Published on 02 November 2018
A life-size cake model of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made by a University of Sunderland student will go on display at a baking show in Birmingham.
Lara Mason, a former Performing Arts student at the University, spent more than 250 hours crafting the cake, which weighs in at nearly 20 stone, ahead of May's royal wedding.
It will be among the pieces on display at Cake International at the National Exhibition Centre from Friday.
The cake, which was made from 300 eggs and 50kg of fondant icing, was covered with chocolate ganache with everything edible apart from the frames.
Ms Mason is no stranger to baking royals, having made a replica of Prince George in the past.
She said the cake is enough to feed 500 people and will be displayed at the show which runs until November 4.
Lara carried out research online to get Harry and Meghan’s measurements, which she said was quite difficult, and modelled her work on photos taken when the couple publicly announced their engagement.
She then spent 250 hours, over six weeks, making the mouth-watering piece. Harry stands at 6ft 2ins while Meghan is 5ft 11ins with heels.
Lara said: “Every year, I enter the Cake International competition and this year they said they wanted me to create something for the event that will be an official showpiece.
“The piece took a long time to make and it’s the biggest cake I’ve ever done.”
The 32-year-old started with a custom-built frame, which was covered to make it food safe.
She then built up the shape, sticking each layer together with vanilla buttercream. It was all given a thick coating of chocolate ganache.
Once stacked, she used a knife to carve out the details, and icing was used to replicate the fabric on the clothes and shoes.
Everything, except the frame, is edible - even the eyes are made from poured sugar.
This is what went into the cake:
- 300 eggs
- 15kg butter
- 15kg sugar
- 15kg flour
- 50kg of icing
- 20kg of modelling chocolate