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The rise of showstopper wedding cakes and the bakers who are leading the charge
Meet the artists behind India’s most extravagant wedding cakes: Towering palaces, suspended chandeliers and sculptural creations
When the palatial cake at the Netra Mantena–Vamsi Gadiraju wedding in Udaipur went viral, it instantly became the defining image of the celebration. Created by Paris-based luxury pastry chef Bastien Blanc-Tailleu, the towering structure looked like a scaled-down Rajasthani palace complete with domes, jharokhas, chhatris, sculpted animals and detailed edible silverwork.
At an event packed with celebrity performances and high-profile guests, it was this cake that ended up dominating social media, showing that couples are looking for statement pieces instead of just simple tiers this wedding season.
From palatial cakes to chandelier cakes, gravity-defying centrepieces and installations, wedding cakes are now being treated as food, décor and drama all at once. And behind this shift is a wave of cake artists who specialise in scale, craftsmanship and spectacle.
As the wedding season reaches its peak, we spoke to six bakers who are at the forefront of this extravagant-cake trend.
The man behind the viral Udaipur cake
Paris-based Bastien Blanc-Tailleur has become the newest luxury-cake sensation in India. Trained in top Parisian kitchens, he launched his studio in 2015 and is known for hyper-detailed, architectural cakes. For the Netra Mantena–Vamsi Gadiraju wedding in Udaipur, he created the now-viral palatial masterpiece.
“The idea was to recall Indian tradition and craftsmanship,” he says. He continues, “We added peacocks for the couple, a tiger for Rajasthan and elephants as traditional symbols.” His team spent 1.5 months and 2.500 hours crafting the structure in Paris, followed by a week of final touches in India.
“The cake was adorned with thousands of Swarovski crystals,” he shares — a couture-level detail that defines his style.
Architect of icing
Pune-based Prachi Dhabal Deb has built a global reputation for turning royal icing into architectural art. With multiple world records to her name, her cakes resemble miniature monuments inspired by her love for Indian and European architecture. Using a plant-based royal icing made with aquafaba and sugar, she creates domes, filigree, latticework and textile motifs, all meticulously hand-piped. “Balance is the hardest part,” she says, adding, “Rajasthan alone has so many beautiful elements that you must choose wisely.”
The skyscraper specialist
Fatehbir Singh of Birbakerz is known for skyscraper-style cakes that suit the scale of Punjabi and Delhi weddings. His 12-ft installation with fresh red roses, crystal drops and elevated platforms, resembles a multi-tiered chandelier rising tier after tier. Each element is engineered for drama and height. Fatehbir says his motivation is simple: “I do it all for happiness. If the couple is happy, I am happy. At the end of the day, a baker only wants to make others feel happy through his creation.”
Whisk’s gravity-defying sculptures
At Whisk Cake Studio, Divya Saxena specialises in cakes that challenge physics. One of her standout pieces featured a slim, near-invisible base supporting a spiralling midsection topped with handcrafted doves. “I envisioned it like a poetic sculpture — clean whites, cascading florals, sculptural tiers,” she says. These builds rely on engineered supports, temperature control and precise sugar work. Couples today want height, texture and subtle storytelling, she adds and says: “When they say it’s ‘beyond imagination,’ that’s the best reward.”
Castle cakes fit for a bride
Gurnoor Singh of Bake-a-Boo creates cakes that look like they belong on a fantasy film set. His latest architectural installation features turrets, curved staircases and cascading florals, a palace straight out of a Disney princess storyboard.
“The inspiration came from blending architecture and celebration into one edible sculpture,” he says. “I wanted it to feel larger than life.” These monumental builds involve days of sketching and engineering. Execution takes three to seven days, using dowels, hidden supports and custom frames... “techniques closer to stage design than home baking,” as he describes.
The life of a cake-girl
For Simran Narang of Cake Design Company, wedding cakes are having their full showgirl moment. Known for chandelier-style cakes, Simran creates structures that descend from the ceiling, glow under lights and perform as much as they decorate. Her feathered showstopper, a gold-and-ivory creation with plumes and crystal cascades, is engineered to appear weightless, suspended mid-air. “People want their cake to feel like a moment, not a prop... Chandelier cakes give that gasp factor,” she says. Her studio also experiments with projection mapping, where animations play across the tiers as the cake is cut: “Couples want something their guests haven’t seen before.”
The cost of luxury cakes
There is no fixed price for extravagance. While luxury cakes start at around ₹20,000, highly engineered, large-format or sculptural designs typically begin at ₹1.5 lakh, especially when they involve custom structures, intricate sugar artistry or immersive installations.
