When Molly Robbins’s customers tuck into her Sunday roasts, they’re in for a sweet surprise…
The oven door opens and a tantalising aroma wafts through the kitchen.
Placing her culinary creation on the worktop, the chef waits for it to cool, then starts carving thin slices of chicken.
But before she can serve up her mouth-watering Sunday roast, she needs to mould her mash and paint her peas.
Because this is no ordinary roast.
While it looks exactly like a plate of meat and veg, smothered in delicious gravy, it’s made entirely from cake!
It’s the work of Molly Robbins from Rossendale, Lancashire, and it’s just one of several incredible sculpted cakes that will take your breath away.
‘I’ve always been creative,’ says Molly, 32. ‘When I was studying towards my art degree, I did a lot of sculpting, casting and moulding, as well as painting and airbrushing.
‘But it wasn’t until I was working as a special effects make-up artist that I decided to try my hand at cakes.’
Taking the skills she’d learnt, Molly soon became adept at creating stunning illusion cakes, from realistic watermelons to dainty, edible cups of cappuccino.
Molly’s talents were soon noticed by TV producers, and she went on to star in Channel 4’s Extreme Cake Makers.
The show saw Molly, along with a host of other talented bakers from around the world, demonstrate all the effort that goes into making edible masterpieces.
‘I pulled out all the stops for the show, creating a lifesize mermaid for one episode,’ Molly says.
In time, she opened her own bakery in Rawtenstall, Molly’s Cake Shop.
‘I thought it would be a lovely thing for my community,’ she explains. ‘It’s great for the local kids. They’re always peering through the shop window, ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ over the fun, bright creations.’
Molly has a talented team of bakers who create the basic sheet cakes. Once they’ve cooled, Molly takes over and transforms them into something amazing.
The Sunday roast with all the trimmings was for the launch of a new cooker from Stoves Deluxe.
It took over six hours to make, and was created from vanilla Genoise sponge, chocolate fudge brownie, modelling chocolate and fondant icing, all airbrushed with edible food colouring and topped off with lashings of sticky toffee ‘gravy’.
‘Roast dinners are a much-loved staple in my home, so it was a joy to make,’ Molly says.
‘But it was complicated to get just right, with so many elements needing different baking techniques. The peas were definitely the trickiest part to perfect as they were so delicate.’
Since opening her shop, Molly has made hundreds of cakes.
She says: ‘I was asked to make a gigantic fast food cake for an 18th birthday. Everything was edible, from the packaging to the straw.’
If the birthday boy was expecting to bite into tender chicken nuggets, though, he would have had a shock — they were made from flapjacks!
Not only do Molly’s cakes spread joy, they also stir up emotions.
‘The lovely lady who was surprised with one of my afternoon tea cakes cried when she saw it,’ Molly recalls. ‘She adored the teapot and cups and couldn’t believe everything was edible.’
Over the years, Molly has been asked to create all sorts of cakey delights, from unicorn birthday cakes to lifelike animals, and even something a bit naughty for hen dos.
‘My most ambitious project was a lifesize baby elephant for a 21st birthday party,’ she says. ‘My mum, Judy, baked the cakes, then it took three days to sculpt and paint.
‘I had to put it on wheels and roll it into the party venue. Customers were taking carrier bags full of cake home with them at the end of the night.’
Molly does make smaller creations too, though, sending her orders out to customers across the UK, meaning more people can enjoy her heavenly treats.
‘I love having a job that lets me be creative every single day,’ she says. ‘The best part is seeing the huge smiles on people’s faces when they see my creations.’
*Find out more on Instagram: @mollymakescakes