Durban - Not many people can say that they knew from the age of 12 exactly what they wanted to do with their lives.
Katrien van Zyl knew at that age that she wanted to bake for a living and this knowledge and her passion for chocolate have assured her of success in her chosen field. Not only has she authored several stunning books on cake decorating, she has established a thriving business in wedding and special occasion cakes and runs courses in cake decorating in Cape Town, where she lives.
Paging through Katrien’s Crafty Tray Bakes left me in awe. Each cake displays the utmost attention to detail. What you see are not just cakes - they are works of art. I’m not sure I would have the courage to cut through any of them. It would be like taking a knife to a Da Vinci masterpiece.
The book explains what tools are needed to make the cakes and the level of difficulty of each project. The decorating on some of the tray bakes is quite intricate, incorporating lace embroidery, a Delft look-alike teapot, Gothic swirls, a decoupage girl, Jacobean embroidery and more.
Although these are not your everyday cakes, they are within the reach of an ambitious home baker or home industry baker. The step-by-step instructions and number of pictures make sure of this. Katrien provides lots of tips along the way. She also explains how to make a mini version of the tray bakes.
There are explanations on how to make fillings and coatings, from caramel and chocolate ganache, traditional buttercream icing and cream cheese icing to fondant icing, chocolate paste and royal icing. The book includes recipes for the basic tray bake as well as other variants.
There are 18 tray bakes, drawing on various craft projects to suit a variety of catering needs.
If you’re contemplating starting a home industry, this book will provide invaluable reference.
Daily News