A woman’s “Christmas dinner” was mocked as “minging” by people online until they realised their big mistake. Amy Hirst from Skelmersdale, Liverpool is the brains behind Amy Bakes, who makes cupcakes praised not just for their taste but their incredible life-like designs.
The 27-year-old’s cakes have been designed to look like McDonald’s meals, designer bags and gym equipment, reports the Liverpool Echo. The idea for her business came in 2014. Amy was studying fashion at university but dropped out after two weeks.
During her free time when she came back home, Amy decided to help her sister out who was pregnant at the time.
Amy said: “I’ve always been creative. Me and my sister Andrea would make a terrible mess, baking cakes and biscuits then scooping the batter out with a spoon and eating it. But I remember decorating them was my favourite part.
“When I dropped out of university after two weeks when I realised it wasn’t for me I moved back home with my mum. I knew there must be something I could do to keep me occupied and busy. When my sister suggested I make her some baby shower cupcakes, I whipped up lashings of blue buttercream icing and layered it on top of freshly made cupcakes.
“Then I added letters and fondant baby decor. Everyone loved them and my family began asking me to create all sorts of weird and wonderful designs. I was thrilled to oblige.”
By 2020, Amy was able to run Amy Bakes full-time. At around the same time, she decided to test how her incredible designs were viewed. Amy posted one of her roast dinner designs, featuring meat, potatoes, vegetables and gravy, to a Facebook group Rate My Plate. The baker decorated the cupcake with fondant icing to make it look like a traditional roast dinner.
Amy didn’t say it as a cake and watched on as the confusion reigned among the the hundreds of commenters. She said: “It got so much attention and everyone thought it was real. People were saying it was a really minging roast dinner.”
Fans of the Facebook page were shocked. One person said: “Not bad for frozen s***.” But when they realised their mistake they corrected themselves and said: “F*** my life, is it?? That’s banging!” Another said: “Not going to lie… this fake roast looks better than 80% of ‘real roasts’ put on here every Sunday”.
Amy said she most enjoys animal design cakes such as dogs and horses but she also loves making ‘food’ designs. The hardest designs, she says, are houses with the intricate brickwork proving particularly hard.
Amy said: “I’ve been doing this for four to five years. It’s been my full-time job for about three or four. It was fast. A lot of people are doing what I’m doing now. But maybe I’ve set a trend. I’ve upped the cupcake game. I’m a very precise, attention to detail sort of person.”
On her Instagram page on Christmas Day, Amy posted a picture of herself with her most famous design as she thanked her customers. She said: “Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you’re all having the most amazing day. It wouldn’t be Christmas without a miniature roast dinner cupcake would it?”
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