Being creative in the kitchen literally is the icing on the cake for Claire Williams

wo cakes at opposite ends of the aesthetic scale are riding a wave of popularity: decadent drip cakes and more minimalist naked cakes.

That’s according to Claire Williams, the owner-operator of Belmont business Sweet Designs by Claire.

Ms Williams’ parents owned wellknown Geelong bakery Merle’s Homemade Cakes for 20 years, and when they sold their business nearly five years ago, Ms Williams started out on her own.

“I’ve been making cakes since I was old enough to hold a spatula, basically,” Ms Williams said.

She said the drip cake trend started about two years ago.

Drip cakes are elaborate, often colourful cakes with ‘drips’ down the sides, which Ms Williams said is mostly ganache — chocolate and cream melted together.

They consist of cakes stacked on top of one another, and can have decorations including fairy floss, lollies, and even flowers.

“It’s now one of my favourite types of cake to make,” Ms Williams said.

“I love that every one is different,

“I have a shelf along one side of my wall in the kitchen now that has a whole array of different decorations just for drip cakes, like all the different lollies and that kind of stuff.

“I love to go out and source fresh flowers and see what’s in season and what’s going to work with the colour themes that people have given me.”

For weddings, naked cakes are the current favourite, Ms Williams said.

Naked cakes have minimal icing on the exterior, meaning the cake, rather than the icing, takes centre stage.