From Canvas to Cake: The Artistic Journey of Anjali Tambde, a Trailblazer in Global Cake Design
Anjali Tambde is a passionate and accomplished artist, entrepreneur, and educator whose journey in the world of art, design, and craftsmanship has been nothing short of inspiring. Born to an artist mother, Anjali’s creative talents were nurtured from an early age, with her first painting completed at the age of three. Her deep love for art and craft was further honed through years of success in various drawing competitions at school, state, and national levels, coupled with academic excellence in art and geometry.
Picture Credit: Anjali Tambde
With a strong foundation in both the arts and sciences, Anjali pursued a career in Fashion Designing, earning top honors at Nirmala Niketan College in Mumbai. Her expertise in design earned her multiple accolades, including awards for Best Designed Saree and Best Casual Wear. After working as a designer in the fashion industry, Anjali’s teaching career began, where she continued to inspire and shape future designers.
In 2009, Anjali relocated to Ireland, where she merged her skills in painting, sculpting, and fashion design to create unique miniature figurines, sugarcraft, and novelty cakes. This passion led to the founding of Global Cake Toppers, one of Ireland’s first companies specializing in handmade, personalized cake toppers. The business quickly gained international recognition, receiving orders from countries across the globe, including the UK, US, Germany, Dubai, and India.
Picture Credit: Anjali Tambde
Anjali’s entrepreneurial success was further bolstered in 2017 when she was appointed as a Brand Ambassador for Saracino, a world-renowned sugarpaste and cake decorating company based in Italy. This milestone underscored her status as a leading figure in the global cake decorating community.
Through her unwavering dedication to her craft, Anjali continues to inspire both through her artistry and her commitment to pushing the boundaries of design, competing not against others but against herself to achieve ever greater heights of creativity and excellence.
Picture Credit: Anjali Tambde
At Global Cake Toppers, our commitment to excellence has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards and accolades from both national and international competitions. Our dedication to pushing the boundaries of cake artistry has earned us multiple Best in Class and Gold Awards at the Irish Sugarcraft Show in Dublin (2016, 2018, 2020), where we’ve also been honored with the Overall Winner title in 2016 for our Fantasy Flowers creation.
Additionally, our award-winning works have garnered 1st Gold and Best in Class honors at Cake International in Birmingham, including an Overall Winner recognition in 2016, where we competed against over 1,400 entries from around the world. Our contributions to cake artistry have also led to recognition by Guinness World Records, marking significant achievements in cake decoration and design.
Picture Credit: Anjali Tambde
As a PME 5-Star Sugar Artist and judge at Cake International, we continue to share our expertise and passion for sugarcraft, helping to shape the future of this art form. In addition to our achievements at major competitions, our unique creations—such as the Easter Baby, Miniature Baking Table, and a Wedding Cake Topper—have earned Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards for their intricate detail and innovation.
Each award serves as a testament to the dedication, skill, and creativity we pour into every project, inspiring us to continue crafting bespoke cake toppers that exceed expectations and capture the imagination. For more information about our award-winning designs, visit our website at Global Cake Toppers, or contact us at info@globalcaketoppers.com or +353 86 068 2622.
How do the various cultural influences in your artistic journey inform your approach to cake decoration, and how do you believe these influences can enhance the personalization of cake toppers for diverse occasions?
Picture Credit: Anjali Tambde
I get requests for making cake toppers from all over the world and diverse communities and backgrounds with profuse people from various fields and I get to hear their stories that always inspire me for my work, some propose in extreme places like the deepest part of the ocean while others would have an age old family possession to reflect in their toppers, each with an unique story and individuality that I get to create as a miniature version that gets a special place for display lasting for generations.
When did Anjali Tambde journey as a cake designer?
Picture Credit: Anjali Tambde
I started my small venture called “Global Cake Toppers” 17 years ago but have been into designing and art since my very young age and have studied Fashion designing and pursued the career as a designer and faculty in college for few years before I got into cake designing.
