Award-Winning Cake Art and Competition Pieces
A look at the projects that pushed my creative boundaries. These pieces represent the technical experiments, structural challenges, and artistic explorations I tackle between custom client orders.
I was so honored to be named the winner of the Modelling Award at the Indian Cake Awards 2024. This recognition for my fondant figurine work means the world to me.
It was a thrill just to be named a finalist for the Modelling Award at the Indian Cake Awards 2024. Being recognized among so many talented artists was an incredible experience.
So excited to have won 1st place in the Decorative Cupcakes category at Cakeology Bengaluru 2024. My 'Indian Market' themed entry was a true labor of love.
A rotating view of my 'Tangled Under Water' competition piece. This shows the dynamic, gravity-defying pose of the mermaid and the flowing movement in her hair and tail, all crafted from sugar.
A close-up of the mermaid's face from my competition piece. I spent a lot of time painting her expressive eyes and adding delicate details like the blush on her cheeks and the shimmer on her skin.
Another angle of the 'Tangled Under Water' scene, showing the mermaid reaching for the glowing jellyfish. The entire piece is balanced to create a sense of movement and wonder.
Detail shot of the mermaid's tail. I used wafer paper and hand-piped royal icing to create the delicate, translucent fins and floral embellishments.
A slightly different close-up of the mermaid's face, highlighting the hand-painted details and the flowing sugar-paste hair.
Part two of my cookie competition entry, showing the final assembly. I carefully placed the floral arrangements, the lit diyas, the musicians, and finally the dancer to create this 3D Bharatanatyam dance stage made entirely of cookies.
The final competition piece, a 3D cookie art display depicting a Bharatanatyam Arangetram. Though I didn't win, I'm incredibly proud of the final result and the techniques I learned while creating it.
About Award-Winning & Competition Art
Building these competition pieces is how I test what is actually possible with sugar. Whether I am constructing internal wire armatures to hold a mermaid in a gravity-defying pose or beveling cookie edges to get a perfect fit for a 3D stage, I love solving the technical puzzles that happen long before the final decoration begins.
Competitions are not just about trophies for me. They are my laboratory. When I created my 'Tangled Under Water' piece for the modelling category, I wanted to avoid doing something literal. Instead of lanterns, I reimagined Rapunzel as a mermaid reaching for glowing jellyfish. It was a chance to practice dynamic posing and translucent texturing that I rarely get to do on standard birthday cakes.
Then there was the Bharatanatyam Arangetram cookie display. That project taught me more about depth and perspective than any book could. I had to use small cookies as paneling for the stage and individually airbrush shadows onto tiny fondant flowers to mimic the light from a diya. It was exhausting, intricate work, but the process of bringing that scene to life was incredibly rewarding. Even when a piece does not place first, the lessons I learn—like how different brands of fondant behave in Bangalore's humidity or how to structure a 3D figurine so it doesn't tilt—go straight back into the cakes I make for you. If you have a complex idea for a custom cake or a specific theme you are worried is 'too hard' to build, bring it to me. I love figuring out the mechanics of making it work.
Namita Baindoor
I'm Namita, and for me, baking is about storytelling. I run Cake It Easy in Malleswaram, where I turn ideas—even the wild ones—into edible art, whether it's for a competition stage or your child's next birthday celebration.
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