Sugar art expertise the icing on the cake (hktdc.com)


	Carousel cake by Elayna Maria uses a range of sugar art techniques

	Cake designer Elayna Maria Berean is building her brand in Hong Kong

	Mandarin Oriental chef Yves Matthey heads one of the largest hotel pastry teams in Asia

	Intricate designs like this Mandarin Oriental “handbag cake” are in demand around the world

What to buy for a person who has everything from designer handbags to a Ferrari?

In avant-garde Hong Kong, the "ultimate" gift can be a celebratory cake fashioned as the recipient's favourite accessory, or themed to match their personal passion or corporate logo.

It's called couture cakes, and while it may not be a new trend, it's certainly flavour of the month. Hong Kong's Mandarin Oriental hotel reports a booming trade for the custom-made cakes it has been making for 25 years, while new businesses are drawn here by the largely untapped potential.

San Francisco cake designer Elayna Maria Berean moved to Hong Kong last year to set up her business, having identified a market niche. "I felt few in Hong Kong were doing custom cakes, yet the market was similar to New York City, where I was working, and where there are lots of occasions," said Ms Berean, who calls her craft "sugar art".

Celebrate in style

She says Hong Kong people like to celebrate, and with Western traditions spreading throughout the global community, this seemed the ideal place to start her business.

Elayna Maria Cakes was established in September 2006 as a one-person venture. Ms Berean serves clients by appointment only, and business is doing well solely through word of mouth.

Her orders are as innovative as they are complex. Recently, to celebrate a newborn baby's first 100 days - a Chinese tradition – Ms Berean made a carousel cake where all the animals were delicately created using a range of sculpting, moulding, painting and sugar carving techniques.

Current commissions include a monkey-themed wedding cake - one of her most complex creations to date. It features a grand piano cake that feeds 100 people, two more cakes styled as monkeys - one playing the grand piano and another playing drums - and other themed decorations such as banana bouquets.

Rising vision

While she enjoys such intricate work, designer cakes are just the beginning for Elayna Maria. "I'm using this business to get to know the market and meet people," she said. The grand plan is to build a high-end bakery brand with a view to franchise potential.

And Hong Kong is the ideal place to launch a brand, because it's a relatively small city where "it's easy to get interest and the ‘word of mouth' one might need to start a business." And apart from being an international city, Ms Berean says Hong Kong is a place where "people are more receptive to new ideas".

When the Mandarin Oriental reopened after refurbishment last September, specialty orders were made a key feature of its new cake shop. In charge is executive pastry chef Yves Matthey, who heads a team of 30 – one of the largest hotel pastry departments in Asia.

Corporate branding

Chef Matthey notes a trend possibly exclusive to Hong Kong where companies will consign bespoke cakes as a novel form of corporate branding. Piaget, Chloe and Valentino are among the top luxury brands to order cakes styled as their signature product, and bearing the company logo, as the centerpiece for a special event or fashion launch.

Displays change weekly at the Mandarin Oriental cake shop, which draws a strong clientele of people eager to see the latest creations. Chef says that "everyone goes to the Mandarin Oriental cake shop" because of the quality, and notes that its reputation is global.

Indeed, the shop has been exporting its specialised creations for years, to markets including Japan, England, Australia and the US – and even Switzerland and France.

While Hong Kong's Mandarin Oriental is first in the hotel group's chain to have a retail cake shop, it has proven to be a role model. Based on its success, the aim is to roll out similar "identity shops" at Mandarin Oriental hotels around the world.

Once again it's a case of where Hong Kong leads, others follow. And when it comes to trendy couture cakes, it seems the pie is big enough for everyone.