EDDIE Spence has hung up his icing bag.

After 71 years ‘Mr Eddie’ as he’s affectionately known to staff at Bournemouth’s Dawn Pennington’s School of Cake Artistry has retired from a career which started in Edinburgh when he was just 14.

At the grand age of 85 he’s become a baking legend, made wedding cakes for The Queen, Princess Margaret and Princess Diana, and the Duchess of York as well as other celebration cakes for the royal family, some over six feet high.

“I was always artistic but left school at 13 because my parents couldn’t afford to keep the three of us at secondary school,” he said. “I joined Mackie’s in Prince’s Street, Edinburgh, when I was 14.”

He rapidly worked his way up and at 22 became the youngest baking teacher in Scotland, demonstrating the art of decorating celebration cakes at a wealth of prestigious colleges, including Napier College in Edinburgh, Kedleston College and later, Wilmorton College in Derby.

During his time he’s produced thousands of cakes, at one point Mackie’s was making 50 wedding cakes a week, but he particularly enjoyed recreating Edinburgh’s floral clock in icing as well as the royal commissions.

“I remember Princess Margaret’s letter saying the decoration had to be traditional,” he says.

After making so many cakes for the Queen – her Golden Jubilee cake was his favourite - he was delighted to meet her in person when she presented him with his MBE in 2000.

“We talked for ages and she said it was a pleasure to meet me and I said ‘call me Eddie’ so she di,d and said ‘You are a lovely cake decorator’ so I agreed!” he said.

Mr Eddie came to Bournemouth more than 30 years ago, working with the Mary Ford school of cake artistry where s

In March 2010 his book ‘The Art Of Royal Icing’ was released. Two years later he received a lifetime achievement accolade at The Baking Industry Awards and in the same year he also appeared on Loose Women.

He still loves the taste of sugar.

“I always have four spoons in my tea,” and is planning to travel with his wife and write his memoirs.

“I’ve always told everyone that I love my job and if you love what you do, you never have to work,” he said.

For more information visit cakeschool.co.uk