WHEN Louise Miles tied the knot five years ago, she bought her wedding cake from a supermarket. Now she bakes wedding cakes for a living!

For it was only when she decided to make a cake for her daughter’s birthday, that she discovered her culinary flair.

“I followed a few tutorials online and I really loved it,” says Louise who lives with her two young daughters and husband in Verwood.

“The following month I made a cake for my daughter’s third birthday. I put up a few pictures up on Facebook and it went from there.”

Now she has won a gold award for her Jubilee-themed seven-tier wedding cake at the Cake International Show in London which was literally the icing on the cake.

It took three days to make and was created out of rice paper and polystyrene dummies.

Louise adds: “I saw it as an opportunity for me to create and decorate a contemporary cake, different from traditional and vintage style wedding cakes, but I never thought it would win gold!’

Cupcakes by Louise now boasts over 8000 fans on Facebook, and she has requests for cakes from all over the country – even from the US.

She says: “I’ve had some unusual requests over the years. I’ve made a wedding cake with a smurf house on top and another with a pair of giraffes but I’ve never had to turn down a request yet – I enjoy the challenge.

“The only downside is that I have quite a sweet-tooth so making cakes for a living isn’t good for my waistline but I’m so passionate about it, I just wish I’d started ten years ago.”