Lothians mum battling lung disease makes amazing cakes disguised as everyday objects

A Lothians mum who was left housebound by a long-term illness has gained international attention with her astonishing cakes, after taking up baking during lockdown.

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Yvonne Cadden, 49, has drawn fans from across the world after her illusion cakes – which fool onlookers into thinking they are something else – wowed fans by looking like haggis neeps and tatties, a pumpkin, and even a roast dinner.

The Uphall Station mum-of-four has even launched a page for budding bakers which gained 100,000 members in just a year.

Both the success of the page, Cake Decorating & Family Favourite Baking Recipes, and the uplifting effect baking has had for Yvonne, came as a shock to her.

Yvonne said: “It really surprised me.

“At the start of lockdown I had to go into shielding as I have lung disease.

"My daughter got me a baking starter kit and I just started baking my own cakes.”

Yvonne has made a number of illusion cakes, including the haggis neeps and tatties creation.

Before long Yvonne was using her newfound-talent to raise funds for charity.

She said: “A few months later in 2020, a Facebook notification came up asking if i would like to donate to charity for my birthday.

“I baked a cake and asked people to make donations to Cash for Kids. The person that donated the most money would get the cake. We got a few hundred pounds for charity.”

A few months later her cakes were increasingly getting noticed online, prompting the launch of Cake Decorating & Family Favourite Baking Recipes.

This cake was surely a hallowe'en hit.

Yvonne added: “Friends and family were telling me how good my cakes are so I started a Facebook page thinking I would just put my cakes on it, and if anyone else wanted to they could too.

“I started the page in November 2020, and by November 2021 I had 100,000 members worldwide.

“It’s really taken off. There are so many people who took up baking in lockdown.”

The ethos of the group is encouragement, which reinforces the feeling of positivity many get from baking.

A Burns Night classic - or is it?

But it was Yvonne’s illusion cakes that caught the eye, disguising her creations as scourers, burgers, pumpkins and roses.

Yvonne said: "One day I did the haggis neeps and tatties cake and gave the plate to my son for his tea and he really thought it was real. The gravy was a chocolate sauce.

“An Australian news channel got in touch about it. No one actually believed that the haggis one was actually a cake.”

She added: "I've always been an ambition-driven person, but having lung disease put a stop to what I could do.

"But baking is something I can do at my own pace. It’s something I love and have a passion for and gives me pleasure to help others and give them a platform.

"We get a lot of people getting in touch to tell us they use our recipes for family activities. It makes you feel so humble and warm inside.”

Washing up sponges? Perhaps not.

The next step will be a full branded website, which Yvonne is launching with friends she met through her Facebook group.

But Yvonne is already sure about the impact baking can have.

She added: "It’s given me a purpose and a sense of achievement and happiness. Something good has come out of a bad situation and it’s happened for thousands of people."

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