The Sugar Cove is delighted to give fellow sugar enthusiast Cécile Crabot, from Sardinia, Italy a big "benvenuto". Originally from Paris, Cécile was first introduced to the sugar world by way of a cake book from a friend. In the age of digital media, books are still the best source of inspiration. So sugar friends...strap on your cake shoes, as Cécile shares with us what inspired her passion for all things sugar. Bon appetit!
My name is Cécile Crabot, known as Fantasticakes by Cécile. I am from Paris but have lived in Italy (on the island of Sardinia) since 2001, where I met my husband. I have always enjoyed baking but had never tried cake decorating, even though it is such a prolific creative art!My very first contact with this world was 3 years ago, when a friend gave me a French translation of 50 Easy Party Cakes by Debbie Brown. I was amazed at what was possible to create with sugar paste. I was also a little bit depressed looking at these cakes, thinking I would not ever be able to make something
like that. A few months later, I was looking at an idea for the birthday cake of my younger daughter (she was turning 2) and I decided to try to decorate her cake with sugar paste. I was very happy with the cake, and I decided to learn more.
I'm a self taught cake designer, since travelling to the UK to take classes at this time was impossible. Therefore, I purchased every cake decorating book I could get my hands on. I also learned a lot on the web (online tutorials, Cake Central forum, Flickr, etc.). For a year, I looked for every possible occasion to make a cake: a tea time cake
with my friends at home, their birthday cakes...I sought every opportunity for practice. I was even dreaming of cakes!
I could see that great cake designers had a combination of talent, wonderful control of the consistency of their sugarpaste, and years of practical experience. I decided that the best way to acquire this expertise, would be to start a little home business (as a second job). After all, making more cakes would allow me to practice my passion, to become better, and to buy all the tools I desired! It is always a chall
enge to do cakes for clients; they ask you to do impossible things, having no idea of the technical problems one will have to resolve. But it's always an occasion to experiment, to try new techniques, new tools new designs...and in the end to have fun!
When I started my photo stream on Flickr in 2009, it became a hug source of inspiration for me, and overall it was a great incentive for me to always do better. The opinion of all the cake designers I "met" on Flickr was and is always very important for me, so I don not dare make an ugly cake! And tw
o or three cake designers I met on Flickr are now very good friends.
What keeps me motivated in cake decorating? For one, I am familiar with having a passion in life. One for which I am willing to stay awake late at night working towards, and one at which I could excel. This is the second time around for me. I have a Ph.D. in Medieval History from Paris, yet I was not able to pursue this passion as a teaching career or as a research historian in Sardinia. However, what truly fires my passion for the art of sugarpaste is seeing my client's and friends' eyes light up w
ith happiness and true joy when they see their cake! My next project will be to start to teach cake decorating, a new adventure.
My advice to those who are just beginning would be to not loose courage; to practice and practice; to read as much as you can in books or online...it's really possible to become a good cake designer on your own.
with my friends at home, their birthday cakes...I sought every opportunity for practice. I was even dreaming of cakes!I could see that great cake designers had a combination of talent, wonderful control of the consistency of their sugarpaste, and years of practical experience. I decided that the best way to acquire this expertise, would be to start a little home business (as a second job). After all, making more cakes would allow me to practice my passion, to become better, and to buy all the tools I desired! It is always a chall
enge to do cakes for clients; they ask you to do impossible things, having no idea of the technical problems one will have to resolve. But it's always an occasion to experiment, to try new techniques, new tools new designs...and in the end to have fun!When I started my photo stream on Flickr in 2009, it became a hug source of inspiration for me, and overall it was a great incentive for me to always do better. The opinion of all the cake designers I "met" on Flickr was and is always very important for me, so I don not dare make an ugly cake! And tw
o or three cake designers I met on Flickr are now very good friends.What keeps me motivated in cake decorating? For one, I am familiar with having a passion in life. One for which I am willing to stay awake late at night working towards, and one at which I could excel. This is the second time around for me. I have a Ph.D. in Medieval History from Paris, yet I was not able to pursue this passion as a teaching career or as a research historian in Sardinia. However, what truly fires my passion for the art of sugarpaste is seeing my client's and friends' eyes light up w
ith happiness and true joy when they see their cake! My next project will be to start to teach cake decorating, a new adventure.My advice to those who are just beginning would be to not loose courage; to practice and practice; to read as much as you can in books or online...it's really possible to become a good cake designer on your own.
Cécile Crabot
Fantasticakes by Cécile Crabot
Thanks or sharing this wonderful story! It's very inspiring !
ReplyDeleteGreat Cécile, I red every word and I agree....it's possible to became a good cake designer on your own.
ReplyDelete加油... in chinese, means keep it up... very impress with yr determination. I'm always on facebook viewing your creation... if you are coming to Singapore to teach, I will definitely attend your class. pauline low-chan
ReplyDeleteCecile thank you for your story. I'm doing the same thing. I love to make art from sugar paste and i'm inspired from the web. I think the most important ingredient to do something is passion.
ReplyDelete