of a meal based on greed and price.

Me, Kelly Crampton

-21

-Blogger

-Sheffield

-Steak, served blue with Dauphinoise potatoes

-Cheese board with red onion chutney

-Gin and Tonic

"A cheeky gin has been my saving grace through my degree, whether it’s getting me through a deadline or helping me celebrate the hand-in"

What would your last meal be? Tweet @Kelly_Kooks

*In Florida all meals have to be locally sourced and cost no more then $40. In Oklahoma, cost is limited to $15.