For my Grandad’s 70th Birthday, I wanted to create something special for him that he’d remember. He is a keen fisherman, with his favourite fish being the ghost carp so a ghost carp cake it had to be! I saw lots of ghost carp cake images to take inspiration from, but I wanted Grandad’s cake to be authentic and look like an angler caught fish, rather than the pure white breed you find in fish farms/koi varieties.

I started with the cake board. I didn’t have a clue what to ‘frame’ the fish on but had been itching to get my airbrush out and have a go at woodgrain effect. So, I decided to turn the board into a wooden floor! I first etched the woodgrain into plain white icing and let it set for a good hour or two before airbrushing. I used a brown flour and lightly sprayed the board evenly and let this layer dry. I built up the layers gradually, letting each one dry and worked over areas I wanted to accentuate such as the edges and knots. I was pretty impressed with the end result to say it was my first attempt at this effect. I’m becoming increasingly confident with my airbrush which I’ve named Rita!

The fish was quite simple, but I had to ensure I got the shape right! Didn’t want Grandad thinking it was a trout! So, once I was happy with the shape I iced the cake and added the scale detailing while it was still pliable. Once dried I set to work painting him up! Using a picture of a real ‘angler caught’ ghost carp, I mixed up a muddy green colour for the top of the carp and a reddy orange for the bottom and it’s fins. I paid close attention to the colouring and the whole fish was brushed over with a pearl lustre which gave it that lovely shimmer ghost carps have.

My Grandad was very pleased with his cake.