What materials do you use to create your cake toppers, and how do they contribute to their longevity and aesthetic appeal?
Picture Credit: Anjali Tambde
My cake toppers are made with non-edible mediums of premium quality and they last for decades as perfect keepsakes, they not only become a talking point at any wedding but also get a special corner for display after the occasion.
Can you describe the customization process for a personalized cake topper? What information do you need from customers to create their perfect design?
Picture Credit: Anjali Tambde
Once the customer fills in the order form we need some photos of the couple or the family and photos of their outfits, hair trials etc, then each topper undergoes a very unique handcrafted customisation and 3 baking stages before we start the decoration process like painting the eyes, embroidery on the dress, jewellery and lastly varnishing them to add the final touch.
What types of classes and workshops do you offer, and what skills can participants expect to learn?
We offer classes right from beginners to intermediate levels and there is a vast variety to choose from, our classes are designed in such a way that everyone has something to choose from like modelling figurines to icing the cakes or classes for kids with cookies and cupcakes, that improve their motor skills and imagination.
Picture Credit: Anjali Tambde
While some like flower making and others prefer painting with cocoa butter on cakes. One of our most popular class is Anjali’s signature way of making patterns by rolling them in fondant and then slicing to reveal the pattern, her award winning fantasy flowers that have the same technique is another class people also want to learn.
How has your diverse background in various artistic fields influenced your approach to creating cake toppers, and what unique techniques have you developed as a result?
Having an artistic background and knowing a lot about painting using various techniques helped me a lot to adapt it in my profession, similarly my fashion designing background and knowledge helped me get the garments and their texture on the cake toppers, more over my clay jewellery making ancient technique that I revamped and adapted in cake world with rolling patterns and slicing them created a signature style of making cake toppers and fantasy flowers that are distinct and vibrant in colours and full of imagination, the possibilities are endless.
Picture Credit: Anjali Tambde
My cakes are always influenced from my art and craft and there would be paper quilling on cakes at times or reflecting a particular fabric, at times it could have paintings inspired from our historic monuments and vast history, I always like to bring that uniqueness to my style of making cakes and toppers.
In what ways do you believe the competitive landscape in cake decorating, both locally and internationally, has evolved since you began your career, and how do you see that influencing future trends in the industry?
When I started cake decorating and designing around 2 decades from now there were very limited resources and raw materials that we could find, only one kind of fondant that was used for all types where as now we get specialised fondant/sugarpaste for modelling figurines, a different version of gum paste for flower making and sculpting paste for sculptural cakes, the industry has grown a lot and now we see a lot of home bakers that have been influenced and evovlled.
Picture Credit: Anjali Tambde
People now want a trendy cake with personalisation like their cake toppers or things related to their career & personality, earlier it used to be a simple home made cake that would taste good but now social media trends show that the cake has to be equally glamorous and a showstopper for their special occasion.
With technology there has been a quick and easy way of decorating the cakes too for people who are sort of last minute decorators or for someone who just want add ons to decorate the cakes would go for printed decorations that could go on cakes or acrylic toppers with names or just something that says about their special occasion.
How do you envision the intersection of traditional artistry and modern technology shaping the future of cake decoration, and what role do you see yourself playing in this evolution?
While talking about modern technology it is easier to look for something up on the internet or search for tools and other raw materials, one could make their own moulds or use an edible printer to replicate a fabric or design, the possibilities are endless and so is the ever growing technology.
To my personal choice I would always like something that is handmade as that adds to the uniqueness and reflects the mastery and patience of the artist. When you spend time in making something it also acts as a relaxing therapy and helps mastering those finer skills of cake decorating.
Picture Credit: Anjali Tambde
My role as a cake designer and being the first Indian winner of Cake International plus winner of various other cake shows is to encourage the next generation towards this art form that is going into main stream and also to encourage young talent to participate in various competitions and start up something of their own.
